Community impacts our daily lives. It brings us together and it provides the support we need through tough situations. Every day we engage with our community whether it is with a person from the community or with service to help the community flourish. It is important to better ourselves as a community member or a neighbor because a community needs strong members to flourish. To become a strong community member, one must practice all types of altruism, give more than what is required, and work together with members of the community. To become a better community member, one must practice altruism. Altruism is the display of good deeds for the well-being of others. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, “On Being a Good Neighbor”, King tells the story of a good Samaritan and how he participated in all types of altruism by helping the community members around him. King says that because the Samaritan showed universal altruism, “He had a piercing insight into that which is beyond the eternal accidents of race, religion, and nationality” (558). This Samaritan does not let race, religion, or nationality limit his good deeds. This is how King defines universal altruism. One can become a stronger community member by displaying universal altruism because every day we judge people by their race, religion, or nationality. We are naturally biased, but if we let go of the prejudice and biased thoughts then we can do better service and deeds for the members of our community. Through my
What is a Beloved Community? The term first originates from use in the early twentieth century, coined by Philosopher-Theologian Josiah Royce. The Term has, however, just recently received much attention due to great civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. To the King, A Beloved Community was a “ Critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence”. It is an idea meant to be “a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth”. Martin Luther King Junior aimed to end three main “Evils”. These Evils are modernly known as: Poverty, Racism, and Militarism. However as utopian as the idea may sound, the king acknowledged that there would always be inevitable conflict in
I’m going to give the example of when I enrolled to southwestern college, here they offer me financial help, places such as the library and bookstore that I can get the materials that I need to progress in my work, they offer me help if I plan to transfer and many other things. That is an example of how I rely in this community to support me. This sample shows us too how can a community helps the individual and the great feedback it takes from it. But it can have negative effect, because communities can also assist us in negative behaviors our
What is the importance of community? Please talk about your experience with working with diverse groups of people and how you interact with others that are different from you in a community setting.
Another example of how altruism can be viewed in today’s society can be seen in the works of Mother Teresa and her plethora of altruistic acts throughout the globe. Although her focus was in India where she persued her novitiate (training), her organization has opened over 500 centers around the world helping the dying and the destitute (Moore 2002, pg. x). She took in the “untouchables” of society and gave them care and made sure that they were comfortable. Mother Teresa is often used as the benchmark when determining whether a selfless act is truly altruistic.
Communities require every member to contribute to them in order to function. However, the strength of a community can only be measured on what the members receive in
A community is an abode to many personalities, drives and lifestyles. Both the inhabitants within the community and the community itself benefit from the multiple personas. Florida State’s Community will benefit me by learning from brilliant, successful and innovative, teachers, fellow students and alumnus. On the contrary FSU’s community will benefit from me because I am resilient, a hard worker, and I interact with the community. These qualities have been acquired mainly by my parents and they are the reason I am the person who I am today alongside the volunteering activities I was able to be a part of.
Community is built of two main elements. First, community requires communal caring. Members need to put themselves in positions where they are able to relate to other members and does everything “within reasonable limits of self-sacrifice” (65). The second is communal reciprocity. Individuals will serve other members of the community, not for exchange of goods, but to provide generosity and support. These elements of community appear in the lives of all individuals, even the most capitalist ones. Humans are entirely capable of these.
In a community, there is an expectancy that one will contribute to it in some way. Whether it's working or volunteering, both forms of service can better the community one lives in. In my opinion, it is essential for one to contribute to their community in whatever way they can in order to be a truly valued member.
The power of investing in the community impacts society by helping those who are less fortunate, making their lives better.
Peter Singer’s The Most Good You Can Do is an insightful, informative, philosophical spin on the typical self help book. His ideas on effective altruism, doing the most good with what you have, is a fresh look at living a charitable life. The book provides an ample amount of examples of people and companies who strive to make as much impact in the world as possible, likely in an effort to make effective altruism appear to be a feasible way of living for the average person. However, as the book progressed, it seemed to lose focus, shifting between profiles of effective altruists, and Singer’s own point of view on the movement. Overall, the ideas presented were interesting and thought provoking, but the entire text could have been shortened dramatically and
Martin Luther King would respond to this scenario in a non-violent manor and with overall acceptance. His way of punishment would most likely be for the student to evolve after his conflict and to grow as a student or to realize that he will not succeed in life without academic honesty. Another factor within King's beliefs is the rejection of revenge, aggression and retaliation. According to Martin Luther King "One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty." (Page 365) This quote refers to his responsiveness to problems regardless of subject. Whether he is dealing with a social problem or even a problem within an academic environment. Martin Luther King recommend that the teacher not fail the student but penalize him in terms
The word community may bring to mind, a group of people coming together under a common interest or background. In every community, there are positives and negatives. The city of the Simi Valley’s positives outweigh the negatives. Some might say it is almost an “ideal” community. An old African proverb states “If you want to go quickly, go alone, If you want to go far, go together”. This quote refers to the structure and collaboration of a community, how it functions. In our English class, we have been reading about the successfulness of a community. Texts we have read by range from civil rights leaders to insightful patriots. All of these texts have pointed to one conclusion. The successfulness of a community relies on the actions the community takes when facing outside groups.
"We are all here on earth to help others. What I can't figure out is what the others are here for." --W. H. Auden (1)
First, it is important to understand what altruism is. Altruism is any act carried out by an individual in order to benefit another individual. [1, 2] At first glance,
Community is very important and has many factors like kinship, unity, and identity. Community helps society because it creates solutions, provides security and reveals dedication. It discovers truthfulness. Communities are part of everyday life and have positive affects on its members.