Today in class, Yvonne started us off with a question relating to a quote. I went back into the book (yes, on a snow day!!) to find the quote and read it over. Here is the quote: "...once people know the possibility of evil they will be tempted to use it to the destruction of others and, inevitably themselves."
We talked about the quote a little bit in class and I agree with what it says. The key word is tempted. It says that when people know that there is evil, they are tempted by it, whether to harm others or themselves. It just got me thinking, for all the good that there is in human nature, there is so much more evil. Or maybe, it is just that the evil is much more prominent. When watching the news, a good portion of it is devoted to the crimes that were committed that day. Then, at the very end, they will have a short segment of some "good" news. Most likely it will be how some little boy saved an old woman's cat from a tree. Something like that. Which is more entertaining? A cat saved from a tree, or a bank robbery chase. Of course, I am exaggerating the good news to a simple cat saved from the tree of death, but this is pretty much what it appears like to people. The bad news, the news of criminals and betrayals is what grabs our attention, while any rescues or the likes are given a short hip-hip-hooray! Crime sells, and I think that is what it comes down to in our world today. It just is so much more...appealing to our nature.
Why is it that violence and crime have such a seductive effect on the human mind?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
This is a Response to Yvonne's Question.
"Why do you think people dwell on the past?"
This is a very interesting question. Extremely interesting as a matter of fact. All I can do is try to formulate an answer to this question. I feel as if people dwell, or live in the past for this reason. New found knowledge. After a problem or situation, people gain knowledge of what the "answer," or the right thing to do should have been. They obsess over the matter of the past because they wish that they had known what they know now. So, they constantly refer back to the past, almost to assure themselves that they have learned something. It is a minor way to try and prove that yes, you could have known what to do, if only you had time.
People also live in the past because of another reason. Glory. If life looks rough all one has to do is look back to past times, when times were better. It is a way to remember that things are not always bad, that they can become good again. Sometimes dwelling on the past can provide a sense of hope.
I find the quote the Yvonne provided with her question very interesting. "One reason God created time was so that there would be a place to bury the failures of the past." Which leads me to my question: If we bury our failures in the past, how can we ever learn from them? Should we not just keep them at bay and look back on them so we can readily learn from our mistakes?
This is a very interesting question. Extremely interesting as a matter of fact. All I can do is try to formulate an answer to this question. I feel as if people dwell, or live in the past for this reason. New found knowledge. After a problem or situation, people gain knowledge of what the "answer," or the right thing to do should have been. They obsess over the matter of the past because they wish that they had known what they know now. So, they constantly refer back to the past, almost to assure themselves that they have learned something. It is a minor way to try and prove that yes, you could have known what to do, if only you had time.
People also live in the past because of another reason. Glory. If life looks rough all one has to do is look back to past times, when times were better. It is a way to remember that things are not always bad, that they can become good again. Sometimes dwelling on the past can provide a sense of hope.
I find the quote the Yvonne provided with her question very interesting. "One reason God created time was so that there would be a place to bury the failures of the past." Which leads me to my question: If we bury our failures in the past, how can we ever learn from them? Should we not just keep them at bay and look back on them so we can readily learn from our mistakes?
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