POLS 101 003W: Project Five Moral and Cultural Relativism, Civil Society, and Charitable Giving by Professor Harper

The Dangerous Samaritans: How We Unintentionally Injure the Poor

jeanette_e_harper — 2020-01-07 13:16:32 UTC

I agreed with most of what was said in this article. Raising minimum wage for the lowest unskilled workers is a bad idea for both corporations and the individuals themselves. Typically there is a reason why they are at that level of work, and often times it is due to the fact they simply will not make the necessary sacrifices needed to progress their future and prosper. Giving them that extra income will only encourage them to stay in the current positions without working harder to better themselves. It also hurts consumers as well. If companies are forced to pay higher wages to the lowest level, then they will have to raise prices to cover those expenses. Not all who are poor are doing nothing though, many are trying to get out of that class, working hard and they should have the opportunity to be helped if need be. But since so many abuse the system all the money set aside to combat poverty seems like it is doing nothing at all, which really puts into perspective the amount of people who simply will not work hard to get ahead in their lives.
This is absolutely relevant in today's society. We still have the fight for higher minimum wage, the battle over welfare, and the issue of helping those who will not help themselves. It's hard to see all this money going to those who will not do anything more for themselves and not think what a waste of time and resources. Especially in the eyes of those who have sacrificed so much, or are currently in the process, to be successful, only to watch their hard earned money and taxes paid go to that.

Ralph Emerson

emilymassoth111 — 2020-04-23 19:36:21 UTC

I read about the Self Reliance article that Ralph Emerson wrote about. It was very interesting and I learned a lot about following your own voice and focusing on yourself and not others. In the video I made I talked about what self reliance means and what self sufficiency means as well.

Ralph Emerson

2328lance — 2020-04-27 03:19:55 UTC

I made my video presentation on the article Self-Reliance written by Ralph Emerson. I included in my presentation the purpose of self reliance, along with the key points of the article, examples of self-reliance, and the effects of self reliance.

Ralph Emerson

aaronclegg — 2020-04-29 13:39:11 UTC

I also made my video presentation about Ralph Emersons Self-reliance I thought that it was an awesome article to read and i learned a lot!

Are We Living in a Moral Stone Age?

kkadengardner01 — 2020-05-04 22:02:24 UTC

I made a presentation on article "Are We Living in a Moral Stone Age?" It was very interesting article that talked about the lack of moral in younger generation. It shows some examples and makes some good points on this topic.

Self-Reliance

2020-05-05 00:49:08 UTC

This article by Ralph Emerson was really interesting to read even though I did not agree with everything he had to say.

Are we living in the Moral Stone Age?

chelsea_lafee — 2020-05-05 19:43:12 UTC

This was a great article and I agree with what she wrote about the younger generation and how they lack morals, she made some great points in the article and suggested books to have them read. She writes 'we need to teach our young people to understand, respect and protect the institutions that protect us and preserve our democratic society'
https://www.powtoon.com/html5-studio/#/edit/d7QNyOpmmO6

Self Reliance

kassedimartinez — 2020-05-05 22:32:03 UTC

I did my Powtoon on Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I thought it was an interesting read, and I personally learned a lot from it.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/fQrfsy4c6v3/1/m

Dangerous Samaritan: How We Unintentionally Injure the Poor.

emilybjerkander — 2020-05-05 23:29:08 UTC

I chose this article thinking it would have a differing opinion than mine and I could examine another view point. This article however was difficult to read at times. The author doesn't do much to hide his clear contempt and condensation as he describes the ways we "injure the poor". Though I understand that this comes from a specific view point, that being christian and conservative, it reads less like an actual examination of how we combat poverty and more like an attempt to shame the people living in it. I will agree simply giving money to the poor is not a good way to help people out of poverty, he seems to look past the fact that poverty is cyclical and systemic. This author's line of thinking is clearly influenced by Ronald Reagan, right down to his belief that women in poverty have children to milk the system. This makes sense as the paper was written just a few years after Reagan left office. I agree that there are clearly issues in the way we approach poverty, but simply telling the poor to work harder or do better ignores why and how people end up in and stay in poverty. Despite my disagreement with the points made in this article, I did make a video breaking down the main points.
https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/dEPjzoCkKOs/?mode=movie#/

Moral Stone Age

jacobn326 — 2020-05-06 00:03:20 UTC

This article was one that I'm not sure how I feel about it. The language the author uses makes the message sound like an old lady yelling at the younger generations on how they've ruined this planet. I can understand what the author is going for and how younger generations are less open about stating moral beliefs and are open to things and ideas that were uncommon in the past. Overall the article made a good argument for her view of morality and how it has changed over time.

Moral Stone Age

leahankarberg — 2020-05-06 00:51:52 UTC

This article was different then others it was unique. It some parts I found myself completely agreeing. I also found myself being shocked that such a thing happens and I found myself thinking that this person was just digging for our faults. After completing the article I could tell that it showed problems in our society. This could open people's eyes to what we need to fix.

Dangerous Samaritan: how we unintentionally injure the poor.

trilbysmock — 2020-05-06 02:22:08 UTC

For some reason I couldn’t get Powtoon to work on my iPad so I hope you don’t mind I used spark video.
I didn’t like this article but mainly cause it came off as kinda judge which I think is the actual harm we are doing to the poor. But perhaps this is all too close to home? We don’t want to be poor, we aren’t taking to take and stay on welfare. And now my husband has finally worked to get a job that will sustain us! https://spark.adobe.com/video/CQkr36w7sTzxW

Moral Stone Age

cadyehay — 2020-05-06 04:48:43 UTC

I found this article rather interesting. I agree with the article in that younger generations lack morals. One of the things I found funny in the article was the portion that talked about Jay Leno and the tonight show. The responses of the young people who were interviewed was comical. ” One night he collared some young people to ask them questions about the Bible. “Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?” he asked two college-age women. One replied, “Freedom of speech?” Mr. Leno said to the other, “Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin…” Her response was, “have a good time?” Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, “Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?” The confident answer was, “Pinocchio.” (Sommers, 2020). I agreed with the article when it stated that “I believe that schools at all levels can do a lot to improve the moral climate of our society. They can help restore civility and community if they commit themselves and if they have the courage to act.” (Sommers, 2020). I feel like kids spend the majority of their day at school and they can get the most from school.

Works cited:

Sommers, C., 2020. Are We Living In A Moral Stone Age?. [online] Imprimis. Available at: [Accessed 6 May 2020].

Self Reliance - I have to put everything in the title because this application does not like me. Sorry. Ralph Emerson was a very strange person who loved everyone and everything. His philosophy states that you should be endless seeker of education, and should not dwell on the past. This implies that you should let go of tradition and do what makes you feel good and what advances you, rather than society, which I think is his whole message.

stampycat51 — 2020-05-06 06:01:25 UTC

Are We Living In A Moral Stone Age?

christianalvaradoflo — 2020-05-06 06:26:46 UTC

This is a very interesting article. I have personally witnessed many people who can not figure out the rights from the wrongs. This includes culture too, many people will not judge other cultures on the basis that its just different and we have no right to judge, which I think is wrong because I believe some cultures are better than others and its okay to judge from that standpoint. I was also able to understand the consequences laid out by the author, it is a real concern when we as a country forget out identity.

Dangerous Samaritan

dillonmwind — 2020-05-07 18:23:44 UTC

This article points out many of the same ideas and understanding that I have had around the topic of helping out the poor in America. The problems of incentivizing poor choices such as having children outside the bonds of marriage and the sense of entitlement that is fostered by welfare programs are discussed in detail. I agree with the author that there needs to be a shift in how we look at the war on poverty. Since we have been throwing millions of dollars a year to the problem for the last few decades without seeing much progress, I think that it is time to try a different approach. Rather than give away resources, we should allocate our tax dollars to teaching the poor how to access resources for themselves. We need to teach them that the government isn't responsible for taking care of you but that you have to pick yourself up and get tot work just like the other millions of people around you. By doing this, I feel that we will be able to help them get our of their bad circumstances much better than giving them more money to waste on poor decisions.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/fhJA0wBZPcf/1/m

Are We Living in a Moral Stone Age?

ldankarberg — 2020-05-07 18:27:50 UTC

Dr. Sommers proposes a "Great Relearning" to solve the moral haze issue that many students are facing. She states that "we must encourage them to read the Bible, Aristotle’s Ethics, Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Koran, and the Analects of Confucius" to give them a solid moral ground.
She said that most of the students she talks to are decent people. They volunteer more than anybody she's ever seen, and they are good-hearted individuals. She just thinks that they live in a moral haze.
According to Christina Hoff Sommers, we are living in a moral stone age. To prove it, she started by describing a Tonight Show hosted Jay Leno. Leno frequently does “man-on-the street” interviews, and one night he collared some young people to ask them questions about the Bible.
“Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?” he asked two college-age women. One replied, “Freedom of speech?” Mr. Leno said to the other, “Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin…” Her response was, “have a good time?” Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, “Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?” The confident answer was, “Pinocchio.” All of these demonstates just how uneducated most students are about the Bible. According to Dr. Sommers, this proves the moral chaos that she sees in most students. She said that when you ask one of them "if there are such things as “right” and “wrong,”... you are confronted with a confused, tongue-tied, nervous, and insecure individual." Dr. Sommers believes that this moral haze was developed because of the loss of truth's that we used to hold dear. These were things like the worth of every human life and the right for women to vote.

Self-Reliance - RWE

haileyrussell1 — 2020-05-08 16:55:42 UTC

I chose self-reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson because it's a great work of literature that is really down to earth. I like that he was level headed and wanted people to focus on themselves and not worry about the world and distractions around them. He simply suggested and pushed people to attempt to be the best they could be and leave the other wordly problems and conformity behind. While I am sure some do not agree with ideaology, I find it refreshing to read about trying to set ourselves apart from everyone else and not follow the masses. Basically to grow our own individual selves without anyone else trying to help us.

Are we living in a Moral Stone Age? By Christina Hobbs Summers

blancaaguilar — 2020-05-08 20:42:22 UTC

I think that this article has made me rethink what we are doing as human beings and how we can change the direction of our morals. By just paying a little more attention to the people around us. we need to practice ethical thinking and use the moral compasses our ancestors have implemented throughout history. The knowledge of right form wrong is just a matter of making the correct decisions in life. Anything we want to improve in life requires practice and moral thinking is not the exception.

Are we living in a Moral Stone Age?

gerardkabika — 2020-05-08 23:30:10 UTC

I personally think that this article was very unique starting the introduction to the end. the author summarized it better it was informative and easy to understand. She talked about a lot of important thinks and how our society has changed over the years. I think everyone needs to read this article and gain new things.

https://www.powtoon.com/c/ecUUulfD3Rk/1/m

Dangerous Samaritan

jaclynkippes — 2020-05-09 02:23:22 UTC

I think this article nailed it on the head. I agree. How do we expect the "poor" to want to do better when their lives are profitable and less hard work by just doing the bare minimum and they get everything handed to them? Generation after generation are growing up using welfare as their lifestyle, rather than getting an education and getting a good job to support themselves and one day a family, or so they can make a good wage and do good in life rather than living off of welfare and handouts.

Are we living in a Moral Stone Age? By: Christina Hoff Sommers

nawklo13 — 2020-05-09 04:43:27 UTC

I'm glad that I have chosen this article to read. It was very informative and especially to us young people. Many young people are totally unaffected by thousands of years of moral experience and moral progress. The author talks about today’s young people live in a moral haze.

She believes that schools at all levels can do a lot to improve the moral climate of our society. They can help restore civility and community if they commit themselves and if they have the courage to act. Overall, it was very informative and easy to understand.

The Dangerous Samaritans: How We Unintentionally Injure the Poor.

roniramos1 — 2020-05-09 20:24:22 UTC

I found this article to be very informative. Prior to reading it, I agreed that welfare programs, housing laws, and increasing minimum wage was a good way to eradicate poverty. I am thinking about that differently now. I still think we need welfare programs, but, like the article states, these programs fail to reduce poverty so I think something does need to change. I didn't agree with everything in the article, but it did make me realize that our programs are not effective and that maybe the solutions the article mentions might be worth trying.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/cleHZFs389p/1/m

Self-Reliance

jakebroderius — 2020-05-09 23:08:31 UTC

I chose Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson mainly because I believe that there has been a real lack of this in today's society resulting in to many people believing everything they hear and read. I also chose this because I feel that becoming your own person with your own ideas, beliefs, and opinions is rare but immensely important. Not everyone in the world has this right so we should all really take advantage of it or we will lose it. The article was pretty self-explanatory in many ways but it was also enlightening in a sense that being your authentic self is crucial to self understanding.

The Dangerous Samaritans: How We Unintentionally Injure The Poor.

alexsavage1998 — 2020-05-09 23:16:26 UTC

After reading this article it is clear to see how the title of the article explains everything. The author goes into depth on how our interference when helping the poor can upset the balance between wages, home and renter income, and life in general. The article explains that when we raise wages it opens up larger opportunities for less educated people but it also causes businesses to struggle finding quality candidates worth that new pay scale. The same issue is presented with housing and renting prices, when rent is lowered the landlords and housing market struggle to make profit so it usually ends in a sale to get rid of the property as a whole. In the end If we are to ever fix poverty we need to treat other how we would like to be treated and help out when we can.

https://www.powtoon.com/c/bDC39YEbyyA/1/m

Are we living in a Moral Stone Age?

veronicasoto — 2020-05-10 03:26:04 UTC

I absolutely loved this article it was so relatable and understandable and made so much sense in todays generation and you can see where things are going wrong and even reading some of the examples you can just imagine the person when you read the examples. I loved how she talked about bringing back good books that inspired good ideas and to bring back the Bible that we all have the rights to moral heritage and a lot of it can be helped and encouraged in schooling.

Are We Living in a Moral Stone Age?

tm_12146 — 2020-05-11 01:53:46 UTC

This was an interesting article to read. It talked about how young adults today are starting to lose their common sense and moral compasses. It talks about how today’s education is starting to let go of teaching morals and ethics in the classroom and in turn it is taking a toll on the students. The author suggests teachers bring back morals, ethics, and common sense and focusing more on the positive and less on the negative. The article definitely has a good point, although I haven’t seen/witnessed some of the issues it talks about, such as college students not believing the holocaust or WWII happened, but I believe that morals, ethics, and common sense have been slowly diminishing.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/bIifckUhox0/1/m

Another Moral Stone Age

peaks2summit — 2020-05-11 03:10:20 UTC

I find it very interesting that this article was written in March of 1998 (3 months before i was born) in that the ideas and issues discussed are things we can still see, if not even more wide spread, in the world we live in today. At the core of this piece is the idea that the youth or newer generations are becoming more and more morally confused. A lack of proper education (learning of history and cultural) have impacted the ways that we process information, form opinions, and make decisions, in essence causing "cognitive moral confusion". I particularly liked the portion on the effects of past individuals and groups that have wanted to start from zero by disregarding culture and traditions (hippies not bathing, marxism, maoism, fascism), all failed. This reading made me think of a game of jenga. The society and world we live in today once started at zero. as time has went by we've built up block by block the tower we stand on today. Not all the blocks are pretty and perfect, many were made by trial and error, wars and hardship, but because of them we have learned and grown to what we are today. However, it seems the issue today is that even though the tower is filled with great blocks, blocks that have corrected mistakes of the past and solidified the foundation and hope for the future, the negative blocks seem to be increasing highlighted effectively over shadowing the effects of the positive ones. When this happens it causes us to distrust the overall stability of the cultural foundations we stand on and feel the urge to start from zero in an attempt to rebuild a tower of only positives.

The Dangerous Samaritans

GFtech — 2020-05-11 04:09:33 UTC

This article by Michael Bauman was an interesting read. He gave his take on the programs in place to help the poor, and how those programs are unintentionally hurting them. I found it refreshing that he gave some good examples of ways to potentially fix the government's bloated programs, and actually help the poor at the same time. I could only wish that he included more information on those who are mentally ill, handicapped or otherwise incapable of making a living. Otherwise I thought the article was very thought inspiring.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/eDZkZQfxaPO/1/m

How We Unintentionally Injure the Poor

kayliemayer711 — 2020-05-11 04:09:36 UTC

This was a super interesting read. It made me really think about the problems about poor people and how what may seem like easy fixes can actually harm not just them but other people as well. I wish the world wasn't as complicated as this article makes it come out to be.

How we Unintentionally Injure the poor

brodyelliston — 2020-05-11 05:41:19 UTC

I thoroughly enjoyed this article. I learned a lot about how some of the government systems work, and some of the statistics behind the amount of money that the government has poured into welfare and relief programs. I especially thought it was interesting when Michael Bauman discusses the fact that in order to get ahead, you cannot expect people to hand you things, you have to go get them. Get a better education. Get a job, and save your money.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/bUzK3Ok6YSp/1/m

Dangerous Samaritans

chriswiggins — 2020-05-11 05:56:14 UTC

I didn't agree with this article at all. It explains how government programs and financial help is doing more harm than good for America's poorest communities. However, and this may be coming from a poor perspective, I found this article completely off base. It was full of slippery slope fallacies and only focused on the worst case scenarios while also showing the worst examples of government help but all without a single source. I wrote up a summary in my powtoon.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/fSvCD0gbOx2/1/m