Blog 10: Essay 3 Final

Katia Perez

ENG 101—0768

Dr. Vasileiou

Essay 3

12/4/12

Do the Ends Justify the Means?

            Our society is constantly looking for new ways to keep the environment safe by attempting to eliminate or reduce crime, terrorism, and other possible threats. In many cases by trying to do so some ethical concerns are brought up. Should our society find ways to solve issues regardless of the methods used to get the desired outcome? Many believe that we should do whatever it takes to make our world safer but the actions taken are not always morally justifiable. Some methods used today to ensure safety violate some of our rights and perpetrate prejudices. All humans are born with natural rights and those rights should not be taken by higher powers to solve problems occurring in our everyday lives. Using unethical means to ensure safety is not acceptable.

Violating the natural rights of the people should not be acceptable regardless of the reasons for it. In the movie Minority Report a system called Pre-crime is used to reduce crime by arresting people before they actually commit the crime. Pre-crime relied on what they called “precogs”, a group of people who can foresee a crime before it transpires, to help them make these arrests. This system was flawed and unethical because it violated privacy and the public’s civil liberties. The crime rate in Washington DC decreased but at what cost? It was never certain that the people arrested were going to commit the murder. John Anderton, a cop on the run, proved the system not trustworthy when he chose to change his own destiny by not killing a man the precogs determined he would kill. Our modern world believes that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Anderton was arrested for the murder of a man whom he did not kill, did not get a fair trial, and was automatically assumed guilty. In this futuristic society an example is shown of how the people were stripped of all their rights in order to keep their society a safe environment. It is immoral to punish someone for actions they did not make and infringe on their privacy.

Other violations of privacy are often seen in our current security methods. One method used often in airports, prisons, and some times in homeless shelters is strip searching. Strip searches require the person being searched to remove all of their clothing and are more invasive than a frisk. This method can be very humiliating and disturbing to many people. In an article written by Donna De La Cruz a person describes a strip search as being violated, raped, and stripped of their humanity. This does not seem rational and should not be allowed. Harris says, “the courts have ceded control and autonomy to correction departments to do pretty much what they want in the name of security” (De La Cruz). In some cases, officers who work in these correction departments abuse their power and give degrading and improper searches. Those people subjected to these improper searches are being humiliated for security reasons. Many of these searches are supposed to be random but people are often targeted because of their ethnicity.  

Discrimination is one very important issue that comes along with new methods to ensure safety in our society. Many people are profiled because of their race or religion. In the book “How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America” by Moustafa Bayoumi, the author shares the stories of a few Arab Americans who were victims to the discrimination after the events of 9/11. Many Muslims had horrible experiences due to their race or religion. Bayoumi talks about a certain individual who was detained and separated from most of her family because they had been falsely accused of being associated with terrorists. After 9/11 many people were arrested for silly reasons, such as speeding, because they were Muslim. Many of these people were deported or detained for months. A similar situation took place after the bombing of Pearl Harbor with many Japanese American citizens. Bayoumi stated in his book about the Japanese detainments that, “The administration’s own intelligence often confirmed that the community as a whole was not at all a threat to national security. But rather than following the course of justice, the administration exploited the jingoism and racism of the moment”(40). All of those innocent Japanese American citizens were punished and discriminated against even after the government was well aware that they were not a threat to our society.

As our civilization grows we are constantly finding new ways to ensure safety. Most of these methods help our society reduce the chances of crime and other threats but are considered immoral and violate our rights. People are naturally inclined to want to feel safe and have a sense of security and freedom but does defying our privacy implement that liberty or safety? Our society shouldn’t go to extremes to keep our society safe if it means reprimanding innocent people, violating our rights, and forming discrimination towards people. If protecting our environment involves going against the public’s ethical and moral beliefs then the ends do not justify the means.

Works Cited Page

Bayoumi, Moustafa. How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America .          

New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.

De La Cruz, Donna. “Defendants are increasingly suing over strip searches.” The Associated

Press 13 January 2001: Domestic News. Print.

Minority Report. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Tom Cruise. Amblin, 2002. Film.

Blog 9: Essay 3 (First Draft)

Katia Perez

ENG 101—0768

Dr. Vasileiou

Essay 3

11/28/12

Do the Ends Justify the Means?

            Our society is constantly looking for new ways to keep the environment safe by attempting to eliminate or reduce crime, terrorism, and other possible threats. In many cases by trying to do so some ethical concerns are brought up. Should our society find ways to solve issues regardless of the methods used to get the desired outcome? Many believe that we should do whatever is takes to make our world safer but the actions taken are not always morally justifiable. Some methods used today to ensure safety violate some of our rights and perpetrate prejudices. All humans are born with natural rights and those rights should not be taken by higher powers to solve problems occurring in our everyday lives. Using unethical means to ensure safety is not acceptable.

Violating the natural rights of the people should not be acceptable regardless of reasons for it. In the movie Minority Report a system called Pre-crime is used to reduce crime by arresting people before they actually commit the crime. Pre-crime relied on what they called “precogs”, a group of people who can foresee a crime before it transpires, to help them make these arrests. This system was flawed and unethical because it violated privacy and the publics’ civil liberties. The crime rate in Washington DC decreased but at what cost? It was never certain that the people arrested were going to commit the murder. John Anderton, a cop on the run, proved the system not trustworthy when he chose to change his own destiny by not killing a man he was predetermined to kill. He was arrested for the murder of a man whom he did not kill, did not get a fair trial, and was automatically assumed guilty. In this futuristic society the people were stripped of all their rights in order to keep their society a safe environment. It is immoral to punish someone for actions they did not make and infringe on their privacy.

These violations of privacy are often seen in our current security methods. One method used often in airports, prisons, and some times in homeless shelters is strip searching. Strip searches require the person being searched to remove all of their clothing and are more invasive than a frisk. This method can be very humiliating and disturbing to many people. In an article written by Donna De La Cruz a person describes a strip search as being violated, raped, and stripped of their humanity. This does not seem rational and should not be allowed. People are being humiliated for security reasons. Many of these searches are supposed to be random but people are often targeted because of their ethnicity.   

Discrimination is one very important issue that comes along with new methods to ensure safety in our society. Many people are profiled because of their race or religion. In the book “How Does it Feel to be a Problem?” by Moustafa Bayoumi, the author shares the stories of a few Arab Americans who were victims to the discrimination after the events of 9/11. Many Muslims had horrible experiences due to their race or religion. Bayoumi talks about a certain individual who was detained and separated from most of her family because they had been falsely accused of being associated with terrorists. After 9/11 many people were arrested for silly reasons because they were Muslim. Many of these people were deported or detained for months. A similar situation took place after the bombing of Pearl Harbor with many Japanese American citizens. Bayoumi stated in his book about the Japanese detainments that, “The administration’s own intelligence often confirmed that the community as a whole was not at all a threat to national security. But rather than following the course of justice, the administration exploited the jingoism and racism of the moment.”(40) All of those innocent Japanese American citizens were punished and discriminated against even after the government was well aware that they were not a threat to our society.

As our civilization grows we are constantly finding new ways to ensure safety. Most of these methods help our society reduce the chances of crime and other threats but are considered immoral and violate our rights. Our society shouldn’t go to extremes to keep our society safe if it means reprimanding innocent people, violating our rights, and forming discrimination towards people. If protecting our environment involves going against the publics’ ethical and moral beliefs then the ends to not justify the means.

Blog 8: Free Will and Determinism

Blog 8: Free Will and Determinism

Are our lives pre determined or do we decide our own fate? In the play “Oedipus the King” and the film Minority Report, two perspectives are shown on how much free will and control people have over their own lives. The play “Oedipus the King” portrays an idea that despite what action we take to change our destiny nothing can change the fate that the gods have chosen for us. Oedipus knew what his future would be and by trying to use his free will to avoid his fate instead it lead him right to it. In order to have free will, a person must have more than one option and the ability to choose that other option. (Huemer 104) The characters in this play believed that their futures were pre determined and nothing could alter their destiny so they did not believe in free will because they did not believe in an alternate possibility.

In the film Minority Report, the society shown to us relied on determinism, the idea that that only one future is possible. In the movie people were arrested before actually committing a crime. These arrests were “made possible by the ‘precogs’, a trio of prescient individuals working for the police who foresee crimes that are going to occur if the cops do not intervene.” (Huemer 103) Later in the film, the police realize that the system is flawed because there is no certainty that the person is going to commit any crime. John Anderton proved the system wrong when he chose to not kill the man who claimed he killed Anderton’s son. At first the people in the film Minority Report believed they had no free will but their views changed after Anderton showed them that they had the power to choose their fate. 

Blog 7: The Allegory of the Cave through History

Blog 7: The Allegory of the Cave through History

Throughout our history many people have had this illusion of the American dream. People believe that moving to America will bring peace, equality, and freedom to their lives. Immigrants have this idea that when they move to America their lives will be a lot better. For example, they believe that they will find a job, make money, and live in a nice home but what they don’t realize is that it’s not very simple. In order to live a life like this you have to make a decent amount of money by getting a good paying job, which without a good education is very hard to get. Even then those people are often discriminated against because of race, religion, or beliefs. Due to this discrimination they don’t receive the same opportunities that everyone else does. According to our government we live in a democracy, which allows everyone to have social equality by voicing their opinions towards our government. This is also an illusion. To be able to vote there are certain requirements such as: you have to be 18 or older, a US citizen, a legal resident of the US, and have committed no crimes. All of the people who aren’t eligible to vote are not able to express their opinions and therefore they have no say in what goes on in our government. The American dream is to have equality and freedom but people are blinded by this illusion and fail to see the reality that exists in our country.

Blog 6: Free Will or Destiny in Oedipus?

Blog 6: Free will or Destiny?

Many times throughout the story of “Oedipus the King”, we are convinced that Oedipus’ destiny is what controls the outcome of his life but in fact his choices are what decided his fate and not what was said in the prophecy. In ancient Greece the people were polytheistic, which means that they believed in many gods. If they wished to ask or speak to the gods they would go to the oracle, who would reveal the answer to their questions. Many people acted on the prophecy they were given and caused that prophecy to come true. In Oedipus’ case, his father and he tried to keep away from the prophecy that was given to him when he was born and instead of escaping it, they made it reality. Their free will is what determined their destiny not the prediction they were given.

When Oedipus was born, King Laius went to the oracle to ask about what his sons’ future would be like. The answer that he received was that his son would kill him and marry his mother. This was not at all what he wanted so he decided to kill his son. By making this decision he became a step closer to his death because the servant he sent to do the job did not fulfill his duty and gave the child away. Years later Oedipus also went to the oracle and tried to avoid his destiny and by doing so he killed his father and ended up marrying his mother.

Oedipus knew that he would kill his father and still killed the man blocking his way to Thebes instead of avoiding killing anyone. In line 1470 a messenger says, “… brought on by choice and not by accident. What we do to ourselves brings us most pain.” This is proven to be true when Oedipus decides to take his eyes out. In the beginning of the play, the prophet, Teiresias, says in line 550 that the man responsible for King Laius’ death “will be blind, although he now can see.” Even after hearing the truth about his past and hearing this prophecy, Oedipus still took his eyesight. This proves that he had control of his future and his choices are what affected his destiny. Oedipus’ free will is what leads him to carelessly make the prophecy true not his destiny. 

Blog #5: Essay 1 (Final)

Katia Perez
ENGL 101—0768 Dr. Vasileiou
Essay 1 Final
10/12/12

Gattaca: Utopia or Dystopia?

The world that we live in today is full of diseases, discrimination, crimes, and warfare. Dystopia would be a good word to describe the environment in which we live in now. A dystopia is a place where the state of living is bad. On the other hand a utopia is an ideal place. In the movie Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol, the world that is portrayed shows us an apparently utopian way of life with electric powered cars, solar energy, and the choice to make the perfect baby from the parent’s best genes. Everything in the future seems to be flawless but it has its faults. In the movie Gattaca we are presented with a dystopia where discrimination plays a big part in their society. Throughout the course of our history discrimination has been a huge issue, which author George J. Annas shows to us in his story “The Man on the Moon”. Another issue that the advancements in science bring is that it is flawed and doesn’t guarantee a perfect being. The civilization where Vincent Freeman, an “invalid”, was born was the opposite of perfect. The DNA that ran through your veins is what determines whether you will be successful in your future or be part of the minority. The society shown in the film resembles the world that we live in today, a place lacking equality and freedom. The future revealed in the movie is a dystopia and an unsuccessful attempt at a utopia.

Many may say that my outlook on the world of Gattaca is unreasonable but it has many flaws that they fail to recognize. The innovative civilization in which Gattaca is located has made many improvements to the world’s environment and has limited the chances of diseases. These enhancements have been developed by higher intelligent humans that were genetically engineered. Of course this sounds perfect, a world with no disease or pollution, but is it really? Science is not perfect and has failed as shown various times in the film. Vincent’s parents were told when he was born that he would die at the age of 30 and would have a 99% chance of heart problems, but he had neither. The mission director who was what they considered a “valid”, a person who was conceived with the technological help of genetic selection, claimed he didn’t have a “violent bone” in his body. Genetically speaking he was correct, but he was in fact a violent person. This was proven when he confessed to murdering the administrator that was delaying his mission to one of Saturn’s moons. Science is flawed because it is not only our genes that make us who we are; it’s also the environment that we grow up in. Irene, an elite worker at Gattaca, was also genetically engineered. Regardless of her upbringing she still had a heart condition. Due to her heart problems she knew she was limited to the missions she would be allowed to perform.

Genetic discrimination is a huge issue that was part of this society. Vincent Freeman was a victim to this prejudice. Vincent was conceived naturally without the new technology to make him a “perfect” baby. The decision his parents made affected his future even before he was born. “They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness. They don’t say that anymore.” In their society, discrimination was not by race but in fact by genes. Children that were conceived naturally were often called several names such as godchild, invalid, or degenerate. Job opportunities were limited to the people who weren’t born genetically engineered. Vincent said, “My real resume was in my cells”. He was correct. Some job interviews simply consisted of a blood or urine sample. It didn’t matter how smart you were, if you didn’t have the right genes you weren’t qualified for the job. In order to fulfill his dream to go to space, Vincent had to take on the identity of someone else who was “valid”.

In the society revealed to us in the film, history is repeating itself. Numerous times we have seen situations similar to the one seen in the film. The story “The Man on the Moon” written by George J. Annas, talks about people being classified as “the other” in the past. Annas argues in his story, “this genocidal proclivity of the past millennium could lead to genocide on an even more horrible scale if we create a new or ‘better’ human species (or subspecies) through genetic engineering.” He is afraid that with a “better” human species, discrimination will be taken to a whole new level. During the Holocaust in WWII, millions of people were killed because they were considered the “other”. After the war the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. This document represented a goal for humanity, “the recognition that human rights are founded on human dignity and that human dignity is shared by all members of the human race without distinctions based on race, religion, or national origin.” Although in the futuristic society in the movie there is no division based on race or religion, there is a division based on genes. The goal set for humanity has not been reached and until it has, our world will always be a dystopia.

The question still remains, “Is the world presented in the movie Gattaca a utopia or a dystopia?” A world with environmental-friendly technology is not enough to consider this place a utopia. This society views people superior to others based on their genetic coding which is clearly a dystopia. It is irrational to view someone as inferior whether it’s because of their race, gender, or in this case their genes. History shows that there has always been discrimination towards people for different reasons. In a world where discrimination has always existed and people have always lived by the society’s representation of what is ideal, is therefore not ideal and essentially a dystopia.

Blog 4: Essay 1 (Draft)

Katia Perez
ENGL 101—0768
Dr. Vasileiou
Essay 1 Draft
10/07/12

Gattaca: Utopia or Dystopia?

The world that we live in today is full of diseases, discrimination, crimes, and warfare. Dystopia would be a good word to describe the environment in which we live in now. A dystopia is a place where the state of living is bad. On the other hand a utopia is an ideal perfect place. In the movie Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol, the world that is portrayed shows us a utopian way of life with electric powered cars, solar energy, and the choice to make the perfect baby from the parent’s best genes. Everything in the future seems to be flawless but it has its faults.  In the movie Gattaca we are presented with a dystopia where discrimination plays a big part in their society. Throughout the course of our history discrimination has been a huge issue, which author George J. Annas shows to us in his story “The Man on the Moon”. Another issue that the advancements in science bring is that it is flawed and doesn’t guarantee a perfect being. The civilization where Vincent Freeman, an “invalid”, was born was the opposite of perfect. The DNA that ran through your veins is what determines whether you will be successful in your future or be part of the minority. The society shown in the film resembles the world that we live in today, a place lacking equality and freedom. The future revealed in the movie is a dystopia and an unsuccessful attempt at a utopia.

Many may say that my outlook on this society is unreasonable but it has many flaws that they fail to recognize. The innovative civilization in which Gattaca is located has made many improvements to the world’s environment and has limited the chances of diseases. These enhancements have been developed by higher intelligent humans that were genetically engineered. Of course this sounds perfect, a world with no disease or pollution, but is it really? Science is not perfect and has failed as shown various times in the film. Vincent’s parents were told when he was born that he would die at the age of 30 and would have a 99% chance of heart problems, but he had neither. The mission director who was what they considered a “valid”, a person who was conceived with the technological help of genetic selection, claimed he didn’t have a “violent bone” in his body. Genetically speaking he was correct, but he was in fact a violent person. This was proven when he confessed to murdering the administrator that was delaying his mission to one of Saturn’s moons.  Irene, an elite worker at Gattaca, was also genetically engineered. Regardless of her upbringing she still had a heart condition. Due to her heart problems she knew she was limited to the missions she would be allowed to perform.

Genetic discrimination is a huge issue that was part of this society. Vincent Freeman was a victim to this prejudice. Vincent was conceived naturally without the new technology to make him a “perfect” baby. The decision his parents made affected his future even before he was born. “They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness. They don’t say that anymore.” In their society, discrimination was not by race but in fact by genes. Children that were conceived naturally were often called several names such as godchild, invalid, or degenerate. Job opportunities were limited to the people who weren’t born genetically engineered. Vincent said, “My real resume was in my cells”. He was correct. Some job interviews simply consisted of a blood or urine sample. It didn’t matter how smart you were, if you didn’t have the right genes you weren't qualified for the job. In order to fulfill his dream to go to space, Vincent had to take on the identity of someone else who was “valid”.

Altering the genes of people before they were born eliminated many illnesses but it did not eliminate the feelings people had about themselves. The people who were genetically engineered weren't all happy. They were born “superior” and had to live up to their expectations. Jerome Morrow was perfect and attempted suicide but instead ended up paralyzed from the waist down. He was one of the best swimmers but he always came in second when he should have been winning first place. His low self esteem and will to be the best pushed him to the limit and caused him to become suicidal. Genetic engineering created a competition between people whether they were valid or invalid. Nobody was equal.

In the society revealed to us in the film, history is repeating itself. Numerous times we have seen situations similar to the one seen in the film. The story “The Man on the Moon” written by George J. Annas, talks about people being classified as “the other” in the past. Annas argues in his story, “this genocidal proclivity of the past millennium could lead to genocide on an even more horrible scale if we create a new or ‘better’ human species (or subspecies) through genetic engineering.” He is afraid that with a “better” human species, discrimination will be taken to a whole new level. During the Holocaust in WWII, millions of people were killed because they were considered the “other”. After the war the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. This document represented a goal for humanity, “the recognition that human rights are founded on human dignity and that human dignity is shared by all members of the human race without distinctions based on race, religion, or national origin.” Although in the futuristic society in the movie there is no division based on race or religion, there is a division based on genes. The goal set for humanity has not been reached and until it has, our world will always be a dystopia. 

The question still remains, “Is the world presented in the movie Gattaca a utopia or a dystopia?” A world with environmental-friendly technology is not enough to consider this place a utopia. This society views people superior to others based on their genetic coding which is clearly a dystopia. It is irrational to view someone as inferior whether it’s because of their race, gender, or in this case their genes. History shows that there has always been discrimination towards people for different reasons. In a world where discrimination has always existed and people have always lived by the society’s representation of what is ideal, is therefore not ideal and essentially a dystopia.