Anthony Ramsey
Dr. Anna Patton
SLC 101
24 October 2019
Self Assessment #3
I am personally drawn to the issue of immigration especially in concerns with people of the Middle East and North Africa. When it comes to the recent administration immigration has been a very contested topic that has caused much derision and strife in this country. The people of the Middle East and North Africa have been specifically targeted because of terrorist activity in the Middle East and because of other cells around the world. One of the reasons I am so passionate about this subject is because of my own experience in being discriminated against. Time and time again I have been discriminated against and I know how much it hurts to be considered different from someone else based off of religion or race. The other reason is inspired by my travels in the Middle East and North Africa. Ever since I stepped foot in Morocco my heart has gone out to the people of this region. I found out that they are fiercely loyal, generous, kind, and so much more. The world has successfully blotted out the good attributes of this population of people and allowed dangerous rhetoric from politicians and the media turn all Arabs into monsters they are not. No should ever be assumed to be something they are not and to take this a step further noone should be denied the human right of a safe living space because of perception.
For my Ethical Philosophy Selector results I got Simone De Beauvoir. Simone, she was an existentialist. What that means is that she believed that we all have the ability to find ourselves through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. As humans, we are all looking for who we are and decisions are how we figure this out. This ties into my issue because I have the option to choose how I help people and it allows me to find who I am as a person. Helping others is how I discover myself.
The ethical framework I relate to the most is the rights approach. This is because everyone deserves to have simple human rights. Both my personal issue and my ethical framework are directly tied because immigration and the ability to seek a better life is a human right and all people should be able to pursue it. Safety is a precious commodity and should be given to all people despite prevailing stereotypes.
My main strength was context and the following were input, includer, futuristic, and intellection. Context does not specifically relate to my philosopher,my ethical framework, or my issue but includer does relate. Includer is possibly my most important strength because it focuses on allowing all people a seat at the table. You can see this in the core of my issue. I desire to fight against inequality in immigration and gaining fair human rights for all.
The two biggest sources of power that impact immigration issues are institutional and cultural power. In concerns with institutional power, it all has to do with our government manipulating laws in favor of policies that exclude these people from our country. Cultural power is used by the majority culture to make minority cultures feel lesser than the majority. Both of these types of powers are used to exclude and target peoples who are not the same as the majority and this is not inclusive of all people.
This information I have researched plays into my service action proposal because it allows me to see how best I can help people. I have to work as a human to do the opposite of that which I have pointed out. Humans are naturally inclined to fear what is different from them and that is what fuels many issues that impact immigration. What my strengths and philosopher shows me is that I have to make the conscious choice to decide not to follow the way that the majority follows and diverge in a way that makes a positive impact.
The way relational leadership ties into social responsibility because it is ethical. We all have a responsibility as human beings to be cognizant of what is going on in our community. We all have responsibility to the people around us and all over the world. We have to work as people to better the world for everyone and that is what it means to be ethical.