“I define a ‘good
person’ as somebody who is fully conscious of his or her own limitation. They
know their strengths, but they also know their ‘shadow’—they know their
weaknesses,” said by John Bradshow, a famous America educator. “Good” is a term
used in the world for more than ten centuries. Sometimes we think we know “good”
explicitly, but mostly we don’t. For me, good is a term always couple with
evil. Good and evil are inseparable. If you want to be good, you should first
polarize good and evil by learning what is good as well as what is evil.
One of the best
examples used to illustrate my idea of good is Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela
was born into the Madiba clan in the village of Mveza on 18 July 1918. His
father died and his young Rolihlala became a ward of Jongintaba at the Great
Place in Mqhekezweni when Mandela was 12 years old. After Mandela graduated
from University, he fought for non-racial constitution. On 11 June 1964,
Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in Robben Island. Later Mandela was
not even allowed to attend his mother’s funerals in 1968. In 1990, Mandela was
released after the prohibition of the ANC and the PAC. After he was released,
he did not feel hatred to the whole. Instead, he felt grateful. Why? Because he
had already experienced the evil throughout his whole life. He knew the
limitation and strength of both good and evil. He felt comfortable and calm to
his life, his country and more importantly, his faith. He is good!
To be good is
not simply to be innocent and positive. On the other hand, to be good is to be
experienced and calm under any situation.
I appreciate your way of thinking Ealan. Once again, I hadn't contemplated on how experience and personal limitations could be an aspect of what is good. This has gotten me to reflect and add to my thoughts what can be perceived as good. It is difficult to see how there can be good without the existing bad.
ReplyDeleteI like how you define good as the knowledge of limitation. This allows a person to do a mistake but still be "good", rather than having them be classified as bad for one act. Because if we were considered bad because of one action, no one and nothing would be considered good. This is very insightful!
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas about knowing the evil. I agree that although people make mistakes, it doesn't mean he or she is not good or just evil. People sometimes make mistakes or experience bad condition, but the most important thing is to be calm, become Good and avoid mistakes. No one is perfect, but the process of seeking rightness is good.
ReplyDeleteYour perspective of good and evil is really interesting. Although nobody could be absolutely good person, they still learn what is good from experiencing evil things. However, there are a lot people who is between good and evil. They sometimes did good thing and sometimes did bad. Making a choice always has a negative effect. How could good people avoid bad influence of their decision?
ReplyDeleteI really like that you use Nelson Mandela as your example and your idea about good is always an idea coupled with evil, since I also believe that goodness can be separated into different parts due to the ways people approach that concept is so different.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you use Nelson Mandela as your example and your idea about good is always an idea coupled with evil, since I also believe that goodness can be separated into different parts due to the ways people approach that concept is so different.
ReplyDeleteI like the quote you have in your first paragraph ---- "to know one's limitation". Sometimes when people face moral questions, they tend to play god, to choose the answer that's morally correct. So they are often considered good. However, people who make choices based on their own benefit become "bad people" because they do not care for others. Personally, I think the judgment is very wrong. These people know their limitations and they do not interfere with things out of their ability.
ReplyDeleteGood and evil both have two sides.
DeleteI really agree with your point that good is to know one's limitation, that good coexists with evil. When we enjoy the goodness of the world, we at the same time must embrace the evil side. Ideas and issues should not be absolutely rejected as unethical simply because the element of evilness is involved.
ReplyDelete