Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Blog 9!

Imagine for a moment that you are the absolute ruler of the planet for one week. In that week, what would you do to make the world a better place? Use your rhetorical skills to convince us that your chosen reforms will be beneficial.

15 comments:

  1. That's a lot of power to go to one person and is slightly intimidating because you want to do all the good you can, without being some maniacal tyrant who forces people to do things just because I think it's right. However, I think that one of the best things that this world could do to avoid much of the calamity that occurs around us would be to put more emphasis on the central unit of society: the family. Now I haven't really taken much time to think of what kind of reforms could be put in place to help strengthen the family (or if that's even something that an absolute ruler of the world could do), nonetheless I do believe that as people all over the world begin to understand the importance of family then many of the worlds problems would melt away.

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    1. I like that you're looking at the limitations of your job as Supreme Ruler of the World and trying to devise a strategy that works within those boundaries. This makes you look reasonable and humble (and non-Evil-Overlord-ish), which strengthens your ethos.

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  2. I would start by building unity among all nations through education and emotion. I think that people learn most effectively via music, stories or movies. So because I would be the ruler of the planet and my resources would be limitless, I would place huge drive in theaters where all people would gather every day to learn about others. I think that by building a knowledge about other cultures and peoples everyone would be happier and be able to work together more effectively. I would along with culture also show religious clips and hopefully spread the gospel joy that way. Another thing I would implement would be starting schools that supplied lunches for children in all countries. Education is imperative in ending poverty, disease and etc.

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    1. Your argument uses pathos very well . . . of course we want people to be happy! . . . and uses that pathos to reinforce its logos (happy people work together better, so more work gets done). Good job!

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  3. n my week as absolute ruler of a planet, I would ensure that there were no poor. Everyone would be in service to each other. I'm not trying to go all Democrat or anything, simply going by the gospel standard that there "will be no poor among them." Can you imagine a world where everyone served each other and saw each other as children of our Heavenly Father. The world would only have good and would prosper significantly. Need proof? Look at the many examples throughout the scriptures where the people were righteous, and they prospered. I would also eliminate temptations of any kind, in order to ensure that the people do not fall into the trap that so many have fallen to throughout history. Who wouldn't want a world full of good, love, and service?

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    1. The phrase "I'm not trying to go all Democrat or anything" made me laugh out loud . . . it shows you know your predominately-Republican BYU audience. :)

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  4. Well, I don't think there's any ONE solution to all the world problems. It seems that even good-hearted leaders who do great things and enact great policies always end up with more problems. When one issue is fixed, another one starts. But as a leader I would first and foremost lead by example. History tells us that those leaders are the most effective and respected. I would also strive to strengthen the morals of the world through teaching moral principles. If more people in the world KNEW and UNDERSTOOD commandments of God and the Golden Rules, more people would likely live them. I would also ensure that everyone had access to education, especially children. Education I feel is the key to change and becoming better. If everyone understood their history, understood better how things work, and just received an education, than everyone would be better equipped to learn from the past and become a successful, decent citizen. Everyone would be able to rise above their circumstances, whether wealthy or impoverished, and better society around them.

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    1. I'm fascinated by that last sentence: "Everyone would be able to rise above their circumstances, whether wealthy or impoverished." The idea that the wealthy also need to rise above their circumstances is new and intriguing, and makes me want to hear more of what you have to say.

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  5. Um, I really don't think that I'd be the right person for this job. Honestly, I just want to make a joke about having everything be sparkly, because I have no idea what I would do with this power. I feel like there are so many situations where a person trying to help only makes things worse. But I guess if I only had one week, I'd try an experiment of sorts. I'd take away all money. For the week I was ruling, you would do what you love to do because you want to do it. I feel like a lot of our choices, mostly with regards to career, are based partially on what we want to do and partially on what the job outlook and salary will be. For the one week I am ruling, people will do the jobs they do because they want to do them. And if they don't want to work, that's fine. I'm only in charge for a week, so really, no biggie. And instead of money, you would trade. As I think about this, I can think of many potential problems, but if you think hard about anything, you can always find possible ways for things to go wrong. So yeah, if I was the planetary ruler for one week, I would omit all money. And make more things sparkly.

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    1. Your money-free week looks a lot like the future economy that Gene Roddenberry outlined in Star Trek . . . a world where all people, by doing what they loved, would seek to better themselves and the rest of humanity. Your one-week experiment is non-threatening the way his fantasy thought-experiment was, but opens up lots of possibilities by questioning basic assumptions about economics, pleasure, and human nature. Cool!

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  6. Wow that is a big job to ask of someone! I really don't think there is one solution to the worlds problems. In fact, I honestly don't think there is a real solution at all. The reason for this is that we can change government programs, implement new laws and ideas, etc... all we want, but if the peoples hearts aren't in the right place, then it doesn't matter what we do, nothing is going to change. Heavenly Father gave us all our agency for a reason. However, despite the fact that I couldn't change the evil in the world that comes from the actions of people, there are a few things that I could change. One example of this is that I would try to provide more opportunities and improve living conditions for people in other countries. This doesn't mean simply redistributing food and other goods, but it means providing education and resources needed to help individuals begin to become self-sufficient. If more people learn how to provide for themselves and have the supplies they need to do that very thing, a cycle will begin that will effect people everywhere in the long term, not just initially.

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    1. You do a great job of addressing counter-arguments here: you acknowledge all the problems with being ruler of the world, then go on to address a specific problem that a Supreme Ruler could address well despite these limitations.

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  7. HOLY COW THAT WOULD BE SO TIGHT! But anyways, If I had one week to rule the earth I would definitely get rid of all poverty. It amazes me everyday that poverty and privileged have become silent listeners. Do you think that is fair? OMG (this is very unrealistic) but if I could; I would give everyone equal rights! Make everyone EQUAL! Have everyone gain an education and provide jobs with a steady income. I would too, have all the babies and children in orphanages be adopted so they have a family! :D Family is the most important thing in life! They help build character.

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  8. Well, I would get people to do service to one another every day: A week of service. Sure, people will groan and mumble, but there are always the naysayers. Service makes people happier and makes the lives of those affected by it better because they feel more loved, or even loved at all. I wouldn't really try to mobilize people to send food to starving countries because doing that in only a week would do more for the chaos of the world than for the feeding of starving people. A little heartless, but a week's not a whole lot of time for a mortal guy like me. Yes, I have the resources of the planet at my control, but really, that's a lot of moving parts. Give me two weeks and I would try to get programs and organizations supporting action that feeds people around the world.

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  9. Wow. Supreme Ruler of the World? That would be so cool. Part of me really wants to do the thing the Master did in Doctor Who. "Citizens of the world, rejoice! This is your Lord and Master, playing track 3" and just enjoy being ridiculously wealthy and in charge. But if I absolutely have to make the world a better place, I'd fund the projects of people that want to make the world a batter place. You can't really do much in a week, but at least I'd like to distribute the wealth a little. Funding projects (like a design for a car that runs on wind power) would help the world for years to come, even after I was kicked off my throne.

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