Overall, this course was really enjoyable, and most importantly, it had the element of practicality. I liked how the projects that we did addressed real situations rather than exercises from a textbook. I think the course will benefit from more of these projects. The Project Report videos revealed community members’ and their impact, and that really emphasized how journalism can highlight positive things. I think, in the future, the Communications Ethics course would benefit from not only reporting on other peoples’ involvement, but reporting on one’s own (or one’s own group’s) involvement in the community. I think this will positively add to the practicality aspect of the course by doing a project that could actively get students involved (i.e. fundraising, volunteering, etc.). If it is not possible to make students actively do something, I think it would be a great idea to have students work on behalf of a non-profit organization that could use help with their website or other social media. In my Writing for Organizations course, we helped out already existent non-profit organizations by writing grants for them, and they were very eager to receive our assistance. I think that, likewise, organizations would love free help with their websites and media.
In addition to the content, I feel that a little more instruction on how to use the technology would help the course. During our Project Report videos, I felt that I could not contribute as much as my more technologically-saavy group members. In addition, I would have liked some more instruction on blogging, because I was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning of the year.
Like I said, I really enjoyed this course, and I respect that its content is made with a purpose. I think as long as the course maintains this practicality, it will always be successful and beneficial.
Here are some thought-provoking thoughts I found on ethics (the fuel behind this course!):
“I do not believe in the immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern without any superhuman authority behind it.” – Albert Einstein
“A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.” – Albert Schweitzer
“You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.” – Pearl S. Buck
Civic Action
At first, “Civic Action” can sound intimidating and overly time-consuming. While a large component of civil action involves organized groups andy advocacy for legal change (all of which are important and impactful), I feel that we can all participate in civic action in small ways. We do not need to start political movements or organize protests with thousands of people in order to positively contribute to humanity’s well-being. I think through small acts of kindness, like something as simple as helping an elderly woman cross the street, we are positively contributing to society. Our Project Report group highlighted the importance of these small acts of kindness when we documented Kimmy Woo. Although she is not finding a cure for cancer or discovering alternative energy sources, her kindness, attention to students’ budgets, and good-heartedness makes an impact on the community that ultimately affects and changes the community’s people for the better.
This website shows 21 ways to help the environment. It’s a small way of helping, but makes a statement! 21 Ways to help the environment.
In addition to small acts of kindness, I feel that civic action can be demonstrated through volunteering. This is something in which I hope to get more involved. Volunteering is something that actively changes the community, and it always seems to help the volunteer by giving him/her a broader perspective and an appreciative attitude. Every time I have volunteered, I felt good in knowing that I positively impacted the community. This website helps people find volunteer opportunities. (Click here to volunteer) I think this is a great way to give back to one’s community, and I hope to get involved with volunteering in the next stage of my life.
Lastly, I think that civic action can be taken through journalistic approaches. I think our Project Report videos revealed not only the positive community members, but also the causes with which they help. By showing the world what good people are doing and the problems that they are helping to solve, I think that these journalistic projects can inspire others to take civic action.
TED Talks
I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s TED talks. It was interesting to hear how everyone interpreted the project, and all of the topics were unique and informative. I think by hearing everyone’s TED talks, the impact that technology has on our culture becomes more overt. I think an interesting thing to note, after hearing all of the presentations, is how presentations covered problems, benefits, and possible benefits of technology and our society. By hearing the different effects of technology and its possible effects, it helped to highlight how technology is something very complicated with several ethical implications. Good job everyone!
My TED Talk
Although I initially thought I was going to do my TED talk on the implantation of the microchip into humans, I changed my topic to children and the internet. I feel that this is a very relevant and important topic to address in our society. My interest in this topic arose from my mom’s work with the prevention of cyber-bullying and education of internet safety. In addition, the show, To Catch a Predator, inspired me to find out more about this subject. Here’s my presentation:
TED Talk Description (Subject to Change)
Short and Sexy Description:
Meghan Dolan, a senior at Saint Joseph’s University, discusses the ethical issues of implanting informational chips into humans. The chips hold medical information that can be easily accessible, but they run the risk of invading one’s privacy. We do this to our dogs … should we do it to ourselves?
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This is the article that inspired the possibility for my TED Talk. I will have to put some more research into the idea, but I think this is fascinating and has great potential for ethical discussion! My topic is still subject to change.
Possible TED Talk Ideas
Here are a couple of ideas that I’m throwing around for my TED Talk …
– Many people have chips inserted their dogs to know their whereabouts. Will this become something normal for humans to do, too? What would be the ethical implications?
– How certain pieces of technology have helped or hindered our way of life?
I’m still thinking, and I’m open to suggestions!!
The Surrogates (the movie)
Here’s a look at The Surrogates‘ movie trailer:
While I did not find the acting in this movie to be particularly impressive, I must admit it helped me to see people physically acting out the actions about which I read. Being able to see the characters in their chairs as humans, looking disinterested and almost dead, made the differentiation between human and surrogate very apparent. One of my favorite scenes was when Greer (Bruce Willis) stepped out into the real world as his own self. The simple act of walking down the street makes his friends concerned for him, and we see him noticing the physical contact with passer-bys.
I preferred the book’s ending to the movie’s ending, especially in regard to Greer’s wife. I think that the book’s ending (which I have previously commented on in another post) in which the wife kills herself with a mirror in her hand leaves us with the possibly detrimental outcome of the invention of surrogates. It leaves an uneasy feeling in the reader. On the contrary, the movie decides not to kill her off, an attempt at some kind reconciliation that may be just too perfect.
Stumbleupon.com
I just discovered the website http://www.stumbleupon.com, and I am obsessed with its randomness! If you’re not familiar with the website, it asks you to check your interests, and then it generates different websites suitable for you. I thought I’d share a couple of of my RaNdOm discoveries!
1. A page that shows different countries’ flags made from food.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1W2cJR/wildammo.com/2009/09/26/national-flags-never-tasted-this-good/
2. Article on someone who vandalized his town with wool.
The Surrogates (the book)
It took me awhile to get interested in the graphic novel, The Surrogates. I am not particularly familiar with this kind of book’s format, and, at times, I wanted to get rid of the pictures and just read the text. However, after getting acquainted with the comic-book-like structure, I found the book’s message to be very powerful and thought-provoking.
One of the most powerful scenes in the book is when Greer’s wife kills herself at the end while holding a mirror in her hand. This comments on the surrogate society’s emphasis on looks and perfection. The humans in the novel are not comfortable with their own selves, because technology allows them to look differently if they seek to do so. While the novel presents an extreme case in which one can choose a whole new self, today’s technology also offers numerous ways to alter one’s appearance. As we talked about in class, appearance plays a large role in our current society, and technology such as plastic surgery fuels one constant obsession to attain perfection.
At first glance, this story seems outlandish and incomprehensible. However, upon further reflection (and points brought up during class discussion), if we try to objectively look at our current time period, we realize our technology would undoubtedly be ruled foolish and impossible by earlier time periods. For example, it is doubtful that someone would imagine that inventions would enable us to get rid of face-to-face contact; however, as we have seen, technology such as cell phones and laptops have made it possible to form connections with people without physically being with them. Recognizing this helped me to read the novel without finding it 100% fantastical and irrelevant. With that said, my personal belief is that humanity will not go to the extreme of surrogacy. I believe that only extremists would be excited by the idea of surrogates. Although our moral compasses inevitably change with technologies’ advances, I do not think the world will compromise living one’s own life, as that is the essence of humanity. 
What does it mean to be human?
Being human implies an inevitability of both birth and death. The fact that we only have a certain amount of years on the earth fuels our human motives and intentions. If, through technology, we had the capability to be immortal, I think our society would be a much less healthy place. I believe that our limited amount of time causes us to consider our actions more carefully. For instance, if someone finds out that she only has a month to live, she will probably live the last month with a higher regard for morals, an attention to loved ones, an acute awareness of her actions, and perhaps a greater call to spirituality. This awareness of time causes us to live more thoughtfully than earlier times in our life. If we could live forever, a month’s time, a hundred years, or any amount of time would have little worth, and values such as love, spirituality, and forgiveness might not develop.
Bruce Schneier states, in his article, the extreme effects of technological advances. The tone of his article suggests that technology has the capability to become invasive on human life. Can technology infringe on the human being’s essence? I believe that it has the capability to do so. I think that technology should help our lives, but it should not change our essence. In response to Nick Bostrom, I do not think that we can entirely change human nature. Human nature, and its imperfections, allow the world to function. Ideally, I wish that everyone could be happy, kind, and peaceful at all times; however, mistakes allow for learning and sins allow for absolution. To be imperfect is to be human, and I think that is something that will never change. We cannot (and should not) change our nature, but that does not mean we should not change our responses to our innate desires.
“It has become appallingly obvious that technology has exceeded our humanity.” – Albert Einstein
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