1. the human race
2. the quality of being human
3. kindness or mercy
4. (Philosophy) (plural; usually preceded by the) the study of literature, philosophy, and the arts
Being human, or having humanity, lingers around the fact that we can feel, feel kindness and mercy. Human beings can feel regret, fear, remorse, empathy, and joy. Humanity also lies in our morals and ethics, what is believed to be right and wrong. We are probably one of the few creatures on earth that consciously decide to act a certain way; it could be because of our morals or pure greed but we do act for specific reasons. Other animals may go on instincts and live day to day finding food and getting away from predators. We, however, live trying to better society, making conscious decisions to either act or not to act on our primal instincts. This is how humans differ from the rest of the world. This is what it means to be human.
In this book, Sold, by Patricia McCormick shows little humanity. Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl that is forced to live in shame. She lives in shame, not only because she is sold into sex slavery, but also because she is a girl. Once Lakshmi got her "first blood," she was treated completely different. She now had many more rules set for her, so many more restrictions because of her gender. "Never look a man in the eye. never allow yourself to be alone with a man who is not family (15)." This quote shows how sexist this community is. This is not humanity,not the way I see it anyway. This will not further our world into better outcomes, it may only destroy it. "Once you are married, she says, you must eat your meal only after your husband had his fill. Then you may have what remains (15)." This shows no empathy, no kindness or mercy. This is not what being human is about.
Being human, or having humanity, lingers around the fact that we can feel, feel kindness and mercy. Human beings can feel regret, fear, remorse, empathy, and joy. Humanity also lies in our morals and ethics, what is believed to be right and wrong. We are probably one of the few creatures on earth that consciously decide to act a certain way; it could be because of our morals or pure greed but we do act for specific reasons. Other animals may go on instincts and live day to day finding food and getting away from predators. We, however, live trying to better society, making conscious decisions to either act or not to act on our primal instincts. This is how humans differ from the rest of the world. This is what it means to be human.
In this book, Sold, by Patricia McCormick shows little humanity. Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl that is forced to live in shame. She lives in shame, not only because she is sold into sex slavery, but also because she is a girl. Once Lakshmi got her "first blood," she was treated completely different. She now had many more rules set for her, so many more restrictions because of her gender. "Never look a man in the eye. never allow yourself to be alone with a man who is not family (15)." This quote shows how sexist this community is. This is not humanity,not the way I see it anyway. This will not further our world into better outcomes, it may only destroy it. "Once you are married, she says, you must eat your meal only after your husband had his fill. Then you may have what remains (15)." This shows no empathy, no kindness or mercy. This is not what being human is about.
No comments:
Post a Comment