In her diary, Anne Frank wrote that she believed “most people are good.” Do you agree with Anne? If so, why, and if not, why not? (Echoes and Reflections)
I agree with Anne because I believe everyone has good intentions but sometimes they don’t always show them.This reminds me of the saying “Bad decisions, good intentions”. Everyone has some good qualities no matter what they do, and they have reason for what they do no matter how wonderful or horrible it is. You may not agree or understand on what they do but everyone has a bad side and are capable of doing bad things. Some people show their bad side more than others. Some people have done terrible things and they won't be considered a “good” person but you have to think that everyone has done at least one good thing in their life. For example, in the movie The Pianist the Jewish officers go against their own people but one officer saves a Jewish man from going into a camp. So this shows that people may do bad things to survive but they are still good deep down.
I read another post from a student that thought Anne Frank's opinion was wrong. I'm happy that you believe that there is some good in everyone. I also liked your reference to the movie The Pianist. I look forward in hearing more from you and your opinions of what you read and saw.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Anne Frank. My way of thinking is more along the lines of the philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau. He believed that people are born good but society makes them bad. People may be born with good intentions but the world around them corrupts them. I do believe that there are people with pure evil intentions but that those intentions to harm only came from what our world has made us think is correct. Sometimes our society forces one to act a certain way. As you referenced to The Pianist, the Nazi soldier helps out Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist. The officer wasn't allowed to help out because the pianist was Jewish, but the "good" came out of him. I also believe in forgiveness, in which a "bad" person could turn their life around. If Anne Frank could have this way of thinking, "that most people are good", even with the world around her in chaos and evil, she must have believed in forgiveness. Ultimately, it shouldn't matter if others think one is good or bad, live your life accordingly to how you want it to be. Do you think that Anne Frank believed in forgiveness?
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Anne Frank. I think you are right when you say that people have good intentions. For example, one might want to do something thoughtful for a person. However, the other person may have negative thoughts about this action and will think of it as bad. Have you ever noticed that some people can be really honest? They usually can say what they think. That means that sometimes, they can forget who they're talking to or what they're saying. This person can end up hurting another's feelings just by being honest while not necessarily having bad intentions. Little children tend to do this. Even though this can happen in some situations, honesty is a really great trait to have.
ReplyDeleteI agree that most people are good, but I would like to address the conclusion that can be drawn from this statement. If most people are good, then that would mean that there are some bad people. I think that some people are completely evil. The best example of this is Stalin. It is believed that he was responsible for up to 100 million deaths, but this great atrocity went largely unnoticed. I think that it is very sad that this atrocity is not remembered in the US today. Although the death toll was much higher than the one of the Holocaust, we do not learn much about it in school. Looking at the his goals of exterminating political opponents and certain ethnicities I do not believe that there are any convincing arguments proving that he had a heart (in the figurative sense). I think that the reason that his atrocities are not remembered in the US, and the reason why there are Holocaust deniers, is that our society is not able to accept the fact that human beings can be so evil and cruel to each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Majority of the people are very much good. But, they can decide whether to show that or not. Most people think that because others are doing so, they have to do it too. My way of seeing it is just like society. There will be people who want to stand out and not fit in and you notice immediately when that is the case. Same thing with good people. If they want to be good people, they reflect it immediately when you meet them. The people who choose not to cast that, choose to fit in with everyone else, even if they know what they're doing is wrong. They don't want to be an outcast or be disliked.
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