Belonging in Society essays

Belonging in Society essays Belonging is important for our growth to independence; even further, it is important for our growth to inner freedom and maturity. It is only through belonging that we can break out of the shell of individualism and self-centredness that both protects and isolates us. However, the human drive for belonging also has its pitfalls. There is an innate need in our hearts to identify with a group, both for protection and for security, to discover and affirm our identity, and to use the group to prove our worthiness and goodness, indeed even to prove that we are better than others. It is my belief that it is not religion or culture at the root of human conflict, but the way in which groups use religion or culture to dominate one another. Let me hasten to add that if it were not religion or culture that people use as a stick with which to beat others, they would just use something else. Are human beings basically evil? The French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, maintained that love is only one person's freedom eating up another's freedom. Are we all called to live and die in conflict? Do all our generous acts merely conceal the need to be superior to others? Sartre leads me to my main point: What is the need to belong? Is it only a way to deal with personal insecurity, sharing in the sense of identity that a group provides? Or is this sense of belonging an important part of everyone's journey to freedom? Is the sense of belonging akin to the earth itself, a nurturing medium that allows plants and trees to grow and to share their flowers and fruits with all? A group is the manifestation of this need to belong. A group can, however, close in on itself, believing that it is superior to others. But my vision is that belonging should be at the heart of a fundamental discovery: that we all belong to a common humanity, the human race. We may be rooted in a specific family and culture, but we come to this earth open up to others, ...

Meeting with the principal

Meeting with the principal I walked into his office. The look on his face was distasteful. He made me feel inferior to him. I didn't feel welcome, or even accepted. I sat. He gazed into my tired eyes, and he asked me the following, "What's going on?" How am I supposed to respond to this sort of question? If I say "nothing," it's a given that there is something. I reply with a comment, which is very versatile, "Not much, and yourself?" He gives me a look of disappointment. The kind of look you get when your parents find out you've been skipping school for the first time. He turns his back to me. I hate it when they do that. They always think you are going to be sitting there waiting for them to turn around. Like you think they are the most important person in the world. I don't do that though, I just admire all the pictures and quotes on his white walls.English: The International Space Station is featur...Yeah, if he actually believed in all these sayings he wouldn't be working here, I think.I try to do a play by play in my head of what I am going to say to him. I don't know why I do that it never helps. I always end up shooting off my mouth, and getting into trouble. He turns back around and informs me that I was absent this past Friday. Like I don't know. "Sir, I had a note for Friday." "Yeah, we'll see about that." is coldly shot back into my face. This is the part I love. I know that I turned in a note to him, and now he is going to be wrong. Something I always like to witness, I like to see people like him show some humility once...

Summary and reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary and reflection - Essay Example rt posting as it is emphasized that the success of this company was due to their decision to hire a professional consultant to learn how to achieve their objectives most efficiently. Success is measured by the company’s ability to achieve retail distribution of their products as a direct result of the mommy bloggers who had reviewed them. The article then begins to provide the benefits of working directly with blogging. To begin with, customers are able to test the products and help define the target market. By distributing sample products among the bloggers, companies are able to take advantage of impromptu focus groups and promotional opportunities while also giving the bloggers something to talk about rather than simply trying to insert an advertisement. This leads the author to write about some of the things to avoid when marketing to bloggers. Although it may seem second nature to hide one’s true intentions, the author suggests it is best to be up front and honest with them and the bloggers will help you form online relationships. Another important point is to avoid sending out mass emails that are inappropriately targeted or lie regarding your activity, which can be easily traced. One strong way of getting your news out to bloggers is to host a blogging event with giveaways that provide women with a mean s of meeting each other as well as giving them a reason to talk about your products or services. The information in the article really makes it clear how the internet is forcing us to return to a more honest means of dealing with each other. It recommends working with the so-called Mommy blogs as a means of gaining instant access to the consumers most likely making the purchasing decisions, which seems like a great idea. However, once you’ve lied to them or made them angry with you in some way, you risk losing as much or more of the targeted audience. It’s also important to remember that it’s very easy for these bloggers to check your