An Eye For An Eye And A Tooth For A Tooth Leaves The Whole World Blind And Toothless

An Eye For An Eye And A Tooth For A Tooth Leaves The Whole World Blind And Toothless
By Justin Salter
It is important to think and critique the ways in which we receive information about violence for many reasons, as it is important to do so about all information people receive. First off, it is always important to check your sources. When the media is the source of information, it is likely it has the opinion of the people funding the station in which the media source is on. Second, it is important to think about the information because a person is only hearing on side (often the winning side) of the story. Lastly, it is important to think and critique information about violence, because usually retaliation is based off of this information, and with the governments track record of lying, it isn’t unreasonable to think maybe we are going to retaliate for an illegitimate cause.
“We reserve “acts of terror” for events such as September 11 attacks on the United States, distinguishing these acts of violence from those that might be justified through foreign policy decisions or public declarations of war. On the other hand, these terrorist acts were construed as “declarations of war” by the Bush administration, which then positioned the military response as a justified act of self-defense. In the meantime, there remains an ever-increasing ambiguity introduced by the very use of the term “terrorist,” which is then exploited by various powers at war with independence movements of various kinds.” (Pg4) What we forget is that some of our actions are seen as terrorist acts to other countries. America was founded on “Terrorist” acts against the king by the colonists. The only reason it is not viewed as wrong is because we were the winning side.
In terms of “Who counts as human?” (Pg20), Butler talks about people who have experienced loss, vulnerability, grief, and mourning. This is true, but I feel that I can say anyone who takes a breath counts as human since everyone does this too. I think in terms of us, who counts as a human is who we see and interact with directly. When we hear of a death in Yemen or Egypt, we just think of it as a number not an actual person that lost their life, because it doesn’t directly affect our lives.
“Let’s face it, we’re undone by each other. And if we’re not, we’re missing something” (23.) This quote is true about those “who count as human”, because we feed off of each other’s emotions. I know that by hearing stories of residents at Emeritus, I am able to open up to them as well. It helps me connect with them, and it helps them connect with me. This connection brings us closer together which also makes us more vulnerable for grieving for each other’s losses including life. Unfortunately, with the population I work with, this is a very coming thing for me to experience. Last year a resident named Margie died and it was a very difficult time for my girlfriend (who also volunteered there) and me. It was so difficult for my girlfriend that she hasn’t gone back since because she doesn’t want to make herself vulnerable anymore. Maybe the answer to world peace is everyone getting to know each other. That way everyone would count as a human, and people would be a lot less inclined to harm each other.