Writing Feedback / Summary/Response: Kant's Public and Private Use of Reason [4]

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Balanced Freedom

With music being such a staple in youth culture, it seems that each teenager has a soundtrack to their life. But, are they just innocently listening to their favorite tunes? Or are they in for something more? In the media it seems that certain groups that are affiliated with particular genres of music, often seen with styles such as hard-rock/heavy metal, are pinpointed when something within their community goes awry, as having been strongly influenced by the music they listen to. The 1950's was a time of social change in the youth of society. This change was a result of the Rock-and-Roll music that originated in the 1950's. Rock and Roll gave teenagers the freedom to develop independent ideas from those of the older generation, and it allowed for conformity among members of the younger generation. Through the eyes of Immanuel Kant, an 18th-century German philosopher, balancing the utilization of both public and private use of one's reasoning are ideas to pursue in order to gain acceptance of Rock-and-Roll music in society.

William J. Bennett, a fan of early Rock-and-Roll music and a guitarist of the 1950's, suggests Rock-and-Roll music is anti-authoritarian in his essay, "What Hath the Beatles Wrought? Rock-and-Roll and the Collapse of Authority." He explains in the sixties that rock music is built "on icon-smashing, rebellion, and a heavy whiff of sex," however; he still considers rock music a form of art. Bennett also believes Rock-and-Roll music is a way for the youth to express themselves, to rebel and push the limits. He viewed this as a problem because adults failed to be responsible to their children to provide guidance toward rock music in the correct direction. The irresponsibility from the home led to a collapse in authority and disastrous consequences and expanded into corporate boardrooms. Bennett concludes that "in an increasingly nihilistic cultural environment that says there are 'No Limits,' it's not surprising that some rock-and-roll music-like so many other things-has gone too far." Thus, leading to the question "Could we have enjoyed the good aspects of rock-and-roll revolution without eventually ending up with the trash we now face in the 1990's?"

The public use of one's reason deals with oneself as a freethinker. This type of reason is nonrestrictive to the individual. Public reason should be free if the public is to become open-minded only if they are to rely on their own reason without the guidance of another. The musicians and artists fall into this type of reason by their self expression through the sound and lyrics of rock and roll. Rock music is a form of art that as revolutionized from a sooth rhythm to hard driving bass, fast tempo, and drums create a rhythmic mix sounding like something about to explode. This freedom of speech resulted from the common emotions of the youth "to rebel and push the limits." According to Bennett, "Rock deserves an honorable mention on the list of little innovations that eventually convinced the residents of Eastern Europe that they could live more interesting lives without communism." Although Rock-and-Roll music played some good roles in society, it pushed the boundaries of morals by uses of explicit lyrics influenced by drugs, drinking, sex, and rebellion.

The private use of one's reason, on the other hand, may often be very narrowly restricted without the use of one's opinion. In private use one must obey otherwise the completion of the task is impossible. The freedom of speech is taken forbidden and one must obey. The roles of parents, the government, and record companies take part in this position. Parent must take the responsibility of their children to give proper guidance toward the views of Rock-and-Roll music. This is one of the reasons why the youth is pushing the limits. The youth have to rely on external sources for knowledge thus questioning "Why not?" do drugs, drink alcohol, have sex, and be irresponsible. The government should also take responsibility for the collapse of authority. They could have enforced censorship of explicit rock music to the minorities, but nobody is there to teach them, except their environment exposed to rock and roll. The record companies take part, but they are more concern with making profits. According to Bennett, record companies stated "We happen to be and industry [rock music] that runs fast, it runs hard, it sells the manifestation of the rebellion that kids need to exercise. I mean, it's their job to rebel and we that that rebellion." The lack of direction from parents, the government, and record companies contribute to the disastrous consequences. They must follow Kant's concept of private use of one's reason because without reason their purpose to lead the youth is unlikely to be fulfilled.

Competence is the balance of both public and private use of one's reason. The musicians, artists, parents, government, and record companies must know how to determine when it is right to obey and right to argue. In terms of social obedience it is often necessary, but any effort to delay the public's free use of reason should be forbidden. By society taking up their roles everyone as a whole will move closer to acceptance of Rock-and-Roll music.

Referring back to question, "Could we have enjoyed the good aspects of rock-and-roll revolution without eventually ending up with the trash we now face in the 1990's?" The answer is "Why not?" With the use of Kant's idea of public and private use of one's reason society can enjoy the revolution of Rock-and-Roll music. The balance freedom from society puts out many ideas of individuals to moderately change culture. New limits are met with each enlightened generation by the equilibrium of public and private use of reason. The movement of culture progresses forward, setting the bar higher to reach new "culture breaks."

Writing Feedback / Problem Solving Essay:Contradicting Characteristics-Correct my essay [5]

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Contradicting Characteristics

"Perfection does not exist - you can always do better and you can always grow" (Les Brown). When one possesses problems there is always room for self-improvement because nobody is perfect. When one makes the decision to strive for excellence it can be a challenging goal to accomplish. The ideal is a conception of something in its perfection (Webster's Dictionary). Felix Acosta features many imperfections that need attention inorder to meet the ideal of honesty, courage, and kindness. As of now, Acosta is no way near the ideal as he displays dishonesty, cowardice, and unkindness throughout his life. With his current approach of life, it affects those around him and especially himself. If there is no attempt to improve his habits, he shall live with the guilt and shame. Felix Acosta should take the initiative to meet the ideal of honesty, courage, and kindness by being selfless, charitable, confident, open-minded, and considerate.

Acosta's lack of honesty contributes to the problem of affecting himself and others. The dishonesty that Acosta displays is mostly motivated by his greed or selfishness. During his middle school years, Acosta was a con artist. He played card games and sold compact discs and food to other students in turn for money. The act of selling items and gambling were against school policy, however, Acosta did not seem to care. Eventually, Acosta was caught and suffered the consequences. Acosta was untruthful to his fellow students by being selfish and greedy to earn a buck. This is seen as a problem that limits Acosta from the ideal because he lies to his peers by cheating them.

The cheating that Acosta pursues is for unnecessary satisfaction of wealth. Acosta would be able to avoid this situation if he adopted characteristics of being selfless and charitable. With developing the habits of selflessness and charity, Acosta's situation during middle school would be completely opposite. The establishment of unselfishness and giving contradicts the greed and selfishness for Acosta's dishonesty. For Acosta to acquire selflessness and charity he must follow a process. He must take time to evaluate his actions before he acts to cleanse his setbacks. Acosta must think about the motivation he has to for what he is going to do. By evaluating his actions based on the criteria of selflessness and charity Acosta can determine if his act is favored or opposed toward the ideal. Finally, he must arise with his decision that makes him closer to the ideal. Acosta must repeat this process over and over every time he has to tell the truth for it to become a habit. He can practice being honest on the simple things first, such as telling his parents where he actually going. By applying honesty to the little things, Acosta will get in the habit of being honest in general. Taking the route towards the ideal will bring him much closer to his goal, but taking the wrong route would hold him back. This proposal is a necessity for Acosta to be able to better himself towards the ideal.

For Acosta to meet the ideal, the strengthening of his courage is essential. Acosta possesses fears of what others think. He often hesitates to do actions because of what society might view him. When creating ideas he usually does not like to share because he doubts himself that his ideas are dull or incorrect. Acosta's deficient courage affects mostly himself. Not taking risks because of what others have to say restricts him. Acosta's lack of courage is due to the shyness and narrow-mindedness he has. For Acosta to overcome this problem he needs to be confident and open-minded. The uncertainty to whether or not to speak results with Acosta's lost of opportunity to meet the ideal.

Although Acosta misses opportunities to better himself, there is still time to redeem himself with confidence and open-mindedness. In order for Acosta to overcome his fears of sharing his ideas, he must be willing to take risks. By taking risks he is able to adapt himself by consistently doing what Acosta fears. Thus, it must involve Acosta not passing up any opportunity to express himself. When it is time in class to share ideas Acosta must try volunteer first instead of waiting for the instructor to call on him. When Acosta expresses himself he must do it with confidence and open-mindedness by speaking out loud, standing tall, and not thinking how others view him. Acosta must not think because if he thinks too long, he will not act on his thoughts. Again, developing skills takes practices. Acosta must repeat these steps to make over coming his fears second nature. With these two characteristics, Acosta's fears of expressing his ideas are eliminated. By having these qualities Acosta would be able to speak and share his mind without fear. If Acosta strives to become more courageous, he must be confident and open-minded towards life.

Being kind is something Acosta has exceeded throughout his life; however, he often expresses his rudeness to others on days he feels horrible. A clear example was when Acosta was heading to his class and was approached by his fellow classmate to know how was Acosta's weekend. Instead of starting a conversation, Acosta continued heading to class by completely ignoring his classmate, as he was a ghost. This is an issue for Acosta and others because the treatment he gives to others is unacceptable when they try to be friendly. In order for Acosta to meet the ideal of kindness, he must accept the quality of consideration. The disrespect that Acosta exhibits is a problem because it harms others emotions.

Before worrying about how Acosta feels, he must be considerate. When Acosta encounters people who want to start a conversation or give a simple greeting Acosta should be understanding. By changing his point of view to others Acosta can realize how he hurts other if he stops to think before he acts. But the most important piece of advice for Acosta to follow is to treat others, as one would like to be treated. By Acosta living to that golden rule he will adopt the quality of consideration. To live by that rule Acosta can start by being happy. He must fill his mind with positive thoughts to raise his self-esteem. Acosta should start small by complimenting others by saying, "Oh, I love your shirt." or, "Your shoes are awesome." If someone compliments Acosta, he should say thanks and continue what he was doing or compliment them in return. A way Acosta can make kindness a habit is to try every once in a while to volunteer to help at a hospital or children center. With consideration towards others Acosta is able to at least greet others when feeling down. By being considerate, Acosta is aware of others' emotions and not being a jerk to those around him. Thus, by Acosta developing the habit of consideration, it shall bring him towards meeting the ideal.

In society nobody is perfect. It is nearly impossible to be perfect, as all contain at least a single problem. There is always room for improvement to meet the ideal of honesty, courage, and kindness. Although the climb to achieve one's goals to become the ideal is steep, it is worth every step. As others in society, Felix Acosta possesses issues, such as dishonesty, cowardice, and unkindness that confine him from meeting the ideal. But with the dedication to adopt qualities of selflessness, charity, confidence, open-mindedness, and consideration Acosta is able to attain status of the ideal self. With Acosta's achievement of meeting the ideal, this shall affect those around him by providing a fantastic world.