“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority,” (Lord Acton)
If giving even the best of people power will eventually corrupt them, as the last two novels have argued, why do we need authority at all? Why a government? Why leaders in the Church? Why can’t everyone just be a free agent entirely in charge of himself or herself?
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“What life have you, if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community, and no community not lived in praise of God.”
(T.S. Eliot: choruses from the play The Rock) “Then he turned to thanksgiving and remembered, with profound awareness, that he had great cause for thanksgiving, and that for many things. He took them one by one, giving thanks for each, and praying for each person that he remembered.” (Cry, the Beloved Country: ch. 36, p. 309) A theme one might extract from this novel is that community is an essential part of life. Without it, not only is the individual lost, but the family and even a country will break down. Bureaucracy cannot replace it. The novel depicts various groups of people (blacks, whites, poor, rich, religious, secular, children, adults, men, women) who are all longing for community: to belong. We see that it’s Stephen Kumalo’s faith community that lifts him up from complete despair. Why is community so important? Who or what is your community? How do you plan to remain in that community (or find a new one) when you graduate and move out on your own? What causes poverty? What, if anything, can a country do to alleviate it? What, if anything, can an individual do to alleviate it? (Note: Do your best to avoid what Thomas Sowell calls "stage one thinking": think through your proposals and their possible consequences based on what you know about human behavior, motivations, and life.)
React to the following quote from chapter 30, p. 261 of Cry, the Beloved Country. How might you relate to it?
“I have never thought that a Christian would be free of suffering, umfundisi. For our Lord suffered. And I come to believe that he suffered, not to save us from suffering, but to teach us how to bear suffering. For he knew that there is no life without suffering.” Read the poem “On Children” by Kahlil Gibran. What does the line “You may give them your love but not your thoughts” mean? Can parents raise their children without giving them their thoughts? Is it important for parents to instill values in their children? If so, when should such education cease?
Watch the following video about apartheid:
https://youtu.be/S7yvnUz2PLE?si=t6kLtffIvX3LflG2 Keeping that video in mind, react to Msimangu’s statement from chapter 7: “He seeks power and money to put right what is wrong, and when he gets them, why, he enjoys the power and the money. Now he can gratify his lusts...Some of us think when we have power, we shall revenge ourselves...and because our desire is corrupt, we are corrupted, and the power has no heart in it.” Why are family relationships so important to the well-being of a person? What about a country? What happens to a country when its basic unit, the family, is destroyed? What can a country, its leaders, and even everyday citizens do to rebuild and strengthen families?
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Non-Western LiteratureGuidelinesThe whole purpose of this assignment - whether you're reacting to an idea, sharing your own story, or analyzing the reading - is to discuss the ultimate issues of life. With that in mind, make sure that you: Archives
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