“Here I mean only to point out that service might be good for me (doing the serving), it might be good for them (being served), it might be good for us (as a society), or, weirdly enough, it might be good for God (though this would seem to be presumptuous to the point of impiety). “
Why would people ever suspect the intention of someone who is dong “good”? Does the inner reason weight much more than the outer result from that good behavior? Does someone doing good because he wants to seek for a spiritual peace with himself or even to feel good about himself somehow trivialize his action? “Why serve? Here are five reductive answers: (1) we are God’s children; (2) we share the earth; (3) I find myself in you; (4) I win praise by serving you; (5) I suck.” These five reasons seems repetitive with the paragraph above, but I see it as a good summary of the reasons why people do what they do. No matter what is the reason for people to do good, we cannot diminish the significance of one action just because it has a reason that is not as “noble” as the other. “We do not like to be seen as hypocrites and we certainly do not like to see ourselves as hypocrites. So when we say that everyone is equal, we want to believe it.” “The personally responsible citizen acts responsibly in his/ her community by, for example, picking up litter, giving blood, recycling, volunteering, and staying out of debt. The personally responsible citizen works and pays taxes, obeys laws, and helps those in need during crises such as snowstorms or floods. The personally responsible citizen contributes to food or clothing drives when asked and volunteers to help those less fortunate whether in a soup kitchen or a senior center. S/he might contribute time, money, or both to charitable causes. Both those in the character education movement and many of those who advocate community service would emphasize this individualistic vision of good citizenship. “ This paragraph above really resembles reason No.2 that “we share the earth”. It ponds on the necessity that each people share a responsibility as citizen to do good to their community. Which is not entirely false, but to me, being responsible is just doing what we should, what we are supposed to do. While true good actions is doing what we are not obliged to do but would like to do it anyone for the sake of other people’s as well as oneself’s benefit. Research Resources.1 I found the Berlin Themed Books(http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/city-lit-ten-berlin-books/) really helpful in supporting my project. Even though I have not entirely determined my topic and focus, I was thinking about researching on the expression through literature, arts and graffiti by immigrants in search of own identity and sense of belonging. The books mentioned in the website help me get a general idea of Berlin’s environment and show me a glimpse of life in Berlin even though I have never been there. “Historians have praised the novel for its historical accuracy so if you would like a meticulous portrait of Berlin as the centre of the Nazi regime, look no further.” The book The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell particularly interests me. I am dying to read it and see for myself how vivid, gripping Berlin is. “I loved the easy, carefree philosophies, the cheap jazz, the vulgar cabarets and all of the other cultural excesses that characterized the Weimar years and made Berlin seem like one of the most exciting cities in the world.” Research Resources.2 The Chronicle of the Berlin Wall(http://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/en/) also provides me with many useful information in forming my idea of the project. It presents me with detailed view of the history of Berlin Wall and the timeline allows me to see the importance of the Wall in German history and the story happening around also worths digging. “Between 1961 and 1989, at least 139 people were killed at the Berlin Wall or died under circumstances directly connected with the GDR border regime.” Victims of the Berlin Wall is not inclusively enough. Besides those who actually died because of the Wall, many more suffered from separation and persecution due to the existence of the Wall.
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