Freedom through Service

In reading Rethinking Freedom, I identified most with Murdoch’s vision and version of a real and tangible freedom. A freedom that involves a sense of realization and adaptation towards a reality relative to one’s own experience, value judgment, ethical point of view, and lifestyle. I believe that that this relative freedom can only be accomplished through how one acts upon or reacts towards the people around them and the environment that surrounds them. To Murdoch, “being wide-awake and seeing clearly are not the same…Seeing clearly means not so much seeing through or seeing past the reality of everyday life but seeing all the spaces and places within everyday life where alternative ways of living and being… are possible” (98)

Being in the classroom has helped me open my eyes to a much more important perspective, towards the very impressionable point of view of the students in the classroom. It is a very diverse point of view of whom will have very diverse homes that support and shape each individual perspective. And recognizing my identity as their teacher-figure has helped me see clearly, realizing that having that identity opens up doors towards achieving a more real and tangible freedom especially within the classroom.

Even in costume, I feel free being able to walk around the tables and help students that need help. In doing so, they react positively; they interact, and learn – creating reaction to my actions. This example of freedom is tangible, it’s quantitative, and it’s real. I believe “Freedom has little to do with choosing between one value and another; instead, freedom is the freedom to act in accordance with the values one already possesses” (90). In teaching these younger students, I’ve noticed that lessons are most effective when [the students] can apply them simply themselves towards experiences within their own lives. The students are free to integrate real life experience in their own imaginative ways: another Murdoch moment.

Working With An "Out-Group"

Working with homeless children at Homeward Bound has been a very eye-opening experience for me. The children I work with defy any previous stereotypes I had of homeless people. If I saw them outside of Homeward Bound, I wouldn't even be able to tell they were homeless. Although it is hard to relate to them sometimes because I am not homeless, I can still relate to them because I am human. According to Kwame Anthony Appiah in Cosmopolitanism, "Once we have found enough to share, there is the further possibility that we will be able to enjoy discovering things we do not yet share" (97).
One of the things I have discovered from working with homeless children is that they are very similar to children who are not homeless. This is because they both share human characteristics of children. They even act similarly to the way I did when I was their age. Even though they may be strangers to me, "the warmth that comes from shared identity will...be available" (98). I believe that even if these homeless and non-homeless children met, they would still find that they share an identity: that of being children, and that of being human.
However, one could define the homeless as being the "out-group" of those who do have homes. But from the perspective of the homeless, they might consider the "out-group" to be those who have homes. In either case, they share identities with those within their own groups, such as family and friends. Perhaps they even gain strength from the fact that they share similar characteristics with those in their in-group, whether it is having a home or not having a home.
Could you define the group you are working with as an "out-group?" Is it necessarily a bad thing to be part of this "out-group?" What could be some possible benefits from belonging to an "out-group?"

Dependency

The below response is one of my most recent responses.
For this response I have been thinking about my community service and whether I would like to continue or not. It has taken a lot of my time recently but I like the fact that I am helping other people. There is part of a sentence that I thought fit perfectly with how I have been feeling, “…the knowledge that one is dependent on the will of others,” (73) is really true.
Community service and helping others to me seems just like the above quote. The "will of others" is the person that is doing the community service. The one that is dependent is the person and the organization that you are helping. Organizations that depend on volunteers helping them, are relying on those individuals and their generosity. After only spending one time at St. Vincent’s de Paul Dining Hall and volunteering in the kitchen I have noticed that things would not get done if certain people weren’t around. For example there is a guy there whose name is Eddy. Eddy is a volunteer. He depends on St. Vincent’s for his daily living. However, even though he depends on St. Vincent’s, St. Vincent’s also depends on him. He is the person that makes sure that the Dining Hall is organized the way that it should be. He stays at the Dining Hall even after everyone has left. He makes sure that the bread in the Dining Hall is put away properly and takes out the garbage if there is any left. But Eddy isn’t the only one that St. Vincent’s depends on. It is all of the volunteers.
I noticed that while I was in the kitchen there was a lot of disorganization. Not just in communication but also in the way that produce and canned food is taken care of. The canned food is on shelves but it is not organized in any way. Someone, like myself, who has only been there a couple of times, would go out of their mind trying to find the right can of tomatoes.
Even though St. Vincent’s de Paul has been there for many years, there are still things that need to be worked on. But that is were I start to think about whether I should continue or not. Everyone that I was working with loved the fact that I was there all day and also liked it because I was able to take care of things that they used to do. I don’t just want to leave them hanging which is how I feel if I don’t go back there again. But then the next question is how much do I want St. Vincent’s to depend on me?