In life, humans were created to naturally become a better version of themselves, essentially wanting to do good, trying to reach eternal happiness, finding pure love, and in attempt to follow the basic moral codes of life. There is always the question: how can of these things occur in my life? The answer can vary and is dependent upon the way us, humans, live our lives by morally doing “good” to achieve “good” in the end. Moreover, it is evident that some people in life do not follow the basic rules of citizenship, and when these rules are broken, most likely they will have a downwards spiral of an unfortunate life. It is crucial that human dignity cannot be broken because of the consequences that come with not valuing the common good of others. The topic I chose for my final essay is the importance of dignity of the human being and the commitment of the common good. The principle of the common good can be described as how humans react towards others that lead them to realize their human dignity, and as humans it is evident to strive to live a life by following the moral rules and respecting others with a positive mindset for a happy lifestyle. Some readings I have chosen from my Catholic Intellectual Tradition class known as The Book of Genesis, The Book of Exodus, and Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Book IV connects with the relation of humans supporting a common good for the goal of a peaceful society.
The first reading, The Book of Genesis, is a main, well-known reading from the bible that has countless connections with the common good of human beings. Genesis is a story about the of the creation of the world which consumes three chapters about The Creation, The Garden of Eden, and The Expulsion from the Garden. Within these chapters the moral point of the account is the effect that sin has on the first humans, Adam and Eve and emphasizes the meaning that sin has within the lives of humans today. Throughout Genesis there are many different forms of symbolism and messages that foretell the story that it is important to strive for goodness, because of the outcomes of sin. The Book of Genesis illustrates to humans that the consequences from sin have bad effects on our life which leads us to wanting good and to obey God’s commandments in the end. On the other hand, Genesis also tells how us, humans were made in the image and likeness of God: “ Then God said: let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 14) The words “image and likeness” of god has significant meaning that entails that we were each created to resemble god in a different way which separates us from any another creation He has made in the world. Being made in the image of God means that we not only should but need to respect human dignity because each one of us is made in his reflection. Moreover, by being created in the image and likeness of God, He expects humans to keep this image and respect of all his creations, especially the well-being of others.
As humans it is normal to mentally and physically sin due to our free will. When Adam and Eve broke the trust of God in the Garden of Eden by eating the forbitten fruit, there free will gave them the ability by temptation of the snake to make a sinful decision. This sinful act had consequences from God such as pain and suffering, which reflect on the actions humans make today. The story of Genesis can reflect on every human today based on all of the sinful decisions made from the choices because of our free will. It is important to value human dignity because when sinful acts are made we are not only sinning in God’s eyes but really are affecting ourselves negativity in the long run.
The Book of Exodus is an account from The New American Bible and correlates to why humans should lean toward the common, greater good. Exodus tells the story of God coming down from Mount Sinai to give Moses the 10 commandments to the people. Since this day, the 10 commandments have been the back bone of the catholic religion and have had governance over humans for hundreds of years. No matter what race, religion, gender, age, etc. the commandments show a moral guide for humans to remain respectful for one another. Human dignity and the 10 commandments go hand and hand because every single person was born into the same world, breathes the same air, has the same blood, and all experience bad and good things. Likewise, by innate nature we should have respect for one another with the help of the commandments. Each commandment created by God leads humans to living a holy, moral, and obedient lifestyle which will prepare us for a peaceful eternity.
The ten commandments cover every important action that we will come across in our lives which not only teach humans to have a relationship with God, but most importantly to value the lives of others. The commandments are of great importance because they shape human dignity and the common good of a person. For example, the 13th commandment, “You shall not kill.” (Exodus 27) can be seen as most common since it deals with both high extremity of taking the life of human to the lowest extremity of having hate in your heart for someone. Referring to the highest extremity, murder, this action takes away all forms of human dignity and is inhumane. Killing someone not only takes the life away of a person who was also created in the image and likeness of God but leaves the murderer with an impure consequence which increasingly gets worse over time. If a human has bad intentions and an impure consciousness this will reflect on their sinful actions for the future. Looking at this commandment as the lowest extremity, hatred is a strong emotion that drives humans to sin and can associate with all of the commandments in different ways. Furthermore, hate can destruct yourself and the relationships surrounded with you including both physically and mental outcomes. When I was a little girl, my mother used to say to me that when I would use the word “hate” that “hate means you want to kill” and until now I have grown and have a perception of how serious hate can destroy the human dignity of the common good. Moreover, the ten commandments are made by God to guide us through life, most importantly without any negativity in your heart, but instead the opposite love and respect of the lives of others.
The last reading that relates to the claim is The Consolation of Philosophy, Book IV by Boethius. Book IV discusses the existence of evil and all that is often present in our lives. He claims that evil people lose their humanity and “cease to exist.” Furthermore, this entails that the humans who are “wicked” are rewarded with not ever obtaining true happiness. Boethius’ views on wicked people can be associated with the claim of respecting the human dignity and the common good. When humans do not strive for the good in life, evil takes over the person which leaves room for weakness, bad intentions, and bad fate. On the other hand, this connection of the common good presents that the good people in life are stronger individuals which make them have a purpose. Humans with good intentions, a drive for motivation, and good virtues will be inclined to a life full of positivity and meaning which leads them closer to God. Fundamentally, everyone in life goes through hardships which humans can either overcome those obstacle’s and become stronger, or instead remain negative and become weak. The people who do not build on their virtue will not rise from that pain and will remain in dark place which can reflect neglecting others, losing their-selves, and perhaps performing violent acts. Boethius says this type of person who does not overcome the negativity and wickedness brought up their life will cease to exist.
In Book IV of The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius also discusses how sometimes good things can happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people. This can correlate to the idea of how us, humans will never know or come to an understanding of the events that cross our paths. By having human dignity and a positive mind, all the events that happen in our lives, either good or bad will remain good because humans will grow and learn from them. Every event in a human’s life shapes the person they become including the relationships formed, the job they have, there interests, and most importantly the way they handle those events. If good people did not have bad things happen to them they would not grow and aspire to be greater. This is why Boethius explains when good things happen to bad people it is a punishment because they might realize and be able to better themselves to become good. Conclusively, a person who values human dignity and commits to the common good of others will become stronger, happier, and better person in the end, compared to the evil, wicked, weak people who do not restore themselves.
Throughout all of the stories I have chosen, the same idea remains within them. Humans are put on this earth made in the image and likeness of God in attempt to respect one another and yourself with the free will to make those choices. There are both good and bad obstacle’s that are put in front of people, and it is within yourself to decide to remain good or bad. God guides humans with the ten commandments which help humans make good decisions to encourage peace to uphold the common good. Yes, there is physical obstacle’s, but people are also be faced with internal temptations that can merely lead to negativity and impure results. With this, there will always be a punishment with sinful acts which should be a reminder that a human can always overcome that battle and become better with the realization and the want to fix the problem they are facing. I myself, has been through many life-changing obstacle’s this year that really challenged myself, my faith, and who I was. I lost myself because I let the bad events that crossed by path make me a weak person which took over my happiness. I did not realize how deep I have fallen until other bad things snow-balled and bad choices I started making which I once before never would have thought to do. Once I have understood that I was in the lowest point of my life, I took those obstacle’s and turned my entire life around by slowly starting to become myself again instead of being weak and leading my heart with evil. The one thing I know for sure in life is that there are people placed in your life as lessons both the good and the bad. Being exposed to evil people/things can either lean a human to become tempted to the bad or make a human realize how cruel the world can be. This is why it is extremely important to value human dignity and the commitment of the common good. The stories covered in class such as The Book of genesis, The Book of Exodus, and The Consolation of Philosophy support the idea of the want to be a respectful human to yourself and to others because the effects can have consequences with great impacts. Looking back on my Catholic Intellectual Tradition class I not only got out of my dark place, but I have realized that having pure intentions, respecting others, and striving to do good will result in happiness.