The Ending is only the Beginning….

Over the past fourteen to fifteen weeks, I departed on a personal journey to discover my own definition of human dignity.  I was not alone in this journey called Revealing Human Dignity.  This journey encompassed the explaining of factors that contribute to different interpretations of human dignity around the world, the meaning and use of respect as an essential characteristic, and my self-worth through interpersonal relationships.  Hence, these are the major pieces of the content that I took with me to solve the great mysterious puzzle of human dignity.



My journey.  The road is long and dangerous.  There is not much to look around. 
We started with no defnition and ended with wealth of knowledge. 



The first time I heard the word human dignity, I was like “Oh I know what that is, no worries.”  However, when someone asks you, “What does it mean to you, and how do you define it?” well that made the uncertainties appear because I had no idea.  There is no formal definition of human dignity, it is only our interpretations and the theories that we can relate to it. 

Hence, nearing the end of this class I can truly say that I have my interpretation for the definition of human dignity, but then I can also say that my definition will always be changing.  Human dignity is constant, but moves at the same time.  It is as if we can never catch up to it.  We will always behind it because we can never be in front of it or with it.  Maybe it is just the way the world is, we were never meant to fully understand human dignity, but always strive for it.  Therefore, I feel the name of my journey has changed.  I am not revealing human dignity, I am revealing myself.  I am discovering who I am in this world, and how my beliefs and morals form my dignity and the dignity of others.  Human dignity is intangible and irreplaceable.

Human Dignity?  It is intangable, but you know it is there.
Just like the clouds and the sky. If everyone has a sky above them,
then maybe that means everybody has human dignity. 

Additionally, the theorist Kant has been a major contributor to facilitating my thoughts on the various topics that I have discussed about human dignity.  For instance, a good will is one that acts in accordance with rationally-determined duty.  No character trait or consequence is good in itself.  However, as good is defined in terms of rationality, Kant argued that all rational beings were ends in themselves and should never be treated purely as a means to an end.  This moral philosophy assisted me in finding the aspects to understanding of human dignity around the world, and the significance of respect and self-worth through relationships. 

Overall, I have a sense of myself.  Can you say the same about you?  Has this affected you in anyway?  Are you able to come up with your own definition of human dignity?  Yes, no, maybe, an answer does not matter because we are humans and we will always have our dignity.  There may be times that it feels as if we have none or too much.  Nevertheless, this is who we are.  We need to love and respect ourselves, and take these emotions to every single person around us.  Human dignity is never ending because we were born this way.



We are all humans and born this way. 
Human dignity is a part of us, and we will always be a part of it.
What is dignity with humanity?  

Thank you

Visualized Humanity's Dignity

What can a picture say about Human Dignity?  Can only a person or an object represent it?  For me, a picture is capable of many effects and is able to communicate volumes of humanity.  This picture was taken while I was walking around Oakland and saw the public health building, it was surrounded by  bright pink blooming trees.  I took a picture, and saw cherry blossoms in my mind and heart.  Even though this picture is not of the real thing, it reminded me of them. 

Pink blooming tree in from of the Public Health building
located in oakland across from the old Children's hospital.
This is Human Dignity invisual form for me. 

In Japan cherry blossoms symbolize the ephemeral nature of life.   The transience of the blossoms is the extreme beauty and quick death, which is associated with mortality.  For this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and can be easily utilized into the concept of human dignity.  Furthermore, they have the concept of “Mono no aware,” which means the pathos of things, an empathy toward things, or a sensitivity to ephemera.  It is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of impermanence.  It is a reminder of how precious life is and to live each day with joy and love towards others. 

Capturing this image brought numerous blissful thoughts.  I could remember the sweet scent and the pink ambience they use to engulf me.  I truly have a powerful dynamic between the subject of my picture and myself.  The power that I feel is security when I am underneath their boughs.  It is as if I have a secret relationship with the photo that no one else can understand, but me.  Moreover, the difference in using imagery rather than words to capture a moment of beauty related to human dignity is quite impressive.  My mind becomes overwhelmed when I look at a picture compared to the written word.  I can see and interpret more with a picture because I am a visualand emotional thinker. 

Human dignity to me is thought largely in a visual sense.  When I see or feel human dignity, I am more adapt to envelope myself it and delve deep into what it is saying to me.  Who knew that one picture would make me think of the transience and beauty of life like this one has made me?  Did my picture do the same for you or different?

4/5 ~ Criminals and Human Dignity

For this week’s blog, I decided to research children in the criminal justice system and how their dignity is upheld.  I wanted to do something based on the prompt “Does our criminal system uphold dignity of individuals? With examples,” however, I decided to recreate that question into my own:

Is our criminal justice system able to handle in an ethically and with human dignity, the legal and emotional issues surrounding a preteen child charged with a capital crime?  Is he/she going to be treated fairly for someone of his or her age? For instance, the crimes of Jordan Brown, Christopher Pittman, Nathaniel Abraham , and Lacresha Murray are children charged as adults, but is the adult prison system set up for children? 

I know that I am probably not able to answer all these questions in my week’s blog, but I wanted to touch on this difficult and emotionally driven human dignity question.  I do not believe that our criminal justice system upholds the dignity of children placed in the adult systems.  They are not made for children.  For example, they did not have a child sized jumpsuit for Jordan Brown when he was  convicted of killing his father’s pregnant girlfriend.  There pictures of him in the media drowning in an adult orange suit.  There was no dignity there for him, even for his crime, he still needs human dignity.  Furthermore, I still believe children can change and reform with rehabilitation.  They can be saved.  I believe in second chances.  For instance, the story of Nathaniel Abraham will serve the longest time in prison then anyone else in history.  He convicted and committed at the age of 11 and received a life sentence. 

This is a picture of Jordan Brown, the convicted 11 year old

for murdering his father's pregnant girlfriend. 

Do believe his dignity is there or taken away? 

Do believe he can be saved? 

 Look at this face and tell me what you think or feel?

In the United States, children are treated as different from adults, except when it comes to criminal law: Most laws and policies acknowledge that children are different from adults. Children cannot drive, vote, drink, or even obtain a rental membership from a video store. We see them as in need of protection from the outside world and as insufficiently mature to justify being treated as adults. But the one glaring exception to this rule comes in the context of criminal law. Children who commit crimes are often perceived as “adults” and suddenly become “adults” for purposes of prosecution, trial, sentencing, and punishment.

Nothing is fair for these children when you change the age of 11 year old and make it an adult.  Close your eyes and tell me what you see when you hear an 11 year old, and then imagine seeing the 11 year old as an adult.  You cannot do it, because no matter that 11 year old is a child, and needs to be treated as a child, so they grow and be modeled into proper citizens.  Children need love not shackles, we need to protect their dignity and make the correct changes to save their dignity before being treated as the adults.