Blog #1

“Is it OK to make art?” by Rhys Southan: Follow the Thread

One of the biggest things I read that stood out to me was when the author mentioned  one of the EA’s views: “Any break we take from working to reduce suffering throughout the world is like having a leisurely nap beside a lake where thousands of children are screaming for our help.” I thought this was a very powerful sentence, however, I don’t believe that good deeds are all we live for. The EA goal is doing as much good as you possibly can with your life, and while that sounds like a pretty solid way of life, I think the EA’s take it a step too far.

 

Going off of that, I began to feel frustrated reading page four of the article because of the EA’s beliefs. Yes, “EA’s want to reduce suffering and increase lifespan and happiness” but they are also saying that art is useless and that if you are an artist you should give up what you love because your ideas aren’t lucrative and are irrelevant. It is also argued by the EA’s that the supply of artists is plentiful, so they are easily replaceable anyway. What frustrated me the most was how the EA’s believe that “the only good that counts is what you accomplish over and above what the next person would have done in your place.” This tells me that they are not doing their good deeds to genuinely help people, but in fact are doing this as a competition with one another to see who can be the ‘better person’ in the end. It shows that they aren’t doing these things for the wellbeing of others.

1 Comment

  1. elishaemerson

    Your website looks great! Nice work! I enjoyed learning more about you on your About Me page. I think it’s admirable that you are working, right now. I imagine you get to meet a lot of interesting (maybe reflective?) people in an environment such as an assisted living facility.

    Your annotations look great, as well. Your reflection above is sharp and honest. I especially like this sentence, “I don’t believe that good deeds are all we live for,” for its wonderful insight and courage. Keep up the good work!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 Megan's Portfolio

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑

css.php