Old Fashion Manners

The world round there is a desire for the return of old fashion manners to our everyday lives. Bad manners have crept into our daily behavior as our lives have become increasingly digital, and as a result, impersonal. The fast-paced, digital world, we currently live in has caused us to lose sight of the formalities of personal interaction, much cherished in simpler times. Basic etiquette has been eroded even in situations that call for us to make a good first impression or to be on our best behavior. A recent study conducted by an Irish dating website found that 59 percent of Irish daters consider bad manners a turn off on a first date, meaning that men and women aren’t even trying to make that good first impression when it counts. We’ve forgotten how to try to put our best selves forward and how to show basic respect to those we interact with. We must not forget our roots. The importance is not so much in the action itself, but rather the respect the action signifies.

            Gone are the days when you would see a man stand up when a woman comes to and leaves a table. Last night while dinning with friends, a woman left the table. Not thinking, I stood up as I was raised to do. My friends stared at me with confusion wondering why I was leaving when the meal had just begun. It was then that I realized these old fashion manners, which were so important in years past, had been forgotten as our society has become less personal. And more importantly, the respect behind these actions has been forgotten as well.

            Whether it be standing when a woman leaves a table or holding the door open, these actions are about acknowledging another person’s presence as they come and go from our lives. In this modern society, we are satisfied with a text message or e-mail. We have slowly progressed—or rather regressed—in a world that has become increasingly digital and impersonal.

Prior to the infestation of these digital tools—from computers to cellphones—we had to make an effort to keep in touch with friends. Get-togethers and letters—tasks that required physical effort and a certain adherence to social constructs—were required to keep personal relationships thriving. With the advent of the telephone, maintaining relationships became easier, albeit less personal. Now even talking on the phone is considered by some to be too much of a hassle. Text messaging, e-mail, Facebook, and now even Twitter have become the new, everyday forms of communication. With each new communication technology, the amount of human contact we engage in, as well as the effort we put in to such contact, has dwindled and with it the ability to acknowledge and respect another’s presence in our lives.

            We have even come to the point when these old fashion manners are looked down upon, despite the fact that, at their core, they are just a show of respect. When asked why I had stood up, I answered because a lady had left the table. I was greeted with a sea of bewildered and judgmental looks. My action was perceived as outdated and out of place in this casual gathering.

Despite this judgment from my peers, I believe it was the right and necessary thing to do and I will continue to do it as a sign of respect. Yes, it was how I was raised. These behaviors are ingrained, and ones of which I am proud. These old fashioned manners have been around for centuries, but only recently have we started to judge them as outdated. There is a reason they endured through time and across cultures. Perhaps we should take a moment and ponder this fact, and ask ourselves if we are right in letting technology rewrite the rules of engagement.

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/navy-reservist-surprises-son-at-home-dressed-as-darth-vader-31101965.html

Heat waves

When one thinks of a heat wave one does not think of a catastrophic super storm with the ability to kill tens of thousands. Yet, recent heat waves have been just that—lethal forces of nature that have ended tens of thousands of lives prematurely. The reason for this is a lack of infrastructure in affected areas. One of the best examples of this destructive force is the European heat wave in the summer of 2003.

“Officials struggled to keep an accurate count of the dead. But a tally of government records estimate the death toll from between twenty to thirty-five thousand people—the majority dying in the hottest period during the first two weeks in August. “[i] The hardest hit age group was the elderly. France lost “more than 14,000 of it mostly elderly population in the unrelenting heat recorded as high as 104 degrees—temperatures that didn't cool down even at night.”[ii] This was the hottest summer recorded in the northern hemisphere. Clearly heat waves, such as the aforementioned, are incredibly dangerous for the elderly and those in weak health.

What is most alarming is that scientists believe that events like this heat wave will become more commonplace as we see our climate change. Science has shown that as we continue to emit more greenhouse gases these summers will double in likelihood. Climate models suggest that by 2050 summers like this would occur every second year and by the end of the century they would be regarded as a cool summer.[iii]

As these heat waves become more common they will have huge effects on our environment. These effects include the soil losing moisture, which will bring about droughts and dust bowls—killing crops and livestock. These will have massive effects on the local and global economy and food availability.  

Not only do these severe heat waves pose an issue for our environment, but also we are clearly going to face issues with at risk groups living in regions affected by these severe storms. As Europe continues to have extremely warm summers, infrastructure needs to be put in place to protect the elderly and those in failing health; or, those considered to be in these at risk groups are going to have to leave Europe in search of a moderate climate. Europe has a huge elderly population, where will these environmental refugees go? How will this mass exodus affect the environment of the relevant area to which they immigrate? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves when we consider possible solutions to this issue.

Also consider, should these at risk groups not have the infrastructure in place to protect themselves from these heat waves nor have the ability to leave Europe; being ill or elderly would become a death sentence during the summer months. Losing twenty to thirty-five thousand lives each summer due to extreme heat is unacceptable. I submit that it is societies duty to take care of these at risks groups. It is for this reason that emergency plans need to be created and implemented at the national level in each European nation. It must be, at least, three fold; first, plans must be put into effect to ensure that residences have adequate infrastructure (I.E. air conditioning, etc.) to ensure a moderate climate during these heat waves, second, should a residence become uninhabitable a community center should be created which has the ability to maintain a moderate climate; lastly, a specialized task force, that is specially designed to assist with those who are ailing from these extreme weather events, must be created.      

It is true that issues like these will not be solved easily, nor can we say with certainty that there even is a solution to these problems. By no means is my plan a perfect; however, it is a good starting point. These severe storms have already been put into motion through the continued emission of greenhouse gases in our global past. We will see climate change manifest itself. The question is to what extent and how can we mitigate the risks.

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[i] http://articles.cnn.com/2004-08-02/tech/heatwave.europe_1_heat-wave-heat-related-problem-stagnant-air?_s=PM:TECH

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Extreme Events Due to Human-Induced Climate Change by John F. B. Mitchell et. al. 

Capital Punishment

“[T]he nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society.” – Pope John Paul II.

The Catholic Church has found a place for the use of the death penalty in modern society when it is used to defend society itself. The Church, which holds the Ten Commandments to be sacrosanct, has made an exception to the Commandment: Thou shalt not kill. It is this exception that allows me as a Catholic to make peace with my decision to pursue a career as a prosecutor where arguing for the death penalty will be something I will have to do with professional and personal conviction.

While interning at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s (DA’s) office and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Attorney General’s (AG’s) office, I have seen cases in which lives could have been saved had a violent offender been put to death. While many see prison as a secure location that removes the threat a violent criminal poses to citizens, inmates can still find ways to continue to put society at risk.

As Spanish is my first language, I was tasked with translating jail calls while working at the DA’s office. On more than one occasion, I heard inmates putting hits out over the phone. They would use phrases like “wash the red car” describing the person they wanted killed. It was eerie to hear one human being ordering another to take a life. Prosecutors also told me harrowing stories of witnesses who were murdered long after a violent offender was sentenced to life in prison. Society was still at risk even though this criminal had been sentenced to life in prison. I realized that if there was a just role for the death penalty here was an instance—the safety of society.

A prosecutor is charged with defending society from harm. Used in this capacity—and not as retribution—the death penalty should be accepted as just. The Catholic Church has put forth the same rationale. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, “legitimate defence can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another's life, the common good of the family or of the State.” The late Pope John Paul II expanded on this in his Evangelium Vitae stating, “Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life.” It is this argument that allows me to accept the use of the death penalty as a justifiable legal recourse for violent offenders.

The role of the death penalty is an issue that every prosecutor must tangle with and find a way to reconcile it with their personal beliefs and professional responsibilities. No legal professional dealing with criminal cases is exempt. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a Catholic, has faced this issue. He said, “If I thought that Catholic doctrine held the death penalty to be immoral, I would resign.”

While, yes, taking another’s life is wrong, so is allowing another’s life to be taken. When you have the ability to prevent the perpetuation of violence and save lives, taking a life is just.

The decision to argue for the death penalty is not one that I would take lightly nor is it one that I have seen the prosecutors that I have worked with take lightly. Just as the Commandment states, “Thou shalt not kill,” a prosecutor does not seek to kill. A prosecutor seeks to defend and protect.