Alice, Ethics, and Animals

Human's are weird. We have evolved into the most intelligent and complex species on this planet. We can manipulate our environment like no other animal on Earth. We were meant to be stewards of this planet. However, instead of using these abilities to benefit the Earth, we choose to destroy it. Common sense and compassion are replaced with selfishness and greed. There is no better way to illustrate this than to look at how we treat the intellectually inferior species that inhabit this planet. Lewis Carroll does an effective job of showing our relationship with animals by personifying them in his Alice Books.

Upon initial inspection, I thought that Carroll's use of personification with the animal characters was done so as to keep the attention of his audience. His intention of showing animals' plight in modern society didn't occur to me until I read Alice's run in with the mouse in Alice in Wonderland. After repeatedly offending the mouse by mentioning her cat Dinah, the mouse invites Alice to, "get to the shore, and then I'll tell you my history, and you'll understand why it is I hate cats and dogs." (27) However, Alice proves a poor listener, and the mouse eventually walks off upset. According to Daniel, this is "an effective way of highlighting Alice's own uncaring nature." (Daniel) Alice, much like the rest of humanity, finds it difficult to sympathize with the mouse. Its story is so small in scale that it doesn't interest her. This speaks to the theme of treatment of animals.

Carroll takes this theme even further in Through the Looking Glass. During Alice's dinner with the Red and White Queens, she is introduced to some plum pudding before taking a slice out of it. The pudding takes issue with this rude behavior, and exclaims, "What impertinence! I wonder if you would like it if I took a slice out of you, you creature!" (263). By asking his readers to empathize with some plum pudding, Carroll makes the ultimate statement regarding ethics and animals. It doesn't matter whether it is beef, pork, chicken, insects, corn on the cob, or plum pudding. Even things that don't have feelings or self awareness, whatever they are, they still deserve our consideration.

Ethics

Ethics are very important. They affect every facet of one's life, whether it be professional, personal, or academic. They build character. Most importantly, they can make you a happier person.

There are good and bad examples everywhere you look. In the business world, Warren Buffet and Bernie Madoff come to mind. The first, a modest, hardworking billionaire who dedicates his life to philanthropy. The other, a ruthless Wall St. con artist that swindled hardworking Americans out of billions of dollars. The man is a genius, but what good is that if you have no character to back it up. In Principle Centered Leadership, Covey says, "Purely intellectual development without commensurate internal character development makes as much sense as putting a high-powered sports car towards in the hands of a teenager who is high on drugs."(223) Guys like Madoff may think they're successful, but true success can only come from a foundation of good ethics and character.
I remember my first lesson in ethics. I was in fourth grade, and my class was taking a social studies test. Time was almost up, and I still had a couple answers left blank. the smartest kid in the class was sitting across from me. As he reached over to turn his test in, the light from the overhead projector hit his paper, making it momentarily translucent. I glanced at it in an attempt to get a couple easy answers, but I must have stared too long or squinted or something, because I got caught immediately. My test was taken up, and I got a zero. To make things worse, my discipline folder was signed, so my folks found out about it. Needless to say, I never cheated again. Covey says, "you always reap what you sow."(22) Truer words have never been spoken. If you cheat, especially all the time, you WILL get caught. Just ask Bernie Madoff.

Speaking Out for the Benefit of Society

Living in a democracy such as ours is something that a lot of folks take for granted. I believe James Madison said it best when he claimed,“A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.” (24). The execution of our democratic experiment starts with us, the people. Without participation on a massive scale, the citizenry as a whole is not adequately represented. We must then ask ourselves, “If the masses are not well represented in our government, then who is?”

By and large, the best represented men and women in the United States are homeowners. How does this happen? Quite simply, they vote. Homeowners are taxed on the land they live on by the government. This is of great importance in a state like Texas, where property taxes are one of the government’s biggest sources of revenue. A lot of statewide and local elections deal with issues that affect property taxes, so homeowners feel the need to have influence in who represents them. This is why they exercise their right to vote in such large numbers. However, as a whole, the enfranchisement numbers are much less impressive. This is most evident at the municipal level, where voter turnout is especially low. In the Austin Texas mayoral election of 2009, 13.1 percent of the electorate showed up to the polls (58,610 of 447,287 registered voters) . There are some very important issues facing Austin that affect all of us and the future of this city. Transportation, education, and the local economy are just a few examples. The very bedrock of our democracy is threatened when such a small amount of people can control such important matters.

For this reason, I’ve decided to start an organization dedicated to getting out the vote in Austin. There are several organizations in the area that are attempting this, but clearly they are ineffective. Vote Austin would be dedicated to spreading awareness about upcoming elections, increase voter registration, and create awareness by objectively promoting the issues at hand. Creating a voter advocacy group would be no small undertaking. It would take a lot of personal discipline, organization, multimedia communication skills, and leadership. Going to college at the University of Texas at Austin can help me sharpen the skills I need to make my leadership vision happen.

Coming back to college is a great jumping off point for my leadership vision. First of all, I wouldn’t even know what one was if it wasn’t for the undergraduate studies course I’m currently taking. UGS 302 aids in promoting leadership opportunities through various lectures and programs at UT. Furthermore, correspondence is done mainly online. By using discussion boards, blogs, and website design I’ll learn some valuable new age communication skills that will serve my leadership vision well. Reading and writing are two other valuable attributes stressed in college. Being able to read and follow instructions is vital to success in the real world. It shows that you can take initiative and can figure things out for yourself. Also, being able to write effectively will be crucial for Vote Austin. It is very difficult to get a complex message across to a wide variety of people without the ability to write well. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of writing. I would much rather take a multiple choice test, but it’s use is indispensible to the success of Vote Austin. Dass and Morgan believe, “we have to find tranquility even in the midst of trauma” (67).

One of my goals at college was to find this “tranquility” with subjects I’m not particularly fond of. Finding motivation to put forth effort for this can be difficult. There are a few science credits left that I’m not very enthusiastic about. One way to deal, according to Covey, is to , “begin with the end in mind.” because when you begin with the end in mind you, “know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” (98) . If I can visualize what I want my organization to be in the future, it can keep me focused on the present, and what I need to do to make it a reality (including doing well in “irrelevant” courses). Not to mention the objective of a university education is to become a well- rounded person, and sometimes that involves learning things that one wouldn’t seek out.

Being totally dedicated to being a well rounded person isn’t simple. In college, it’s easy to become career focused, and lose sight of the big picture. Having this “tunnel vision” approach to one’s classes isn’t productive. In fact, it can become stressful. I had this mind set when I was first attending the University of Texas. Psychology was my major of choice, but after I switched to undecided, I had great difficulty being successful. I decided to set a goal for myself when I returned to UT. Instead of being so career oriented, I would focus on enjoying all learning opportunities. It’s kind of an ongoing goal with no real timeline, but after subscribing to this theory of college experience I’ve been much more successful. In their essay “How Can I Help?” Dass and Morgan say that, “We don’t have to be “this” or “that”. We are simply free to be.” (267) How, then, can I use this liberating realization in meeting goals for the benefit of my leadership vision?

Another goal I have set for myself is raising my GPA to a 3.0. After my academic suspension, my grade point average was on life support. Since readmittance, through experiential learning and focusing just “being”, I have raised it more than a full point in one academic calendar year. I fully expect to have a 3.0 grade point average by the time I graduate in the fall of 2011. This is a good barometer for my leadership vision because it shows that I am dedicated to my future.

One more goal I have set is joining an organization at UT that endorses political participation. There are a lot of these on campus, UT republicans and UT democrats to name a few (maybe I will join both). This is a very simple goal that I can accomplish in the next few weeks. In joining a group such as this, it can further motivate me for my leadership vision by keeping me active in politics. It is also a good idea to surround yourself with like minded people that are passionate about the same things. Joseph Campbell speaks of this in “The Power of Myth”. He mentions finding one’s “bliss”, and “when you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors for you.” (253A) It would also be good experience for my leadership vision. In order to construct a political organization from the ground up, I first need to understand the structure of such an organization. It can answer such questions as: How do I get started? How do they get there message out to the public? What is the best way to approach people on such a potentially sensitive issue like politics? How do they attract new members? These are all pertinent questions for my future organization. Being a member of a student organization can aid me in developing the action plan for my leadership vision.
So how do I get started? The first goal I have for instituting my action plan is to form a mission statement. Before I can get begin, I’m going to formally scribe a list of principles that will define my leadership vision. This mission statement should clearly and succinctly identify the principles that will direct the organization and let prospective members and contributors know exactly what Vote Austin is about. Again, writing skills will be critical here. I feel that I can accomplish this after a year of being a political advocate on campus. The next logical step is to design a website to spread the message.
Launching a website is critical for my leadership vision to become a success. In today’s society, communication is easiest, more cost efficient, and more effective when done over the internet. It would be difficult to run a website while still in college, so I would hope to have Vote Austin’s website up and running in the next 2-2.5 years. Designing a website for my portfolio in UGS will help gain knowledge in this area. Another goal that needs to be set for the action plan is a membership goal.
Finding people that will volunteer their time is problematic. Hopefully, Vote Austin will have 10 volunteers within a 3 year time span. This is another instance where my experience in a student group will be beneficial. A college environment is very conducive to volunteering, and I should be able to network through some former associates to find some members for my organization. Also, once the website starts getting some traction, more people will come into the fold.
Once I have a few passionate volunteers under my belt, I would then focus on funding the organization. Within five years of Vote Austin’s inception, my goal is to have several hundred thousand dollars to invest in marketing and other expenses. There are several ways to solicit money from people. First, I would set up a donation link on the website (probably directly below the mission statement). President Obama’s ability to harnass the power of the internet for fundraising purposes helped catapult him to the White House. Another way, although not as effective, is hitting the pavement and asking for donations. Lots of grass roots organizations, such as Greenpeace and The Salvation Army, use this method to further their causes. Finally, I would solicit wealthy campaign contributors for donations. This way is a little trickier than the other two. It would involve filing for a Freedom of Information Act request for campaign contributors in municipal Austin elections. After obtaining the list, I would skip trace the names and see who I could find that would contribute to Vote Austin.

Once some funding is raised, it’s time to reinvest it back into my leadership vision. The first thing I would do is hire an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) company to improve the traffic on the Vote Austin website, and get us on the first page in the various search engines (google, yahoo, bing). Voter registration drives would also be a good way to spend the money. Vote Austin would sponsor dozens of voter registration drives, and hope to have an additional 10,000 people registered in Austin by 2015.

I have been passionate about politics my whole adult life. I chose it for my major, and I very well could make a career out of it. It seemed only natural that my leadership vision would reflect this. Improving voter participation is needed in today’s Austin. Our population is exploding, and we all have to find a way to live together. This is made much more difficult when a fraction of the population and special interests choose our leaders. Everybody deserves to have a voice, but sometimes it takes a little push to speak up. This is why I selected Vote Austin for my leadership vision. I guess one could say that I’m “Speaking up for the benefit of society”.




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Alice in Leadership

Admittedly, I was unsure of the value of studying several children's books (especially when dealing with important themes as leadership and ethics). However, after some reflection on the books I read (or were read to me) as a child, it made sense. Whether we realize it or not, we are exposed to lessons in leadership at an early age. As we've discussed in class, trustworthiness is an important aspect of leadership. The story of Pinocchio comes to mind. When thinking of open mindedness and tolerance, two other virtuous leadership qualities, the Dr. Seuss classics "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Sneetches" offer much insight. Needless to say, I began seeing the Alice books in a different light. There are many parallels to not only leadership, but the cultivation of leadership.

For alot of people, college is there first experience of leadership because you must first truly know yourself before you can lead others. Adapting to a university environment is a good way to do that, and there are many comparisons of this adaptation in the Alice books. One instance that illustrates this is "The White Rabbit's frenzied hurrying to an appointment as a parody of "the rush of college life and the necessity of purpose, both of which overwhelm" the freshman" (211).

When Alice falls down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and hectic world that she doesn't understand. In trying to come to terms with her new surroundings, Alice gets frustrated. This is seen in her body language during her conversation with the caterpillar. After being faced with a difficult question, Alice's initial reaction is to turn and walk away. The caterpillar calls her back and advises her to "Keep your temper" (49). All rational and objective thought stems from a calm and peaceful state of mind. It is difficult to be an effective leader when emotion can quickly wash over you.

Another lesson in leadership is discovered when Alice becomes a Queen in "Through the Looking Glass". She has to remind herself that since he is now a person of authority that, "it'll never do for you to be lolling about on the grass like that! Queens have to be dignified, you know!" (250). When in a position of leadership, it is important to demand respect, otherwise most people won't give you any. Basically, you can't just roll around in the grass like the others. You need to rise above and act the part.