The People Of La Chambdon

1 Pages 313 Words

I found the essay “From Cruelty to Goodness” written by Philip Hallie, to be remarkable. He states that ethics to him is personal and that it involves many different components. In the beginning he dwelled on the negative parts of ethics and ways in which cruelty could be stopped from happening. Hallie wanted to understand what cruelty was and why do people allow it to happen to them instead of running away from it.
He felt that dignity was to blame for the way people react towards cruelty even when it’s done purposely.
According to Hallie “ the majority and the weakness of a minority were at the center of the institutional cruelty of slavery and of Nazi anti-Semitism”. The cruelty that Jews and blacks went through was both physical and verbal. Hallie also believed that if one tried to defend them selves eventually the cruelty would become less. “It would have to be either the victim getting stronger or the victimizer getting their way” in the end. The point of view that matters more is the victims and not the victimizer because they are unaware of the pain they inflict. A victim never forgets what happened to them and the people that help them to survive.
Personal freedom is the right of having a choice and how one gets to express their feelings or desires through one’s actions without being judged by the norms of society. The people of Le Chambon did what they felt was right at the time despite the consequences. This essay pointed out to me that no matter what we encounter we always have choices. The situation is what we make of it, and it depends on how we handle it. In reality there is no justice when it comes to cruelty and goodness it’s just one or the other....