Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the
beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:
• Option 1: Does democracy require equality of income or wealth?
Discuss why democracy might make a country more or less
egalitarian?
• Option 2: Political scientist Larry Sabato has proposed a new
constitutional convention (Links to an external site.). Select any one
of his proposed ideas and write a short list of pros and cons for this
idea and support your reasoning.
Professor, I agree that shame can be a powerful weapon. We can mention the Treaty of
Versailles, the so-called peace treaty ending WWI, and Article 231 (the Guilt Clause). Farmer
(2018) claims that the Treaty to humiliate and punish Germany for beginning the war led to
Hitler's rise. Hitler used such humility and shame for his political agenda, which helped him
mobilize many people and build the Nazi party. Hitler also promoted antisemitism and ordered
the killing of millions of jews. This history against Jews made me realize how humans can be
cruel to their fellow humans. Even though it is a fact, thinking about the gas chamber and the
millions of bodies discovered in the 1940s fills my eyes with tears. We have a lot to do to
educate and increase awareness in our society to avoid chaos in our society. We also have to
work on the young generation to promote independent decision-making and critical thinking
skills and avoid groupthink.
I think ‘groupthink’ is increasing and creating a challenge in some areas of our lives. Instead of
using our minds to think and decide what is right, we tend to agree with others that we think are
right. For instance, with Covid, many associate mask-wearing and vaccination with politics. I
want to use this opportunity to share a recent experience at work. I had two patients, mother and
son (25 y/o), with Covid. They told me their story of the mother, father, and two sons (one son
was vaccinated). The father is still at the hospital on a ventilator; the mother is still on oxygen; a
son is still on OT/PT trying to regain strength. The mother made me emotional when she told me
she regretted not getting the vaccination for herself and her family. She said she and many of her
friends did not believe in the vaccine’s effectiveness until recently--when she saw that her
vaccinated son did not get sick/show symptoms. More than anything, I have witnessed her regret
and pain and her worry about her husband and son’s recovery. Besides the vaccine, I have also
heard some saying they feel threatened/ashamed wearing a mask in public when others are not
wearing masks.
Reference
Farmer, B (2018). The Treaty of Versailles and the Rise of Nazism. Retrieved
from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/eds/
detail/detail? vid=0&sid=6bc3bb2a-9801-42d6-9683-
100353a2a589%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2Nv
cGU9c2l 0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=132888411&db=a9h
This study source was downloaded by 100000861168648 from CourseHero.com on 04-03-2023 09:51:26 GMT -05:00
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the
beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:
• Option 1: Does democracy require equality of income or wealth?
Discuss why democracy might make a country more or less
egalitarian?
• Option 2: Political scientist Larry Sabato has proposed a new
constitutional convention (Links to an external site.). Select any one
of his proposed ideas and write a short list of pros and cons for this
idea and support your reasoning.
Professor, I agree that shame can be a powerful weapon. We can mention the Treaty of
Versailles, the so-called peace treaty ending WWI, and Article 231 (the Guilt Clause). Farmer
(2018) claims that the Treaty to humiliate and punish Germany for beginning the war led to
Hitler's rise. Hitler used such humility and shame for his political agenda, which helped him
mobilize many people and build the Nazi party. Hitler also promoted antisemitism and ordered
the killing of millions of jews. This history against Jews made me realize how humans can be
cruel to their fellow humans. Even though it is a fact, thinking about the gas chamber and the
millions of bodies discovered in the 1940s fills my eyes with tears. We have a lot to do to
educate and increase awareness in our society to avoid chaos in our society. We also have to
work on the young generation to promote independent decision-making and critical thinking
skills and avoid groupthink.
I think ‘groupthink’ is increasing and creating a challenge in some areas of our lives. Instead of
using our minds to think and decide what is right, we tend to agree with others that we think are
right. For instance, with Covid, many associate mask-wearing and vaccination with politics. I
want to use this opportunity to share a recent experience at work. I had two patients, mother and
son (25 y/o), with Covid. They told me their story of the mother, father, and two sons (one son
was vaccinated). The father is still at the hospital on a ventilator; the mother is still on oxygen; a
son is still on OT/PT trying to regain strength. The mother made me emotional when she told me
she regretted not getting the vaccination for herself and her family. She said she and many of her
friends did not believe in the vaccine’s effectiveness until recently--when she saw that her
vaccinated son did not get sick/show symptoms. More than anything, I have witnessed her regret
and pain and her worry about her husband and son’s recovery. Besides the vaccine, I have also
heard some saying they feel threatened/ashamed wearing a mask in public when others are not
wearing masks.
Reference
Farmer, B (2018). The Treaty of Versailles and the Rise of Nazism. Retrieved
from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/eds/
detail/detail? vid=0&sid=6bc3bb2a-9801-42d6-9683-
100353a2a589%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2Nv
cGU9c2l 0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=132888411&db=a9h
This study source was downloaded by 100000861168648 from CourseHero.com on 04-03-2023 09:51:26 GMT -05:00
