1)      To what extent do we learn these ideas of right & wrong from our environment?  To what extent is this morality intrinsic, i.e., present in us from birth? 

I think that I learned my ideas of right and wrong from my parents, school, church, other family/ friends, and maybe even some television I watched as a kid such as Arthur that in some episodes dealt with issues like right and wrong. I don’t think that right and wrong are in us from birth right away, I think we learn as we go. If I was never told that hitting other kids was wrong as a child and I never got in trouble for doing it, I might think that it was okay and that it was how you are supposed to solve issues. I think that maybe most people have that tinge of guilt say if someone were crying or if someone was getting hurt, but I think that you can learn to push that away too. I think that we can train ourselves or be trained by others not to feel that, as bad as that sounds. I think that a lot of what we are taught and told growing up changes how we view things as right or wrong. 

2)      Are there actions you believe are always morally wrong? Which actions? Why or why not? 

I think that actions such as complete hatred and murder and purposely hurting others is wrong, but that is just me. I think that these are wrong because you are telling someone they aren’t good enough, that you are better than them I feel. It is especially seen with intentional murder or hurting or committing other acts of hatred. I just don’t see how someone could look someone else at think that they should be killed or beaten or terrorized or abused or whatever else. Of course, if you need to use self-defense like someone is running at you with a knife yelling “I will kill you” then you shouldn’t just stand there you should fight back, but what I think is wrong is doing these things for no valid reason. 

Morals are hard and very from person to person. Something that I think is just fine could be considered morally wrong by other people and vice versa, especially today with issues of LGBTQ+ rights (and even within that for some people, which parts of LGBTQ+ are okay and what aren’t), abortion, and the death penalty. These things can be and are viewed very strongly on both sides. To me it’s based on what you were raised to believe, what your family and friends believe that impact what you think is morally right or wrong.  

3)      Can one live morally without the guidance of religion? Why or why not? 

Yes, I think they can. I think that most religions have a good moral compass and a good list of rules you should follow to be a good person, but I also think that those things can be learned without religion too. You can learn how to be a good person from family and school. For me though as a religious person (ELCA Lutheran) I have this thought of what would God think or if I do something I need to say sorry or pray about it or whatever I need to do. I don’t how ever think that I would be a bad person if I was raised without religion. I think that instead of thinking that God would be mad I might think about how my parents might feel. I also don’t believe that everyone who has religion is a good person either. I think that it all depends on how you were raised, and religion doesn’t need to be there. 

4)      Is empathy the proper basis for morality? Why or why not? 

I think so, yes. I think that everyone has at least a little pinch of empathy. I even think that the worst serial killers in the word even have empathy. Now weather or not that empathy stops someone from doing bad things is the question. I think that everyone has it and that they think about. Empathy can definitely change your behavior, but it won’t change very ones.  

Derek Hogenson

Derek Hogenson is a senior at North Dakota State University who is majoring in Sports Management. With this major Derek has already worked with the Fargo Force hockey team. With the Fargo Force Derek’s job was calling different organizations like schools, churches, etc. In hopes of having them attend some Fargo Force games. Though this job fit well with his major, Derek doesn’t want to stay working with the Fargo Force. He isn’t a big hockey fan but instead loves basketball. His dream is to work with the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the Timberwolves Derek believes that he would probably start out with a ticket job like he did with the Fargo Force, but he wants to work his way up. Also, because he is more into basketball then hockey, he will be more knowledgeable about the sport, so he could answer any guest questions, and he would be more excited about his work and in turn try harder to work his way up.  If his plan to work with the Timberwolves or any other pro basketball team doesn't work out, his backup plan is working with the parks service.  

Derek is from West Fargo, North Dakota. West Fargo is interesting because it is its own city, not the western section of Fargo as one might think. Derek explains that the West Fargo High School is interesting too because their school is known as the Packers, which according to Derek comes from the Meat Packing industry.  

Derek obtains his news from the Pioneer and from ESPN. It makes sense that a lot of Derek’s news comes from ESPN because as for mentioned Derek is a sports management major. The Pioneer is a newspaper that Derek reads, he admits that he doesn’t really read newspapers that much but if he does read one, it would be the Pioneer.  

In Intro to Media Writing Derek is looking forward to getting to know the professor. Derek likes his first impressions of the professor and hopes that he can continue to enjoy his class. Derek is also looking forward to talking about controversial topics. He is excited to hear other opinions and share his own. One thing that Derek is not looking forward to is all the writing that Intro to Media Writing entails.  

Some fun facts about Derek are that he is tall and ambidextrous, these traits set him apart from other students. A guilty pleasure of Derek’s is fishing, he loves to fish and says that he could fish all the time. After grilling Derek, a little more to give me a guilty pleasure that is a little more embarrassing then fishing, he finally admitted that another guilty pleasure of his is anime. He says he mostly watches the more popular shows such as Dragon Ball Z. Though I would advise him to watch some of the more obscure ones, I will admit that I too have a love for anime though I tend to watch less popular and more embarrassing to admit ones. I wonder if he has any more guilty pleasures that he was just embarrassed about saying. I am interested in getting to know him more to find these things out. 

Derek says that the perfect way to make a PB and J sandwich is to put peanut butter on both pieces of bread and to put strawberry jelly on one side of bread. If Derek were an ice cream flavor, he said he would be Neapolitan because he “likes a lot of things”, but after talking to Derek I can see him as a Neapolitan ice cream because he is many good things all in one.