Insights from the discussion on last Nov.

23,2017:

In the discussion, I learned that the concepts of Consensus and Conflict are prerequisites of one
another as they manifest in the society. Consensus means the agreement of the members of a particular
society over things such as rules or values. Conflict, on the other hand, manifests in disagreements or
clashes of ideas of the members of the society. Furthermore, the Consensus theory concerns with value
integration, focuses on social order based on tacit agreements and views social order to occur in a slow
and orderly manner. Conflict theory deals with conflicts of interest in the society, holds that social order
works on manipulation of a superior social class and views social change as rapidly occurring and in a
disorderly manner.

These two main ideas of consensus and conflict has shaped the way we live in our society today.
Our thoughts could spring from our personal beliefs or society-shaped norms. We could be active and
honest workers in our own jobs never really knowing about the injustice behind that wages we get as they
have passed the hands of the bosses or the tycoons. We could never know how much justice or abuse
weighs more than the other. What is certain is that interplay of coinciding and conflicting aspects of the
society.

Is life unfair? Has it been unfair?

I have experienced that “extra boost” as I went to school when my mother loves to provide me
with educational materials and teach me things that she herself does with her students. But I also have
those setbacks all throughout my life. I have many health issues like some tiny nodes, hormonal
imbalances, and this newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. I have felt like I am always two steps behind any
race or so tired and thought someone must have moved the finish line. I regretted (past tense) not being
able to study BS-Physics somewhere for I am so scared to fail and waste the money earned hard by my
parents. Or even how I don’t get access to the internet and learn things more.

These are unfair situations and circumstances due to societal predestinations. But no, life is not
absolutely unfair. Life is life. It is different in infinite ways in each moment that each person receives. Our
situations could be unfair in terms of what’s there and what isn’t but we are all equal in the end. That is,
we all are creations of God and are to come back to God after this life. We have the choice not in choosing
to work for good societal status (like how others say it is our choice on what wealth status we’d die with)
but in choosing our attitude towards temporal circumstances and strive for that which are eternal (Like
St. Benedicts rules- seeking God vs. materialism, mutual sharing vs. competition, commitment vs. non-
involvement, ... or loving vs. hating). On one side, we are all called to a life more than this worldly one.
And so, in this pilgrimage, we can either do out best to cultivate the talents we are given or keep it all as
it, like the bad servant in the bible story, neglecting the prize we could get from it. Hence, life could be
unfair but that depends on you on which it is that you live for.