Chuck Harlan
Chaplain Charlie
Ethics – 04
March 5, 2013
Fr. Holland Essay
One major point that I fount interesting from Fr. Holland’s talks was his point on that people should not be controlled by fear. I have heard this before but have never really gave it much thought, but as Fr. Holland got deeper into detail I realized that he was making extremely good points. He was talking about how change usually causes fear and because of this people make irrational decisions and don’t think things through completely. I believe that the example that he used was the table is bread. He said that he went to this restaurant in the middle of North Baton Rouge.  He said the politician’s, police chiefs, and the general public have condemned this place as a dangerous part of town that people should avoid that part of town. I understand where those people are coming from. It is an extremely dangerous part of town and the murder rate is the highest in the town. I also believe that his point about how he never would have gone to this nice little restaurant if he had given into the fear that was portrayed over this little part of town. He never would have gotten to eat a delicious meal with a pastor that turned out to have a lot of the same interest as him. His exact words were “And that is just a tragedy”. I completely agree with that statement. It is sad to know that you can miss out on so much in your life because of your fear. This made me think a lot about Mo Ranch, our eighth grade class bonding trip. I remember performing on all of the activities even if I was extremely scared. I have a fear of heights and it was hard for me to overcome but I am glad that I did. It did help me learn how to cope with my fears and continue to learn how to believe in myself. I remember thinking it and I still feel this way about the people that didn't do any of the activities at all. There was this one boy in my group that also had a fear of heights and would refuse to participate in any of the activities at all. I would hate to think how when my friends are talking about how much fun the trip was and I wouldn't be able to engage in the activity because I was filled with fear. So I think the main thing that I took out of this point is that fear is always going to be around, but the real testament is seeing if you can overcome it and not let it hinder your life. I really did enjoy this talk. I felt that all of the points that he made were great points! The only point that I had a problem with would be the point about how it is cheaper to educated someone than to keep them in prison. I completely agree with that. That idea is great in theory but you can only lead a horse to water. You can’t make it drink. If you send the people to school doesn't necessarily mean that they will make all of the right choices. I get what Fr. Holland was trying to say though and I completely agree with him. I just don’t agree that this will happen in reality.