To Be of Use

According to Confucius, “You should treat others the way you want to be treated. ” Resembling Confucius’ golden rule, Harold Kushner’s “Shalom: The Quest for Integrity” talks about a man who did something good, when people didn’t think he would. While Marge Piercy isn’t writing about treating others a certain way, she is instead writing about being of good use. Harold Kushner’s text parallels Marge Piercy’s poem in the topic of being of good use. Due to the length of the poem, she talks about people being of use. Harold Kushner’s text talks about people who were useful.

On Monday night December 11, 1995, the fire at the textile mill changed a city. Many people of Lawrence, Massachusetts, were worried about the economic impact from losing the textile mill due to the fire. However, the owner Aaron Feuerstein surprised everyone. People expected he would take advantage of the fire to move to a more profitable location. Feuerstein announced that not only was he going to rebuild the factory, but also workers would receive three months of payroll, even though there was no work. “Feuerstein is a special person, a man of integrity”, are there few people with integrity?

Maybe is the reason Blanchard co-author the book called The Power of Ethical Management, “there’s no right way to do a wrong thing,” using the book as a plea to the business world. Directed to the people who do things to benefit themselves, but hurt others. Confucius states: treat others the way you want to be treated; ask yourself if you do harm to others, would you like it if someone did harm to you in the same way? No because many of us wouldn’t; many don’t think about the consequences, or if it happened to themselves, before they do something. People commit wrong doing, to benefit themselves.

When I hear politicians and preachers condemning the sinful ways of society around them, I often agree with their criticisms, but I don’t hear the pain in their voices. ” As stated in the text by Kushner, many people lead with falsehood, tricking others to believing that they are useful people of integrity, when in the end they really are not. Marge Piercy’s poem gives her opinion of people who are useful. In the first verse, she has a high regard for people who throw enthusiasm into the work they do. She compares the people who throw enthusiasm into their work, to water buffalo.

That people who enjoy their work, with patience, will in the end receive good rewards. Rewards of satisfaction, the results of their hard work, are what they receive in return for tireless hard work. To Piercy, work is as common as mud; work like mud smears the hand. “But the thing worth doing well done, has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident,” says Piercy in her poem. Piercy’s poem is more of a collection of opinions, the things that make a person useful. What she thinks useful people are like. Piercy has high regard for people who give care into their work.

In past experience, and previous knowledge, people who work hard are reward, they move up in life. However people who don’t have integrity, who do harm eventually fail from life. Many people, who are successful, love their work; they enjoy what they are doing with enthusiasm. Treating other with respect should gain you respect. Kushner discusses more about people who had integrity, who gave back, when no one expected them to. People who made themselves useful People who try to encourage people to be ethically positive. To change their tactics to help people not harm people. The benefits, and why people did the things they did.

Then also the people who are false or true prophets. The people who speak true, but don’t adhere to what they preach. Piercy, on the other had in contrast, expresses her opinion, on the factor of people being of use, having high regard for people who love working, being useful and enjoy their work. That their hard work would reward them. Piercy’s poem contrast’s Kushner’s text, in terms of the directions they go. Kushner is indirectly talking about being of use but on the topic of people with integrity, and ethical standards. Piercy directly relates to the topic of to be use. The opinion of what she thinks people who are useful.