Tuesday, December 9, 2008

What Would You Do?

If you were in Zaman's (orphanage director) shoes, would you have chosen to sell one child to save nine others, or would you refuse? Is the totalitarian way of thinking acceptable in this case? Is there a moral obligation to sell the one child in order to save nine others?

I think that the totalitarian way of thinking is essential in times of war. One must think of the best for a community (orphanage) rather than a single individual.

38 comments:

ttk said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ttk said...

If I were in the orphanage director's shoes I would have not sold the kids. My reasoning for this is that there is no definite way to determine if the Taliban official would of truly lived up to his word and taken the nine kids as opposed to the one. Also, factoring into my reasoning would be that just the fact that I knowingly gave away the child I would have to live with that guilt. On the contrary if the "Official" did live up to his word, I could live with myself knowing that I didn't willingly have a part in the taking of those kids. Terry Shuman

iThRoWdAhEaDoVv said...

My mind set would have been that exactly of Zaman, he seems to have a totalitarianism frame of mind which in this situation is very appropriate. with as big of a responsibility as he had he did the right thing.

Mike Childs said...

I believe that if I were in the same situation as Zaman, I would probably have done the same thing. I know that it would be a hard thing to live with, but I think it is m=necessary because you have to look out for the well being of ALL the children. Sometimes it is best though to give in to the demands people want in order to save more innocent children. I disagree with Terry because I think that the guilt of letting 10 kids be taken instead of just one is a heavier guilt that will be more painful to remember.

IMPERATOR said...

if I were Zaman, I would exchange a kid for an AK-47 with rounds for protection. The next time that guy comes around, I'll kill him, and I would be willing to risk my life for these kids. These kids are all I got left.

M.S said...

I would have done the same thing that Zaman did. I would of taken the money and thought for the good of the other children. Even though that I would feel guilty, it is something that happens over there. Also there is not much that I would have been able to do about it. Every situation over there like this puts more than one person's live on the line.

Jake Hulsey said...

I believe Zaman made the right decision. He knew what would happen if he didn't sell one child, and he would have been worse off it he hadn't. It is a hard situation to be put in, but he had a responsibility to all the kids in the orphanage. He fullfilled his duty to protect as many children as he could, and if I were in his position I would do the same.

tabbannister8 said...

I believe that i would have given up the one child instead of 10. Even though the Catholic church preaches against this, it is in the best intrest of the other children. There is no other way for him to justify this, no escape route for him, it is a decision that he must make and live with. And i support him in his decision.

zach ackerman said...

If I was the orphanage director I would have sold one to save the others. These people are evil and when they do not get what they want they will use power to get what they want. So by giving them one you are saving the other children and in this case it is what you have to do.

Cameron said...

If was Zaman as the orphanage director, I do believe I would sell one child to save nine because there would be no point on helping the other kids if they just took all of them. Yes, I do believe the totalitarian way of thinking is acceptable in this case. I believe there is a moral obligation to sell the one child in order to save nine others.

Kwells09 said...

I believe that in this situation it is okay. If you can save others lives by sacrificing you should. This is the mentality I believe.

Joey Barrick said...

If I were in this situation, I would have sold the one kid to save nine. It's the same reasoning for killing one person who has committed a crime if it is the only way to protect the rest of the community. While it's terrible that the one kid had to be the victim, and I would probably feel terrible for selling him or her, it is still the best outcome in this terrible situation.

floridaboycraig said...

If I were Zaman I wouldnt of sold any of the children because it would be my responsibility to take care of them not put them in more disappointment and pain. The totalitarian way of thinking shouldnt be acceptable but it is because it is how they are over there. There is a moral obligation to give one child to save nine, but you always have a choice in life.

CJones said...

If i was the Orphan director i would have done what he did. The idea that to sell one to save nine was good concidering the Taliba would have taken the children anyway and probbably taken more if he refused. I know that it seems bad to sell the children, but if it was the only opption to get money to support the children without looseing all of them. So yes I do agree with this mans decition.

RJ Schmitz said...

If I was in the shoes of the director I would've done what he did. It sounds bad but you have to sacrifice one in order to save many. I think I would've felt more guilty if 10 were taken instead of just the one.

Julian Jimenez said...

If I were in Zaman's shoes, I would have taken the same actions he did because you always have to think what is best for the whole community. I know it seems harsh for selling one to save 9 others, but nine out of ten is better than none. You always have to look at the bigger picture and it seems hard but I think thats the best way to handle a situation like this.

Zuri Thorpe said...

If I was the orphanage director I would have sold one child to save the others. In my opinion that decision solves itself, in that you don’t want nine others to die for the sake of one. I don’t approve the selling of the child, but it is very unwise to chance the lives of others for one. Especially because they are children, they are seen as innocent beings that have a full life ahead of them. Morally according to the parables of Jesus this is the wrong thing to do. Jesus told a story of how a Sheppard had one hundred sheep and that when he found that one was missing he secured the ninety nine, then went to search for the one. This story suggest ,in my opinion that Jesus was teaching us that we shouldn’t leave one behind even though others are a stake.

Brian Petroski said...

It hard to say what I would have done in that situation. A lot of people will say that they would not have sold one kid but you never know that for sure unless your in that certain situation. I believe that you save more children because it is either rape one or kill the other nice and I believe we have a moral obligation not to let people die.

Owen Doane said...

If I were in Zaman's shoes I would never sell any of the children to save the nine others. In principle giving up any child to be physically and emotionally assaulted is wrong. I would rather pay the ultimate price, my life, before having to live with the fact that I was responible for the brutal torture and possible sexual assault of these young children.

Anonymous said...

I think that Zaman did the right thing of selling one child to save the others. If i was Amir I think i would be angry to because u sold his nephew. But to me his intensions are good. At lease there is someone doing that, because i would not have done that at all.

zach schwartzman said...

If I were in the orphanage directors shoes I think that I would have done the same exact thing as he did. I feel this way becasue if I dont give the Taliban one child then nine other innocent childeren have to die, and I know that these children are really all that I have left and I could'nt live with knowing that nine innocent kids had to die becasue of my stubborness. Eventhough, it would be very difficult to give the child away to the Taliban knowing that they will be raped and then probally killed I would'nt want nine other children to die on my account.

Andrew Cosgrove said...

If I were in Zaman’z shoes and was forced to sell the kid away or face losing 10 than I would try killing the Taliban officer. I would not give up any of the kids and after killing the officer I would book out of town and start a different orphanage in some other place.

ryankwasnik said...

I would have to agree with Mike Childs on this one hundred percent. I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt of one Childs life let alone ten. That would be horrible to be responsible for ten people dieing. Sometimes when you make a choice between two things, you need to stop and think how many people it is going to affect.

Babdo said...

In the case to sacrifice a child just to save a lot others, I would have to say I would. If I was in a situation where I had to choose to sacrifice myself or one of my family members I would give myself. But in this case if he had left, there would have been no one to look after or care for the rest of the children. So in my mind he did the right thing in sacrificing one to save many.

Robert Miller said...

If I was in the shoes of Zaman, the orphanage director, I believe I would have sold one child to save nine other because there would be no point on helping the other kids if they just took all of them. Yes, I do believe the totalitarian way of thinking is acceptable in this case. I believe there is a moral obligation to sell the one child in order to save nine others.

Derrick Samuelson said...

If I was in Zaman's shoes the orphanage director I would have refused to sell 1 kid in order to save nine others. I would have save all the kids in the orphanage so that none of then would end up living with a bad family.

tymetrius said...

If i was in Zaman's shoes I would have sold one child to save six because the Taliban would have taken some anyways. You are saving more lives if you gave up one for ine but it is a hard situation to handle.

Mike said...

Well, first you must choose to give up yourself, before you give up any of the children. If that plan fails, then you call his bluff and see if he actually does take the nine kids opposed to taking just one. I don't think singling out one of the children would be the right thing to do.

Vincent Peck said...

If I were Zaman I would never sell any of the children to save the nine others. The reason fo this is because giving up any child to be physically and emotionally abused is wrong. I would rather give my life, before having to live with the fact that I was responible for the brutal torture and possible sexual assault of these young children.

Cody Steward said...

If I had been in that situation, I probably would have done the same thing. In those cases it's more about protecting yourself and many others, not just one kid. I mean it's better for one, rather than 10.

nick price said...

I do not agree with some of the people that say that he should have given up himself first instead of saving ten other kids and only losing one. The reason I do not agree is because if he would have given his own life, all the children in the entire orphanage could not have survived because they would have nobody to take care of them. They would have either died or been taken the soldiers. So i feel that Zaman did the right thing by choosing to lose one instead of ten and I most likely would have done the same.

James Raymond said...

What Zaman did was his responsibility, however I believe more in the fact when you are working with kids especially, you should be willing to do what ever you can in order to keep the children safe and well. Even if that means putting your life at risk, you still have a chance at saving a life that has not seen or experience life as you have.

sep said...

It may not seem fair to the one child, but overall Zaman's way of selling off one to save nine is really the only choice he has. the way that one child is treated once he is bought is horrible but Zaman needs to have money to take care of the other children so its really his only choice. if i were Zaman i would do the same thing

st.joe#9Artis holt said...

If i was in that man shoes i wouldnt sell any of those children. I wouldnt sell any of them kids out .One for one and one for all.

Chris Bodan said...

If I were Zaman there would be no doubt in my mind that it would be my responsibility to give one to save nine. How would the orphanage fair if i were dead because I refused the Taliban a child? If there was a way out I would of course try to take it, but risking my life or more kids would be foolish. Sadly in this situation the Taliban have Zaman pinned. I'm sure even he is looking for an escape though. As for a moral obligation, Zaman has done all he can for these kids. I could feel good about him even if he let even more go off with the Taliban.
-An actual question! Thank you.

Corey Landon-09 said...

If it was me as the directory I would have did the same thing. I mean I would rather sacrifice one life for 9 any day. I mean you’re telling me that if some random guy took ten of you hostage and he said in order for the other nine to survive you must allow me to kill to in order to save them I would do it in a heartbeat. Even though it may be morally wrong but you have to do what you have to do in order to help other in the long run.

Joe Dingle-EL said...

i Think i would have did the same thing as Zaman because he had to save sell some kids to save the rest. I think that is the best thing he could have did. It just like when you go to war some people have to die for the country.

Kevin Curley said...

It is an impossible decision to put the value of one life over another; however, the rational decision would be to sell one to save nine.