Jesus, an Upstander, and Me!
JESUS:
AN UPSTANDER:
ME:
Media #1:
This clip is a modern and imaginative retelling (Stories and Storytelling, 9/5) of Jesus’ Parable (Parables, 10/10) of the Good Samaritan. Back in Jesus’ time, the Samaritans had been completely rejected. Jesus told his disciples a story of a Samaritan Man who aided a stranger that he saw beaten and dying on the side of the road. The Samaritan was then called the Good Samaritan. We even have a local hospital named after this Parable, so it must be important While telling this story, Jesus was able to explain how we cannot judge a whole group of people. Jesus raises the point of the commandment, treat your neighbor as you would want to be treated. His story also connected to people because they realized that someday they might be in that situation. We might be the Good Samaritan or the robbed man, but none the less, we all have to do what is right. Now, in this case, the right thing is clear; we must be like the Good Samaritan and always stop to help the beaten man. But sometimes, it is hard to decipher what is the right things to do. A good thing to remember is to be an Upstander whenever possible. 
Media #2:
During the Human Behavior Unit, we did a case study in class on the Milgram’s Experiment (Obedience, 2/19). In this experiment, people from different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and other varying factors volunteered to take part in what they thought was a learning exercise. The volunteers were told to give a shock to the man in the room every time he got a wrong answer. They were also told to go up one shock level each time. The man in the room was an actor, but the volunteers were not bade aware of that fact. In the clip you just saw, we saw how 38 people did nothing to help the woman being brutally beaten in Queens in 1964. The same thing happened in the Milgram’s experiment. Not a single volunteer went into the room to check on the man. The video stated an interesting point; people are more likely to be an Upstander when they are alone and they are more likely to be a bystander when in a group of others. In both cases, the bystander witnesses were in a group. Those living in the apartment looked at each other, waiting for a reaction, and everyone was too scared to do anything. In the Milgram’s experiment, the volunteers were in a room with the instructors. The instructors influenced them by telling them to always keep continuing and assuring them that the man was fine. To avoid Guilt (Guilt/ Shame, 3/2), some of the volunteers in the Milgram’s experiment would continue even though they were worried about the man only after the instructor said he was solely responsible. There are a lot of times when we do not do the right thing because we do not want to look “weird” or “stupid” in front of our peers. But there are some serious consequences in being a bystander and we must not think about what will happen to our reputation, but what might happen to a life other than our own.
Today, we have to make countless decisions every day. Some of them are small; what to wear, what to eat, who to text first. But we also have bigger choices to make; should I take his keys away for the night, should I leave her lying there, who can I call at a time like this. These decisions are hard for us to make, especially while we are still growing in our moral maturity (Morality, 2/9). Whenever I am faced with these big decisions, I use the LISTEN model (LISTEN model, 1/28). 
Lets use a hypothetical example: My best friend is drunk at a party. He says that he is perfectly fine to drive, but I can see how he is walking crooked and slurring his words. I know he will get angry with me if I get in the way of what he wants to do. What should I do? 
I can use this process to make a good moral decision by listening to reality:

*L- look for the facts: (How much has he had to drink?)
*I- imagine the Possibilities: (What will happen if I take his keys or if I let him drive?)
*S- seek insight beyond my own: (How many time have I seen a character on a TV show die in a car crash from being under the influence?)
*T- turn inward: (Would I rather have him hate me for a little bit, or be gone forever?)
*E- expect God’s help: (Will God help him to see my reasons for my action and will he ever forgive me for whatever path I choose to take?)
*N- name my decision: (I need to keep him and others safe, I will take away his keys.)

I needed to think about all of the possible repercussions that might arise from my decision so I chose to let my friend hate me for a little while but to keep people safe. I use this method and so can anyone else at any time.