The Morality and Politics of Justice
Personal Reflection
For this op-ed article and political campaign I choose to write about the quarantining of Ebola patients. In preparation for this project we study moral philosophies, along with studying the U.S. constitution. Then I did research on the quarantining of Ebola patients, including going in deep research with the CDC. My art piece shows a lady doing the morally right thing by quarantining herself.
Personally i’ve grown with this assignment making me feel more confident in my opinionated writing and my writing in general. I thought that all paragraphs for a paper had to be indented but through working on the format for my Op-Ed I learned that they shouldn’t be, also I learned that the thesis should be the last sentance of the first paragraph. I also learned that the paragraphs should be cons ice and straight to the point and no unnessarsary information. I learned that when writing you have to have a clear perspective on the topic. Learning about rhetoric has opened my eyes to see things in a different ways and see how it has been affecting everything from the items I buy to how I have been viewing certain topics. The most challenging was talking to people about their perspective, you could never tell how others would react to your topic or they might ask you questions which you should be well educated on and you are not positive on how to answer the question.
I feel my Op-Ed is strongest in the amount of research and quotes I found for backing up my point of view. If I were to go back and add more information, I would add more about the how Ebola was started and how it was started and more about Ebola in the past instead of more recent studies.
To my visual piece I would have made it more clear of my perspective so you could look at it and not need to read the artist statement for understanding my vision. For my article I would like to have spent some more time focusing on how Ebola was started and how it was started in the past and why the CDC hasn’t done much to stop it back then and making sure it didn’t spread to other countries and continents.
Justice for Ebola
Approximately 190,000 West Africans visit America in one year. The current number of those infected with Ebola is nearing 9,000 (CDC). Although this represents only a fraction of the population, the risk of a global pandemic is real. With the number growing exponentially, we start the process of answering the question, ‘How should we begin to stop this outbreak?’. Some people believe that we must quarantine those who may have come in contact with Ebola for up to three weeks along with canceling all flights that come from Western Africa. Others say that doing this is limiting people’s right to freedom and leads to bad outcomes. I would suggest that there is a compromise and one that is supported by moral philosophy. Quarantining Ebola patients in these situations is just given the risks to others.
The argument for quarantining those at risk for Ebola is based on protecting the security of the nation. In this sense, I am defining security as the state of being free from danger or threat. It is the role of the government to create directives for the purpose of maintaing security. According to Jim Voorhees, Director of the World Health Organization, the United Nations has established that the safety of the majority of citizens allows for the restriction of liberty of a few. Voorhees explains, “Laws vary, but most state health departments can quarantine first and ask questions later” (Voorhees 1). This provides a legal basis for quarantine even for minimal risk. “The federal government’s chief responsibility, meanwhile, is preventing infectious diseases from reaching the American public in the first place…Congress passed the National Quarantine Act in 1878, officially giving the power of quarantine to the federal government” (Voorhees 1). The government is therefore bound by legal duty to prevent the spread of infectious disease to and within the United States. Security is an important aspect of this crisis but many argue that personal freedoms are at stake.
Those who argue against quarantine believe that personal freedom and liberty are at risk. “Officials in Texas said … that nearly 100 health care workers would be asked to sign pledges not to use public transportation, go to public places or patronize shops and restaurants for 21 days, the maximum incubation period for Ebola” (Sack 1). This is an example of how a person’s life may be limited by quarantine. There maybe negative effects to a persons life from quarantine, “While a quarantine is designed to protect those on the outside, it also fuels the community’s fear, and sometimes its cruelty…a local news website had suggested burning down his [a recently returned missionary] house. “People had this lynch-mob mentality,” (Sack 16). This is an example of a person, in self-imposed quarantine, doing the right thing in return is getting treated poorly.
Opponents of quarantine at our borders also point out negative consequences. As the director of the CDC, Thomas Frieden, stated, "We really need to be clear that we don't inadvertently increase the risk to people in this country by making it harder for us to respond to the needs in those countries…by making it harder to get assistance in and therefore those outbreaks would become worse, go on longer, and paradoxically, something that we did to try and protect ourselves might actually increase our risk” (Frieden, 1). This points out how a focus on security may actually cause greater harm than good. I would propose the government introduce a compromise.
I would propose that the government, according to their duty to “promote the general welfare” (U.S. Constitution) , maintain security by fairly limiting personal liberties. I would also ask people to act out of their own sense of duty to support these measures. I would recommend government quarantines at the border for the appropriate amount of time to rule out infection with the Ebola virus. I would also require a mandatory quarantine for anyone in the country who had contact with an Ebola patient during their infectious state.
A moral analysis finds that quarantine limits personal liberties and are, therefore, anti Libertarian, but also that this approach is supported by ideas from both Utilitarianism and Deontology. The Utilitarian idea of Consequentialism, in other words, that the end justifies the means, supports my idea of quarantine. “It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong” (Bentham, 1). Immanual Kant’s Deontology directs one to act from duty, it is the motive and intention that matters most. I would hope that people would do the right thing, that they would see quarantine as a means to respect dignity, their own as well as those at risk at the moment. Kant imagines, as rational humans, we would all see this as duty and agree. “Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world” ( Kant, 2 ). Quarantine is a just way to solve the Ebola crisis. Global health must be one of our top priorities, to ensure a secure place for everyone.
The argument for quarantining those at risk for Ebola is based on protecting the security of the nation. In this sense, I am defining security as the state of being free from danger or threat. It is the role of the government to create directives for the purpose of maintaing security. According to Jim Voorhees, Director of the World Health Organization, the United Nations has established that the safety of the majority of citizens allows for the restriction of liberty of a few. Voorhees explains, “Laws vary, but most state health departments can quarantine first and ask questions later” (Voorhees 1). This provides a legal basis for quarantine even for minimal risk. “The federal government’s chief responsibility, meanwhile, is preventing infectious diseases from reaching the American public in the first place…Congress passed the National Quarantine Act in 1878, officially giving the power of quarantine to the federal government” (Voorhees 1). The government is therefore bound by legal duty to prevent the spread of infectious disease to and within the United States. Security is an important aspect of this crisis but many argue that personal freedoms are at stake.
Those who argue against quarantine believe that personal freedom and liberty are at risk. “Officials in Texas said … that nearly 100 health care workers would be asked to sign pledges not to use public transportation, go to public places or patronize shops and restaurants for 21 days, the maximum incubation period for Ebola” (Sack 1). This is an example of how a person’s life may be limited by quarantine. There maybe negative effects to a persons life from quarantine, “While a quarantine is designed to protect those on the outside, it also fuels the community’s fear, and sometimes its cruelty…a local news website had suggested burning down his [a recently returned missionary] house. “People had this lynch-mob mentality,” (Sack 16). This is an example of a person, in self-imposed quarantine, doing the right thing in return is getting treated poorly.
Opponents of quarantine at our borders also point out negative consequences. As the director of the CDC, Thomas Frieden, stated, "We really need to be clear that we don't inadvertently increase the risk to people in this country by making it harder for us to respond to the needs in those countries…by making it harder to get assistance in and therefore those outbreaks would become worse, go on longer, and paradoxically, something that we did to try and protect ourselves might actually increase our risk” (Frieden, 1). This points out how a focus on security may actually cause greater harm than good. I would propose the government introduce a compromise.
I would propose that the government, according to their duty to “promote the general welfare” (U.S. Constitution) , maintain security by fairly limiting personal liberties. I would also ask people to act out of their own sense of duty to support these measures. I would recommend government quarantines at the border for the appropriate amount of time to rule out infection with the Ebola virus. I would also require a mandatory quarantine for anyone in the country who had contact with an Ebola patient during their infectious state.
A moral analysis finds that quarantine limits personal liberties and are, therefore, anti Libertarian, but also that this approach is supported by ideas from both Utilitarianism and Deontology. The Utilitarian idea of Consequentialism, in other words, that the end justifies the means, supports my idea of quarantine. “It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong” (Bentham, 1). Immanual Kant’s Deontology directs one to act from duty, it is the motive and intention that matters most. I would hope that people would do the right thing, that they would see quarantine as a means to respect dignity, their own as well as those at risk at the moment. Kant imagines, as rational humans, we would all see this as duty and agree. “Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world” ( Kant, 2 ). Quarantine is a just way to solve the Ebola crisis. Global health must be one of our top priorities, to ensure a secure place for everyone.
Works Cited
"190,000 West Africans Visit US Each Year [VIDEO]." The Daily Caller. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa - Case Counts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"CDC Chief Warns Travel Ban Could Make Ebola Crisis Worse." Fox News. FOX News Network, 05 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"How Many Ebola Patients Are Being Treated Outside of West Africa?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 July 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
"Immanuel Kant Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"Is It Really Legal for the Government to Quarantine People Who’ve Been Exposed to Ebola?" Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"Jeremy Bentham Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. Sack, Kevin, Jack Healy, and
Frances Robles. "Life in Quarantine for Ebola Exposure: 21 Days of Fear and Loathing." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Security." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa - Case Counts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"CDC Chief Warns Travel Ban Could Make Ebola Crisis Worse." Fox News. FOX News Network, 05 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"How Many Ebola Patients Are Being Treated Outside of West Africa?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 July 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
"Immanuel Kant Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"Is It Really Legal for the Government to Quarantine People Who’ve Been Exposed to Ebola?" Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"Jeremy Bentham Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. Sack, Kevin, Jack Healy, and
Frances Robles. "Life in Quarantine for Ebola Exposure: 21 Days of Fear and Loathing." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
"Security." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
Artist Statement
My political campaign art piece shows that it is morally just to quarantine Ebola patents. This is represented through the women quarantining herself, by being placed in a jar. She is following her morals and quarantining herself for the greater good. The symbol in the background of the jar is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) official symbol for being quarantined. I incorporate pathos into the art piece by using the sympathy of how the women is doing the right thing by quarantining herself. Ethos is used by appealing to our sense of justice and ethics the quote from Jeremy Bentham saying “It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong”. The justice being that we are still allowing people in America but not allowing them to get others sick by self quarantining themselves.
The tone of my art piece is shown by the red letters showing the amount of alarm in this topic. There is also an amount of reassurance by showing the women quarantined by her own doing. I arranged by art piece with the symbol being in the background of the women to show that she is being quarantined but I made the women have a slight smile on her face to show that she is doing this because she wants to and isn’t being forced. I refined my art piece by adding the Ebola stamp on top of the jar to help incorporate my ideas, along with adding the quote on the side so it is more visually appealing to ones eye.
The tone of my art piece is shown by the red letters showing the amount of alarm in this topic. There is also an amount of reassurance by showing the women quarantined by her own doing. I arranged by art piece with the symbol being in the background of the women to show that she is being quarantined but I made the women have a slight smile on her face to show that she is doing this because she wants to and isn’t being forced. I refined my art piece by adding the Ebola stamp on top of the jar to help incorporate my ideas, along with adding the quote on the side so it is more visually appealing to ones eye.