Abondon Ship

In class this week we simulated a catastrophic event in an activity. We simulated the event of a cruise ship's survivors after hitting a mine left over from WWII. There wasn't enough room on the boat for everyone so people have to be kicked off. This simulation showed our core values as Americans and how they may differ in other cultures. After the simulation we discussed and decided that our values rest heavily upon usefulness and youth. We can to this conclusion after seeing years of data from Sal's previous classes and found that the similar people were kicked off every time. Usually the old people were the first to go seeing as they had already lived their life as those younger had not. This illistrated the idea that we value youth. We as Amercians look at youth as valuable and essential; where as other countries such as China value the elderly because of their wisdom. We discussed that other countries with different values may have chosen different people based upon the values of their culture. This simulation really opened my eyes to see that the world around us really does shape who we are and our values; and not just ourselves as individuals, but also culturally as a nation.