I was really interested in the lecture on the IRB drafts and proposals. As I read over IRB requirements and everything that was tied to it, I became really overwhelmed and I really had the feeling that I was not going to be able to do this! Obviously, I will be able to, and I even have the desire to, because I learned that it has to do with the protection of human life.
As we discussed that ethics talks about distinguishing what is right and what is wrong in human actions. As I sat in class, I was thinking about the different things that take place in the world, and how there is pretty much a right and a wrong with everything. As a Latter-Day Saint, we are taught that laws and commandments are there for a great purpose, and should therefore be perfectly followed. Obviously this still stands true in my personal beliefs. However, when we talked about context, my drastic views softened up a little bit.
Ashley shared a story about a man with a sick wife and how his only options were to let her die, or steal the medicine from the pharmacist. I honestly have no idea where I would stand, and it really hit me that context really has so much to do with our morals and ethics. This isn't to say that our moral compass should be skewed or that the commandments are negotiable, but it does mean a lot more sensitivity on our part. I thought of so many instances in the scripture where the commandments were not necessarily kept because of context. Nephi, for example killed Laban. Rebeckah lied and put fur on Jacob's arm so that he would seem as Esau, and the Lord himself healed on Sunday and forgave the adulterer who was about to be stoned by the pharisees. I felt better about myself as I thought about these examples and it is really true that not EVERYTHING is black and white.
So how does this apply to my field study in India?
As the class went on, I learned that by doing interviews, I will be basically "taking" something from the women I talk to, and it is ultimately my responsibility to take care of that, as if it were my own life story. I will be writing about it and others will be reading it, so I have the moral responsibility to keep it as pure as possible. It may sound perhaps a little over the top to others, but when it comes to lives that are real and just as alive as I am, it is not over the top whatsoever.
I love the movie "Australia" and one of my favorite parts is when a man in explaining to a foreigner what the Aborigines feel is the most important thing to them. "They don't take material possessions with them, they don't necessarily care about riches, in the end, what really matters is their story...something that could never be taken away". I thought about the women that I will be interviewing and the many people I will be talking to. I thought about the different opinions that I will be hearing and the different things that I will be learning about people's lives, that will even shape the way I see my own life. I will be asking about "their" story, and I want to do everything possible to keep it as intact as I can and protect it as much as I can.
I will need to be informing those whom I will spending time with, about my project there and my intentions. I feel that they have the right to know, just as I would want to know why somebody would interview me about my life and my self-perceptions. Ashley said something that really stuck with me: "is their name safe in my mouth?" I want nothing more than to build relationships of trust with these people that I will have the privilege to be staying with, so that their story is safe in my mouth. Of course, I know that this will take a lot of work and effort on my part, but all of that and more, is worth it.
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