Stoic Exercise: Identifying Roles

The stoic moral exercise of "identifying roles" involves me choosing four roles I play in my life, the relevant people connected with these roles, and what guidelines I believe I should follow in carrying out these roles. First, I believe a short explanation is in order. Out of the fifteen exercises I had to choose from, I picked this one. As soon as I read it I knew I wanted to do it but for a split second, I questioned my motives. I didn't want to come across as egotistical or self-absorbed. At first glance, this particular exercise seemed like it would be, but after reading over the other ones I realized that it didn't necessarily have to be. I suppose I've been brought up in a society where the line between self-consciousness and egotism is very blurred. If believed for a long time that inner reflection is indispensable in leading a fulfilling life, but to be overtly self-absorbed can mean disaster for a meaningful existence. My reason for doing this exercise relates to the former.

At this point in my life, I believe that the most important role for me is world citizen, as broad and ambiguous as it sounds. The relevant people connected to this role do so on many different levels, both directly and indirectly. Directly, they are the people that I have daily contact with. Not only my friends, family, and peers, but the unknown faces that populate the city of Wilmington and the halls of the University. Each of these unique beings play an important role in the machine of human existence, and thus the success or failure of our lives on earth. Indirectly, those entrusted to represent the human race on the world stage also play a role. This is everyone from the chair of an academic department to President Bush. The decision-makers have an obligation to do what's best for those they represent, and conversely we have an obligation to question their decisions and make sure they are representing us, ever mindful of the shadows of human morality and justice that loom. Whether this is always done is debatable and shall be reserved for forum other than this one. Personally, as a world citizen I must be objective, open-minded, contemplative, progressive, conservative, and ever mindful, all at the same time.

A second role that is important in my life is my role as a leader. I am the president of the Crew Club at UNCW and I decided to take on this role for many reasons. After being a member of the rowing team for three years, one of them as vice-president, I realized that I wanted to be more involved in the decision-making process, hopefully having a positive impact on the direction of the team. We are still a small non-varsity club with little funding from the university. Completely student-run, the club depends on an executive board of four students determine where the team will head. The people involved in my role as president are many. First and foremost, the members of the team itself are the ones directly experiencing the consequences of my decisions, positive or negative. It is for them that I strive to find a balance between practicality, stability, and stability. In the eyes of the University, I am the Crew Club. This has many obvious, and sometimes nerve-racking, implications.

Another role that I find myself aiming to fill is that of a student of anthropology. For many of the same reasons I strive to be a good world citizen, I also strive to be a good anthropology student. Studying world cultures and humanity's past is an incredible responsibility, with implications both in the present and in the future. The findings of the biological anthropologist can easily sway public opinion of the meaning of race and ethnic origin. Wars have been fought and hundreds of millions have died because of false notions about something as insignificant as skin color. Similarly, the ethnographies produced by cultural anthropologists offer the public to glimpse into the world of groups of people other than the ones they are intimately familiar with: their own. Morally, the anthropologist has a responsibility to present accurate, unbiased information and interpret it in such a way that it does not contribute to racism, ethnocentrism, or otherwise promote the superiority or inferiority of any one culture. For these reasons, I strive to be a good anthropologist.

Finally, a fourth role I carry out on a daily basis is the friend. I interact with many people over the course of a week and with those that I have close bonds, I must do my best to be many things at once. I must be the eyes, ears, and mind of my friends that are not present at the moment. This means that if I am in a situation that could potentially have an impact on my friends, I must be able to accurately and truthfully relate any information to them (it's not as mechanical as it sounds, think on a deeper level). For this reason, I must be truthful, sensitive, and mindful of the easily damaged bond that ties me together with those I care for.