Blog 20: Integrated Quotes

Caring for one’s own family seems to be one of the top priorities in life. In many cases, even mine, family cannot be replaced and they tend to come into play when making even the simplest decisions. Fleming, a journalist, helps justify this when he states that, “The lines are always drawn first around one’s own family.” (Fleming, 25). What Fleming is trying to say is that we are genetically loyal to our families. He argues that this loyalty within family is what causes unfairness, tension, and fights with others. This is because of the simple fact that we have that bond with our families that seems to be stronger than connections with people who aren’t genetically related. He also states that this is problematic when resources are limited. This information helps relate to why Jayne backstabbed River and Simon in the episode “Ariel.” We learn that from “The message,” he is sending money to his family, where we also learn that his sister is ill. This shows that Jayne took advantage of an opportunity that would get him money faster to care for his family. It might seem like Jayne was being selfish, but he was being selfish for his family. This is what we usually call being ‘selfless.’ A real world connection could simply be parents working for a reasonable salary to support their household. Jayne’s relationship between his crewmembers might not be as strong as his bond with his family, but that still doesn’t necessarily mean that he doesn’t care for human beings besides family (which I will also argue at a different time because this doesn’t relate to my integrated quote.) This quote helped me better understand Jayne’s actions.