Imagine that you have been selected to spearhead the creation of a formal task force to oversee the community response to the water catastrophe. Given the other organizations in the community, identify who you would invite to sit on the committee and explain your choices. Describe potential interventions at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Justify the strategic and communication plans that you would implement to accomplish your task. Be sure to reference scholarly sources of information that support your plan.
Lastly, consider if this were to happen in your own community. Would you use the same strategies? Why or why not?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Title: Addressing a Water Crisis: Forming a Task Force for Community Response
Introduction
In the face of a water catastrophe, it is crucial to establish a formal task force to coordinate and lead the community response effectively. This essay aims to outline the key aspects of creating such a task force, including member selection, intervention strategies at various levels, and the implementation of strategic and communication plans.
Member Selection for the Task Force
1. Local Government Representatives: Including officials from the local government can provide crucial resources, authority, and access to necessary infrastructure.
2. Non-Profit Organizations: Partnering with non-profit organizations can bring in additional expertise, resources, and community outreach capabilities.
3. Healthcare Professionals: Inclusion of healthcare professionals can help in assessing the health impacts of the water crisis and designing appropriate interventions.
4. Environmental Experts: Environmental experts can provide insights into the root causes of the crisis and help in implementing sustainable solutions.
5. Community Leaders: Engaging community leaders ensures that the response is culturally sensitive and addresses the specific needs of different communities within the area.
Intervention Strategies
1. Micro Level: Providing access to clean water sources, distributing water purification kits to households, and conducting health education workshops on water safety.
2. Mezzo Level: Collaborating with local schools to ensure safe water sources for students, establishing community water distribution centers, and offering mental health support services for affected individuals.
3. Macro Level: Advocating for policy changes to improve water infrastructure, conducting research on long-term solutions for water sustainability, and engaging in partnerships with regional or national agencies for broader support.
Strategic and Communication Plans
1. Strategic Plan: The task force should develop clear goals, timelines, and metrics for success. Regular evaluations and adjustments based on feedback are essential to ensure effectiveness.
2. Communication Plan: Utilizing multiple channels such as community meetings, social media, local newspapers, and radio stations to disseminate information about the crisis, response efforts, and available resources. Clear and consistent messaging is key to maintaining trust and transparency.
Relevance to My Own Community
If a water crisis were to occur in my community, I would adapt similar strategies but tailor them to fit the specific context and needs of my locality. Understanding the unique challenges, resources, and cultural aspects of my community would be essential in developing an effective response plan. Flexibility and adaptability in strategy implementation are crucial when addressing local crises.
In conclusion, forming a task force comprising diverse stakeholders, implementing interventions at different levels, and executing strategic communication plans are vital components in managing a water catastrophe effectively. By collaborating with various entities and leveraging expertise from different sectors, communities can navigate through crises with resilience and unity.
