Who Am I thankful for?

During Thanksgiving dinner, my mother made us say everything we were thankful for before we ate. It was agonizing. After going through that, Mr. McCarthy thought it would be cool for us to pick someone in our class who we are thankful for. How nice!

Many people have already said them but I am thankful for multiple people actually. Artem, Zach, Jack, Steve and Max. Anyone in my 5th period class knows that those five are the usual dicussion participants. By them going through their usual Q and A's and rebutals, class time goes by very quickly and surprisingly efficiently. As much as I appreciate the days that I don't feel very open and can get away with it because they will take up a lot of class time, most days hearing them going back and forth and them sharing their ideas really make me want to get involved and feel more confident that what I say in class will be taken well. I'm not the most opinionated or intellectual person so I keep my comments to a minimum, but everyday I try to break myself of that way of thinking. By hearing them share their ideas and thoughts, it makes me want to share my own just as much. Thanks guys!

Who You going for Camus and Voltaire?

For all the people who may not know or care, the Presidential Election Voting Day is next Tuesday, November 6th. The main two candidates are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, along with the chosen candidates of smaller, more unknown parties. Those two mentioned though would have been material for both Camus and Voltaire to write satire about. While we are thought, who would those two even cast a ballot for?

If you were to ask me, Voltaire would vote as an Independent and support a lesser known candidate from a third party, more for fun rather than actual political and intellectual reasons.. Camus would not even get off his couch to a polling area. There is a strong sense of modern elections being based off the "lesser of two evils" saying rather than who they believe will actually make an improvement to our society. 

One person I guarantee Voltaire would not support is Mitt Romney. Voltaire has made harsh comments and ridicule of the nobility or wealthy society, including clergymen. Mitt Romney just so happens to be a Mormon (who once believed African-Americans didn't have souls) millionaire politician who can't get people to agree with his motives if he gave them five dollars a piece. If he were to hear about how Romney plans to treat the lower classes (who Voltaire sympathizes, yet pities), Mandide would be in the works for sure. Obama is probably the more likable candidate, however, with all the promises Obama makes with the still occurring issues in our society, Voltaire would definitely take issue with it. I can say that Obama would fit the mold of a politician perfectly, although he does have good intentions and is a genuine, respectable person. 

Camus is such a nonchalant person, I can definitely see him not being interested in either candidate, or any candidate at all. He doesn't seem like someone interested in politics at all. Unless one of the candidates were to outlaw cigarettes. 

Voltaire and Camus wouldn't be the most American individuals (even though they are French) but just in a sense. In a society where not voting is frowned upon, these two goals would be to almost make a mockery of it. One is not happy with the advancement of society and the other just doesn't care about which person has the best stance on foreign policy.

Our Stranger Meaning

What is the purpose of human life? What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to act? Profound questions that we really don't think about but carry a huge impact. Although we have developed into an organized, controlled society, there is a lot of aimless behavior being engaged in. There is no clear indication as to why us humans exist and to an extent it can get frustrating. The only thing certain in life, unfortunately, is death. Does that mean there is no meaning in life and our existence is really absolutely nothing significant?

I do not agree with that. I believe in the saying that life is what you make it. There is no point in declaring your life is of no value and has no meaning if you are not definitively sure. Albert Camus said "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life". You just have to live life. No one will know the truth about everything until they die, and even then, death is still a mystery itself. Take it exactly for what it is, an opportunity  to experience pleasure, build on to the development and evolution of humans, and when dead, give way to another to do the same. Simply put, develop your own purpose for living, disregarding judgment or inquiry.

Punish the Punk?

Oh Candide, our innocent, sweetheart hero who just so happens to be an officer in the Bulgarian Army, the master of a servant, killed two priests, the love of his life's brother, and two monkeys. Ironic huh? After reading that you most likely would put ol' Candide in the doghouse with everyone else who's bad.

However, with crimes(?) comes punishment. Candide is never shy about finding conflict and landing himself in trouble. But I don't necessarily fault Candide for all his actions.

Say for instance, the gauntlet in Chapter 2. Candide was punished for what the Bulgarian army declared "deserting" or going AWOL. So for a clear misunderstanding, he is given the option of death or basically gradual death for seeking peacefulness. Candide was not aware of what his walk around the countryside would result in. He is not knowledgeable of the military code or rules. He is a disavowed protege sucked into forced brutality. Candide was sheltered most of his life and that was taken away from him so that leads him to be very easily swayed because he wants to live a good life. Although Candide was forced into servitude, he was not aware of the responsibilities of a soldier, and when dealing with someone who is ignorant with that exact idea, he can't be blamed for an infraction of rules. Rules which were not explained to him.

Now let's jump ahead to Candide killing the monkeys in South America. As a punishment, Cacambo and he were bonded and faced death. This is also a misconception. With Candide growing up in Europe, monkeys, we are assuming, are not in close association with humans. They hang out in the jungle, we live in civilized societies. Him seeing such a primitive animal in close contact with a human was surprisingly shocking to him because it was not occurring in his native land. So it was almost instinct for Candide to grip the chrome. No one explained to Candide about the customs of people of that particular world and he was acting on what he believed was the right thing to do.

To conclude, Candide is a symbol of ignorance and a lack of individualism. He is someone who has been crafted by the views of others. From the beginning of the story to know, Candide reminds me of a kid developing into an adult. He has had to learn everything on his own, the hard way. He should not have to be punished for growing up and becoming his own person just like we are.

How Do I Know What I Know?

How I Know?

Most of what I know comes from experience and perception. I am never satisfied by things passed on to me by word of mouth with no validity. Anytime I am/was struck by curiosity, I simply just do a bit of experimentation, research and inquiry.

What I Know?

As a display, I'll share how I know a human being can't survive in Antarctica nude. Doing research (both recent searches on Scientific America), the average temperature in Antarctica is -89.2 C(-128.6 F). The average body temperature of a human is 36.8 C(98.2 F) (common knowledge). It is already hazardous for your body temperature to go below 96 F (recent hospital visit for low blood pressure enlightened me on this) so it is safe to say there you will die in a matter of ten minute intervals. To get more technical, being nude in a cold climate will cause your body to get tense and numb. Your hands or feet or both can get inflicted with frostbite if untreated and I know that from experience (playing in the snow one day without gloves or shoes). Frostbite will hinder you from being able to seek/build shelter, search for food or find aid of any sort. The waters of the arctic are freezing cold and can kill you. From watching The Day After Tomorrow(a movie with Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhall), I know that the waters in the Atlantic Ocean (5 C, 41 F) can kill you in 10-20 mins with clothes on, so without it is shortened to 2. From loss of nutrition and water, you life expectancy shortens to about 6 days considering these conditions (7-8 weeks in regular conditions).

Conclusion

So now you know how I know nude in Antarctica=eventual death. Please don't go somewhere nude cold.    

Unexamined life and modern day Socrates.

Living life without questioning anything is like following instead of leading. Life unexamined is definitely not worth living. I believe you have to always have skepticism for ideas that you do not completely agree with or understand. Living based off of everything other people tell you and just accepting it as fact is foolish to me. I believe in learning as much as you can while your are alive because the most knowledgeable person is the most powerful. Nothing is exactly what it seems so I believe you should not interpret life that way. Ex. Someone tells you that if you follow him to the end of the road and don't stop, he will give you a million dollars. If you just do it without knowing his credibility, that is misguided in my opinion. Instead, you should put him through a questionnaire to determine the authenticity of the deal.

After deep long thought, I have come to the conclusion that there is not a modern day Socrates or anyone similar to him. Socrates was a special person and a very unique individual and I have trouble pointing out anyone with his qualities. People in today's society are afraid to go against the status quo, at least publicly, even someone like Rush Limbaugh. I don't know one person who is constantly questioning the purpose of things or trying to expose the ignorance in society today, in which we display a lot of it. In the US alone, there are so many people who see injustice being committed and the invasion of rights but don't speak up about it because they are afraid of repercussions, something Socrates was not afraid of. I could definitely be wrong or not thinking hard enough but I just can't find a modern Socrates.