Hmm.

My life has totally changed in the last two weeks. Some days are better than others but every day, I listen to this song and it makes me feel better. Highly recommended to everyone who reads this. Sick song. I love you Daddy <3

Heroes of my Holidays

These are the strongest people I have ever known. I couldn't possibly love anyone else more in this world. When tragedy strikes, they make the most of it and fight for the best. My mom is my rock, she keeps me sane and functioning. She's my best friend and the only confidant I'll ever need. My dad and I fight more than any two people in the house, but I have loved him my entire life and I always will. The smartest and kindest man in my life, no one will ever be able to compare to my dad. No one in my family is as strong as he is. I love my mom and dad and I know we'll all manage to spend this Christmas together. Get well soon Daddy <3

Consider me stoked!!

I am continuously putting off the completion off my last mythology paper... I'm even considering just writing for next week's topic. Anyway, browsing through YouTube and I found this EPIC TRAILER! June 1st, 2012! I've always been scared of the animated Snow White, that evil queen is straight frightening. Charlize Theron just looks creepy. There's also another Snow White adaptation coming out in March with Julia Roberts but since I've got a younger brother, the battle scenes in this trailer seemed more appealing. I am so excited for the coming year, it's just getting ridiculous!!!

Happy Pre-Holidays!

Today, I found myself still in a blogging mood! Looking at the calendar, I realized that it's already mid-November. The holiday season is coming up and best of all, there's no final exam for Explorations 120 :) So take two minutes out of your day to get stoked for this winter's festivities!

muzak > dead ends

Anyone who takes the time to look at my blog (I wonder how many of you there are that aren't Patrick...) is encouraged to hit up YouTube and give these songs a shot. I give them credit for my blogs; completely irrelevant to every topic but they just crush my writer's block!

Come Home - OneRepublic ft. Sara Bareilles

All This Time - OneRepublic

Broken Strings - James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado

A Heavy Abascus - The Joy Formidable

Shelter - Birdy

Wanna Be Sure - Aidan Hawken

Torch Song - Shady Bard

This Woman's Work - Greg Laswell

Changing - The Airborne Toxic Event

In Front of You - The Quiet Kind

We Don't Eat - James Vincent McMorrow

Free Like You Make Me - Cary Brothers


#madlove

Boys will be boys.

For most of the human population, masculinity has become synonymous with one word: tough. Of course, when asked "What is masculinity?” most would immediately think of a buff and courageous man in the prime of his life. Perhaps a Arnold Schwarzenegger-type figure circa 1984. This image of masculinity has been so ingrained in our minds from all sorts of external influences from the earliest stages of development. Growing up, little boys played with G.I. Joe's - America's ultimate action figure. Little girls expected their future husbands to have fantastic bodies similar to Barbie's man-toy, Ken. From fictional superheroes to real-life celebrities, we are all led to believe that being masculine means looking the part of an abnormally fit, attractive young man. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of masculine is "having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man". What are these qualities? The ability to defend himself and his loved ones from others who mean harm? Yes, I would have to say these qualities deemed universally valuable in a man. It seems that George Orwell would also agree. In 1984 (the book, not the year that the Terminator first time-traveled back into your local theatre), the character, Big Brother is a figure of masculine dominance.

After getting four pages into the book, one already gets the idea that he is always watching you. Is he trying to look out for you? Oceania is so heavily totalitarianized that the average person is forced to think so. One cannot think an original thought such as perhaps, Big Brother is over-exerting his dominance. The Party displays these male qualities as well - violence, dominance, power and control. We are led to believe that feeling weak, insecure and out of place are "sissy" qualities; more acceptable in women than men.

George Orwell knew how to create the image of a dominant male. Orwell made him overbearing, cunning and intelligent, all-knowing and intolerable of anything less than what he expected. This tough, authoritarian man, this Big Brother, is what we all think of when asked about masculinity. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. G.I. Joe, Ken, the guy from the extremely-quotable Old Spice commercials all exemplify masculine qualities garnered from society's expectations. Even the men from Jersey shore, who are of questionable intelligence, fruitlessly seek to be "manly" by their belief in GTL. No one thinks of a sensitivity or modesty as masculine qualities. Similarly, not many would think of Julia as masculine. Despite the fact that she is the one who is affirmed in her belief of the misdemeanour of The Party, since she is a woman, she must be protected. Never mind that the man, Winston, eventually betrays Julia and gives in to the pressures of conformity. Julia automatically must be soft-spoken, virtuous and pure given her sex. Men who display signs of vulnerability are also automatically thought to be feminine if they do not display the outward signs of masculinity. It's an unfair situation but we must always remember that we as a society defined it so. 

Possibilities.

For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, is it possible to be happy? Why?

According to his book, Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud states that is far easier to be unhappy than happy. It requires more effort to experience happiness as opposed to unhappiness. We are vulnerable to suffering via our own bodies, our environment and our relations with other people. However, simply because Freud states that it is more challenging to be happy, it does not mean it is unmanageable to feel joy. Difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.

                Freud mentions in Civilization and its Discontents, that because there is so much opportunity for displeasure in life, that men have begun to lower their standards on what constitutes the feeling of ‘happiness’.  He goes on to say that some men will confuse happiness with simply escaping unhappiness. I am glad to say that I am not nearly as pessimistic or analytical (however you choose to see it) as Sigmund Freud and believe that humans, as a species, do not suffer a great deal from searching for happiness.

Through our lives, we try to find purpose or a calling. We run into obstacles which cause us grief and misery. Perhaps Freud is correct to say that it is easier to feel unhappiness as we are often encompassed by it in our lives. Nonetheless, despite all obstacles, every time we overcome one, we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. I know that I myself find joy in even the little things, such as when the weather is sunny as opposed to rain or when I just make the bus instead of waiting half an hour for the next one. This sensation, the feeling of triumph, pulls us through and we continue. If we didn’t – if all humans couldn’t withstand the hurdles of life – our species would’ve died out thousands of years ago.

Freud does discuss in his work that happiness is possible. He emphasizes that unhappiness is more likely and he alludes that living a blissful life "means putting enjoyment before caution" (Freud, pg. 44-45) and thus "brings its own punishment" (pg. 45). Regardless of whether or not Freud is correct about the ability to feel happiness throughout human life, I find that his view is far too negative for me. It would be beneficial for the spirit to not spend so much time considering all the ways in which we indulge in unhappiness.

Cited Works:
Sigmund Freud, Civilizations and its Discontents.

Socrates.

1. Do you think these charges are legitimate? Is this a fair trial?

Impiety. Were this all to take place during a modern day and age, there would be many reasons to call the charges illegitimate and prejudiced. However, at the time that Plato and Socrates lived in Athens, I suppose that it was a great wrong to be impious. However, even then, I do not believe that the charges laid against Socrates were fair. He says to Euthyphro that Meletus is prosecuting him on the grounds that he is “inventing new gods and for not believing in the old ones” (Plato, pg. 2). The way the charges are presented in Plato’s Euthyphro gives one the impression that Meletus is simply singling out Socrates because he does not agree with the teachings of Socrates and does not want them to be spread. The legitimacy of Socrates’ impiety does not seem to be a main factor in the prosecution.

Due to his conversation with Euthyphro, it is evident that no matter what the circumstance, Socrates is always prepared to mentor other people. Instead of truly preparing for his case, he instead takes the time to question Euthyphro as to why he would want to prosecute his own father. He then continuously questions Euthyphro on the definition of piety and impiety – pointing out flaws in each definition that Euthyphro gives. Through this method, it seems that Socrates truly wants him to figure out what piety and impiety is (although, by the end, Euthyphro just seems frustrated by the constant correction and questioning).

I can’t imagine that the trial against Socrates would be a fair and just one. One receives the impression from the text that the men of power in Athens simply want to suppress change amongst the youth. As stated by Socrates (and supported earlier by Euthyphro), “as soon as they think he [a clever man] makes other people clever, they get angry, whether it be from resentment, as you [Euthyphro] say, or for some other reason” (Plato, pg. 2).  This kind of case would not even make it to a modern-day court. if Socrates were to be found guilty today, with as little evidence as there was back then, it would put the whole justice system into refute. When the charges have a weak validity, more often than not, the trial will not be impartial.

The charges and trial against Socrates does not seem to be fair and unbiased. The men of Athens appear to be angered at the teachings of the great philosopher and to want to put an end to the spread of his beliefs. Throughout the entire text of Euthyphro, he does not appear to corrupt the mind of Euthyphro with his beliefs in deities different than those recognized by the state. In fact, Socrates’ inquiries can be interpreted as trying to lead Euthyphro to his own correct definition of piety and impiety – as opposed to Socrates simply answering the question himself. 

Works Cited:

Plato, Euthyphro. 

Stay.

1. If you were a citizen of Omelas, would you stay or would you walk? Please explain and justify your decision. 


When asked whether one would stay or walk away from the supposed utopia of Omelas created by Ursula K Le Guin, the first thought is usually 'walk'. There is a child suffering in the basement - he is locked up, sits in his own excrement, feeds on an inhumane amount of food per day and receives no kindness whatsoever. The moral compass within one points away from Omelas. However, not everyone follows their moral compass.
I know it is right to leave. Sacrificing the happiness of one in exchange for the perfection of Omelas is wrong. Everyone should be given an equal chance to be happy. Nonetheless, I doubt I would be able to do so. If I were to leave without the child, what difference would that make? I would leave the only life I'd have ever known and be walking into complete darkness. The way I see it, who is to say that there aren't worse places outside of the confines of Omelas? I know it is right to leave but I don't think I could if I were faced with the decision.
Things in Omelas would not be significantly different if I were to leave. My family, my friends and even the child in the basement would still be exactly where they were if I was not. The situation would be different if I could take the child with me and free him from his prison. However, all the beauty in Omelas depends "wholly on this child's abominable misery" (Le Guin, pg. 3). By taking him with me, I would be destroying every other citizens' "happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers" (Le Guin, pg. 3) and even more. I cannot leave on my own and know that I've made an improvement to the child's fortunes nor can I take him with me and know that every other inhabitant's life will be undisrupted. They won't. And if I were to walk, the child would be undisrupted from his constant misery.
 What is outside of Omelas? As a citizen, I would be unaware of anything other than the utopia that I have been born into and grown up in. The world outside could be dangerous and more intolerable than one where "there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child" (Le Guin, pg. 4). Omelas has one flaw. Other places may have two, three, dozens or millions of flaws. I know that I wouldn't be able to take such a risk, wouldn't be able to leave the comfort of my home. Le Guin states on page 2 that "One thing I know there is none of in Omelas is guilt." I would not need to feel guilty for living a perfect life while the child lives in anguish. Outside of my utopia there may be guilt, embarrassment, anger and disappointment. 
In closing, I would stay in Omelas. I cannot do anything about the situation nor can I know that I will be leaving Omelas for a better society. I am not ashamed to admit that I would rather remain in that society than walk away. I am a person who weighs the pros and the cons of every decision before I make it and I cannot see the benefits of leaving outweighing the disadvantages of staying. 


Works cited:


Ursula K Le Guin, "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas."