People are disgusting. Our species is the only species that feel that we have a divine right to this planet while simultaneously destroying it. Disgusting. Only ours is the one who needs to create multiple mystical belief systems to “save us” from all the evil and tyranny that we ourselves have actually created. Only we as humans have manufactured complex scientific and mathematical procedures to extend our so-called knowledge past that of our planetary roommates.
Like we really need it. It’s all so unimportant. Mixing chemicals trying to cure diseases that we created. Researching biology and biotechnology to restore the natural floral status that we have harvested away for our commercial advances. The Industrial Revolution could also be considered the largest mass-disregard for the planet Earth since the dawn of man. A sociopathological homicide of terrific proportions. An orgy of destructively creative lust.
I love how the pseudo intellectual masterminds of our ridiculously over glorified social-economic system supposedly gather to debate the issues of our nations. Like they actually care. They allocate millions of dollars, or rather millions of lives lost to the unending onslaught of corporate and retail enslavement, to programs that are supposedly increasing the general quality of life for all. They throw lives away in order to ‘save’ other lives and then declare themselves heroes in black suits. Disgusting.
Our clothes, music, art, creativity, personalities, the cars we drive, the way we control our hair, the ink and needles punched into our skin, the shoes we shine – it’s all meaningless and unoriginal. No one really “knows” anyone. You can live with a single individual an entire lifetime and still have no idea who they are. Even if you spent all your moments, all your times, all your ups and all your downs, all your hopes and all your dreams, all of your moments together – it wouldn’t matter. You would still never know them. We will never really know who we are. If we cannot know ourselves, how could anyone else possibly know us? Or Visa Verse? It’s all a sham. There is no happy ending. Connections are superficial. Love is bullshit. There is far too much emphasis on “individual personalities”; like we are all so different.
Were not. We are not special, we are not unique, we are not fucking snowflakes and we are not individuals by the conventional sense. Only in a biological and chemical sense, though even then we are still all relatively the same. We are a horde of meat and blood. Our social emphasis on individuality is spearheaded by the inevitable fact that we are not individuals. Something that is true does not need such focus; therefore this façade is not true. Not true at all. We are not unique. If we, indeed, were all so unique, then why must we constantly need to be reminded that we are? Like we have forgotten. We wouldn’t, for if we were so unique – we wouldn’t need to reinforce it. If a machine is working, it’s working. If a machine is working, it doesn’t need to be reminded of this – it knows it’s working. Or maybe it doesn’t, however if it is working then it is clearly working and there is no need to attend to it.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Suffering
Would you want to live in a world without suffering?
Is suffering necessary to a good life? Im in a philosophy class and I have to write a paper and I want to get other peoples opionions on the subject because I think it is necessary to have suffering and pain in order to apprecitate things. What do you think?
Is suffering necessary to a good life? Im in a philosophy class and I have to write a paper and I want to get other peoples opionions on the subject because I think it is necessary to have suffering and pain in order to apprecitate things. What do you think?
Source: Yahoo! Answers
My Answer:
I would have to agree with you on that. Suffering is a form of pain, and pain is an opposite to a number of alternative feelings; as pain, in a sense, is a feeling. Opposites could include pleasure, comfort etc etc.
A world without suffering could not exist within the following philosophical write-up: As if there is no suffering, life would become quite meaningless or even not existent; would it not? If there is no strive toward something, then what would be the point of it? If you want to have that shiny new car and you strive to get it and finally achieve it and own that car, then what is there to do next? You will, eventually, become bored of that car and pursue something more advanced in its respective field. Basically to say that if you already own something, in whatever essence that 'something is', you will no longer pursue that individual element. As Karl Popper, in Open Society and Its Enemies, states, "...human suffering makes a direct moral appeal for help, while there is no similar call to increase the happiness of a man who is doing well anyway."
So back to the basic question. If the world had no suffering, then humanity would possibly strive to achieve a higher-level of non-suffering or a varying alternative of a similar subject; I believe it is part of who we are as a species -- to pursue greater achievements.
The Chinese philosophy of Ying & Yang states that any phenomena (such that of say, suffering) must consist of two opposing, yet at the same time, complementary pieces to form and complete a whole concept. So this is to say that without suffering, there can be no life – as then there is no opposing factor that creates this entity into a whole piece. This can be true of many fanatical concepts and theories of life such as bad/good, life/death, happy/sad, up/down, let/right, forwards/backwards – all these concepts have opposing sides to give the other meaning and existence. As if there is only up, and no down, then how could one call up "up", and how could the concept of moving upwards be considered anything at all? As if we are only moving up, then moving up would not be considered up at all, it would just be considered moving as that was the only form of moving there was.
My Answer:
I would have to agree with you on that. Suffering is a form of pain, and pain is an opposite to a number of alternative feelings; as pain, in a sense, is a feeling. Opposites could include pleasure, comfort etc etc.
A world without suffering could not exist within the following philosophical write-up: As if there is no suffering, life would become quite meaningless or even not existent; would it not? If there is no strive toward something, then what would be the point of it? If you want to have that shiny new car and you strive to get it and finally achieve it and own that car, then what is there to do next? You will, eventually, become bored of that car and pursue something more advanced in its respective field. Basically to say that if you already own something, in whatever essence that 'something is', you will no longer pursue that individual element. As Karl Popper, in Open Society and Its Enemies, states, "...human suffering makes a direct moral appeal for help, while there is no similar call to increase the happiness of a man who is doing well anyway."
So back to the basic question. If the world had no suffering, then humanity would possibly strive to achieve a higher-level of non-suffering or a varying alternative of a similar subject; I believe it is part of who we are as a species -- to pursue greater achievements.
The Chinese philosophy of Ying & Yang states that any phenomena (such that of say, suffering) must consist of two opposing, yet at the same time, complementary pieces to form and complete a whole concept. So this is to say that without suffering, there can be no life – as then there is no opposing factor that creates this entity into a whole piece. This can be true of many fanatical concepts and theories of life such as bad/good, life/death, happy/sad, up/down, let/right, forwards/backwards – all these concepts have opposing sides to give the other meaning and existence. As if there is only up, and no down, then how could one call up "up", and how could the concept of moving upwards be considered anything at all? As if we are only moving up, then moving up would not be considered up at all, it would just be considered moving as that was the only form of moving there was.
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What are your thoughts?
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What are your thoughts?
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Sunday, September 28, 2008
"Of, or Pertaining to Happiness"
In your search for fame and glory, all you will find is bitter dismay.
Upon reaching the end you'll finally realize you're just an utter shame.
Your pathetic attempts at self-satisfaction are completely narrow minded.
Can't you all see this? Or have you all just been blinded? As that's the way it seems.
Your pupils have melted at the seams from the screens emanating dreams;
screens screaming screening criteria for all your happy little scenes.
Your digital days chalked full of pivotal plays to satisfy your critical daze.
Your pitiful craze confines you all within this cynical maze;
it's almost as if you're all in a state of clinical haze, a pathetic cage of near-religious praise.
Since when did masturbation become such a public fascination?
This sensation is exacerbation of the fundamental flaw with self-preservation.
You all need some education in the subtle field of creation,
because your relation to this reality-vacation is just an inebriation.
Its subjugation over your situation is an absolute humiliation!
Folks—this is not the salvation from isolation, this is just fabrication of self-evaluation.
It's an inflation of proclamation over your pseudo-elation.
Your cannibalistic imagination is what gives it its animalistic domination.Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Small Collection
For this post I decided to display some older poetic writings of mine. Hope you enjoy. (If anyone even reads this that is; fuck it haha)
===============
Life...
With so many steps,
to each side there is room.
A balance must be kept,
in order to avoid certain doom.
Walk to fast and you're sure to plummet.
Though tread to slow and you'll never reach the summit.
Please, my friend, take into consideratin,
outside factions that may hinder your situation.
Patience is key,
keep your thoughts in the Now.
For in the end you will see,
How this all played out.
It's like walking a tightrope..."
===============
===============
Life...
With so many steps,
to each side there is room.
A balance must be kept,
in order to avoid certain doom.
Walk to fast and you're sure to plummet.
Though tread to slow and you'll never reach the summit.
Please, my friend, take into consideratin,
outside factions that may hinder your situation.
Patience is key,
keep your thoughts in the Now.
For in the end you will see,
How this all played out.
It's like walking a tightrope..."
===============
A Glorious Debate Rages On
Pulling closer
Pushing farther
A glorious debate rages on
There is much difficulty in playing the opposition and the defender
And to do so means to wave the white flag
Morals are slaughtered in droves for the upcoming feast
A delightful banquet of psychological lust
Moving in
Backing down
A glorious debate rages on
These doors were supposedly locked with unbreakable latches
Hidden away from the outside world behind invisible barriers
Only a master detective could find such a place
Though the locks are on the floor, and the surrounding areas are drowning in deceit
Closing in
While retreating
A glorious debate rages on
Underneath the waters, the remains can still be seen
Betrayed by their boss and suffocated by their coworkers
The stench of rotten ethics wreak like sour milk
Shouldn't the janitor be here by now?
===============
===============
Digesting Your lack of Attention Is Easier Than You Thought, Wasn’t It?
Look away, down that other road
Don't worry about me, I'll just light a fire and burn my contentment
I bet it tastes just oh-so sweet; doesn't it?
The charred and salted ashes, digested by your lack of attention
How wonderful it must be, to live as you do
Sucking other's souls without even a first thought
Consuming other's whole with a recollection of not
All the while sporting that venomous smile
When I awaken from the slumber
I will come to realize that it is exactly as it seemed
My twisted, contorted skull can barely contain my mind
Oozing from the seams and leaking out all my dreams
===============
Fist Full of Bittersweet Indulgence
I wish the future were more certain.
This fist has me in such a tight grip, I am being strangled.
Only sometimes I am able to loosen the vice and catch a breath.
Short, sugar-coated breaths topped with enthusiam.
Though once digested, the acrid aftertaste of sorrow is all that remains.
The wretched zing I know far to well.
It is as if I am in an open field, lushous and ripe.
Green as far as the eye can see in any direction taken.
And looming overhead, the deep blue and white; unreachable.
However, the simple vastness of it all sparks the eerie tension.
It won't be long now…
===============
Then the Breakdown Occurs
Sometimes the voices in my head tell me scary stories.
Stories of despair, sorrow.. Of death and destruction.
Of the mind and body, with the occasional soul-snatcher thrown into the mix.
Stories that I thought I could handle hearing…
Until they became stories of real time events - happening to me.
Then the breakdown occurs.
"BOOM!"
There go the walls…
"CRASH!"
There go the barriers…
"SPLASH!"
There goes my Sanity.
Goodbye Sanity, how I shall miss thee.
I enjoyed the good times and I've enjoyed your company.
The positive reinforcement you brought to me wrapped in packages with familiar names on the tags.
The collective information you bestowed upon me in collaboration for the fantasy being built inside.
Three long years it took to re-fabricate that illustrious illusion, and one short month is all it took to destroy it.
"BOOM!"
There goes the breath…
"CRASH!"
There goes the air…
"SPLASH!"
There go my Lungs.
Suffocating now in my lonely, cold shell.
I've never been literally without breath, though I can remember this feeling all to well.
Drowning on the floor tile, it feels like Déjà vu.
I've been here before – I know it; You were there too, weren't You?
If You were not, then the laughter must have been coming from the voices… Oh, such bittersweet hilarity.
"BOOM!"
There goes the gate…
"CRASH!"
There go the guards…
"SPLASH!"
There goes my Heart.
Heart; please tell my Sanity I said, "Hello."
As expected, you were murdered slightly thereafter the disappearance of her.
Though do not despair, for in your absence I shall no longer suffer.
For without you in my chest, there is no longer reason to duck and cover.
I bid thee farewell, Heart… You shall and shall not be missed.
"BOOM!"
In comes the blackness…
"CRASH!"
In comes the instant…
"SPLASH!"
There goes my Life.
===============
===============
Unrealistic Expectations
Hello, I am me. And you are?
Oh, wonderful! It's nice to meet you!
Let me set you up on this pedestal, alright?
Wait a minute, why am I asking you if that is ok or not…
These are my unrealistic expectations and I am placing you up on top of them!
So there you are, way up high.
Such a goddess, such a delight!
Since when is anyone perfect? They are not!
However, they are always placed up there…
Waiting to jump…
Waiting to fall and crush me into the concrete.
Splitting my bones, and breaking my heart.
Destroying my soul and digesting my positivity.
Does my optimism satisfy your hunger?
I knew you would consume it.
I could see it in your eyes from down below…
Back when you were there, way up high.
When you impersonated a goddess, and seemed like such a delight.
I always knew it would come to this, didn't I?
Expectations are for fools.
And I am the biggest of them all.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Can we fix our flawed educational system?
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This is an essay I wrote for ENGL1301;
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The modern day American educational system is at its peak thus forth. It has proved itself worthy of supporting the American way of life in more ways than one would initially think! However, with such an advanced form of a system, why do some call it 'flawed' and 'dysfunctional'? Why is it that large-scale researched stories about why the system is possibly broken in so many different ways are constructed and broadcasted on national television, deeming the 'problem' worthy of massive, continuous public attention? Is it possible that even in this stage, the system is still not where it is supposed to be? And if so, then is there a way to reach that level of an ultra-superior teaching curriculum? In other words, can we fix our flawed educational system?
Our current system offers a variety of beautiful ways and opportunities of opening young minds to the wonder of our world. We offer history, mathematics, literature, modern languages such as French, Spanish and Chinese, business studies, economics, geography, philosophy, psychology, biology and other sciences such as physics and chemistry – all of these are part of the civilized and modern day public educational curricula. With all these topics being lectured over, tested on, re-tested on, debated over and then again re-lectured on over and over, one must certainly agree that all this is in place for the greater good, the further development of ours and our future's bright, young minds!
With that being said, one must also agree that all those years spent by our children are being put to good use once they are out of the system! It is assumed that they all graduate from the schools and, from there, venture out to pursue their goals, their passions and their life-callings. That they enter the real world prepared with all the knowledge they need to lead successful lives by achieving a high-income salary in the professional field of their dreams, purchasing a fancy automobile that can make 0-60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds, putting a down payment on and owning that gorgeous two-story, three-bedroom house with a green lawn and a white-picket fence, that they will support their two-child family and their loving husband or wife, and that they will have the perfect credit to sustain a fantastic insurance policy on their home, car, teeth, eyes, health and life! This is all the perfect American Dream, is it not? And all of this due to our excellent K-12 educational system giving them their start in the world.
However, is it not odd that dropout rate is so high? That the unemployment rate is through the roof? Do you not find it strange that the there have been more school slayings and pregnant teens within the last two to three generations than there have been highly successful graduates? Our educational system is the best it has ever been; yet that same system also has produced the highest rate of what our society calls "juvenile delinquents" ever.
So what can be done? Who do we blame? Do we blame the parents, the teachers, the principals, or the students themselves? Do we blame the government, or the system itself? Do we blame this problem on the street 'gangs' and the drug abuse, or the churches and the media?
According to the Federal Debt Relief System (FDRS), which is, allegedly, an organization who's dedicated mission goal is to educate, "…each and every individual who's been hoodwinked and blinded by the banking elite's propaganda media machine." [FDRS/Company] the educational system is flawed, stating that, "…Over the years, it's been changed by the Global Elite to fulfill their goal of producing "workers", rather than "thinkers", who will willingly accept a police state and enslavement." They believe the American people themselves are enthusiastically funding this movement through their tax dollars, and that, "the American people are underwriting the destruction of their own freedom and way of life by lavishly financing through federal grants the very social scientists who are undermining our national sovereignty and preparing our children to become the dumbed-down vassals of the new world order." [FDRS/EduSystem] However the paradox of this statement is that taxes are government enforced by the law and are carried out through the IRS, so the public has but no choice to fund this movement, whether they want to or not!
So what can be done, really? The FDRS chooses to blame the government, and it's public for the corruption and further development of its brainless, assembly-line future society. Other individuals and organizations choose to blame the system itself, and in more specific cases, the teachers! An example of this is an angry Internet blogger commenting on a fellow blog-reporter's account on how the "No Child Left Behind" program is coming along. "Here's an idea for educators. Instead of whining and bellyaching about how, "It just won't work"!and 'skirting' the laws , how about working within the given constraints, being resourceful, and doing the very best job possible to help children achieve their goals? But no, that cannot work because that would entail being cooperative with the current administration, and that is something that our 'educators' are simply incapable of." [TSSCUSB.Blog-City]
The chain-of-blame can continue endlessly on and on, back and forth with no further progress being made in any direction what so ever. It's as if we as a society are running a marathon and all we are doing is stepping parallel, side-to-side from the finish line. So, again, what can be done to change upon and improve the education system to lower the failure rate and increase the overall potential of our future generations and their quality of life?
The answer is not at all simple; however, it is definitely more shocking than most would perceive. Though before the solution can be explained, the problem must be properly identified and thoroughly evaluated to enable one the full comprehension of the fundamental flaw in our modern day educational system.
First we, as a society, must stop all the blaming. It is time for us to stop stepping sideways and start moving forward, not necessarily toward the finish line (if there is one), but toward the future of a more civilized, competent and well-constructed mankind. If you would like an example of what America, and the world for that matter, will be like down the road if we do not stop the blaming, then pick up a copy of the movie Idiocracy by director Mike Judge. The film depicts a wonderful illustration of post-intellectual downfall where the usual human IQ is an absolute disgrace, the President of the United States is a former professional wrestler, and the world cannot produce any crops, as a sports energy drink has purchased the entire planet's source of water and started spraying it's drink product on the crop's seeds. Needless to say, the movie is a complete satire at the "What If" question of the future of our society, however it poses a plausible theory in that direction.
Daniel Quinn, winner of the Turner Tomorrow Award, a $500,000 award plus the attendant publicity for fiction that "produces creative and positive solutions to global problems" [Academon], gives an insightful response and a radical solution to the very problem proposed here. However, do you even yet understand the problem proposed here, or do you just think you understand it? The following explanation will rock the very foundation from which you have been taught all these years.
Quinn constructs a theory so unlike any other by first explaining what the current system, in fact, produces. Think back, way back, to when you yourself were in this system. Do you recall the specific story about Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin, or about the USA and the Cold War from 1945 to 1963? What about the population, resources and developmental studies of Landmark Geography, or about the learning and practicing of the ideas, uses and techniques of advanced calculus and other technical mathematics? Don't lie, of course you do not recollect the full specifics to each of these individual examples but, sure, you remember about them. The act of 'awakening young minds' as Quinn puts it follows, "…that all minds must be opened in the same order, using the same tools, and at the same pace, on a certain schedule. The teacher is charged with getting the class as a whole to a certain predetermined point in the curriculum by a certain predetermined time, and the individuals that make up the class soon learn how to help the teacher with this task." [My Ishamel]
How do the individuals of the class help the teacher along in this process? They don't ask questions, to an extent. The job of the teacher is for you to reach the end point of their classroom teachings with proper, qualifying grades to advance to the next grade. To slow down this process is to delay the system, and the system must not be delayed. The idea, of the students, is to impersonate a student who learned what the teacher has been preaching for the past year, and they do this by temporarily memorizing facts, dates and material to achieve said qualifying grade on an exam in order to eventually pass the class altogether and proceed onward to the next stage. The students have not really learned anything; they have just 'cheated', in a sense, on the exams and thus have been cheated of their youthful years. If you do not believe me, than ask any current B-graded student if they remember anything specific about an alleged 'important' topic from the previous year; you know what their answer will be.
If the students are not learning anything useful that they cannot recall, in depth and with clear usefulness, a year later, then what did they do exactly? What did they spend their time doing? That part is simple. What all kids in this society do at their age, they go out and spend money from their parents on video and board games, music CDs, MP3 players and video DVDs, lavish and expensive clothing, jewelry and accessories, movie tickets to feature films coupled with popcorn, candy and soda, concert tickets, celebrity gossip magazines, printed media of their favorite recording artists, fast food and other fanatical and temporary material possessions. They hang out with their friends at the mall and buy into the two hundred billion dollar-a-year companies and corporations that cater specifically to them, specifically to their age groups! The youth of today's modern generations have it like no other generation prior.
You are possibly skeptical at this point, asking something along the lines of, "What does kids spending money on books, games, clothes and CDs have to do with anything about our flawed educational system?" Bear with me, you will be able to answer that question to others here soon enough.
America, in its current state, is no longer a democratic nation as, supposedly, the forefathers of our current foundation had intended it to be. It is fueled by, previously stated, two hundred billion plus dollar-a-year corporations to control the overall flow of our currency through the hands of the public. Even when said companies cannot, more US dollars are either borrowed or printed, increasing the national debt and lowering the value of the current US dollar in our pockets. Buildthefreedom.com declares that America is currently, "halfway between capitalism and communism. Note that for four of the most important criteria - education, communication, banking/currency, and taxation - my "communist percentages" are very high." [Builtthefreedom.com]
America needs these two hundred billion plus dollar-a-year corporations to survive in its current state. America needs its youth to be spending their parents' money, earned through investing their time at the companies and corporations, to continue the current flow of our economical currency and to perpetuate any change that would be constituted as 'dramatically catastrophic' toward the American way of life. Simply to say, that America could not be in its current state of continuation if the youth of our current and future generations did not spend their parents' income on useless material possessions and corporation-constructed, revenue-creating social 'fads' year after year, generation after generation.
If the youth were suddenly thrust into the job-market, these industries income would be dispersed into the economy, disturbing the current flow of currency over-night.
So the kids of these generations are studying information they will soon forget, and spending billions on products they don't necessarily need. If anything, it sounds as if they are just killing time; wasting years and money for the time being. But why are these youth just spending resources and not putting their efforts to better use? Why are they just gathering years instead of gathering useful information that pertains to their individual futures?
Because when one exits high school they have two options: go to college or get a job; and in more cases than none these days, if they choose college they are also forced to acquire income during that time. So, in a sense, many graduates have to take on both responsibilities at once and juggle the time between the two. However, either way, if they choose to get a job or go to college (and get a job) they are not starting off at an upper-management or CEO position. They are starting off at the bottom; they are getting jobs as cash-clerks, grocery baggers, cart-pushers, product-stockers and other minimum wage awarding retail jobs. These graduates and college students are starting at the bottom and are then forced to work their way to the top in their individual pursuits. The graduates that chose to work will work their way to store manager, and the college student will work towards their professional position, though either way they are spending the next half-decade or so working five to six days a week, eight to twelve hours a day. As well, after all that the worker or professional can then decide to stay within their current state, or take their chances to work their way up within another company with more opportunities and if they choose to continue up the ladder, they will then be starting at the near bottom of that ladder, once again spending days, weeks, months and years climbing the ranks.
In other words, these youth are spending years within the pre-level and mid-level high school educational systems, are graduating without the information needed to acquire anything above starter positions, and thus spending many more years working up the ladders. Dictionaries define "enslavement" as a verb to, "make (someone) a slave – to cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action." The endless rotation being enacted here could be described as Capitalist Enslavement; or forced employment of youth to ensure their stay within the job-market for many years and possibly their entire lives.
Therefore, after careful analysis, it becomes clear that the educational system of our modern day culture is not flawed for the current way of civilized life, but rather, its what makes this our economic system work! Quinn states this wonderfully by saying that the, "…deception here is that schools exist to serve the needs of the people. In fact, they exist to serve the needs of your economy. The schools turn out graduates who can't live without jobs but who have no job skills, and this suits your economic needs perfectly. What you're seeing at work in your schools isn't a system defect, it's a system requirement, and they meet that requirement with close to one hundred percent efficiency." [My Ishmael (2)]
Our culture procreates new generations, which are eventually enforced into the current stream of our economical structure and enslaved throughout their years in the capitalist cutthroat job-market. Rinse and repeat. To reiterate, the system that is set up is not flawed, it's flawless for this endless cycle.
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SOURCES
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http://www.fdrs.org/our_company.html
http://www.fdrs.org/educational_system_in_america.html
http://tsscusb.blog-city.com/so_hows_that_no_child_left_behind_act_going.htm
http://www.academon.com/lib/paper/55510.html
My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn, pg. 131
http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/wua11.shtml
My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn, pg. 144-145
This is an essay I wrote for ENGL1301;
-----
The modern day American educational system is at its peak thus forth. It has proved itself worthy of supporting the American way of life in more ways than one would initially think! However, with such an advanced form of a system, why do some call it 'flawed' and 'dysfunctional'? Why is it that large-scale researched stories about why the system is possibly broken in so many different ways are constructed and broadcasted on national television, deeming the 'problem' worthy of massive, continuous public attention? Is it possible that even in this stage, the system is still not where it is supposed to be? And if so, then is there a way to reach that level of an ultra-superior teaching curriculum? In other words, can we fix our flawed educational system?
Our current system offers a variety of beautiful ways and opportunities of opening young minds to the wonder of our world. We offer history, mathematics, literature, modern languages such as French, Spanish and Chinese, business studies, economics, geography, philosophy, psychology, biology and other sciences such as physics and chemistry – all of these are part of the civilized and modern day public educational curricula. With all these topics being lectured over, tested on, re-tested on, debated over and then again re-lectured on over and over, one must certainly agree that all this is in place for the greater good, the further development of ours and our future's bright, young minds!
With that being said, one must also agree that all those years spent by our children are being put to good use once they are out of the system! It is assumed that they all graduate from the schools and, from there, venture out to pursue their goals, their passions and their life-callings. That they enter the real world prepared with all the knowledge they need to lead successful lives by achieving a high-income salary in the professional field of their dreams, purchasing a fancy automobile that can make 0-60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds, putting a down payment on and owning that gorgeous two-story, three-bedroom house with a green lawn and a white-picket fence, that they will support their two-child family and their loving husband or wife, and that they will have the perfect credit to sustain a fantastic insurance policy on their home, car, teeth, eyes, health and life! This is all the perfect American Dream, is it not? And all of this due to our excellent K-12 educational system giving them their start in the world.
However, is it not odd that dropout rate is so high? That the unemployment rate is through the roof? Do you not find it strange that the there have been more school slayings and pregnant teens within the last two to three generations than there have been highly successful graduates? Our educational system is the best it has ever been; yet that same system also has produced the highest rate of what our society calls "juvenile delinquents" ever.
So what can be done? Who do we blame? Do we blame the parents, the teachers, the principals, or the students themselves? Do we blame the government, or the system itself? Do we blame this problem on the street 'gangs' and the drug abuse, or the churches and the media?
According to the Federal Debt Relief System (FDRS), which is, allegedly, an organization who's dedicated mission goal is to educate, "…each and every individual who's been hoodwinked and blinded by the banking elite's propaganda media machine." [FDRS/Company] the educational system is flawed, stating that, "…Over the years, it's been changed by the Global Elite to fulfill their goal of producing "workers", rather than "thinkers", who will willingly accept a police state and enslavement." They believe the American people themselves are enthusiastically funding this movement through their tax dollars, and that, "the American people are underwriting the destruction of their own freedom and way of life by lavishly financing through federal grants the very social scientists who are undermining our national sovereignty and preparing our children to become the dumbed-down vassals of the new world order." [FDRS/EduSystem] However the paradox of this statement is that taxes are government enforced by the law and are carried out through the IRS, so the public has but no choice to fund this movement, whether they want to or not!
So what can be done, really? The FDRS chooses to blame the government, and it's public for the corruption and further development of its brainless, assembly-line future society. Other individuals and organizations choose to blame the system itself, and in more specific cases, the teachers! An example of this is an angry Internet blogger commenting on a fellow blog-reporter's account on how the "No Child Left Behind" program is coming along. "Here's an idea for educators. Instead of whining and bellyaching about how, "It just won't work"!and 'skirting' the laws , how about working within the given constraints, being resourceful, and doing the very best job possible to help children achieve their goals? But no, that cannot work because that would entail being cooperative with the current administration, and that is something that our 'educators' are simply incapable of." [TSSCUSB.Blog-City]
The chain-of-blame can continue endlessly on and on, back and forth with no further progress being made in any direction what so ever. It's as if we as a society are running a marathon and all we are doing is stepping parallel, side-to-side from the finish line. So, again, what can be done to change upon and improve the education system to lower the failure rate and increase the overall potential of our future generations and their quality of life?
The answer is not at all simple; however, it is definitely more shocking than most would perceive. Though before the solution can be explained, the problem must be properly identified and thoroughly evaluated to enable one the full comprehension of the fundamental flaw in our modern day educational system.
First we, as a society, must stop all the blaming. It is time for us to stop stepping sideways and start moving forward, not necessarily toward the finish line (if there is one), but toward the future of a more civilized, competent and well-constructed mankind. If you would like an example of what America, and the world for that matter, will be like down the road if we do not stop the blaming, then pick up a copy of the movie Idiocracy by director Mike Judge. The film depicts a wonderful illustration of post-intellectual downfall where the usual human IQ is an absolute disgrace, the President of the United States is a former professional wrestler, and the world cannot produce any crops, as a sports energy drink has purchased the entire planet's source of water and started spraying it's drink product on the crop's seeds. Needless to say, the movie is a complete satire at the "What If" question of the future of our society, however it poses a plausible theory in that direction.
Daniel Quinn, winner of the Turner Tomorrow Award, a $500,000 award plus the attendant publicity for fiction that "produces creative and positive solutions to global problems" [Academon], gives an insightful response and a radical solution to the very problem proposed here. However, do you even yet understand the problem proposed here, or do you just think you understand it? The following explanation will rock the very foundation from which you have been taught all these years.
Quinn constructs a theory so unlike any other by first explaining what the current system, in fact, produces. Think back, way back, to when you yourself were in this system. Do you recall the specific story about Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin, or about the USA and the Cold War from 1945 to 1963? What about the population, resources and developmental studies of Landmark Geography, or about the learning and practicing of the ideas, uses and techniques of advanced calculus and other technical mathematics? Don't lie, of course you do not recollect the full specifics to each of these individual examples but, sure, you remember about them. The act of 'awakening young minds' as Quinn puts it follows, "…that all minds must be opened in the same order, using the same tools, and at the same pace, on a certain schedule. The teacher is charged with getting the class as a whole to a certain predetermined point in the curriculum by a certain predetermined time, and the individuals that make up the class soon learn how to help the teacher with this task." [My Ishamel]
How do the individuals of the class help the teacher along in this process? They don't ask questions, to an extent. The job of the teacher is for you to reach the end point of their classroom teachings with proper, qualifying grades to advance to the next grade. To slow down this process is to delay the system, and the system must not be delayed. The idea, of the students, is to impersonate a student who learned what the teacher has been preaching for the past year, and they do this by temporarily memorizing facts, dates and material to achieve said qualifying grade on an exam in order to eventually pass the class altogether and proceed onward to the next stage. The students have not really learned anything; they have just 'cheated', in a sense, on the exams and thus have been cheated of their youthful years. If you do not believe me, than ask any current B-graded student if they remember anything specific about an alleged 'important' topic from the previous year; you know what their answer will be.
If the students are not learning anything useful that they cannot recall, in depth and with clear usefulness, a year later, then what did they do exactly? What did they spend their time doing? That part is simple. What all kids in this society do at their age, they go out and spend money from their parents on video and board games, music CDs, MP3 players and video DVDs, lavish and expensive clothing, jewelry and accessories, movie tickets to feature films coupled with popcorn, candy and soda, concert tickets, celebrity gossip magazines, printed media of their favorite recording artists, fast food and other fanatical and temporary material possessions. They hang out with their friends at the mall and buy into the two hundred billion dollar-a-year companies and corporations that cater specifically to them, specifically to their age groups! The youth of today's modern generations have it like no other generation prior.
You are possibly skeptical at this point, asking something along the lines of, "What does kids spending money on books, games, clothes and CDs have to do with anything about our flawed educational system?" Bear with me, you will be able to answer that question to others here soon enough.
America, in its current state, is no longer a democratic nation as, supposedly, the forefathers of our current foundation had intended it to be. It is fueled by, previously stated, two hundred billion plus dollar-a-year corporations to control the overall flow of our currency through the hands of the public. Even when said companies cannot, more US dollars are either borrowed or printed, increasing the national debt and lowering the value of the current US dollar in our pockets. Buildthefreedom.com declares that America is currently, "halfway between capitalism and communism. Note that for four of the most important criteria - education, communication, banking/currency, and taxation - my "communist percentages" are very high." [Builtthefreedom.com]
America needs these two hundred billion plus dollar-a-year corporations to survive in its current state. America needs its youth to be spending their parents' money, earned through investing their time at the companies and corporations, to continue the current flow of our economical currency and to perpetuate any change that would be constituted as 'dramatically catastrophic' toward the American way of life. Simply to say, that America could not be in its current state of continuation if the youth of our current and future generations did not spend their parents' income on useless material possessions and corporation-constructed, revenue-creating social 'fads' year after year, generation after generation.
If the youth were suddenly thrust into the job-market, these industries income would be dispersed into the economy, disturbing the current flow of currency over-night.
So the kids of these generations are studying information they will soon forget, and spending billions on products they don't necessarily need. If anything, it sounds as if they are just killing time; wasting years and money for the time being. But why are these youth just spending resources and not putting their efforts to better use? Why are they just gathering years instead of gathering useful information that pertains to their individual futures?
Because when one exits high school they have two options: go to college or get a job; and in more cases than none these days, if they choose college they are also forced to acquire income during that time. So, in a sense, many graduates have to take on both responsibilities at once and juggle the time between the two. However, either way, if they choose to get a job or go to college (and get a job) they are not starting off at an upper-management or CEO position. They are starting off at the bottom; they are getting jobs as cash-clerks, grocery baggers, cart-pushers, product-stockers and other minimum wage awarding retail jobs. These graduates and college students are starting at the bottom and are then forced to work their way to the top in their individual pursuits. The graduates that chose to work will work their way to store manager, and the college student will work towards their professional position, though either way they are spending the next half-decade or so working five to six days a week, eight to twelve hours a day. As well, after all that the worker or professional can then decide to stay within their current state, or take their chances to work their way up within another company with more opportunities and if they choose to continue up the ladder, they will then be starting at the near bottom of that ladder, once again spending days, weeks, months and years climbing the ranks.
In other words, these youth are spending years within the pre-level and mid-level high school educational systems, are graduating without the information needed to acquire anything above starter positions, and thus spending many more years working up the ladders. Dictionaries define "enslavement" as a verb to, "make (someone) a slave – to cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action." The endless rotation being enacted here could be described as Capitalist Enslavement; or forced employment of youth to ensure their stay within the job-market for many years and possibly their entire lives.
Therefore, after careful analysis, it becomes clear that the educational system of our modern day culture is not flawed for the current way of civilized life, but rather, its what makes this our economic system work! Quinn states this wonderfully by saying that the, "…deception here is that schools exist to serve the needs of the people. In fact, they exist to serve the needs of your economy. The schools turn out graduates who can't live without jobs but who have no job skills, and this suits your economic needs perfectly. What you're seeing at work in your schools isn't a system defect, it's a system requirement, and they meet that requirement with close to one hundred percent efficiency." [My Ishmael (2)]
Our culture procreates new generations, which are eventually enforced into the current stream of our economical structure and enslaved throughout their years in the capitalist cutthroat job-market. Rinse and repeat. To reiterate, the system that is set up is not flawed, it's flawless for this endless cycle.
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SOURCES
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http://www.fdrs.org/our_company.html
http://www.fdrs.org/educational_system_in_america.html
http://tsscusb.blog-city.com/so_hows_that_no_child_left_behind_act_going.htm
http://www.academon.com/lib/paper/55510.html
My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn, pg. 131
http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/wua11.shtml
My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn, pg. 144-145
What are your thoughts?
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Concept of Eternity
Since my last blog was on the choices we make, I felt to continue this time in a religious direction. Today I am showcasing a paper I have written for my English Composition 1301 class. The essay has no definitive ending or direction in any singular direction, which I feel is rather fitting to the concept of the essay itself.
The concept of eternity is rather oblique and ambiguous. No human mind can comprehend the theory of eternity, or the sense of “timelessness”. To really marvel at the concept, one must first understand what Time actually is.
The concept behind time is that all things correspond to a tense, or moment when the events are going to occur, are occurring and have occurred. All actions in life must have a beginning, middle and end. As in to have what we call time, one must be congruent with the aspect of a before, during and after (event).
That is to say that if we must walk from one side of the road to the other, we must be on one side of the street (before), the action or process of walking across the street (during) and the result that we are on the opposing side of the street (after). This example, along with any other one can give, shows the value and clarifies the meaning of what we call “time”.
With that understanding we can begin, or rather cannot begin, to contemplate the concept of eternity. The word eternity, as described by dictionary.com, means, “infinite time; duration without beginning or end.” Let me reiterate that definition – without beginning or end.
Let us refer back to our example of time. We are on one side of the street, we walked across the street and now we are on the other side – this implies beginning, middle and end. So if we were to throw in the concept of eternity, we would be saying that the instance in which we were on the initial side of the street, the process of crossing from one side to another, and finally the fact that we are on the opposing side were all in the same instance. And as since we have tried to factor in our definition of eternity, if our watch declared it was 2:32PM on April 18th, 2008, and we were on one side of the street, then when we looked at our watch again on the other side it would still read 2:32PM on April 18th, 2008.
In fact, that would be impossible in itself! Our last sentence of the prior paragraph stated that we would look at our watch, but even that implies time! As there would be the instance of wondering the time, the action of looking at the watch and the notion of post-action which would be with the knowledge of the current time. But then again with the aspect of eternity added into the mix, all those tenses would be one.
It would no longer be a trifecta of action and understanding, but a unity and correlation of all these tenses in a single instance of time.
Do you have a headache yet?
Religious theology states that God is eternally existent, Meaning that God may exist in an alternate reality or conceptualization of time – eternity. That is to say that God has always existed, is existing and will always exist. Or that God exists within human nature’s correspondence of time, but outside human comprehension. Meaning that God created Life inside a set barrier of time; however, is observant and omnipotent outside of the barrier at the same time.
How is this possible? How can an entity exist eternally through all aspects of time? How can a being continue persistently since when and until forever again? Ask a religious believer how long eternity is; their answer will most likely be: forever. However ask how long forever is and you will receive the answer: eternity. How can one be in itself the same?
If eternity is forever, than how long is forever? If forever is for eternity, than how long is eternity? It is an illogical, incomprehensible subject matter. We as humans are born, live and die. Our entire existence is wrapped around the concept of ‘time’.
The fact that we are aware of our own mortality denies us the ability to comprehend a concept like that of eternity, or forever, because our knowledge of our post-human existence is unknown.
One of the many religiously influenced expressionist statements floating around would be that “Heaven is what we make of it here, now”, meaning that peace and love are all makeshift realities of our actions and decisions right now. Or the statement “Living in the now”, or something of that manner indicates that creating our perfect reality would be to enjoy the moment and not put all the pressure on the future – or regret and focus on the past.
Both of these statements indicate a manner of eternity, so to say that to embrace either of these ideologist theories would create some form of harmony for the user. A harmony that releases the user from the bonds of the modern concept of “time” (to an extent) and allow them to flow fluidly from one moment to another without feelings of extreme regret over the past or stress over future situations. This, in a sense, is a form of ‘eternity’ in which one could live freely through their life and enjoy each living moment to it’s fullest extent and appreciate the value of their own breath.
Most fly through life stating something along the lines of, “I can’t believe it’s been X amount of years since X-event” or a variation of that involving their astonishment over the time that has passed so quickly. Those who utter a statement such as this are controlled by the passage of time around them, being so focused on schedules and deadlines while also focusing on how a situation that occurred could have gone more appropriately.
Would not someone who is ‘free’ of these constraints perceive time in the sense that it is eternal? That there would always be another time?
Do you think that constructing a peaceful "Now reality" frees us from the constraints of time and makes eternity more accessible? Or is that mind-track simply a spin put on it by particular philosophers to gain a foothold into the understanding of this subject?
Is it possible to truly transcend the constraints of time?
Eternity
The concept of eternity is rather oblique and ambiguous. No human mind can comprehend the theory of eternity, or the sense of “timelessness”. To really marvel at the concept, one must first understand what Time actually is.
The concept behind time is that all things correspond to a tense, or moment when the events are going to occur, are occurring and have occurred. All actions in life must have a beginning, middle and end. As in to have what we call time, one must be congruent with the aspect of a before, during and after (event).
That is to say that if we must walk from one side of the road to the other, we must be on one side of the street (before), the action or process of walking across the street (during) and the result that we are on the opposing side of the street (after). This example, along with any other one can give, shows the value and clarifies the meaning of what we call “time”.
With that understanding we can begin, or rather cannot begin, to contemplate the concept of eternity. The word eternity, as described by dictionary.com, means, “infinite time; duration without beginning or end.” Let me reiterate that definition – without beginning or end.
Let us refer back to our example of time. We are on one side of the street, we walked across the street and now we are on the other side – this implies beginning, middle and end. So if we were to throw in the concept of eternity, we would be saying that the instance in which we were on the initial side of the street, the process of crossing from one side to another, and finally the fact that we are on the opposing side were all in the same instance. And as since we have tried to factor in our definition of eternity, if our watch declared it was 2:32PM on April 18th, 2008, and we were on one side of the street, then when we looked at our watch again on the other side it would still read 2:32PM on April 18th, 2008.
In fact, that would be impossible in itself! Our last sentence of the prior paragraph stated that we would look at our watch, but even that implies time! As there would be the instance of wondering the time, the action of looking at the watch and the notion of post-action which would be with the knowledge of the current time. But then again with the aspect of eternity added into the mix, all those tenses would be one.
It would no longer be a trifecta of action and understanding, but a unity and correlation of all these tenses in a single instance of time.
Do you have a headache yet?
Religious theology states that God is eternally existent, Meaning that God may exist in an alternate reality or conceptualization of time – eternity. That is to say that God has always existed, is existing and will always exist. Or that God exists within human nature’s correspondence of time, but outside human comprehension. Meaning that God created Life inside a set barrier of time; however, is observant and omnipotent outside of the barrier at the same time.
How is this possible? How can an entity exist eternally through all aspects of time? How can a being continue persistently since when and until forever again? Ask a religious believer how long eternity is; their answer will most likely be: forever. However ask how long forever is and you will receive the answer: eternity. How can one be in itself the same?
If eternity is forever, than how long is forever? If forever is for eternity, than how long is eternity? It is an illogical, incomprehensible subject matter. We as humans are born, live and die. Our entire existence is wrapped around the concept of ‘time’.
The fact that we are aware of our own mortality denies us the ability to comprehend a concept like that of eternity, or forever, because our knowledge of our post-human existence is unknown.
One of the many religiously influenced expressionist statements floating around would be that “Heaven is what we make of it here, now”, meaning that peace and love are all makeshift realities of our actions and decisions right now. Or the statement “Living in the now”, or something of that manner indicates that creating our perfect reality would be to enjoy the moment and not put all the pressure on the future – or regret and focus on the past.
Both of these statements indicate a manner of eternity, so to say that to embrace either of these ideologist theories would create some form of harmony for the user. A harmony that releases the user from the bonds of the modern concept of “time” (to an extent) and allow them to flow fluidly from one moment to another without feelings of extreme regret over the past or stress over future situations. This, in a sense, is a form of ‘eternity’ in which one could live freely through their life and enjoy each living moment to it’s fullest extent and appreciate the value of their own breath.
Most fly through life stating something along the lines of, “I can’t believe it’s been X amount of years since X-event” or a variation of that involving their astonishment over the time that has passed so quickly. Those who utter a statement such as this are controlled by the passage of time around them, being so focused on schedules and deadlines while also focusing on how a situation that occurred could have gone more appropriately.
Would not someone who is ‘free’ of these constraints perceive time in the sense that it is eternal? That there would always be another time?
Do you think that constructing a peaceful "Now reality" frees us from the constraints of time and makes eternity more accessible? Or is that mind-track simply a spin put on it by particular philosophers to gain a foothold into the understanding of this subject?
Is it possible to truly transcend the constraints of time?
What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Choices We Make
Todays question poses a wonderful philosophical question about the existence of time, past lives, future tense, outside and inner sources of choice, influence and more. Read on and please give your own thoughts!
This is one of my possible perspectives;
Here is a thought on the idea of random decisions, or rather on subconscious "knee-jerk" reactions/decisions.
The notion of a certain (or multiple) parallel universe, or an alternate reality to our own being somewhat connected to the very one we lead is far fetched to some. However take this for as much as you would like.
Say these alternate realities exist, and possibly are connected to our own. An alternate you, in an alternate reality/universe. Could it be possible that a subconscious "without-thought/knee-jerk" reaction or decision -- or even a conscious decision -- be a form of effect brought on by a decision of the alternate you? Or Visa Versa? Or possibly an intertwining mix of decisions and reactions from alternate realities that could also be thought of in terms of time of occurrence? Possibly a forty-five year old you making a decision that effects a fifteen year old you in a separate expanse of time, existence and thought?
Some might take this theory and say something along the lines of, "Well, how can the time theory work? How can something you do in the future effect the present, or any other substituted variable in that scenario?" Which is a valid point.
Keep your mind open here! Suppose that anything that impacts your decisions now also has effected your past and future, and both of those tenses also inflict subsiquint change upon the Now, or rather to say the present. What makes this theory so impossible to believe? I would love to read some arguments!
I am not saying this is my end-all belief on the matter, just keeping an open mind to varying possibilities.
"Do we honestly make our own Life Decisions or are you really just forced to make the choice?"
"When you look back on major decisions you made that changed your life for the good or bad, were they really avoidable or inevidable? Weren't they really going to happen anyway? Maybe they were just specific to you and they weren't that random..."
This is one of my possible perspectives;
Here is a thought on the idea of random decisions, or rather on subconscious "knee-jerk" reactions/decisions.
The notion of a certain (or multiple) parallel universe, or an alternate reality to our own being somewhat connected to the very one we lead is far fetched to some. However take this for as much as you would like.
Say these alternate realities exist, and possibly are connected to our own. An alternate you, in an alternate reality/universe. Could it be possible that a subconscious "without-thought/knee-jerk" reaction or decision -- or even a conscious decision -- be a form of effect brought on by a decision of the alternate you? Or Visa Versa? Or possibly an intertwining mix of decisions and reactions from alternate realities that could also be thought of in terms of time of occurrence? Possibly a forty-five year old you making a decision that effects a fifteen year old you in a separate expanse of time, existence and thought?
Some might take this theory and say something along the lines of, "Well, how can the time theory work? How can something you do in the future effect the present, or any other substituted variable in that scenario?" Which is a valid point.
Keep your mind open here! Suppose that anything that impacts your decisions now also has effected your past and future, and both of those tenses also inflict subsiquint change upon the Now, or rather to say the present. What makes this theory so impossible to believe? I would love to read some arguments!
I am not saying this is my end-all belief on the matter, just keeping an open mind to varying possibilities.
What are your thoughts?
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