Letter

I really enjoyed The Road. Throughout the book, I kept wondering when the father was going to crack. I was surprised he never did. It showed that good people can still exist even when the world is at such a terrible state. Surely the man could have just thrown away his morals like most of the other people, just eat the boy, and join the other cannibals. Life would have been easier and he wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of looking after the boy and risking his life. I actually found it inspiring: To "carry the fire" even when the world turns on you. It is the sacrifice of the good. This story of the father and the boy constantly reminds me to be a better person when I want to give up and be as selfish as I please. I will carry the fire.

Direction the class needs

I don't think the class needs a new direction. I find everything so far to be interesting. I especially enjoy the spontaneous discussions. I find out more about y''all's views on issues and find that some still have hope- which is important:it becomes contagious.

Defend the Poet

I actually really liked this poem. I guess it was supposed to be depressing, but I couldn't help but laugh at how everything progresses and how true it was- at the irony of life. I was really surprised that this wasn't a more recent poem and wondered how he predicted all of these events. What did the people think of him back then? What do they think of him now, that they have witnessed the tragedies and events claim lives?

Borders and wars

I think it would be nice if the world wasn't so divided up. This territorial thing is a bit annoying. After all, what gave us the right to take over someone else's home? Just because we have the capability, doesn't mean we should invade. The only wars to be fought should be between planets- us against aliens... ok, we'd be shamefully obliterated, but at least we would all be united.

How do I know what I know?

I don't know what I know... huh?

How do I even start explaining this?
It is a known fact that the earth is spherical(real word?). That's just the way we see it. But, there may be something up with human eyes that distorts everything we see.
It's like telling a woman/man born blind that a Domo cup is brown. This is may or may not be exclusive to me, but if I was the blind one, I, of course, can't see it. I would understand that that piece of information is a claim. It may be what this person sees, so it's a truth- to him/her. It could be a lie and it's really black.

To me, nothing is certain; everything is a claim because it can be a lie or an untruth. A lot depends on perception and perception is different from person to person, place to place, species to species, so I try to avoid assuming anything.

Our Meaning... come it's nearly tea time, the lunatics arrive

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure." -Agent Smith, The Matrix

Being the way I am, I have, for most of my life, seen the human species as the true vermin of earth. I have lost faith in humanity ages ago(excepting few). Really, how many species will do this to their own home? Humans are supposedly the most intelligent species on planet Earth, yet we race to our own extinction, knowingly, in or merry little hummers. Sounds like suicide to me.



"If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives. There are only a handful of planets in the cosmos that are capable of supporting complex life..." - Klatu, The day the Earth Stood Still

I pretty much live by this. I used to joke about the aliens coming to fix things. Then, I saw "The day the Earth Stood Still".



Perhaps our purpose is being some type of planet cleaners. Our entire existence may only be like a few minutes to aliens and we clear the planet of all life, leaving the planet to them to do as they please. The abducted humans are like test subjects to genetically modify to adapt to other planets that need to be cleared, and then they breed us to clear the other planets... Sort of a passing thought, didn't think further than that.

A tad too depressing? I don't think so, a bit hilarious if you find the right light to look at it in. Yeah, the asylum doctors are coming for me...

God in 2009

The idea of "God" always makes me wonder about the god in each religion. I always thought that everyone believes in the same one, but just have different characteristics from religion to religion. That is a bit hard to explain. It all has to do with perspective. Say, there is one person (God). Now, all the pathetic humans look up to this God and see a different side of him/her. So now, they all think that their god is a different being when, really, there's only one. That probably doesn't make sense...

God in 2009. I am going to assume that this post is supposed to be about how people view God in 2009. When I am on the computer, digging around in forums and such places, I occasionally come across “96% of teens won't stand up for God. Put this on your page if you're one of the 4% who will.” or something else of that nature in someone’s signature, page, profile, etc. I know that that number isn’t accurate and that it changes from time to time, but it really makes me wonder about the real percentage. I think that “96% of teens won't stand up for God. Put this on your page if you're one of the 4% who will.” implies that it is “not cool” for people to believe in God, and that those who are believers, should be proud. In my opinion, it labels individuals and gives an impression.

Candide’s Punishments, Do the Fit the Crime?

If it was just a Kiss
The book says that Candid and Cunegonde kissed and that their hands strayed. I think that the punishment was disproportionate to the crime if this is all that happened. I think that getting kicked out of the castle was a bit extreme for kissing since it has no noticeable negative effect on the others. Also, The two characters, Candide and Cunegonde, seemed like they were of age to make their own choices. I guess that in that time in history, the custom/tradition was not like that of today's and people were more conservative back then.
Did Cunegonde get punished? All she ended up with was boxed ears. I think that she is at as much fault as Candide is. She should have also have been kicked out of the castle.

If it was more than just a kiss
If the book implied that it was more than a kiss, then I think that both Candide and Cunegonde should have been kicked out. If they were doing something more extreme, for an example, fornicating, then I think that have been kicked out for being indecent. After all, this took place in a very accessible area- behind a screen, right after leaving the dining table.

Modern Gadfly

According to Wikipedia, a Gadfly is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or just being an irritant. I honestly can't think of any specific one person that would fit this definition. I do think that there are many people who could be considered a gadfly. I think that anyone who appears on the news might be a gadfly since they had to have done something strange to get on the news. I also think that the occasional dude on a motorcycle zooming by and disturbing the peace is a gadfly. The tree-huggers, extremists, activists, authors of rarely read books, crazies locked in the asylum, and protestors, in my opinion, are also gadflies as they do things that aren't socially accepted by the general everyone else. They are also irritating and anything they say usually causes some chaos. Even the vegans and vegetarians are probably gadflies. There always seems to be a crowd of people saying that they hate vegetarians and vegans, that "Meat tastes good so just eat it! Everyone else eats it". Now that I think about it, I think that I, myself, am a gadfly- just not a well known one.

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living

I do not completely agree that the unexamined life is not worth living. Everyone has a purpose and so everyone’s life is worth living. But I also think that failing to examine your life is a waste. Looking back at on your life can help you in the future. Wrong actions, decisions, and behavior from the past can teach what shouldn’t be repeated. What makes life worth living anyway? I think that the answer varies from person to person.

Eulogy

Dearest guests, I welcome you to my funeral.

Since I am now dead, I can’t be bothered to apologize to anyone expecting what I consider a normal eulogy.

Worry not, for I would rather not be mourned, but remembered and esteemed. Being celebrated is preferred since sorrow is a terrible way to waste time that can never be regained. I have embraced death; never feared it. I lived my life with no regrets.

Throughout my life I have fought for my freedom, severed ties, reconnected with nature, sacrificed, and sought strength. My methods were questioned, criticized, and misunderstood. That led to greater hardship and therefore greater strength. To anyone trying to understand my choices, I promise that there is a method in my madness.

I would like to leave you with the following thoughts that plagued my mind in hope that it will do someone somewhere some good. I never liked to preach a lifestyle, but this is an exception.
Death is the only thing guaranteed in life.
You shouldn’t assume and you should not judge.
Our soulless vessels are meant to return to the earth. They should not be tainted with anything that can harm any life form.
Strength is born from heartbreak”
You cannot eat or drink money. Greed only offers immediate rewards that wear away all too soon, while selflessness pays off in the long run.
Ignorance may be bliss, but it may also be a bloody torturous hell for those ignored and neglected.
Not all is as it seems.
Live responsibly.

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