#4: politics and trees

When I took the Political Compass Test, I scored in the left-libertarian range. I found it interesting but was not suprised when Gandhi was in the general area that I was. Back in sixth grade, our teacher showed us the "Gandhi" movie and ever since then I have admired him and his pacifistic story. Non-violence is a moral of mine and he was, and still is, an idol of pure peace. One of my favorite quotes from him is, "Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well." I wish this idea could be spread across the world and everyone realize how beautiful of a concept it is. It could bring about an equalistic perspective and maybe even end of war. Mother Teresa said that she would never attend an anti-war rally only a pro-peace one, and that is the way to think.

Politics on the other hand would be at the other end of the spectum, or so I had thought. In class on Tuesday, you changed my rigid view of what I thought politics was, you said it is the way we live our lives, treat other people and how society should be. That took me a few moments to process. I viewed politics as the politicians, the conservative suits, the bashing of each other during elections, the dishonesty and knowing that they were making decisions for me. How can I trust them to do a good job at being in charge of decision making if I really don't know who these people are? I couldn't agree more with the statement you wrote in your understanding of anarchism, "We believe democracy doesn't come from a small group of people at the top of society, instead, democratic processes depend on the full involvement of informed/engaged citizens from all sections of a society." I suppose I may have discovered an anarchist side of my beliefs. Really though, who wouldn't want to have a say in what goes on in the big picture? If everyone could actually get to know their neighbors, have discussions, and get the ball rolling then maybe we could get a foot in the door to open up a new worldview.

I've given some thought to my political philosophy and there are two main concerns of mine, environmentalism and overpopulation, which ultimately leads back to the environment. I wouldn't care to be called a "tree hugger" or a "greenie weenie" because we wouldn't be alive if it weren't for the trees. Also, most people don't realize that every party can be recycled; the plastic cups, two liters, beer cans and bottles, and even the cardboard boxes they come in. There's nothing wrong with trying to reduce your carbon footprint. I've had a strong ideology for the environment for a while now, which lead me to see another side of abortion. It really irked me in high school when girls that weren't even 18 were pregnant, let alone the over-publicized MTV show "16 and pregnant." I strongly believe there should be requirements to bringing another life onto our planet, but free condoms would be a good start. Not to mention the millions of orphans all over the world. Why don't we take care of the people we already have instead of worrying about a fetus that hasn't even taken a breath? Think of all the resources we are continuing to suck out of the ground like it's going to last forever. We dump all of our garbage in landfills and some of it ends up in the ocean, mangling innocent sea creatures. If I were going to chose a politician to be in office, I would look at their environmental and abortion views. We can't continue to pollute this Earth and expect it to be kind in return.

#3: light bulb

The Age of Enlightenment was a movement over two hundred years ago, to restructure society through reason and science rather than tradition and religion. The introduction of the encyclopedia in the 18th century inspired people and made them think about the world in a new light. As Wikipedia quoted Imanuel Kant, it was the "empancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error." Facts had now been spread for the common citizens to learn and create their own train of thought and people could be more independent thinkers. I'm glad that tradition began to be questioned. In definition it means inherited patterns of thought and the recent generations are becoming less traditional because the concepts of the previous cultures are fading. This idea is depicted in the RSA Animate: 21st Century Enlightenment as thinking differently. The video discussed the model of self-aware autonomy which refers to personal independence and being able to make moral decisions and act on them. It may not be of morals, but I can relate to being untraditional in a sense that I never attended any high school dances. Everyone at school would be talking about prom and it really didn't phase me; I had no interest in getting dressed up to go stand around in the gym and listen to music from the radio. I'm sure plenty of girls were crushed because either no one asked them to a dance or who they wanted to go with went with someone else. How petty is that? I feel enlightened, or at least unconventional, in a way that I don't feel the need to conform with popular thought or what the Bible says is right. Wikipedia stated how philosophers in France used to be "imprisoned and hounded into exile" just for believing in something unconventional. The people had been ignorant for so long that these new concepts were hard for some to open their minds to. Conformity is an issue that the RSA Animate: Changing Education Paradigms addressed in the issue of standarized testing. This form of testing I see as an insult, not everyone has the same skills yet they are judged with a rubric that bases all students on the same level. The video even showed a study that the number of students with ADHD has risen with the increase of standardized tests. School were portrayed as factories with a production line mentality but kids now have the ability of divergent thinking. New generations, according to the RSA video, don't see the point in traditional schooling anymore and I believe I am a part of that group. I breezed through high school but once I got to college I had a futile view of life and didn't want to waste my precious moments stressing over assignments and exams. My mom was so desperate for me to be in school that she bribed me with paying the next six months of my rent. Most people don't even get jobs in the field of their degree but apparently you can't be well off without one. The 21st Century Enlightenment video brought up the question of what makes up happy and I'd like to find out for myself.

#2: Out Of Our Minds

Marketing and advertising has come to consume the majority of our everyday lives. You can't even walk down the street without being bombarded with different brands and companies promoting their product. Whether it is a coke can on the ground, a logo on someone's t-shirt, or the giant yellow M that seems to be on every street corner in America. Companies are desperate for our attention and our dollar and they go to extreme measures to make sure they advertise in clever ways. The Cheerios you see in the background of a tv show were purposefully put there by General Mills for more money than most of us make in a year. I like how the author portrays this concept as the population being coerced and manipulated into our buying tendencies. When I read that psychologists design malls in certain ways to confuse us and keep us shopping, I was taken aback. I know that I enjoy shopping but I didn't realize that it was purposefully made to make me feel entranced and spend more than I intended. There are hundreds of advertisements that some group of marketers worked for months preparing and tweaking to make sure that they catch our eye and subconsciously draw us to their product. So as the author explained, once we get to where we buy the product, there is a sales person with a fake smile telling you what you want to hear so you'll open your wallet and buy it. This happens 24/7 all over the world and that is what keeps our economy chugging along. To make sure everything runs smoothly and that a profit is being made, the author reveals "Our movements through department stores are videotaped and analyzed so that shelves and displays can be rearranged to steer us toward an optimum volume of more expensive purchases." I realize that I have been recorded on security cameras everywhere, but that people actually studied them to determine shopping patterns was shocking to me. It is like we are lab rats under observation, being tested on which way through the maze was most beneficial for the scientist. On another note, I thought it was clever the way he asked if his words were more valid that they were bound in a book than heard from a stranger on the bus. We are obviously a very vulnerable species and the way the author ended the piece with talk of guided visualizations and hypnotists, it got me wondering what people would do if they could hypnotize the masses. Then I think of how we are basically robots in our own world, just puppets compared to the top of the pyramid billionaires. So overall I'm not sure how I feel after obsorbing the perspective of Mr. Rushkoff, but I respect the points he made and agree with his general theory of technology consuming our planet.


This is just something I had seen and thought you would appreciate.
iwastesomuchtime.com

#1: Be Nice

I remember learning "The Golden Rule" in elementary school: treat others the way you want to be treated. It seems simple enough, yet once we grow up and see the way things really work, that concept becomes more difficult to apply to everyday life. This idea goes along with how Americans view Islamics as terrorists. Although the people that crashed the planes in to the World Trade Centers were of that religion, it does not mean it should reflect that community negatively as a whole. I'm sure most nations view the United States as greedy but not all of us are money-hungry hounds. We are all a part of the human race and each individual on this planet desereves respect and happiness. Clearly not everyone receives respect, but we're all here trying to get by through life, so why not make it a pleasant experience and work together to build unity with other nations?

I agree with the author's statement about how "we see and know what the world needs us to see and know." If we hear of something we don't know about, it makes us second guess what we previously felt was true. Once we realize we may have been wrong about one thing, it leads us down a path of uncertainty. Being wrong is difficult for our ego, which makes us defensive and put up walls toward foreign concepts. I've heard before that ignorance causes fear. We are kept in the dark and that is exactly what the people in charge want. I've realized lately that we literally drive between the yellow lines that the government has painted on the ground for us, and we don't go unless that light turns green. So much for all of this freedom we have.

The author wrote that "workers can never become wealthy working." Though that may be true, the idea is quite bothersome. What is the point of going to school for years to get a degree so you can have a better paying job if working can't make you wealthy? If that statement were broadcasted to Americans in the workforce, there would be millions of people lining up to protest because everyone wants to be rich. We have been trained to believe that the more we have then the happier we will be, and that is pretty sad to me. There is so much more to life than constantly working to make another dollar. No one appreciates what they have anymore, just always looking for the next best thing. Wealth should not be measured with money, it's only paper in the end.