blog 2-5-14

Hansberry’s idea that in history of man there has always been oppression is a difficult statement to argue with. Wherever there has been man there has been oppression. Think about it, every culture or background has at some time been oppressed. The oppression of African Americans is obvious in U.S history. Their plight has been of such magnitude that it often overshadows the other examples of oppression in the U.S. Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Jewish Americans, Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Hispanic Americans, Japanese Americans and others have all faced oppression at some point throughout their history. Even the Original colonists were oppressed by Britain. Throughout all of human history there has been oppression, and unfortunately I believe there always will be.

Oppression is still clear in the U.S today and is almost more obviously seen now than in recent years. The Coca-cola super bowl commercial that featured a variety of languages singing “America the Beautiful” was highly criticized. A large amount of the criticism was rampant throughout social media such as Twitter. Personally I think social media such as twitter have made oppression more evident because the sites establish a platform that gives everybody a voice. We cannot change the minds of the people. However I think we can say that those who would be against such things as the “America the Beautiful” commercial are in the minority and are often considered to be ignorant. I am glad Coca-cola aired the commercial, maybe if more large corporations would take similar stances it would help to further eradicate oppressive and racial thoughts in America.

Final blog post for semester

I’m actually pleased with my year thus far. As I wrote about the last time we did this I had been having a great year, reading a lot more, I was keeping my own journal at home, and really just exploring a lot of things that I never had and was enjoying it. Now I feel like things have changed somewhat. I don’t know if it’s lack of sleep or whatever but I’ve just felt very disjointed. I don’t know exactly how to explain it; it’s just feeling time pass away. I don’t know what it is but if I had to guess I would blame it on winter. I never seem to deal too well with winter, I just feel as though I’ve gotten lost in my thoughts and not in a productive way. I don’t really know though, maybe I’m just making problems where there are none, it’s not really worrying me that much it’s just annoying.  I just wish I could go back to the way I was in the beginning of the year, I felt so self- aware then. I didn’t have that feeling of time just flying by. I was really alive. I don’t know though, it’s probably just winter. I’m fairly confident that I can get back on track following midterms.

Anyway I would like to say that A.P Lit is by far my favorite class and I’m not just saying that. I’ve really enjoyed everything we’ve done in there. The short stories, objectivism, and transcendentalism (I love transcendentalism).  I’m still not a huge fan of writing essays but seriously, who his? And I don’t hate them nearly as much as I used to. My feeling towards this class can be simply summed up in the fact that it has become the only class I really try in anymore.

I’m excited to see what my final semester has to bring. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been excited for second semester. Most years I’m thinking “my god that was only the first half!” I’m looking forward to taking astronomy and creative writing. I have a many, many more books I want to read. I got a ukulele for Christmas so I’m looking forward to teaching myself that. Baseball should be…interesting… And I am REALLY looking forward to warmer weather. All I can hope for is that I can savor and enjoy this final semester of high school. I’m wishing for minimal regrets and sunny days…literally, I need the sun back.

Transcendental Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHVBzLGAIbU

Link to song ^

Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

For my song I chose Jim Croce’s “I Got A Name” because I feel that it strongly represents Emerson’s ideas regarding transcendentalism. At the core of Emerson’s belief were his ideas on self-reliance. Emerson believed that we needed to trust ourselves and our own intuition. He said that the knowledge we were looking for was already inside of us. Emerson opposed conformity because he felt it was a denial of self and would hinder creativity and original thought. Similar ideas can be conveyed through Croce’s song. The title and refrain of the song imply that Croce is relying on himself and treats himself as an individual. Croce makes implications to conformity saying “they can change their minds but they can’t change me”. He also indicates that he trusts his own intuitions when he says “If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud”.

            Emerson also strongly believed that we were connected with all other parts of the universe and that through this self-awareness we could find truth within ourselves. Throughout the entire song Croce conveys this idea that we are connected with all parts of nature. Croce reveals this type of thinking in lyrics such as “like the pine trees lining the winding road” or “like the north wind whistling down the sky” and many other lines as well. Croce also exhibits his self-awareness through the songs chorus. Croce is not afraid to chase his dreams because he trusts himself and he understands the significance of time. Croce always continues to chase his dream in order that life will not pass him by.

Emerson an Thoreau quotes

Emerson

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is for you”

This aphorism written by Emerson is one that I understand clearly and agree with. It says that we can only play with the hand we've been dealt. We need to make the most of ourselves of our lives of our time. Our lives are our entirety, they are everything we have, and there is no evidence or person that can convince me otherwise. Our lives are made of time. Time in hours, days, and years. Time is the most important thing we have. It is what we do with the short time that we've been given that defines us. We are what we do and what we think. We have to make the most of our time because when it runs out…that’s it.

Thoreau

“Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul”

I love this quote, probably because I hate money. I hate how unnatural it feels, how it controls and influences our lives and our happiness. I hate how people just accept that it has value when in reality it is just paper that someone told us was valuable. I hate how if I tore a dollar bill in half people might be puzzled surprised or even upset. But if I tore a regular piece of paper in half no one would think twice. I hate how many people have died for money, and how many people’s lives have fallen apart because of it. Our lives are so short and our planet is so insignificant that it just seems to be the utmost stupidity to allow something so false controls our entire being.

The "self"

The idea of the “self” is complex and mysterious and can provoke long periods of rumination that ultimately render no significant distinctions or answers.

                Having said that, I’m going to discuss it anyway.

Does the “self” exist? Do we have independent and original thoughts? Or is everything we desire and want just a product of where we were raised and how we were taught? If I was born in another country with different parents would I be the same? This is simply and unanswerable question. There is no way for me to know the answer to this question because I cannot test it. I would like to believe that I would still value the same things if I was raised in a different environment, but that may not be true. I could be a completely different person. Maybe all people are the same at first, only to have their personal experiences mold them into who they become. Maybe everything we believe and value is just a result of what we hear and see, maybe we can’t develop our own beliefs or even our own morals. Who tells us what is right and what is wrong? If someone does something that we perceive to be wrong but they perceive to be right, then how can my word be taken as more than another? The development of the idea of the self  has been around since the beginning of humanity so some ideas must be original, right? Or are we all just rehashes of things already said? We try to convince ourselves that were special but in reality all of our ideas come from somewhere else. Everything we believe has been said before; but that doesn't mean that they were taught to us. We can come to similar conclusions through very dissimilar paths. I like to believe that each of us is unique in our own way; the problem is that many people have lost their ideas of the “self”. Too many people have fallen into conformity without giving it any personal thought. Too many people believe things simply because that’s what they've been told, not because they have evidence through their own experiences.

Ayn Rand and Environmentalism

I don’t think I agree with what Rand says. She tries to sell environmentalism as putting the needs or “rights” of things like land, over the rights of people. I don’t really think that this is true. Berliner argues that environmentalism is a way of thinking that would rather lose the lives of people than trees, he makes it out that environmentalism is anti-man. I think this is an oversimplified perspective on the issue. It claims that everything we do to the earth is necessary for the betterment of man and it insinuates that environmentalism is a form of self- sacrifice.

                I do not believe this to be true. I think that environmentalism is for the betterment of man and the general preservation of man as well. Earth is the only known planet that we have the capability to settle and found our society on. Without it there is no man. Therefore I think calling environmentalism “anti-man” is a very childish and reactionary statement. One that reminds me of a child who only wants to eat candy. It may be what he wants but he doesn’t know any better. If he only eats candy he will get diabetes. And die. Is not letting your child only eat candy “anti-child”? No, no it is not. 

The Spirit of man

“…the spirit of man will remain alive on this earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but it will break through.”

The spirit of man is a complicated entity. This inner feeling of independence from others. This inner feeling that we must live for ourselves and ourselves alone. That we have to do something, find something. The spirit of man is a calling to ourselves by ourselves. The spirit of man is the belief that we should live to please ourselves not others. It is a belief that we should listen and create our own distinguished ideas and theories. Unfortunately this spirit is often corrupted by society. Society tries to teach us what it is that we want. Society trains us to accept things as they are told to us. Society tries to keep us in line by telling us that there is a wrong answer, that there is a wrong way to do something. Society tries to teach us what to think and how to define our self worth. Society tells us that certain desires are wrong, or selfish, or stupid. Society tries to make us judge ourselves by a universal set of standards, and then they say that if we don’t hold up to these standards then we are wrong.

But progress is inevitable. The only things that we are promised in this world are death and change. And if the changing of a society means something more than so be it. If change is synonymous with a new society or a rebirth of society than so be it. If this means that a society is too powerful, too restraining, or has too much influence on our thoughts and perspectives, than this society must die and make room for a new one. Because the spirit of man will not be removed from this earth. There may be periods or environments in history where man’s spirit is lulled to sleep by the brainwashing of a society but no spirit can sleep forever. Man’s spirit to live is an instinct and an intuition that we are all born with and it will not be removed from this earth.