In Plato’s text known as The Republic, there is a story known as “The Allegory of the Cave”. The text is about three prisoners that are chained up to the cave walls, forced to watch the shadows illuminated by a fire that sits behind them. They have no idea what the real world looks like, and because of that they create their own little world within the cave walls. In essence, this story is just a microcosm of the world as we know it. People live comfortably in their own little worlds and when they decide to look into the light they feel pain, suffering, and uncomfortable due to the lack of knowledge they have from other possible realms of living.
If I had to pick whether or not to live in the cave or to leave the cave and go live life with the rest of humanity, I’d say that I would have to leave the cave. The number one reason for me thinking this is due to the fact that I personally would be intrigued to live my life to the fullest by traveling and trying to understand the world around me. At the same time, as I am in the cave, ignorant of the outside world, I am in total bliss. Ignorance after all is bliss. Realistically if I was born and raised in the cave, I wouldn’t really care about the world around me because I’d be far too stubborn to even want to know what the rest of the world is like. Leaving the cave is a big step, but personally if I were born in the cave and had to live in the cave, but had the same mind state I have right now, I would want to do it, I would want to leave the cave. The world around me awaits my company and I’d be there to deliver it. Yeah, maybe my two other buddies and I have it pretty good in the cave, we get to watch the shadows and enjoy each others’ company, but at the same time, knowing the person that I am I’d want to see, feel, hear, and understand the shapes that surround me.
It is known that people that stay hidden in their own “cave” fail to realize what life is all about. People that remain hidden, people that stay ignorant of all life around them are the ones that are not remembered when it is all over. And if they are remembered as anything, they would be remembered as cowards, and slobs. People that stay in their cave are remembered only in their cave, and that’s not saying a lot because the people that share the cave with you are the same, and no one wants to be remembered as an ignorant human being, more importantly, people won’t remember you because they never got to see you, they never got to experience life with you around them. People that stay in their cave are people that would rather stay home all day and watch TV and waste their time instead of going out and experiencing things. Everything on this planet is meant for us to experience. We are meant to see things and do things that other organisms aren’t allowed to do for a reason, so staying home all day or staying in your “cave” for instance is the equivalent to slapping Mother Nature across the face and not thanking her for what she has to offer.
An example of someone who is living their life ignorant to the outside world is a lot of the people I grew up around. In school, kids thought that the United States was the greatest thing that was ever conceived. To them, the country could do no wrong in their eyes. They never thought they would lied, stolen, or jipped by the United States. So as a child, I wasn’t really a part of that whole “movement” if you will. I love America, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time, you need to constantly question government and look behind the scenes to make sure your reality and perception isn’t being raped on a constant basis. So as I grew up questioning the governments decisions, and even bringing up and telling these people that I care about to open their eyes, they would and will not comprehend what I am trying to tell them. They will resume living in the caves they were brought up in and never really show an interest in figuring out what exactly is really going on when it comes to certain parts and roles of the government that we elect and support each and every year.
Its hard to live in a world with people that decide to instead of question and wonder, just go along with the rest of the world, and just go with the flow. It’s a gigantic step in life to leave your personal cave, but in the end it’s really the right choice. You understand how things really work and can over all better yourself for it. You now know things other people literally would not dare to know. They would really be frightened by the things you know, and that makes you a better person because you full understand now, you understand the world you live in and that’s really the best way to understand yourself and connect with others that are on the same level of intelligence.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Blog 2: The Allegory of The Cave.
In the late 1600’s, there was a little known event, dubbed “The Salem Witch Trials”. This was a time period in between 1692-1693 where women living in colonial era Massachusetts were prosecuted for being witches. This all formed when a few sick girls developed what was recorded to be severe schizophrenia. After the girls started acting up, multiple counties of Massachusetts decided to hold trials for people (men and women after many people were prosecuted), that were believed to be practicing witchcraft. This was a dark and strange time in America’s history, also a very delusional and very strange time.
The people accusing the “witches” of Massachusetts were Religious fanatics that hid behind their Bibles and lopsided laws, which leads to why I have chosen the Salem Witch Trials as an illusion to The Allegory of the Cave. The fanatics decided to completely forget about reality and completely disallow people to LIVE, just because the accusers noticed things they were doing, that the accused have been doing for ages. It’s just the point that people will believe anything when you have the government and Religion backing your ideals. This happens all the time in the world we live in, even today, people hide behind laws and Religious values instead of think for themselves, with the brain they were given. Why people continue to think ignorantly, I don’t know. I can understand trusting your government, or practicing your Religion, but at the same time you need to have a mind of your own.
The people that were accused of being a “witch” were most of the time murdered, or as they would have said it “exterminated” for what was false accusations against innocent people. People were hung for doing things slightly different than the rest of the population. It’s wrong, no matter what time period or what land you live in, it just proves that delusional minds and mindless beliefs can go farther than the ones with an actual heart behind them.
The witch trials happened during a time when people were still afraid of being attacked by Native Americans, which can explain the paranoia in the land known as Salem. Though, it makes sense in a strange sense, but at the same time it doesn’t justify murdering men and women for being witches. Why anyone would go that far, I’m not sure, but they did it, and it happens more than we’d like to think around the world. People are being accused of witchcraft and black magic in third world countries every day, even though some may actually be legitimate resources, it still makes no sense to execute a person, take a life for mere paranoia.
The people accusing the “witches” of Massachusetts were Religious fanatics that hid behind their Bibles and lopsided laws, which leads to why I have chosen the Salem Witch Trials as an illusion to The Allegory of the Cave. The fanatics decided to completely forget about reality and completely disallow people to LIVE, just because the accusers noticed things they were doing, that the accused have been doing for ages. It’s just the point that people will believe anything when you have the government and Religion backing your ideals. This happens all the time in the world we live in, even today, people hide behind laws and Religious values instead of think for themselves, with the brain they were given. Why people continue to think ignorantly, I don’t know. I can understand trusting your government, or practicing your Religion, but at the same time you need to have a mind of your own.
The people that were accused of being a “witch” were most of the time murdered, or as they would have said it “exterminated” for what was false accusations against innocent people. People were hung for doing things slightly different than the rest of the population. It’s wrong, no matter what time period or what land you live in, it just proves that delusional minds and mindless beliefs can go farther than the ones with an actual heart behind them.
The witch trials happened during a time when people were still afraid of being attacked by Native Americans, which can explain the paranoia in the land known as Salem. Though, it makes sense in a strange sense, but at the same time it doesn’t justify murdering men and women for being witches. Why anyone would go that far, I’m not sure, but they did it, and it happens more than we’d like to think around the world. People are being accused of witchcraft and black magic in third world countries every day, even though some may actually be legitimate resources, it still makes no sense to execute a person, take a life for mere paranoia.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Blog 1: The Cave and I.
In Plato’s text known as The Republic, there is a story known as “The Allegory of the Cave”. The text is about three prisoners that are chained up to the cave walls, forced to watch the shadows illuminated by a fire that sits behind them. They have no idea what the real world looks like, and because of that they create their own little world within the cave walls. In essence, this story is just a microcosm of the world as we know it. People live comfortably in their own little worlds and when they decide to look into the light they feel pain, suffering, and uncomfortable due to the lack of knowledge they have from other possible realms of living.
If I had to pick whether or not to live in the cave or to leave the cave and go live life with the rest of humanity, I’d say that I would have to leave the cave. The number one reason for me thinking this is due to the fact that I personally would be intrigued to live my life to the fullest by traveling and trying to understand the world around me. At the same time, as I am in the cave, ignorant of the outside world, I am in total bliss. Ignorance after all is bliss. Realistically if I was born and raised in the cave, I wouldn’t really care about the world around me because I’d be far too stubborn to even want to know what the rest of the world is like. Leaving the cave is a big step, but personally if I were born in the cave and had to live in the cave, but had the same mind state I have right now, I would want to do it, I would want to leave the cave. The world around me awaits my company and I’d be there to deliver it. Yeah, maybe my two other buddies and I have it pretty good in the cave, we get to watch the shadows and enjoy each others’ company, but at the same time, knowing the person that I am I’d want to see, feel, hear, and understand the shapes that surround me.
It is known that people that stay hidden in their own “cave” fail to realize what life is all about. People that remain hidden, people that stay ignorant of all life around them are the ones that are not remembered when it is all over. And if they are remembered as anything, they would be remembered as cowards, and slobs. People that stay in their cave are remembered only in their cave, and that’s not saying a lot because the people that share the cave with you are the same, and no one wants to be remembered as an ignorant human being, more importantly, people won’t remember you because they never got to see you, they never got to experience life with you around them. People that stay in their cave are people that would rather stay home all day and watch TV and waste their time instead of going out and experiencing things. Everything on this planet is meant for us to experience. We are meant to see things and do things that other organisms aren’t allowed to do for a reason, so staying home all day or staying in your “cave” for instance is the equivalent to slapping Mother Nature across the face and not thanking her for what she has to offer.
Every human being starts off in a “cave”. You wake up every day to seeing your parent or guardian. They take you around in your stroller, or maybe go for a walk or two around the park. You adapt to the world around you. You get used to the same thing happening every day. You get used to the same monotonous schedule. Suddenly, change comes. You have school. Most children cry when they are brought to school. Why? Because they are scared to leave the “cave” they were raised in. Going to school for the first time is a big jump in life, you leave the harmony and safety of your home and are thrown into a room filled a bunch of rowdy kids and a grown up you know nothing about. But, you get used to things. That’s the beauty of being human, you can adapt to anything. We are the ultimate animal, and nothing can bring us down, except ourselves.
If I had to pick whether or not to live in the cave or to leave the cave and go live life with the rest of humanity, I’d say that I would have to leave the cave. The number one reason for me thinking this is due to the fact that I personally would be intrigued to live my life to the fullest by traveling and trying to understand the world around me. At the same time, as I am in the cave, ignorant of the outside world, I am in total bliss. Ignorance after all is bliss. Realistically if I was born and raised in the cave, I wouldn’t really care about the world around me because I’d be far too stubborn to even want to know what the rest of the world is like. Leaving the cave is a big step, but personally if I were born in the cave and had to live in the cave, but had the same mind state I have right now, I would want to do it, I would want to leave the cave. The world around me awaits my company and I’d be there to deliver it. Yeah, maybe my two other buddies and I have it pretty good in the cave, we get to watch the shadows and enjoy each others’ company, but at the same time, knowing the person that I am I’d want to see, feel, hear, and understand the shapes that surround me.
It is known that people that stay hidden in their own “cave” fail to realize what life is all about. People that remain hidden, people that stay ignorant of all life around them are the ones that are not remembered when it is all over. And if they are remembered as anything, they would be remembered as cowards, and slobs. People that stay in their cave are remembered only in their cave, and that’s not saying a lot because the people that share the cave with you are the same, and no one wants to be remembered as an ignorant human being, more importantly, people won’t remember you because they never got to see you, they never got to experience life with you around them. People that stay in their cave are people that would rather stay home all day and watch TV and waste their time instead of going out and experiencing things. Everything on this planet is meant for us to experience. We are meant to see things and do things that other organisms aren’t allowed to do for a reason, so staying home all day or staying in your “cave” for instance is the equivalent to slapping Mother Nature across the face and not thanking her for what she has to offer.
Every human being starts off in a “cave”. You wake up every day to seeing your parent or guardian. They take you around in your stroller, or maybe go for a walk or two around the park. You adapt to the world around you. You get used to the same thing happening every day. You get used to the same monotonous schedule. Suddenly, change comes. You have school. Most children cry when they are brought to school. Why? Because they are scared to leave the “cave” they were raised in. Going to school for the first time is a big jump in life, you leave the harmony and safety of your home and are thrown into a room filled a bunch of rowdy kids and a grown up you know nothing about. But, you get used to things. That’s the beauty of being human, you can adapt to anything. We are the ultimate animal, and nothing can bring us down, except ourselves.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Draft for Blog 1
A few things about myself:
- I love movies.
- Music is my constant.
- I'm a huge Rangers fan.
- I actually enjoy reading.
- I really want a dog.
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