Those Who Criticize Us

It makes most of us upset when we hear somebody speak poorly about us. Sometimes, we get angrier when we are insecure about what we are being criticized about. For example, if I have shame in what career I am in then I might react more to a criticism of it. We also sometimes react if we know that there is absolutely no truth to one someone is saying. Either way, the Enchiridion (a wonderful guide on how to better live a life), offers a way to get past these emotional reactions. This is the perspective it offers on those who speak down on us: "He does not know my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these." So, if a person attacks some aspect of our behaviors, or personality, then we should say to ourselves, "Thank goodness they don't know our worse faults". That is one idea that you can take from this viewpoint, but whatever you take, hopefully it opens your mind on how to better look at unpleasant situations.


Source: The Enchiridion, by Epictetus 
http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html

What is Racist?

Racism is a problem in the world. People are murdered, hated, and discriminated against because of their ethnic heritage. Mexicans have become the new black slaves and are looked at as insignificant laborers. How often do we acknowledge our gardeners or those taking our orders at a fast food chain? Aren't all of us racist by the general definition though? Are we racist if we recognize that the person sitting across from us is asian, or is it only racist if we act upon our observation? Sadly, it appears that many have to make an effort to look at a hispanic or black person as human. This is because of how we are conditioned to believe that certain races are poor and dirty. (Television plays a massive role in the conditioning process). We are taught to fear black people with a non-ideal face expression. They are all poor and, of course, poor people are EVIL. It is so hard for the majority of people to look past what has been framed for them; many of them even refuse. But what is racism? Are you racist? I don't know, but I do see how foolish people can be when they are mentally blinded.

High School-A Terrible Institution

The closest thing that we have to prison in the United States would arguably be high school. For four years, we are forced to go into a confined institution where we have gates, security guards, and meal times. A bell sounds to alert us when we need to enter the next classroom. How about the social interactions we have? First, we are pressured to join a group, or gang, if we want to make our experience more pleasurable.  There is racism--which is sparked from television and poor parenting skills--and criminal behavior going on all over. Girls are pressured to act as sluts and the majority of the males treat them as sexual objects. From my experience, I saw that teachers often promote these behaviors. Sociology class isn't really a sociology class. History class feeds propaganda into student's minds to make the United States look like a heroic country. To top it off, we have programs such as No Child Left Behind that promote bad education. These programs assess the teachers on how well their students test. So, teachers feed answers to the students instead of actually creating an innovative learning process. We often forget most of what we learned in high school because things really only enter our short term memories. We can only remember what we've learned if we find something interesting or important about what we are learning. High school plays an essential role in shaping us into what we become. We learn how to fit in. We learn how to treat women. We learn how badly it feels to be excluded or ignored. High school is a terrible place that--until we are 16--we are forced to go through. Hopefully, someone will change how high schools function and make it a more productive educational institution. For all those humans in high school right now, I empathize for you and promise that life gets better.

Basic Needs

Maslow showed in his Hierarchy of Needs that we need basic needs before anything. I wanted to give my opinion on this concept. I have learned, and probably so has everyone else, that nothing matters if we are starving, tired, or out of our comfort zones. By our comfort zones, I mean the typical standards that we are used too. We don't often leave our comfort zones, which is appropriate since then it would no longer be considered an uncomfortable zone. It is amazing to me how important it is for us to be settled in order to be in a normal state--whatever you take from the concept of "normal". I agree with Maslow that basic needs are crucial, but am unsure if it should be on the bottom of the pyramid. For instance, my brother pointed out a situation in which basic needs might be considered second. What if you were extraordinarily hungry and tired, but then a person came up and pointed a gun at you? Wouldn't safety be more important to sustain than our basic needs? Just an interesting question that could be flawed either way.

Is There a Selfless Act?

There has been an argument made that a truly selfless act doesn't exist. Even if you do something without telling anybody about it, you are still in deed doing it for yourself. (As a way of making yourself feel good about yourself). Is it true though that nobody can make a selfless decision without getting something out of it? First, we should define what selfless means. Typically, we consider someone or something selfless if they care more about someone else's needs than their own. If I want to watch a football game but my little brother wants to go to the park, then taking him to the park would be considered a selfless act. Of course, when we make a selfless decision, we are giving up something of our own--which may be as simple as our time. God can also be a negator of a selfless act, because some people do good with the hope that God is watching them. They believe that they will be rewarded in return for their good deed. Whether or not that reward comes is insignificant. Most of what we can think of--which does not include everything--includes some kind of reward in response to a person's selfless action. So in that aspect, maybe there is no such thing as a purely selfless act. But, we shouldn't let that take away from actions or behaviors that most of us would consider to be selfless. Consider the previous example I have given. Although I may feel good about myself for choosing my brother over my game, isn't still a pretty selfless act? Why should we feel guilty for feeling good about ourselves? So yes, ideal selflessness may not exist but does it really matter?

Why Pursue Happiness?

It has become an expected theory that human beings are supposed to strive for happiness. It makes sense doesn't it? What else would be the goal of our short lives? Even if we become exceptionally wealthy or powerful, what is the point if we aren't happy? It seems though that since the beginning of time, nobody has been able to formulate a blueprint on how to become "happy". Even stars, who are looked up to as deities, don't seem to be happy. What if being happy is only a temporarily felt emotion that cannot be maintained? If we hear that we are going to be parents, or if we get promoted, or even if our sport's teams win, don't we feel happy? Is that what happiness is supposed to be or are we just being stimulated by something exciting? Also, why can't we maintain that stimulation? Well, maybe we should pretend for a moment that obtaining ideal happiness is impossible. Let us pretend that we live life not pursuing happiness, but just simply accepting it when it comes. I understand that we are much more complex than any other living creature, but it doesn't seem like other mammals live their lives attempting to find happiness. Maybe the only realistic goal that we have is to keep ourselves alive for as long as we can. That has become so much easier though will technology and medical advances, so now we are looking for something else to feed on. Happiness might just be a bonus that we feel we must have. Of course, happiness may indeed exist but should we feel like it is necessary? I want to be happy, you probably want to be happy, so why not strive for it. The point I am making is that maybe we are looking for something that shouldn't be expected. Like anger, maybe it's something that we will inevitably feel from time to time, but won't keep forever.

Conceptual Loyalty

We feel, and are often pressured, to choose between one concept or another. There are typically two choices and if we refuse to commit to one, then we will most likely be discounted. Let us look at the American political system. Although various parties may exist, we will only be considered if we side with either the Democrats or the Republicans. Any other party is commonly thought of as a joke, and does not receive any recognition during elections. We may not agree with one party or the other but still must choose one if we want to have any contribution to who we elect. If we refuse to choose one over the other then others will commonly criticize us or attempt to persuade us. Another common debate would be over the existence of God. Either we believe in God--which probably means we're religious--or we don't and we are considered Atheists. Why can't we say "I don't know if God exists, and therefore decide not to commit"? Again, we will be shunned by society because we admit that we don't know. For some reason, most of us feel like we have the ability to understand everything there is to know about life. Some things we admit that we cannot completely understand--such as gravity or dark matter--but don't realize that there are probably infinite concepts we can never understand. Let us not commit to concepts just because of social pressure. Before we commit to a belief, we should investigate it and understand every perspective that can be taken on it. I hope that our society ends it's cycle of only seeing in black and white.