Remember this day for CLOSURE

Yesterday our generation witnessed what I consider one of the biggest news stories of our entire lives so far.  Osama Bin Laden killed by U.S. operatives.  And being on a college campus the celebrations for this victory range greatly.  I've seen statuses on facebook from my friends and conversations with others claiming that it's wrong to celebrate the death of someone, even someone as evil as Bin Laden.  There have been comments like "he's finally dead" "enjoy your new roommate Satan" etc.  But we aren't celebrating the fact that a man is dead, but rather, the fact that our generation now has some closure to the worst attack on American soil in our lifetime.

A prominent member of the group responsible for the 9/11 attacks can no longer harm people.  Let's face it, Bin Laden was a flat out murderer and needed to be brought to justice.  And even if he was captured and brought in alive, he would have seen his demise shortly after.  No one celebrated to this extent when Saddam was killed, but when he was captured.  That is the same today, we are celebrating the fact that Osama Bin Laden has been captured, it just so happens that he had to die in order for that to be accomplished.  So to those who feel dirty or wrong celebrating because a man died, celebrate.  Because America is celebrating a victory almost 10 years in the making.  Some closure has been brought to the families who lost someone that day.  For the time being, America can again stand together united.

9/11/01 is an unforgettable day, 5/1/11 is a rememberable one.

Our Society Sucks - Don't Suck

I've been away from the blog for a while.  But I really haven't had the inspiration to write lately, and I don't want to force anything because then the post isn't quality.

Anyways, today I saw two news reports that really didn't sit well with me.  The first one is a young girl who got plastic surgery to avoid further bullying.  The second one is a Fox News report that unfairly connected a GWU student's suicide with a visit from President Obama.

Honestly, what is wrong with our society today?  Kids tease other kids.  They don't understand differences.  It's not a justification, I'm not saying it's okay.  I'm just saying, it happens.  But as the mom in the video mentioned, adults were even teasing the young girl.  Adults!  I'm glad the mom cared so much for her daughter that she took drastic action to protect her daughter; and like the Doctor said, develop normally (on a cognitive level).

The fact of the matter is that plastic surgery had to be used in order to stop the bullying and the teasing.  No child should have to endure the physical toll from plastic surgery, and ideally shouldn't have to endure the emotional toll from bullying.  But bullying happens in grade school, and my roommate said to me while watching it, it's only during grade school.  Kids mature as they grow older. (well, most do) So I was taken aback by the action until I learned that adults were partaking in the teasing.  That's just ridiculous, our society just sucks.  Why should plastic surgery to fix a defect even an option?  She doesn't have control over how her ears look!  Honestly girl, there could never be a more beautiful you.

And then there's Fox News.  They're always questionable.  But to have the nerve to title your article "GWU student's suicide tragically coincides with Obama visit" is beyond ridiculous.  First and foremost they are completely disrespecting the student and his family during the hardest time of their life!  Suicide is tragic; I can't imagine a life so bad that the only way out is death.  But it happens, and it's sooooo sad!  Secondly, to say that it coincides with Obama's visit implies causation.  I don't care if they didn't say it directly in the article.  The fact that they grouped the two events together means they want the readers to connect the two events.  Congratulations Fox News, you have officially dropped to a whole new level of low I never knew existed!

Besides complaining about how much our society sucks, I want to urge you who read this to not suck!  We are a society full of ignorance, apathy and selfishness.  To quote my college's slogan "Be the Difference."  Don't be the person who teases someone on a deficiency they have no control over, instead, be the person to stop the idiot who does.  As the saying goes, "don't judge a book by its cover."  There is so much hate in this world.  Let's fill it with love.  As Bon Jovi asks: What do you got if you ain't got love?  My answer- nothing.

Sorry for ranting.

"A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge." - Thomas Carlyle

Hope - Our Eternal Desire

I was on the website "stumbleupon" today while waiting for my future roommate to get done with class so we could go sign our lease papers for our apartment.  For those unfamiliar with stumbleupon, you go to this website, click the "stumble" button and this website will direct you to other websites based on your interests.  It's really neat.  While stumbling, I came across a page with a quote that struck me and made me think: "If you are struck between two options, just flip a coin in the air!  It works.  Not because it solves the problem, but because while the coin is in the air, you will get to know what your heart is really hoping for."  The word that strikes me in this quote is hope.

I don't know why, but I just started thinking about that word.  Hope obviously means to have a strong desire for something; to really want this situation to go my way.  Is it, like the word love, overused to the point where it's lost its true meaning?  For instance, the greeks had EROS or passionate, romantic love, PHILIA or love between friends and spouses.  Then there's AGAPE with is the truest, most pure love.  Love between Christ and mankind.  There are more words the Greeks had for the different types of love.  But we in the English language took all those different words and use one:  Love.  I love my dog, I love my spouse, I love my sibling, I love rock music, I love that book.  The same word describing many different feelings to many different objects.

This is my own philosophical mind wandering (and I don't consider myself a good philosopher) but can the same hold true for hope or ELPIDA?  Through my research of the Greek origin of hope I found only one word.  But the problem I see with it is our usage of it.  I hope I do well on my math test vs. I hope my cancer-stricken family member survives.  Same verb, but vastly different contexts.  I don't think that we mean hope in the math test sense the same as in the cancer one.  Just like we don't mean love in the same way as a book vs our family.

The New Living Translation of 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us that "three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love."  Hope will last forever.  I agree.  Athiest Friedrich Nietzsche says "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." Hope is bad.  I disagree with Nietzsche, but I understand his view.  For example, a prisoner of war who hopes that he will one day be saved.  But day after day he is tortured to give up information.  He does not want to betray his country, but if he gives the information, he will no longer be tortured - just killed on the spot.  So he hopes that his is soon saved.  Hope is prolonging his torment and torture.  

Another way I can understand Nietzsche's view is in free will.  Do we truly have free will if God has a plan laid out for us?  And if he does have a plan, are we just wasting our time hoping for what we desire,  instead of having faith in our maker?  These are questions that no one has the answer too.  We just speculate and debate based on our views of religion.  

But if your answer to the second question is "yes" then I think you would agree with Nietzsche's quote.  But I disagree with Nietzsche because I think hope is good.  Hope is optimism, it prevents us from giving up.  Hope keeps us hanging on in the toughest of times; the hope for something better keeps pushing us.  While fiction, the Shawshank Redemption is a great example of never giving up hope.  If you haven't seen the movie, I suggest you watch it.  There is a reason that hope exists; there is a reason for everything.  It's our job to just accept that and have faith. I have a friend who's going through a rough patch right now.  This rough patch is another drop in a super long roller coaster he's been riding all year.  

It's not my place to speculate the causes of these feelings.  But I'm there as a friend offering advice, to him and to all:  Don't give up hope, EVER!

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - Andy Dufresne (The Shawshank Redemption)