Rap Isn't Evil

This is a lyrical excerpt from one of my favorite rappers, XV. It was taken from his single Everybody's Nobody, and I feel it is appropriate to put on my blog.


And everybody twitters, and everybody blogs.
But nobody is saying shit, they just copy/paste it all.
That's how one person's opinion becomes everybody's thoughts.
When the blind leads the blind, then everyone gets lost.

-XV

Response to Bryan's question!

For a straight forward answer. Yes! Our society is biased. How can we reduce it? Thats a much harder question. When applying bias' to our daily lives, we usually don't think anything about it. For example, like choosing between places to eat. You walk by a McDonald's and a Wendy's, and you have to choose where to eat. Of course, your bias gears start turning, and you make your decision. A quite harmless one. Now, when we start talking in a more global aspect, bias' can become very damaging. Race. Sex. Gender. Religion. Political views. All these are categories in which we can become biased. But to answer your question. How can we reduce it? I know this is the answer you probably don't want, but I don't think it's possible. There are too many people in this world, and having an effect on how they think is almost impossible. Bias' come from our life experiences. Usually we pick them up from our parents, friends, or even our idols (whomever they are). We can make small changes here and there, but overall, the percentage of reduced bias will stay minute. The only solution I can think of, that can have the most effect, is to teach unbiased-ly, and consequently learn unbiased-ly. How can we do that? I think thats another blog post question!

-Do you also think it is impossible to reduce "bias-ness"?

Hobbes vs. Me

When Hobbes claimed we were "psychological egoist" it is not uncommon to try to refute the statement. I mean, it is a blunt insult to our character as humans. We are not selfish creatures! But trying to argue against it, only drives us in circles. There is no way to deny it. By arguing against it, you almost prove it! But what if we do accept it? We are egoist. As humans, we have to look out for our own safety, because if we don't then how can we ever survive as a race. Rousseau came up with the best solution. A truthful one in my opinion. In his mind, the human specie is egotistical. By nature, we have to be. But this egoism is balance by compassion. Empathy. This idea is not uncommon. Mahayana Buddhists believe that compassion is the energy that connects us all. Connects us with each other, plants, animals, and the universe! This is a much easier statement to swallow. There has to be a balance between empathy and extreme egoism. The nature of human nature is apart of nature. The earth's nature. And mother nature ALWAYS has a balance. We can't fight it, because even when we try our hardest, mother nature always strikes back. So take the Hobbes! You were wrong

-What if humans were radically compassionate? Would that be dangerous?
-How selfish, as humans, are we?

In response to Kolb's "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

This is a response to Kolb's blog "Why do bad things happen to good people?". In his blog, he states that one of the biggest reasons for this, is the imbalance of bad people and good people; the heavier side of the scale favoring bad people. First, I feel there is almost no way to account for the ratio of bad people to good people. What do we qualify as a bad person? In the blog, there was an example given of a drunk driver killing an innocent boy. To put a twist to the example, what if it was the first time the drunk-driver did drink and drive? Would that change him from a bad person to an unlucky person? Now, to further twist this, how would you explain this bag of bad luck? Say if the drunk driver was a good man. Had a family and loved them very much. All his life he worked hard, went to church, was honest, never caused trouble. But this one unlucky night, he decides to have a couple of drinks and drive, consequently killing a boy. Now, wouldn't this be an example of bad things happening to good people, but in different point of view? This man spends his whole life in jail to pay for his ONE mistake he's ever done. It wasn't the imbalance of bad people and good people. I just think its a product of bad circumstances. Good things happen to good people, and vice-versa. It is just when the bad things happen to good people that we become aware of the situation.

"Political Animals" or Not?...cont'd

Do you think an overlooking government is what Aristotle wants?

Can we ever have a self managed government? A government ran by the people? Where our social-political abilities are put into full use.

"Political Animals" or Not?

Taking a look at Aristotle's description of humans as "political animals" had me wondering, maybe I don't agreed with the statement. Breaking it down in pieces, the latter word in the phrase reduces us to our prime existence. Animals. Though we don't like seeing ourselves as animals, we ARE animals. Whether we like it or not. Where we differ from the rest of the animal kingdom, is our ability to be political. Now, here is where I paused, and thought to myself, "maybe I don't agree with Aristotle." Our instinctive nature is not to be political. Being very skeptical, I started to apply our nation's political state, and the effect it has had on us. Of course, many of the problems we face today, comes from politics. Bad politics. Messy politics. Insufficient politics. The idea of politics just made my face cringe. There is no way we could be naturally programmed for politics. I refused the idea. It wasn't until the end of my argument against Aristotle, and a substance-filled class discussion, that I realized, maybe Aristotle did not mean politics. That maybe his "political", was a form of social organization. The ability to reason and discuss problems between two or more people. This is a combination of our use of language, reasoning, and logic. The three most distinctive qualities of humans! Thus, in retrospect, "political animals" can accurately describe the human race. We communicate, reason, discuss, and delegate. Because of these abilities, we become "political'. Sorry for my confusion Aristotle.

Faith vs. Logic

As humans, Faith can become a dark cloud in our lives, or it can be the light to our happiness. But we have trouble with faith. Trivial faith? Easy task. Life determining faith? Not so easy. In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "faith" is defined with several definitions. An entire lot of definitions to pick from. But the one definition that stood out the most to me stated, that faith is a "firm belief in something for which there is no proof." For Christians, faith plays a large role in the acceptance of Christian teachings and claims, and most importantly, Jesus's message to the world. To live with unconditional love and forgiveness. To love our enemies. And even when slapped in the cheek, to turn the other cheek. In our world today, can we really follow these rules? Can we put faith into the idea of retribution in the after-life? There is no proof that there is a system of reparations in heaven, that we are sorted into once we pass from a life of pacifistic living. So how do we believe it? The answer is simple. Faith. But can we bet our life on it? It is hard to place our belief into something that we don't entirely know exists. But it is safe to say that the beauty of faith lies in its own definition. It is a cushion to fall on when there all we have is hope, despite if it goes against all logic. Faith defies logic. And sometimes logic isn't always the right answer.

-Would the world be dull if all we based our decisions off of was logic?

-Is it dangerous to live life solely on faith?

-Should there be perfect balance between logic/proof and faith?

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In Response to Austin's question...

Will we ever understand what truth really is? To be honest, I picked this question not to answer it, mostly because I do not know the answer. But what I do have, is an opinion about the question. I feel as if behind this question there are many other questions. The first question to maybe understanding what truth is, what do we feel about the truth. Is the truth a negative or positive entity in our social world? By definition, we know what truth is. But through strict definitions, we can't fully understand it's meaning. It's identity. To me, the truth must be heard. It has to be known. Harsh as it can be, it's liberating effects cannot be underestimated. Sometimes we see the truth as too revealing, or sometimes needs to be hidden in consideration of our feelings. But if we continue to live in lies, the human body, as it does so well, will adapt. It will adapt into a world where the truth will always be hidden. We will become emotionally softened to the truth. We wouldn't be able to handle the truth. With no truth, can there be progress? Truth can be seen to be a gateway to seeing the world, analyzing it, then deciding on how to respond to the truth. If all we know are lies, then how can we go about to solving issues. So to somewhat answer Austin's question, the truth can be the pathway to progress.

Frustrating Search For Truth

Truth, runs through the fingers of philosophers and theorists like sand. The harder you clasp, the more the sand gets pushed away from your grasp, and the harder you try, the further it emits its elusive characteristics. Simple truth, basic questions that can be answered by looking in a book, or looking up online, can be found with effort. Some truths though, seem to be impossible to reached. As I look on the news, I wonder what is truth, and what is a creation of the media world. What do we really know about the war in the Middle East, if we are not physically there? What are we truly fighting for? Who are we truly fighting? What are we in search of? We have become so dependent on indirect media to tell us what we want to believe is truth. Frustration builds within me when limitations are placed upon my search for truth. Only if the our knowledge of the truth was a right, and not a privilege in our country. There is no consequence for those who retain the truth from us.

Will we ever know the truth about our countries historical event, and current events?

Do you feel if we can handle the dirty truths of our country?