Our De"fault" Setting

In class this week we read a commencement speech delivered to the 2005 graduates of Kenyon College by David Foster Wallace. I really enjoyed this speech mainly because he made me think about our everyday thoughts and actions without being too serious and boring. I thought it was interesting how he brought about the idea of a "default setting". According to Wallace, all humans have a default setting which is being "deeply and literally self-centered and to see and interpret everything through this lens of self". Ironically default has the word "fault" in it, which can be defined as a defect or flaw; an imperfection. After reading his speech and class discussion, I thought that maybe he wanted to point out that our default setting is one of society's major faults. Most of us go through each day not thinking about others and what is going on in their lives. David Foster Wallace points out that THIS is our default setting. We subconsciously think about ourselves, how everything affects us, and don't pay attention to others' issues and problems. I know that I have probably done this a countless number of times, however, I believe that this is our fault. I agree with Wallace in that we have to think differently, think consciously, think open-mindedly. When we do this, we begin to eliminate our fault, our default setting. 

Independence v. Sentiments

This week we discussed the similarities and differences between the Declaration of Independence and Declaration of Sentiments. There is no doubt that the Declaration of Sentiments was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. While Thomas Jefferson wrote "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal", Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men and women are created equal". Even though the two documents were representing different ideas, most of the sentences in each document are similar. This brings up the question whether or not the two documents have identical purposes.
Both the Declaration of Independence and Declaration of Sentiments are petitioning to achieve certain unalienable rights - "Life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness". The Declaration of Independence was written to achieve political freedom. On the other hand, the Declaration of Sentiments was written to achieve freedom through gender equality. In each document there is a different person (group) trying to achieve his/her rights. Both documents were written to outline suffering, however, each is trying to achieve a different goal. Maybe Stanton used the Declaration of Independence to call attention to her cause and to relate the importance of women's rights to men's rights.
All in all, each document aimed to achieve the same rights, but they were written with different objectives in mind.

Dying to Exist

This week in class we were presented with a quote by Goethe. "The whole art in life consists in giving up our existence in order to exist." At first, I was a little confused, but then I thought of all the people in the past that fought for equality rights and helped a whole generation survive and prosper. How would minorities in the US continue to live if people didn't fight for them, and even die for them. In order for a few to exist there has to be some suffering. There is always someone who is working hard for the rest of us to survive. The people I think of who are working hard are parents. They are constantly working in order to provide for their families. Some are struggling more than others, and many are not able to do the things they would like to do. Unlike these parents, John Proctor in The Crucible decided to save his name instead of his family. Basically his family gave up their "existence" in order for Proctor's name/reputation to "exist". We live in a world where being successful causes suffering for some. Can this change or can society only thrive at the expense of others? 

The Mob

Mob mentality is when a group of people (typically a large group) all follow the same beliefs because it would be easier to go with "the mob" then against it. In The Crucible, Abigail is able to convince almost everyone that the women of Salem are practicing witchcraft. The citizens of Salem believe her because they are scared of what will happen to them if they don't believe her. No one wants to be on the other side of Abigail's wrath so they all choose to believe her even though she is not right. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953 which is around the time people were being accused for being Communists. Republican, Joseph McCarthy, accused many people for being linked to communism during his years as a Wisconsin Senator. If anyone went against McCarthy, he said that he/she was communist. With this, Joseph McCarthy won his role as Senator because he accused his haters of being communists. Many people, in fear of being black listed, supported him and his campaign. This type of thinking is exactly what mob mentality is. People find it hard to go against what is believed or forced upon them by the masses. This situation is very similar to today's world. Bullying is almost everywhere in modern society. Victims are preyed upon by bullies with barely anyone to stick up for them. Why is that? People are scared that they too will be bullied if they stick up for a victim. So my question to you is, How can we stop this mob mentality and learn how to have our own thoughts?

Am I Going to be Eternally Damned? I Don't Think So John Edwards.

**This is not meant to offend anyone, just my personal opinions.

Wait you're not Hindu?! I just thought I should take a moment to address the stereotype topic from last week that all/most Indians are Hindus, which is very annoying. Anyways, no I'm not, I'm Catholic and I have been ever since I can remember. With that being said, I've never really stopped to think of how I came to be a Catholic. I don't think I was forced to be, but I don't remember having a choice (I'm pretty sure my parents started taking me to church the week after I was born hahaha). Nevertheless, I think being Catholic was a part of my life from the beginning. My entire family is Catholic, so I think it was important for my parents to raise me as a Catholic. My family and I go to church every Sunday and I don't mind, but it probably wouldn't be my first choice. My parents along with previous generations are very religious. I'm not saying I don't believe in God, I just don't take religion as seriously as my family does. My parents know this and encourage me to be more religious, but they don't force it upon me like Jonathan Edwards does in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to his audience. Unlike Edwards, my parents don't say I'm going to hell for the rest of eternity if I don't become a better Catholic. Edwards makes it clear to his audience that you not only have to be a converted man (to God), but also extremely devoted to Him. If you're not, well good luck with your life. His entire speech is a threat that if these people don't convert they are going to be eternally damned. His view on God is totally different than my family's. My parents are extremely religious but I'm pretty sure they're not going around yelling at everyone to convert. His extremist views on God are crazy and I just think they're not true.

Shameless Stereotypes

“Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Ever hear that before? You probably have and think you haven’t prejudged anyone, but have you ever stereotyped someone? Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t. I’m not going to lie I probably have stereotyped someone. After this week I feel as though stereotypes are so dumb. I think that there are so many stereotypes in our world, that they’re inevitable. People from Country A are really smart or people from Country B are obese. I’m not saying all stereotypes are wrong. People from one country may have an overall higher IQ than another country. However, this does not mean EVERYONE in this country is smarter than the people in the other country. I just think it’s wrong to group an entire culture together based on what may only be true for a few. Saying that all Asians/Indians are smart and only study is definitely an overstatement. Just because I’m Indian, it doesn’t mean that I am super smart, have A’s in every class, and spend every minute studying. These stereotypes are not only wrong, they are cruel. Judging someone before getting to know them is rude and doesn’t give that person the chance to truly express who they really are. I don’t think I fit in the “Indian stereotype”, and I would think it’s unfair if someone judged me based on my culture. My point is stereotypes are unjust and downright mean. I’m not sure where stereotyping started, but I hope it can come to an end soon. By slowly separating cultures, stereotypes are hindering humanity’s progress towards total equality. 

I found a map of the US that shows many of the stereotypes that are circulating through our world everyday. 

I thought it was interesting to see how easily we were grouped and separated.

Personal Power

How did Martin Luther King Jr. have enough power to voice an action that spread throughout most of the USA? I think that he was able to speak his mind because he believed in the power he had to effectively reach a nation. How much power does an individual really have? I believe an individual has as much power as he/she believes to have. What I mean is that if someone believes in himself, he can accomplish almost anything. The power that an individual holds comes from inside.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck defies all odds and actually helps an African American man escape! For his time period, this is a HUGE deal. Huck’s choice to help Jim proves that he has a lot of internal strength and power. Huck believes in himself enough to help Jim escape from slavery. If Huck did not believe he had the power to get Jim and himself out of there, he may have been caught early in his getaway. He really did have a great deal of power, he just had to realize it and put it to his best use.

People may not realize how much power they actually have, it just takes a while for one to realize his/her potential and strength. No one should be afraid of their power. Fear is what keeping people from believing in the power they actually hold. We all have the power to change stereotypes, like Huck did about Jim, it just needs to be recognized.