Voltaire: Re-AMPED

A figure that has had an impact on my outlook on life is the philosopher and writer, Voltaire. He is French, writes eloquent political material and isn’t afraid to stand up to authority, all qualities I enjoy.

He contributed to the Enlightenment, a changing time in the history of the modern world. He advocated for free trade, civil liberties and religious freedoms. Despite strict censorship laws during this time, he still produced political satire and was not afraid to criticize any institution he viewed as unjust.

Voltaire is an inspiration to me, not only as an aspiring writer, but also as an emerging adult in society. Information, biases and opinions are constantly enforced through the media and through personal friendships. Thinking like Voltaire helps me to escape the suppressions of my personal thoughts brought on by external influences. He stood up for what he believed in, and dared to criticize the government and the Catholic Church, both of which resulted in imprisonments and exiles, but these punishments ceased to scare him into silence. I will not suppress my own thoughts and opinions, even if expression results in disagreements.

Voltaire reminds me of the importance of independence, in terms of self-reliance and thought. Freedom of speech is a blessing and learning about the life of Voltaire reminds me to show my gratitude in my writing and in what I believe and stand up for.

The Inner Ring

The Inner Ring by CS Lewis is a piece that I completely agree with. It reinforces the saying "We adore those who ignore us and ignore those who adore us," a statement I have always agreed with but never understood. The inner circle, the coveted close-knit group of friends is something everyone wants, because it provides security. There is a lot that one has to sacrifice in order to reach the inner ring, the military examples reminded me of the hazings that take place at initiation for sororities and fraternities. Mostly everyone wants the close social relationships that being in a sorority or fraternity would give them, but the ridiculous things that they have to do for acceptance make it seem not even worth it. But people do it anyway, and continue the tradition of hazing freshman and recruiting during rush week. Why? Why would anyone put their health and reputation at risk to join a group of people that they will eventually grow sick of and want to get away from? A lot of times, people speak very highly of their sororities and fraternities, it helps them make friends and go to social events, which I understand, but it still follows the same principle of abandoning the friends and values you know for something completely different, something deemed more desirable. I do not think this ideal will ever really change, it is an inevitable occurrence with competition, and although it is difficult to understand why people cannot be satisfied with the company that they already keep, the inner ring helps to lay out a serious reality of society and human desire for improvement.

Remove yourself

Transcendentalism is a philosophy that focuses mainly on the self. It is somewhat of an anti-religion, because instead of worshipping some sort of idol or god, the subject seeks to find an inner light, and their own individual peace. Emerson and Thoreau illustrate this philosophy in their writing, because they focus on a certain kind of disconnect that is often forgotten in society, but is completely priceless. Communication is a constant demand and it keeps individuals from uncovering their true selves. Continual submergence into a fast paced and demanding society also is a major distraction and barrier to finding out who the inner self is and figuring out what that self really needs in life. If all people lived with a transcendentalist mantra, the need for grades would be eradicated. Phones and computers eliminated. People would know who they are, and as a whole society would become a lot smarter, without artificial surroundings to constantly taint their inner being.

Art.

I typically think of myself to not be an artistic person at all, but I'm starting to realize that despite my lack of ability to draw anything outside of the realm of a flower or a heart does not put me in a category of a non-artist.
I appreciate art. I love attending musical concerts and not only feeling the rhythm and the lyrics of the performer, but also the collective feeling and atmosphere that is resonated within the audience as well. I would love to be able to draw and paint awesome pictures depicting my inner thoughts and emotions, but paint and shading pencils are just not my media. The pen is, however. Writing has become my own personal outlet for artistic expression and personal expression. It allows me to write out those feelings, the same way a painter can depict deep emotions by blending colors and painting vivid images.

Give Thanks Every Day!

This is the annual day that all Americans are supposed to give thanks, and I need to narrow down what I am thankful for for the purpose of this post.
1. a healthy body that can run, walk, dance and move freely at my own will
2. Eyes that see, ears that hear, a voice that can sing and talk with others
3. a good job where I work with people who support and care about me, unlike other jobs offered to teenagers which are seen as places of dysfunction and dread
4. an able brain which can learn and think and process information
5. An imperfect family
6. a mother who never allows a shortage of food in the house...
7. a puppy who loves me and gets excited every time I walk in the door
8. A home in a safe neighborhood in a district of a prestigious public school
9. many different "families" who support me: Debate family, immediate family, extended family, lacrosse family, creative writing family etc.
10. semi-intelligent parents
11. my out of control hair
12. friends who will help me in any bad situation
13. the ability to travel and see new places in the world
14. indoor heating - although I don't think my mom turns it on often
15. my lifetime fitness membership
16. my cell phone
17. teachers who I feel safe to talk to about issues that you wouldn't talk about with any random person.

Of course there are many more things I can't think of that I need to express gratitude for, but for now this is what I will focus on as far as reasons for happiness.

washing away.

Enjoy the beauty given, don't try to create it.

Humans do not respect the natural beauty that surrounds them. The glamour of Hollywood and the bright city lights of New York City are always acclaimed as being beautiful and inspiring, but the same people who value those artificially created symbols of beauty are damaging the remaining natural beauty left on this earth. The ocean has become a toxic waste dump, and its animals and other marine life have fallen victim to this deadly human practice. From oil spills and garbage dumping to other atrocities committed against marine life, my visual essay exposes this injustice to the most beautiful and precious resource on the planet. Garbage is constantly disposed of in the ocean, strangling innocent animals and clumping into floating garbage islands. Oil is spilled from huge tankers to kill seabirds and fish and pollute the once pristine waters. The worst of all are the sins committed directly by humans against the innocent animals that live in the ocean, the images I included as an example are from the annual dolphin slaughter that takes place in Taiji, Japan.
The main appeal was to pathos, because the graphic imagery evokes a sentimental or emotional feeling. The viewer would likely feel a twinge of guilt for their inevitable minor contribution to the degradation of the ocean. Personally, I feel as though there is a logos claim, because it makes sense, it is logical for us to realize that we need to save our oceans because from my imagery, not taking action leads to ugly, polluted waters, but care for the ocean means beautiful, sparkling coral reefs and abundant sea life. For an audience, I would want people who do care about the oceans and who are not resorting to ignorance to deal with everyday problems in life, because they are the ones most likely to be impacted enough to change their daily behavior to be more ocean friendly after viewing the video. With the clearly displayed examples of the problems, motivation should be generated to change human behavior to better suit the cleanliness and health of the ocean.
To order my photos, I arranged them in groups according to the “sin” being committed within each one, with the main ideas being garbage dumping, oil spills and the slaughters. At the end, I put beautiful photographs of the ocean in its best condition. This was to leave on a positive note, because complete negativity forces people away from choosing to take action and instead they just become scared and ignore the issue entirely. I didn’t repeat a specific image, but instead I put up pictures containing similar content but shown in different locations/situations. This way it helps to paint a realistic picture of how serious AND how widespread of an issue ocean degradation is. The gloomy/grayish coloring shows how the pollution sucks the life out of the once vibrant ocean, which is shown in the vividly colored pictures toward the end of the show. They reinforce the idea that human contribution to the problems of the ocean has sucked the life and instead replaced mounds of dirty gray matter, covering up its beauty and life.
The music I selected for my soundtrack is a composition titled “A Hymn to the Sea” by James Horner, which is from the final scene and end credits in the Titanic movie. This piece of music has melancholy mixed with a mysterious, almost spiritual drift to it. This music reminds me of a tragedy, which is likely why it was used in the Titanic and its theme is based around the sea, something I am speaking up for. Instead of using blunt, loud or shattering music to arouse a disturbing mental image, the more quiet and solemn melody creates a sadness in the audience, not just shocking fear. This way, the message is not overblown and I am not using the “scare-tactic” logical fallacy, but instead merely showing the tragedies that the ocean suffers due to human activity. The bagpipes are an instrument that would be heard at a funeral, which arouses a thought that the oceans are slowly being killed off; never to be experienced again if human ways go unchanged. I did not use any text because I wanted the images to speak for themselves. This way, the viewer is forced to think of why I chose this topic, they are not merely "filled in" on my issue but curtly shown the problem and backed into a corner of realizing they need to take action. This personal and inner struggle and realization is what I wanted as a response to my essay. Hopefully, this arousal of intrinsic motivation is more effective in gaining support for a huge problem and leads to action faster than irrationally shocking and overly disturbing images that arouse more fear than desire to make a change.