The Slow Walk Towards Paradise

Who among us can admit, without a smirk of sarcasm on his/her face, that we are living “just another day in paradise?” I do not pretend to believe that there are not people out there who are happy and content with themselves and their lives. However, I do believe that the overwhelming majority of people are constantly seeking and chasing after more.

After every gift we are given (both figuratively and literally), or every accomplishment we achieve, we are often immediately preoccupied with what comes next. We forget that we should stop and appreciate and enjoy the moment that we have worked towards and realized. With the abundance of distracting and lustrous options that our modern world offers we tend to get caught up in a race that appears to be never ending.

I can imagine you now looking at the screen perplexed, I bet you’re asking yourselves “what’s wrong with wanting to do more, be more, and have more?”  Nothing. Even more confused? That’s because what I am proposing to better our current world is simply balance.

I think that we need to seriously consider our priorities and our commitments. I think that if we all made an effort to slow down our lives, and even our ambitions at times, that we could all be a little happier. We would have more time to spend with the people in our lives who make us smile. We would have more time to make them smile in return.

I am not proposing that we stop making and working towards goals, or stop doing the things that bring us enjoyment. Instead, I suggest that we, me included, make a conscious effort to slow down. Perhaps after we get that promotion at work we should take some time to enjoy the success instead of fixating and stressing about making it to the next one. Or on a smaller scale, instead of making multiple commitments to multiple people throughout the week and stressing over having the time for all of them and making everyone happy, maybe we should budget our time and focus on making ourselves happy as well.

I think that if people strove for this balance in their lives that we could really improve and share the parts of ourselves that would make others happier as well. 

Desserts Are The Backbone of Peace

Presently, I am wrapped up in Plato's The Republic, getting a head-start on the next reading for class. I am merely on the third of 40 pages and I am caught up in a fit of laughter at the ideas these philosophers are throwing around about making a city. 

First, they started out with the conclusion that to have a foundation for a city, one only needs four or five men: one a farmer, one a builder, one a weaver, one a cobbler and one a doctor. Hah! What a boring city that would be. 

Image courtesy of rootsweb.ancestry.com

Imagine living in a city with only five people. There would be no laws. There would be no entertainment, even! Us Americans just love celebrities, and in this contrived society, there would be....no. Justin. Bieber. Chaos ensues. 

Quickly, though, my laughter returns when the philosophers realize that four or five men is simply not enough for a sufficient city. Of course no one will want to spend all their time making enough of the staples of life for themselves and everyone else. Why should one man have to grow enough wheat for five? It's simply unfair. 

Cue the next realization: there needs to be imports! Imagine if Americans had to be completely self-sufficient without the aid of any foreign countries. When would there be time for an afternoon siesta? There may be some benefits, though. I imagine that obesity would greatly decrease if the majority of the population had to work to sustain the whole country. More and more people would be involved in physical labor, eliminating what I like to call the "desk-job love handles." Also, I imagine that technology would vastly improve. People would naturally get hurt on the job, so why not build a machine that would do it for you? Technology may evolve into something helpful rather than mindless. But, I guess iPads have already done their damage...

And the pièce de resistance: dessert. One of the philosophers somehow forgot the obvious need for food items like salt, olives and cheese. Thinking on this track, he came to the conclusion that they would "give them desserts, too, of course, consisting of figs, chickpeas, and beans, and they'll roast myrtle and acorns before the fire, drinking moderately. And so they'll live in peace and good health" (Plato, 47). 

Image courtesy of chiwulff.com

What took him so long to realize that the key to an appeased population is desserts and the moderate drink?? If only the problems of modern-day life could be solved with a slice of apple pie and a glass of Chardonnay. 

I have so far found this reading quite entertaining, especially since the city the philosophers have been planning seems to have come to ground in 3 pages. Who knows what treasures lie ahead for me?

Cars Are No Good

It is very difficult for me to begin to address the concept of Utopia in the first place. When I think about it, I just wind up in a never ending argument going back and forth about ways to approach the "problem" of improving the world. One side of me says that to make the world a better place, we have to consider for what purpose we are making the world a better place. If it is to give all humans better lives, than we have to think about whether we equally weigh all humans' opinions about what gives them better lives, whether anybody is wrong about what is a good life, and find ways to address the differences in the ways people want to live.

It all just really comes down to a philosophical discussion on the meaning of life, which has remained unresolved for a very long time. So when I get the question, "What is one thing that would make the world a better place?", I think to myself that I want everyone to live life the way they want so that they fulfill what they want to do with their life. And then I think that basically our world is already our attempt at Utopia and that it is perfect within all of it's "imperfections"- or maybe disagreements would be a better word.

So obviously everybody views it differently, which just seems to make the whole concept contradictory. But I guess to address it, I will assume that people misunderstand what will allow them to lead a better life, and that I can point them in the right direction.

My idea for a better world is to abandon vehicles of any kind. I believe that humans, similarly to any other animals, are meant to move without the assistance of a metal box on wheels.

For the record, I would like to say that I enjoy looking at and driving cool cars. I go through stretches in which I get really set on buying something like a Trans Am, but for the benefit of everyone I think it would be best if we did without them.

Back to cars being bad. The only purpose I see that they serve is for more things that make the world worse off. It all just comes down to cars facilitating our economy, which is based on us buying things that we don't actually need, which is done with MONEY, which many agree the world would be a better place without!

So now that we see the only things cars are used for are bad things, we can look at unintended consequences of their use.  Many people die from zooming around on our paved roads in metal boxes. Although I know it could be argued that death is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, I am assuming that while we are here we want to remain alive with healthy bodies. The other major consequence is people being very unhealthy from not having to move around the way we are meant to. I guess maybe being unhealthy doesn't seem like that terrible of a thing, but when I think about it, our bodies should be the one thing we want to protect above all else, so being unhealthy is basically the worst thing imaginable.

There are people who don't exercise, eat unhealthy, and drive around a lot, but are still skinny.  I just wanted to clarify that being skinny is not equivalent to health.

I basically see the purpose of life as enjoying my time while i'm alive. The only things I really want out of life are to be able to eat, maintain a comfortable body temperature, and be around the people that I enjoy. I have known nearly all of my good friends for over 10 years. I'm sure that is very different from people who go to college and have new friends in three weeks. I don't consider myself close to someone until I have known them for a considerable amount of time. This is why I find it ridiculous that people would want cars and planes to travel and spend time with their "friends" who live in places like Italy, Mongolia, and Ghana.

I do not think that cars improve our lives at all.

If You Can't Do the Time...

My initial idea for how to make the world a better place was to try to lower the crime rate. My plan for how to do that was to use the system of reward and punishment, and reward people who report crimes that are being committed, and to punish the people who are committing crimes. I want to say that the reward for reporting crimes would be something like extra money on tax returns at the end of the year. As for what the punishment would be for people who are going around committing crimes, I have to be honest and say that I’m on the fence about it. It could be jail, but jail might not be effective as all it would do is overfill the jails and then that would be a different problem. It could be a severe punishment like loss of limb or death which would deter some people but that seems a little bit too over the top. As you can see I’m a little stuck on the “How” part of my plan but I think that this would be a good idea in terms of making the world a better place because the ultimate goal would be that the crime rates would decrease. It would also do wonders in terms of decreasing the issue of the bystander effect, which is an instance where people see crimes or someone in need but don’t do anything to help or put a stop to the situation for various reasons. In other words, I feel that in rewarding the people who report crimes, it will motivate people to care about one another and help each other out if the need arises. While the “How” of my plan is a little rough, I’m open to suggestions on how to punish criminals without making the punishment as extreme.

How Logic can improve the world

The plan that I believe would have the most wide reaching impact on the world is to encourage and emphasize logical thinking.
What: Logical thinking. This is the idea of understanding what logic thinking actually is (and includes things like knowing what fallacies are.) and what it is not. (Being emotionless, unable to make quick decisions etc...)  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrawVulcan (note these are examples of ways people portray logic as being false. While many of the descriptors may be from movies and films which everyone knows aren't true they are still representative of mass culture and ideals.)

How: Simply by teaching it in the classroom as a requirement.
Why?: They are many reasons why logic is necessary

1. It improves people's ability to understand when someone is trying to manipulate them. Many groups, including everything from advertisements to politicians use fallacies in their attempts to convince people of a choice of action they support.  By making people understand what arguments are fallacies it would prevent them from being as easy to manipulate.

2. It can encourage people to act nicer. While it is unlikely that people will stop making decisions based purely on emotion by encouraging logical thinking it would make it difficult for someone to make a decision that isn't logical. And this is most important to prevent negative acts. Most positive acts can be argued logically (if you are improving someones life and it does not or has little damage to you that is a logical thing even if you were driven to do it by emotions.) However negative acts are much harder to argue logically (hurting someone for no reason or your own pleasure isn't logical. It just increases the odds that you will be hurt in response and could escalate dangerously). By encouraging logical thinking it might cause people to act more kindly.

3.  It would reduce the power of prejudice. If you act more based on logic and reasons it stands out when you are making judgement or treating someone negatively simply from personal dislike of certain characteristics of them.  Not that this will get rid of prejudice. But it will encourage people to be less likely to do negative acts out of prejudice, which is more important.

4. It improves scientific and mathematical education. Logic is a very scientific way to view the world. it has it's rules and structures and requires evidence to work properly. By encouraging and valuing this way of thinking it will lead more students becoming our next scientists and mathematicians  who have the best chance of dramatically changing the world perhaps into a Utopia. Science has had the greatest impact on mankind and has done amazing things for us.


Conclusion:
Logic isn't the only way to improve the world. Others have varied solutions. Many of these might very well be effective. But all will take use of part of this plan. All will be tested to see if they make sense. If they are consistent. If they are Logical. Logic is necessary for deciding an action by acting by pure random chance. And if pure chance could lead us to Utopia it most likely would've already done so.The best way to take an action that will have a positive impact on the world will be to use logical to determine what that action will be.

links:
http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200307/spock01/320x240.jpg
http://www.electrogent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/argument_fallacies.jpg
http://sharkrobot.com/images/shirt_ninjabot_redteam.jpg

Google is Judging Me. : (

I consider a Utopia to be a place where there are no presumptions about a person's character, and people learn about each other as individuals. I'd like to say that I never make a judgment of a person based on their gender, race, sexuality, or ethnicity. But, I'd be lying. Pretty much everyone holds some sort of presumption about other people's characters, and I'm no exception. I wouldn't even be allowed in my own Utopia.

Consider Google. Google is not a person, it is a slightly sinister company, but it still makes a very good example of the effects of presumption. Google collects data on people's search histories and then uses it to try and tailor adds to fit their personal preferences.

(You can view your own add profile here if you want: http://www.google.com/ads/preferences )

You might not believe me, but Google's add preferences can be a source of wonderful entertainment. My favorite game to play on them is something I call Gender Add Grab Bag. You play by telling Google you're the opposite gender that it has you listed as. Then, you go browsing to see if the adds that pop up are any different from what you normally get. Then, switch back, and visit the same websites. Even though all of the data that Google has collected on you except for your gender stays the same, the changes are often striking.

While listed as a male, I usually encounter lots of adds for home improvement, alcohol, and cars. Listed as a female, I encounter far more adds for shoes, purses, and diets.

As a special treat, here's the most uncomfortable add encountered while I was listed as a female:

                                              (She's way too happy about all of this.)

And here's the even more uncomfortable add encountered while I was listed as a male:

                                                          (I can't even.)

I don't know why Google even needs to tailor my adds based on my gender, considering that it's already collected enough info to know that I like juice, rock and pop music, reptiles, and biological sciences. But, apparently it is still absolutely vital to know which parts I happen to possess, so that Google can also make judgments that are based on stereotypes rather than search history.

I think that the world would be a much better place if everyone was judged on what they did and said, without any presumptions being made about them. Of course, if I tell Google they need to stop being so presumptuous they are probably going to ignore me, because I am a tiny little person, and they are only a few technicalities away from being considered a world power. I can't change the world right away. But, I can change myself.

There are three main steps to the process:

1. Admit that you hold prejudgments and prejudges, because it's very hard to change something while pretending it isn't there.
   
   
2. Fight them at every opportunity. 
   
   

                    (If it doesn't feel like this, you aren't trying hard enough.)

3. Repeat for the rest of your life.
   
   
   I think that if everyone tried their very best not to prejudge people,  the world would be a much, much better place.

(Images belong to Tampax, orientbrides.com, and Paramont Pictures, respectively. )

Appreciating Those Around You

These days, it seems as if friends come and go as frequently as the seasons change. Sometimes people do not take the time to truly appreciate those friends and loved ones who have been around for the long haul; the ups and downs, the good and the bad times. 

I, like many other people, have had my fair share of heartbreaks and personal struggles, but my closest friends and loved ones are the people who have helped me to make it out relatively unscathed. 

Image courtesy of livingthebalancedlife.com

Who hasn't had a rough patch in their life? I mean, we are all humans, and nobody is perfect. (Just take a look at how Lindsay Lohan has turned out!) As humans who err, we need those people who will always be there for us-and who we will always be there for when the shoe is on the other foot. 

In Erin's perfect world, friends would take the time to show each other that they care and are thankful to have that person in their life. To do this, one would take a little bit of time to hand make something for a friend. It does not even have to cost you money. Simply writing "I'm so glad we're friends!" on a piece of paper and slipping it under their door will suffice. 

Image courtesy of blogs.babble.com/dadding

This first week of school has been anything but Erin's perfect world. It seems that I am the only one out of my friends who has been assigned homework in every class! But, one day while I was printing out syllabi, I remembered that my friend had started her first day of job training at a very nice Frederick restaurant that will remain unnamed. 

Image courtesy of Adam Leviton

Alright, I cannot keep it a secret any longer: the restaurant is Volt, so you can only imagine how intense job training is there. I mean, this poor friend got a stapled packet of all the rules she has to follow, right down to the stipulations of wearing eyebrow pencil. (By the way, I did not know people even wear eyebrow pencil unless their brows are completely waxed off.)

I digress.

After printing, I opened up a fresh Word document and typed a little note wishing this friend a good day at work and saying that I was excited to hang out that evening. I slid it under her door (she conveniently lives in my hall) and went along my merry way. 

Nothing was in it for me. I did not expect one thing in return, and that concept is the foundation of my plan for a better world. People are too concerned about what they will get out of things they do. Go grocery shopping, you will get gas points! Donate money to our art museum, you will get your name on a plaque so everyone sees how rich you are! 

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

That type of culture disgusts me. People should practice kindness to all, and generosity from the heart. Trust me when I say this, doing something when you expect not one thing in return feels great. When I ran into my friend later, she said that my simple note that took me one minute to make made her day. I was so pleased to hear that my words could add at least one smile into a friend's day.

So I challenge YOU to make something for a friend tomorrow. Yes, I know you have class, but if it took me a minute to type a one-sentence note, you can find something to give a friend to let them know you care!