Looking Forward: The City on a Hill Revisited

      So this is it. We've reached the end of the semester, and aside from feeling totally burnt out, I think I've learned quite a bit about utopias over the past fifteen-odd weeks. We've seen shining republics (with pastries), spiritual cities, theocracies, classical utopias, weird martian utopias, modern dystopias, and lots of explosions in an utopian/dystopian(?) Michael Bay film.

Leftovers again?!

      At the beginning of the semester, most of us agreed that an utopia is not a perfect place; rather, it is better than the one we currently occupy. Similarly, we will probably never be able to achieve a perfect world, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

      I think I may have realized something this semester. What if the definition of utopia is wrong? What if, in our real-world sense, the closest we ever get to an utopia is by helping each other and trying to make the world a better place?

      In that case, our “City on a Hill” is already here. When we help others, we come the closest to an utopia that we ever will. As the saying goes, “It's not the end result of the quest that matters; it's the getting there that counts.”

      What if an utopia is the process by which we try to make the world a better place?

(Michael Bay meme taken from www.joblo.com. Comparative photo of The Island and Transformers 3 taken from www.reddit.com. Image of the City on a Hill taken from insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com.)

Final Thoughts on Brave New World

I really loved the last few chapters of Brave New World because if you hadn't yet picked up on some aspects of this “utopia” they are really brought to light here. Chapter 16 is one of my favorite chapters in this novel. This is most likely due to the fact that I get angered by the concept of consumerism over beauty. (The beauty of literature, or art.)

Granted, I am not the most educated person when it comes to literature, but that does not mean I do not read great works by Shakespeare or Austen and others. They are beautiful pieces of art that can be related to modern times even though they written over a hundred years ago. The language is outdated, but the ideas, problems, behaviors all can be seen in society today -- they are even the basis of many plot lines of shows, movies, plays, and other novels! These historical novels have influenced so many aspects of our society that I cannot imagine reading and watching other things and NOT realizing that they have a relationship (in some way) to great works. And the fact that this society keeps them away because they are OLD an do not promote consumerism frustrates me to no end. Also, the citizens of the world state have infantile emotions and gratifications that would not allow them to appreciate great works of art. They would not be able to understand. How can a society take this away from people?! I understand they want stability, but emotions like love, anguish, heartbreak, happiness, etc are beautiful and develop a person. Why did they find this a fault in us? I believe it to be one of best qualities and what makes us human. These beings are just that, beings. They are not humans. They do not know what it means to be human nor should they deserve to be called human.

Chapter 18 also angers me. They want people to b happy and take pleasure or find amusement in the internal, personal anguish John is suffering through. They want to report on it and release feelies about it. It's absolutely disgusting. But then I feel that that is something we do today. We watch other people suffer and hurt themselves, but do not really help them. Why do we watch shows like Teen Mom? or 16 and Pregnant? TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES AND BE THANKFUL IT'S NOT US WHO HAS ALL THEIR PROBLEMS. This is a huge problem with society today. We like to see other people struggle, just to feel a little bit better about ourselves. EXACTLY like they are doing in the world state.

Knowing what I do and thinking about a life without the struggles I face in day to day seems horrifying. It would be interesting, but still horrifying. I am one of those people that always tries to have hope and be content or happy with everything I have, and I feel like I truly am. I don't want to live anywhere else. I don't want to be any one else. I want my family, friends, school, job, struggles, joy...everything. I don't know what the future may hold, but one thing I do know, is that I do not want to live in a world like world state.

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