Macbeth Journal

Shakespeare yet again creates a stimulating, play-written poem, with reflections of humanity, destiny, and power. Not only are the impact and implications of the play astounding, the sheer amazement of the entirety of the play existing as a gargantuan poem is truly difficult to fully appreciate. The ability for anyone to write an entire piece, with as deep of a meaning, in contextual accuracy and lyrical loyalty, is not replicable, and likely never will be.

            Macbeth contains a very interesting connection between humanity and destiny. From the start, we receive the “knowledge” from the witches of Macbeth’s and Macduff’s future, but as we learn, it is shrouded with misleading images and deceitful messages. Not only is every action sequentially caused by the witches’ presentation, but it is as if it was the intention all along for this tumult to occur. If we take this out of Shakespearean context, it could be argued that the witches are symbolic of forces in our own world, working to screw stuff up for the purpose of God, Glory, Gold, or simply because “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” Alfred Pennyworth, The Dark Knight Rises. People, like Macbeth, don’t even contemplate the idea until it is presented, and it results in absolute consumption, because it seemed destiny, due to ‘irrefutable’ proof, the same irrefutable proof that is presented on news stations, within countries, between party members, and eventually shown to be a gross misrepresentation by all faction. For example, there are massive quantities of people who believe in a sacred war between absolute good and absolute evil, and spend their entire lives indoctrinating others to their ill-conceived conviction and wasting theirs on a fabricated tale which will not occur from sacred entities. However, history has shown that humans are prone to making their destiny happen. So, like Macbeth, humans could easily create this end-of-the-world battle occur, because they believe it will, and they want it to.

            On a different analysis, I want to dive deeper into the mind-blowing of Shakespeare. Let’s assume that the witches want Macbeth to traverse on his journey of decline, destruction, and death. What are the witches? Fictional characters created by William Shakespeare. They are the vehicles of Shakespeare, the works and workers both, oh his hand. Therefore, the witched do want Macbeth to commit such atrocities, because the witches are Shakespeare, working for Shakespeare, and therefore are working towards his goal. This reminiscently reminds me of when I was reading an essay on a story in which a character is reflecting on himself, questioning his own existence; perhaps the greatest ironic use of literature ability ever. Create a fictional character, write about that character questioning his own existence, because indeed, the character does not exist, or does he? Perhaps we are all stories written by authors, perhaps déjà vu is the author rewriting something, perhaps when we forget something we were going to say the text is being deleted, perhaps dreams are free writing brainstorming sessions, or problem solving sessions, or simply entertainment, perhaps alternate universes are other story copies, revised versions, alternate endings; and perhaps this all just an exaggerated look at something infinitesimal. But certainly entertaining to contemplate, and it not only opens doors to new stories in the future, but it opens new insights to fictional literature, and its interpretations.

Metaphysical Impact

Physicality, not athleticism but existence, is everywhere. The air is physical, water is physical, light is physical, life forms are physical, emotions are names for physical chemical processes in the brain; but religion, politics, ethics, biases, beliefs- they are all metaphysical, they all are constructs of the mind, all fabrications of artificiality. These metaphysical concepts dominate this species, rule every thought, control nations of people, direct everyone into a large concert for their own demise, and they are addictive, like heroine, crack cocaine, and morphine combined into a potent combination, interpreted metaphysics is a deadly, habit forming, destructive element, and unfortunately, after its condition, forms itself out of the mind, rendering the user unable to isolate itself from the substance, because it is not physical, but metaphysical, and ever present in the thoughts and actions of the individual, and in consequence all people collectively. 
What are some roots of this metaphysical trait? Why are Homo sapiens the only known living species on this earth to possess such an aspect? Some may say that we possess such a mental ability because we are an advanced species intellectually and incredibly successful for how short a time we have been on this planet, but that seems ego-inflating. Perhaps it is that this species’ ability to rally behind a metaphysical invention that has allowed it to be so dominating and successful. All of the pack mentality species (e.g. ants, dolphins, lions, wolves, etc.) have the highest success rates. They collaborate, they unify, they work together when the time comes regardless of any predisposed bias against one another, and those that allow their poor relationships to interfere with the mission at hand run a great risk of failure. Humans have developed entire written theories for the effectiveness of this metaphysical teamwork, and in a sense, animals do rely on metaphysical constructs, the ones which do receiving the highest success, but humans have a much greater dependence on the metaphysical, and it seems that the initial ability to wonder what was not wondered before, ask what had not been asked, and even more so, create ideas to satisfy the need to know, and rally behind those ideas to propel the species into unfathomable success. Origins theorized, and it seems that metaphysics is a genuinely beneficial aspect of this species, but there is a problem. Metaphysical ideas such as religion, racism, political superiority, nationalism, and all kinds of other constructs, are competing, clashing, oppressing, killing, hurting, demolishing; they’re destroying humanity. Is this a bad thing? That’s hard to say. It seems that nature has preset safeguards to life (whether these safeguards are created or manifested is unknown) and that whenever a species gains too much power, whenever it begins to destroy the established entropic order, the species’ greatest advantage, what has forever been its strongest asset, becomes its most volatile detriment. Like cancer, metaphysics infiltrates the body as evolution, and when the time is right, it corrupts and kills the body to stabilize nature. In the book World War Z, the scientist assigned to track the source of the virus confided that nature has a habit of making an organism’s greatest strength its most obvious weakness. This is apparent and factual, and from here analytical observance and concluding decisions must be made regarding the beneficial nature and aspects of this oncoming self-destruction of humanity. Is it better to survive, or better to die out? Will we deform more of the world with our continued existence, or will we be a benefit? Primarily, however, metaphysics must be analyzed more before a definitive assessment can be delivered.
To look in literature, it is apparent that metaphysics is the driving force behind almost every short story, novella, novel, series, and every other conceptualization. To name a few significant metaphysical pieces of literature: The Holy Bible, Wuthering Heights, Al Qur’an, The Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, every Shakespearean play and sonnet, every religious text, every philosophical theory, every political doctrine, practically everything made by humans is metaphysical in its foundation. Friday Night Lights, Into The Wild, and The Killer Angels are no exceptions to this. The authors use metaphysics not only in their display of their novels, but the characters and actual people behind the novels used metaphysics to propel the events which were written about by the authors.
In Friday Night Lights, metaphysical concepts dominate Odessa and the inhabitants. Not only are racial bigotry, familial expectations, and unfair vilification, but the entire town is dependent upon High School Football to keep it alive. If there has never been a more depressing collapse of a first world community, it would not be too surprising. For an entire livelihood to be based upon the degradation of ethnicities, children, and coaches, all the while placing dependency upon a child’s game for a few months of the year; it is completely preposterous, and unmistakably a rather depressing outcome for a collection of people. Racism is a parallel to all kinds of discriminating (e.g. sexual orientation, heritage, body type, etc.) and is a prevalent aspect of humanity. The people of Odessa, and in consequence the world, have preset biases towards ethnicities. The reasons behind this racism are numerous, and can be construed in many different ways. For some, racism is taught by familial tradition, or by religious indoctrination. For others, racial bias is formed from experience, assuming that all people of a certain ethnicity or state are all the same. This racism, for whatever reason it comes about, gives people a sense of superiority at times, at others it opens something up for ridicule, and often it creates the perfect scapegoat for vilification. At the same time in Odessa and elsewhere, familial hierarchy dominates many children’s mindsets and futures. On top of being conditioned into racism, children are expected to follow into success and superiority. It is true that parents want the best for their children, but there are many factors which play into this. Parents want what they think is best for their children, and here it means success at a petty sport. This causes a great deal of stress on the players, as it would on anybody whose parents pressure them into being this impossible ideal of perfection, rendering them incapable of meeting this expectation. However, in the end, Odessa is a vilifying town, attacking other schools’ football teams, claiming them to be inferior; attacking ethnic groups, claiming them to be reasons why the team and community suffers; attacking the coach, claiming that because the team is not at a level of pristine perfection that it is on his shoulder; and attacking the very family members for not living up to the impossible standards placed for them. This is metaphysical conceptualization gone awry, and what once could have been used for the benefit of the town is now ripping it apart even more in its collapsing economic state.
Into The Wild portrays the metaphysical journey of Christopher McCandless. As a relatable character, McCandless was relatable and likable, not only in the account, but in his life as well. McCandless was incredibly intelligent, and it is difficult not to feel sympathy for him. Not particularly conforming to any religious or political party, Krakauer revealed Chris’ criticism against all spectrums of economic, political, and ethical trains of thought. He was not particularly susceptible to societal expectations, or to political party conditionings, yet he did fall victim to himself. McCandless thought he could figure out the ultimate absolution of humanity, thought that he could find the truth, what reality actually is, but in his self-indulgent, incredibly fortunate adventures, he only built his tolerance to fear, obstinacy to danger, and obdurate  reaction to other people’s show of concern. Chris is the embodiment, the analogous identity for humanity and its development through the metaphysical realm. He began his life in normalcy for a travelling boy, but it quickly became difficult, intense, and he was surrounded with emotional turmoil at every turn. He created and adopted his metaphysical entity, and helped not only himself, but others as well, spending Saturday nights feeding the homeless on his own fruition. Yet, he always had his own biases against external forces, e.g. his father, and they always plagued him. Therefore, he ventured into Jack London’s metaphysical hypocrisy, and ventured so far into his cavern that it killed him. In the song “Evidence” by Crown The Empire, it is stated “You’ll never find happiness while you live inside hate.” It seems that Chris McCandless was trying to find fulfillment, trying to find happiness, but he never would be able to, until he settled his issues with his father, to which he had already confessed to his sister that he could never forgive his father. Krakauer presents a potential argument that Chris may have met his absolution and internal self-actualization, but it came too late to save him, and he died, much like it appears that all of humankind will.
While McCandless’ journey led to his own death, and the devastation of the psychological integrity of numerous others, it was absolutely nothing close to the magnitude of the destruction caused by metaphysics in the American Civil War. A nation of people, convicted to their core about their metaphysical foundation of “freedom” split in two over additional metaphysical controversy, and in consequence to the closed minds, slaughtered millions of their own “brothers” over a domestic dispute. The impact of something as destructive as war can shatter everything that has been built, but it can also be the provocation needed to propel those involved and affected into a new stage of development. The absolute obliteration that occurred in the Civil War, and in the battle of Gettysburg specifically, is astounding, and the fact that it took a convincing metaphysical backbone, and continuous reinforcement of these metaphysical concepts on both sides is a strong testimony to the very present danger of metaphysical concepts, especially when these concepts are not presented and analyzed in a pragmatic manner. When entire congregations of people simply accept what is fed to them, it is a deadly concoction of corruption through idiocy. This is why pragmatic analysis of everything, absolutely everything, is crucial to safe development, safety for all involved, even with the incredible risk, but far less perilous than blindly believing whatever has been handed over in lace and bows, because many times, the object within all the trivial coating is an ugly, destructive creation, and is best to be rejected instead, or replaced after a while. Shaara took the liberty of portraying the personal thoughts of the generals and soldiers at Gettysburg, and he portrayed them as skeptical of their own metaphysical ideals pushing them to slaughter so many people, but not in the heat of battle, not it the spark of the moment when all the emotional chemicals concoct into a potent mix, allowing people to do the things that they do to one another. No, once the complexity of the situation’s ethical implications are removed, then everything is just easy to convince yourself into, especially when there is an army prepared to do the same on the other side. Not only does blind metaphysical dependence destroy the ability for segregated groups to come together, but it also destroys groups from the inside. In the battle of Gettysburg, the Confederacy had become so intoxicated with hubris and their cause that they idiotically followed Lee’s directions to charge an entire mile through a valley to the enemy, so intoxicated with their lust for victory and superiority, dominance and aggression that they still charged when artillery fire rained down from above, so drunk on power and their convictions in things fabricated by their minds and self-convinced by constant reinforcement that they ran uphill wearing wool uniforms in blisteringly hot weather towards the enemy, so convinced that the probability no longer mattered due to the reinforcement from their deity that roughly five hundred soldiers returned from this failure of a charge, leaving the rest dead or dying. One regiment lead by General Armistead retained only twenty men who managed to break the union line, but twenty men is nothing when an entire army surrounding them bears down. The Confederacy was set up to dominate the battle of Gettysburg, and quite probably push to Washington D.C. immediately after, yet their metaphysically intoxicating attraction decimated them in one swift charge, crushing every chance for their victory, not due to a divine intervention, not because their cause was less just, but because they ignored logic and the physical facts for their twisted reality of hubris and metaphysical dependence.
Metaphysical dependence is found in every society ever recorded, leaving incredible impact upon the race as a whole. The impact of the corrupt metaphysics is so drastic that it is impossible to accurately predict what this species would be without it. Metaphysics is the driving role behind almost all human caused issues, from the small triviality of a small town’s ethics to the entire conditioning into war. It is apparent that metaphysics, while it has brought humanity as far as it has, had also held us back, and is corroding us away. What is best? Is it best that humans continue to develop and exist, or is it better for humanity to die out as well? These are questions that may be unnecessary to answer, as the answers are swayed by the bias around the word ‘better”. In a sense, it is in the highest priority for humans to continue their existence, yet in another, without the corrupt metaphysical impact, humans would so quickly overpopulate the planet and consume all of the resources that our continued inhabitation of this planet would completely destroy everything that it is, and not only would numerous other species die from our impact, but we would lead to our own demise there as well. Metaphysics can be directed into a less dismal path, however. Since religion, nationalism, and the like are nurtured, taught into those who believe them, humans can also educate humanity towards different ideals, ideals that are so rudimentary that almost every child seems to be receptive of them immediately. How difficult can it be to believe that it is right to accept and love every individual? How simplistic is it to educate humans to cooperate globally towards a prosperous future for not only this race, but for the entire planet and beyond? At this point in time, more difficult than it is desirable to be. After thousands of years of reinforcement of these ideas of segregation, prejudice, purity, absolute truth, and the like, redirecting the minds of humans to disregard these will be difficult, near impossible if not fully; but it is not a battle which should not be pursued, not when the fate of the race and many others hangs in the balance. The battle will never be done, as with each individual comes one’s own subjectivity and corruption, and there will be a constant battle, but this is eons in the future in comparison to what is happening now; do we let metaphysics destroy us, or do we attempt to redirect it? This is the unanswered question.

The Killer Angels Journal

Without a doubt, the American Civil War was an incredible testimony to how readily subcategorized parties within a system can violently divide into a murder spree of desolation. Both parties held some sort of a righteous claim to justify the political agenda at hand. The Union used its claim of freedom and the abolition of old Victorian traditions to fuel its charisma in war. The Confederacy claimed individual State rights and outright democracy to fuel its fight. Both sides used additional propaganda tactics in their battle. To the Union, America was the land where, “no man has to bow”, however the entire time, persecutions of races, genders, mindsets, and social classes were supported by the very same members of the Union, e.g. Ulysses S Grant calling the invented Gatling Gun inhumane, and then authorizing its use against Native American settlements. The Confederacy was no better, and was adopting tradition of classical European mindsets into its culture, which could have posed a threat to the idealized way of existence as it had been. Both sides were corrupt deceivers, utilizing an exaggerated ideal to propel themselves into a politically charged, ethically shrouded internal conflict.

            Gettysburg itself was an abhorrent battle, as is common knowledge. With a casualty report of an estimated 46,000 dead, wounded, and missing soldiers, this battle was incredibly intense with a death toll nearing 8,000. The thought of this is antagonizing, many times because Americans think themselves superior to such degrading violence and conflict. Yet, the inhabitants of this country are no better than any other nationality’s inhabitant. In a land where the citizens fist fight over the maple syrup at IHOP and jealous girlfriends brutalize transsexual bystanders in McDonalds for looking at their boyfriends, it is rather ironic how America’s air of superiority is so thick that it darkens the whole world’s skies, primarily with Drone Strike missiles. No, Americans are nothing like those heathens who murder children and innocent judgmental extraditing Israelites. America would never kill indiscriminately, or utilize terrorism in its defense campaign to protect its values. Is that what an impending nuclear arsenal, overwhelming military power, and conglomeration of loophole-filled documents granting the government the shady right to take out any target it deems beneficial is? No, of course not; a ragtag band of religious fanatics fueling a hatred and discrimination of people in violation of their religious code of morality, that is the real root of terrorism. No! Not the 700 Club! They don’t fly airplanes into buildings, but they do support mindsets and ideals which are equally guilty in the hands of the deaths and oppression people globally. Realistically, this is true for every organization involved in large scale politics. Every side has its benefits and faults, and all carry at least one false banner of support to mask the deformed corruption beneath. This is the same for the Union and Confederacy. Humans have not developed, only altered.

            On a much lighter note, Shaara’s writing style is incredibly insightful, as based upon his extensive research, Shaara has adapted the apparent thoughts of the generals into a form of relatable literature, while at the same time taking extreme liberty of releasing some rather incriminating, dark thoughts of the generals, insinuating a level of deep thought which is usually lost to analysis of historical figures. They too are people, they too feel incredible pain, they too are uncertain of what to do, and make mistakes just like we do based upon cultural bias, persona faults, and erroneous decisions in rash panic. This aspect is usually lost or forgotten during historical analysis, and Shaara offers a novel which caters to this disregarded component.

Friday Night Lights Journal

It is apparent that humans have incredible expectations for themselves in life, but also for their children, for their peers, for the people involved in their ideals, their escapes, their distractions. Indeed, the author portrays it as though Odessa could be any town in America, but this even is too narrowed of a vision field, and the base themes can be extracted and set to every aspect of humanity in its entirety. Humans tend to find things to place their faith in; activities to escape from existence of a boring, depressing life; something to complain about. The reasons behind are different for every individual and nobody can claim to know fully what those reasons are because as of yet there is no effective way to penetrate the subconscious mind of an individual not giving the penetrated information, especially if the person does not yet understand the complexities and vast expanses behind their every thought.

            The oil town of Odessa is dying, as is Greenville in a sense, so the situation is relatable. When the work leaves, what is there left for sustainment? People stay because this is all they know, and they begin to turn to metaphysical concepts like racism, unreasonably high ideals for sports and other such organizations, vilification of whomever one can vilify. The Odessa citizens vilify their opponents in football, they vilify the coaches, and they vilify those of differentiating ethnicity. This vilification is an escape mechanism used globally from infancy well into adulthood due to the issue that humans fail to condition themselves and their offspring to actually important aspects of mindset and attitude which would in essence better humanity and quality of life. Granted, what we deem as “important” is entirely subjective also, as the importance of high school football and the vilification of those surrounding it may be indispensably important in the mindset of Odessa, but on a more in depth look, this important aspect is a pathetic excuse for the desire for dominance and to dissociate ill-conceived guilt. While this statement is also individually subjective, its claims are made in facts and logical, unemotional thinking, while the conceptions of Odessa are driven by metaphysical realities of superior race, gender binary dominance, disconnected outlets for entertainment serving as the only ultimate escape from the reality which the townspeople have both pushed and been pushed into, vilification of those who appear to be ripe, plump targets, familial hierarchy, which then divide into personal attitudes and perspectives birthed out of the circumstances.

            Bissinger tries to draw parallelisms between Odessa and the rest of America’s small towns, but this is only a child’s step toward a greater understanding. What is the unit of Odessa’s population? Human beings are. One could make the argument that they are Americans, but people are people, and they are a global populace. Is it not apparent that humanity as a whole is constantly is finding scapegoats in  politics, religion, lifestyle, personality, genetics, wealth, ideals, and a seemingly endless chain of other excuses to discriminate? All of these metaphysical realities born of the recesses of the subconscious mind, rooted for generations through traditions and values, conditioning and corruption, over and over until we now, as a global race, seem to overwhelmingly see metaphysical as above physical, better than physical, more real than physical, because it is unobtainable, because you can never touch god, you cannot hold feudalism, you cannot smell superiority. These ideas which “surpass” the physical world are dangerous. What happens to someone who loves objects, who values items and physical artifacts more than patriotism or faith? They are ridiculed, condemned in the minds of others as greedy, slothlenly, gluttonous, materialistic fools who cannot grasp the wonder of the conceptualized ideas of the rest of humanity. Metaphysical dependence is like a drug; it is addictive, and it is as if one can never get enough of their own specialized mind-warp. When we place the value of our religion, politics, and ideals above out value of life and existence, we are essentially labeling ourselves as an at-risk species, and with the modern technology capable of decimating the planet multiple times over, we are certainly a self-destructive endangered species. This is the ultimate message which should be extracted from this novel, but again, it is one completely subjective in the perspective of one who is constantly looking for ways to poke holes in the fabric of humanity’s cloak, and could very easily be skewed as well. After all, I’m only human.

Into The Wild Journal

Sometimes one might come to a point in life where nothing satisfies, a moment when nothing fulfills, and consequentially, individuals (and often congregations of individuals collaborating as one entity) will attach to an idea, a religion, nationalism, some sort of human construct of metaphysical existence in order to satisfy the belief in some higher order, a greater good, a right, ethics, being correct, and sequentially people venture deeper into an apparently infinitely deep cavern with a great source of light emitting from it, until the select few reach the point where they realize that the cavern is not infinite, and they can begin to see the source of the light. Some people stop here, some turn away, and some keep venturing. Should one venture deeper, this person would discover that the source of all this light, the cause of this whole great trek into the cavern, is a blindingly bright mirror, reflecting the light emitting from the eyes of the individual, showing back what has been fabricated by the immense Homo Sapien mind. When there is an entire organized religion staring into the mirror, when an entire political movement’s supporters gaze like infants at some confounded new object, when an entire culture rallies behind circumcision as a requirement, heterosexuality as a law, partnerships set to a singular limitation, the light emitting from that tunnel is the reflection of millions upon millions of individuals, staring, walking into what is truly the darkest place in life as if they were mindless shells of human, zombies if you will, staggering, mumbling about their world and their values, and their lives, and their gods, and their system, until they all crowd together and just feed off of their own light, but once people see that mirror, look into their own eyes, the light vanishes, because the metaphysical magic is gone, because they realize that they’ve been deluded, and that they’ve deluded themselves. Now they’re in the deepest cavern the world knows, and the light has stopped showing the way. They can still see the mirror, still see the millions gaping at the light, but now they can see that there are other caverns parallel to their own, with translucent walls dividing.
Chris McCandless found such a light once. It was coated in obstinacy yet logicality, rebellion yet loyalty, and it lead to his death. Chris McCandless never got out of his cavern; he died in there, with every other person who has ever succumbed to the ideas of self-reliance against all odds. Krakauer almost killed himself this way too. The sheer allure of the light is not the only reason why people stumble into the caverns; many times people grow attracted to it due to their pain, their sorrow, their experiences, and other factors. Like a drug, metaphysical truthism is addictive, and gobbles up millions by the millions into its grasp of placebos and delusions, but the real gag is: we created it, we fuel it, and we drive it. Some people just ride, accept whatever comes down the pipe as their own, but many people make their own personalized adaptations to the group perception, like all of us do. How can there be an absolute when everything is reformed by the individual’s perception of the “facts” given? McCandless was dead before he could show any signs of understanding this, whether he did or not.
Krakauer writes with incredible sympathy for McCandless, which doubtlessly influences the opinions of the reader. The subliminally persuasive tone is an excellent propaganda technique which draws a reader to sympathize with the author’s sympathy. Yet, the key to passing by the metaphysical attraction is to focus on the plain facts, and formulate truths and subsequent realities after. The physical is where analysis must begin.

Welcome To The Shitstorm

No commentary necessary.

No justice. No peace.

34 people were shot in Chicago on july 4, including a 5 year old and a 7 year old and not a fuckin peep, but now you people care? 

Alright, i’m saying something. There most certainly is necessary commentary here. You don’t think that there was justice? Did you watch the trial? Any of the trial? Just because the kid was from an ethnic group which has been unrightfully subordinated for centuries, this does not make him infallible in death, especially since he was involved in an assault, which is why he was shot in the first place. Zimmerman shot him while Trayvon was straddling him, self defense. Case over. But, this trial has lasted for a long time, longer than a simple murder case should go. So, why did it? The media sure decided that we should focus every possible moment on this trivial murder case. People die every day, and i’m not saying that death is easy, fun, or right to cause, but one death is very inappropriate for nonstop news coverage for weeks. Jodi Arias, George Zimmerman; anybody noticing a pattern? Has anybody been paying attention behind the scenes of the mass indoctrina- I mean media coverage? murdercube is correct, a mass shooting happens, but little to no attention is give there. But even better, did you know about the legislation passed regarding 80% of medication? Oh why not look that one up, why not search into that can of worms, see what’s been going on behind your attention deficit backs while you ogled and argued frivolously at an almost obvious case, just as it has always been? “Now you all know what a black child’s life is worth in America." Here’s something to think about: does ethnicity matter? Maybe by so vehemently fighting for “blacks’ rights" and “Hispanic rights" and “gay rights" you’re missing the point and helping the cultural segregation. The battle should not be for the blacks here, and the Hispanics here, and the queers here, no. the fight is for humans to stop being so incredibly judgmental, petty, biased, conformed, unaccepting, unloving, and intolerant, and not just the U.S., but we need to look past nationalities. What makes a Russian baby different from a Kenyan baby different from a Canadian baby? The stupid B.S. cultural exclusiveness and nationalism which gives humans a segregated sense of belonging which leads to conflicts, just as our social segregations brought about and perpetuated by both sides causes internal conflicts, which are then used for the advantage of political games. And my final point, since when has children’s lives mattered in this country? Maybe to the individuals, but I guess nobody decides to call their congressman about how they detest the president’s RIDICULOUS DRONE STRIKESTATISTICS, or how he KILLED AN AMERICAN FAMILY WHILE IN PAKISTAN WITH A DRONE ATTACK, KILLING AN ADOLESCENTBOY or maybe THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT IN WHICH IT WAS STATED THAT THE PRESIDENT IS NOT RESTRICTED FROM USING DRONE STRIKES ON AMERICAN CITIZENS ON U.S. SOIL. How about you little kids wake up and smell the rose bridge you walk on, because it’s rotting away from underneath you. There are more important things in this world, in the current developments in this country alone, than what kind of lawful punishment will be given to the neighborhood watchman who killed a young man who happened to be of a ethnic group in self defense, things that will directly effect your life, and alter everything, propelling humanity further into corrupt false light.

An Email to a Friend

I've come up with a reasonable argument for calculating the starting sample of Carbon-14 on Earth, and it's rather simple. Simply, you begin with a sample that already has a known variable for time. Therefore, n can be solved for because the rate of decay and the age of the artifact are known, leaving the variable of the starting sample to be solved for algebraically. However, I have a theory which discounts all half-life dating: external interference. From all of the astrological interference which has and continues to occur, it is unknown if the Carbon-14 levels have been tampered with. Moreover, how can one discern that the Carbon-14 changes simply because the material underwent a physical alteration? Indeed, just because a potter molds the clay into a pot, that does not expunge the Carbon-14 from the material, nor does an erupting volcano restart the aging process of obsidian, or even more startling, the planet, or the moon. we can determine how long Carbon-14 has been present with the atomic specifics of the matter, but not the actual age of the matter. Yet, logically (when looking at only our planet) it seems rather preposterous to believe that the physical features of geological structures such as the multitude of layers in the crust alone, Mount Everest formed from the collision of tectonic plates known as Asia and India, and seeing just how slowly they move now, it is unreasonable to believe that these formations moved instantaneously over a course of ten thousand years or less. Then looking at the universe, judging by the radiation and the rate of expansion, accounting for the gradual acceleration due to entropy, and seeing the formations of nebulas and simply how agonizingly long it takes for them to form, it is not reasonable that the universe has not existed for billions of years. Also, knowing that the speed of light is 3x10^8 m/s, and judging the distance between stars we can see in our night sky, it takes millions of years for that light to reach us. This is not an attempt to disprove any theistic existence, simply a call for one with known scientific facts and calculation incorporated.

A Philosophical Psychoanalysis of Friedrich Nietzsche

Born during a time of great cultural transformation, German native Friedrich Nietzsche grew to become a remarkably well known philosopher throughout the world (Wicks, Robert). Living during the European transition from blindly believing in Christianity to blindly believing in science, Nietzsche believed that humans would, in their necessity for finding something exceptionally meaningful to fill the void created by the lack of a deity, turn to violent nationalism and other such dangerously biased ideologies (SparkNotes Editors). He labels this as nihilism, for yes indeed traditional concepts no longer mattered to the new sprung society, however Nietzsche is describing a secular nihilism, not an absolute nihilism, and therefore he perpetuates his own preset ideology of believing in something greater than what there is (SparkNotes Editors). Nietzsche developed many influential ideas during his journey to his Overman concept: will to power, subjectivity of truth, eternal recurrence, and going beyond good and evil (Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm). At the same time, he takes more of an attacking stance against the religion of Christianity, saying that it promotes the rejection of life on Earth, as it promotes the devaluation of life, the restriction and regulation of the pleasures of life, and the resentment of those who do not follow and accept the prior concepts; he believes this due to the nature of the belief in an afterlife, a superior life beyond this one, and Christianity’s adopted nature of rejecting this world and the rejection of those who embrace it (The Antichrist). Nietzsche was raised into a Christian family though, as his father was a Lutheran pastor (Wicks, Robert). In his early twenties during his academic studies, he studied and rejected his originally indoctrinated faith (Wicks, Robert), but some remnants followed, as is visible in his concept of the Overman (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). The Overman is Nietzsche’s new image for humanity, believing that humans are not the final destination, but just the bridge between animal and Overman (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). Nietzsche made many valid points regarding humanity’s collective idiosyncrasies and perpetual habits, yet he mislabels nihilism, and still clings to the subconsciously indoctrinated necessity to believe in a greater spiritual power.

Will to power; this is Nietzsche’s main driving force behind practically everything he states. He explains that the will to power is the will for either independence or for domination; the will to hold power over oneself or over others. The will to power is his central basis for the actions, behaviors, and mannerisms of humanity, “This will is stronger than the will to survive, as martyrs willingly die for a cause if they feel that associating themselves with that cause gives them greater power, and it is stronger than the will to sex, as monks willingly renounce sex for the sake of a greater cause” (SparkNotes Editors). Nietzsche has a deeper reasoning behind the will to power, as he views the world and the universe as in a constantly dynamic state of flux, and so therefore in conjuncture with his ideas of subjective truths, the ever constantly changing wills therefore change realities for the individual as well (Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm).

Nietzsche expresses the insightful statement that truths are subjective based upon the perception of the individual. While some critics argue that Nietzsche claims that there are many truths and just many ways to perceive the truths (SparkNotes), most will state that Nietzsche denounces universal truths, claiming them to be perspective based and then accepted by the individual, and then the subjectively created truths can be further perceived in a multitude of ways by more individuals, a standpoint easily supported by his statement: “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist” (BrainyQuote). Nietzsche believed that accepting a concept of objective truth would only continue the ancient ways of humanity, in which humans rule over each other in conforming, corrupt, destructive ways, and so therefore claimed all forces supporting objective truth, be them of any orient, to be life denying (his main argumentative complaint against Christianity) and he diametrically opposed them. His views on subjective realities formulated his arguments against blind nationalism, dogmatic religion, expansive militarism, and other forms of public manipulation and human oppression. Yet, denouncing nationalism and religion diametrically opposed accepted truths by the society Nietzsche found himself absorbed in. Therefore, his claim evolved into another thesis which questioned the very fabrics of morality and ethics at their cores (Beyond Good And Evil).

Nietzsche wrote an entire book titled Beyond Good and Evil, the second essay in a chain, where he explains his desire to revaluate morality, and thus be able to go beyond the concepts of “good” and “evil”, and root them back to the will to power. Nietzsche argued that morality is not definitive, and is ever changing just as individuals are ever changing, just as the universe is always changing. Not only that moralities are ever changing, but they are constantly interpreted in a multitude of different ways, and that the moralities can be traced back to his doctrines of the will to power over others and oneself. For example; murder can be in part traced back to the will to have complete power over another person, while at the same time it can be the will to power oneself to do such an act. So, Nietzsche debates the concepts of good and bad things, based on two fundamental concepts: truths are subjective, and humans have an innate will to gain power over themselves and others. Based upon these concepts, Nietzsche realized that since the public would need to eventually rally behind a morality code, and with the morality of Christianity nullified in his mind, he saw it fit for the intellectuals to conceptualize the future; “All sciences are now under the obligation to prepare the ground for the future task of the philosopher, which is to solve the problem of value, to determine the true hierarchy of values” (BrainyQuote). This however opens another potentially critical hole into his philosophies; when truths are personally subjective, what right does anyone have to decide what the morality rules are, when morality is itself subjective and not definitive? “There are no facts, only interpretations” (BrainyQuote) Nietzsche once said, so therefore he would truly not have any right to impose his philosophies on the world like all those before him whom he saw as wrong. For the comprehension capabilities in a more modern context; abortion is viewed as both good and evil by members of society, and can be derived back to different wills. Pro-choice supporters would claim that it is the woman’s will to power her own body and her own life, while pro-life supporters would claim that it is the unfair and lethally oppressive powering over an unborn child, and by others the will of the individual to place themselves above the realms of power from the natural world and the traditional regulation of humanity. The doctrine of subjective truths therefore justifies that none of the listed views or views not mentioned are the correct views, the only views, or the views which must be accepted and abided by everyone. So thus, would Nietzsche’s views dictate that he could not impose his will unto the world? The doctrines of the will to power can be used to argue against such a presumption, as Nietzsche has the personally acceptable ability to attempt to make his philosophies the accepted view of the world, as he may exercise the will to power others with his philosophy, yet it appears to be a more noble cause on his part. Nietzsche’s philosophy, if indoctrinated into the place of the philosophies and standards of his day, would open society into a realm of acceptance for opposing opinions to a degree in which individuals in society would openly admit that this is not a black and white constant world, but one in a dynamically altering shade of grey with no definitive truths which are constantly transforming into new stages (Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm).

Living during the time when science was finally being accepted by the public, and the totalitarian version of Christianity was being slowly discarded by the public (Wicks, Robert), Nietzsche sought to further eliminate the old ways which denied the ideologies he believed in: loving life, living it to the fullest, denying good and evil, denying absolute truths (SparkNotes Editors). Nietzsche had a secular version of nihilism, as in his mind it only applied to religion due to the fact that when science replaced god, it did not come along with a new code of morality, and thus he correctly feared that people would turn to nationalism or racism to feed their need to devote themselves to something, and he knew that this would lead to the same vile acts that were once committed by Christians, now committed by nations of people. This premonition lead him to develop his concept of the Overman, this idea that humans will become some ultra-being, a creature that has a superior conscience and unrestricted instincts, as he valued natural instincts, and despised the way religions and governments suppress natural instincts under their collective will to conform people to its desires. Nietzsche believed that the Overman would be an individual who accepted everything in life, and viewed this path leading to personal betterment, and that these events, both viewed as good and bad today, would continue repeating forever, in a theory called eternal recurrence. Eternal recurrence is the idea that all things will repeat, like the old saying “History repeats itself” except that Nietzsche does not simply mean that the same exact event will happen over and over again, but rather the mentalities behind actions will perpetuate the class of actions, along with the repetition of uncontrollable factors that repeat in a general sense and have no way of definite prevention or elimination without a complete circumvention of all things natural and real. So Nietzsche believed that his conceptualized Overman would be the best route for society to take, eliminating nihilism, and adopting a life-affirming philosophy of idealistic optimism towards all that life could give out (SparkNotes Editors). But, Nietzsche fails to come to the real conclusion of absolute nihilism. Nihilism is the belief that nothing matters, and so absolute nihilism is the belief that literally nothing matters. What a religion says doesn’t matter. What a government says doesn’t matter. What people think doesn’t matter. Nothing matters on the grand scale, because in the end we all reach the same end, death, and nobody knows what happens after that. People speculate, people hypothesize, people pick and choose what to believe, but in the end it’s all a mystery and so whatever anyone says or believes or decides doesn’t matter in the end except (and this is critical in understanding Nietzsche’s fault) what matters to the individual. This means that what the individual believes, what the individual thinks, what the individual values is most certainly important, because those things all greatly influence the life of the individual. Nietzsche tries to denounce nihilism in its entirety (SparkNotes Editors), and replace it with another ideology for the masses to emcrace (Thus Spoke Zarathustra), but he fails to see that nothing matters at all to an individual except for what the individual believes matters. Something Nietzsche could have used to help him develop even further in his philosophy would have been if he had realized that people can and will believe in and value whatever they desire, and no one can change that fact. One might be able to change just what the individual believes, but not that people will choose what to believe if given the opportunity, and even if the belief is indoctrinated into the person, they will spin off their own concepts of the belief, and make their own beliefs, because that is what people do. Nihilism states that it doesn’t matter what the people think, because it truly doesn’t.

Nietzsche could have developed his concepts and passed them onto society more easily if instead of rejecting nihilism completely, he took it to a universal and not a secular level, then nobody who understood the concept of universal nihilism would blindly follow any potential deity, and nobody would blindly accept what their political party would spew as rhetoric, because people would realize that nothing matters unless they make it matter, so they would have actually thought and analyzed what was given to them and seen exactly what it was that they valued. Had the world embraced a concept of universal nihilism, it is quite likely that both world wars would have been avoided, as not only would the public have opposed the causes in the beginning, but the governing bodies involved would have most likely been far less prone to become angry at each other for being of this or that creed, or because a person from that country killed another from a different state. Yet, had Nietzsche’s concept of Overman taken over the public conscience, then humans would be far more concerned with personal betterment than conquering others, however it all comes down to the fact that neither of these things happened, and it is doubtful that humanity will ever reach these points or any points like them. Even the man who resented biased, blind faith held onto his own self-made biased, blind faith created by his subconscious mind; an entity that he was almost undoubtedly unaware of; the driving entity behind everything that anyone and everyone does.

Nietzsche was brought up in the Christian faith (Wicks, Robert), and so an imprint was left on his subconscious mind; believe in something greater than this life, something bigger and better and constantly out of reach but so close to grasp that one can almost touch it before it slips away back into the black foggy haze. But what is this haze? It is the subconscious mind trying to protect itself and the conscious mind from colliding, because it has a system in place to entertain the little, meager conscious mind with the things it desires. Yet had Nietzsche just realized that his whole conscious mind only accounted for ten percent of his entire mind, and had he realized that he could actually link up his conscious and subconscious minds to see what was going on behind the curtain, and to grasp true reality, Nietzsche would have seen that his Overman principle was just another manifestation of a god. “Faith: not wanting to know what is true” he wrote (BrainyQuote). We are all god, as the subconscious mind manifests itself in the form of a deity or multiple deities that either it created itself or it adopted from the outside world. But since we are all god, none of us are god to anyone but ourselves, and therefore we make our own morals, create our own ethics, invent our own rules, set our own values, and we all create lives based upon our own dogma. If humans would take this concept into consideration, then there could theoretically be a peaceful world. However in a realistic sense, humans would again prove to be incurably corruptible, and thus take the will to power over others and the will to power over themselves to a whole new dimension of destruction; realizing what is happening, why the person is doing it, and still deciding to do it. Truly, this is a dangerous world as is, and any drastic change adopted either with this concept or those of Nietzsche could drastically alter humanity for the better or for the worse, but like all evaluations of matters similar to this, we simply do not and cannot know.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is Nietzsche’s great fiction depicting his Overman principle. The plot is about the character Zarathustra, symbolic of Nietzsche himself, coming to philosophical realizations while self-secluded in the mountains (which Nietzsche also did) and then trying to spread the ideas to society. Zarathustra first says to himself after encountering a Saint he meets in the forest who condemns humanity “Could it be possible! This old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that God is dead!” (This Spoke Zarathustra 21). He then proceeds to gain a few followers while attempting to re-educate the public from the now needless worship and belief in a deity when they now can worship and believe in themselves, and in the process gain personal power over themselves and infinitely becoming better people.

Nietzsche explains that the Overman is not an ignorant state, but an acceptance state that bad things will happen in life. The truths about good and evil are subjective in the eye of the beholder, and therefore the goal of Overman would be to accept those things less favorable in the public eye and view them as regular aspects of life. Therefore they cause positive outcomes for someone who accepts such aspects of life to be eternally recurring and decide to have the effects make the most positive imprints on the Overman. Even when the bleakest of events in the eyes of most of Nietzsche’s contemporaries occur, Nietzsche’s Overman would embrace these events and grow from them. Essentially, Nietzsche’s Overman is the ideal human who will take every circumstance endure it, and accept that like events will happen multiple times in the future and most importantly, allow personal growth and resilience to develop from the events, molding the Overman into a stronger, more enduring individual with new self-proclaimed values and ideals with which he can help better himself and others (Thus Spoke Zarathustra).

As one of the most revolutionary and influential philosophers within the past two centuries, Friedrich Nietzsche deserves substantial merit and respect for his research into humanity and its mannerisms, conversely Nietzsche must be carefully analyzed and understood to thoroughly comprehend where he went astray in his philosophies and the startling conclusion it leaves humanity. Nietzsche indeed had many valuably notable theses regarding humanity: eternal recurrence, subjectivity of truth, the state of good and evil; but there are certainly his points of failure as well: rejection of nihilism, and faith in the Overman. Indeed even his doctrine on the will to power is faulted, incurably and irreversibly. It has been proven throughout all of human history that the concept of eternal recurrence is evident in a generalized sense of events from the significance on a global scale to individually significant events. For example: genocide has been recorded time after wretched time throughout all known history; from the Canaanites to the Syrians; and occurrences continually reappear in individual lives. Mindsets behind ideas continue the perpetual mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of human beings. Nietzsche claims that the entire concept of truth is in itself a false conception, due to the fact that truth is a perception. Truths are evidently subjective perspectives from the individual’s own observation, and therefore cannot be claimed to be absolute, universal, or any other euphemistic term to describe a perspective which someone wishes to impose upon the world without substantially irrefutable evidence. Due to this understanding, the biased terms of good and evil are thus comprehensibly also neutralized and nullified as objective. Rather it is seen that good and evil should be objected by the societies, and rather accepting the concepts that moralities are subjective ethical decisions based upon the perceptive, and often narrow sighted, observations of the individual. Good and evil should therefore not be taught to the masses as the simplistic notion that the world is a black and white environment with no need for discernment, but rather that good and evil are to be decided by the individual based upon the well researched and informed observations of the world, life, and humanity. Granted, certain concepts should be conserved for the promotion of a better world, but truly only the notion of acceptance and love should be in any sense enforced, as it endorses the overall wellbeing of all people and the inclusion of all in society-made rights. This is where Nietzsche began to fail. He automatically rejected the concepts of nihilism, failing to begin to recognize the true potential power it would have on humanity. Due to his rejection of nihilism, he invented his own impossibly idealistic figure, a new god-like superlative image to become, to follow, and to conform to be as close to as possible. This creation became his god, the product of his own subconscious mind to perpetuate what had been imposed on him from birth: the belief in something beyond what is truly here, directly contradicting his statement, “I conjure you, my brethren, remain true to the earth, and believe not those who speak unto you of superearthly hopes! Poisoners are they, whether they know it or not” (Thus Spoke Zarathustra 22). Nietzsche justified his Overman based upon his principle of the will to power. Nietzsche is not wrong when he traced back every action and desire back to the will to power, however he is irrevocably incorrect when claims that everything is a product of the will to power. Nietzsche was somehow able to draw every action made by humanity back to the will to power, back to the desire to either power oneself or to power others. It is completely sensible, but is it correct? The fact of the matter is, the will to power is another example of perspective truths. The truly ground breaking, foundational reality is that anything can be construed, manipulated, and traced back to anything. It is completely possible to read the exact same event in two polar opposite views. So certainly Nietzsche could trace everything back to the will to power, but that isn’t the right answer. This is his ultimate downfall, humanity’s ultimate downfall: there is no right answer.

Humanity is always concerned with knowledge, so obsessed with knowing the truths and facts, but the only truth is that there are no truths. In the end, it is all theoretical. Religious speculation is just that: speculation. Now certainly it can be argued that science has more definitive proof for its theories, but they are still theories at their base foundations. The theist does not know that there is a deity. The chemist does not know that there are glutons holding an atom together. Mathematically and theoretically speaking, it all works out, but they are theoretical. It is simply not possible at this point in time to answer knowingly the question “Is there a god?” nor can anyone honestly answer with one-hundred percent confidence the question “Is String-Theory correct?” for while these theories are both entirely plausible, there is not enough evidence to support either to even claim them to be probable, let alone proven.

At the end of Nietzsche’s life, he went into what can only be accurately described as insanity and dementia. On the third of January, 1889, common folklore states that Nietzsche witnessed a public flogging of a horse in Turin, and ran to its aide to protect the defenseless creature from its tormentors. Immediately afterwards he sank into a state of complete incoherence with himself and the world as he rapidly declined into an abyss (Wicks, Robert). While yet again this event can be interpreted as the will to power, it seems that Nietzsche now realized that there is no definitive “why” behind anything, and that it is all speculation on the part of the observer. Nietzsche once wrote “Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” (BrainyQuote) and it seems that Nietzsche had indeed become the same monster he was battling, and was taken into the abyss by the continual mutual stare. Therefore, nihilism yet again comes into play. Nothing is known, and only presumed, so therefore it is not correct to claim these presumptions to be absolute and undeniable universal truths. Therefore, how much does it matter? Hardly at all it would appear, as humans have never known, do not know now, and have no proof of knowing in the future. Individuals may make certain aspects important to themselves, but the imposing of these personally subjective views onto the world is corrupt and oppressive. Before his decline towards death, Nietzsche said “Does wisdom perhaps appear on the earth as a raven which is inspired by the smell of carrion?” (BrainyQuote). This indeed appears to be the case with the world, as the philosophers all tend to be drawn to the tragic rotting death, and in their inspection, they consume it, are covered in it, and become it themselves.

The total character of the world, however, is in all eternity chaos--in the sense not of a lack of necessity but a lack of order, arrangement, form, beauty, wisdom, and whatever names there are for our aesthetic anthropomorphisms...Let us beware of attributing to it heartlessness and unreason or their opposites: it is neither perfect nor beautiful, nor noble, nor does it wish to become any of these things; it does not by any means strive to imitate man... Let us beware of saying that there are laws in nature. There are only necessities: there is nobody who commands, nobody who obeys, nobody who trespasses... But when will we ever be done with our caution and care? When will all these shadows of God cease to darken our minds? When will we complete our de-deification of nature? When may we begin to "naturalize" humanity in terms of a pure, newly discovered, newly redeemed nature? (The Perspectives Of Nietzsche: Nietzsche Quotes)























Works Cited





"Friedrich Nietzsche." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2013. 8 May 2013.


Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Helen Zimmern. Beyond Good and Evil. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1989. Print.


Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Antichrist. New York: Arno, 1972. Print.


Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Birth of Tragedy. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.


Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Thomas Common. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1999. 1999. Web. 8 May 2013.


Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, Walter Arnold. Kaufmann, and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.On the Genealogy of Morals. New York: Vintage, 1967. Print.


SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900).” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 6 May 2013.


"The Perspectives of Nietzsche: Nietzsche Quotes." Nietzsche Quotes:. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2013.


Wicks, Robert. "Friedrich Nietzsche." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). N.p., 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 May 2013

i just want to kill myself already

Journal on Wuthering Heights

Heathcliff is one of the most emotionally antagonizing characters possible. Brought from a lower class as an orphan- no family, no friends; nothing- to the rich Earnshaw family, he undergoes a dramatic shift in his life, and it is leads to such a twisted story.
Most people are sympathetic with Heathcliff in the beginning of the story, but then turn against him later on. This is incredibly typical of humanity, is it not? Once the poor little kid stops being a victim, we stop caring for him; but Heathcliff is still a victim during his victimizer years. He is traumatized by what has happened to him. He started out being loved by his new family, excluding Hindley. Then Mrs. Earnshaw passes away, and Hindley’s only advocate in the household is lost, and he turns even more bitter. Mr. Earnshaw ships Hindley away due to the turmoil between the boys which really is the final straw for him. All the while, Heathcliff is in love with Catherine. They grow an attraction, a relationship, but poor Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley returns as a tyrannical authority, and his love marries Linton for the wealth and social status. I understand his pain. He was an orphan, unloved from the start. Then he came into love, given a taste of it for several short years before it was so mercilessly taken from him. By the time of his departure from Wuthering Heights, everyone he has ever loved and everyone who has ever loved him has either died or abandoned and betrayed him, and he is left with a hateful step-brother. Can one seriously not show sympathy for this? For everyone here? Honestly, there needed to be some serious serotonin and oxytocin increases in this family, heck put it in the water if they can’t make it occur naturally at first! 
Love, love is what they need. Give them a hug once in a while; cry out the pains; talk. No, what happened to Heathcliff does not justify his horrible behavior later in the novel, but it makes if more comprehendible, does it not? And then his desperate love for Catherine crushes him farther than possibly conceivable when she dies. But what’s more, she comes back as an undead entity to haunt him for his life! Goodness, how does one cope with that? In a life with so much trauma, such a lasting, depressing love, of course Heathcliff would become what turned him into part of what ruined him! It’s a defense mechanism, an escape, a means to survive! Granted, it will only perpetuate the madness, the hatred, the pain- but it is what he uses, and I recognize that. He needed a hug. He needed love. He needed someone to talk to, a friend, a mentor, anyone who could relieve him of his tragedy.
Sympathy is abundant for all the characters if this novel, and that is what truly makes this novel so incredibly depressing. Once again everybody is in part a victim and in part a victimizer. It’s the agony that continues eternally. Hindley is a victim because an outsider entered his family and took up more attention than he, and he reacted negatively. They are all victims of society, all subjected to the ingrained idiosyncratic ways of their world. And yet, they are all members of this society and perpetuating its agony. 
Such is the story of all humanity, only now in a more manifested, impacting form. Ignorant people roam all around, not noticing the damage they do, and I am no better. None of us are any better because we are all deplorable human beings ruining lives, destroying dreams, ending lives left and right and calling it justice, calling it defense, calling it ethical. Is there no end? Is there no stopping of this horrible disaster, this man-made agony we call humanity? What do we have left? Blind hopes and dying chances? Do we have god? Do we have each other? Who even knows anymore.

Psychedelics & Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens are any drugs or substances that alter mental perception by the brain and the user. Categorized into three sections of psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants, hallucinogens vary widely in their effects. Psychedelics are traditionally “coined to express the idea of a drug that makes manifest a hidden but real aspect of the mind." Dissociatives are named such due to their effects of detaching the user from reality. Deliriants render the user incomprehensibly confused and with an inability to control actions, causing a moderate to severe state of delirium.

Hallucinogens typically receive a bad reputation due to their illegal status in the United States and their excessively exaggerated representation in the media, but used in appropriation hallucinogens (mostly psychedelics) can be used for long lasting positive effects in recreational use. In medicinal and research fields, hallucinogens can and have been proved to have very effective therapeutic and rehabilitative results. My personal quest since ninth grade to link my subconscious and conscious minds together for a multitude of reasons has now led me to external methods, e.g. psychedelics. This project is primarily my analysis of hallucinogens and their risks and benefits for recreational and medicinal uses.

Hallucinogens have been around for a while, a long while. Being the first drugs used by humankind due to their abundance in nature (e.g. cacti, mushrooms, etc.) they have long been used for religious and ritualistic medicinal uses by Shamans and other medicine men in several cultures, such as many Native American tribes. The use of hallucinogens has been used as a tool of religious influence and promotion of divine and supernatural experiences. Consuming ayahuasca has been notorious for revealing epiphanies and discoveries to users, and obviously religious leaders could use this to their advantage. If the drug was taken in group sessions and the Shaman influenced the direction of the users’ thought processes then they would come to believe even more strongly and deeply what they had been spoon fed for potentially their entire lives, further giving foundation to a religious or social order. 


Perhaps the most dangerous of hallucinogens are deliriants. Deliriants literally put the users into a state of psychotic insanity, incapacitating their ability to control themselves and opening doors for a whole slew of dangerous actions ranging from murder to running through walls. Users can suffer from several painfully agonizing physical effects, such as hyperthermia and the dilation and drying of the eyes, along with dehydration. Some deliriants are poisonous and can kill in very small doses. Almost all psychonauts dislike deliriants, as they can cause mentally taxing hallucinations and perceptions such as dark entity-like appearances, and the paranoia of being watched by something unable to be seen. Deliriants have been used by armies of ancient days as murderous stimulations before engaging in battles. From the emotionally scarring mental and physical effects of deliriants, and the superior dangers of unreasonably harmful actions while on the drug, it is safe to say that deliriants are the most dangerous of the hallucinogens.More practical are dissociatives: drugs that detach you, causing the user to feel dissociated from society and their troubles. Many users use dissociatives as a means to escape, much like a super-alcohol or something to the sort; drug-induced vacation from all reality. Many users report feelings of out-of-body experiences, as though they can see down from an alternate position at themselves and the environment of their world. Dissociatives are known to cause amnesia, making the user forget most everything. Users find that the world around them seems dream-like, and this can also lead to dangerous actions, for the user may mistake the experience as a lucid dream, and therefore believe that the world and events can be controlled by mental whims. Not all dissociatives are the same, and some can cause depressant effects in the central nervous system, causing slower breathing, decreased heart rate, and many other depressant effects similar to opioids that can result in death in higher doses. Extensive use of some dissociatives can cause oxygen deprivation, and thus cellular damage of the brain and elsewhere. However, there is no definite proof for long term brain damage from the drugs themselves if taken appropriately and not abused, much like alcohol in minute, controlled amounts, only with dramatically different effects and risks.
Psychedelics are the most common, most popular, and most abundant hallucinogen class. Psychedelics are abundantly found in nature, and are referred to as the classic hallucinogens. Psychedelic literally means “mind manifest”, therefore explaining the purpose behind using psychedelic drugs: manifesting unseen portions of the mind, or the subconscious: that epically gargantuan portion of the mind most often unseen by most individuals. This is where my own personal interests come into play with my continuous journey towards self-realization and internal-absolution. Already with my own internal training I have gained much understanding of myself and the world around me, and I wonder many times what there is yet to comprehend. Most often the experience of introducing an outside substance can be easily influenced by what has occurred recently, or what has and is being spoon-fed to the individual currently under the influence of the substance; however my personal philosophy dictates that truths are aspects of realities based upon an observer’s perspective, and therefore truths are different for every subjective reality, thus allowing a special clause defending my mind from outside interference or coerced corruption, as I realize that they are simply a different take on what is easily interpreted in endless ways. Thus I am researching the psychedelic class in specific care, as it is indeed the most influential to me. The pros and cons will be assessed, including side-effects, specific drugs, occurrences in nature, long-term threats, and legal repercussions.
Primarily, there are four sub-categories to psychedelics: serotonergic, empathogen-enactogens, cannabinoids, and dissociatives. Serotonergic drugs are the classic psychedelics, such as LSD and mescaline. LSD is a tryptamide, while mescaline is a phenethylamine: the two categories of serotonergics. Tryptamides and phenethylamines produce extremely similar effects, with differences primarily in sensory alteration. Serotonergics interest me the most, as they are most suitably able for use in accordance with the purpose I intend, specifically LSD, LSA, and DMT.
Empathogenic-enactogens are psychedelics that enact empathy, sympathy, happiness, and similar emotions in an extreme degree. Among the induced feelings of euphoria and self-awareness, sensory reception (sight and sound) is enhanced greatly, giving most musically enthusiastic psychonauts reason to try this class of psychedelics in order to enhance their experience with music.
Cannabinoids; yes, marijuana can be categorized as a psychedelic drug, mainly due to its nature of altering the user’s perception, causing euphoria and sense of well-being, provoked philosophical thought, and all the other mental effects of marijuana use. Canabinoids are categorized as weaker then seretonergics. Now being legalized in several states, marijuana may very well be the first hallucinogen legalized for recreational, and not due to religious reasons,
Dissociative psychedelics are somewhat the bridge between psychedelics and dissociatives, demonstrating significant traits from both families. Dissociative psychedelics, such as ketamine, cause the disconnecting effects of dissociatives and the changes in perceptions of psychedelics. Salvia divinorum is categorized in several different groupings. This drug specifically causes psychedelic effects, dissociative separation, and opioid-like effects of negating the receptors of pain in the brain, making this drug a triple-effect substance.
LSD, LSA, and DMT: the three psychedelics that interest my purposes the most. 
“LSD is non-addictive, is not known to cause brain damage, and has extremely low toxicity relative to dose. However, adverse psychiatric reactions such as anxiety, paranoia, and delusions are possible.” LSD’s only conclusive physical detriment from taking LSD is the risk of what the user might do while on it, such as attempt to fly. Often called “bad-trips”, negative psychological effects can indeed happen, but they are temporary, excluding extraneous circumstances when the user has a preset and severe condition, such as schizophrenia or Major Depressive Disorder, where the conditions may worsen depending on atmosphere, user mindset, dose level, and drug quality. LSD takes between thirty and ninety minutes to take effect, and can last between six and fourteen hours, with varying experiences from slight perceptive alterations to extreme changes in cognitive thought. Effects most often reported are those of visual distortions, such as vivid colors, or animated static objects, distortions or echoes of sounds, image echoes, such as seeing a hand leave a trail of hands past its path movement. While the USDEA (United States Drug Enforcement Agency) says that LSD “produces no aphrodisiac effects, does not increase creativity, has no lasting positive effect in treating alcoholics or criminals, does not produce a 'model psychosis', and does not generate immediate personality change.” LSD has been experimented with for an array of physical and mental problems. Psychiatrists used LSD for psychotherapy and consistently reported positive results and acceptable safety with use. LSD has been used in conjuncture with therapy for treatment for alcoholism, with reports of decreasing sixty percept of abuse for up to several months. LSD has been used as a pain reliever, for most pain directly amplified by the anxiety, but also for the rare condition of cluster headaches. Recreationally, LSD is used for increased creativity in artists from all fields, and for spiritual enhancement. My main interest lies in the realm of spiritual enhancement. Philosophical ideas are promoted and enhanced. But most interestingly, users tend to report an understanding of their own minds. I feel that this is because the drug temporarily removed the walls between the conscious and subconscious minds, or if you would rather, built temporary bridges over the gulley between them. This therefore gives me reasonable curiosity as to my own personal benefit from LSD. Granted, it is deemed illegal, and possession could cost me anything from a minor offense fine to serious jail time depending on the offence severity and the jury treatment.
LSA, also known as Ergine, is a very similar but naturally occuring sister drug to LSD, whereas LSD is man-made. LSA is, quite simply put, the natural equivalent to LSD, with the same effects, results, threats, treatment possiblities, and same legal reprecussions.
DMT is a little bit different. DMT occurs naturally in both plants and animals, including humans. Inconclusive research has proven that DMT is produced by humans, and that the brain produces it in more quantites during Rapid Eye Movement sleep, but researchers cannot draw and direct conclusions from this. I, however, feel that this makes quite a bit of sense, as REM dreams are viewed as some of the closest things to a pure subconscious view as are possible, and seeing that DMT use induces similar experiences as LSD, LSA, and other similar psychedelic drugs. Theoretically, DMT is another substance, this time naturally produced, which connects the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. DMT is found in many different drugs, such as ayahuasca, and can be taken in every kind of method: injection, inhalation, insufflation, and consumption with additional substances.
So now here I am, still on my personal journey for understanding, still ready to utilize what the rest of my mind has to offer, and I’m faced with the compelling ability to try psychedelic substances to enhance my capabilities at reaching my goal. Are the risks worth it? Personally, my philosophy is “Hey, I’ll try anything twice” and the risks accompanying the spychedelics that interest me are slim; near non-existant. Laws regarding psychedelics may change in this country in the near future, much like they have with cannabinoids. So honestly, I can safely say that there is a definite good chance that I will try psychedelics in the future, due to the fact that most arguments I read against them on anti-drug websites are simple “don’t so these because they’re bad because they can hurt you because we said so” statements; the same line of thought that perpetuates condemning sociological and religious beliefs, destroying governmental ideologies, and ridiculing, prejudiced biases: this is how it is and how we’ve been taught and how you will be taught and that’s final. Substances that can enhance an individual’s own thought capacity, creativity, realization on humanity, post-structuralism, what god is, how everything works and fails to work; they are dangerous to established houses of rule, aren’t they? Once people start thinking for themselves, and enhanced thoughts at that, well we might just lose our dependency on those thirsty for power.

Love Song

I love you!

Yes I do.

From the very bottom of my heart.

Yes I love you!

You know it's true,

but oh where oh where oh where do I start?

This isn't my normal

metaphor sing-along

laced with meanings deep and long-

I just love you,

and I'll show you

with this simplified and easy song.

I wake in the morning

and I see the burning sky

but deep in my heart, a new flame arises

it's you

penetrating my darkness

an infinitesimal light, growing up, bigger than a star

than the sun

I feel the warmth

and I know, I know oh i know it baby! That I love you!

It's the honest truth.

Despite the ways I make it seem.

In our darkest hour
when we think we'll fall
we'll pull it through
because I love you!
I love you, love you
love you
love you
I love
you.

Nietzsche

I'm writing an English paper on Friedrich Nietzsche. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy his concepts of eternal recurrence and the overman. Eternal Recurrence has occurred to me many times before, but happiness through the overman, this may just be it. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, and On The Genealogy of Morals all concur with the same concepts, just described in different methods and styles.

Failure Through Surrender

Tonight, I tried saving someone's life online. She was from England, London. I failed. I failed but more importantly, I gave up. I gave up on the saving of another life, another young girl, younger than me. I just, I can't forgive myself. This will haunt me forever. The day I gave up on someone. The day I passively killed someone. The day I surrendered.

Heart of Darkness Journal

In this novel, European Imperialism is questioned, along with the basis of human expansion and domination. On a perhaps deeper, more metaphorical sense, this novel brings up the question: what is god?

            Marlow begins his story questioning the imperialism of Rome, first civilizing the island of Great Britain, and then recounts his own story of the imperialistic conquering of Africa. European conquest and travel has always been a major part of the people’s history. Europeans always have carried an air of superiority over other people who do not live like them. In the Americas, the natives are viewed as savages for centuries and persecuted. In Africa, the natives are seen as primitive beings and are treated like animals. In Australia, the aboriginal people are flushed away and mistreated: but, why? Cecil Rhodes said he believed that the English were the first on earth, and the most superior, but that was a blatantly false and preposterous statement at the time he said it. So therefore, it is power, it is greed and collective selfishness. Every civilization thinks itself superior for some reason, doesn’t it seem that way? Don’t Americans claim to have the greatest country on earth? But, wouldn’t devoted Englishmen say the same thing for England? Yes. Aren’t North Koreans propagandized into believing themselves superior to the world? Didn’t Soviet Russia claim to be correct? Didn’t religions, and don’t they still today, argue and battle for superiority to discern who is correct and in more power? Of course. Humans always find something to believe in, don’t they? Patriots believe in their country/nation. Theists believe in a deity or multiple deities. Racists believe that their racial denominations are superior. Even those who do not believe in a country or god hold a belief that they cannot believe in the said country or god. Is anyone superior? Is any race or religion or ideology above another? Only those that strictly oppose the impediment and oppression over and of other factions. Therefore, England is no better than any of the regions it has conquered. As is implied at the end of the novel, England is its own heart of darkness.

            Deity: what is it? Kurtz became a deity for the native tribe he became acquainted with. But more importantly, he became his own god. Bill Maher argued the point that if there is no god, and humans pray and beg for this non-existent deity to bring them to enlightenment, where does this enlightenment come from? From within. This is why people of the same subdivisions of already denominated religious segregations of theism can have such opposing beliefs that they feel are supported by their god(s): their god is their subconscious mind and what they have been conformed to believe (remember my summer paper, Conformed to Corruption?). This statement is crucial to the understanding of true human pathology and sociology. My Grandfather once told me that “The only god you need is right there.” And pointed to my head, his intended meaning being that I cannot allow outside voices and opinions to alter my thought process without strictly analyzing them first: but this got me thinking; is the subconscious mind how god communicated to us? Well, at the time it certainly made sense, as I had been raised and taught that most people come to their revelations from god through dreams, or an idea or concept lofting up from some unknown sector within. Unfortunately for my faithfully blissful self, I had been on a quest of self-realization for several years, understanding the concept of the immense and under-used subconscious mind, and attempting for years to fuse the conscious and subconscious minds into one ultimate mind, allowing the ability to utilize more than the meager ten percent of the brain humans use at any given time. This combined with the newfound concept of supernatural communication brought me to a startling conclusion: this Christian concept of the “Holy Spirit” is actually the subconscious mind. Our own mind influences what we believe, how we believe it, why we believe it. Kurtz realized this before his death. He realized that he became his own god, he became the god for others, be persecuted, misled, wronged, and killed many people, and his only response is “The horror! The horror!” This thus places a connection between how people can possibly surmise that their god is backing up their country, especially in war, ESPECIALLY when at war with another country/faction that follows the SAME GOD. It is the same irrationality in sports. I was taught from childhood that praying for god to make you win the race, or make your team win, it is ridiculous. War is basically adult sports, where the penalties are death and injury, and the losing team rarely gets the option of a rematch, or ever playing again. Humans accept their geographical, political, and religious divisions as absolutely correct, undeniably superior, and supported by a divine higher power, all because we crave to believe in something higher than ourselves, and if we can have a triumvirate of superiority, then we can exist as happy going people bound with a common similarity. Upon recent research I have discovered that this concept has already been theorized and published by other philosophers and scientists, and therefore this is not just one crack-pot concept from an agnostic teenager, but a tangible explanation from professionals who dedicate their entire lives to proving this. Go online and search for the scientific proof of a spike in brain chemicals and hormones in a religious setting. Put under the influence of certain settings, the brain kicks on with the belief that it is not alone, that there is an outside force or being within and around it, and this is either viewed positively (god) or negatively (ghosts/demons/etc.) depending on the scenario. The History channel had a special on it a few years ago.