. . . . . entries for 8.1.04 . . . . .
Ha. Alright, so I got a little carried away with this one English journal, and I thought I'd share it with you.
Q: Do all human beings have a natural capacity for brutality?
A: Yes. This question is creeping somewhat far into the realm of political philosophy, and the neverending quarrel about the innate nature of man: good or evil? Unfortunately, I find myself unable to disagree with the more pessimistic philosophers, such as Machiavelli, with regard to this particular issue. I believe that all animals, including human beings, put their self-preservation instincts before anything else. In this way, people are always capable of brutal and terrible acts, especially if the act is in their own best interests (or they believe it is). The human race is different from other species only in their level of intelligence. Because people are intelligent enough to progress technologically, they must logically be able to question the nature of things; otherwise, how would scientific advancement come about? Along with questioning such things as “why did that apple hit me on the head?” humans also ask why they feel what they do, and why they live as they do. In order to exist without enormous amounts of questions flooding our minds from every side, we create things: moral codes, consciences, gods. All of these explain the unexplained, alleviate our fears, and answer haunting questions which would otherwise slow the tides of progress.
Children, for the most part, are free of inhibiting questions such as “why am I here?” and “what is justice?”; because of this, the only child who feels these “revelations” on the island (Ralph) is the only child who struggles to maintain order. The child who has already had these “revelations” (Piggy) recognizes the childish and animal goals of his companions on the island, and is the voice of reason which guides Ralph to cling to law and justice. By any moral “translation,” the book The Lord of the Flies illustrates a loss of innocence, whether innocence is to be viewed as that which wild animals have as creatures of little intelligence or that which humans had, when they were wild animals.
come home?
.:people:.
{ting}
she looks like the real thing
{mari}
out and about
[kelsey]
THIS IS AMERICA
{yianni}
stop being depressed
{alisa}
other
[shannon]
close and far
{frank}
islands where no islands should go
[cassie]
eating knowledge
{colin}
my dm
[emily]
shoulder to the wheel
[brian]
nostalgic for fantasy
[nicole]
industry insider
{elle}
angry enviro
[matt]
never heard of miyazaki
[pirate dan]
are you reading this?
[olga]
distracted
[messiah dan]
messiah/believer
{max}
approach focus
[natalie]
wait a minute
[susan]
solitude
{greg}
manbeargreg
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.:skin:.
turtles! turtles! by araglas
(heavily modified by yours truly)