Where have we come from and where are we going? It’s a big question to ask yourself. Think about it for a while, and you may get a headache, especially if you are a philosophically minded person. I came up with a few musings that I thought I’d share. Everything in our lives can be completely changed just by a simple choice or random chance. The movie Sliding Doors, for example, shows us what could happen when Gwyneth Paltrow’s character catches or misses the subway. This happens every single day in our lives. On a larger scale, this leads to the possibility of entire civilizations being altered by a single “yes” or “no.” Who made those decisions for us? What do we make of what the world has become now?
Many people spend their entire lives looking for happiness. Sophocles once said that you cannot acquire happiness until you have lived your entire life. With this mindset, true happiness would be defined as the release from suffering through death. I think this notion is preposterous.
However, by looking at society today, Sophocles may have been correct. After years of school, followed by years of work, our lives can become a monotonous journey towards a nonexistent. What do we achieve by mindless conformity if we know we could achieve better things if we’d step up to the challenge?
Historians study past great civilizations; someday, they will study us. What will they say? The Declaration of Independence tells us that we are all equal, but I don’t see it. If we are all equal, why do I get to attend school to become whoever and whatever I want to be while someone of equal age, dreams and talent must live on the streets while she withers away from starvation? How has “equality” become so imbalanced?
See the problem here? We must start to reform our lives in the here and now if we are to be able to make a difference in the future. All we can hold on to is our dreams of a tomorrow where we can all live freely and equally. We must examine the decisions we make today-decisions about business, the environment, family and education-and consider the scope of their effect.
JanaZ Hatcher is a sophomore political science major.