Living Up to My Potential

Sometimes I wonder to myself why, as a strong, independent, and intelligent young woman, I am not grooming myself to make a difference in the world. What I mean by that is taking power and using it. I truly and honestly believe that I could, if I so chose, someday be a member of Congress. Or Senate. I am smart. Despite my ADD, I am determined. And, if I someday found myself in the greatest position of power, with the Presidency of the United States, I do believe that I would act upon what is right. The system would not corrupt me. Perhaps I am a self-absorbed narcissist but I believe that I could possibly someday be the type of leader that the U.S. Government, as structured, ideally ought to have. Yet, despite the possibility of what I imagine to be a long successful career in public service, I am instead choosing the life of an academic (at the very mature age of 18).

I am at odds, fundamentally, with the system of government currently present in the United States. The reason we find corruption rampant in our government is because the system is flawed to its very core. The most powerful position in our government, if occupied by an ideal leader who knows right from wrong and acts upon it , would still be unable to work with and around those morally bankrupt and/or morons that occupy seats in Congress and the Senate. And then Plato said, "I told you so!" Insert argument for the Philosopher King here.

I'm not making an argument for or against the Philosopher King, nor am I making an argument for or against democratic republics. I am explaining, more to remind myself than to inform anyone else, why I'm choosing to be a stuffy academic/professor/philosopher/hobo rather than "live up to my potential" and be a powerful leader in the world. It's quite simple, actually.

I don't think that the United States is fixable. I think that the country is a lost cause. The American Empire, and yes, it is an empire, is in decline. Historians can show various parallels, for example, between the decline of the Roman Empire, and what is going on with the United States today. I think the argument is there, I think it is a strong one, and I accept it. The "greatest country on earth", Canada the United States of America, is going to fall. It's not going to be one moment. Like the Roman Empire, it is a steady decline, rotting from the outside in and from the inside out. From the top down and from the bottom up. Even if someone who knew how to save the States was elected President, I don't think it would make a difference. Because ultimately, the system is flawed, and has bred corruption. It will fall. Perhaps what historians may one day point to as the official end of the United States will happen in my lifetime. But I think not. It will happen long after I'm gone. And when that time comes, my potential policies, my possible attempt to save this country from its self-inflicted demise, will not have made a permanent mark. A real mark. Yes, I would be helping people. But there's a better way.

If, and this is a big if, in my academic career I can create and capture the elusive "right" system of government, the proper structuring of a system that deals with the application of morality in the political sphere, then I have done more than anyone could dream. This is my goal. Because when the United States falls, I want the people, the leaders who pick up the pieces, to put this system, if it exists, into practice. The chance of me actually writing something or thinking something truly worthwhile is miniscule. The chance of some people in the distant future reading my work, understanding it, agreeing with it, and implementing it properly is even less. But it is more than the lost cause that is saving the country of my birth.

Special thanks to the woman who inspired this post: Meryl Streep as horrible conservative, The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher

-Viv

Margaret Thatcher: Defeat?  I do not recognise the meaning of the word.

Pokemon: The Way to My Heart Part II

So today is my friend Saki's birthday. In addition to some Mix CDs, I made her this:

Yes. That is an origami Pikachu. I always found Ash's friendships with his Pokemon really touching - little me was so sad when he released his Butterfree into the wild. Good lessons on friendship in that show except that everyone ends up leaving even though it's obvious Ash and Misty should have gotten together . Also I have a Radical Political Thought paper due Tuesday, so what better way to procrastinate than make Pokemon origami? For those interested, here are the directions on how to do it:

Have fun!

-Viv

Ash Ketchum: A good friend left me... and I miss her every day. But I know we'll always be friends. Forever.

Why Esperanto Was a Good Idea

What is Esperanto? Well according to Google's dictionary, it is "An artificial language devised in 1887 as an international medium of communication, based on roots from the chief European languages." Basically Esperanto was created in the late 1870s and early 1880s by Dr. Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof who has one of the greatest names of all time. , an ophthalmologist of mixed cultural heritage from the Polish city of Bialystok, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. According to Zamenhof, he created the language to foster harmony between people from different countries:

"The place where I was born and spent my childhood gave direction to all my future struggles. In Bialystok the inhabitants were divided into four distinct elements: Russians, Poles, Germans and Jews; each of these spoke their own language and looked on all the others as enemies. In such a town a sensitive nature feels more acutely than elsewhere the misery caused by language division and sees at every step that the diversity of languages is the first, or at least the most influential, basis for the separation of the human family into groups of enemies. I was brought up as an idealist; I was taught that all people were brothers, while outside in the street at every step I felt that there were no people, only Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews and so on. This was always a great torment to my infant mind, although many people may smile at such an 'anguish for the world' in a child. Since at that time I thought that 'grown-ups' were omnipotent, so I often said to myself that when I grew up I would certainly destroy this evil."
— Wikipedia L. L. Zamenhof, in a letter to N. Borovko, ca. 1895

Basically, the central thesis driving the creation of this language was that the primary conflicts between various groups of people is linked to an inability to adequately communicate often because of differences in language. Historically, this, at least to an extent, seems to be true across the board. The Ancient Greek word for barbarian, varvaros, literally meant a person who did not speak Greek. It was a clearly derogatory term, used primarily in reference to Persians and later, Turks. In fact, even before Ancient Greece, Ancient China had a similar issue. In Ancient China, a "barbarian" was more or less the same thing - a foreigner, a stranger, marked off by a difference in culture. Culture, in this case, and in most cases, being inextricably linked to language. I won't go into it here because it's beyond the scope of this blogpost, but certainly in Ancient China language, especially written language, was key to not being a "barbarian".

Again, taken shamelessly from Wikipedia:
"The Chinese had at least two reasons for vilifying and depreciating the non-Chinese groups. On the one hand, many of them harassed and pillaged the Chinese, which gave them a genuine grievance. On the other, it is quite clear that the Chinese were increasingly encroaching upon the territory of these peoples, getting the better of them by trickery, and putting many of them under subjection. By vilifying them and depicting them as somewhat less than human, the Chinese could justify their conduct and still any qualms of conscience."

The quote above can really apply to any culture and their reasoning for vilifying and dehumanizing other peoples. I don't agree with Zamenhof's claim (if it is in fact the claim he is making; I'm not super knowledgeable on the subject) that much conflict stems primarily from language barriers and divisions. Conflicts arise because of other reasons, like those given in the quote above. Language being used as an excuse for hatred is symptomatic of that.

Anyway, Esperanto ended up basically being a failure. Some people speak it (my mom knows one person who does). Apparently schools in San Marino are taught in Esperanto. It's become somewhat of a joke to people. Those people see Zamenhof's project as stupid and naïve. I disagree.

Even though I think his central premise is false, and even though he failed in his attempt at creating a universal language, I still think the general idea was a good one. Let's outline why.

Esperanto is an example of an International Auxiliary Language, what would I do without Wikipedia. The term "auxiliary" implies that it is intended to be an additional language for the people of the world, rather than to replace their native languages. So basically, everyone learns a second language - the same second language, which in this case would be Esperanto.

First of all this is good because being bilingual is great for brain function. I don't have any Wikipedia articles to support that claim, but I'm pretty sure there's a strong correlation between intelligence and the amount of languages someone speaks. Obviously I'm a genius since I speak a bunch.

Secondly, Esperanto specifically is a good introduction to other languages. Having recently set my Facebook to Esperanto because I was bored am a total weirdo really cool, I noticed that there's all kinds of Latin roots amongst other things going on there. I actually understood quite a bit of it. Since it supposedly takes from a lot of languages, it's a nice step to learning some more.

But wait, Viv! Stop right there! What if, in learning this second language, it ends up replacing the native language of the area! That erodes traditional cultures, which leads to the erosion of global diversity! That's bad, no?

Well, inquisitive reader, yes. It is. But from what I understand people grow up speaking their native cultural language, and use it daily provided that they live in their home country/region. Plus, since the ideal IAL (in my mind) is not specific to another country (for example if English were to be the IAL), there would be no problem of diminishing culture because the IAL at hand shouldn't be importing any one particular culture to supercede the one already present. The IAL shouldn't ever be made to be more important than the native language.

Thirdly, this DOES solve some communication problems. Not the kind of problems that Zamenhof thought stemmed from lack of communication, but I don't think one would deny that it could reduce misunderstandings. This is what I like to call "awesomesauce". Communication is good. Plus, if you want to learn other languages, you can - there's nothing stopping you. It could also become a sign of respect to learn another country's native language.

So yeah. There's my little rant. Obviously this doesn't solve all problems of bigotry and hatred between cultures. But it's still a step in the right direction, because communication is key to overcoming problems. Esperanto may have just been ahead of its time.

Authors Note: Couldn't really find a place to put this in here, but Wikipedia Solresol. It's an IAL based on SINGING. Awesome.

-Viv

Nitin Nohria: Communication is the real work of leadership.

Pokemon: The Way to My Heart Part I

So technically this isn't a blog post. But I refuse to get a tumblr because it's for weird hipsters and Brittany so I'm posting this here:

This is actually possibly the most adorable thing I have ever seen. This is not even philosophical at all, I'm not musing, but gosh darn it this needs to be shared because I am a weirdo college student who has not outgrown Pokemon with people. I love how happy Ditto looks. I want to be that happy one day.

-Viv

Victor Hugo: The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.

The Little Things

Things that are awesome: appreciating the little things. Helps you take a step back from your chaotic life and have some appreciation for what makes it beautiful.

A lot of the things they mention there ooze memories of CTY. I'm probably seeing it that way because I just turned in my CTY RA job application - it's the only thing I want to do with my summer. I've been thinking a lot about what kind of RA I would and could be, and how excited I would be to get the job. I'm really happy I didn't ADD my way out of the job application.

Here are some highlights (for me personally) of the website, in the first 50 or so:

Seeing this reminds me of this past summer, when Kat came to visit. I hadn't seen her in over two years, and I was waiting for her at the airport for about an hour or so. Seeing her in the flesh after so long was a moving and emotional experience - and one of my favorite memories. Which brings me to this:

Maybe it's all in my head (sometimes I think that it is). Maybe they're just humoring me and my weird mommy instincts. But if there's even a little bit of truth to it, being a role model for kids like Lili and Kat has been extremely rewarding. Obviously the age difference is negligible - what's one year? But honestly and truthfully to me they (not limited to Kat and Lili of course) feel like younger siblings. I love them unconditionally and I want them to be happy and successful. When Lili and Ruthie got into Bocconi and Yale I had never felt so proud. Like I said, maybe I'm just deluding myself. I know I'm not the best role model (ADD/laziness/procrastination issues abound). But if, to someone, somewhere, I really am one? There's nothing I would rather be.

Ok, this one doesn't really relate specifically to CTY or anyone in particular. But MAN do I love this! It's the whole reason I listen to music everywhere I go. It's also the reason for my self-described "swag walk" (probably not as swagadelic as I think it is) - I always walk to a beat.

The times that I get complimented and it seriously boosts my spirit are few and far in between. But when it does happen, it happens like this. Sometimes it's someone close to me, and sometimes it's someone I don't know very well at all (which can arguably make it better). When it's a compliment you've never heard before, it's usually because it's specific to you, rather than a generic "you're smart/driven/beautiful/vomit-inducing". Before leaving for college, Emma Strother gave me a little goodbye letter. This comes along towards the end of it: "I have been so grateful to know such a funny, bright, and enthusiastic kindred spirit." I keep that letter tacked onto my corkboard. It's the only piece of writing there.

The first person I thought of when I saw this was Anika. Who I dearly miss. I just remember sharing these kinds of looks with her all the time in class, in group settings, pokemon battles, anything. She's not my best friend, but she's one of my favorite friends, if that makes any sort of sense at all. She gets me in a way that no one else does. She gets me in a look.

The first person I thought of when I saw this one was actually Daphna. Which is weird, considering we've barely been in contact for the past two years or so. I've been thinking about her a lot lately, and I've been quite desperately hoping that the next time I see her it's exactly like this. My biggest fear is that it isn't. The second person I thought of was Jesus (no, not that one. The blonde girl). This about sums up my friendship with her. We're not constantly in contact. We go through really long periods without it, actually. But I don't think we will ever be awkward or weird around one another. We've been friends for six years now, and I think that if we didn't speak for another six and then hung out, nothing will have changed.

I love the little things in life. And so should you. Because the little things can't be named or encapsulated in their entirety. Get away from the clutter of life, reflect, and be.

-Viv

Laozi: The named is the mother of ten thousand things.

Harry Potter is Not Nerdy

There are some things that, as a nerd, irritate me. This sort of thing is one of them:

Here's the thing. I'm not knocking Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter. Seriously, I own a Gryffindor scarf and tie. I remember tons of random stuff from the books. I (like a true fan) was really happy when Dobby died because I thought he was one of the most annoying characters ever. The problem is this perception that Harry Potter is "nerdy", which is a link to a deeper problem the hipster in me has about LOTS of people thinking they are nerdy - "I was a nerd BEFORE it was cool!"

Harry Potter is a lot of things, but nerdy isn't one of them. It's a good series of children's books that turns into a good series of young adult books. I grew up with that series. So did everyone else in my generation. But therein lies the issue: everyone else. Being a nerd, by definition, is being in the minority. People (at least of my age) who haven't read Harry Potter are far less numerous than those who have (or at least seen the movies, etc.). What are Harry Potter's nerdy elements other than the existence of magic? There are nerds IN the books. Hermione is one. Neville is another. But the series isn't nerdy. Let's take a look at some official definitions from the totally official and legit urban dictionary (.com, of course):

1) An individual persecuted for his superior skills or intellect, most often by people who fear and envy him.

2) An 'individual', i.e. a person who does not conform to society's beliefs that all people should follow trends and do what their peers do. Often highly intelligent but socially rejected because of their obsession with a given subject, usually computers. Unfortunately, nerds seem to have problems breeding, to the detriment of mankind as a whole.

All of the definitions follow this sort of thing. And while I don't think that urban dictionary is the end all be all (be all end all?) of definitions, this seems pretty accurate. Do Harry Potter fans fit the description? Let's find out.

Are Harry Potter fans persecuted for their superior skills or intellect, most often by people who fear and envy them?

No. That's because Harry Potter fans are in the majority. By definition, having superior skills or intellect (in the case of the nerd especially) means being the minority that is superior. Also all you need to read and understand Harry Potter are basic reading skills. I read the first four books when I was six. And if you are persecuted by people for being a Harry Potter fan? You're probably not feared or envied. I've never seen someone genuinely be made fun of for liking Harry Potter by someone who was not a teasing friend.

Do Harry Potter fans "not conform to society's beliefs that all people should follow trends and do what their peers do"?

Yes and no. On one hand I like to think that people read and continue to read Harry Potter because they genuinely think it's good (which it is). But it's also true that the reason so many people started reading it is because other people were - that's how good books work. When all of your peers are reading Harry Potter and so are you, you're not exactly conforming, but you're also not NOT conforming.

Are Harry Potter fans "often highly intelligent but socially rejected because of their obsession with" Harry Potter?

Not really. Like I said before, Harry Potter fans don't necessarily need to be super intelligent. I've met some super Harry Potter fans that aren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box (which is one of the coolest things about Harry Potter - it's accessible to anyone and everyone). They're not socially rejected because of their obsession because most people (of my age, anyway) have read Harry Potter and get why it's good. So they wouldn’t be socially rejected.

Do Harry Potter fans have problems breeding?

Well considering the average age of a Harry Potter fan (an estimate: YOUNG), we won't know for a while. But I should hope not, because if the majority of our generation has problems breeding then the future of the human race isn't looking too hot (then again it might be good with the Earth suffering from overpopulation and whatnot).

Conclusion: Harry Potter fans are not nerds. Harry Potter is not nerdy. It's a good book series, but people shouldn't refer to themselves as nerds for liking it. Especially in that photo. Even a casual Harry Potter fan knows what the Elder Wand is…seriously. Being a nerd means knowing things like who Wojtek the Soldier Bear is. So, to Harry Potter fans who think they're nerdy: maybe you are. But let's be honest with ourselves; it's not because of Harry Potter.

-Viv

Sigmund Freud: "Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise."

And Here We Go...

Hello Internet!

My name is Vivian. I am not a philosopher. Some have been known to call me "Mad Wack". I am going to sporadically blog on this website, and no one is going to read it (why are you reading this? Don't you have better things to do?). Things you should know:

1. I am a nerd.
2. I am an American living in Canada.
3. I am in college studying philosophy.
4. Prepare for pretentious babble surrounding hopefully meaningful conclusions.

I'm excited to be back in the blogging sphere. Let's do this thing.

-Viv

Confucius: It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.