Our meaning

I took “our meaning” to be interpreted as what we mean to convey to others through our everyday actions and words we use when talking and interacting with others in our society. Every person I believe wants to do well in his life, and to show others that he or she is a good person. So, it is only natural that I would wish to convey a sense of good, of doing what is right to people. But, thinking about how others perceive you is a dangerous and often a slippery slope to be led down. Thinking a little on how you are viewed in society is good; it is called decency and manners, and everyone should want to have some sort of decency. Thinking too much about how you are viewed by others is unhealthy, and it leads often time to the changing of yourself to fit the views of what you think others to want to see in you. You have to find the right balance so as to not to appear an unmannered prick who does whatever he wants, uncaring about others views or feelings, but not a two faced person, who changes depending on who he or she is talking to at the time or what they want others to see in them. If you can find the right balance, than you are conveying what you truly mean, what you truly want to show to others about how you feel and act.

Does the punishment fit the crime?

No. Candides punishments do not fit the crime. He is thrown out of his illustrious castle, the best of all possible worlds, his entire life as he knew is shattered, because he kissed Cunogonde. He is thrown out, and placed in such hazardous and ridiculous scenarios which usually involve death, more death, deceit, etc. that would scar a man for life. He is drafted into an army unwittingly, and drilled; he somehow exceeds then is almost put to death for wandering to far away. He learns that Cungonde has been disemboweled and raped by soldiers who have destroyed his used to be home. His old teacher is hung right in front of him, and he has killed two men, one of whom is a high profile person in a religious organization. All of these events happen one after another, in seemingly more and more ridiculous fashions, and all the time he must be thinking to himself “all because I kissed Cungonde” I am sure the king who threw him out of the castle couldn’t have known the hardships that would befall Candide. Candides punishments were more of being in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time and being so naïve it seems as though the universe itself was out to get him. Even though no one in particular can be named responsible for every ill event that Candide has had to endure, it appears it is celestial punishment that keeps befalling him. You think he would just give up, since the very heavens itself is out to harm him in new and cruel ways every 4 seconds, but he keeps going. Candide seems to not care if the punishment fits the crime, he just survives.

Modern Day Gadfly

Socrates was a man who left nothing unquestioned. He asks things of people so they had to look deep inside themselves to answer, and learn things about themselves in the process. He did this because if he TOLD them that their way of thinking was wrong, they wouldn’t listen. But by questioning them, they were forced to come to the answers themselves, and teaching the, this way was foolproof. None in the modern day could directly compare to the effectiveness of Socrates himself, but the idea of people learning things without being forcibly educated is not a new one. One television program entitled Saturday Night Live does this fairly well. They pose real events that challenge people long held opinions or beliefs, in interesting and funny ways where you don’t feel as though your beliefs are being questioned. After watching a skit that goes against the way you feel, you have to think to yourself “how DO I feel on this subject”. It makes you re-evaluate your position, or change your opinion altogether, and it does it by not DIRECTLY questioning your beliefs, but by taking a different, more humorous approach. This is somewhat different than Socrates approach, in which questions are asked of you, and then you must answer by looking at your own beliefs, but the effect is still the same. They way you feel your beliefs, must be re examined and questioned by yourself after being questioned by Socrates, or by watching a skit on SNL that involves a belief you feel strongly about.

eulogy

Kody Richard Kare was a great man, and he died doing what he loved more than life itself. Slaying dragons was his career, life, and passion. During his most recent hunt for this elusive beast, he stumbled upon a dragons nest. He discovered that Jackie, the dragon breeder, has been raising dragons here. He killed Jackie, and the dragons attacked. He engaged in combat with as many as 3 dragons at once. He was caught off gaurd, and their sheer size and numbers overwhelmed him. He hunted dragons the way he lived his life, with a passion, an unquenchable thirst to do what he knew in his heart to be right. He sometimes made sacrifices and hard decisions that others would look down upon, but he knew that they must be made. He was humorous, sometimes a little harsh and cold, but he was never a cruel man. He lived his life the way he wanted to, believing little of what others told him unless he saw it himself. He had many friends, but very few close friends, and he kept them close at heart. If only one thing could be said about him, only one impression could be taken away, he did what he must. He treated people right if they treated him right, and even when they didn’t, he was never unfair to them. He was not quick to anger, it took a lot to stir emotion in him, but once stirred, he was quick and decisive. This was a great man, and we should all be proud to have known him.