I Know This Means Somthing

   The holiday season is an especially good time to have this blog. That time of year where you and your family gather around a giant turkey and stuff yourselves silly to celebrate the roof over your heads. We forgive that really offensive thing our uncle said last Christmas. We ignore the fact that our crazy cousins, who live in the Bible belt, still refuse to condone gay marriage. The holidays remind me just how important family is to me. I know it means something to have a blood connection to a group of people. Family is this big group of people that you might not like, but are required to love because you know they are the people who will be there for you.
  I think life is more than just family though. Life is about interacting with other people. It's about agreeing and disagreeing with others. It's about laughing and helping others. I know it means something to have a connection with a friend over a favorite song or show. Friends are people who bring out the best in you. They are the ones you go to when you can't exactly tell your mother something for fear of being grounded. In some ways they are your family. They are more people to share experiences with.  Life is sharing with other people, and if you don't, what's the point?

First Quater Philosphy

       I have thoroughly enjoyed the first couple weeks in Philosophy. I have been forced to rethink a lot of my ideals that I have previously thought to be set in stone. Listening to other people's points of view allow me to strengthen my own points. However, I think a lot of people don't get heard as much as others. Part of that being because they aren't as confident when speaking, but its also due to other people's tendency to dominate the conversation.
         I like the books we've read but I'm not a big fan of group work. I like it a lot better when we can discuss the book as a class. I like being able to discuss philosophical ideas in a big group, because having more ideas in the conversation makes it a lot easier to wrap you head around the idea. Other than that, I've really liked the first quarter and I look forward to the second.

Voltaire and Camus; Election 2012

    Voltaire would vote for Obama. He really hated that whole idea of royalty being super rich, so I think he would like the idea of the top 1% of income earners paying some extra taxes. In Candide, Voltaire made some statements about how the clergy would preach the word of God, but they wouldn't help the poor. He believed in helping the less fortunate. He would support a big government that created programs to help the poor.
     Voltaire also believed in electing people based on merit. I don't really think I can speak for what he believes is a qualified person. Maybe he would think Obama more qualified because he has already had 4 years of experience as president and all. But perhaps he would have been upset at how Obama handled the past four years and would look for a change in leadership. Even if that were so, he still wouldn't vote for Romney. I could see him voting for the green party.
    Camus wouldn't vote, because it doesn't matter who wins. Or he would revolt. He would stage an overthrow of the government. Then he would become the the president. He would insist on a laissez-faire government and tell people they could do what ever they want.