Success.

Obviously, a lot of this class was spent discussing society in all it’s glory and shame; this including today’s society, yesterday’s, and even tomorrow’s. Some of the ideas we discussed were things that I’ve already put some thought into, sure, but I must admit that a lot of the ideas and all the literature for that matter was entirely new to me. Besides Fahrenheit 451, I had never read or even heard of any of the novels prior to this class. Reading the novels, short stories, essays, poems, ect. and discussing them with the class really made me open my eyes and help see the world as it exists today from more than just my own self-centered. I’ll be the first to admit that I can be pretty thickheaded at times and definitely find it much easier to deny and ignore my flaws rather than face them. . All the readings and discussions moved me in their own sort of way. Overall though, what I got most out of this class was a different perspective on society (more specifically, American Society) and my life in general as a part of it. I think about all the rights we are given as citizens here in America and ponder how we can all take them for granted. Those rights that were taken from characters like Winston and Katniss in their respective books are rights that we seemingly take for granted. Rights that, without them some day, would make the country that we all call home a very scary one. In that sense, the literature discussed has definitely moved and even angered me in ways; not only provoking anger at our society as a whole for pushing us towards those society’s discussed in the novels (which we did nothing less than prove during our discussions), but also provoking embarrassment towards myself for being a part of it. Then again, I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps there shouldn’t be too much thought put into society and rather, we should just let things happen as they do. Yet, is this just another way of me (and society alike) blowing off my/our flaws as insignificant, instead of facing them? Possibly. That said, I wouldn’t necessarily say that this class has by any means helped me solidify my opinions and beliefs. In a society where you aren’t ever truly sure of what’s “right” or “wrong”, it can be difficult at times to “pick a side” in a sense (as we did in class that one day-choosing to stand on one side of the room or the other). Other than my own spiritual beliefs, I’ve never really been the type to take a stand for what I believe to be right or wrong. That’s simply because I don’t really think there’s an answer a lot of times. Everyone has their right to their own opinion and more than anything else, I’m just willing to hear it. Like I said yesterday in class, you don’t have to agree with another’s opinion, but you should at least respect it. Sure, I may not agree that spending eight hours every day playing video games is very productive, but if it makes you happy, then I respect you for figuring that out at least. Sure, I may not respect our decision to put down books and pick up a remote or laptop, but if it makes us happy, then I respect us for figuring that out. At the end of the day, a lot of the “flaws” we discussed about our society aren’t ever going to be fixed. Part of me says to just accept for what it is and move on. Then again, this is how we got ourselves into “trouble” in the first place, huh? That, and denial too of course. I think what I liked most about this course was our ability as a class to discuss our flaws, be open and honest about them, and even face them at times! (Those who participated in the Thoreau Challenge)