Are you a Transcendentalist?

Alright, here’s the basics--just so everyone’s aware. The definition of a transcendentalist is someone who believes in transcendentalism. The definition of transgenderism is an American form of European romanticism that flourished in the late nineteenth century and rejected neoclassical, enlightenment thinking in favor of four main concepts. These concepts include: the importance of emotion, individuality, the natural world, and of transcendence.

Concept One: The Importance of Emotion:

-          Emotion is more important than reason.

-          Intuition is more important than logic.

Concept Two: The Importance of Individuality

-          Individuality is more important than being part of a group.

-          Experiencing the world for yourself is a better way to learn than listening to other people who are supposed to be experts on a subject.

-          Originality is more important than being correct.

-          Rebellion is more important than conformity.

-          Civil Disobedience is more important than following laws for the sake of following laws.

Concept Three: The Importance of The Natural World:

-          The Natural World is spiritual and sublime.

-          Experiencing the sublime is more important than living a safe life.

-          Spiritual connections to The Natural World are more important than material success.

-          Technology and science get in the way of our understanding of The Natural World.

Concept Four: The Importance of Transcendence:

- The point of life is to transcend everyday experience and the beliefs of others to reach a heightened awareness of one’s place in the universe.  This last concept is the most important one, as all of the other concepts exist in order to develop this one.

There you have it.

I believe that the idea being a transcendentalist involves viewing life and the world from a different perspective than of the public. Perhaps you perceive things differently. Perhaps you interpret reality from a different point of view. Who knows. I think the mystery behind the reasoning is also what makes one a transcendentalist.

It is important to analyze both its strengths and weaknesses though. It incorporates a deeper level of understanding and thinking, which often pulls the individual from the idea of reality. It allows for analysis of the world around you and provides an interesting approach to life. But, on the other hand, it instills an idea of constant rebellion and emotional reasoning that often involve the upspring of flaws later on down the road.

I believe I am a transcendentalist to a point. I definitely possess qualities that align with the definition, but I do not like to be categorized or identified as a “type” of person. I like to rebel and believe that originality and civil disobedience is key to the development of society and our world. But, I also have opinions that do not correspond with the viewpoint of a transcendentalist. It's all perception--simply put.

Bowling for Columbine

What is Moore trying to say about American identity and values? Is this an accurate representation of our culture?

After watching Bowling for Columbine, many thoughts, ideas, and questions entered my mind. Throughout this documentary, film director Michael Moore addresses many intriguing ideas about American Culture as well as the issue of guns in America. After further analyzing the film, I think that Moore is trying to convey that the American Identity and values are lost. Americans have lost a sense of our culture. No one seems to have a grasp on reality at the moment--no one can "feel" anymore, no one cares, etc. We live in a scary world at the moment and the future doesn't look any better. In other words though, perhaps America is just changing. 

In continuation, Moore also conveys and relates this idea of change through the thought that American culture is changing.  He makes this very apparent through relating this topic to gun control and issues involving guns, but it can also be applied to other issues as well. It seems as if he implies that American culture is shaped by environmental factors as well as traditional American ways--but these variables are constantly changing. Not to say that they do not hold as truth, but they are not as accurate to hold judgement against. It is true that America and Americans are changing, especially in this day and age, but we have to do something with the change in order to better prepare us for the future. This will in turn influence these constant changes in America to help reshape our culture to a better standing.

Overall, I think Moore portrays a rather too realistic representation of our culture. It is almost frightening in a way. But it also lets us face reality and accept it, so that in turn we can help make a change in this life we are given. By being presented with this information, we can further reshape and define our lives and America.

Fear

Fear is a funny thing. It makes you feel jumpy, excited, hopeful, scared, stressed, etc. It is one of those emotions that is created by a bunch of other feelings mixed together. I suppose that I why it could be so hard to handle and face. For me, it seems that I do have a lot of fears…which I do not really like admitting. But hey, I am human. After all, aren’t we all? So, here goes.

1) Failure: This doesn't seem so bad at first, and it probably isn’t a at the top of the list for others, but this is a big one for me. I do not know why I can never exactly fail. I just hate the thought of it, and it scares me. It makes me have a low self-esteem, and I feel not as strong. I also am afraid my future will get dampened if I do not do well. It makes me mad because I spend so much time worrying about if I will do a good job in school, while other people go out and meet with their friends and have fun. Ah, this one just makes me stressed thinking about it so I am moving on.

2) Escalators: This fear might sound silly to some people, but these things actually scare the heck out of me. I am always afraid that I will trip trying to get on and I will fall down the stairs and die! Just the thought freaks me out a little! Or sometimes I start to freak out and wonder if my foot will get stuck. Ah! They are so scary! I also hate the germ-covered hand rails because you never want to touch them but then what do you hang on to? You are then stuck in that position once more about thinking of death! My advice, grab onto the person next to you and hang on for dear life! They are so crowded too, and you cannot step too close the the person in front of you or talk too loud or else they will look back at you like, “Who the heck is this freak.” So I always try to stay off them.

3) Ticks: I have never met a person who actually “likes” ticks, but they do not seem to be on people’s fear lists that often. Just the name of the insect scares me! Just think, a little bug digging into your skin for blood…ewww! Not okay! Just go drink some fruit juice buddy!

4) Dieing young: Who wants to though? It scares me to think about it. What if I do not achieve my dreams? What if I do not have enough time to do and be who I want to be. What if I do not get to accomplish all I want to accomplish? Aren’t these big questions?!? Death does not seem that bad, but dying before you are ready seems worse. But then again, who is “ready” to actually die?

And the list goes on…