Categories
Blog Day 2011 Personal Philosophy

On Switching Places.

 

Black and white handshake 2421963

Ok, I thought about copping out on this one, but it has potential. It has the legs. Instead of going the easy route and do something like “I wish I was a football” or “I wish I was Superman” I am going to take this more seriously.

Who do I wish I could switch places with? So, I need to preface my answer that I would like to be able to switch back. Let’s face it. I am a white, middle class, male, in America. How many more opportunities can I get. This is a touchy subject and I am not trying to brag in the least bit, but honestly. I came out with the best possible odds for success.

This leads into who I would switch places with. I wish for a little while I could switch places with a person not of Caucasian descent, a woman, and someone who was not so well off. If only to experience what kind of hardships and blockades I would have to put up with. They still exist in a real way. I hear stories; I read about them. It just doesn’t have the same effect as actually living them. I would not like to attempt this because I think it would be fun or some research project, but just because I have no Idea what it feels like. It is always easier to empathize if you can relate and I have very little I can pull from.

I hold little to no prejudices, I firmly believe we are all equal, no matter what.

I am tripping myself up in this article because I find myself backtracking to make sure nothing is taken the wrong way, but I will just say I am not taking this lightly or in jest. I truly believe that we need to eradicate prejudices in our society and that the first step is to realize what is happening and understand the plight of those being oppressed.

While mine may not be funny, clever, or easy I would love to educate myself more help destroy the artificial barriers that exist between groups.

Categories
Blog Day 2011 Personal Philosophy

On Personal Utopia.

Minamal

Instead of impressing upon the world my version of a utopian society, I am going to write about how living my utopian life would be. There is very little you can do to effect society as a whole, but as Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I am slowly working towards accomplishing this in my life, but as this is a utopia, this may be just out of the realm of reality.

To start I have decided I want to live a life of “digital minimalism.” By this I mean to have very little in the physical world, but be as gluttonous as I want in the digital space. Data is cheap, and relatively energy efficient, where as physical objects take up a finite amount of space and energy. Ideally I would like to have all my videos, games, music, movies, books, photos, and memories in the digital space. I am doing a good job with the conversion thus far it is just incredibly tedious work.

The second part to this is be mobile. Living this lifestyle will make moving an incredibly easy task. Some clothes, a laptop, and maybe a projector. Boom, I’m moved. I would love to travel and being able to pick up and take my entire life with me makes any place on Earth, home.

The third and final reason to do this is to leave the smallest carbon footprint. I believe the digital age is going to allow us to use far less energy than any other time in post-industrial human history and do more with that energy. The less energy used the more that will be left for future generations. Whether we like it or not we have a responsibility to the people who come before us so they to can enjoy this planet as we have.

On top of this I would like to be physically active everyday and learn new things until my death. Those last two may be the hardest things of what I have written.

Categories
Blog Day 2011 Personal Philosophy

On Alter Egos.

Madrox

This is a hard topic for me. I don’t mean to sound pretentious or superior in any way, but I don’t think I have much of an alter ego. I try to live honestly and have one real personality, but I am going to try to take a hard and honest look at myself and extrapolate what I think to be my subtle changes in personality that can count for alter egos.

Embarrassed 2

First Meeting Me

When I first meet people I am usually pretty shy. I am cordial and introduce myself, but I don’t do much to lead the conversation. This is something I am trying to work on. I have often been told by people of people that people think I am quiet when they first meet me. That subsides pretty quickly after I get to know you because I can be quite the chatty Kathy.

05nasa sherffius

Drunk Me

This should not be a surprise to anyone, but I become a little more boisterous when I have had a few in me. My cheeks get red and I will be your best friend. I am so ready for anything. I haven’t made any real mistakes in this state. It’s just a fun vacation spot.

Philosopher 400

Philospher Me

From the outside this is my most pretentious state. Everything is existential and the meaning of life is constantly questioned. Very few have had conversations with me in this form. This is one of my favorite states to be in. As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I couldn’t agree more. Before I go off the deep end with this I will move on.

Nerd

Nerd Me

Not that I am ever outside this state, but sometimes I get hit harder than others. Unless you are a fellow nerd, approach with caution because this can be a little overwhelming. If you were to pass by a conversation during one of these bouts you would immediately think virgin for life. Also, a very fun place to be.

These are all different parts of my personality they just become more apparent in certain environments. I am basically the Multiple Man.