spongebob and friendship

The most meaningful things in life are those that require reflection on why they are important. The obvious facets of life are not as meaningful as the thought-provoking ones. Love is difficult to grasp and it will be hard for anyone truly in love to explain why they admire their loved one. Anyone who likes action movies knows why they like them. Everyone who likes the "Die Hard" movies shares the sentiment that John McClane is a badass. But if someone loves "Die Hard" on a level deeper than that, that person has thought about it. The most meaningful and true things in life go beyond a base level of pleasure or obvious meaning. Their true meanings are ethereal, but when they are found they stay with those who find them. A couple in love knows that they are in love, but the explanation of that affection is harder to come by than than the affection itself.
Friendship is something I know is meaningful. People fall in and out of love all the time because its easy to trick yourself into thinking that you're in love with someone. All you have to do is indulge your animal instincts and then your brain does the rest, leading you to either a big matzo ball or a 50/50 shot at happiness. Friendship is more basic than relationship-love. Friendship-love is something that is based purely on who you are and who your friend is. I am quite sure that most people, when asked why they are friends with their best friend, would pause, give one answer along the lines of "similar sense of humor" or "he/she listens to me," and then, if allowed to continue, would list a plethora of ways that their friend is the best person in the world to them. True friends can grow apart just like lovers, but this comes from circumstances outside of the friendship. Friends don't stop being friends because they find out they aren't right for each other.
This brings me to Spongebob. The best example of friendship I know is the pairing of Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Starr. Zach Hayes will groan anytime I mention Spongebob, but I think it is one of the greatest kids shows of all time. At its core, the show was about Spongebob's unending optimism and zany antics with his best friend and both of these are great messages for kids. Like "Die Hard" Spongebob has action appeal, as it is a pretty weird show, but I love it because I recognize that the most fun the main characters have is when they are together. And whenever I watch Spongebob now I am struck by how true the character's friendship is. They overcome all kinds of things and they always are able to understand each other, even when they are awful to each other. They always come back to being best friends because they know each other. Spongebob and Patrick fight and get angry with one another, but they are always brought back together by the mutual love of just being together. They love each other's company and it doesn't matter why because they know it is a true and real friendship. If Spongebob and Patrick wanted to think about why they are best friends they would be able to prattle on about each other for hours, but instead the show's creators leave it to the audience to understand. Friends frequently list anecdotes when they think about why they are friends: this leads to the conclusion that they just love being together. Existence is meaningful in itself because it can be meaningful however one wants it to be. Shared existence in the form of Friendship must be doubly meaningful then. I would never ask Spongebob and Patrick to wonder about their existence. They should just keep playing.

thankfulness

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love it for the same reason I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving is absent of the regrettable expectation of a slew of presents. Both are tradition-based holidays and annual traditions are the most comforting events of the year. Every year on Thanksgiving morning I know how the day will go. Two things always happen: football will be on TV all day after the Parades are over, and DINNER. Thanksgiving dinner tastes as good as it does because we expect it to do so. And because drowning an entire meal in gravy makes anything delicious, but back to the point. Every year my dad, the cook of the family, does the turkey, mashes the potatoes, amalgamates the gravy (bits of turkey in a hot bath. Gravy must be hot! as my father's mother says), and steams the green beans. The green beans are never anything special in terms of taste but they are nonetheless as important to me as the turkey. It's a tradition to me now, to have the green beans. It's an integral part of the meal that I look forward to all day. Thanksgiving gives me exactly what I expect and this constant is comforting. Comfort food makes people feel good because it is the same every time and reminds them of happy traditions. Thanksgiving is a great day because it is the same every time and that is always welcome.

In my philosophy class (because that is the topic this week? Mr. McCarthy?) I'm thankful for anyone who talks, and is active in the discussion. I need people to argue and respond to what I say or I'll just ramble myself into illogical thoughts. I'm thankful for those who stop me and help me say what I mean and think more clearly.

First Quarter

The first quarter went well, I think. Class discussion was probably the greatest asset towards coming to an understanding of the topics we read about. When people were involved and everyone was making good points, the class discussions were very helpful towards my understanding of the concepts that were brought up. I also like the blogs as a tool for explaining and reading more eloquently, and perhaps previously unarticulated, the thoughts of people in class.
I wasn't a big fan of the group work in that it many times was substituted for class discussion when I would have preferred to discuss as a large group. With less frequency, I would enjoy the group work more and get more out of it I think. As a main way to work and talk through the points raised in our books, I think the group work is not great.
It was a good quarter, dealing with what seem to be the biggest questions in life. I hope that we continue to discuss these points and reach new levels of understanding.

Camus and Voltaire are voting?

Camus was a rebel who advocated the rebellion against social constructs and institutions. Politics, government, especially that of the United States, a system in which real values are veiled in party delineations, are the biggest social construct of our time. Camus wouldn't vote. If he voted it would be for someone who would truly advocate a minimalist government, so in that respect he would vote Republican, but his likelihood to take place in this institution of politics would be small.

Voltaire, in Candide, criticized aristocracy. I doubt he would want to elect anyone with the amount of power that the president has. He would probably favor minimal government interference, which would again lean towards the republican view. But he would also advocate the protection of personal liberties, which could lead to a want to vote for government programs and spending to protect those, or at least try to. This would be more of a Democrat view. But he wouldn't vote. Power can corrupt all and will corrupt all systems.  Voltaire and Camus would see this and try to get people to not vote and instead change the system so that the power stayed truly with the people. Or maybe they'd be Republicans. If they were alive I'd wonder.