During my morning walk, I spent some time around the Philadelphia Museum of Art, admiring its beautiful architecture and sculptures. There’s one sculpture of Rocky Balboa, a legendary figure from the movie Rocky, which many tourists visit and photograph. I find that every morning I champion this tourist mindset—an approach to life akin to that of a tourist. Tourists are eager to get out there and explore, especially before sunrise. They are curious and open to new experiences. I try my best to remain in this curious state because, for me, this is the ultimate goal of photography: increasing your curiosity by one percent each day.
It’s not about how great the photos you make are; it’s about how many photos you make and how you keep remaining curious. That’s how a photographer wins.
Become a Legend
While Rocky may not be a real person but just a fictional character, there is something powerful about the myth, the story, and the sculpture itself. The gesture, the muscular tone of his physique, and the grand size of the sculpture elevate the human spirit to a new height. When I look at a sculpture like this, it reminds me that I can strive to achieve something more in life.
Nearby, there is also a sculpture of George Washington, our nation’s first president. He stands tall on horseback, looking down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards City Hall. Revolutionary heroes and sculptures like these make me feel proud to be an American, or even simply to be human.
But why settle for being just “human”? Why succumb to the basic state of citizenship? Perhaps there is something more we can strive for, something akin to legends like Rocky or Washington.
Maybe when we think of life in black-and-white, pain and pleasure become our binary experience. We seek freedom, right? Isn’t that what America is all about?
Freedom and Courage
We can choose what we want to do and what we do not want to do. To me, that is the basic notion of freedom. However, this becomes rather simplistic because we can also choose freely to pursue endless hedonistic pleasures if we deem that as the goal of freedom.
But does this truly make us free—simply embracing pleasure as the ultimate source of freedom? What about pain? If we pursue pain in hopes of gaining strength, am I still free?
Maybe, but perhaps freedom is merely courage. Freedom becomes an expression of fearlessness and courage, similar to how I view George Washington on horseback, leading the army in revolution. Perhaps freedom is what George Washington fought for, and he attained that freedom as a byproduct of his courage and fearlessness—of being truly intrepid.
To be free is to be dangerous.
Freedom does not necessarily mean indulging in endless drugs, binge-watching a million TV shows, or buying cool stuff. Freedom is something we must fight for—it’s an endless battle, an uphill journey, striving for new heights, like the legends immortalized in sculptures.
Is man permitted to strive to become a demigod? During my morning walk, I find myself inspired by sculptures positioned along the river and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Along the rooftop of the museum, there are depictions of ancient Greek gods. There are also sculptures that showcase various revolutionary heroes throughout the back along the grass.
When I visited Rome, I felt inspired by the grand architecture, artwork, churches, music, and especially the sculptures that I found during my trip to Florence. In Florence, I had the opportunity to bask in the glory of Greek demigods such as Achilles and Hercules. Actually, a few weeks ago, I attended the antique show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and looked closely at a print of the Farnese Hercules.
Hercules is the apex of beauty in terms of male physical physique. When I look at a sculpture, they are typically larger than life, filled with grandeur, muscles, tone, and the quality that elevates the human experience and spirit to a new height. When you stand in front of a sculpture, you must look up at it. You look up at the sculpture and you are in amazement. When you see something like this, it inspires you to strive for more.
No Pain, No Gain
Think of the story of Hercules, descending to Hades to capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the entrance to the underworld. This was the final task of Hercules during his 12 labors. While these labors were punishment to Hercules, through his suffering, he sought redemption, gained strength, courage, and became the legend that he is today.
When I consider the myth of Sisyphus, pushing his boulder uphill, I’m reminded to enjoy the process and find joy in pain or suffering. While his task of pushing the rock never reaches the top and always rolls back to the bottom, there is a lesson there to learn from. While it may seem absurd, we too should strive to enjoy the pain, the suffering, and find meaning in it. We must accept our fate and love it.
The greatest gift of my life is the camera, or photography. The camera, for me, becomes a passport, a key, or a sword.
The camera allows me to strike through the heart of chaos, revealing the soul of the street, creating visual order and harmony from the spontaneity of everyday life. The camera is a passport that allows me to explore openly, honestly, without preconceived notions of what I will find. For when you set your body in motion, you will be surprised, as there is always something out there when you open your eyes, ears, and feel with your heart. For your heart, courage guides you to press the shutter. And when you unlock each door, using the camera as a key to unlock the multifaceted complexities of life, through new moments, experiences, and meeting people, you fill yourself—soul, body, and mind—with memories.
Water is Magnetic
Every morning, when I wake up, I set my body out into the world, before the sunrise, to the Schuylkill River Trail. I visit this location subconsciously, as there’s something in the water that simply draws me in. Perhaps there are echoes of moments, memories of past history, thinking about George Washington and his soldiers, the great men and women who charted these similar paths centuries ago. I remember when I was a young boy, exploring in the woods along the same river, just five miles away from where I walk each morning. I would build forts with sticks, sharpen spears, and build bridges with stones. I would chart my own paths, climb trees, swing from vines, and explore caves that I would find along my way.
There’s something about the water, nature, and the way that it calls you in. Perhaps the memories that I have from childhood flow through me with this lust for life and make it so I experience the same walk each day, no matter how mundane, with this feeling of abundance.
What is Abundance?
I believe abundance is the feeling that you get when you embrace simple pleasures to their fullest potential. For me, this feeling is found in nature. I feel abundant when I surround myself with trees, the breeze, and listen to the birds sing. I feel abundant when I look out towards the horizon, and the sunlight casts its light across the river.
Abundance is recognizing that freedom is a mindset. Perhaps to be free is like being a bird, soaring high in the sky in flight, without clipped wings. Where the birds wake up each morning and sing, dance, and glide through the sky. Maybe we should be like birds too and seek to fly. However, when my body is inside, I feel as though my soul slowly dies. When I’m outside, camera in hand, I exist outside the passage of time. Embracing the moment, the details flow through me with this feeling of abundance.
Maybe slavery is of the mind—finding yourself petty, annoyed, and unhappy with your everyday life and experiences. Whether you’re working a job that you do not enjoy or forcing social interactions through attending meetings, Zoom calls, phone calls, emails, and texting people that you do not truly wish to do.
A slave is someone who complains. A free man, like a child, sings and dances with a warrior spirit.
Happiness is a Byproduct of Power
Think of the movie A Bug’s Life. This was one of the first movies I remember watching as a kid. The main story revolves around Flik, an innovator, an inventor, somebody who is tinkering and trying to speed up the process of harvesting food for the ant colony. The queen of the colony, however, did not find Flik’s innovations to be helpful and thought that he was just getting in the way. Flik’s journey is followed throughout this story, and he is the first bug to leave the ant colony and explore the nearby cities in search of warrior bugs. He was looking for warriors to fight against the grasshoppers, who had control over the colony. The grasshoppers simply use military force, their physical power, to keep the colony in order, as they harvest the food and provide it for the grasshoppers. However, at the end of the story, Flick returns to the colony with his warrior bugs, defeating the grasshoppers, and maintaining sovereignty, independence, and liberty for his colony. Once the colony gained power, they flourished and were happy.
Perhaps in modern cities, we too seek this self-governance, sovereignty, and freedom in life. I believe you become free and achieve happiness as a byproduct of power. Power, to me, is physical. Power is strength. Power can also be wealth or capital. Capital provides time. Money is a vehicle to buy more time. The more time that you have doing what you love, the happier you will be. With more power comes more happiness.
However, I don’t believe money actually buys happiness. You couldn’t give me $1,000,000 per year to sit on my butt inside the Comcast tower working for a media corporation. I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t take the job. I don’t need it. I will not succumb to the basic, the boring, and use my time here on this earth doing things that I despise because I know that when I am inside, this is the ultimate denial of life.
Assume Comments are Bots
If you ever look on social media sites, post to them, and consume their media, I’m sure you’ve scrolled through comment sections once before in your life. I think, in the wake of artificial intelligence, and the more advanced technology becomes, we should remain skeptical about these spaces. I say, assume that every comment is a bot. Trust physical, flesh, and experiences that you have through real life or physical life.
Think of Reddit users, with anonymous usernames, making judgments from the comfort of their keyboards. Maybe these Reddit users are the new cockroaches that kind of lurk around in the basement, the dungeons, the shadows, in the dark. They are merely bots and should be left alone, ignored, as they decay. This is why I’m a big proponent of carrying a sketchbook with your photographs everywhere you go. When I meet new people, I simply hand them my book, as they flip through my photographs throughout my travels. They always find great joy looking at it this way, and so do I. I like to look at them, looking at my photos with their eyes, smiling, and asking questions about it in person. It’s much more fulfilling to impact the life of one other person through your art than 1 million people on a screen. It’s quite similar to money; it’s just numbers on a screen.
Surround Yourself with Beauty
Every morning, I’m surrounding myself with beauty. I enjoy visiting the elevated view behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a beautiful work of architecture, filled with wonderful art, looking out towards the natural landscape. This beautiful space reminds me of Rome.
When I visited Rome last summer, I surrounded myself with the beautiful artwork of Caravaggio, the sculptures of Achilles, Hercules, and other ancient Greek heroes, in Florence. I visited the house of Dante and found myself immersed in the architecture, beauty, and detail of the Catholic churches throughout the streets of Rome. Rome to me feels like my second home. This is why I always return to this view, as it reminds me of this place. This place is so special and beautiful to me, behind the museum of art, as it allows me to fuel my curiosity, surrounded by beauty.
Perhaps the ultimate and apex beauty is found within the Catholic Church or the cathedrals. Just look at the wonderful biblical stories depicted upon the paintings. Look at the beautiful architecture, the columns, and the structure itself. When you sit in the center of the Catholic Church, look at the paintings of the angels and God above, you firm your faith through the beauty of art. I believe that art shapes our culture. When I consider the music, the Gregorian chants, the organ, the paintings, sculptures, and architecture that the Catholic Church provides, it elevates the human to the highest height. The apex of beauty.
I Have Nothing to Prove
Life is not zero-sum. We can all win and thrive together. What does it mean to win?
I believe that success is merely being curious. Success is making sure that you remain curious and courageous each and every day, following your intuition, and embracing the spirit of play. By not taking life so seriously, you enter the ultimate flow state of appreciating the mundane. For the mundane becomes extraordinary, and this is where you find yourself with abundance. It’s recognizing that everyone can have the ability to get theirs. Everyone has the ability to make their greatest art, to achieve the capital they deserve, to acquire the time that they need.
I believe that we can go through life as a prison or a playground. I choose paradise. Perhaps others will choose to live within a prison, a box, or hell, for the rest of their lives. For they set themselves up in this position through a mindset of a lemming, simply following the crowd, the masses, going into the slaughterhouse willingly. When you realize that this world, earth, your city, your town, village, is the ultimate paradise, you win.
Paradise isn’t over the rainbow, it’s in the storm that occurs before the rainbow appears. It’s embracing danger, chaos, and openly accepting pain and suffering. Paradise is finding yourself enjoying the process, detached from any outcomes. Paradise is here, right now. Maybe school merely sets people up to remain in school forever. You look around in modern cities and you see these grown people wearing backpacks, walking into the office with their sketchers on, like they’re going for their first day of school. We’ve become really good at doing labor and tasks, making diagrams, and graphics, analyzing data, like a class project that’s never ended. Maybe people enjoy school, but I never did. I always thought school was like a prison, and I needed to be free, outside, giving my life a deeper meaning. I know that there’s something greater to strive for than these petty material things, whether cars, clothes, and money. I know that there is something greater to aspire for in this life that has nothing to do with the way that others view you, but it is merely within an attitude. That attitude is gratitude. When you’re grateful for the small things, you will forever sing.
The greatest thing about photography is that in the last decade, it feels like I’ve lived a lifetime of 100 years. I have too many stories, memories, and experiences stored within my mind, my body, and my soul. These experiences that you have through the medium of photography will fuel you with an endless lust for life and abundance. Hold onto this gift, this superpower, and uplift the human experience to new heights. Give life meaning through the creation of sublime art. Go beyond beauty, transcend societal norms, and create a new world in a fraction of a second.
“Ressentiment” is a philosophical term, originating from French, that refers to a deep-seated resentment, frustration, or hostility that arises from a sense of powerlessness or inferiority. It’s often used to describe a psychological state where an individual or group develops a persistent negative attitude toward others perceived as more powerful, successful, or privileged. This feeling can lead to a desire for revenge or a revaluation of values, where qualities like humility or weakness are reinterpreted as virtues. The term is notably discussed by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who used it to critique moral values that arise from feelings of resentment.
“Ecce Homo” is a Latin phrase meaning “Behold the man.” It originates from the Bible, specifically from the Gospel of John (19:5), where Pontius Pilate presents Jesus Christ to the crowd just before his crucifixion. The phrase has been used in various cultural, philosophical, and artistic contexts over the centuries to reflect on the nature of humanity, suffering, and the human condition. Notably, Friedrich Nietzsche used it as the title of his autobiographical work, where he explores his philosophy and personal experiences.
The Fairmount Water Works, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a historic and architectural landmark that played a pivotal role in the city’s water supply system in the 19th century. Here’s a brief overview of its history and significance:
History
Construction and Early Years (1812-1822):
The Fairmount Water Works were designed by engineer Frederick Graff and began operations in 1812, with the initial system fully completed in 1822.
The original system used wooden water wheels and pumps powered by the Schuylkill River to deliver water to Philadelphia’s residents.
Innovations and Expansions:
In the 1820s, the Water Works underwent significant expansions, including the installation of steam engines to supplement the water wheels.
By 1851, a new dam and a series of new turbines and pumps were added, further enhancing the efficiency and capacity of the water supply system.
Architectural Significance:
The Fairmount Water Works complex is renowned for its neoclassical architecture, which includes elegant buildings and beautiful gardens.
The site’s design and landscaping made it a popular tourist attraction in the 19th century, drawing visitors from across the country.
Significance
Public Health:
The Fairmount Water Works were instrumental in improving public health in Philadelphia by providing a reliable and clean water supply, significantly reducing waterborne diseases.
Technological Advancements:
The facility was at the forefront of water engineering technology in its time, showcasing innovations in hydraulic engineering and urban water management.
Cultural and Educational Center:
Today, the Fairmount Water Works serves as an educational and interpretive center, offering exhibits and programs about the history of Philadelphia’s water supply, environmental science, and the importance of water conservation.
Historic Preservation:
The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Fairmount Park system, ensuring its preservation for future generations.
Present Day
The Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center provides interactive exhibits and educational programs focused on water conservation, environmental protection, and the history of Philadelphia’s water supply.
The location continues to be a popular destination for both locals and tourists, offering scenic views of the Schuylkill River and a glimpse into Philadelphia’s engineering and architectural heritage.
The Fairmount Water Works is a testament to early American ingenuity in public infrastructure and remains a significant cultural and historical site in Philadelphia.
It reminds me of Rome
The Fairmount Water Works does indeed have a classical aesthetic that can evoke the grandeur and architectural style of ancient Rome. Here are a few points of comparison between the Fairmount Water Works and Roman architecture:
Architectural Style
Neoclassical Design:
The Fairmount Water Works features neoclassical architecture, characterized by columns, pediments, and symmetry, all of which are reminiscent of Roman temple architecture.
The use of these elements in the Water Works reflects a similar emphasis on beauty, proportion, and harmony found in Roman public buildings.
Public Utility and Engineering:
Like Roman aqueducts and public baths, the Fairmount Water Works was a critical piece of infrastructure designed to serve the public good by providing a reliable water supply.
The Romans were known for their advanced engineering and water management systems, and the Fairmount Water Works echoes this legacy with its innovative use of technology and design to manage Philadelphia’s water supply.
Scenic and Recreational Space:
In Rome, many public buildings and spaces, such as the Baths of Caracalla and the Roman Forum, were not only functional but also places for social gathering and recreation.
Similarly, the Fairmount Water Works, with its landscaped gardens and picturesque setting along the Schuylkill River, became a popular recreational area for Philadelphians, much like the public spaces in ancient Rome.
Influence and Inspiration
Classical Revival:
During the period when the Fairmount Water Works was constructed, there was a strong influence of classical revival in American architecture. This movement sought to emulate the principles and aesthetics of ancient Greek and Roman architecture, seeing them as models of democratic ideals and civic virtue.
The design of the Water Works reflects this admiration for classical antiquity, drawing inspiration from the forms and styles of ancient Rome.
Public Works and Civic Pride:
Both ancient Rome and 19th-century America viewed grand public works as expressions of civic pride and technological prowess. The Fairmount Water Works, like Roman aqueducts and public baths, served as a symbol of the city’s commitment to public health, progress, and civic beauty.
Conclusion
The Fairmount Water Works and its classical design can indeed remind one of Rome, as both share a commitment to blending form with function, public utility with aesthetic beauty, and innovation with tradition. The neoclassical elements and the role of the Water Works in serving the public good are strong parallels to the architectural and engineering achievements of ancient Rome.
Sure! Here are some notable quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Twilight of the Idols”:
“What does not kill me makes me stronger.”
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
“The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.”
“There are no facts, only interpretations.”
“The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.”
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”
“We have art in order not to die of the truth.”
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule.”
These quotes reflect Nietzsche’s critical and provocative style, questioning conventional beliefs and emphasizing the power of individual strength and creativity.
Wield the camera as a sword. Strike through the heart of chaos and reflect the soul of the street. Create visual order and harmony from the spontaneity of everyday life.
The importance of surrounding myself with beauty is high on the priority list during my day-to-day life.
Why?
We can create heaven or hell for ourselves during our short time here on earth. I choose Paradise. While I surround myself with beautiful things, whether it’s nature, architecture, people, and places, I fuel my soul with lust for life.
The 18th Century Garden in Old City, Philadelphia, is a historically inspired garden located within the Independence National Historical Park. It is designed to reflect the gardening styles and plant species common in the 18th century, offering visitors a glimpse into the horticultural practices of Colonial America.
Origins and Design
The garden was established to commemorate the period when Philadelphia served as the capital of the United States during the late 18th century. The design aims to capture the essence of gardens that might have been found in the backyards of homes belonging to prominent figures of the time, such as those involved in the American Revolution and the early years of the Republic.
Layout and Features
The 18th Century Garden features a formal layout typical of the Georgian style, with symmetrical beds, gravel pathways, and neatly trimmed hedges. It includes a variety of plants that were popular during the 1700s, such as:
Perennials: Flowers like tulips, irises, and peonies that would bloom year after year.
Herbs: Culinary and medicinal herbs, including lavender, rosemary, and thyme.
Fruit Trees: Apple and pear trees, which were common in Colonial gardens for their fruit and shade.
Historical Context
Philadelphia in the 18th century was a vibrant and important city in the American colonies, home to many influential figures and events. Gardens were not only for aesthetic pleasure but also served practical purposes, providing food, herbs, and medicine. The design of the 18th Century Garden reflects the practical and ornamental gardening practices of the time.
Preservation and Education
The garden is maintained by the National Park Service and serves as an educational resource for visitors. It provides insight into the daily lives of Philadelphians during the 18th century, showcasing how they utilized and enjoyed garden spaces.
Significance
The 18th Century Garden is a living museum that highlights the intersection of nature, history, and culture. It allows modern visitors to experience a slice of 18th-century life, emphasizing the importance of gardens in the social and economic fabric of the time.
By visiting the garden, people can appreciate the historical context of gardening and its evolution over the centuries, making it an important part of Philadelphia’s rich historical tapestry.
Yesterday in the city of Philadelphia, I watched a lot of different events, such as the Georgia Independence Day celebration and some live performances in our famous Love Park here in Center City. During the summer in Philadelphia, there are lots of different cultural events, parades, and people outside. Maybe this is why Will Smith was inclined to write his song, “Summertime.”
While watching the traditional dances and songs of the Georgian people, it sparked my curiosity as a photographer to participate, observe, and photograph this event. As much as I believe that we should transcend the traditional ways of doing things, living life, and even within our artistic practices, I believe that tradition is something to hold onto and to take pride in. The people of Georgia take great pride in their independence from the Soviet Union, and because of this, they uphold their festivities all throughout the globe, even here in Philadelphia. There are many flag raisings that take place outside of City Hall, and I always make sure to stop, watch, and listen to the speakers, as I am curious. I believe that national pride is good, and I’m very grateful to have grown up attending a Catholic school where each morning we prayed and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Weakness is the Enemy
During my walk along the river trail this morning, I was greeted by another one of those communist stickers on a pole. It reminded me of the United States Independence Day last year here in Philadelphia. On July 4, 2023, on a beautiful summer day, I decided to walk to Independence Hall, the birthplace of America here in Philadelphia, to see what festivities or traditional events were taking place. What I witnessed was a disgrace, as these communist pamphlets were held in the air by a group of weak and anemic people, burning the American flag to the ground.
What I admire most about America is our freedom of speech and the fact that we have the ability to express things openly, whether you agree with them or not. However, this particular event amused me, mostly just a hilarious and chaotic byproduct of weakness and the cruel nature of capitalism. The beauty of capitalism is that it gives the individual the power to accrue their own wealth and capital. The problem is the weak find this to be a difficult thing to achieve, and because of this, they desire to tear everyone down to a base level of poverty. Maybe they enjoy poverty and want everybody else to experience their weakness and impoverished state too. They like to bring everyone down to the base level, tear things down from behind the scenes, pull at the strings, burn the flags, and always desire to revolt because they were never able to acquire power and strength.
Gossip and Drama
I feel like most people these days fuel their days with mindless gossip and drama. Are the Kardashians and social media to blame? Maybe, but probably not. I think it’s just the natural order of things. Once we have abundance, we fill the void with meaningless things.
Whether it’s people walking from a university campus, chit-chatting about this and that, “he said, she said” conversations become the center of most people’s attention these days. I find that people love talking about other people, and maybe this is because most people cannot find time to empower themselves on their own. People have to constantly be around others and empower themselves by tearing others down. This is apparent to me just from overhearing conversations as I walk the streets. I hear it mostly every single day, and it never ceases to amuse me and put a smile on my face. I find that it’s best to just laugh in the face of chaos and not to take any of this stuff so seriously. Just allow others to live deliriously, in the shadows, in the dark. It’s not our duty to take them out of the dark. Some people will dwell there forever, in their little prison, their own personal hell.
Bureaucracy is Bad
When you are born and assigned a birth certificate, a birth certificate number, and your Social Security number, you become a byproduct of bureaucracy. When you go to the DMV and pull a ticket, you are just a number. You go to the desk, they tell you to sit down, they ask for your Social Security number, your birth certificate number, and then admit you to receive a new driver’s license number. You then get a job, receive a payroll number, a bank account number, and watch numbers appear on a screen in your phone.
What a dream, what a way to live life, what soul we have here in the United States! My thought is that a lot of the systems are bad because there are so many hoops you have to go through to do anything, so much time wasted and squandered, so much human potential put inside of boxes to do mind-numbing labor and menial tasks.
Intelligence is Artificial
I recently had a doctor’s appointment, and it had me thinking a lot about how intelligence is merely artificial. When you arrive at the doctor’s office, you usually wait for around an hour before being greeted, then wait for another half an hour after you’ve been greeted. They listen to your heart, they check your blood pressure, and then you’re left on your merry way. You get a script to get some blood work drawn, you go home, and you receive the results. From there, I guess you can just use artificial intelligence and research all of the fancy words and scientific terms on the documents that you receive.
My thought is that a lot of these doctors and people love to just throw big words around that a normal person has no idea what they mean anyway. What is the function of a degree? What is the function of a university? For you to memorize random things and then regurgitate them later in the workplace to people that have no idea what it means?
This is why I believe that artificial intelligence is beautiful because you can essentially learn what anybody received from their four-year degree in a matter of 30 seconds by opening up your phone in your front right pocket.
What will the future of lawyers, doctors, and office workers be? What will happen once artificial intelligence reaches the point where it truly can replace all these menial things? I believe that the jobs will not be entirely replaced, but perhaps the way in which they are done will change drastically.
War and Robots
I attended Central High School here in Philadelphia, a public school, which to me, felt like a big prison. All the doors were locked, there was security everywhere, and you had to go through metal detectors and x-rays just to get inside. You couldn’t go outside during lunch and were forced to sit down for eight hours per day.
Because I noticed how useless the information we were being taught was early on, I spent my days skipping class and exploring outside, finding doors that I could sneak out of and enjoy the fresh air. I found it extremely easy to get homework done and study for tests in the period before by just opening up the book and memorizing things. It wasn’t really difficult to get by in high school; you just look at a book, then look at a piece of paper, and write things down.
However, I would always pass by the robotics team, as there were various clubs throughout the school. I typically hung around the breakdancing club and liked watching them as they would glide across the halls of school. But the robotics team was interesting, always tinkering with these machines and little bots. I was never really much of a computer nerd or got into these things; the furthest I went into these kinds of ideas was modifying my Nerf guns and jailbreaking iPods.
With the capability of making humanoid robots, what will the future of war look like? What is the function of a human being, the value of a human death, on the front lines of a battlefield? Perhaps there was true honor and glory to have when wars were fought with muskets or swords and merely hand-to-hand combat with sword and shield. Nowadays, some 18-year-old kid with an Xbox controller can drop bombs on a city, killing innocent civilians without a physical connection to the battlefield. I believe that this is alarming and has me questioning the ethics of war itself.
I believe that there will always be war, conflict, and violence in society, but with the advent of technology, this changes the game entirely. Maybe we should just host our wars in virtual simulated universes. I remember reading Ender’s Game in middle school, where the boys on the spaceship fought what they believed were simulated wars in virtual reality. The twist, however, was that the final battle was real, leading to significant moral and ethical implications.
I remember playing Call of Duty, an FPS shooter game, as a kid, or even Halo, a much more sci-fi warfare game, to seek glory on the battlefield. Perhaps it’s human nature to seek this glory on a battlefield, but it gets to a point where we are so disconnected from the humanity when a robot or drone is utilized. At this point, we should bring back the major league gaming community, make it international, and just have Israel and Palestine fight it out on Counter-Strike. Whoever wins gets 1600 Microsoft points. Isn’t that the whole function of war anyway? Driving the economy? They’re just numbers on a screen. Why not just use Microsoft points? Those were cool! United States dollars and any fiat currency are kind of lame at this point. You could just burn it sort of like the communists burn the flag.
Reject the Modern World
Going forward, I say just return to the primal. Think ancient, and disconnect from the modern world. Most of our culture is junk food, whether it’s the media we produce, the music that we make, or even the artwork that’s displayed on the walls of galleries. It’s all junk.
Go for walks in nature, find yourself inspired by old sculptures and architecture, and disconnect from this modern world, especially if you live in a city. Focus on increasing physical strength, and everything else will fall into place. Reject weakness, sedentary life, and just sitting down all day on your butt, consuming junk. It seems that’s all we produce these days, is junk, whether it’s junk food, junk thoughts, junk gossip, or junk politics. It’s time to call 1-800-GOT-JUNK and remove all the junk, declutter your mind, your body, and your life. There’s no real point in making new friends these days, so consider yourself lucky if you’re like me and still hold onto your childhood friendships from when you were in kindergarten. Once you’re sucked into the junk world, there’s no point in saving others and pulling them out of it. Just focus on yourself, leave others alone, and become one percent more curious each day.
