Blog 2: The Allegory of the Cave

Many events in history thrived off of any given illusion or fallacy. Most of these deceptions were usually enforced to protect a political figure or government. In 1930’s a man named Adolf Hitler governed the country of Germany and planned the extermination of all the Jews in Europe. This plan at the time was called his “Final Solution”, now we call this period of time “The Holocaust”. Hitler’s reasonings behind his “extermination” were that he felt the Jews were an enemy to the Aryan race. 

Now, as we look back at the situation, we are disgusted. We view the Holocaust as a terrible time. Think about how many movies, books, plays, and museums based on The Holocaust itself. Most of the time, these pieces bring us to the situation at the time through the eyes of a survivor. It is a very emotional and touchy subject, however, Hitler had a huge following. Millions of people gathered to hear him speak in public places as he slammed on his podium with clenched fists. The crowd cheers for him as they extend their right arms out in a forty-five degree angle. Why is it that we can look back at this event and be disgusted, yet at the time, millions of people saw Hitler as their leader? Were they aware of the atrocities that were going on behind-the-scenes?

The answer is yes. In the year 2000, a research study indicated that the citizens of Europe knew about what was happening to the Jews as they got shipped off to the Concentration and Extermination camps. There were reports in magazines and newspapers all over the country. These articles were written to desensitize the public of Hitler’s plan to exterminate all the Jews. Based on the content of these articles, the people of Germany were well aware of nearly all of what happened in the concentration camps. However, no reports on Hitler’s final solution were allowed to be publicized. 

The citizens of Germany were living under the illusion that Hitler was a great leader, and that his idea of an “Aryan” nation was a tangible, sensible concept. However, now as most people look back at these events, they’re disgusted. 

Blog 1: The Cave and I

Many are familiar with the famous phrase, “ignorance is bliss”. This widely known phrase has been used, referred to, and pondered for years. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” challenges this idea. Plato describes and creates an image of two very different extremes. The prisoners in the cave who’s only idea of the real world are shadows projected on the wall before them. One of the prisoners are liberated from his chains, suffering sharp pains from standing and moving his neck, and nearly blinded by the light of the sun. The allegory deals with the difficult decision of living in denial, in a “cave” of ignorance, which is the more comforting way to live, or to be blinded by the light of truth and reality.

            Personally, when introduced the idea of either being ignorant and comfortable, or facing the truth and possibly dealing with rejection of society or even your own family members, the idea of being ignorant to the truth and being comfortable does sound appealing. Everybody likes to be comfortable. If given the choice of sleeping on the floor or in a nice comfy bed complete with 3,000 thread count sheets and a warm down comforter, I’m pretty sure most normal human beings would prefer sleeping on the bed. Being in a comfortable and unchallenging state of mind is also a normal preference. For example, the Environmentalist lifestyle is most definitely a rising trend. The t-shirts, the canvas bags and shoes and the pencil cases made entirely of folded up pieces of magazine pages are all very cute, yet when it comes to the true responsibility, most of these so-called “environmentalists” don’t man up to the truth. For example, the most famous environmentalist of all, Al Gore.

            In 2006, Al Gore released the Oscar Award winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”. The documentary brings the audience into the very real affect our choices are having on our world. It opened our eyes to the issue of Global Warming. Right off the bat, you believe that Al Gore is very serious about these issues, but let’s zoom in on his lifestyle for a moment.  Al Gore owns many properties, the most prominent being the “Gore Mansion”. This mansion consumes over 221,000 Kilowatt hours of energy, which is twenty times the national average of most households in the United States.  Aside from his house, Al Gore also has a myriad of other factors that enlarge his carbon footprint, including his decision to still eat meat, even though he has openly admitted that “It’s absolutely correct that the growing meat intensity of diets around the world is one of the issues connected to this global crisis – not only because of the CO2 involved, but also because of the water consumed in the process.” Al Gore, though well aware of the flaws in his lifestyle, still chooses to live this way.

            Being ignorant and comfortable with that lifestyle is simply a choice. Living with the responsibility of being enlightened seems very harsh to me, especially if it means dealing with rejection of society and even family members. I’d prefer to live in bliss, and everyone is entitled to that. So it all goes back to that overused, yet so quotable phrase, “Ignorance is bliss”. Is ignorance truly bliss? Well, why don’t we ask Al Gore as he eats a steak in his twenty-bedroom mansion? I think I’ll have to join him at the dinner table on this one.

Draft of Blog 1

Hey everyone!
My name is Angelica Lauren Molina. I grew up in Manhattan on the Lower East Side and at the young age of eleven, I moved to Hazlet, New Jersey. I've always had an inherent love for animals, as I grew up in a house full of them. My love for animals has very much influenced my lifestyle and choices. I am a vegan, which means that my diet and lifestyle does not contain any animal by-products or products such as: eggs, milk, or dairy. I have followed this lifestyle for almost four years now and it is a huge part of me. I am very interested in all types of creative writing. I love to read novels, poetry and a variety of weblogs. I also am very involved in make up. I do make up for sweet sixteens, weddings, plays, and I am the make up artist for a dance team from Hazlet at Bella Dance. I also do face painting for children's parties. I also love fashion and shopping. My friends and I go shopping at the Menlo Park Mall all the time. I am looking forward to enhancing and improving my writing techniques in this course. :]