Tim Rudolph's Week 2 Journal

KEY IDEA OF THE WEEK

The key idea of this week is that the unexamined life is not worth living. We have seen evidence of this many times this week, especially in the videos of Eric Clapton and Deion Sanders. These two celebrities told us that they hated themselves when they were living lives full of drugs, alcohol, and women. They told us that they only felt truly happy after they examined themselves, realized how messed up they were. Plato's allegory of the cave showed us that only when we are brought out of the dark and into the light will we enjoy our lives. It basically told us that if we don't examine our lives and search for the truth, we will remain in the dark and we won't know what we are missing.

3 IDEAS TO REMEMBER

1. Money and fame do not equal happiness

In the Deion Sanders video, we saw a man who was a professional football star and had all the money in the world. But he said that he wasn't happy. He told us that he hated himself and even attempted suicide. In the Eric Clapton video, we saw a music star who was addicted to drugs and alcohol and made some bad choices. These videos showed that wealth and fame do not necessarily lead to happiness.
This is important to remember because as we choose colleges and careers in the near future, we should strive toward happiness, which is not necessarily toward wealth.

2. People do not always accept the truth

Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" taught us that people who are in the dark don't always want to see the truth. In the story, the man who escapes the cave and sees the truth of the world returns to help the other prisoners see the truth gets put to death because they think he is crazy. Although the man knows he is right, the others think he is wrong and kill him for it. They do not accept the truth.

This is important to remember because we will all get into arguments, and many times we will know that we are right. But we have to keep in mind that some people do not accept the truth so that we don't waste too much time trying to prove it to them.

3. Examine all points of view before making a decision

At the beginning of the Holden Caulfield debate, I thought I was correct in saying that Holden never had faith in anyone. I read Matt Self's essay and then I was positive I had it right. But then I changed my mind during the debate. I realized that Holden definitely had faith in Mr. Antolini when he went to stay at his house. I figured out that I had only examined one side of the argument; I hadn't even tried to find ways in which Holden had faith. If I had looked at both sides, I would've been neutral during the debate.
This is important to remember because many times people are uneducated about the candidates they re voting for. It would be very sad if we believed every rumor we hear. If we examine both points of view, we can make very objective choices about the people we vote for, which could directly affect us.

MY BIG QUESTION
What role does faith play in my life?

Faith is important to me. Although I have almost no faith in regard to religion, I do have faith in many things in life. I have faith in my friends, my family, my doctors, and my teachers, for example. It would take a lot of reflection and a long sheet of paper to list all the things I have faith in.

LIFE CHANGES From this study, I should try to listen to both sides of arguments before I choose a side. Since I usually side with liberal politicians, I should pay closer attention to the conservatives' points of view before arguing about the topic. Also, I should try to be careful when I try to argue with someone because they may not like what I say. I should try to think about what my parents say and realize that they are sometimes right.