Literature

What makes for good literature? I always find that if I can't bring myself to remove my eyes from a written work - it must be good... Or if I feel so much it brings me to tears, something of worth is happening. Right? I mean, I read the Twilight series - the first three books in three days, took me a while (the rest of the week) to finish the last one - and I don't think they were spectacularly written... but my world became one where vampires and warewolves existed. So did Stephanie Meyer create something beautiful? Excepting, of course, that last book...

I just read a piece by a fellow BSC student and I cried. I had to stop reading because my vision was so clouded I could no longer see the words written down in front of me. Has this person created something that needs to be shared with the world? I believe so. I think, if I were to read that piece again (which I will) I will cry again. Maybe that's where the beauty lies... in it's ability to make it's reader feel the same emotion as if it were happening for the first time? I watch movies over and over again, each time I feel what I felt the first time. I laugh, and sigh at the same points. I can't claim that most of this is worth anyone's true devotion - but undeniably someone has created something worth sharing. What is a movie but written word acted out for an audience?

The world presented to me within a book quickly engulfs me - if it doesn't, I put the book down and forget about it. This, of course, is excepting the times when I am forced to put down a good book to be force-fed another book by a professor. In my defiance against authority I am then forced to deny any trace of enjoyment from that book. Mostly because I say to myself that when I actually have time I'll read the book in its entirety and for now I will only read enough to get enough quotes to write an A-worthy paper... Remarkably for me, that usually doesn't entail much.

I find my happiest of days are the ones I spend reading. It's something I have lost touch with. Good literature excites me. I bought a book today and I can't wait to bury myself in it - of course, I have to wait 'til I have the appropriate time to do so.

So, good literature? Who knows. We all enjoy different things. In school we are told what's good... but I think the trick is to spend too long in a bookstore reading back covers and first chapters, working to find something new.

Stop-Loss

I just recently watched the movie Stop-Loss. It's a 2008 movie about a soldier (Ryan Phillippe) who returns from a tour of duty in Iraq believing his duty is over only to find that he has been stop-lossed and must return to war.

I hadn't any idea that this policy existed. Stop-loss was put in effect after the 9-11 attacks and it was pushed further in 2004 when the Army was having a hard time recruiting new members, according to an article I read from The York Times (Shanker, Thom. "‘Stop-Loss’ Will All but End by 2011, Gates Says". 18 March 2009). I can't imagine many people actually want to go to war and kill people, and I feel as though this policy would deter people from volunteering any time if they know they may be forced back in. According to the article about 120,000 soldiers have been affected by this, and more than 13,000 soldiers can't leave the army because of it. These soldiers have to stay in the army for as long as their unit is deployed even if it means staying longer than their original time. By 2011 this policy will be "all but eliminated" says Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. My scepticism will point out the phrasing, because "all but" does not mean "all gone".

The best part of all this is that each soldier affected by the policy gets an extra $500 a month while they are staying on duty longer than they were supposed to. I guess that this $500 is the price of their lives? Or maybe this money is supposed to make these men and women feel better about killing others? And make them feel less home-sick? I don't know. I can say I respect and support out troops and our soldier even when I cannot respect or support that cause for which they fight.

The Beginning

Hello World! This is it, the beginning. I suppose I should try to explain myself. I'm 22 and I feel a little lost. This is my quest to find knowledge and truth, I guess. I find I know enough to get by in most life situations but ignorance is my bliss. I know nothing, well at least next to nothing about most of what's truly important.

Yes, I voted. Honestly, how could I not? In all my years of slight understanding I've come to the decision that all politicians lie, cheat and steal. This is how they make it so far and high. How much truth to this is there? I haven't a clue. But, hey, I voted for Obama. No one is perfect therefore I based my decision on the fact that I wanted to be a part of that historical moment.

How important is it to know what's going on in the world around you? Very important. This is why I signed up for an email newsletter that updates it's participants on the Darfur issue (http://www.enoughproject.org/). I signed up maybe a year ago and maybe I've read it once. Shame on me. But kudos for the effort, right? How many of us watch movies like "Hotel Rwanda" and sadly shake our heads at the horror? We all do, then the credits roll out and we go on to the live the rest of our day. Because what's the use dwelling on these bad things? I don't know. But maybe in some small way we can all make a difference. For some it may be volunteering at a local soup kitchen and for others it may be joining the Peace Corps. Either way, I feel as though we owe it to ourselves and to the rest of humanity to give it a shot.