A Principle To Keep

In a apocalyptic setting such as the road, the principles you should keep are few and minimalistic. Since everything would have been destroyed, only the basic niceties of life are essential, like water and food. Other basic human morals should be kept as well to retain your sanity, such as not eating other people, communication, and sanitary precautions. If the apocalypse happed today the first thing I would do, would be to find a group of friends or single friend to weather the apocalypse out with. I would do this first because if everyone else is out to kill or eat you and your surviving alone I would eventually go insane not having companionship. Also two or more people are always stronger then one. People have a tendency to unite and grow stronger in a group faced with a detrimental problem, like the apocalypse. In the road, this is why the cannibals unite together in groups. I feel this is why the boy and the father have made it so far. The father’s drive to survive comes from the boy, if the boy was non existent then the father would have given up already. 

Im Thankful For..

I am thankful for a lot of things. Most importantly I am thankful for my loving parents. It is wonderful to be the son of two loving and supporting people. My parents enabled me to experience many things, regardless of how much they sometimes worry. They continuously give me everything they possibly could and even some things they probably cant. Secondly I am thankful for my friends. If I individually named them all I would have a long list of people to be thankful for. Although I don’t have a large number of close friends I know that there are a lot of good people close and far that I can count on and trust. I truly value my friends and will never have enough or too many. Lastly I am thankful for my mother’s huevos rancheros. My favorite home cooked meal, sure to satisfy any empty stomach with ease. They are delicious. 

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American editor, author, and literary critic. His writings are considered part of the romantic period. Poe was one of the earliest writers who wrote short stories and is titled the father of the modern day detective fiction genre. He is considered a master of suspense. Poe’s most famous poem is considered to be The Raven. After being published in 1845 it achieved instant success. Unfortunately two days after the poem was published his Poe’s wife sadly died of tuberculosis. Edgar Allan Poe influenced literature around the world and his writing are still looked up to till this day.

What is an American?

Many different things can define Americans, but I believe we are all united by the American dream. The authors of our Declaration Of Independence believed in certain truths. These truths are, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I think these statements are the foundation for the American dream. Today the American dream is portrayed as anyone in the United States who works hard has the opportunity to be successful and live a happy meaningful life.  Critics often point out that not everyone can achieve the American dream due to inequality rooted in class, race, religion, and ethnicity.

It is unacceptable that some people can’t pursue the American dream, even if they are immigrants.  If you think about it, every person in the United States is an immigrant, even Native Americans who came across the Bering Straight thousands of years ago. The first humans originated in Africa and every other place we have settled we were strangers. The majority of Americans have ancestors that came to America scarcely three generations ago. It is important to ask, is it right for us to deny entry to people, who like our ancestors, are willing to work hard and achieve the American dream. Everyone has the right to work hard and be successful in life; this is the American dream, what defines us all as Americans

Modern Day Puritans?

Puritanism died out along time ago, but few of its principles can be related to in modern society.  In the public school system there is more leniency for just about everything, in my opinion. I went from a strict Catholic grade school to Whitney. In my old school many of the overly strict rules can be related to the ones in puritan society on a smalller scale. My classmates and I had to follow a rigorous dress code. If as so much as your shirt tale was un tucked it could be punishable by detentions. For the most part the detentions were fine, but the guilt the teachers left you with as if you had committed a murder for having your shirt un tucked was the part that always got me. This scenario can be related to the overly strict rules in the puritan age, on a smaller scale. 

I think Puritanism died out for good reasons. Their ways of life seem to me to be ridiculous and overly harsh. The huge majority of religions today they are more “customizable”, as in you believe what you want and don’t believe in what doesn't seem right to you. In today’s world if you feel like believing the philosophy of Taoism over the religion of Christianity you wont be condemned to a pit in hell. With today’s religions being extremely lenient compared to Puritanism, none of the religious aspects of Puritan society still thrive today.