The Truth of Perspectives

(SPOILER ALERT for Ender's Game)

In perspective we are all heroes and yet we are all villains too. Really, if we look to the truth to show us what we are, we aren't heroes or villains because defining us in such ways isn't about the truth, it's about perspectives. People are complex, we aren't all of one thing and none of another, we are mixtures; of love, of hate, of sadness, of joy, of good, and of bad. However, we try to define people so easily as heroes and villains, never thinking that maybe they are both, maybe they are neither, but according to this perspective they are good and according to this perspective they are bad. We try to define them as simply just one.

There is a saying that, "there are three sides to every story, yours mine and the truth." In your story you can chose to think you are the hero for killing that spider, but in the spider's story you are the villain. The truth says that you killed the spider; the truth isn't biased, it's factual. Where we find our role is how we decide to perceive the facts and determine opinions: Is killing wrong? Is it justifiable?

I have recently finished the confusing yet marvelous story THE YOUNG ELITES by Marie Lu a story that follows the life of the villain. Funny, though, that when I read THE YOUNG ELITES that I didn't seem to think of Adelina as the villain. I was reading her story; her story which made her seem more as a heroine than a villain. The facts cannot tell me whether a person is good or bad I have to take this decision into my own hands with the information I have.

Where we stand according to perspectives has the ability to change our moral compass if our views are stronger than our sense of right and wrong. An example can be the Heaven's Gate Cult in which people's views led them to take their own lives which was heroic in their perspective, but to the greater public their actions were a horror.

The term "greater public" shouldn't lead people to believe that right and wrong can be determined by the majority, either. The majority has been oppressive in many cases, too, which we now look back on and view as wrong. There are many examples of this in history, a few are: Nazi Germany's treatment of the minority groups, and the United State's own Jim Crow Laws that oppressed the minority. These groups would have argued that they were merely protecting themselves and their way of life in which they disputed that the minority groups were complicating.

Wherever a person stands gives them a unique way to view a situation. As I watched the movie ENDER'S GAME (I know I really should have read the book first) I was stricken by this thought of how heroic Ender was for killing of an entire alien species, until I took on an entirely different perspective. While Ender thought he was playing a game he later found out he had actually carried out the mission. This spectator perspective led me to see he had been pushed into the role of villain right before my eyes.

It is so easy to illude a person's moral ideas based on their perspective. Most people would agree that killing is morally unjust however we will crush the lives of harmless insects. We are more than willing to tell white lies to children, all while we tell them not to lie. It is our perspective that tells us that it is okay, that we are the heroes for telling children about their pet bunnies running away, rather than telling them the truth, that the bunny died.

Good and bad is all about perspective and where we find ourselves standing. It is important to realize that our enemies are heroes in their own stories, that we are villains in theirs. Perspective is a powerful tool, and if people were more gracious in using it as a tool for empathy rather than misunderstandings, I believe, we could have much kinder actions in this world.

The If Game

"Peace with all the world is my sincerest wish."
          -George Washington

In my opinion the greatest President that the United States of America has ever had. These are my reasons:
1. If it weren't for George Washington then we would have had a monarchy, but because of George Washington's suggestion we have a president. (So if it weren't for George Washington then some of your favorite president's wouldn't have been in office....What?! No Abe Lincoln? No Truman? No JFK? You're telling me if he wasn't president then we wouldn't have even had those tremendous leaders?....Yep!)
2. He set the precedent of having two terms (because he knew that power could get to a person) which was later turned into law.
3. He gave some concrete advice.
        -Don't start political parties.
        -Don't have allies because that means enemies.

Just to think of a world without George Washington is a thought of despair. That's one of the things I like about history; you can look back and imagine the slightest change and how that would affect the world today. If we would have listened to George about not having political parties, then where would our country be today? Would we come to a mutual understanding on abolishing slavery or would it last for centuries more? If we didn't have allies, would we remain neutral in WWI or WWII, would we be considered the international police that we consider ourselves today?

History repeats itself and it makes an impact years and years later. Who would have thought that December 24, 1979 would have a lasting affect on the world we live in today? Who would have thought that it would matter today that the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan? But it has.

The if game: If the Soviet Union did not attack then the Taliban may not have taken control of Afghanistan, thus the devastation of 9/11 would not have happened because Al-Qaeda wouldn't have had the protection of the Taliban. If the Soviet Union did not attack then the government may not have fallen and there would be no Russia, if so then the United States may have still been in poor terms with the Soviet Union and the cold war wouldn't have ended.

Who's to say that the political problems we currently face won't have affects on decisions made centuries later? It's a scary thought to think of, honestly, no one can tell at that moment what kind of decision they are going to make for the generation ahead of them. Who would have thought that the rule of war that goes against chemical weapons would have been tested and caused such a controversy today? That rule was created to stop a conflict but now it is testing us to see what action we will take.

The best way to play the if game: Look at least a step ahead because what you do now will have an affect on what comes later, personally or politically. Look at least a step behind you because history repeats itself, if you don't like what you see then don't repeat it, learn from it. You won't take the right step every time, but when you take the wrong step be prepared to act because you will have to act. When you have chosen and what you did becomes history. People will evaluate your decision, whether they are family or historians and they will play the if game.

Veni Vidi Vici

Veni Vidi Vici (in Latin) means I came I saw I conquered.

Conquered sounds so brute but hey it sounds good in Latin. I used this translation first because it sounds awesome, second, because I'm leaving New Orleans tomorrow so it kind of applies. Everything except conquered. I don't think you could say I conquered anything, and after watching the movie at the WWII muesem I don't think I would want to conquere anything. Conquering things means conflict, sometimes unnecessary conflict.

Millions of people died because tyrant leaders wanted to conquere the world, causing WWII. In the end of the movie at the WWII muesem I walked out rethinking the Allies status of winning WWII, not because they didn't get what they were aiming for but because they lost so much. Yes they saved many lives but what about all the lives they had to lose, just to win. All that was left was a path of destruction that had to be cleaned up. No one wins. All of this could have been avoided if people weren't being greedy and trying to conquere the world in their own names. If things were left alone, we would not have to hear horrific stories of concentration camps or POW camps.

Thus I'm changing the quote, and for good reason I think. I don't think the idea of conquering the world is right, I want to live a full life and enjoy all my time and I want other's to enjoy their time too. I want to honor all of the lives ever lived (and to live) because there has to be some amount of good in even the most evil person. So in Latin (because Latin is way cooler) Veni Vidi Vixi which means I came I saw I (have) lived.

Time Travel

Sadly there are no time machines, but as I was walking through The French Quarter in New Orleans I didn't feel like I needed one. It was amazing how the buildings could still look dated but have a modern edge to them. (The modern edge being air conditioning and a fresh coat of paint.) Walking through The French Quarter is the closest thing to time travel I will ever get. Awe the beauty of walking through history. It's ssssooooo much better than walking through a museum because you don't have to stop and read another card about why that pen is significant to history. No you are walking through history and you can listen to the stories people know about certain buildings. You can touch things! Granted it's a brick wall, but usually you don't get to touch things in museums.

The shops some of them look old and have that vintage vibe that makes you think about what it would be like to live in that time period. However some of the shops are just plain stores that have hats in them...but some of them are the Voodoo shops. Scary I know, but so tempting. I had to drag my family into some after my dad's speech, "You don't mess with Voodoo." (Modified version.) Those shops are really fun, and they smell good which is a plus side because some parts of the city reek of rotting garbage. The French Market is awesome. I have to say that I was tempted into getting a mask and it is cute. I did want a Voodoo doll but my request was denied. Maybe I will get a Voodoo doll on Tuesday... Or an old feather pen with a cup of ink! Nerdy I know, but so cool!

I love the old timey feeling I get when I write with a calligraphy pen I can't imagine having to dip my pen into ink! That feeling is like time travel. It makes you think more about how things were and what you would have done. Speaking of which tomorrow we will be going on a swamp tour and a plantation house tour. Walking through the plantation house will take me back to the past. I'm sure I will cringe when I see the bowl that they would keep under there bed as a toilet. I always do. In that case I am glad we don't have time travel machines because I don't think I could hover over a pot in the middle of the night.