I was productive
And here it is for your reading pleasure. Constructive Criticism is ok- just remember this IS a 101 class.Homos Despairus or Why me?
A man walks into a bar and ends up with a goose egg on his forehead. He cries out in vain to a guy relaxing on a pearly throne in the clouds and the events of the day scroll through his memories as having been just as painful. The dog died, he lost his job and he received a parking ticket. These events make for a good soap opera and set an example to examine the assertions of Karen Armstrong’s theory in A Short History of Myth; that humankind seeks meaning and value out of life. However, if we look at the nature of these and similar situations, the question of why seems invoked in times of duress. It is seldom that such questions arise when people are content.
“But human beings fall easily into despair,” (K. Armstrong). In this passage Armstrong seems to focus on a negative aspect of human behavior, an emotion that is not a joyful experience, rather quite an unpleasant one. She suggests that humans “agonize” over the “plight” of themselves and others, comparing mankind to their favorite companion, Canis lupus familiaris, who doesn’t seem to care about such matters. The author uses other negative sounding diction, such as “depressing” and “chaotic” to express man’s need for answers.
The Egyptians and Mesopotamians repeatedly reacted quite strongly to stormy weather and the hard times that followed it (Humanistic Tradition, Vol.1, Ch. 1 & 2). Their world seemed chaotic during these periods and people scrambled to explain “why” to themselves by entreating such matters to the gods. In Egypt however, the social order was turned on its head and every individual became responsible through his deeds (Humanistic Traditions, Vol. 1, Ch.1). These deeds consisted of doing good by thy neighbor, by not doing anything bad to them. The Book of the Dead hints at adverseness in the use of negative grammar, “I have not…” Whereas they could have written phrases akin to “I helped elderly ladies cross the street.” This injurious conceptualization of deeds not only impedes a person’s will to act by generalizing behavior into good and bad but, the person who complies with this code of conduct is still vulnerable to the elements of nature that cannot be predicted. His dog may die in a freak accident with a large brick even if he (the owner) did not steal the brick in the first place. The despairing master of the beloved pet might now question why and run through his laundry list of “things he didn’t do” and still find no reason for the dogs untimely demise.
These dramatic events that shape everyday life play a large part in humankind’s perceptions of the universe and the individual. However, negative concepts dot the social fabric enough to color man’s views of random situations to blind him to the beautiful and tranquil aspects of our world. The sacred and divine are found throughout the forests and homes of civilization, yet no one asks why such wonderful things exist. They do not fret over how lucky they are to have beautiful partners and mountains of gold. They only question in their darkest hour, when they need positive affirmation and beauty the most, when they cannot properly assess their own value.
posted by iSirkus @ 12:30 AM
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