Candide's Punishment...Does it Fit the Crime?

Hell no! His punishments do not fit the crime. The Constitutional amendment that says that you are protected from cruel and unusual punishments should have been applied to Candide, because he got his ass whooped more than what should have been. First, he tries to kiss a girl and gets kicked out of a castle because his family is missing one courting? Well, that sucks, but he did try to hit on the his daughter so whatever.

Next he joins the army and goes for a walk. So maybe he should do some push ups or ran a couple laps for going for a walk, right? Nope! They make him run the gaunlet TWICE and he gets all the skin ripped off his body. For what? For taking a stroll on a nice day. And the worst part is that they were going to take his life if he didn't get lucky with meeting that king. Really? The death penalty for a walk! This punishment definitly did not fir the punishment to any degree.

The next time he got punished, he had just survived a shipwreck and was with his man, Pangloss. The natives decide its a good idea to sacrifice people to stop earthquakes. So they kill his mentor and publicly flog him for “listening with an air of approval". REALLY? Candide's life SUCKS, he gets such physical damage for actions that don't even warrant them. Do the punishments fit the crimes? HELL NO.

Modern Day Gadfly

Socrates was an annoyance to the people in authority when he was around because he questioned the social norm and made people think a little more than they usually did about very basic things and even more complex things. A person today who questions and is socratic if you will is Dave Mustaine from the thrash metal band Megadeth.

Dave Mustaine is the chief lyrisist, vocalist, and rythym guitar player in the band. Ever since the realease of Megadeth's first album in 1985, Mustaine always is asking questions about what is going on, usually his songs cover political and social issues. "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying" was a song that made you think about something we take for granted, our freedom and the price we pay for our "peace". Megadeth's fourth album is called "Rust in Peace", which is a phrase used for when they disarm nukes. "Holy Wars" is an intense look at jihads and religious conflicts over the world. The name Megadeth comes from a term mega death coined by a politician to describe a nuclear strike that kills a million people.

Dave Mustaine has been asking questions and writing politically fueled songs for decades now. Megadeth's new album is called "Endgame" and the title refers to a documentary under the same name which stated that former Preseident W. Bush signed a secret act that will create concentration camps and get rid of our basic liberties. He writes these things to try to teach the public similarly to how Socrates did.

The Unexamined Life Not Worth Living?

Is the unexamined life worth living? Socrates's quote gives us plenty to think about. I believe that unexamined life IS worth living. To me you have to think about what it means to examine a life and why is life only worth living after you examine. To examine one's life, I think you have to look at your experiences and what you have accomplished in your life and what you plan to do in the future.

Life is brutal and if you had some hard times in life, examining them will help you learn from those mistakes and advance as a person. But a person can live without examining his  or her life and live in a sort of ignorant bliss. If the person is happy and satisfied living without thinking about their life, then they have every right to do it.

One can see where Socrates got the idea that the unexamined life is not worth living, that if a person does that then he or she is blind to truth and lives their own life with a blindfold on. I think that you should examine your life to prioritize your life if anything and you can positivly affect it too. Is it worth living? I think it is but why live in a a cage when you can open the door and go anywhere you want to? Just some food for thought, something that maybe Socrates would appreciate.

The Eulogy of Jakub Mulica

Jakub Mulica has been taken from us, forever gone and away. Too soon has he been taken, he had many things left to accomplish if not for that freak trampoline accident. But in the time he was with us, Jakub was a laid back dude, just living life from day to day. He liked to just relax and chill whenever possible. Sitting back on a soft couch, munching on some food with some buddies, just playing videogames or watching the TV was one of his favortite things to do.

While he received some awards for good grades and academic studies, Jakub's Little League 2nd Place stands out from the rest and during his life, he liked that trophy. That reminds me that Jakub was an avid sports fan, especially when it came to Chicago sports. He loved all the teams, Da Bears, the Bulls, the White Sox, and the Blackhawks. The Cubs...not so much. Jakub was also a great fan of the English football, or "soccer", team Liverpool.

One of the greatest things about Jakub was his strong love and admiration for his family. Jakub loved his brothers and would do anything for them, to protect them and help him. After all, they are his littles brothers. Jakub was Polish and loved his native country of Poland. He visited it many times and would have again if not for what happened.

Jakub was well liked by his friends and he will be mourned. He is hopefully in a better place now...we hope.