My only friend...the end.

Closed a chapter of my life today. Today was the last day of school at Hiawatha Middle School. This has been maybe the longest 10 months of my life. I have hated alot about my job this year, but at the same time I have met some fantastic people who have influenced my life and career. Twas odd indeed this morning as I drove to school, the song that popped up on my i-pod shuffle was "The End" by the Doors. This is the end of a part of my life that was small in space and time, yet huge in my mental and future development. I learned more about myself in these last 10 months than perhaps the last 10 years of my life. Maybe that is an overstatement but I have always been a fan of overstatements. I worked with six teachers from the 5th and 6th grades. I can honestly say that all six have influenced my future decisions and philosophies involving my teaching career. I will not go much further into that, as my fingers are starting to hurt. I feel like I should have words much deeper and metaphysical right now, but I am just really tired. It has been a long school year...

One pill, two pill, three pill..bliss.

Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel, "Brave New World", may be the most haunting look at the future society of man that I have ever come in contact with. In contrast to Orwell's "1984", Huxley's futuristic civilization is controlled by pleasure and ease instead of force and fear. People are not scared of stepping out of line because they fear retribution, people are not even considering stepping out of line. Staying in line is easy and full of little delights. This is what makes Huxley's novel more plausible, in my opinion, than Orwell's. After the development of modern republican democracy, people have stopped putting up with cruel and oppressive governments. The Soviet Union is the most successful example of a gov. imposing it's absolute will with force and terror, and it lasted less than a century. For short term results, brutal tactics may be enjoyed and employed by tyrants. Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito tried to take over the world by acts of violence followed by forced obedience. This obviously did not take with the citizens of the rest of the world. Even if the Axis Powers had won World War Two, I believe that eventually an enormous rebellion would have taken place. People do not like to be suppressed against their will. We have had a taste of "government by the people" and we like doing things our way. If men and women of power ever want to get serious about world domination, then they will drop the goose-stepping gestapo act and become our buddy who lets us do what we will, shoving soma down our throats to ease our "suffering" in this harsh world. This is what Huxley saw and I think Bradbury as well with his myth "Fahrenheit 451". Be subversive and herd people into their pens. Give them the feeling of self rule and freedom, and bingo, world rule for a long time. Most people are idiots and will not yearn for true freedom as long as they have creature comforts. People do not want choice, they just don't want be pushed. What is spooky to me is the fact that this may have already happened. We may be living under "our Ford" already. Maybe you should not read this...we could have our one-way ticket punched to the Falklands already. I thank God that I have investments elsewhere besides this planetary dimension, so I will not need to escape this enslavement at the end of a rope in a secluded lighthouse. Mind you, without God that would be the only sensible and freeing option if our world ever becomes totally ruled by fleshly desires.

This chair has awful lumbar support.

Just re-read some Chronicles of Narnia. I started with one that is in a 7-way tie for my favorite, The Silver Chair. Actually this would probably be my second favorite after The voyage of the Dawn Treader, because they both have my favorite character in them, Eustace Scrubb. His character is so much like humanity. Before meeting and getting to know the followers of Aslan, and finally Aslan himself, he is a treacherous slug. The person whom you cheer for to get beat up severely. You absolutely despise him for many chapters in the Treader. I will not get into that book now, but you should know that he eventually decides for Aslan over self and becomes my favorite character in the seven books. By the time we get to The Silver Chair, the following book, he is a Narnian vet with a new outlook on life and others. Anywho...The Chair reads like the life of saint. First the calling of Jill Poll and Eustace Scrubb, which saves them from the certain dangers of this world, yet asks them to face far graver dangers of another world. Poll is given a set of instructional signs which to follow whilst on their quest. These signs told to her by Aslan himself, will guide them to the finding want they need to find. Yet what I love is that never does Aslan promise that following the signs will ensure a safe completion of the quest. By following the signs they may indeed bring about theirs and others death. Like all humans, Poll and Scrubb struggle with following their Lord's signs and instructions mostly because of the desire for creature comforts and fear. Yet, they are provided with a conscious and protector. They travel into the wasted north of Narnia with one of the most beloved persons of Narnia, Puddleglum the Marshwiggle. He is the most despairing and positively negative creatures. Yes I meant to write that. He sees the absolute worst in every situation, but no matter what he sees, he is always determined to face the worst is need be. There is nothing so dangerous to the powers of evil than a pessimist who is to stubborn to listen to himself. This is what Puddleglum is.
I do not want to ruin the book for readers who have not finished this book so I will try to be vague. A thought that permeated my mind alot when I read this book is the question of destiny and will. The trio miff following the signs frequently yet it seems that by not following them they still end up finding their desired destination. God's/Aslan's will will always trump our mistakes. His plan will be accomplished. We can choose to follow the signs and instructions or not. We are called to follow to seemingly carry out His plan, yet when we stumble, the plans do not go array, we will just not be following what He calls us to. So our the signs for us? Are they just invitations to participate in His cosmic plans? Will what He wants be carried out by someone or something, or will He permit our mistakes to alter things? What if going to the House of Harfang resulted in the trio's death? Would the Prince and Narnia be saved by someone or something else or would the Queen's plan be carried out? Maybe it would have and then some other children would have been called into Narnia to thwart her reign similar to The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe. This is the mystical knot in which i find myself entwined when I read this book and I love it.
P.S. For those who know this book, I believe the world of Bism to be the literary manifestation of Lewis' belief in aliens. Me to.