Forgotten Overture - Finding Neverland/Soundtrack Version - Jan A.P. Kaczmarek [Artist]
Living in the United States, the “land of the free”, we have all (mostly) been brought up in the comfort of an environment that emphatically reiterates how important the individual is. It is okay to be different. It is okay to be unique. From as long as I can remember I have been forced to take tests of what sort of personality color I am, and constantly test my own uniqueness. I enjoy this aspect of American life very much, and in no way am trying to belittle the freedoms that we have. What I find slightly hypocritical, however, is the inability within different aspects of life to appreciate what each of us have to offer to the greater whole. If religion is your thing, fight to death for it. If it involves animal humanities, go for it. If being a rebel is your cause, rise up. On top of all this, do not try and make something of another human being, or any part of mankind for that matter, or take advantage of their ignorance in order to capitalize on your own cause.
Lawrence Sullivan discusses Christianity by quoting the bible in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. “Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can you be children of your heavenly father.” I know that religion does have a lot of things to offer people, by why subjugate yourself into the rules of someone else’s story in order to try and find your way to heaven. If God says that he will be accepting of whatever you do, why does someone need to write the rules of regulating your every motive and subsequent actions? There are substantial fundamentals found in the bible as well. Sullivan points out two other references that do in fact ring true in everyday life that should be looked at further. The bible says, “If you love only those who love you, what reward can you expect?” as the Quar’an, the book of Islam says, “Live in this world as though you will live forever: prepare for the next world as if you were going to die tomorrow” (96). Both offer insight to the way that I try to live my own life. Why not be your own person, and be proud of that, and stand behind both your decisions and the actions that you regret and learn and experience from every breath that you thrive on. Who knows what the world of tomorrow holds for each of us, but why not be prepared for it NOT by being subjects to conformity, rather embracing diversity and peculiarity?
The other evening I was in my room watching a movie with a friend, when my roommate walked in. I was watching Finding Neverland. To most people, it is just one of those Johnny Depp or Kate Winslett movies that passes with no further attention, and maybe seems weird for a guy to be enjoying the film, or so my roommate thought when he mocked how I spent my Friday night. Finding Neverland to me holds much more meaning than it does to the average person. My father, after being diagnosed with his cancer clung to the ideals that the movie presented: living life to the fullest, and embracing the time that you have with family and friends. In addition, the soundtrack has gotten me through some of my most depressed times. It reminds me of my dad, and the trip to New York City that I took my senior year when I realized that there is more to life than suburbia and the fear of settling that I have for so long ran away from. The melodies remind me of the quirks of individuals, for Neverland is the inconceivable idea that every child has growing up, and the most mystical aspect of it is that it differs in every mind. Greg Garrard discuss Quammen’s elegy, and in his first comment states that the “death of an individual is also the death of its kind” (108). What is there for us to cling to if not for the mere thought of standing out in the world?
In regard to animal humanities, which personally I believe we have beaten over and over and have travelled in circles over, I do not think that we should put other species down because of their inability to defend themselves. As far as sustenance is concerned, I do not think that me eating meat is necessarily a bad occurrence. I have tried vegetarianism, but it wasn’t for me. For the last three years, I have given up meat for Lent (call me a hypocrite). In the forward of History of Vegetarianism, the author makes reference to how “diet, from the earliest times, was but one factor in a structure of concepts that interpreted the world” (110). I fervently believe that there is a pressing issue with the rightful treatment of animals in slaughter houses, but as far as my diet, I do not think it is the concern of anyone else to try and change.
In the first class of my Plan II TC “Morality and Politics” the professor, Devin Stauffer, said that he would rather us leave the class having not left anything from being said than having left feeling like there was more to say. I find that what he said is applicable to everyday life for all of us. In the same regard, I attended the funeral mass of a fellow Austin High classmate, Carson Starkey, who passed away in December. The presiding pastor urged the congregation to “live with urgency” just as Carson had done, and explore the possibilities of the world, and to make a name for ourselves, and not to continue passively going through life [www.withcarson.com]. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Rick looks back on the events of his life and says to himself, “what a strange place for all of that to die”, and continued to try and detail “what [so-and-so] would have to say about [him]” (names unimportant) (228).
Life, for me, is a chance. It is a fluke occurrence that is brought about and given to each of us, and is not something that we should take lightly, but something that we should appreciate individually, and live for ourselves.
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