All You Need is Love. "John Lennon. Smart man. Shot in the back. Very Sad."

...If anyone can name what movie that quote in the title is from I won't feel nearly as nerdy. ;)


My brain has been full of all kinds of interesting thoughts today; conscious and unconscious. There are many things to consider as of late, as many of the important things in my life are taking on change. I'm streaming consciousness right now so stay with me on this one...

Many of my students chose the word "love" for an recent etymological exercise. I found it interesting as well as amusing that these young adults, boys and girls, truly wanted to research and hope to find some sort of answer or meaning to love. I would say once one experiences this emotions it can be incredibly confusing, so many of us do attempt to put some sort of logical reasoning to it. What better way to do so than try to understand from where the word came. All the essays had the background - from Lufu which changed spellings about 6 times etc. etc. Then of course the discussion of the different kinds of love... I'm sure learning this information did give my students some sort of betting grasp on the emotion they feel towards their significant others or even why love can feel so wonderful, but then also hurt so badly. Many people quoted Corinthians and some of the more famous quotes on love. I won't even begin to try to attach these thoughts to my own perceptions of love as that could probably turn into a book or something. I'm not even truly sure why this came to mind... I guess somewhere in all my wiring "love" is something I've been thinking about.

On the other hand though, this segues into a more academic discussion as the antithesis of love is hate. I called to mind earlier a quote from a song, which then lead me to begin thinking about the concept of evil and that is when I decided I need to write it down because it was too convoluted in my head.

"Do you believe we are fundamentally judgmental? Fundamentally evil? I said, Yes." No clue why this line from a little known Alanis Morisette song popped into my head, but once it did, I ran with it. It's a huge question of philosophy and this quote immediately linked me to the novel The Lord of the Flies, but backing up a minute, I remembered why this thought occurred.

On a more personal note, it has been bugging me as of late that I have had my ex-boyfriend on my mind the past week. It's the sunny weather. Yes, that probably seems insane, but we always seemed to have our good times when it was warm. That's when I have fond memories. This time last year, is also when everything fell apart so I guess my brain has sort of been revisiting that and looking at where I am now. I realized earlier that I was always annoyed because said Ex was so self focused. Even now, in thinking of him, in the past few months, I've made attempts to contact him. His selfish nature has not changed. Things were always on his terms. We did what made him comfortable. The last correspondence I received was of course about him; he wanted to see me and talk, but only when he was ready. Point is, it was never about what I needed. Things were always about what he needed and wanted and what would make him happy and comfortable at the time and it was I that did most of the sacrificing.

So, to go back to the earlier point, this led me to thinking about human nature. Are we fundamentally evil and judgmental? Golding, in his novel, seems to agree that yes we are. Little boys, when left to their own devices, adhere to their most basic needs. Leaders emerge, alliances are formed and still yet we tend to naturally discriminate against those who are the slightest bit different (Piggy wears glasses and is fat, therefor he is the one who gets left out often times). One could consider, would the circumstances of the novel change if the boys were older? Would it be different if it was both girls and boys? Of course those factors add more complexity to the issue, but I believe Golding keeps it as simple as he does because he is making the statement that no, it doesn't matter. Older, younger, boys or girls, we as humans cannot help but to succumb to Darwinism. It is in our genetic makeup to "fight or flight" and emerge as strong and eliminate those that are weak. Is this evil? I think one would have to examine their own definition of evil. In some ways I think it is because we are giving to segregate and point out differences rather naturally, but on that same hand, those traits can be learned... Selfish by nature? Yes, we are, but we are also altruistic. While Ralph feels the need for order and Jack adheres to his basic instincts, it is Simon who truly represents "good" in the novel. I do no think Golding would have included this character if he did not think that within our need to have control, power, and rationale, he also felt that as humans we could achieve and demonstrate kindness and selflessness. Although Golding shows his reader what "being soft" can get you, he is wise to include all of these human traits to perhaps show that it is a balance of logic, control, kindness and power, that makes us the top of the food chain.

So, albeit "academic" I'm Simon. I love. I give. I open myself wide open and I am often times hurt, but my person does not know selfishness. In fact, I often times have to remind myself that it's ok to be selfish and that in order for me to continue to be that caring person, I need to take time out for myself and tune the world out and give to myself. Whether my students found their answers to love, I do not know. I do not feel that is something any of us truly ever understand, but I think, to end this on a positive note, no, human beings are not "evil." In all of the chaos which is this world we live in, I think most people, even in their heart of hearts and the depths of their souls are striving to be what they feel is the best they can be. Some of us are more developed and enlightened than others, but at the most basic level, we're all just trying to survive on this island.