The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living? And Who is the Modern Gadfly?

The unexamined life is the life that chooses to be without struggle. Why does this seem like such a bad thing? If something seems absolute, why question it? Why give up that stability? Could absolute truth even exist in our reality?

I believe that absolute truths exist in our world. Finding those truths is extremely, unbelievably difficult. I think it's near impossible to find even one absolute truth. 99.9999999999% of us will, in my opinion, never get there. I do think that most of us can get close, and that's what we should all strive for. If absolute truth is out there, we must try to get there as close as we possibly can. To live the unexamined life is to give up on these truths. IT IS OUT THERE. To ignore it, you might as well be dead. I would like to think that we made a deal when we were given the gift to experience life. You can't have life without struggle or death. If you're not struggling with something, you're dead. Vice-Versa.

This ties in with perfectly with Gadflies. Some people think they have found their absolute truths. How can that be? In response to that notion, the Gadfly pokes holes in their "absolute" truths. Many people hate that their boat is being rocked and, in some cases, sunk. Who does this today?

Jon Stewart is the perfect example of the Modern Gadfly. On the famous his famous interview with Bill O'Reilly, O'Reilly tries to show a point that it is ridiculous that Common, the rapper, is even at an event in the White House. O'Reilly asserts this by saying that Common supports cop killers.  He says a guy like that should not even be invited out of all the candidates that could be chosen. Jon Stewart responds by first saying that he does not think, if he was Common, that he would support them for killing cops but, instead, support them because he thinks they are innocent. Then, Jon Stewart has the perception of a hawk. He starts to list people that should not be in the White House according to Bill's logic.Jon uses Leonard Peltier as an example to Bill, and Bill brushes it off as nothing. Jon, then, calls him on his bull and says it is the exact same thing. Jon lists Bono, Bob Dylan, and Springsteen (All have been to the White House). They were all people who showed some support of convicted criminals and murderers. Bill O'Reilly tries to say it is different because their songs did not directly say that they were innocent. Jon, again, calls him on his bull because it is the exact same thing. Then, Jon does the greatest burn in the world. He calls out the Fox network by saying that they are a selective outrage machine. If they are going to call out Common, they must also be outraged by all these other artists. Why do they call out Common? Is it because he's black? Is it because he raps? Well, that's left to the viewers to think. Yep, Jon is definitely a Modern Gadfly.

Eulogy of Jeremiah Ilao

Jeremiah, as a little child, was very peculiar. Unlike many children around him, the unexplored was not a frightening place for him; he embraced it. This was not always a good thing. Sometimes. it got him into some trouble. One time, as candy vendor was passing by his home, Jeremiah thought it would be a good idea to chase it. As he was running after it, he bumped into a group of thugs who almost through him off a bridge. He escaped only by his Grandpa being right behind him to scare off the thugs. Another time, he thought it would be a great adventure if his 4 year old sister were to put him in a suitcase once. After being locked in there for 4 hours, he realized that it was not as fun as he planned. Nevertheless, this ambition did separate him from others (in a good way). He would participate in things that other kids were too shy or too "cool" to do. This made his childhood much richer. He never grew out of it so he was always the goofy kid. He didn't take what others thought into account so the things that would spill out of his mind were kind of silly. Though, even if he were criticized for it, he wouldn't even care. He just loved to laugh. Though as he grew into high school, he was not as ambitious as he was then. Every now and again, you could see the twinkling of that ambitious youth come out of him.

Jeremiah established a foundation of what he stood for in elementary school. Through great teachers and role models, he came to an idea that would decide how he lived his life. The world was not black and white to him, and some problems in the world that his figures would present and challenge him with were not easy. He realized that some problems did not have absolute solutions to them. So what did he decided? He decided to strive for and struggle with it. He knew that if he ever settled; truth and righteousness would be lost.

Did he ever told you what his last name meant? Ilao, in the language of tagalog, means light. He was the light to kids who would have missed opportunities of adventure, laughter, and new experiences. He was torch passed down from his teachers and role models to continue their teachings and values into his life. Jeremiah Ilao was this light. If he didn't write this himself, he would be very flattered.