Being Brave in a New World
The search for the truth is not for the faint hearted
"Well, I'd rather be unhappy than have the sort of false, lying happiness you were having here."
This quote comes from the conversation between Bernard and John about how John did not attend Bernard's party. The savage explain that he believes Bernard is enjoying a false happiness because his so-called friends are only around him because of the popularity he has recently obtained.
This event shows how the rest of the dystopian world works. Everyone lives under a happiness that has little to no depth and the people outside of that happiness view it as being a false happiness. Although people who are under this false happiness have only known this to be what is happiness, which is why Bernard says that he prefers it.
What this really boils down to is what society at the time dictates to be happiness and what is widely accepted in the current time. In today's world a happiness void of achievement and higher purpose seems so empty and meaningless and is not regarded as happiness at all. Although, happiness is also relative and based off of perspective. Everyone has a different variation of happiness but the core belief of happiness in today's world is acceptance of one's self according to the standards that you believe you have.
Dystopia in the Modern World
Although it may not seem like it, the world we live in is a dystopian world. While the poor become poorer and the rich become richer, we sit on the sidelines and watch as the world slowly tears itself apart. We sit at home watching on HD TV screens as 80% of the world lives off of less than $10 a day and while the bottom 40% of the world survives off of 5% of the world's income. The world we live in is at war, in poverty, and is broken at its core.
Dystopias are usually stereotyped as being poverty and war redden lands that are struggling due to oppression. At first, this doesn’t seem to match anything what our world is like now, but I’m sure we have all heard of the Darfur Genocide, carried out by a group of government-armed and funded Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed systematically destroy Darfurians by burning villages, looting economic resources, polluting water sources, and murdering, raping, and torturing locals. 480,000 people have been killed, and over 2.8 million people have been forced to move because of the Genocide. If this doesn’t sound like a dystopia then I’m not sure what does.
Some people may argue that the world isn’t living in a dystopia because that’s just one place experiencing a really bad problem. Well, in the time it took you finish reading that last sentence, a child just died because of poverty. In the time it took you to get to this point in the flyer, if you read everything, at least 16 children have died because of poverty, and that’s if you speed read.
The A-Team
The first part of the chorus reminds me of when John the Savage was trying to reach out to the Deltas but as soon as someone shouted "Soma distribution", their attention was completely taken away. The upper-hand that Ed Sheeran is talking about can be related to the government of Brave New World and "going mad for a couple grams" is just what the Deltas do.
The second part of "The A-Teams" chorus can be linked to the "Orgy-Porgies" in Brave New World. Whenever the people would give into the "Orgy-Porgies", they would all be as high as a kite off soma and be selling their love to each other.
GMP (Genetically Modified People)
GMP or Genetically Modified People is a topic that can shoot into any direction. I believe this is one of those cases that technology can go too far, but special emphasis on the can. there is such a thing as too much but I believe that some modifications to people is okay. If you were to say that you believe that GMP is completely wrong then you would not be able to take shots or steroids to boost your body and prepare for illness and other cases. I believe that even going so far as to put DNA into a baby to protect it from illness that the parents may pass on is alright.
According to Forbes, there has already been some experimentation with implanting extra DNA into embryos (The Era of Genetically-Altered Humans Could Begin this Year). From a study that was said to take place back in 1997, there appears to be no differences in the children that may raise concern. I believe that for the purpose of helping a child who may be physically or mentally hindered due to disease is as far as this technology should go though. I don't believe that having a child have three parents is ethical or smart. Messing with the natural coding of our bodies may result in some problems that we were never able to foresee.
I also understand that some people are naturally at a better starting point than others due to good genetics but just because that is the case doesn’t mean you should be trying to modify your child before birth to try and give them some sort of head start. Being a good parent and nurturing your child the way that they should be will help their development more than any predetermining. The reason that the early stages in life are so important is because that’s when personality is developed.
There was a study that was done on twins to show the differences that even just exercise can do to two people who are genetically identical. Not only was one more physically fit than the other but even the brain developed differently, along with memory and other traits.
So when it comes down to it, I don’t believe that trying to genetically alter a person at birth will truly have the effect that so many people desire. What will truly change a person is raising them properly to be healthy both physically and mentally. Without the right character, personality, or attitude, you can’t accomplish anything, no matter how well set up for something you are. Where there is a will there is a way.
Work Cited
"Darfur Genocide « World Without Genocide - Working to Create a World Without Genocide." Darfur Genocide « World Without Genocide - Working to Create a World Without Genocide. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
"The Era Of Genetically-Altered Humans Could Begin This Year." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
"One Twin Exercises, the Other Doesn't." Well One Twin Exercises the Other Doesnt Comments. N.p., 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
"Poverty Facts and Stats." - Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Sosa-Sosa, and Victor Jesus. "A File Storage Service on a Cloud Computing Environment for Digital Libraries." Ebscohost. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
"Today, around 21,000 Children Died around the World." - Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.