Modern Day Socrates

Yesterday, I just watched the 10th and final episode of season one of a brilliant television drama called "The Newsroom." (For all those who haven't heard of it, I highly recommend it- or at least watch the first ten minutes of it on YouTube which will definitely leave you thinking.) Written by Aaron Sorkin, this show surrounds a fictional news corporation with real life news stories, ranging from the BP Oil Spill to the death of Osama bin Laden. Yet the plot of the show is centered on the news anchor, Will McAvoy, as he and his team try a whole new style of reporting only facts and the truth, free of bias and irrelevance.

Now you would think that this revolutionary idea of reporting the truth wouldn't be all that revolutionary, and that Will McAvoy would be supported for sharing the truth. But if that were the case, Fox, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN would all be reporting stories free of irrelevance with only important, truthful news. And this isn't the case because people nowadays want to be entertained, not informed. And when you inform people, they switch the channel- which is why people like Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather are no longer reporting the real news.

And so the criticism for Will McAvoy began. Tabloid stories tarnish his character on a weekly basis. Editorials come out criticizing the new style of reporting. Will is faced with death threats. His attempt to report facts and ask tough questions makes him viewed as more biased than other reporters who report on rhetoric, and even the executives of the news corporation try to find ways to fire him.

Like Socrates, Will McAvoy is trying to spread the truth, and is ridiculed and criticized by many. Their messages were parallel: to bring the light to those who don't have it. And yet people reject that light. They don't want to see it. They're content with the life they're living and don't wish to drastically adjust it. Hopefully, over time, people will begin to adjust, and if all goes well, the civilization living a century from now will look upon this age as we look upon Socrates': as a less advanced, less informed people. In other words, hopefully the intellect of humans will only get brighter as time moves on.

The Unexamined Life

The unexamined life is not worth living.

The famous words of Socrates are familiar to many. His life's message, his core belief- that if you don't search for the truth, if you don't examine in life, it is worthless. If we don't seek to look beyond mere shadows to see the light creating them, we are wasting our lives. The unexamined life is not worth living.

It's hard to disagree with a man so intelligent, dedicated, and renowned. Socrates devoted his entire life and even death to philosophy, whereas I just completed my eleventh day in a high school introductory class. And yet I'm a little uneasy with this phrase. While for the most part it makes sense- that we are not truly living unless we examine and seek the truth- I still feel like there are some unexamined lives that are worth living, and likewise examined lives that aren't.

The wordage is harsh- "not worth living." I think of it more as making good use of your existence or not. And therein lies the question humans have wrestled with for its entirety: what constitutes making good use of your existence? To Socrates, according to this statement, seeking the light of truth makes good use of your existence. But is that the only component?

In this young, 11-day old philosopher's opinion, it does not. What I think constitutes good use of your existence is something far more important: bringing that light of truth to others. Thus, there are those who seek out the light, who examine their lives, and enjoy their discoveries with themselves. They die, not shedding a single photon of that light onto others. What a tragic waste. And at the same time, there are those who go their whole lives without seeing the light, yet make do with what they do know to be true. They help others, and although they don't see the full intensity of the light, they give to others what light they do have.

I therefore think it unfair to deem all those who find the light as "worth living," and all those who don't as "worthless." Much more important than what you know is what you do, for knowledge isn't power unless used properly.

Socrates may have overlooked this simple concept because he assumed it to be true. He went his whole life, not only examining and seeking the light, but spreading the light onto others. He definitely lived a life worth living, and the obligation to share his discoveries with others came so naturally to him that he probably overlooked its importance. I could indeed be wrong, Socrates was a brilliant man. But I'm not sure that I can  so easily accept the generalization that, no matter what, all unexamined lives are not worth living. Indeed, it is the actions you do with the light that are far more impacting and worthy than seeking the light itself.

Eulogy: About Chris Pieper

Chris Pieper (Christopher William Pieper) was born on March 1, 1996. Born and raised in the magnificent metropolis that is Chicago, he's become embedded with the great culture, knowledge, and diversity the city offers that is only challenged by few other places. 

Growing up, Chris went to elementary school at South Loop elementary in Chicago's downtown. He was raised by two educators and spent much time at Lincoln Park Zoo's education department, where his mom worked. He also enjoined visiting museums and other public places that the great city of Chicago has to offer. In seventh grade, he transferred to Whitney Young Academic Center in the west loop, conveniently located within a short walk of his house. There, he studied until his junior year at WY High School, with some of the best students, teachers, and curriculum in the city. 

Chris was a man of many interests. He was a lighting designer with Whitney Young's theater company, and ran sound and light technical operations for a variety of events. He also played clarinet in the school band. When he wasn't working in the Company, or working on schoolwork at home, he was found doing puzzles, playing (amateur) soccer, watching the Cubs, Bears, or Blackhawks, doing crafts, baking, listening to music, reading, socializing, or atrophying in front of a computer. Chris was a teen journalist for the Chicago teen newspaper The Mash, volunteered at the Field Museum of Natural History's education department. He was a passionate environmentalist, a big political junkie and a progressive Christian, all of which drastically helped shape his personal philosophy. 

Some of Chris' core beliefs are that every person has good inside of them, that everything happens for a reason, and that everyone can be great. He believed that no matter who you are or what your background, we are all created in an image of goodness and love and can thus overcome differences and forgive wrongdoing. He believed that although life may have hit you, or times may be hard, and bad things may happen, it all happens for a reason, even if we go our entire lives not knowing what that reason is. And he believed that when people emerge from tough times, resilient and inspiring, that they emerge stronger than before. Finally, he thought that everyone has the capacity for greatness, but not everyone is one of the greats for one large reason: because they didn't unlock their maximum potential. Tragic it may be, but only those who reach for the stars and aspire to greatness are the ones who get there. 

He also had beliefs with the world as a whole. He understood that the world's resources were limited, that energy must be conserved and matter cannot be created or destroyed. He therefore supported clean, renewable energy sources that last forever, recycling and using less which saves resources and reduces waste for future generations. Above all, Chris has a passionate support for protecting land that was special, touching, and magnificent that ought be preserved for future use. He was a big fan of the Native American proverb: "This land was not given to you by your fathers- it was loaned to you by your sons." 

Chris was a man of many thoughts. He died at a young age, before he was able to let them further evolve or put them into action. He dreamed of impacting the world. He wanted to help people, to improve lives, and to touch someone in a way that reminded them of the goodness in the world and everyone in it. His driving inspiration: Someone, somewhere, waking up one morning in a better world than when they went to bed. He wanted to impact the world, and make it just a little, just a touch, brighter.

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Disclaimer: The above piece of writing was written for a philosophy of literature class on September 6, 2012 when the aforementioned Christopher Pieper was 16 years and 189 days old and in 11th grade. On that day he was not in any physical state that can be described by the following- including, but not limited to: dead, dying, of death, lifeless, not alive, lack of life, deceased, departed, late, gone, passed on, or any other English words of similar meaning or connotation. On September 6, 2012, he was not in a state near death and was not suffering from any major medical ailments ("major medical ailments" as defined and accepted by the majority of American doctors, nurses, workers in the field of medicine, the general public and general understanding of "major medical ailments" on September 6, 2012). The views, beliefs, opinions, and all other thoughts expressed in this piece are not necessarily the views, beliefs, opinion, and all other thoughts that Christopher Pieper will have in the future ("future" as defined as Spetember 7, 2012 or any subsequent date in the standard calendar of 2012 and every day of each following year), and should not be taken by the viewer of the aforementioned piece of writing as such.