A famous quote by Karl Marx is "Religion is the opium of the
people.” According to Marx, religion is just a device used by the masses
for comfort ,refuge , and strength from
the evils of this world.
In the World State, death has no emotional impact. People
aren’t born, they’re “decanted.” There is no concept of sin. Everyone is
constantly amused and pleasured. The
world is perfect so they have no need for a God to protect them. Instead, they
have the god of mass consumerism and efficiency, Henry Ford. Christian
practices have been replaced with Huxleyan rituals. Instead of performing the
sign of the cross, people perform the Model T. There is no Christmas , only
holidays celebrating Ford. A Catholic
Archbishop is instead an Arch Community Songster. In this world, religion is no
longer the opium for the masses, soma is. Christianity is no longer needed in
this world. The people of the World State would give up their freedom just to
live in their utopia. Is it really worth it?
Would you rather suffer in an imperfect world, with free will,
new ideas, and individuality? Or would you chose to live in a perfect world,
blissfully ignorant, under a totalitarian government?
In Brave New World, the citizens are "decanted" like Giovanni mentioned, and already programmed to have a set mindset in the way they act and the things they say. Soma is enforced by the World Controllers who make sure all citizens of every division is at ease, content, and perfect with their lives, without any resentment or questioning of the society's leaders.
ReplyDeleteIn our society's modern recession, although far fetched, it is possible for our leaders to stabilize our society's citizens' resentment towards increasing prizes on various products and necessities such as gasoline and food, by creating our society's soma. A product that keeps our society's population at ease, without resentment or questioning towards authority. Although not technically called soma, I believe television is somewhat relatable in our society. Television allows its audiences to calm their minds, without worrying about their lives' problems and stress, and instead, relax and shut off their constant worrying. The media dictates what is viewed as 'important' in our society, thus the media tends to focus on celebrity gossip instead of global events that may shape our world's future. With such control over the population in our society, the media can use the television to control the audiences' way of thought and values.
I believe our society should one that includes imperfections and problems because without such ordeals, our great minds would never had had the opportunity to better the advancements in various fields. Without failure, our society would not have the constantly evolving technology that makes everyday tasks so much simpler and easier. If our society was perfect, and everyone was perfectly content under a totalitarian government, our society could not make the constant improvements that make us different that robots.
I would rather suffer in world that was imperfect rather than to live in a perfect world. Why? Because in the imperfect world, at least I have the freedom of will and to do what I choose to do, of course I would follow all the laws. A perfect world seems like an incredibly scary place to be because can you imagine being surrounded by people who can do everything right, never mess up and have no flaws? I would be terrified just to know such a person out there exist, nonetheless, know an entire society is like that. As Alex pointed out, a society without failure would not be able to progress in making new improvements. If I were to suffer in an imperfect world, I would be able to learn from my mistakes and grow as a person.
ReplyDeleteThis is a difficult question to ask because we all have to be honest with our emotions. Undoubtedly we all have been unhappy at times but most of us can say that we wouldn't trade our freedom for happiness, or at least we say that. In our society one of our aspirations is to be happy. In Brave New World they don't have this want because they are always "happy" but in reality they are just always distracted from their sadness. In Brave New World not everyone was happy. Bernard Watson and even Lenina were all searching for something at a point. But why? They were alphas, the top of their community. This just exemplifies that people were unhappy in Brave New World, they just usually just perfectly distracted with soma and other devices.
ReplyDeleteWe all see this in our own community. Some of us in society chose to distract ourselves with drugs and alcohol and other ways but we come no were close to Brave New World. The difference is in that new society they have perfected the art of distraction. They can't feel sad because they are always busy and if they do they can take soma.
So it is a difficult question, if in our society if we could be perfectly distracted would we chose to be artificially happy over a life with knowledge and sadness? I might.
After reading your post, I wonder, "Do we really have free will and individuality? Aren't our minds conditioned by our own exposures in life?" In my opinion, I would prefer to live in a perfect world under a totalitarian government, because I know no otherwise. If I was born or "decanted" in that society, I would very well enjoy my life because I only know how to live that way. I was conditioned all my life to love what I do and who I am. Whereas living in today's times one has to make life choices that almost always bring a person wanting to obtain more. We are never satisfied.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a perfect life is better than an imperfect life. Both ways of living have their benefits and their negatives. However the imperfect life's cons outweigh the pros. The burdens of a fluctuating life include death of a close one, poverty, and disease. It hits home when one is expected to carry these tragedies while others live normally. The imperfect world is blind when its "imperfections" affect its people. The perfect world is better because people, unprivileged and privileged, are assured life for them is set. While losing poetry, religion, and love is a grave loss, perpetual safety and satisfaction is given. Apparently, in many aspects of life, things have to be lost, if one wants to gain.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I'm stressing about schoolwork and trying to get all my assignments done on time, I would wish that my life was already determined for me to obviate all of my anxiety. I dream of a life like the one in Brave New World where your entire life is planned out for you right when you are conceived. It only seems so much easier to handle. No more stress. No more grades. No more anxiety.
ReplyDeleteIs this the kind of life that I really want though?
No, it's not. Even though all of that pain will subside, I like how my life is now. Although it's not always fun, I enjoy the freedom I have to choose my own path in life. I enjoy having the opportunity to show the world my potential and to show how I stand out from the crowd. I like to know that my destiny is controlled by me and myself only. If I chose the wrong path, the consequences, I will bear the fault and no one else. This independence from anybody's control is an aspect of freedom that I will never give up.
The word perfect has always been one of my least favorite terms in everyday life. Individuality is key in any society. Even in Communist countries, there is always a small group of people who rebel and are against the conformist ways of living. Freedom is a natural right to anyone human being on this planet. Without it, one's life is in shackles and chains. This allows them to move, but not roam, keeping them narrow minded and unexposed to life in general.
ReplyDeleteI never understood why anyone would want to be blind to what happens in the world or what issues surround the past, present, and future. I feel much more comfortable knowing what is going on in my city and the activities that take places around the world.
I would rather suffer in an imperfect world than live in a perfect one while being ignorant. Living in an imperfect world allows for individuality which I find an important part of every human being. This imperfect world would give the chance for development and improvement which can not be achieved with ignorance.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect world as seen in a Brave New World does offer a safe zone from pain that would be experienced in an imperfect world. In Huxley’s utopia the people due to their ignorance feel they are truly happy. Even the lower class Deltas and Gammas accept what they are and do not protest. However, this utopia limits the potential of its people since they will not have the chance to experience and overcome feelings of anger, pain and frustration that comes with knowledge. Only through experience with knowledge and overcoming mistakes can one be ultimately happy and successful as an individual.
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ReplyDeleteReligion was made as a comfort in the fear of death. I have had many arguments with close religious friends telling me I was wrong and that believing in what they do would let me have a better life. While I do have many arguments about religion, even though it’s really fun, I don’t like them particularly on the effect afterwards. I have had many friends that would plain hate me after I told them my religion. Even though I hated the impression I got from many people before, the one thing I truly hold dear are the friend that truly wanted to have me happy. In my opinion, a person that respects who you are and doesn’t care in what you believe as long as you do the same is the best person you’ll ever met. Religion is seen as a start to most conflicts but if everyone had respect in one another’s belief no problems would arise from it.
ReplyDeleteWith religion come the beliefs of what happens after you die. With the fear of death, different religions tell stories about the afterlife. From the book, soma stuck out as one of the biggest game changers to many of my ideas. With soma I thought religion wouldn’t be need, utopia’s can be made, and there would be no problems. I believe that the skim in life is worth eternal happiness because many don’t feel that happiness that they should get. I believe that an perfect world would be better because even though it’s not perfect, you would never see it that way.