We talked in class about equations being visual representations. Nietzsche equates: "good=noble=powerful=beautiful=happy=beloved of God" (34). This simple math problem somehow does not sit well with me. Are all good people powerful? Are all good people happy? Are all good people beautiful? Life is not fair. This equation is flawed. The cliche "nice guys finish last" is oversaid for a reason. Good people do not cheat to get ahead and gain power. I am not saying that good people are always miserable. I'm just not sure there is a conducive equation for good and evil. Life is unpredictable and unfair.

"...the source of the concept 'good' has been sought and established in the wrong place: the judgment 'good' did not originate with those to who 'goodness' was shown! Rather it was 'the good' themselves ...who felt and established themselves and their actions as good...in contradistinction to all the low, low-minded, common, and plebeian. It was out of this pathos of distance that they first seized the right to create values and to coin names for values..." (26).

Nietszche speaks here about the origin of "good." "Good," he says, was only created when the opposite in society was established. Those more noble believed themselves superior to the common man. Because of this opposite that was created, good and evil existed.

This reminds me of Lao-tzu's preaching. Lao-tzu says, "Recognize beauty and ugliness is born. Recognize good and evil is born" (2). He recognizes too that one entity only exists when its opposite is revealed.

Nietzsche

It is my group's task to come up with connections between Nietzche and other texts. Lucky for me, I feel that the first ten pages connect with almost every work we have looked at so far this year. Section one of the preface screams White Castle. Hoja embarks on a journey to find out why he is who he is. Identity is the main theme in the novel. Nietzsche says, "We are unknown to ourselves...'who are we really?'...we are necessarily strangers to ourselves" (13). Orhan Pamuk uses these essential questions and themes as the basis of his novel. Section 3 reminded me of the teachings of Lao-tzu in Tao Te Ching. Tao literally means "path" or "way." Te means "to get." Burton Watson says, "...te...denotes a moral power or virtue characteristic of a person who follows a correct course of conduct" (Lau-Tzu xiii). Nietzche questions morality in section 3. Here he questions the origin of good and evil. Section 3 also reminds me of the works we read by Socrates. Nietzsche describes his mode of learning to be Socratic. He says, "I departmentalized my problem; out of my answers there grew new questions, inquiries, conjectures, probabilities..." (Nietzsche 17). Nietzsche uses the Socratic method in order to attain knowledge. Finally, in section 7 Nietzsche actually talks about Darwin and his influence. Nietzsche says, "This was unknown to Dr. Ree; but he had read Darwin-so that in his hypotheses...the Darwinian beast and the ultramodern unassuming moral milksop who 'no longer bites' politely link hands...with which it is mingled even a grain of pessimism and weariness, as if all these things...were really not worth taking quite so seriously...But to me...there seems to be nothing more worth taking seriously" (Nietzsche 21). Nietzsche discusses Darwin as an adversary to his beliefs. He believes morality to be of the utmost importance.

It amazes me just how many times I made connections in Nietzsche to works we have read in the last two months. Because we have read these other works, I feel I have a better understanding of what Nietzsche is talking about and what he believes.

"Tao called Tao is not Tao. Names can name no lasting name. Namless: the origin of heaven and earth. Naming: the mother of ten thousand things. Empty of desire, perceive mystery. Full of desire, perceive manifestations. These have the same source, but different names. Call them both deep- deep and again deep: The gateway to all mystery" (1). In studying for the midterm, I chose to memorize the first ten lines of Tao Te Ching. I decided on these lines not only because they were on the first page, nor because they are a complete thought that only use ten lines, but because I believe Lao-Tzu explains the essence of Tao in these lines. The theme of names runs rampant throughout his philosophies. Names are not lasting. They are not the real essence of a person or thing. In the introduction, Burton Watson says, "Tao lies beyond the power of language to describe..."(xiii). On August 8th, a headline in the news caught my attention. A New Zealand couple wanted to name their child "4real" but were denied because the government sanctioned that names could not start with a number. In rebellion, the couple decided to name their child "Superman" instead. Does it matter what a person's name is? According to Lao-Tzu, names are irrelevent in this lifetime.

Mockingbird Remix

I just listened to the Mockingbird Remix, and something new struck me. Rives talks about setting the mockingbirds off in the neighborhoods where "everyone's gotta lotta" and sharing the stories of "those who got nada." Rives talks about capturing honesty. Mockingbirds are unsuspecting witnesses. Mockingbirds can capture the words of a news anchor, nice laundromat lady, postman, an old man snoring, and "your lies." They can capture the fatal phrase, "I guess I can come in but only for a minute." Rives talks at the end about being offered the key to the city. Rives says then he can "unlock the air," "listen for what is missing," and "put it there." Rives isn't just talking about "people watching" or capturing the everyday person in America. He is talking about how people act when they think no one is watching. There is something missing in the world today, and Rives uses the idea of unleashing mockingbirds to introduce the nation to our own vices. Those who have will be able to look through a window into the world of those who have not. Lies will be captured and honesty will run free.

Rives Op Talk

"Op Talk" struck a nerve for me. I actually almost cried. Almost. My brother and I had a very similar relationship to Rives and his sister. My brother is two years younger than me, and as children we were inseperable. We played make-believe games day and night, made K'nex wonderlands, and even held weekly art sales in our front yard of our very own creations. Cary and I did have a secret language at one point. It wasn't "op talk," but it was similar. "Gibberish" never really made it past adolescence, but having my brother there as an alliance during our parents' divorce and the remairrage of our father made all the difference in the world. I'm starting to feel like one of the "excessively emotional" that Professor Dolson was talking about in class on Monday, but hearing Rives' account was like hearing my childhood all over again. I hope my brother and I will continue to stay close for the rest of our lives.

Rives: Mockingbirds

Wow. I am really impressed with Rives. Content aside, Rives has developed a new genre of entertainment. I'm not sure whether I would call it rap, poem recitation, or comedy, but I do know that Rives has a message and a unique way to share it. I am amazed at how Rives' words flow. It is almost as if he is rhyming by mistake. His ideas are just so magnetic that they somehow end up complimenting one another. Now for the content: the mockingbird idea is deep. What would the point of having a mockingbird capture all of the one-liners of all the different people in our nation? Mockingbirds would capture the truth. This reminds me of a passage I had to read last year in my English class. It was called "Nascar Dad." This essay explored the idea that there is no characteristic that can describe a follower of Nascar. Nascar fans range from places all over the country of all different professions and all different social classes. Rives talks about the "voice of life that calls us to live and learn." What is normal? What is truth? Maybe there is no normal. The world is filled with a hodgepodge of people. Everyone is different, everyone unique. It would be interesting to hear what a mockingbird had to say after traveling the world.