THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION: WHY AMERICANS WILL BELIEVE ALMOST ANYTHING -- BLOG 3 (CAREY)

I completely disagree with Tim O’Shea and his stated opinion in the article, "THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION: WHY AMERICANS WILL BELIEVE ALMOST ANYTHING." He states that we are all conditioned and programmed to act and react a certain way – again a statement that I disagree with. Anyone can become anything they want, as long as you have the motivation (or lack thereof) to do it. There is no set path for any specific child to take, like in Brave New World, and someone that was raised in the lower echelons in regards to socioeconomic class can become a doctor, lawyer, politician - anything. There is a situation that I agree with the author on – in order to get any of the above jobs; you certainly need a college education. Some of those who are economically disadvantaged cannot afford college, although there are alternatives. There is also a stigma placed on attending college nowadays, and you’re somehow less intelligent for not doing so, which I disagree with. Moreover, some of the claims that O’Shea makes aren’t what we as a society intended for them to be used for. O’Shea’s statement that “AZT is the cure” of AIDS is simply not true. It just prolongs the life of those infected with HIV or AIDS.

Response to Prompt of Blog 2 (Kyle Knapp)

Huxley uses drugs as satire to represent the dangerous path that our society could potentially go down. "He was ashamed of his jealousy and alternatively made efforts of will and took soma to keep him from feeling it"(182). In todays society people are constantly trying to find an escape from the harsh realities of the world. Today more than ever doctors are prescribing all kinds of medicines to fix anxiety and everything else. Some of these people actually need this medicine, but the majority of the popualtion is using this to escape from reality and handling their problems. Another escape that is on the rise is alcohol and drugs. Many people use these substances to escape the growing demands of the world. Huxley is pointing this out through soma to show what could happen if we do not try and fix this problem. Brave New World is an excellent portrayal of the dangers that could occur if we as a society continue to mask stress and problems with substance abuse. Huxley pointed out a problem that has been growing since his time and is getting to really get out of hand.

How can a utopia involve electrocuting babies? (Response to Blog 1 Prompt)

Now mind you, babies are really annoying. the constant crying, going in their diapers all the time, and so much effort going into just trying to keep them fed, not to mention trying to keep them from seriously injurying themselves. With that in mind, think about this. There have been ads, pamplets signs, and what not, of how you are never supposed to shake a baby. Fair enough, and yet, people have given such praise to a book, which in it's very pages, actually has an electric current pass through the babies, just because they thought a rose was pretty. Think I'm making this up, just look at Brave New World...

Blog 1

"That's the spirit I like!"cried the Director, and clapped Mr. Foster on the shoulder. "Come along with us, and give these boys the benefit of your expert knowledge." From this quote the reader can infer that these men: Mr. Foster and the Director, know that they are very smart in the world that they live in. Throughout the book we see that Huxley portrays all of his characters as all knowing, and they classified accordingly. I believe that Huxley was a “know it all”, loves to be right, and had a great time proving people wrong. The ideas and situations that people face in Brave New World will be faced not to long from now. The director refers to Mr. fosters “Expert knowledge” as benefits to the boys. I believe that this is not the expert knowledge, because nature has its course, and should take it, but we as humans are interfering with this course. I believe this will result in something bad happening to our world, whether it is extinction of humans, emotional breakdown of worlds population, or physical deformities from this scientific discovery. So overall I do not believe in this book, because something will happen to the human race for interfering with nature’s course. I also believe that Huxley is correct in saying that Mr. foster has knowledge, but not expert knowledge.

"The Doors of Perception: Why Americans Will Believe Almost Anything'

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