Blogger's Intro and Purpose

Hello, Blogosphere,

This blog's inception, despite being required by my English 3100 professor, Victoria Lozano, is to reflect my personal interests and convey my personality. It is intended to chronicle the existence of a Southern Boy with a heart-of-gold, raised in a Hip-Hop generation, with a knack for adventure; one whose hobbies include working out, climbing mountains, politics, reading, occasional Minecraft endeavors, music, and rather long, romantic walks to the fridge. In case you're wondering, the redneck-geek-fatass-blasting-trap-music is myself. Nevertheless, I will provide a humorous, entertaining, educated perspective to current events and media topics.

I would like to borrow from Rene Descartes, with his famous quote "Cogito, ergo sum"  or "I think, therefore I am." This quote was the result of a long, challenging quest for truth (Unfortunately, Descartes did not have a Gandalf or Dumbledore to accompany him)  that started with him questioning and then abandoning his previous Aristotelian beliefs. Descartes implies a subsequent link between existence and thought; one that is mutual with each being completely reliant on the other. From the perspective of someone who has taken insurmountable quantities of their personal philosophy from Descartes, one could argue that the meaning of life, if there may be one, is thought. Rational, deep, enlightened, research-based, educated thought. When I sit in a classroom full of my peers, and even more so when I reflect on the folks around me at parties, I see the opposite of deep- thought. I see a generation of technology-obsessed, looks-obsessed, one-size-fits-all (except-for-the-hipsters-who-are-only-unique-in-their-music-and-fashion-choices) mindless goons who Descartes and many other deep-thinkers would frown upon. My generation is more concerned with "turnin up" than solving the problems we are faced with: the United States economy, the deterioration of the American family, and the looming threat of a global government (Cue Emperor Palpatine and Star Wars Music). I cannot blame my generation completely; I do remind you that it IS our Yuppie parents who have allowed for us to develop the way we have. Our generation needs to think. Our generation craves thought. We must allow reason and logic to pour into our brains and flow out of our mouths. Economics, History, Law, Civics, Philosophy, and Politics need to be not only household topics but also "at the bar" topics for 18-25 year olds in 2015. The second purpose of this blog is to intertwine what I see as the most thoughtless, unrefined aspects of our generation like the Kardashians or Gucci Mane, with issues in the US and across the world that should yield more attention from young folks. It is time for our generation to start thinking and with it realize its existence.

Andrew Tarley
Writer and Editor