Current mood:	contemplative
Current music:	N o t h i n g

Religion, Morality and Ethics -- It's the Whole Kit and Caboodle
As I sat in English class this morning, listening to Mr. Tyner explain certain themes contained within Paradise Lost, I began to think about how strange it is that I've always had a fascination with literature and myths of a religious nature..

Not that I've ever claimed to be normal but for a girl that has never vested her faith in religion, I certainly do enjoy works that revolve around, at the very least, an acknowledgement of God. The same can be said in regards to many of my favorite films: The Prophecy, Boondock Saints, Dogma, Se7evn and The Devil's Advocate, just to name a few.

Yet, all of those aforementioned objects have one thing in common when it comes to religion; each explores, on one level or another, the darker, more thought provoking aspects of God and the belief structures that have been built around such beings.

Which, to be blunt, makes for some rather interesting ideas ^^

As for my love of myths, the Greek and Roman Gods of old have always fascinated me, even before I got hooked on Hercules and Xena as a kid ^^ If nothing else, there's something rather refreshing about deities we're not expected to accept as all knowing and all wonderful.

Getting back to the period that spawned this particular train of thought, I have to say that I was rather shocked to hear certain things said against an article that found its way into the latest edition of my school's newspaper. Not even getting into the exact details of the piece, a lot of people seem to believe that a well-written editorial based completely on fact should have been suppressed merely because it goes against current popular opinion.

Now, I'm not saying that one must agree with everything he reads but individuals in general need to respect a little thing known as freedom of the press. Yet, one girl, an AP student, went so far as to say that the principal shouldn't have allowed it to be in the paper in the first place.

Why advocate such censorship? It was true, it had to do with an issue that pertains to school, and it was based around a well informed opinion. Last time I checked, that's what editorials were all about. To be quite honest, I applaud the person responsible for not apologizing to anyone for her article, despite the stupid remarks fellow classmates have made about it.

If anything, I do believe that getting people to think to the point that they're actually, in some way, emotional about an issue is the mark of a pretty fine journalist.

Of course, this is the very same school that in one breath gets upset about free speech but in the next makes it a requirement that I write a couple of letters to marines over in Iraq. Mind you, this is something that I've been told I need to do in order to get a passing grade in my gym class.

As much as I'm for the safe return of our troops, the fact that such an assignment is mandatory and for gym class, no less, strikes me as being very, very wrong. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around whatever logic may be behind it...