Catfishing - Lies to oneself and others

Catfishing is a largely modern phenomenon. Hardly something Sartre could have predicted but nevertheless seems to be a great representation of a lie to oneself. Catfishing involves an ignoring of one’s reality that goes beyond trying to transcend it. While normally such a thing would be easily observed by any observer technology allows the one acting in bad faith to avoid detection. Catfishing has become pretty popular whether in jest or in unwise attempts at finding love. It leads to many moral questions such as lying, manipulation, and wasting someone’s limited lifetime. Sometimes catfishing can take over a year of someone’s life and that is thievery of one of the most limited resources of all. However many people have been catfished or have been doing the catfishing. Most people do it to their friend for maybe a few days or a week at a time just to get a good laugh at their expense. Perhaps this is largely harmless but much more severe cases occur that lead to real emotional damage. It’s quite apparent that catfishing is surely not a moral activity by anyone. The question is why does it happen then? Is it from an epidemic of low self-esteem? Seemingly not as most people have increasingly higher self-esteem contrary to popular belief. Are people simply more enabled by the internet? Or are people just curious and seeking an outlet for their creative mind? There are likely many correct answers. Is catfishing a serious problem or is it rare? The show on mtv Catfish makes it seem like it is very common. Many people feel betrayed on the show but some find forgiveness although this is rare. You’d think people would see that the chances of it working out in their favor are low. So why do you think so many people do this obviously immoral and hopeless exercise of bad faith?

Like a Girl

Women in today's society have been made to believe that they are inferior to men, like whatever they do is always inferior to the way a man would do it. Nobody is born thinking that they are inferior. Society has put this on them by promoting the idea that women are weak and vulnerable. Studies have shown that a woman's confidence drops around the time of puberty due to the fact that they are at a vulnerable stage in their life, a time when they are still trying to figure themselves and are being told that they are inferior to men. The company Always did a video titled "Always #LikeAGirl". It's about three minutes long and I highly encourage you to watch it.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs








Like a girl has become an insult in our society and needs to be stomped out. Popularized by the movie The Sandlot it has done nothing but continue to promote the negative stereotype that women are weak. Simply by saying it you reinforce the idea in our society. Always is trying to flip it and redefine the phrase "Like a Girl" into a positive affirmation to all women. What do you think?

Certain Things About Religion

On Monday in class, we learned many different thing that pertained to religion. One thing we learned was what the three main religions were. They are Christianity, Muslim, and Islamic. I am a Christian myself and it is a very important religion.
We also learned about the four characteristics of God. One characteristic is all knowing, which is omniscient. The second characteristic is all powerful, which is omnipotence. The third characteristic is all good, which is omnibenevolence. The last Characteristic is everywhere at all times, which is omnipresence. The extra one we received is actually real, which is existence.
God equals "that which no greater can be thought." The idea of God makes the world meaningful It also gives us the chance to now also get a moral judge.
We also learned about the good and bad things religions can contribute. A few bad things we stated were that religion can sometimes contribute to wars, resisting to change, and picking on people cause you feel that their sins are bigger than others. a few good things we stated were that religion can contribute to encouraging, giving back to the community, providing community, and giving people hope and help.
The things we learned in class is something that should stay on our minds as we find out more about religions. I found this things to be very interesting since I find religion interesting and I am taking a Religious Studies course this semester. I know more about religions know and the differences that can contribute to me than I did before I became a freshman here at CBU.
Comment and tell me if you liked this Class Lesson or not.

Catfish

I know that we have not finished the film “Catfish,” yet, but as someone who watches the television show religiously, I felt that I could make some speculations about the show. If you do not wish to be spoiled on what the term “Catfish” means, then I would not read any further. This is not a spoiler for the movie, though.

I first heard about Catfish through social media, of course. I thought that it seemed like a very interesting show, and it definitely has been. One very common moral dilemma that I have seen in the television shows is someone lying about their appearance to entice someone to begin conversing with the person. This, of course, is extremely wrong no matter what the situation is, but a common theme I have found in the show is this: Quite often if the person is a girl and is lying about her appearance, she is also overweight. I have noticed this time and time again in the shows. Does this excuse her lying about her appearance? NO. Does this make what she did right? NO. But I feel like this does pose a really tough question: Why do people lie about saying that looks, “don’t matter,” and then get extremely angry when the girl in question turns out to be overweight. I feel like both people in this situation are doing something that is morally wrong. In this case the Catfish is lying about her looks, but the guy (in this situation) is lying about his true feelings and preferences about a woman.

This also brings up another thing I find really disturbing.  Why do so many girls feel the need to lie about their appearance so that someone will talk to them? Like I said above, it is not right to lie about your appearance so that someone will talk to you; however, would this girl have to lie if it weren’t for the lack of female body positivity in our society? I just think it’s so upsetting that a girl feels the need to lie JUST to have a friend/boyfriend online, and it’s just really messed up that a guy’s biggest fear is fat when a girl’s biggest fear is being completely ignored because of her weight.

What Has Religion Really Done?

In class on Monday afternoon, we discussed religion and its effects on society. While religion may not be expressed by everyone in the same capacity, everyone has a right to exercise their respective religion as they see fit. In addition, it’s understandable as to why all people will not have the same religion. Amongst the billions of people in the world have hundreds of religious denominations to choose from, no one could or should expect every single person to choose the same one. The top monotheistic religions are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All three of those religions have various denominations with slightly different beliefs and values. Religion has been around almost as long as there have been people on this earth, and there are still controversies associated with it. The best thing religion has offered is unity, but it also has made way for separation as well. For many different stories of creation to be in existence, it’s a wonder no one has any idea what has actually happened. Religion is a controversial subject, to say the least. It has offered something people couldn’t even fathom at the time that they needed it: unity. It has also made way for something people would do best to avoid, because of the consequences it leads to: separation. People may not understand why or how religion can both unify and separate a society, but it has done so (and has done it well) for as long as there were people to oppose the “other” religion, whatever that may be. It unifies those who share the same beliefs and gives them a purpose and hope for their life. However, it also separates those same people from others who may not share the same beliefs. With all of this in mind, I believe that religious wars were started based solely on the fact that the people started them with the mind that they are merely asserting their belief system. I believe that people have the right to believe in whatever and whomever they choose to, so there should not be any wars about it. If someone else practicing their religious beliefs does not set a direct threat on your life, it should not pertain to you.

Religion Based Wars

Religion Based War

                In class, the topic of whether wars were ever based off of religious disagreement or if it was for more tangible assets such as oil, land and such arose. I feel that both are true. However, it could be argued that was or conflicts do not arise for religious reason because the driving factor behind the actual reason is politics and money. Religion is just a bifactor of the war. One could look at it as a cover up. I could reason that for some this might be true. I don't agree that we cannot say that it not because of religious disagreement because for the people fighting for the conflict believe that it is for religious purposes.

                One example that was brought up in class were the 9/11 plane bombers. Did they do it for religion or was it for some other reason? The Torah teaches nothing about hurting innocent lives, but if they were manipulated into reading the torah wrong then they could be convinced to bomb a plane and run it into two buildings killing many. In that case they would be doing it for religious purposes. Situations like this are very prevalent in history.  

                Not every conflict is based off of religion but to say that no conflict is based off of religion is a false statement. Religion can be misinterpreted and can be used to convince people to do acts that ensure them eternal gratification and ensure them a place in an afterlife. The promise of a wonderful afterlife and eternal gratification is enough incentive to make people fight for a cause. Do you guys agree? 

Religious or Not

When I was little, I went to church every other Sunday with my dad. I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was five and didn't really know what it meant. I went to church camps and Vacation Bible School, and I thought that I was super religious. I stopped going to church often at the beginning of middle school, but near the end, I had reaffirmed my faith in God. I even got a new bible for my birthday. Freshman year of high school, I stopped going to church as often, but my sophomore year I helped found a prayer group on campus, where we had speakers discuss their testimonies and took prayer requests. However, the busier everyone got, the less time we had to do it. Ever since then, I have not been a regular church goer, but I still believe in God and Jesus as my savior.

My question comes in where how throughout my high school years I developed false sense of religiousness. I would pray for guidance when something bad would happen or before huge tests, but I never prayed during good times and it seemed like I was always asking and not thanking. Was religion really there for me when I wasn't there for it?