To say the unexamined life is not worth living is most notably harsh. Whether or not it is a valid point, I think the idea that those who do not have points of deep inward reflection do not deserve to live at all is too grand a statement. Nonetheless, I think there is some truth to this. I think this digs at the root of the question, "What is the meaning of life." Many would say the meaning of life is to be happy. But if we were to spend our lives shut in our room hooked up to some machine that made us experience the constant sensation of joy, would this be a life well spent? What is happiness? I think it is more than a split second of a good feeling, it is all that comes with that feeling, the good and bad. It is not only the joy of something you love, but the satisfaction at having found this joy and called it your own. Without some examination into what makes us happy and what makes us sad, it is difficult to truly experience those emotions.
When I was younger, I almost enjoyed talking politics; not talking as much as listening and not politics as much as my parents' strongly liberal and shared opinions on various issues. I used to love hearing about something I didn't know about and making an opinion all on my own. While my parents would talk I would listen, asking questions here and there to force some clarity into my young mind so I could begin to grapple with the idea by myself. After considering things, I was always excited to find I had come up with similar answers as my parents. I was happy that I was a person with an opinion, an opinion like my parents', but moreover I was happy that I was not blindly accepting my parents' words as my own to spit out in response to other children speaking their own parents' words. Looking inward to come up with our own answers is something we should be excited to do, as it is a prideful thing to be an independent person capable of free thought.
I like how you brought up our generation's constant use of technology. More often than not, we are all checking our phones, and texting. Not only do we rarely talk on the phone, but we do not always take the time to see each other anymore. A lot of people find technological connection to be the same as face to face connections; it is sad. In the same way, we see 10 year olds with iPads and phone. Will this obsession ever end? I think that with all of this technology, we forget to appreciate the world around us and examine what we want. I also like how you related this idea to your family and politics; it helps solidify your ideas.
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