Death of a Moth

Death. The final stop, every man's destination, kicking the bucket, hitting the dusty trail, falling and never getting back up, an everlasting blink, the last breath, the longest journey. There are many words, phrases, and saying we use to describe death. But ultimately, we know nothing of it. We know that death is the last stop for all living things, there's no escaping it. One can deter it, for a time, but never stop it. Nothing in the physical world, is excempt from death.

Death of a moth describes the titanic struggle of a moth against this vastly powerful foe called Death. A tiny moth, an insignificant lifeform by human standards, fights against a foe no man could ever stand face to face with. The author, observes as this moth fights against the cold claws of death. She does nothing, simply observes as the life escapes this tiny moth, this tiny bead of life.

I will not begin to explain my understanding of the author's opinion on the moth's struggle; She has clearly given her opinion. Now I will voice my own. The moth is semblent to ourselves; In our final moments, we are like that moth. We struggle against that powerful titan called Death, we attempt to usurp it, to beguile it, to pacify it. But to no avail, though we struggle against it, we falter, though we attempt to stand against it, it is like a single solitary straw struggling against the winds of a mighty maelstrom. There is no surviving it, but the moth kept fighting.

There is something so awe-inspiring about the story. Something so powerful, a message so subtle, and yet so deliberate that it is all too easy to miss, and all at the same time, all too easy to comprehend. And it is the struggle the moth puts up, not at the beginning, but at the end. As it lays on its back, seemingly defeated by death. All hope of survival gone, the tiny was all but defeated. As the Author seemed to concede to the idea it was dead, the tiny being went against the odds. It violently struggled one last time to rectify itself, and succeeded.

How can any one not be awe-inspired by such a thing? The breathtaking moment... The moth struggled against the odds, and won. Death took it all the same, but the moth rectified itself. It put itself right-side up. Though I am a firm believer that what is most important is how one lives, and not how they die, I cannot be help but be moved by the final effort this moth put out, to simply turn itself right-side up. This tiny moth, this seemingly insignificant creature, made of elements we could purchase for but a dollar, struggled against death, and managed, to die with dignity. It is befuddling, how this tiny creature managed to put up such a struggle, and yet, so many of our own die without so much of a fight. When things become difficult, we begin to accept our fate, and simply perish. But this tiny thing, despite the odds against it, still managed to rectify himself.

It's amusing to think, that a moth could struggle against death, and still manage to die with dignity.

But so many of our own, fade away without a struggle. To think that a moth could manage to do what man often will not... Fight against death, and retain its dignity, to the end.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

This blog may seem a tad bit late. Seeing it is June. I was not aware that we could write a blog about it. However, after one dreary after noon, some idle time, and deciding to check my class-mates blogs, I was enlightened to that knowledge. So while it is a bit late, I'll make a blog of it now.

Holocaust Remembrance Day and the paper clip project. I was not well-aware of the former, but I have heard of the latter. What can one say about the holocaust? The horrific event which engineered the death of over 6 million Jews and other minorities. It is for certain a difficult topic to muse upon, though we are not shy to dwell upon it. The paper clip project was a monumental undertaking when one clearly thinks about it. Collecting millions of paperclips to represent the lives of those whom died to the hands of the Nazis.

Though it has been sometime since the Holocaust, it is still a sensitive subject for many. The survivors live to tell a tale of what happens when we destroy moral sentiment, when we ignore the guilt within us, and turn our hatred for our own inability toward another. But the paper clip project shows the flip side of the coin; When humans find it in themselves to bring out sympathy, compassion, and attempt to heal the wounds caused by their own. A tremendous effort was put into collecting these paper clips, so much so, that it moved the hearts and minds of many, to sway them into helping them also.

What can be said of this day, of the task which a community set out to do, in order to remember these tortured souls? Nothing words could ever suffice. Though the paper clip project did little to mend, or remedy the damage done. It serves to remind us that though there is much evil in the world, much racial inequality, there are those who stand against it; Those who look into the dark sins of our past, and hope for a better future.

Why don't we complain?

It is perhaps difficult, or complicated to fully explain the reasons why I have chosen this; But if I had to put it into a few words, it would be, that this story gives us an important outlook on the degeneration of character in our society. If we look back into the history of the American people, we would see a history where patriots stood up in the name of liberty, freedom, and the persuit of happiness, even if standing up meant death. While the events, and circumstances in this essay are not quite as extensive as to say, the repercussions were death, it's a good observation on how many small, seemingly insignificant acts, can lead up to a great whole significant harbinger of our slowly crumbling society.

We can note here that the writer is clearly distressed by what is happening to our people; Indeed, any man with any sense would be distressed. We cannot simply ignore the way people are being coaxed into a state of silence, a state where mishaps are ignored, wrongs and faults are dismissed without a single fuss. In the very first example, the overheated train, we observe a very important truth; If one does not speak against his situation, if one does not move against the stride, then nothing will ever happen. The inertia that moves our society toward moral and character evolution will be broken down by opposing forces, and when the single person of a society fails to grow, then society crumbles.

It was such a simple thing, to simply tell the conductor, "It's too hot in here, is it at all possible to please lower the thermostat?" It would not have caused any real trouble, just the simple yet all significant monotonous task of turning a dial down. Would it have vexed a man who is paid to maximize the comfort of his patrons, to simply turn a dial? But people want to avoid confrontations at all cost, now constantly living in fear of repercussions. A good movie that further explained this point, was Fight Club, in whom, the members of this fight club were given a homework to fight and to lose. However, as the movie astutely observed, the common man will try to avoid conflict at all costs.

In a society where the common man fails to speak up for his plight, where people avert their eyes from trouble because of fear of repercussion, a single man loses his value as a person, and the masses lose their voice. When that voice is lost, as the essay says, we will cease to be people, but automotons, only capable of following the tasks set before us. I believe this essay gives an important overview of what could happen when we fail to speak up; We can't live in comformity to our troubles if we can do something about it.

But this reflection, is empty in action. Because no matter how one reflects, in the end, we are doomed to follow the path set before the masses; The masses will continue to remain silent, and perhaps, one in every few will speak, but the rest will silence him. Eventually, our voice will be gone, and our society will crumble. We have already betrayed many of the cornerstrones our forefathers set before us, it is only a matter of time before everything else crumbles.

In the end, one must wonder...

What will we be left with?