Sacrifice

After reading Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, I’ve been questioning what it would take for me to sacrifice my moral values. In the book, a father and his son struggle through a post apocalyptic world filled with bandits and cannibals, where the only colors are black and grey. In order to keep his son alive, the father shows no mercy to any people whom the couple encounters.

image from sfsite.com

If I were in an identical situation, I am not sure if I could disregard others’ lives in order to preserve the well-being of a loved one. The ethical standing on this is highly debated, and as much as I’ve racked my brain, I do not believe I could give an honest answer about what my reaction would be to such a ridiculous situation because I can hardly even fathom the kind of emotional trauma I would be suffering.

I’m not sure if I could justify forcing others to starve to death in order to feed someone whom I care for. How could I flippantly place my needs and wants above the lives of those around me? However, I also could never imagine apathetically leaving someone who I loved to die a cruel and painful death.I would like to think that I would fight to the death to prevent that.

image from miamiherald.typepad.com

Looking from the boy’s perspective, if  I was causing someone to break their moral codes in an attempt to save me, I believe that I would prefer to die than to be the reason that they set aside their beliefs and ideals. To cause someone to rebel against the foundational structures of their soul sounds terrible. Upholding a set of morals is one of the key factors that makes humans truly “human.” There is a question that I feel is important to answer, regardless of whether or not you will be put in any kind of high stakes situation. Are the people you love worth abandoning your humanity?

Shallow Brains

In an attempt to avoid seeming shallow when it comes to dating, people often claim that they are looking for a partner with intelligence rather than good looks. They proudly claim that they’re not shallow because they can see past what a person looks like.

This may sound like the “right thing to do,” and it is a small step in the right direction, however, to me it seems like it is just trading one type of superficiality for another.

Sure, smarts have their benefits, but I do not believe that their value outweighs an attractive appearance. Brains and beauty are both fairly straightforward and ephemeral. As humans grow older, outer appearances always change and intelligence follows shortly behind. Instead of initiating attraction based on one of these factors, I believe that an individual’s personality should be the central component.

The Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Encased behind the guises of others’ outer appearance and intelligence levels lies what truly defines people and makes them unique. It is their personality. It cannot be precisely measured, ranked, or easily organized into categories. It is as original as a thumbprint and arguably even more fascinating. The most interesting quality of a human personality is its ability to captivate others completely, without relying on physical means. This, unfortunately, can also seem unappealing to people because there is no ranking in personality. Therefore, there isn’t any status or hierarchy that comes with having a mate who has a certain personality type. The lack of competition turns many away from pursuing character.

Despite how obtuse someone may be, looking at their character as opposed to their GPA could give you an entirely new perspective. They could have an irresistible sense of humor, an exuberant and irrepressible happiness, or a quiet and demure charm.

None of these qualities require any adept intelligence or breathtaking good looks, they are simply all about the true essence of a person.

Ultimately, beauty and brains fade, and all a person is left with is the core of their personality.