A630.2.4.RB - Shuck, Allison

21st Century Enlightenment

In the video 21^st Century Enlighten, Matthew Taylor illustrates his view of the 21^st century. He discusses the core ideas of the enlightenment and demonstrates how those ideals have shaped modern values, norms and lifestyles in the world today.

In the video, Matthew Taylor states "to live differently, you have to think differently"?

I think that Matthew has discovered the law of attraction. If you can dream it and believe it, it will happen! Why, because conscious thoughts determine our behavior. Like Matthew, I believe that in order for a person to live a happier live, he or she must think about what make them happy and strive to achieve it. For example, if I know that obtaining my master’s degree will allow me be successful and if being successful is what makes me happy, then I am going to do whatever it takes to be successful.

Taylor argues that we need "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange".  I think that this is a really important statement, so many people today are resistant to change because they are unfamiliar with the results /outcome that change might bring. However, I believe that change exemplifies growth; it allows us to move forward and make progress. Personally, I embrace change even when I fear it. When Embry Riddle decided to switch from DataTel to Campus Solutions, I choose to remain positive and optimistic unlike so many of my colleagues.

Taylor feels that our society should disdain elements of pop culture that are degrading and spend more time looking into what develops empathetic citizens; I couldn't agree more! So many people today are self involved and only care the benefits they will receive for helping others rather than just helping others for the greater good. Unfortunately I don’t see this changing in the near future; our society is too stuck on the concept “what will you do for me”.  

At the end of the video, Taylor talks about helping people refrain from collaborative environments that are destructive on personal growth. So what does this actually mean? I think it means that instead of focusing on simplistic and inadequate ideals of freedom, justice and progress, we should focus on reconnecting with ourselves in an effort to try to understand who we are as human beings.