WE LEARN VIA EXPERIENCE, 'KISSED' SAYS
Jake Morgan Special to The Collegian
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Opinion
When I think of habitual creatures, I think of a dog that comes running at the sound of food in a dish, or the horse that will drink itself to death. I suppose the machine that endlessly screws lids on soda bottles would be the Platonic ideal of "habitual."
As a thinking, feeling human being, though, I reject the mechanical view of humanity that Trevor Shunk presents in his Sept. 4 opinion. The most disconcerting part of Shunk's editorial, though, rests with his rejection of learning by experience.
As humans, our development hinges on our ever-present interaction with the world around us. Though that interaction we find out who we are; we discover a little bit about Life. Perry refers to the role this experience plays in anchoring the thesis of the song:
"You're my experimental game,
Just human nature,
It's not what
Good girls do,
Not how they should behave"
Rather than an example of "throwing discretion into the wind," as Shunk would suggest, Perry is commenting on the very nature of human behavior, and the flaws in specific social constructs.
Similar to learning about forgiveness, love, devastation or joy, sexual discovery is a crucial part of navigating life. Like Perry sings, it is "human nature."
Our humanity can only be truly complemented by human experience, and if that experience takes the form of experimentation, then so be it. To deny this keystone to maturation is to deny humanity itself.
Shunk, and other corrupt facets of society, would have us believe that natural human experience is "perverted and counter-intuitive," that it is not "how we should behave." The acquisition of knowledge is not inherently good or evil, but instead works to foster more complete human beings. And just as reading the works of Emerson does not make one a transcendentalist, sexual exploration does not make one either homosexual or heterosexual.
To assert that "I Kissed a Girl" revolves around a "lesbian affair" not only reveals a deep ignorance on homosexuality, but on education itself. It is important to distinguish between the natural sexual exploration that is highlighted in the song, and the glorious outpouring of emotion, gay or straight, that defines love. Both are important stages in our human experience, but we should be careful not to confuse the two.
Restricting information and limiting experience has long been a tool for consolidating power and suppressing the masses. What tyrant would have his people learn of liberty? Because that is what is really at stake here - liberty. Not just a sexual liberation, but a liberation of the mind and sprit. A liberation of the soul.
So I would ask Shunk to grow up, to follow the many roads to discovery. So go on - embrace the experience of Life. Find your path, find yourself - find a man.
Who knows? You may like it.
As a thinking, feeling human being, though, I reject the mechanical view of humanity that Trevor Shunk presents in his Sept. 4 opinion. The most disconcerting part of Shunk's editorial, though, rests with his rejection of learning by experience.
As humans, our development hinges on our ever-present interaction with the world around us. Though that interaction we find out who we are; we discover a little bit about Life. Perry refers to the role this experience plays in anchoring the thesis of the song:
"You're my experimental game,
Just human nature,
It's not what
Good girls do,
Not how they should behave"
Rather than an example of "throwing discretion into the wind," as Shunk would suggest, Perry is commenting on the very nature of human behavior, and the flaws in specific social constructs.
Similar to learning about forgiveness, love, devastation or joy, sexual discovery is a crucial part of navigating life. Like Perry sings, it is "human nature."
Our humanity can only be truly complemented by human experience, and if that experience takes the form of experimentation, then so be it. To deny this keystone to maturation is to deny humanity itself.
Shunk, and other corrupt facets of society, would have us believe that natural human experience is "perverted and counter-intuitive," that it is not "how we should behave." The acquisition of knowledge is not inherently good or evil, but instead works to foster more complete human beings. And just as reading the works of Emerson does not make one a transcendentalist, sexual exploration does not make one either homosexual or heterosexual.
To assert that "I Kissed a Girl" revolves around a "lesbian affair" not only reveals a deep ignorance on homosexuality, but on education itself. It is important to distinguish between the natural sexual exploration that is highlighted in the song, and the glorious outpouring of emotion, gay or straight, that defines love. Both are important stages in our human experience, but we should be careful not to confuse the two.
Restricting information and limiting experience has long been a tool for consolidating power and suppressing the masses. What tyrant would have his people learn of liberty? Because that is what is really at stake here - liberty. Not just a sexual liberation, but a liberation of the mind and sprit. A liberation of the soul.
So I would ask Shunk to grow up, to follow the many roads to discovery. So go on - embrace the experience of Life. Find your path, find yourself - find a man.
Who knows? You may like it.
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