I am bright! The Greeks founded their realm on philosophy, intelligence and rationality. Rome was founded on the myth of the Aeneid, which was a continuation of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Their empire was founded not only on the three Greek foundations, they took to warfare to spread and then secure their boundaries. They adapted Greek Mythology to Latin and their Geography. Being these were not Roman heroes, they lost their intrinsic impact, and mythology in Rome became a religion. They adopted a fully evolved and independent culture as their own, and that is where they erred. It was the rise of Christianity from the Middle East that destroyed the Roman Empire from within. The Jews accomplished what Darius and Xerxes could not. Not through warfare, through this new idea called religion. Alexander the Great, was not Greek, he was from a tribe to the north called Macedonia, who like the Romans, adopted Hellenic culture as superior. His conquest of the Persian world and subsequent divisions upon his death, would create divisions that are still apparent today.
I believe in Greek Mythology as stories told about the heroic deeds of real people, told in fascinating ways. Oftentimes stories such as those of Demeter, would be told through art and word of mouth, not about any person in particular, but what is possible to accomplish for a Georgios, an agricultural worker leading a somewhat solitary and uncertain existence. I detest Christianity and the idea of Jesus. I believe he was a real person, but did nothing other than commit suicide publicly. Constantine and the Council of Nicaea, elected to make him God and create and successively embellish stories, held under the banner of faith. Every generation or two, the story takes another new dimension, adapting to the communal mental state of their followers. I do not imagine what their end goal was, but they created a religion and a series of political orders based on this one false God.
Being that I respect both Hellenic and Roman Culture, I needed an ethos, distinct from everyone else, but based on the principles of the Hellenic and Roman Worlds. I feel the biggest concern to the world right now is the destruction of our natural beauty. The environment, and environmentalism would be my founding temper. I feel global warming has the potential to end the human race and all life on Earth. Recycling and eating vegan, does nothing other than diminish your guilt. Plastic, as a substance, should be banned from disposable products. It has legitimate uses, but when used frivolously, creates a massive problem with excess garbage.
I decided to major at UC Santa Barbara in Environmental Studies around the middle of my freshman year. I came up with the idea of statehood in my fall semester writing class when I wrote a paper titled "The Environmental States of America." The idea of the paper was to create an environmental state in the northwest, approximating the areas of Oregon and Washington. The constitutional basis for ideas of right and wrong, and societal laws was based philosophically and ethically upon whether or not an activity was beneficial or harmful to the environment. The idea itself would seem silly, imaginative, and far-fetched to a peasant, but I knew a few people and a few things that the average person did not. I needed a few more months to do some personal research, to see if this endeavor was worth the effort. It was!
I started taking intro environmental studies classes over the summer, and I learned the basic principles of environmentalism. Throughout the rest of my college career, the classes would get more focused on specific areas, and less general. I also realized that environmental studies is a losing battle. People protest for the socialization, and huddle in their little groups waiting to be adopted into American culture as the world ends. So when I returned to Santa Barbara in 2004, I also majored in Geography, map making is the art of war.
Since this was 3 years post September 11, I was more focused on geography, and environmental studies was my alternative option. I enjoyed both majors, but I enjoyed geography more. I took to mapping the environment, trade routes and creating interactive web maps. I felt I was thoroughly applying the knowledge I was learning to both majors. I knew nobody was paying attention, but that was good because I was still learning new information, methods and tactics. I took a graduate level Optimizations course using linear algebra and conducting series upon series of iterations to narrow down answers. I got an A-, but my teacher Mr. Church contracted Epiglottis half way through the course and missed the last 5 weeks. I learned that the species itself would respond to my success biologically. I ended up graduating with a 3.71 gpa, receiving multiple awards.
