This class has been
about dissecting the intricacies of love and desires. People tend to
be attracted with those with desires and yet scared of them because they seem a
little crazy. They are afraid of the unpredictable behavior that seems to drive
those with strong passions. Even when writing about love myself I find that the
words that come to my own mind are strong, almost harsh words that seem like I
am scared of the passion that should be second nature to people. Continually
used words from myself and others, are like those used by Julia Kristeva's
"Tales of Love" the language that she uses and talks about seems to
follow how scared society seems to be when faced with passions. Possibly it
stems from the Puritanical background, but people in America especially seem to
be scared of their passions. Lectures on abstinence education can be remembered
from my high school. Where the students were told that engaging in sexual
intercourse is a taboo subject that should not be pursued or attempted in any
form. This whole lecture from our health education class seemed to only fan the
flames of the teenage hormones. I am not saying that sex equals love, I am
however saying that the teachers were attempting to dissuade the students from perusing
a form of passion which makes it all the more intriguing to them.
According to the
teachers at school you are not supposed to be interested in dating, sex, and
marriage until after the age of at least 25. There is a point where you can
finally have enough money and resources to start having a family. Yet, if you
look at the history of the human race, people were getting married and having
children at the average age of 15 only 200 years ago. When we are told to stem
in our passions and to be afraid of them then we are being taught to ignore our
happiness. What happens when we reach the age of 25? We would have already suppressed
our passions for so long that we would no longer know how to deal with these
ideals that can suddenly be revealed. In the movie, Kissing Jessica
Stein, although I didn't care for the move that much, you see a good
example of someone who is afraid to explore her passions. Especially when
juxtaposed next to the character of Helen, you see her as awkward and
constantly afraid. She, before Helen, does not allow her passions to be
actualized. Helen helps her break the mold so that even though she found that
lesbian is not for her she is a freer, more open person. The last scene is
where Jessica is talking to her guy love interest she has her hair loose and
wild and is perusing a new career that makes her actually happy. Being able to
actualize her passions allowed her to grow into a more comfortable person.
The affliction of love
and passion is something to both cringe at and to embrace with your entire
body. Several people express opinions that love should be the ultimate goal to
be searched for. You are lucky to be in love, which is why the article
"Looking for Someone" Nick Paumgarten can be published such a
commonly read magazine as "The New Yorker". Everyone seems to be
looking for someone to complete them so when their friends and acquaintances
run out of new people for you to meet the internet is starting to become a
logical answer. There is a website for everything these days and the categories
of different love interests are included. If you want to just have a fling then
your guy is OK Cupid, looking for a couple of dates then its Match.com.
However, if you are looking at someone to marry then your choice should be
EHarmony. After reading how much research is put into the search engine for
EHarmony it seems that if the website can't give you your husband it can at
least solve the other social problems of couples. The previously social taboos
are becoming social norms, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
