The World Is Good AND Bad

Pro tip:  Never accidentally invent a country.  Well, I shouldn't say that - plenty of successful people have invented countries and they seem to be doing fine.  What you really shouldn't do is invent a country based on a philosophical concept.  If you do, it'll be like "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" and that philosophy will follow you until you die.  Trust me.

My name is Riley.  Welcome!  Come on in, get cozy, and stay a while.  I'm currently working on some philosophy, because I was a Bad Noodle and I invented a country.

"Is the world good or bad?"  We've all probably wondered about this, at some point in our lives.  It occurred to me while I was developing the setting for a story, when I had to add the darker details of a fictitious society.  Between black markets and crime patterns, the world I was making up seemed to be more like Earth than a product of my imagination.  Yeah, there were good things, but even so.  I wondered if this world was still relatively good.

For my thesis project for school, I'll be exploring this question, by investigating and illustrating the highest and lowest points of humanity. What I mean by that is, I'm going to illustrate the most deeply human moments I can, shown as opposites.  So far, the total list of moments includes:

• funerals // births
• panic // relaxation
• homophobia // queer pride
• having to beg // being able to provide
• being ignored // being celebrated
• injury // "mom kissed it so it's better"
• creative block // inspiration
• being so sad you scream // being so happy you cry
• living alone // having a friend
• being a soldier // being a veteran
• discrimination // acceptance
• submitting to a bully // standing up to a bully
• slinking back home // standing strong