I think that humans have a tendency to put all their fears and wants into unexplainable activities because they are too afraid to face them themselves. Maybe they will believe in a ghost because they aren't ready to accept the death of a loved one. Or maybe they create monsters because the even a monster is less scary than not knowing whats out there. I think this is also a big reason that religion is very very popular. The idea of a life after death brings comfort to people. I understand why people are religious, and i understand the need for religion in our culture.
Personally, I do not believe in anything paranormal or spiritual, including religion. I am more fascinated with the unknown rather than creating false answers to pen ended questions. Space is extremely scary to me, more scary than any ghost. The fact that we know so little about something so massive and that can kill us all any second is terrifying. Exploding stars and an unlimited amount of galaxies forming, all of which are happening at this very moment.
Another unknown that I put my fear into is that ocean. The fact that it makes up over half of our planet and we know so little about it is crazy. Just this year, we sent the the first person into the Mariannes Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. There is still so much to be explored and so much to be discovered.
I think that peoples obsession with spirits and ghosts all stem down to their own personal fear, and curiosity with death. The fact that no one knows what happens after death makes ghosts and spirits extremely interesting, with knowledge from the unknown. Peoples obsession with death and ghosts seems to be booming now, with scary movies like paranormal activity touching on hauntings and the internet allowing people to research any aspect of ghosts, death, and spirits.
I don't think this obsession will stop anytime soon. If anything it will only get worse. Shows and movies about ghosts will rise to the top. The internet will continue to spit out information about ghosts and spirits. Pictures of murder and death will litter the internet as well. and in the mean time, places like NASA are losing funding, while the Catholic Church does not pay any taxes. I think that people need to realize where they put their interests into and what is most important.
I like how you pick aspects of the actual world as examples of the awesome unknown. It makes my head explode to realize that the deepest part of the ocean is quite literally as far away as outer space. Looking at the effect of the movement of glaciers on the geography of earth is similarly chilling--so much of this planet has nothing to do with us, and we so badly want to be at the center of the story. Religion is a comfort that way. But this needs to be more clearly anchored to the specifics of class reading--taking on the idea of two-way paranoia, for instance. And also, it's two days late. Make sure and post on time next time, so you can get full credit.
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