Musings whilst in Rome

I'm currently sitting in a cafe in one of the oldest cities in the world. I am surrounded by magnificent architecture, museums and art that behold the greatest treasures Western Civilization clings to in reminder of its history; in reminder of who it once was, and how far it has come.

And instead of walking around, I'd rather drink coffee - (by the way - why is Italians have never heard of coffee with cream? I asked for it yesterday and they put whipping cream on my coffee... weird...)

I have had a number of experiences recently that seem to correlate and have inspired me to jot down some thoughts and worries I have that my generation will fail in its task to remember where we came from.

Here they are, in no particular order, and without a particularly good explanation of their context.

- Before I came, I had a party for my birthday. During said party, my friends decided to engage in some good-natured... ribbing? is that the word?... my mind is blank... anyways the whole subject of education came up, and I mentioned that I had some accomplishments to be proud of while I turned 23 - including earning a BA in Philosophy. Most of my friends, however, thought this was not much of an accomplishment. Now, I'm used to the question 'what can you possibly do with a philosophy degree?' so I've come to expect that people just don't get it. But there is an attitude prevalent in our society that an education is only useful if it leads directly to some sort of income. If not, it's basically a waste of time. More on this later....

- The second experience came in Amsterdam. On our last day there (I am travelling with my brother) we met a dude named JJ while on a bike tour of the countryside. JJ I found to be a kindred spirit - and also a walking, talking cultural contradiction. He's a very good basketball player - and instead of continuing with basketball, he decided to study philosophy. He's got a tatoo on one arm which he explained represent an existentialist point of view on the meaning of life, and on the other, a Nietzsche quote. He enthusiastically engaged us in conversation about his philosophy, favorite books, traveling experiences and more. We had also made some other friends while in Amsterdam, and the five of us spent the entire evening discussing philosophy and religion while walking through the Red Light District, past prostitutes motioning towards us from their windows and past junkies offering to sell us crack. It was one of the weirdest, and most profound, moments of my life - discussing the best culture has to offer while surrounded by perhaps its worst (depending on who you talk to).

- The third experience came last night. Ben and I met a couple girls from Florida who were desperate for some english speaking companions, so we spent the night walking about town. We ended up at the Trevi Fountain, (check it out on wikipedia - beautiful) where I had the urge to engage in a conversation that was a little more intellectual than 'so what do YOU like to do for fun?' or 'do you like to dance?'
I said, half jokingly, 'would you like to discuss cultural anthropology?'
She said - Sure! You go first.
Since I thought it would be fun, as well as suiting considering we were standing underneath one of the most brilliant pieces of baroque architecture which paid tribute to the Greek (and subsequently Roman) gods.
Now, if you know me, you know I like to go off and talk on end while my listeners probably stop paying attention after 15 seconds. But I thought - Hey, we're in flipping Rome! There is hardly a more appropriate place to talk about the history of our culture!
So I tried to explain the history of the ancient conception of the gods, how it changed society and evolved into a complex set of myths believed by the Greeks, and how they affected one's life in those days (for instance, it was thought you had a fate, and nothing you could do could change it). After about three minutes however, she stopped me, and asked a question that I suppose was supposed to be 'profound' about how I don't like to show people the real me. I was like, this is the real me! This is what I'm interested in! And then she changed the subject to shoes or something.
baaaah.

Why is it that noone seems to care where we came from? Not many people seem to really care what happened at the Forum, or the Coliseum, or how the ancient philosophers laid the foundation for our modern republics, for science, for pretty much everything that keeps us distracted and comfortable.

It's just you and me JJ. It's just you and me. And of course you, the reader.

I want to write more on this , but I don't have time right now, so it will have to wait. Comments, I beckon you to come forth!