The Value of the Unexamined Life/ The Modern Day Gadfly

I disagree with the statement Socrates made that, "the unexamined life is not worth living." 

To examine life is a curse we chose upon ourselves. We are followed by the mocking shadows of our consciousness, the streams of our thoughts, and the awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. Examination goes beyond the instinct of self preservation and extends into the realms of trivial aspects of our lives. The core principle of our being is to survive another day, live to see the break of daylight, avoid death; however you choose to phrase it. Once you push aside the policies and ways of life we invented for ourselves, humanity comes down to animalistic behaviors. The only things we must do-things which preserve humanity-are the same things which any other organism does.

We never realize how burdened we are by examination. Too much or too little of a dose is lethal- if you do it incorrectly, then the outcome and effects can be damaging upon life itself. Examination is constantly stressed as growth- but why is not light shone upon the ways in which it deteriorates the human psyche?  

People have traumatic experiences and push those memories away as a means of self preservation. Reflection has been advertised as cleansing, but it also has a way of tending to the strongly rooted weeds of difficulties and struggles. Will my life be more complete if I reflect upon haunting experiences, even if they cripple my sense of security and trust? Will questioning the random paths of life and the preselected circumstances I am born into give me peace of mind?

Society pressures us to think beyond our instincts and beyond what we know to be absolute. Selfishness is what has kept the human race in existence for so many years. We are but another species inhabiting the Earth, and once the time comes when we enter into the realm of extinction, then what can we say about examination and its contribution to our existence? Life of other sorts goes on with or without us- nature is not hindered by our inability to continue our race. 

To me, an example of a modern day Gadfly would be Stephen Colbert. I've watched many of his episodes and noted that he relies on his intuition to ask the questions we all want to ask-the ones which extend beyond the line of "thinking" and "doing." He is very perceptive of present issues and knows how to stimulate the viewers minds. He knows how to control any interview, and enjoys doing so. Even through his humorous news updates, sketches, and segments, he always gives a clue away as to what issue he is trying to point out.