World Peace...Is It Achievable?

As our class comes to and end, so does out book. Finishing part 6 led me to think about history altogether and how far we have come since the gatherer-hunter societies. How did we figure things out? When did things really start to make sense? Or, has anything made sense yet? Who is the judge? So many things to think about in the existence of the human being. When we study history there are events and people that mark it significant. Those people - most of them men - are remembered, good and bad, in most households. They are the names children can recite whether or not they actually know of their achievements. Children may not be able to see a picture and recognize the person, but when they hear the name it rings a bell in their minds. How did these people leave a legacy? There were leaders of one group or another. They stood up for what they thought was right and took the reigns of the group or organization and led people that may not have been bold or educated enough to be heard by the government or the people, and told them it was safe. We have had great leaders and leaders who led the people down a destructive path. In recent history we read about Stalin and Mao Zedung, whose idea of communism in theory was admirable but their actions to instill it among the nation and the globe were not. Like Hitler or Mussolini who believed they had great ideas and for a long time they were successful, but to what extent were their means necessary? How many lives have to be lost to be remembered? Not many if we study Nelson Mandela or Ghandi. Of course, lives were lost but that was not their aim. So here we have great leaders who were peaceful and right minded and those who were all about power, essentially.

What about all those people that were strong and carried their pride, but who will never be remembered? What happens to all those who gave their lives or suffered so much? There are so many people that do not make it into history books and are forgotten. Are there only a handful of great people to enter this world in order to make a difference and the rest of us and the work horses of their good ideas? What marks a significantly important and impactful life? Maybe all we need to to impact or influence one life to be successful in this life?

When Strayer ends a chapter he has his reflection and he often leaves me not only questioning what I had read but also wondering what the heck is going on that I don't understand or don't know about. He asks questions to provoke an open ended discussion. He is not always right, but then again I don't think his aim it to have the right answers. Throughout this semester we all gave Strayer a hard time, but truly he gave a good description of a brief representation of our world history and he asked us what we thought through his own thinking. Which brings up the idea of when do we truly start living in peace? Haven't we fought enough? Taken away other's land, property, rights to figure out unity? Haven't we had enough protests to realize we all want something for ourselves? But, in a peaceful society the wants become less because we are happy and when one is happy not much remains a bother.

So, how can we learn from the past, from those great leaders, and the destructive and violent ones as well, to find world peace? How can we build a world where we can all get along and respect one another for our differences? How can we build a world where we can all leave our mark in history

Contemporary Leaders Picking up the Slack for Ugly Europeans

When we ask where racism comes from, where do we turn? My initial answer would have been Americans and their treatment of the African slaves. But, Americans weren't American until maybe one hundred years ago, they were British. They were Europeans. After reading chapters 19 and 20, I found out where racism truly came from.

Europeans felt at liberty to go and colonize wherever they felt would be profitable. Instead of politely stepping into another country they trampled on the natives and forced them to live by European standards. And, they definitely had high standards of themselves. First of all they were Christians and they felt that made them far superior because they were "civilized." All other religions were barbaric (whatever). There was a time when Europeans mingled with Asians and Africans, even marrying into their lineage. But, it seems that through this mingling they were really trying to set a base for their military. Once their military was set they were able to create their wealthy society in the new country. Then came a long a scientist who surveyed the brain. He "discovered" the white European had a bigger head and therefore a bigger brain inside making them smarter than the other races, especially Africans. A hierarchy of races was created based on these assumptions they held to be true. Europeans were at the top and all those below were considered inferior. In the minds of Europeans they thought it was their duty to civilize these people. Their tactics: dehumanization and ridding of their traditions. They felt they were "progressive" by "weeding" out the weak so the strong can become stronger, as Strayer put it.

Further into chapter 20 we see the Europeans began to educate the natives using their Western Education. It seemed the natives were given a fighting chance now. They realized that if they could read and write they could move up in life and gain a little bit of respect or at least live the way they used to live within their traditions. Reading and writing was like magic; it was an escape. Europeans didn't want this to happen so they decided natives wouldn't be able to learn science and literature, stating it was inappropriate. It is no wonder where German leader, Adolph Hitler got his crazy idea about the superiority of the white man.

The Europeans of this era truly poisoned the minds of the world. Thank God for people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ghandi and Nelson Mandela who stood up for the injustices in the world.

The Jungle

It is very interesting to learn how countries became who they are today. Of course I know about American History, I spent a whole year in high school and a semester in college reading on the subject and I love it (minus the slavery). What was interesting to learn abut this week was the Haitian revolution. Here we have a country with 40% of the world's sugar and coffee, 8,000 plantations, 500,000 African slaves and only 40,000 white people not of mixed race making Haiti the richest colony in the world at that time. It seems to me it was just a matter of time before the slaves overthrew the Europeans, considering the numbers. And so it began, with the help of Toussaint Louveture that Haiti became Haiti and also became impoverished and unstable. Nobody wants to live in poverty, but who wants to be a slave their whole life?

This revolution, including the French and Spanish American ignited a passion that led to greater movements for human kind. Finally an end to slavery, women gaining rights and people associating with a nation, in other words having a place to call home. But, does having a home bring peace or create more competition?

What having a nation did do was give a group of people enough of a grouping to get things done together. What were those things? Well, let's say it started a little thing called the Industrial Revolution that lasted about 250 years. People of that time learned they could make changes themselves and that anything could become better. Most all countries improved and made their world function faster, but it also created a huge class distinction and the poor were very poor and very oppressed. Through this period of time we learned about socialism and communism and those in theory are great options to the capitalist world that provided well for the elite and middle classes, but not the laborers. Through it all, Russian was the only country to actually adopt socialism as their political choice and although any poor person who have chosen a socialist society, America was the only country who said, No WAY!

Capitalism rev ed up the industrial revolution but left big chucks of the population without much to choose from. And so it seems that this is the way the world works well. When we look at communist countries today, none of them are truly what communism is defined as, rather they are a dictatorship. Those countries doing well are a society where there are a handful of wealthy people and the rest are lower middle class and/or living in poverty. The good news is that today there are far more opportunities to create a better life.

All for What?

Last week when we discussed our textbook and whether or not we thought it was a legitimate enough source for our class, someone commented saying the textbook is a recap to our high school world history class. I agree, and thank God. While I read on through the long pages most of the time I remember the events (of course not in detail, but the big picture), and then there were events I am amazed that I never knew about or if I knew of them I didn't know why they occurred. For instance the Spanish colonization in the Philippines. I knew the Spaniards conquered the islands and that's why many Filipinos have last names with a Latin flare. If I may permit myself to sound a little unworldly, I didn't know why they conquered the Philippines. Let me tell you something I learned: the Spanish came to this group of islands in search for spices. Instead of wanting to be a trading empire like the Portuguese they decided to just colonize the land. The Spanish king at the time was King Phillip II and so came the name Philippine Islands. Interesting.

The entire Part 4 of Way of the Worlds was a constant recap of what I learned years ago with added information that I either wasn't taught or I was to wrapped up in the social drama of high school to pay attention to my knowledgable teacher at the time. At any rate I developed a distaste for the European conquests in the Americas, their slave trading, their taking over of indigenous cultures and traditions and the fact they killed off many thousands of people all in the name of building an empire. Unless we study history we are left wondering why the world and the people living in it are where they are. We come to understand a few little facts and we accept them. Now, of course we cannot change history and so why get mad? Well, I think it is important to not make those hideous mistakes again and also compassion is a beautiful thing, why not celebrate it.

Reading about how the indigenous people of the Americas were almost all wiped out because of disease and killing. How is that the Europeans - let's say humans in general - can feel good about wiping out a race, a people that were already there? Nowadays you can't go into someone home and take over their kitchen and eventually kick them out of their house. Why would Europeans think they could take over someones home? The thought drives me crazy. When I was younger, learning world history, I think I was trying to memorize everything to I could pass the test instead of understanding what went on back then.

What has never sat well, but now more than ever, is the slave trading. I want to know the person who started the ugly rumor that black is bad. Who was that person that said black people are basically nothing so why not make them into slaves. What!? In middle school when we were learning about American history our teacher created a slave ship out of the room and we, the students, were to act as the Africans who had to ride in the ship across the Atlantic ocean. Our teacher turned up the heat in the room the night before so by the next day is was terribly hot in the room. He also lined dirty diapers next to the heaters so the stench was horrible. We had to lay on the floors chained to each other under desks all the while baking in the horrendous heat and engulfed in the smell and our teacher barked at us in some language we couldn't understand. Back then, my friends and I thought it was funny and didn't really comprehend the significance of the situation. Reading about the Atlantic slave trade this week makes my heart break. How can humans be treated like that? I wonder if any of the Europeans felt bad and decided they didn't want to be a part or were they too chicken? Or, did it never dawn on them that they were cruel?

During this period of time, 1450 - 1750 AD, religion was bigger and more a part of everyday life than it is nowadays. How is it that Christians - people of God and followers of Jesus Christ - treated human beings so cruel? They were constantly trying to spread Christianity and yet in the process they decided, "let's just kill anyone who doesn't want to convert." Great idea. Doesn't this go against the commandment, 'Thou Shall Not Kill?" Life wasn't fragile then. Lives of people that got in the way were simply speed bumps. I wonder if those that killed or wiped out civilizations or who were directly involved with the slave trade had nightmares? I wonder if they had anxiety about their own death and where they thought they were going? I wonder if they had wives that supported them or tried to persuade them their actions were wrong in the eyes of God. I'm not God and I can see it is wrong to take someones life or abuse a life to the point of dehumanizing.

History isn't always beautiful, I know this, but did it have to be so ugly?

Religious Silk

Silk roads, sand and sea began the connection of the world within a world. On cultural levels it was a beautiful thing to share with one another the different ways of life. Financially and economically it spread wealth to those trading states, which of course always leads to the want of more wealth and power and therefore greed. I guess one must sacrifice to get what they want, the question is what are we willing to sacrifice? The goods exchanged on the silk roads were more for the wealthy and not the basic necessities for the common person who was still providing for him self and his immediate family. We see here the beginnings of what money can buy. The good news is it was not at the level it is today, but it was just a matter of time. Commoners were still able to have land to till and grow their own food or food for the small community in which all was shared.

No matter how balanced the time frame was, times change, people change and the all-ruling government changes too. A separation of peasants and the upper class became so divided. Fortunately for the peasants they were the majority of the population and were more easily able to rebel. Although they were not successful, over time they get their point across.

Buddhism was strong in China, but it seems peace never truly wins. Although Buddhism has survived it hasn't been a ruling mechanism. And, although Jesus is compared to the Buddha on many levels, Christianity as a religion is far more harsh than, I believe, Jesus would have conducted.

As Islam rose and dominated most of the world's population at the time (which is a frightening thought nowadays), Christianity held tight in Europe. Christianity, however, didn't have the quick spread of converting people as Islam had. In fact there is a quote saying, Islam "came closer than any ever came to uniting all mankind under its ideals," (p.210). What stopped them from advancing? Was it Christianity that held them off? If so, it is a bigger picture type of thing? Is Jesus truly the Savior for all? Or, is Islam making a violent comeback? Or, will the Jews finally claim their promise land and show the world they are the chosen people?

No matter, the world will keep on turning and changing. As centuries pass so will upheavals and violence and then maybe peace will have its time. When it comes to religion it seems it constantly morphs into the next best idea, so who can predict what will happen. One thing we can count on is the greed and selfishness of people. As long as there is wealth and power to be gained, there will be someone to walk in the shoes and ride the silk roads for someones wants.

Their Way or the Highway

When studying these ancient civilizations with their complexities using little resources and knowledge and yet they built a world within a world in spite, it makes me wonder what kind of help they were getting. Nowadays we have the knowledge of many years, back then it could have just been trial and error or maybe the gods and goddesses offered a hand or two (or three?) to these first civilizations in order for them to build a society. Some of them took off and are marked in history for their discoveries and some barely made it off the ground to be recognized in history books. For those who left their imprint I salut their bravery but it arouses the questions of why they didn't survive? And, are we doomed?

Let's examine the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. A people came together to create an intriquet mathematical system that aided in their astronomy efforts and calendars; A complex yet understandable written system; And, beautiful, elaborate structures for ceremonies and burials. They were extremely ahead of their time and yet for reasons unknown they fell out of existence. If an elaborate civilzation, based on gods, cannot make it I can only guess Mother Nature is to blame. But, did she ruin them in spite or is she untouchable and no matter how much praying one does. She will have her way.

The Goddess In All Of Us

I agree with the author, Robert Strayer, in that it is important to first study our earliest ancestors (those whom we can date back to) in order to begin our study of the historic past. I find it terribly interesting the Paleolithic Era lasted such a long time. It truly makes me believe our modern world is a blink of an eye as compared to the existence of humankind. How is that Homo Sapiens have lasted so long and advanced only so far and yet the world has come farther than one could imagine in the in the last 200 years? I believe it is rather unfortunate. When reading about the San of southern Africa, we see they have a practice associated with the old way of life and yet have made it (barely) today. How is this possible? When we dive deep into our roots we realize we actually can survive with little means as long as our basic necessities are covered. The San have a system in finding food and building their homes; they have tools and the knowledge of discovering species of plants and animals that suit their lifestyle and appetite. Most importantly, they have a more European life style (as we dub it today): their work week is short, although strenuous, with substantial time for leisure and their diet consists mostly of vegetables. They are equal within their culture both with gender roles and the non-existence of class distinction. How is that we fell so far off? Granted, it is enjoyable to have warm blankets on a comfortable couch inside our homes with a stove that heats up quickly the food we bought at the local store. But, it seems it comes with a price. We trade in equality among our brothers and sisters for wealth, power and status. As our world has evolved we have had to move with the times and population growth and unfortunately this means we have to come up with class distinctions and unfair gender roles.

We come from a time when the Goddess was praised and where Mother Nature was feared and therefore treated with the utmost respect. Then nature began to change in the minds of the men of the first civilizations. Nature was no longer considered women and bearing children, but rather architectural designs and monumental art. Then all of a sudden the Goddess was a thing of the past and men were were hailed as deities; And, not to sound to much like a feminist, but doesn't it seem that times were more peaceful when we praised Mother Nature as opposed to male deities?

While reading through these chapters, I cannot help but to compare these time periods with the one we associate with today. Everything is easily accessible today; Things that took thousands of years to create we can go buy at the store a few minutes from our house. Yet, it seems we will inevitably face what the Paleolithic, Agricultural and first civilizations faced: disastrous weather. Mother Nature will again take her reign and tell us all we haven't taken care of her and she has had enough.

One of the most significant things to come about with the first civilizations was the written word. Finally people could write down what was dancing around in their heads whether is was offensive or not. Today, people are taking this privilege more seriously and forcing their voice to be heard.

History repeats itself and so does this global environment. We might as well do out part to sustain what little left we haven't already ruined because Mother Nature is staring at us in the face and telling us it's going to happen. What are we going to do? The Paleolithic and Agricultural societies lasted a long time, we can too if we take care of our world.