Analysis of Genghis Khan's principles

Analysis of Genghis Khan's principles
Now that I am getting close to finishing this book, I have enough information to analyze the protagonist, Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan started from humble beginnings, born into a low class family, Genghis Khan or Temujin (his birth name) showed much determination and strength, as well as a keen instinct for survival. His childhood was harder than most, his father was poisoned by a rival clan, his family plundered and then left to starve on the harsh steep, and he was taken captive as a slave for many years of his early life. From many of his early experiences, Genghis Khan developed many strict taboos, that he would enforce for himself and for his many followers. These included, no torture, no taking of hostages, and safety for all diplomats. Many of the peoples that the Mongols encountered thought they were savages, killing everyone in their path. But many of these cities and peoples were destroyed because their leaders killed the Mongol's diplomats, who were sent to offer a full surrender to the cities inhabitants. The Mongols did not take hostages. When they entered a fallen city, they would not take the knights and lords hostage, as was custom in much of Europe for ransom, instead they would simply execute them. However once the Mongols were fighting a Russian walled city, and the city's King fought so fiercely and bravely, that once his city was fallen they let this king live in honor of his bravery. The outlaw of torture, hostages, and the murder or mistreatment of ambassadors became universal through out the entire Mongol empire during the reign of Genghis Khan. These policies are one of the Mongol empires greatest contributions to the societies that they conquered, many of which kept these principles long after the Mongols had left. The legacy of Genghis Khan and his mighty Mongol empire is etched into almost every part of the making of the modern world, from the re-connection of Europe, Middle east and China, and the extensive boom of the overland trade that occurred as a result, to the breaking of old unwanted empires, to the spreading of culture, new ideals, and war technology, Genghis Khan and his noble warriors changed all of history.

Mongke Khan's Religious Debate

A scribe's recount of Mongke Khan's Religious Debate;
The debate was organized like a Mongol wrestling match. It began when a French Christian named Rubruck was finally received to Mongke Khan's court on May 24 1254. It was clear to me and all the court that the man was not accustomed to debating issues with men who did not share his common Christian beliefs. He called himself a Catholic Christian, and claimed to speak the true word of God, and not the poisoned heretic views of the Assyrian Christians already at his Greatness's court. To me the difference between their beliefs seemed marginal and unimportant although, I have heard that these two different types of Christians constantly fight over trivial things, slaughtering each other in the name of the same God. Mongke Khan ordered Rubruck and other scribes of different religions to have a debate some days later. The debate was organized like a Mongol wrestling match, Mongols do love a good competition. "It is doubtful that representatives of so many types of Christianity had come to a single meeting, and certainly they had not debated, as equals, with representatives of the various Muslim and Buddhist faiths. The religious scholars had to compete on the basis of their beliefs and ideas, using no weapons or the authority of any ruler or army behind them. They could use only words and logic to test the ability of their ideas to persuade"(173). This was of course quite different from what I have heard happening in Europe. Some time after Rubruck returned to France, the Mongol court received word that his sponsor, King Louis IX had burned over 12,000 Jewish hand written texts. And that after this the Catholic Church named him a saint, a person that Christian followers are supposed to look up to and worship. In my opinion this should have been a point taken away from the Christians in the debate. The debate has been over for months now, by the other scribes and I have just begun to finish the Mongol court's official account of the event. One of the highlights of the debate for Rubruck was in the opening round a Buddhist from North China asked him how the world was made and what happened to the soul after death. Rubruck cleverly respond by saying the the monk was asking the wrong questions and should instead be asking about God from whom all things flow. The umpires awarded Rubruck that point.

The Most Influential Woman of the 13th century

Dear Genghis Khan,
I am pleased to inform you that, while you raised relatively weak sons, who were alcoholics and self centered, your daughter in law has come through and raised four diligent sons who will make great rulers. Mongke, Arik Boke, Khubilai and Hulegu will all follow in your foot steps as great and powerful khans, they will expand their empires, follow their mother's and your teachings and mark another high point in the Mongol Empire. While their empire did have flaws, it is an amazing story I'll tell you of how they got in such a powerful position. Much of it was due to your daughter in law, widow of your youngest son Tolui, Sorkhokhtani; whose lifelong struggle enabled your grandsons to prosper as they did. Sorkhokhtani was one of the most, if not the most influential woman of the 13th century. She stayed quietly on the sidelines and waited for the opportune moment to launch her sons into power. First she refused to marry your successors' son, Guyuk, saying that her sons needed her at home. She did this so Ogodei and his son would not have control over her section of the empire, so that she could preserve it for her own sons. While Jochi's son, Batu was campaigning in Eastern Europe and other Mongols in China, Sorkhokhtani was training her sons to be fit rulers. She warned Batu about Guyuk's planned surprise attack against him and then when Guyuk died shortly after, she called an election of the next Great Khan in the Mongol homeland. Batu was too far away to reach the election and the unpopularity of Guyuk's short rule would guarantee the election of her son Mongke to Great Khan. This wise and patient Queen was one of the most determined and important women of her time and her actions and determination directly affected most of the world and your great Mongol empire. The best description of her accomplishments came from the writer Bar Hebraeus who wrote that "if I were to see among the race of women another woman like this, I should say that the race of women was far superior to men"(168).

A Peasant's recount of a Mongol Attack

It is highly doubtful that I will live through these next few weeks. I curse the strange eastern Mongols for bringing this terrible fate upon me and my beloved city and country side. It all began 7 days ago, when I was out in the fields getting ready for the coming harvest. I was peaceful in those fields, tending my father's father's plot of land, excited to pass the farmers wisdom on to my own son, John in a few years time. All of a sudden my oxen began to fret and the sheep baaed nervously, in a few minutes the Mongols descended upon my land. I saw them coming and quickly cut my oxen lose from the plow, and then dashed for the cottage where I could hear my wife and children's screams. The strange dark warriors on horseback set fire to my home and surrounding fields. I called out my wife and children's names hopping they were not trapped by the blaze. Luckily all five of them were all right and I helped my eldest son, John salvage things before the cottage collapsed. I looked to my young children all huddled around their desperate mother, the fear and uncertainty of their faces became etched in my memory, as I swore my curses to the plundering, ruthless horsemen, who had so suddenly stolen everything from me. As the crops and homes went up in flames, we began the two days journey by foot to the nearest great walled city of Riazan. Now here I sit, in this darkened stone street my remaining family huddled around me and the Mongol invasion closing in. There were many refugees who fled to this city as the Mongols burned their villages and crops. We told stories of horror and despair to the cities inhabitants, and prayed to God for protection in these stone walls. By our prayers were not answered, as the next few days the warriors began to build a huge wooden wall around the already existing stone wall of the city. Despair encompassed everyone as we realized we were trapped, sealed with in this chaotic city as the invaders planned their next attack. Some took refuge in the Church, while some proclaimed all was lost and that God himself had sent these mysterious invaders as punishment for our sins. I say it does not matter, as I contemplate these last few hours of my life, I pray and ask for forgiveness of my sins and my families sins and pray that when our time here is ended by these nasty horrid creatures, that we will join Christ in heaven and be forgiven.

Riazan was the first European city to fall the the conquering Mongols. The Mongols did use the tactics above, burning surround villages so that the residents would flee to the city and spread rumors of despair, further decreasing morale and frightening the city in to defeat. These extra people also strained the cities resources during a potential siege. But in the case of Riazan, no siege was needed and the city fell in one day to the superior military tactics of the Great Mongol Khan.

Another Letter to Genghis Khan

Dear Genghis Khan,
I have recently heard about your problem in splitting up your empire between your sons. In response to this, I have the following suggestions:

• First off, I think that you should divide up your empire between your loyal followers, not your sons. Your generals and administrators that have served you loyally for over 40 years should get the majority of your empire. They are much better suited for the administration of your vast empire than your snotty sons. Your sons will only squabble over land and especially your oldest, Jochi and Chaghatai, will fight amongst each other until your empire is left in ruin and both of them are dead. You have spent your life abolishing the old way of Noble privileges and establishing a system of merit. This system should also be used in the division of your empire.
• I also believe, that instead of trying to train your sons everything you know quickly before you die, is not a good solution. Your sons have already proven that they can not learn quickly, and will disobey you when you are not there to watch over them. Instead you should spend your breath and effort training soldiers with good qualities that have already proven themselves worthy of your wisdom and your empire.
• I also believe you should put your chosen rulers into ruling groups of three. These three men should be put together based on compatibility and should prove that they can work together well. The reason for the three rulers is so that the multiple tasks of being a ruler can be spread between them and so that each can do the jobs that they are best at. For instance you could put together; a well experienced military man to handle the various military tasks of maintaining and expanding the empire, an administrative man to handle the various law, tax and record keeping, and a third diplomatic man to handle various diplomatic missions and to keep peace and relations with other nations.

For the preservation of your empire, I urge you, Genghis Khan, to use these tips for the division of your empire; and I wish you luck for the daunting decision that lies ahead.

A "Letter to Genghis Khan"

Dear Genghis Khan,
The Secret History of the Mongols said "There is fire in his eyes and light in his face", did you believe you were destined to become someone great, or did you only wish for the simple hunting and herding life you were born into? It is interesting to think that every event in your childhood would change world history. Your love for Borte, you killing your older half brother, and your deep friendship with your blood brother Jamuka all would have a profound impact on millions of lives across much of the world. Even though your older half brother was making your life miserable, was it really necessary to kill him? He was very brave, not to run or try to defend himself when he knew his fate, and then to leave him on the ground to die alone, his blood spilling on the ground a great disgrace in Mongol culture. In this book about you, it says "Temujin [Genghis Khan's birth name] had determined he would lead, not follow... he proved himself willing to violate custom, defy his mother, and kill whoever blocked his path, even if it was his own family member" (Weatherford 25). In your life you often violated or ignored many cultural customs and practices that often made you many enemies. The revolutionary change, of not allowing privileges for aristocrats, shattered every tradition in your own culture, and in other cultures that you conquered. While it was a great improvement for many lower class people, who could now move up and succeed based on merit and skill, it did earn you a lot of enemies. All of the aristocrats turned against you and banned together to destroy you and your followers. And finally I want you to know that while your image and the image of your people were diminished to that of blood thirsty barbarians, the world is beginning to take another look at your great accomplishments and the massive truth about your life and empire are coming out in the open once again.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

For the outside reading and blogging, I am reading Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. This is book is a historical biography of Genghis Khan with some Mongolian history thrown in. I got this book for Christmas and I have been wanting to read it but haven't gotten a chance. I also figured if I make myself read it for school it will be required and I will have a better incentive to start it. I read the introduction already and I think I'm really going to like it. Ever since we studied the Mongolian Steppe Empires in AP World History, I have found this time period in history and this ethnic group fascinating. It is an amazing accomplishment for a small band of steppe people to unite under one of histories' greatest charismatic and innovative leaders (Genghis Khan) and then form a strong, complex society with unheard of principles like merit based system and no privileges for aristocrats, and then on top off all that conquer much of the known world and become the carriers of culture, innovation and trade goods. This book is the story of "The startling true history of how one extraordinary man from a remote corner of the world created an empire that led the world into the modern age" and that's why I'm reading it.

The Best Of The Best

I played basketball on the Freshman B team last year. I practiced every day after school and we played games twice a week. The practices were an hour long and relaxed, running drills and practicing plays. While I was not in any way extremely good, it was fun exercise and an overall good time. Allonzo Trier plays basketball for 7 hours a day. In is apartments gym with his mom, at another city gym with a private ball-handling instructor and then two hours with his All-Star team. Talk about a love for the sport. Allonzo is 13. He has his own clothing line and the attention of college scouts. But Allonzo came from humble beginnings. He doesn’t know anything about his father except that he was black and 6 foot 3. His single mother earns a modest salary as a social worker at a shelter for victims of domestic violence. But despite his normal circumstances, Allonzo is anything but normal. At a young age he was determined to be the best and that sense of determination hasn’t run out yet. He is a committed player, he has to be: to be able to sustain the long hours of practice that are required to become good. Unlike other sports like football or soccer basketball is a mostly inner city sport and good players come from all income levels. I play occasionally play basketball remedially on intermediate teams or shoot hoops in my back yard, missing baskets in a game is alright and losing is ok as long as you play hard. But some people like Allonzo can’t miss a shot. They know that every game they play is being watched by college scouts or commercial business like Nike who pick out only the best and leave the semi-good ones behind. Allonzo’s mom said, “If his game falls off, they will kick him to the curb. That’s what makes me nervous, and I don’t want that to happen” While most of us just play for the exercise and fun of it, some people show extreme determination to overcome their current standing and be the best.

Twilight and the Obamas

Last night I watched Twilight for the third time, this time at home with my neighbor’s newly released DVD. Of course like all other girls in the universe I have read the entire Twilight series, although I read them about a year before it became a phenomenon. As I was engrossed in the catchy romance, I couldn’t help but wonder if this ever really occurs in real life. It is well known that over 40% of marriages don’t last and I have plenty of friends with divorced parents. I am certain true, pure, irrevocable love exists, but does it always last? I decided to love to the countries number one couple at the moment, the Obamas. Michelle and Barack Obama have a very interesting love story that you can relate to even when the two seem so distant up doing important business in the white house and running a country as well as a family. I think they could make a movie out of it, it is so sweet and romantic; the kind of thing we all wish for. Like many love stories it began at work, after months of Michelle’s rejection Obama finally won a date with his future wife. After two years of dating he finally popped the question with a dessert box with a ring inside. After a beautiful wedding at Trinity United Church of Christ they honeymooned in California. “It was magical, they were clearly in love with each other,” said one guest. But the couple had their fair share of turbulent times. During Barack’s difficult 2000 senate election he was almost never home and there were rough times at home. Once Michelle said “You only think of yourself, I never thought I would have to raise a family by myself”. But they got through it and a close friend said, “These are two people who love each other. For me, more importantly, there’s a huge respect on both ends.” While young fiery love is everyone’s dream, like in Twilight, the true judge of a relationship is whether it can last through tense and tough times like the Obamas.

Women at War

As a growing number of women become soldiers, issues centered around their emotional and physical health grow as well. War has always been a devastating and destructive part of human existence, while some claim the world must have war to 'settle' issues and 'fight for justice and peace' war is a crippling thing that should be avoided at all costs. In my world history class we have begun to study the nineteenth century and the Great World Wars, during this time women and civilians began to play a much larger role in the balance of warfare. The Home front became an essential ingredient in the victory of one nation over the other. In the past few decades however women have started to play a larger role as soldiers, fighting among men instead of on the sidelines supporting them. In an act I can not imagine myself doing, some women sign up voluntarily to fight for their country and democracy. They want to protect their community and are praised and respected by their society. But the reality of war is hard and brutal. Post Dramatic Stress Disorder, a common emotional trauma not widely recognized until recently takes great tolls on soldiers on and off the battle field. But an newer problem has arisen with the increasing amount of female soldiers. In addition to many cases of PDSD and other emotional disorders, women also face many sexual harassments and assaults. After a few cases in the 1990's the US military had become more sensitive to women in the military- they now make up 15% of the armed forces worldwide. These strong women leave their comfort and safety of home to sign up for unimaginable death and destruction, while they are respected on the surface, underneath they face emotional distresses that will haunt them for a life time.
Corbett, Sara. "The Women's War." New York Times Online. 18 Mar. 2007. 15 Mar. 2009 .

The Effects of Imperialism in West Africa

Much of the world's big bulk of imperialism took place in the 19th and 20th centuries when Europe pretty much dominated most of Africa and Asia in a never ending search for resources and profit. While the horrors of this European expansion are many, I think it is maybe even more important to study the huge effects that imperialism has created today. The tiny and desolate country of Guinea-Bisseli is a prime example of what happened after the Europeans left. The country declared it's independence from Portugal in 1973 after a long and devastating period of war. But independence did not bring peace or prosperity, ever since its liberation, Guinea-Bisseli has been in and out of brutal civil war, military coups, repressive governments and a destroyed economy. In 2005 they had a democratic election, where repressive President Vieira was brought back in to power. General Tagme Na Wie, the head of the military and the President have more or less ruled the country for almost all of its independence. (They are bitter rivals and the article was about both their assassinations yesterday). While the government and its people are struggling just to survive, ( the assassinations are said to have pretty much better the country and bring stability), you can tell this country and almost all of Africa was completely ruined by the colonization and imperialism by Europeans. I just got done studying colonialism in APWH and the effects of the Berlin Conference and the Europeans treatment of the African peoples can still be clearly seen today. For instance in the article, they talked about how which tribe you belong to can make you have higher status or give you many enemies. One in five children in the country won't live to see the age of five and the economy is in ruins with a growing underground drug industry. Like in Things Fall Apart the imperialism and colonialism of Africa, dramatically altered the economy, lifestyle and culture of its people.
Polgreen, Lydia. "2 Slayings in West Africa May Signal a New Day." New York Times 10 Mar. 2009, National ed., International sec.: A1+.

Gold; The True Cost of a Global Obsession

The next time you buy a gold necklace think about this: In all of history only 161,000 tons of gold have ever been mined, barely enough to fill two Olympic pools and more than half of that has been extracted in the past 50 years. For centuries gold has captivated and lured peoples from all cultures around the globe. Captivated by it's easy malleability, rarity and beautiful sparkling color. But today as the precious metal is getting harder and harder to find, big and small miners alike are willing to suffer greater risks to get it. The global demand for it is enormous with 2,398.7 tons of it going just to jewelry use, the largest consumer of gold. But as the demand grows so does the environmental and human suffering it takes to mine it. Small scale mining account for 25% of the worlds extracted gold. These poor miners faced deadly effects to their health, the often use mercury to separate the gold from the rock in liquid and gas forms which create toxic fumes and poisons their water. These miners often travel into extreme danger, by way of explosions, collapsing mines and exhaustion. Their families are also affected, many of their children and wives work just outside the mines crushing excess rock to extract any remaining gold all to make just a meager living. This article was very long, there are countless people effected and destroyed by the world's hunger for gold. Diamonds and other precious stones also cause a lot of havoc around the world. Displacing people, extreme environmental damage, destroyed communities and families as well as extreme wastes. Gold mining is more wasteful than any other metal, a single ounce of gold- the amount in a typical wedding ring- requires the removal of more than 250 tons of rock and ore. The gashes in the earth are so massive they can be seen from space yet the particles being mined in them are so microscopic that in many cases, more than 200 could fit on the head of a pin. The story of gold is amazing, after reading this article I will never walk by a jewelery store without a thought of an Indonesian family whose children are pulled from school to work next to their parents in the mines and the babies who die there because their mothers drink toxic watter with mercury in it from the mining activities that meagerly supports their families.
Larmer, Brook. "The Price of Gold." National Geographic Jan. 2008: 34-61.

So What is Easter Anyway?

Easter is coming up and it took me by surprise. Not being religious and never having been to a church service in my life, makes these sporadic religious holidays sudden surprises. I guess even non Christians know when Easter arrives because every grocery store, target and Walgreens fill their shelves with peeps, chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs. I know vaguely that Easter relates to some time in Jesus' life, but I don't see the connect with Jesus to plastic eggs filled with chocolate and bunnies. I read this article and learned that officially Easter was the day (or around the day) that Jesus was "resurrected"three days after his crucifixion, and two days after Good Friday. No offensive to any one's beliefs but to a totally non religious person these events seem a little absurd, especially in this age of technology and modern science, I just don't comprehend it. But something I do comprehend it the tradition of going on Easter egg hunts, and getting a basket full of candy from the mysterious Easter Bunny. This is a tradition that, even with my non-beliefs my family and I celebrate without fail. How did this odd religious observance end up so transformed in to a consumer and family holiday that even non- Christians practice? The answer lies in the many centuries worth of blending religion, music, tradition, pop culture and consumerism that creates our modern Easter Sunday in to a small but fun family get together, with chocolate, bunnies, Jesus Christ and most important community.
(I know we aren't supposed to use Wikipedia but this article was REALLY long and had good information on the transformation of the holiday that I couldn't find anywhere else)
Many authors. "Easter." Wikipedia.com. 23 Mar. 2004. 4 Mar. 2009 .

My Encounter with Bollywood

For first quarter's Ap World History extra credit movie night my teacher, Ms. Matters showed Ashoka, a historical Bollywood film. She told us it was about the life of King Ashoka, one of the greatest rulers of who unified India. We were told to bring pillows and blankets and report to her room at 7:00 Tuesday night for an action packed film and two extra credit points. What we got was a three and a half hour long singing, dancing, romance, battle spectacle. Unlike most American movies, Ashoka had all the themes of movies; romance, action, assassinations, deception, exile, huge battle scenes, lost princesses, religion and death all rolled into one extremely long and confusing plot. In short, Prince Ashoka leaves his kingdom after many assassination attempts by his cousin and other contenders for the throne. He conceals his identity, and travels the Indian country side, a land greatly divided into regional kingdoms. He meets a beautiful girl named Kalwaki, who is actually a princess in hiding and her little brother who is in line for the throne of a rival kingdom. Ashoka and Kalwaki fall in love, but Ashoka must return to his kingdom to take care of his dying mother. While there he receives false news that Kalwaki and her brother have been killed. So heartbroken he turns into a monster, and murders many to take the throne. Mad with no feeling he begins on a ruthless conquest of India, destroying everyone in his way. Meanwhile Kalwaki and her brother have returned to their kingdom and taken the throne, they prepare for war against Ashoka's growing empire. After an extremely bloody series of battles the last independent kingdom falls, with both sides almost completely destroyed. Kalwaki lives threw the battle and sees that her lover is the destroyer of her country and brother. Ashoka sees her alive and suddenly realizes the horror he has created and everything he has destroyed. In the end he is reunited with Kalwaki and becomes a devout Buddhist, and spends the rest of his days ruling and repairing the united India. In addition to an extremely confusing plot, about every 20 minutes, all the character would burst into song and dance, where the tunes were catchy but all in Hindi ( the movie was entirely in subtitles but their language was really cool to listen to). This movie was quite an experience, which although is pretty weird to most Americans, it is a large part of Indian culture and a treat on it's own.
(I read the article on the Ms. Jarrett's blog also)
Mehta, Suketu. "Bollywood Confindential." Suketu Mehta. 14 Nov. 2004. New York Times. 1 Mar. 2009 http://www.suketumehta.com/nytm.html.

Infused Culture, Russia and Georgia

Russian and Georgian culture have been infused and intertwined in a mixing of languages, plays, literature and music. The recent war between them have stirred up trouble between Russians living in Georgia and Georgians living in Russia. While most people say they hate the Russian government not its people, there is still a growing generation of young people who strongly dislike any Russian Influence. But the influence is un-erasable, in an average Georgian city you can buy Russian Language fashion magazines, Russian foods and snacks and hear Russian pop songs blasting from a car radio. While the governments have officially cut off all diplomatic relations with each other it is nearly impossible to cut off the shared culture between these two nations. My response to this article is that America is very similar. American culture is distinctly different from any other in the world, yet we draw so many influences from around the world. Chinese restaurants, Spanish markets, European fashions and Japanese cars all draw influences from different cultures from around the world. Our 'melting pot' of cultures and peoples have given us what we think is a view into another culture, but in fact Chinese culture can not be all summed up in a single Americanized Chinese restaurant and Japanese cars look a lot like American and German cars. Like in Georgia and Russia we have all been molded together into an inseparable tangle that no matter if we go to war with all the world, we will still have many remnants of their culture here and our own culture spread everywhere as well.

Bilefsky, Dan and Schwirtz Michael. "Within a Russian-Infused Culture, a Complex Reckoning After a War." New York Times Online. 7 Sept. 2008. New York Times. 24 Feb. 2009 .

Change; Japanese economy lessons

As Americans begin to cut back spending in preparation for the tough economic years to come, we should be wary of a lesson from Japan. The Lost Decade (1990's) was a brutal economic period for Japan, with many of the same characteristics as the one we face today. During this time stocks fell and wages were stunted, consumers became cautious and unresponsive always fear full like skittish mice. Even in economic booms they still the same, reusing bathwater for clothes to cut utility costs, and separating want from necessity. Not playing their role as consumers in hurting the Japanese economy, as it plummets during the recent economic slow down. This change in Japanese consumers as severely altered their view on economic prosperity and success. But it is important to learn from Japan's economic history that America must not follow the same path. Cutting back is important during an economic slow down, but it is also important to keep our consumer wants during better times. While this article takes a very negative view of Japan's consumers, I think it is somewhat admirable that they have learned from over spending and want. They had become used to a simpler lifestyle during those 10 years in economic turmoil, and now they want to keep that lifestyle. For instance young Japanese men don't seem to be interested in cars; last year in a survey when 20 years olds were asked if they wanted to get a car only 25% said yes, this is down from 48% in 2000. The article was very aggressive about how this was hurting their car sales. But I think with the majority of people living in busy cities with subways they have no need for a car. And the average person isn't going to go out and buy a car they don't need to stimulate the Japanese car industry. While the article does have some interesting lessons for America, I don't think America will ever have that problem. In fact cutting back is going to happen, and like everything that changes has its good sides and bad sides.
Tabuchi, Hiroko. "When Consumers Cut Back: An Object Lesson From Japan." The New York Times 22 Feb. 2008, National ed., sec. International: 1+.

Blog #6 Save the Children

For the holidays this year my family decided to donate to Save the Children, a non-profit organization that connects children in need to a sponsor and provides them and their families with necessary food, shelter and education. A man came to our door and told us we could help a child and their family for $28 a month. We were assigned to sponsor April-Joy Lamit, a 10 year old girl who lives in Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat in the Philippines. I got very interested in the program and read all the letters from April-Joy and history of the organization. My family and I wrote her an email; in Spanish. But then we found out people in the Philippines don't actually speak Spanish, which was kind of embarrassing. I watched some videos and read articles on their site about the history of the organization; it began during the Great Depression to help provide children lunch at school. Then it grew international after the destruction of the Great Wars, Save the Children was in Europe providing stability and relief to war destroyed children and communities. Building and working with a relief organization would be tough work, especially in places that are in extreme poverty or war devastated communities. I have great admiration for the volunteers who take time out of their lives and go to far away places, away from comfort and luxury; because they believe they will make a difference. I have great hope that our $28 a month that here buys a cheaper meal for 4 will make a significant difference in April-Joys life and community.
Caleb, (country director), Latha. "Save the Children." Letter to Marjorie K. Soper. 19 Jan. 2009. Philippines Field Office, Manila, Philippines.

Religion, Culture and Change

The movie Chocolat tells the story of a small conservative French town in 1959 and it's inhabitants' struggle to find peace between their faith and the temptations of modern life. In the beginning everyone knew their place and what was expected of them, this all changed when striking Vianne (my baby cousin is named after this character) opens an unusual chocolate shop and the towns people are swept away in desire and temptation as she bakes out unusual mouth-watering delicacies. Her different style and openness is very contradictory to the towns conservative Catholic society and many conflicts arise with the change. In our world it is widely known that a person or town's faith shapes their values, ideals and the way they raise their children; but it also deeply affects how a society will accept change and new ideals. Sometimes with a strict code and standard difference and new styles are often not encouraged like in the movie. Along with religion, culture also shapes values. For instance when I went to Rome people were very loud, and friendly they were terrible drivers and often ran red lights and cussed out other drivers that got in their way. In England it was very different, they had more of a quiet politeness and courtesy. Within those different cultures there are many individuals who each have their own style, opinion and personality but no matter how different they may be, they are similar in their underlying culture that is always changing and redefining itself with every new idea and individual that is added. And the acceptance of new ideas, religions and cultures is essential to the societies' ability to compete in this fast changing world. This movie was very well done with superb acting and story telling. It shows that we are not defined by what we don't do or who we don't include; but rather by what we take in and build upon our own religion and culture.
Chocolat. Dir. Lasse Hallstrom. Perf. Juliette Binoche, Jonny Depp, and Judi Dench. DVD. Miramax Films, 2000.

Blog #4 Uncle Pashe

Nearly 60 years ago, Pashe Keqi made the decision to live the rest of her life as a man. In a country rattled with wars and death, it was a practical solution to a family short on men. This tradition of taking an oath of celibacy, has been passed down orally among the clans of northern Albania for more than 500 years, as part of the strict code of conduct; the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini. In this code and society, a women's role is restricted to that of taking care of the family and home. A women's life was worth half that of a man. Women who spend their lives dressed as men are accepted in public life, even respected. The custom "was a way for these women in a male-dominated, segregated society to engage in public life," says Linda Gusia, a professor of gender studies at the University of Pristina in Kosovo. "It was about surviving in a world where men rule." Today, the tradition is dying out, and women have equal rights to men. They say the erosion of the traditional family in which everyone once lived under the same roof has altered women's position in society. Keqi says she would not choose to live as a man today with the modernization of Albania and it's social code. "Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men and even more powerful," says Keqi, "I think today it would be fun to be a women." With all our rights today, it is hard to imagine a place in the world where women are treated much below the worth of a man, but I suppose there are still places like that in the world. Women are often left out of the history books and have had few rights or roles in political life for the majority of human history. Before a women had a 'place' now she can make her place anywhere she wishes. She is not just beside her husband, she is herself and anyone she wants to be. The social standards are always slowly changing, I bet there will be considerable differences when I have children. But it is the nature of things to change and grow and expand; as we struggle to figure where all the time went.
Bilefsky, Dan. "Why Aunt Pashe Became an Uncle." New York Times Upfront 1 Dec. 2008: 9-11.

Blog #3 Traditions of Mongolia

Mongolia is located in Central Asia north of China. The steep lands and Altay Mountains are home to the Kazakh; a group of nomadic herders who still live the very traditional life styles of the ancestors. In Mongolia, homeland of conqueror Genghis Khan horses out number people and in the barren landscape you can walk for days without seeing another human face. The Kazakh people train golden eagles to catch their food, a one of their prized eagles can spot prey a mile away and shoot down like a missile to nab a rabbit darting out of it's hole. The Kazakh people depend on these eagles for food and the animal pelts they catch for warmth, they are valued members of the community. They have their own spot in the families' yurt, a portable tent that can all be loaded on to the back of a single camel. But they are also very respected animals, after the birds turn eight, they are released back into the wild to live free and make more eagles. This is remote culture is very unlike our own; while I've only lived in three different places in my life, moving for the Kazakh people is a semi-annual tradition. They also value animals in a very different manner than we do. They move everything they have four times a year to find new land to herd their goats, and release their eagles back into the wild after a good time of servitude. In our disposable society, we almost never come in to contact with the animals we eat before their plucked, skinned and processed. And we don't directly depend on any animals in our home for survival. These things lead to a decrease in the over all value of the animals in our society, much unlike the nomadic peoples of Mongolia.
Schmidt, Jeremy. "Hunting with Golden Eagles is Tradition Among the Kazakh People of Mongolia." National Geographic Kids Feb. & march 2009: 28-30.

Blog #2

Almost twenty years ago hundreds or maybe thousands of Chinese protesters were killed in the Tiananmen Square Massacre by Chinese soilders in the governments crackdown on human rights and freedom of speech. A mixture of students and citizens of the People's Republic of China had gathered in the square for over a month, with cries for democracy and freedom of speech. A giant plaster statue the Goddess of Democracy and the unknown Tank Man are still symbols of their lost cries for freedom. After reading this article I compared China then to China now; today it seems that in their huge economic boom, China's free speech movement has lost a lot of momentum, there and around the world. With their increased life style and urbanization it seems China is willing to put their calls for freedom aside as they concentrate on their new found economic benefits. It is an interesting dilema, would you choose a better more wealthy lifestyle without any political freedoms, or would it be better to have democracy and freedom but less economic prosperity? I think, being american, we would all automatically say freedom, but along with our freedom many of us have good lifestyles with economic properity even with the recent recession. Would you choose dirt poor with rights or rich with no protections or freedom? This can also be related to Nectar in a Sieve, the way the village is loosing their culture and tight community but has economicly propered. Like Rukmani I think I would choose rights and freedom. We may only vote once a year, but I could not imagine not reading the newspaper everyday with confidence nothing has been taken out or cencered. At the beginning of Nectar we talked about if someone can be truely happy in poverty, I think as long as I had my free speech and rights I could deal with everything else.
Pearlman, Merrill. "1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre."The New York Times Upfront. 12 January 2009.

Natural Disasters Blog

I started reading The Invention of Air the story of Joseph Priestly, who author Steven Johnson claims to be one of his times greatest scientist, political and forward thinkers along side Benjamin Franklin. You might guess that I did not expect this book to have any relevance to this weeks topic, but the opening chapter talks a lot about an unusual natural sight, waterspouts. This uncommon disaster is like a small tornado on water that can spin up to 150 miles per hour. However before modern technology little was known about these unusual disasters, in the first century B.C. Lucretius described it as "a kind of column that lets down from the sky into the sea, around which the waters boil, stirred up by the heavy blast of the winds, and if any ships are caught in that tumult, they are tossed about and come into great peril." Joseph Priestly was traveling across the Atlantic ocean on his way to newly founded America, when he spotted four different water spouts drifting across the sea. For him it was a stroke of extraordinary good luck, his good friend Benjamin Franklin had been conducting a debate over whether the spouts descended from the clouds or from the sea. He took vigorous notes and took statements from other witnesses around him. Today we have a lot of scientific knowledge about the natural world around us and many warning systems and drills to keep us safe in a sudden fury of mother nature. It is difficult to imagine living in a world where natural disasters and odd weather patterns were unexplained and came out of the blue. Especially rare disaster that only last a short while like water spouts would be extremely difficult to describe and conduct scientific research. In a huge changing and unexpected world, we can really feel small and helpless in the wrath of mother nature.
Johnson, Steven. The Invention of Air. New York: Riverhead Books, 2008.

Adios Mr. Bush; his last press conference without the shoes

President Bush gave his final 47 minute press conference of his presidency. Filled with passion, defiance, reflection and light heartedness Bush displayed many emotions as he reflected on his turbulent time in office and the mistakes he made along the way. When asked to look back, he admitted some things "didn't go according to plan." Mr. Bush repeatedly said that he believes history will be the judge of his presidency. In response to a question about his extreme critics he said, "I don't know why they get angry, I don't know why they get hostile...I don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see, if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country." He was very defensive about his policies on terrorism, which have given him the most criticism. He talked about his plans for the future;"I just can't envision myself, you know, with a big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt, sitting on some beach particularly since I quit drinking." He said was going to get busy quick after leaving office, but one thing he said he wasn't going to do is stay in the spotlight. "When I get out of here, I'm getting off the stage, I've had my time in the klieg lights."

Life: A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen

"In America, people used to defend their rights now they use them as weapons" writes George f. Will from the Washington Post. In a Solomonic compromise, schools in Broward Country, Fla banned running at recess because they were sued when a student fell for inadequate supervision. A young member of Teach for America was sued for $20 million because they put a hand on a disobedient 7th grade to lead them from the room. "A 2004 survey reported that 78% of middle and high school teachers have been subjected to legal threats from students bristling with rights." Some school districts have removed all the fun play ground equipment from the fear of being sued. But now with screens and electronics millions of kids are obese because of what attorney and author Philip Howard calls " a bubble wrap approach to child rearing produced by the cult of safety." These are all caused by our "legal culture" and "legal self consciousness that is stifling the exercise of judgement." Now America has become a legal minefield, and you better be careful where you step.

Journeys of a Lifetime

My mom got this really big hardcover book from National Geographic about 500 of the world's greatest trips. I was reading all about possible trips you can take all over the world. My favorite so far is the Temples of Thailand. An exotic trip to east Asia visiting the peaceful Buddhist temples scattered across the country. The total trip is 574 miles and they recommend going from November to February. Some stops on the trip are Wat Po the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok, inside there is a 150 ft. reclining Buddha statue. In Wat Traimit the Golden Buddha is five tons of solid gold. At the bottom of the article there is some odd insider information; it warns travelers not to sit with your feet pointing to a Buddha image, don't make physical contact with a monk, and not to take pictures of the Emerald Buddha. Another beautiful trip is a journey to Australia's outback and the world's oldest living culture. Arnhem land is one of the last unspoiled regions of Aboriginal culture and society in Australia it is home to over 20,000 indigenous peoples speaking a variety of languages. You can see a 40,000 year old Aboriginal rock art depicting scenes from everyday life. The culture sounds immense there, however tourism is restricted to preserve traditional ways of life.

Winter Break Blog #1

A year of our world in review: our earth has made yet another full orbit around the sun, what have we been up to on it? Even with the global economy taking a spin, developing countries around the world are growing at astonishing rates. Brazil, China and India to name a few. The world's tallest building is now in Dubai, the largest movie industry is India's Bollywood not Hollywood and the world's largest plane is made by Airbus in Europe. These changes are unsettling to some Americans, who's country has had economic, political and cultural hegemony on the world for over a century. But as writer Fareed Zakaria suggests Americans should not be afraid that this is the down fall of America but rather the rise of the rest of the world. The percentage of the world's people living on $1 a day is declining from 40% in 1981 to 18% in 2004. Our news media tells us that we live in dark dangerous times fraught with terrorism, unstable states, financial panics, outsourcing and illegal immigration, but how dangerous is our world really? Researchers at the University of Maryland have found that global violence is at its lowest levels since the 1950's. Harvard Professor Steven Pinker concludes that we are probably living "in the most peaceful time of our species' existence." America must bring these rising nations into the global system.This new year America must remain open and flexible and be the melting pot of ideas it has always been.