Closing on a Great Year

Our class is rowdy to say the least and it can take half the period for the "back corner(s)" to settle down, but through all the chaos that it Pugliese A Block, I've learned the most about my writing skills than in any other class. English, a period based off of writing essays, has taught me nothing in comparison to what I have accomplished or more so learned over the past nine months in Modern World History. Rereading an essay that I had written back in September made me laugh. I lacked the ability to organize, use topic sentences correctly, and form a thesis. Although I still have trouble putting together a thesis, I can see that something has drastically changed. Maybe it is not shown on paper, but I notice it when going about writing a paper. For the past couple years, I've tried to use the basic thesis structure: "although -----, (claim) because (reason)." For every paper, that has been my building block and i've learned to elaborate my reasons from there. My thesis for my final project turned out to be just a claim essentially. I've now learned how to gather information from many different sources, organize it, and interpret before starting to compose an essay. I can see the difference from when I tried to do that in my Simon Bolivar project to my final project on the Brandenburg Gate. At first glance, it's overwhelming to have to deal with all the information from different sources, but I've learned how to go about it in a more organized fashion. Another issue with my writing is my analysis of the facts. I ask questions in my papers, but tend to leave them unanswered. Although I still tend to do this even now, I can now recognize this when writing and reading through my essays. I've enjoyed the class itself, but it has greatly changed the way I write for the better and helped me feel more confident when assigned a paper. 

WWII Pop Culture

Besides Maus, which we read in class this year, the only other book I read dealing with WWII was  also this year in english. A Separate Peace is a story about a boy attending prep school back east at the time when the war breaks out and the U.S. starts drafting young men. It shows intentions of going to war and the effects of going at such a young age. I have also seen two movies that relate to this topic. I saw Diary of Anne Frank, about a young Jewish girl who goes into hiding with her family, trying to escape the Nazi concentration camps, a few years ago. One of my favorite movies of all time is The Sound of Music, about a nun who goes to take care of the seven Von Trapp kids, whose father is wanted by Hitler himself to come work with the Nazis, forcing the whole clan to flee out of the country at the end. 

Pop Culture

The only books that I have read that deal with post-colonization are those that we have read in school. We read The Kite Runner our freshman year and Things Fall Apart. Although one was in Africa and the other all the way in Afghanistan, these books express similar ideals relating to decolonization. 

Land Reform v.s. Red Guards

Both the Land Reform in Action and the Red Guards have the same end goal in mind, which is to get rid of "old-school" China. However, with both acts trying to accomplish the same goal, they surprisingly have complete opposite effects on their targeted people. The Land Reform in Action piece is about a revolution in a chinese village by the common working peasants against the village head. In this instance, one man led the fights against another by getting the villagers to expose the crimes of Te-yu. At first, the villagers didn't want to speak, because usually if they spoke out against their "boss", even if it was for justice, they were the ones to be punished. But Tien-ming attempted to get rid of the fear in these people and inspire them to fight their ruling power. This is an instance of the new government forming in China, but just one effect it had on the people. Unlike in Land Reform, the Red Guards went about their end goal by instilling fear in others. The Red Guards went into people's homes, destroying their home and all possessions that were a part of "old China." This caused the people to be fearful of the new government. In any case, the end goal for both was to have the old Chinese government abolished so that a new, Communist government could take it's place. While one attempts to overcome fear and another puts more fear into the villagers, they both want to accomplish the same thing. 

Grandpa's Trip to Berlin

My grandpa climbed up the steps of the Berlin Wall, something that others are shot at for attempting. Escorted by Russian soldiers, my grandpa crossed from West Berlin into East Berlin for a long two hours. Only days earlier, he was back at home in the United States. Even he was in fear of Russia and their threat of overpowering europe and potentially America as well. He was working for the Dupont Company. His boss was asked by President Kennedy to establish Radio Free Europe, a broadcast into Russia about good things happening in Western Europe. RFE was to interview refugees who came out of Russia. My grandpa traveled from Washington D.C. to Seattle to raise money for this broadcast and was also backed up by the CIA, who assured my grandpa that he would make it out of Berlin safely. So in the mid-1960's, he got on a plane and arrived in Germany, which he described as a very scary place. "West and East Berlin was like day and night." In West Berlin, where RFE headquarters were located, there were shops, cars, and people roaming the streets; it was a prosperous area. After he climbed the steps of the Berlin Wall, he saw nothing, literally. He describes East Berlin as being "vacant; no people, no cars, no shops, no life." In the Eastern part of the city, there was no freedom, food, or technology. The people were poor and helpless because Russia had bad ambitions. He returned from Berlin safely and continued working on the project, but for even at home, fear still existed. But nothing beats standing at the top of the Berlin Wall. 

Oil in the Middle East

When we think of oil, we not only think of what it powers, but more important, where it comes from. The middle east has a vast variety of economy and wealth, but the wealth they have comes from the oil business. While the map in the textbook is political and the one online is geographical, they both display the same countries. Most of the major oil-producing areas are on the water, with the exception of Iraq. Location on the water has always been a prime situation since early colonies, for there is a higher source of trade. The oil-producing companies in the middle east have formed relationships with the United States and countries all around the world based on their possession of this crucial resource. As sean noted, it easier to drill oil on low land areas. But their success is due to the accesability of trading with foreign areas. Also, Tim has mentioned that the middle east has nothing without oil. That's true, the middle east is defined by their access to oil and has almost no wealth without it. Countries must work to maintain a relationship with them in order to ensure a steady source of oil. 

Education in Kenya

Kenya has had a variety of results from the colonialism of European settlers. There is a 45% unemployment rate and 20% of the population is living below the poverty line. Kenya has one of the highest rate of population growth rates in the world. The problems are only worsened by fighting between ethnic groups and fragile political stability. So I was quite surprised when I found the following statistics. The adult literacy rate is 73.6 % compared with the 60.1 of the rest of Africa. And there is a 66% enrollment ration for primary school. Not only was this surprising because both young boys and girls have an equal enrollment rate in school, but how the education seems so prominent in a country with so much poverty and unemployment. However, unlike many other African countries, Kenya welcomed the Europeans, who brought over foreign investment and profit incentives. While many are unemployed and six of the thirty million people are squatters, the strong presence of the West provides a good explanation for the impressive educational statistics in Africa. 

The Brandenburg Gate

I recently changed my topic so the amount of research I've done isn't as much as my previous, but from the research I have gathered, I've noticed a few things. The gate is a really important symbol for the division of Berlin and I want to explore the history behind it. My research questions are the following : 

There was a long-denied freedom to walk through the gate. Why and when was this?

What is the history behind the fact that this gate is a symbol for division and re-unification? 

Why is this such a popular spot for leaders, such as Napoleon, Reagan, and Obama, to make speeches and gather at? 

Who designed the gate and where did this architecture originate from? 

I want to explore the gate itself, but more the history behind it. Since it is a part of the Berlin Wall, hopefully I can contain my information to the Gate itself. 

Brandenburg Gate

I've changed my topic for this final project three times so far because I haven't been able to find any information on my past monuments. But I am surprised on the articles I have found and even more surprised on how recently the Brandenburg Gate has been in the news. This article talks about the 20th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's trip to the gate, where he gave a memorable speech and "dared" Gobachev to "Tear Down this Wall." Press came to so many conclusions about Reagan and not so much about his appeal for freedom, but rather on the legacy he would leave behind. This is a argumentative secondary article and the author of this piece seems to have a positive attitude towards the events of Reagan's trip to Berlin. Unlike the general attitude of the news, the author argues that the president sticks to his "lasting visions" and helped bring freedom to this nation. I also found this article, written less than a year ago, about President Obama's trip to the same monument. A conservative, German chancellor condemns Obama for using the Gate as a "campaign backdrop." Other Berliners say that Obama should feel free to speak at the Brandenburg gate, which is open to anyone. Not only did I not know that this monument has been in the news so much over the past few years, but it is also a very popular spot for our own presidents. Ofcourse the events of Obama and Reagan that took place in Berlin differ, it's interesting to see how people in the same community react so differently to how "public" property is used. 

Dinesh D'Souza: Exposed

"A national disgrace," "a childish thinker," who "hates America" and "insists on joining forces with the Satanists." Ever since he hit college in the early 1980's, Dinish D'Souza has faced criticism towards his disputable, yet not extremist views. "I came here because the United States gives me freedom to make the life that I could not have made in India." D'Souza sometimes comes off as a supporter of Bin Laden and his followers, but he argues that no man would chose to leave his family and community behind to migrate to a country that he hated. In this article, written in the Washington Post, D'Souza must once again clarify himself and his views published in his books and those that have caused controversy among many scholars. But this man is a high scholar himself, who poses great questions and only further explores the relationship between the Muslim community and the Americans, more so the "left" or liberals. 

This article goes in depth about the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. D'Souza says that the build-up of actions from many presidents, such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, not just Bush, have angered the Muslims. After that day, people wanted to know why they hate us, but "no one wanted to comprehend the enemy -- only to annihilate him." I know I was only in third grade at the time, but I know that even now I can't comprehend how a person could do such things. Reading this article on D'Souza has really changed my views on this war we're in right now, but I still don't understand how a group of people could kill thousands of people, now matter their race or background. 

Many people argue that the Muslims hate us because unlike in many of their societies, Americans have a great amount of freedom. D'Souza uses the example of Planned Parenthood International, who went into Eastern countries giving contraceptives to young girls, and human rights groups, that "used their interpretation of international law" to make countries change their laws on abortion/homosexuality, to support his statement. When I think about it, being on the other side of this situation would really upset me. If I had people from the East coming into my home (or community) and pressuring my peers and me to change our views, I'd be annoyed. If a group of Muslims convinced all my friends to wear traditional clothes like the hijab, and they all looked down on me for not following, I'd blame the people who brought this into my life. This is a bad example, but since America is a relatively free country, I can't think of many things outsiders do that we take offense to. 

I respect Dinesh D'Souza greatly. "I have no sympathy for Bin Laden or the Islamic radicals. But I do respect the concerns of traditional Muslims." This Stanford graduate has found a way to balance his views and interpret both points of view. Reading this article has given me more insight on the Muslim culture and their reasons behind their feelings toward America. 

Women in War

The role of women changed greatly from world war one to the second. In 1914, women were not a part of the war, although they participated at the home front. When the men all went off to fight the wars in Europe, women were left to take their place in a factories and other local occupations. Their jobs were temporary and not directly on the battle field, but the labor force of women certainly increased during WWI. Army and Navy nurse corps had been established in earlier years and that was the biggest area of female participation. Not until after the bombing of Pearl Harbor was the potential value of women recognized and the WAAC (women auxiliary army corps) considered. People were hesitant to women becoming more active due to society's view of their role in the home and the masculinity/strength it took to fight. The demand for more people in the military defeated the resistance. At first, when women went oversea, performing Army jobs, they didn't have benefits equal to those "members" of the Army. WAAC volunteers got unequal pay, experienced a lack of military rank, and knew that the women in the NAVY had much more privilege. Women achieved full military status in 1943, with the passing of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) Bill. 

WWI was when women could fulfill more jobs in the home front and temporarily take on the place of men in society. During WWII, women didn't just take open jobs, but created a whole new work force; women fighting in the army. They paved a new path of women's rights and equality. 

[I used this website.]

Juvenile Delinquency

Due to the outbreak of World War II, Britain was divided into three sections: evacuation (people in urban areas, where bombing was expected), neutral (people that didn't accept or send away evacuees), and reception (rural areas for the evacuees). This was the plan, headed by Sir John Anderson, to evacuate all children out of Britain's large cities. As children and teachers migrated to rural areas, around a million children were without education. From then on, increased activity of juvenile "hooliganism" was reported, mostly on public air raid shelters. Young boys and girls were misusing these public shelters for sexual activity with one another. It was more a problem not what the teenagers were doing to each other, but the crimes they committed to the other citizens. They broke into the houses of those who went to shelters and stole the possessions of those sleeping in the shelters. The headmaster of the Ashurst Wood Council School gave many reasons for the uprising in youth delinquency. These reasons include bad housing, poverty, no recreational activities, a weakening in the standards of parental control, lesser religious influence, and a lack of amusement. Another factor was a lack of discipline for young men due to their fathers enlisting. Without a authority figure in the home, young boys took advantage of their freedom from parental control. 

One of the biggest problems was teens increasing raids on the Home Guard stores. At one time, a gang would steel thousands of rounds of sten-gun ammunition. Although some were arrested, the possession of these weapons in young hands was very dangerous to society in general, not to mention them stealing valuable resources. 

The government should've tried harder to stop these young people of Britain. They caused great damage. I'm not aware of the extremity of punishments in those days, but it should've been harsher to signify to other teens that this was a serious problem. I also believe that more education should have been put back into their lives because clearly the problem rose when a million kids were left without schooling. We don't realize how important education is, but it not only sets us up for the future, but keeps us on a focused path. 

The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

NBC decided to release this video in 1995 not only to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our victory over Japan, but to also spread awareness of the last effects of nuclear warfare and war in general. War is never a good route to take for all it causes is more fighting, death, and oppression of cultures. The United States' advancements in warfare and how they surpassed the rest of the world is astonishing to many people. Personally, I am completely interested in this subject of nuclear warfare for I don't understand exactly how it all works. So it's cool to watch incredible footage, especially when I know some who took part in developing the first atomic bomb. 

It's important to remind people of history, good or bad. This video commemorates the war in a positive way for the United States, but it's memories range from country to country. Although America developed this weapon and had great success, I'm not a supporter of these types of actions. While the American population came to an unified agreement to redeem themselves and fight back against the Japanese after Pearl Harbor, our actions were a little extreme. The long term affects of radiation and destruction aren't completely justified by their attack on Pearl Harbor. I do understand that it was a world war and we must defend ourselves like any other country, but America's actions didn't rise above and all we did was deepen the problems. 

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

The picture of all the men crammed in these "shelves" really grabbed my attention because usually we are learning about death camps, where as labor camps. I was quite interested in learning how the conditions here are just as bad and the death tolls are quite astonishing themselves. This picture I found shows slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camps in squished together in horrible conditions. Buchenwald was a Nazi concentration cam established on the Etter Mountain, located near Weimar, Germany. This was one of the first and biggest camps within Germany. Prisoners incuded Jews, Poles, criminals, homosexuals, religious prisoners, and many more. They came from countries all over Europe; most of the political prisoners were from anti-Nazi countries. Even though Buchenwald was a labor camp and not extermination, there were many deaths from mistreatment, malnutrition, human experimentation, and execution. On April 4, 1945, the first german concentration camp was invaded by U.S. troops. Four days later, the Germans partially left Buchendwald. On April 12, 1945, the U.S. 80th Infantry Division took control of this camp. 

Arranging the textbook

Before we go into the chapters themselves, we should take a look at that bigger picture of the layout. I think it makes a lot of sense for these two chapters to be separated. When I think of WWII, I only think about the Holocaust and the targeting of the Jewish race. By designating a chapter to each aspect of this time, both the politics/war itself and the exile of the Jews seem to have great importance. While the Holocaust itself captures more emotion, we would be lost reading about that without all the historical events leading up to it, which is why I think there should be a great focus on the two. Although I would keep these chapters separate, I would have the Holocaust, titled "The Incomprehensible Truth", directly follow the chapter with all the politics leading up to it. This may sounds stupid, but textbooks forget that we are only human and the truth is, we don't remember everything we read two nights ago. Within The Incomprehensible Truth chapter, there would be a great deal of summary of what happened in the previous chapter. There's just too much detail to combine these two into one, but the Holocaust doesn't make sense without knowledge of the Nazi Party and it's effect on everyone else. 

Now, looking at the information discussed in chapter twenty four, we face a dilemma. We could either organize it by country, which is what the textbook has done. Within similar time periods, the book goes country by country. We could go another route and go chronologically. This way, the text would talk us year by year through the war. By doing this, we wouldn't have to keep flipping through the book to go back and forth to different times. When reading through the pages each night, it would be less confusing to go by time for we could form a timeline in our heads. But in the long run, I think it is more helpful to sort information by country/government. It is easier to flip through the book for dates instead of sorting all the facts into regions. If I were designing a textbook, I would sort the information overall by time and follow that order so that reading it each night made sense and people wouldn't have to skip all over the book for chronological order.  It doesn't have to be year by year but generally what war went before the next and such. Within these separations of time, the countries should be distinct as well; color coding, flow charts, etc. The overall goal is that when a student like myself could read each night going through history in order, but also be able to go back after they've read, link events of many countries, and compare them to others. This chapter would be called "World War II: How did we end up here?"

My Grandpa, The Marine

"My motivation was love of country, protecting our people from defeat by Japan and other countries who hated us, pride in being a Marine with it's aura of being the best, respect, and proving my country and competence." Only a sophomore in high school in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and other middle European countries, my grandfather describes this time in great detail. The United States was brought closer and closer to going to war to help Great Britain and France, our allies and friends. He recalls that while some demanded that we stay out of the war, others were convinced that the only way for the war to end was for the U.S. to get involved. In any case, emotions were high and news of war overwhelmed the media (radio broadcasts and newspapers) each day. 

Halfway through his senior year at a boarding school back east, Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and many other islands in the Pacific in 1941. The loss of many lives and ships were horrible and there was a great fear of the Japanese attacking the mainland next. But more than fear was a feeling of intense anger that we had been attacked. The focus was now on counterattacking the Japanese and soon the Germans and Italians, who were winning the war. 

"Unlike the Iraq war, every American was determined to defend this country's honor and defeat the aggressor nations." Conversations at school revolved around joining the war. Not only did he feel that all of America had taken part in this counterattack, but he had motivation through his family. His two brothers, who were several years older, enlisted immediately. Jack went to the Navy and was sent out to sea as an ensign. Jim went to the Army as a doctor. 

My grandpa found interest in the U.S. Marine Corps, who was fighting in the Pacific Ocean at the time. It was such a personal challenge and commitment because he learned what the Marine Corps truly was; "a very tough outfit, requiring challenging physical training, iron discipline, and the willingness to work as a team." Before graduating high school, he joined the Marines in 1942 for many reasons, including wanting to prove to himself and his family that he could do great things in the rigorous Marines setting. 

Boot camp was in Parris Island, South Carolina. "We were told by our drill instructors that we were going to learn an entirely new way of life that removed our individuality and reshape us as Marines. Motivated and inspired, he and his fellow boots did what they were told, no matter how bad the task was. He learned how to kill people with rifles, postols, bayonets, and knives in hand to hand combat. "And most important of all, we were asked if we were willing to give our lives if necessary for our country and our fellow Marines. If we weren't, we would be discharged immediately." Strictly enforced was the command to never leave a wounded Marine behind when in battle. No matter the circumstances, they had to try to rescue them. 

The biggest motivation my grandpa had was to do something with his life that was greater than his own self interests and to "prove himself in the face of danger." 

Propaganda, extra credit

This propaganda is very simple, like many, but it attacks a central point that is risky, but has great power. By bringing up god and saying, "God's on our side," this images is signifying that there is a god and fighting the Nazi's is the right thing to do. For people who don't believe in god, which is not a majority of the people, they may find this offensive. But religion is important to many, and to think and believe you have the support of such a high authority, supernatural power is a very power feeling/statement. For the people who were against the Nazis, but couldn't do anything about it, this poster gives them support; it promises them that they're morals are correct. It gives the idea that you must keep fighting for your cause, and if you'll succeed if you are the one fighting for justice. This piece of propaganda can apply to any war. The most important thing to note is that having the support of God gives confidence and inspires more people to go out and be active.

Appeasement

Appeasement is just one of many paths to take. You can be passive, rebel, or appease. Personally, I've noticed more recently how much I take the latter path. By definition, to appease is to pacify (someone) by acceding to their demands or to relieve (a feeling or demand). I experience it with my friends and with my family. When we come to a point of disagreement and end up getting into a serious argument, I can't keep going. I always give in and admit to mistakes or faults that a lot of the time aren't true in order to stop the disputing. I don't see the point in fighting with my friends and family, all it does is cause stress and more fighting in my life. So, not matter what the circumstances, I usually give into the pressure of someone else, so things will go back to normal. I think it's a path that many people choose, but not all. There are a lot of people that can't admit to failure. I am not trying to make myself sound like this great person, "admitting to my faults" or just "trying to have peace", but there are people who can't ever be wrong, not matter how much controversy and problems their beliefs cause.

The appeasement that we see in history, referring to Hitler in particular, is similar to our everyday examples; however, it is on a more extreme scale. People didn't rebel and just did horrible things to please Hitler for a reason; basically, many people did what they did for their safety. I give in just to stop drama. For some germans in the 1930's, they followed the Nazi party to keep their life. There hadn't been any notable rebellions against this socialist party, a huge example of appeasing. Citizens gave into this controlling force for a variety of reasons, but one of many overarching questions is what other choice did they have?

***Addition***

I don't think I initially understood all aspects of appeasement. Honestly, reading more op-eds on compromise vs. appeasement, I've become more confused. But I do understand the basic differences and appeasement is not the way to go. Appeasing others is the easier way out, or so it seems at the time. It's easier to give in then to go through all the trouble of compromising. But in the long run, settling the problem initially is better. Appeasement just puts the problem aside and eventually it will come back to haunt you. This isn't the path to take because all it does is put off the issue until later, nothing good, except for possible temporary peace, can come of appeasement.

Adolf Hitler - Adams

This article I found from Time.com is a very opinionated piece. The author acknowledges not being a professional historian, but her points are convincing and very strong. Over the course of the article, she addresses many things and these have furthered my thinking on Hitler's rise to power. First, as we saw in the video of Hitler's speech in class, it is clear that his presence and speaking are powerful, especially for a man of his intentions. He had a great charm and like we decided after watching that video in class, if you saw that with no prior knowledge, you would believe and want to support this man. We have no learned quite so much on the resistance to Hitler. The author asks that question, was there any? While the others were too weak to fight Hitler's power, "Germany railed behind him." People of such high education and class backed Hitler's ideas, showing how great a influence these people have over the rest of society. These peoples are government officials, lawyers, doctors, scholars, and more. Through such strong descriptions of Hitler's effects on the world, she not only asks how one person could lead this whole movement, but how a person could do such things. She describes his childhood, but i guess that isn't really the big question. Yes, it is appalling to think about how bad a man Hitler is, but its more how did anyone let this happen. It could have been Germany's economic state and how Hitler offered a change and hope. Sound farmiliar? Obama was on a similar platform when on the path to power. We supported him because he offered a better future, which is something Hitler used to appeal to his audience. I agree with everything this author of the time's article talks about, even though her use of language is quite strong. 

An Inspiration to All

Tomorrow, I have a lab report, a paper, and a test. For the past three hours, I have sat at my desk, complaining to myself about how tomorrow is going to be a bad, stressful day. It's amazing how I'm giving the oppurtunity to complain, the privilledge to have such a academic day. Forget the fact that we go to an unbelievable school with extraordinary resources. Reading this article in Upfront and watching the video about Malala made me realize that they're are hundreds of thousands of girl who sit at home and dream about being in my position. Not only should I be grateful to have the chance to learn and get the level of education I am getting, but that I don't have to worry about being shot or having acid thrown on me on the way to school. For girls like Malala, her work is something to look forward to; her life is what is on the line.
We've been studying the fascist governments of Italy, Germany, Russia, and Japan. Fascism is defined as a dictatorial and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization, usually including obedience to a political leader and harsh ways of approaching the task at hand. I can't say whether I believe the Taliban are fascist or not. I am not fully educated on their beliefs on government, but their actions signal that they are semi-fascist. While it does not seem that they have the leadership or organization of a party like the Nazis or Mussilini's Italy, they take similar approaches as the leaders of the nations above. Through unjustified violence and hatred, they maintain power out of fear. In that short video we watched in class, we could see that more than half the girls didn't show up for school because the Taliban said not to over the radio. But education is too important to not have. None of these fascist movements overall have done much good and in no way are they permitted to take away one's rights, let alone education. Girls risk their faces and their lives everywhere. This dedication should never be denied, but looked up to.