The last chapters...for now

"Life can only be understood backward, but it is lived forward." - Danish philospher, Soren Kierkegaard
Taken from Strayer's Ways of the World page 1118, this quote pretty much sums what we have learned from this course.  So much progress but at the same time at the price of others in some cases.  There are still issues similar to our ancestors' encounters.  Overall we can learn from the past and choose to make wiser, more educated choices.  This class in general has helped me see things through a different perspective and may have helped me understand and cherish what our ancestors have done or fought for.  Our generation will probably never get to know what it was like to live in a region with limited supplies or electricity.  But if we get to travel and experience, may we take the time to cherish everyday items such as running water, stove tops that heat instantly and of course the septic tank. I hope we can stop and question-why not them? Why do some have more than others?  Perhaps if businesses weren't always profit driven and instead teach social responsibility as many companies are now considering and contribute to the more needy we can see some balance in economy.

CH 20-21; 7/2/14

There is clearly a difference in time when you start to read about the Communist Party.  Just getting settled into the first couple of pages in both chapters the entire attitude and perspective to me is gloomy.  The Great Depression, WWI, and WWII are all relevant to world history but it really sets a different mood altogether.  Strayer definitely captures and entertains that gloomy feeling and to think that people actually lived through this is heartbreaking.  Families, for example during the Nazi concentration camps, were taken and separated from the culture and lifestyle one had made their own.  The ability to adapt is resisted at first but overall one had to comply to make stay alive, if ever so lucky.  In a black and white timeframe, the only known color to the Communist Party was red. Red, a symbolic color known for energy and to entice emotion. It also portrays a strong and powerful masculine energy.  Go figure!  Most of the communist leaders were known to be male leaders.  They were fearless and did as they pleased without showing emotion or sentiment to their thoughts.  It was their say or nothing!  Germany, China, Russia, and Cuba are all known for this communist government system elevated during historical times.  Why did it not cross to North America?  What was the motive for this type of government that was not accepted into the Americas? Was it fear that held civilians from fighting back?

Overall, this week’s reading Strayer really captured the negativity associated with Communism and a completely different perspective compared to all the eras.  As one of the inserts mentioned by Etty Hillesum in the concentration camps, it was really spirituality and faith that allowed this change in lifestyle but also her way of dealing with it all.