Blog 19

Chapter twenty three is mostly all about globalization. I actually have a presentation due this Thursday on chapter 23 visual sources. These visual sources aids us in our understanding of just how big globalization is. But the thing about globalization, is that it seems to be globalization of western standards. Everyone wants to be like the west, like Europe, like the United states. Our values, clothing, ideas are all pushed into other cultures. Take sweatshops. Sweatshops produce westernized clothing, as is seen in the first visual source. Blue jeans, something that Africans don't seem to wear, but are making for other countries. I mean, that is what they see of us. And is it positive? Should they want to be like us? I have no idea what their thoughts are when they are working in these shops making things that are westernized. Maybe they are neutral about the items, or maybe they are grateful they have a job? Or maybe they hate having to do this kind of work in order to get paid and survive in a world where money is everything and it is only money that measures success and life and supports us. Money is a big thing all around the world, and it seems that we made it that way. I'm not saying that maybe there shouldn't be, but maybe it shouldn't be praised to the point that it becomes a major motivating of killing. It's almost become a basic need for survival. Water, food? No. Money, in order to get those basic fundamental items. It's spooky.

hallmarks

I'm gonna talk about the Hallmarks here at NDNU. First off, I'm a transfer student. We were never forced to look at these things, and I'm pretty sure freshmen were (but who knows if they even still remember them). I guess I feel like I should have looked at these sooner. They mean a lot to our school, and hold all our values, so why haven't I? I don't know, but I pretty much like all of them. I mean, they're everywhere in the school. 

But anyway, onto the content of the hallmarks. They are all very nice. I like them all, but my favorite ones have to be about Justice. Justice comes in many ways, and I really like the idea that we stand for it. It's kind of simple, almost doesn't need to be stated but I really like that they did. I also really like the community service one and that we commit ourselves to it. I really love that this school is big on that. Its something everyone can do! doesn't matter if you have money or not. Doesn't matter how old you are. doesn't really matter about anything, because its about providing a service, providing some of your time, which makes the biggest difference in some people's lives. I love that, and I love that I've become more aware and engaged in that because of this school. 

blog 17

a good life. It's something we all strive for. And something we all should have. So, why don't we? This little reading says it should be available for everyone, the things that are necessary for one that is. But, we are also all entitled to our own things. How do you think that works? It's either equal or fair. There can't be both.
But the catholic church says it in a way that can seem possible. They say that they are incentives for people to help in the community and be productive for the whole. Smart. Seems plausible actually. And maybe it is, but maybe the problem lies in the whole incentive idea. People have their own incentives, for their own goods and their own beings. That is where the true problem lies. It's too broad just to say be a productive member of your society and of the human race, because, most people are.
Now, it seems here this is where the Catholic Church makes amends to it. That being Godly, means not to ignore our neighbors who may be more poor than us and do not live as good of a life. That is why there are material things, for us to share. And it seems this kind of idea comes straight out of Luke's Gospel. Luke always maintained that all material things should be shared or sold for the greater good of the community, and that those things should go to the less fortunate.

Hitler

The infamous Hitler and the Nazis were a subject of topic for this reading, and the minute I read Hitler I thought back to something I learned back in my English 103 class before I came to Notre Dame de Namur. We weren't really learning about Hitler or anything, but we started analyzing a work that analyzed why Hitler was able to do what he did for as long as he did without the outside world really realizing what was going on.
We, as human beings, have certain beliefs about what could go on in the world. There's only so much violence that we could think up. And it's usually violence that we've seen occur before. We all know there's murder. genocides. rapes. assaults. robbery. All kinds of those things we kind of learn on the way and we see it happen on the news. Something we've never really heard of before Hitler, was the encampment of a certain group of people by other people who thought they were superior and needed to do this to make the world a better place. I mean, there was always racism and slavery and we all know about that, but this took that idea to a whole new level. One that I don't think we could fathom without someone previously doing it. So, even if someone told us that this was happening in another place, we wouldn't believe them because, who does that? What kind of monster would do that? And how could he get away with it! It would be crazy! But, that's exactly how Hitler got away with it. He did the unimaginable, and people could not bring it to the forefronts of their minds.
So, who knows what the lesson here could be.  I guess expect the unexpected. Imagine the unimaginable. Believe the unbelievable. It's all out there. Someone will think of it. And you've got to be prepared for it.

BLOG 14

It seems that some countries had a lot to deal with when the colonizing that the European countries started began. China, japan and the ottoman empire had a lot on their hands, and it's a wonder how they survived through it all. I got stressed just reading about all they had to deal just at the second page of reading!

China's population growth had big impact on them, a negative one. They didn't have an industrial revolution or anything like that in Europe, which resulted in not having enough food or jobs to sustain their growth. China now had unemployment and starvation, leading to a weaker China, and a more miserable one. Not only that, but their government was not able to keep up with controlling the people. There was not enough man power or resources to keep everything going as smoothly as it was before. Now that is a scary thought, isn't it? Because of that, authority took it into their own hands to be harsh and cruel to their peasants, because how else would it seem like they had control? This then resulted in an uprising of gangs. Man, and I thought what I said before was scary. Imagine living in that type of society at those times, with European culture breathing down your back and trying to change the ways you've always known. It seems to be all to much for China and its people.

The Taiping uprising. That's a lot of change right there, especially with women. Women were now considered equal, getting equal land, being able to fight, be civil servants, put in higher positions and no longer was family a center for marriage, it was all about mutual attraction. Which, if you think about it, is where we are now in American culture. You don't really get married to have kids, and get rich with a husband and worry about those things. You get married because you find each other attractive and you grow to love those people.

CALL TO ACTION

I went to the Belmont creek clean up site for Call to Action Day. Let me first say, that I love that our school does this. I love that they sacrifice one day of school for us to service our community and those around us. It really does show that this school cares about its mission and others. It’s really what being a Catholic and believing in God is all about. It’s about others, the less fortunate, our earth, and giving up not only our money, but our time to help in any way. I feel so honored to be part of the school that takes that to heart. 

       With specificity to the Belmont clean up, it was honestly one of the best times I have had. I went in not knowing who was going to be there, what I was even going to be doing, or anything. I ended up meeting some people, and seeing some of my friends. We all came together to clean up the creek. And we really did. We went around and cleaned up trash, and then we went down to the creek where most of the trash was and cleaned up. We saw a water bottle in the water, stuck in some debris and we stayed there for about 15 minutes trying to get it out because the water was kind of deep and we didn’t want to go in, so we threw rocks at int the water to try and get the ripples to push the water towards us and it worked! It took some time, but it worked! That’s the amount of care that needs to go into everyday life and I’m glad I worked with people who really did care and put that much work into trying to get one single piece of plastic out. Because, it all matters. The little things matter. No matter what you do, the little things matter. It really put a perspective on how badly we treat our Earth and this Earth can only sustain us for so long. We need to love it in order for it to love us. Not only that, but don’t we want people who come into Belmont to be amazed, not disgusted by the amount of trash and waste we throw around. So, I challenge each and everyone one of you( I don’t even know who reads this, but whoever you are) to pick up at least one piece of trash everyday wherever you go. It will make a difference! Trust me! Even if you do not think it will, it does. When we were working today, there were many seniors where we working and almost all of them thanked us for cleaning up the park and for doing such a good job at it. It matters. It matters to them, and it solidifies us, all of us. We need to start caring. So, please, accept my challenge, as I will be doing it too. Tell your friends. And please, throw away your trash, recycle, or compost! It is all available to us here. There’s no reason not to! It’ll help everyone and you in the long run! Let’s not treat this place that gives us life with disrespect. 

XC post

The speaker and what he had to say was interesting. I know that we had to answer a specific question about the legacy of colonialism in places the man has worked, but when asked that question, he did not really answer it. He kind of went on a tangent about living here and stuff. So, I am just going to blog about what he said and what I found intriguing during his presentation.

The speaker works with an international organization, MSF, that is a short term emergency operation. Specifically he talked about Ebola. Children and pregnant women were the highest at risk to contract ebola.
Other things he said were that many nurses and doctors died out there, which was very devastating to their health care system! And that there were many orphans that came about it because of their parents dying from contracting ebola. It was a scary thought. Consequences that I have never thought about before. We only think about healing the sick, but we don't really think about the effects of even getting to a country like that and having them trust us and then the side effects if someone they try to treat ends up dying.

He also said that the people working in actual contact with people had to wear equipment, but they became so hot and sweaty that they are only allowed to work in them for one hour because they could faint! These people really do a lot and I was surprised and impressed with the speaker and the passion that he had for these people in resource poor countries.

Seventh Key theme of Catholic Social Teaching

 In this handout we are looking at the key themes of the Catholic social teachings. We are focusing on the theme of colonialism and economic development.


When we think about the global exploration in fifteenth century, we rarely hear or think about the fact that there were priests and pastors on those same boats as soldiers. These priests and pastors conducted baptisms and conversion that were forced just as much the land of the natives were forced to be given over to the whites. And it is claimed at the same time that these same priests and preachers  were against the violence of the slave trade and the genocide of the natives.


Next thing that is brought up is that catholic social teaching focuses on the gaps between the rich and the poor and how we must address that as a community and as individuals. They say that we all have an obligation to not ignore the sufferings of the poor, even though it is not in our own homeland. World poverty is everyone's problem and ignoring it is giving in to selfishness and isolation.
The second part of this social teaching had to do with no longer just pondering these problems, and giving vague suggestions for fixing them, but now to confront them head on. No longer looking at the past for blame but looking towards the future and these generations now and condemning them for continuing these bad habits and poor thinking and actions.
Paul VI was the one to say this, and he said that each economy must be restructured because they were all made to fit their own needs, and it was time that all economies were there to serve all humans. He said that there must be land reform in third world countries and more international aid in those poor countries. It is focused on changes of the entire WORLD economy.
It is also mentioned that it is impossible to be a quick change, but rather it will be a slow and gradual change, one that will only propel forward if many individuals do their part when they can.

Racism

Well, this was quite an interesting read. Two things caught my attention.


The first was about racism. Even after industrialization and the abolition of slavery, there were still ideas of racism spreading, but this time, instead of advocating against it through religious regions, they advocated for racism through science! Let's just let that sink in. Science, of all things, propelled racism. Obviously these so called scientists were a little biased. They used science to say that the human skulls of whites were larger and more advanced than those of the minorities and blacks. That's crazy. So, not only do people's fears about physical differences prevent them from giving blacks the same respect as themselves(whites), but now the so called "inside" differences are too. And not only that, but because of this whole idea of germs and the theory of that coming out, there were fears about touching these "inferior" races because touching them could compromise your health and the future of the whites. It's quite depressing to think about. and it's even more depressing to think about how I would have acted back then. If that was the way of thinking, and science backed it up, why would anyone question it, if science was to provide the proof for all things and science seems absolute?


The second thing to catch my eye was the "scramble for Africa". Like, wait, what? European powers negotiated for these lands, acting as if no one was on these lands. That would make me so frustrated if I lived in Africa. I'm glad that they gave resistance and made them work for it. They didn't go down without a fight, and it took years and years for some of the powers to conquer places. But I guess, science said they weren't really the same as them, so it was alright for them to take over, because it was their duty to help these inferior races. They needed to be civilized, no longer to be the savages of their race.

Industrial revolution.

This chapter already starts of interesting, with the words of Ghandi saying the machinery produces too fast and will exploit the villagers. But once it started, even his hometown couldn't help but indulge in the machinery type of lifestyle. It's kind of like modern times. There are people who think badly of cellphones but there is honestly almost no way around it. Almost every culture and community has embraced it and it is now part of our life, and if you do not have one, it is hard.

There were cons and pros to this industrial revolution. We are where we are in society because of it, well when it comes to technology and all that, but at the same time, where we are isn't such a good thing either. The impact of the industrial revolution of our environment is detrimental and it is only a matter of time before we ALL feel the effects of it. There is only one earth as far as we know, and eventually our environment won't be able to support the amount of people in it. We are ruining our own environment with our advancements.

Echoes

I realize this blog is late, but I am going to post it anyway.

History is something we tend to look at as just the past. It is something that happened and something we need to learn from, although I doubt any learning from history actually takes places in our society, but I digress. So, there are three echoes, and by echoes, the author is saying that there are three things that stemmed from those times and the revolutions that are still prominent in our society and culture today, and will probably be prominent for a really long time. The three echoes are feminism, nationalism, and abolition. Nationalism happens to be my favorite, since I myself am a fellow patriotic citizen! (My car plate cover is that of an american flag, and yes, I cried at the end of white house down when the little girl was waving the american flag). But anyway, I want to focus a little bit on feminism. Feminism then, was literally about getting equality, and getting the rights known to man since man made those laws. So, yeah, good for this women who stood up and stood against men in order to get their rights. But since he does talk about them as echoes, I would like to bring it to the modern times. Feminism now sucks. I am not a feminist, and I will never be a feminist. Feminist now, compared to then, is about being able to do whatever we want, and actually being proud of being sluts and shaming those females who actually are CHOOSING to be stay at home moms, and cater to their husbands.  Which contradicts their whole campaign, which is letting women choose to do what they want, oh, but wait, as long as its within their definition of what a female should do, which is work, and be a slut. Oh man, if feminists back then could see what our feminists are, I wonder if they would stand with them, or against them.

Francoise

I'm going to be writing this as I read, so bear with me.

First thing I notice that caught my eye is that Francoise was raised by her Grandparents, while her parents and her siblings lived nearby. It's definitely different than our society today and one would even say weird. Who knows, maybe that was normal back then. I wonder how that affected Francoise psychology, you know? How different she would have turned out if she was actually raised by her parents and actually lived with her siblings, because living with her grandparents meant that she probably had characteristics matching those of an only child more than that of having siblings.
I mean, my grandparents helped raised me because they ended up living with my parents after we were born, so I guess it's a little like that except for the fact my parents were still my primary caretakers and I lived with them and my sister and brother.

Although Francoise's father was an enlightened thinker, he had peasants, that he actually treated well, but still believed in the differences and ownership between the two. Which, for that time, was actually good. We can't expect people to automatically give up society's way of thinking. It's how they grew up, theo only thing they knew at the time.

Oh, the woes of being a female in those times. Only two options for life: live a virgin life, or getting married, have kids, and be sexually active while taking care of the household or whatever responsibilities came with marriage. I mean, those choices are still okay, but it isn't okay if when they  are the only two options. And Francoise chose the virgin life. and would have rather lived a more simple life than the extravagant life she was born into.

Revolutions

So. Many. Revolutions. I couldn't imagine living in that time where everywhere you looked there was a revolution there. All the Atlantic revolutions had a baseline that was similar, in that they all seemed to help the middle class white men,  but again, each one was distinctly different. 

America's revolution was really about a break away from Britain. Another thing that was noted about our revolution is that we did not really make a new society. the revolution just kind of accelerated the society, which was of a democratic kind. France also seemed to awaken their revolution because of America's. Even though they were having a revolution that was different than ours, America seemed to propel theirs forward. France's revolution had to do with internal political affairs. There were conflicts with the amount of privileges that the elite were getting. You know what was so different about the French revolution and about France in general. Women. Women there were such a prominent part of revolutions and conflicts. They charged, and marched and signed documents, which, you'd think they would get equality, but they did not. In fact, men were starting to feel a little afraid, so they stopped all women's club. You know what else is kind of ironic and funny? The fact that Maximilian Robespierre actually sent thousands and thousands of people to the guillotine, and then he himself was arrested, and accused of tyranny and dictatorship and was guillotined himself. Violence seems to end violence. 

Science

The scientific revolution. Weird to think about when you come from the 21st century. Science and proving things with evidence is so normal, and expected in my time, that thinking about a time when that was not so, kind of makes you step back and realize that changes are constantly occurring. Before this was the normal, it was Religion that was the science. Everything was explained by Religion, and when people started coming out with things that went against the church, it seemed that people started moving toward science for their reasoning. It was things like Copernicus who found that earth was not the center of the universe, as once believed, especially with religion, because it supported the idea of God centering in on Earth and mankind. If I was alive back when that came out, I would have to say that my faith in the church and what I had been learning my whole life would definitely be shaken and I probably would be a confused mess. I guess that's why deism and pantheism came about, because religion is still an important aspect in people's lives, as one can see in these different "regions", but science was kind of an earthquake in what everyone knew religion to be.
And then another thing that stuck out was at the ending of the chapter, when it explained that many ideas and much of our religion now was "borrowing" elements from different ideas and religions into the ones that exist today, like those of North Indian Sikhs.

Religion

Interesting to see the start of science in this chapter. In my lifetime, the adaption to science is normal, but it was not back then. And it is kind of ironic that as that gained global recognition, so did christianity, which seem to contradict and fight against each other. Not to mention, that not too much later, there was a big reformation of Christianity, which had not been challenged like this ever. Martin Luther began this Reformation, when he nailed a paper we call the Ninety-five Theses onto a church door, which criticized the current ways of Christianity. Before Martin, many people believed that God forgave sins by ways that people in authority would say, like by the sacraments of the church, or doing good or buying, if I remember correctly, things called indulgences. Martin Luther said that it was through faith and faith alone that one could be forgiven for his sins and that the bible was to be interpreted by each person individually, not by way of the Church. It seemed extreme back then, but now-a-days, that's almost normal. Yes, we still believe in authority, but we also believe in our own faith, and our own interpretations of the bible, I mean, at least I do.

Slave life

Slavery. Basically the trade and owning of human beings that seem to be deemed lesser by others. It is a weird concept if you think about it. I mean, who just decided to make other people slaves. Who even came up with the idea. Why would one even come up with the idea.
And when we think of slavery, we think of white people owning black people. But in reality, there were slaves and slaves trades in African societies, which was actually very surprising to read. Not to mention, that the slavery we think of today is not the only form of slavery there was, there were many different kinds. Kinds in which slaves would get assimilated into communities or the owner's household. It all just depended, some children were even free from the slavery of their parents, while others inherited slave life just like them. And slaves in Islam got positions in the military or even political status! What?! How crazy is that?! Who would have thought that about slaves back then? But then again, we learn western culture here, so I guess we wouldn't learn about all these different types of slaves and slaves elsewhere because we are a very, I guess you could say, conceited culture.

Those Dang Portuguese

The most interesting thing that I read in Chapter fourteen had to be about Indian Ocean trade. How it used to be free and there was no one power. I mean, how long did they think that was actually going to last anyway? There is always that one person that ruins it for everyone and thinks all high and mighty of themselves and is selfish. In this case, it was the Portuguese.  The Portuguese of all people. What the heck. The thing is, other boats were not well equipped to fight the Portuguese because since it was a free ocean, well, there was not need for big arms, just the bare minimum for the pirates that roamed the seas. But the Portuguese had big canons and took the opportunity that no other boat had the same as them and they set up bases at key locations. And when they say set up bases, it seems so peaceful, doesn't it? Well, of course it wasn't. They forcibly set up those bases. And those who didn't cooperate, got messed up. Like in Mombosa, the commander of whatever fleet was attacking, burned and sacked the city, killing about fifteen hundred people! And not just men, they killed men, women and children! CHILDREN! Talk about a heartless group of people who were definitely there for their own selfish wants; to command and control commerce. But I guess if you think about it, we are all selfish in some type of way, I guess they were just a little more selfish than the rest of us.

YAY

YAY- I'm done setting up.

BLOG 1

BLOG 1

In class, we were discussing the modern era, and if we could say it could be called the European era. After everything brought up during class, it was decided and proved that it could be. This is all pointed to two key events. One, the renaissance, which was the rebirth of classical greek humanism, was the start of the spread of European culture, which started in 1492. I guess it's kind of crazy to think that every place but Antartica was influenced in some way by the european culture. It is something we do not think about every day here, we just learn about it in our history classes our entire life, but I guess we never really deeply think about it. The second significant item that happened in our history was in 1348,  which was when the bubonic plague hit and killed thousands upon thousands of people. It was the time in which Europe started to look at themselves and really start to change their ways. I mean, I guess if everyone was dying around me, I'd start to take a good look at our society and see if it needed change.

Patricia Echavarri