Part 6: Collapse at the Center, Rise & Fall of World Communism

The aftermath of World War I brought out substantial social and cultural changes to European and

American victors in that conflict. The war had loosened the hold of tradition in many ways. Women

increasingly gained the right to vote. They began to express themselves more openly...all good things.

However, out of all the things to come out of WWI, The Great Depression stuck out to me. The new

consumerism that was a result of industrial capitalism spurred the most substantial economic growth

in world history. Its very success generated an individualistic materialism that seemed to conflict with

older values of community and spiritual life. (Strayer pg 633) I see that same materialism today, but

times ten! Everything is marketing and sell, sell, sell! To socialists and many others, the immense

social inequalities were unacceptable during this post war time. Looking back at history, The Great

Depression was no surprise...it was inevitable. Greed will always produce losers. We had that same

kind of greed bite us in the but back in 2008 with the mortgage crisis...People knew that the top was

gonna blow eventually, and although many people lost out big time, many people also profited.

 Reading about the Great Depression helps me to understand the mind set of my father who was born

in 1934, to immigrant parents from Italy. He always told me that while he was growing up, he never

had money to go to a movie or buy and ice cream. I  have always know him to be very frugal with his

 money and his childhood is probably a big reason why. Than I look at my nieces and nephews who

are quite spoiled, and get practically anything their hearts desire. I certainly didn't while I was

growing up! We have a lot to be thankful, stemming from the Great Depression. Out of it came

President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal (1933-1942) which helped to prime the economy and

reduce unemployment. Social Security came out of the New Deal, although its hard to say if I will

benefit from it, at my current age of 39. Minimum wage and other various relief and welfare

programs stemmed from the New Deal. Farm subsidies created a permanent agribusiness which we

see today. It also created a vast array of government agencies that were designed to give a new degree

of federal regulation and supervision to the economy.

Part 5 Western Expansion & Globalization

I just finished a nineteen week Western Civilization course last month so the chapters were familiar to

me. I like the way Strayer explains things, the way he ties things together. Strayer points out how

history textbooks have often reflected a Europe-centered outlook in a sometimes blatant manner. I

was skeptical myself before I started this course. I wondered why on earth did I need to study the

"history of the world?" I always felt that Western culture always was most important, and needed the

most time devoted to study. After attending this class for six weeks, I realize the importance for

studying all the other subjects in the book. It has been interesting learning of the migration of early

humans, making their way to America via the Bering Land Bridge, and possibly, The Kelp Highway.

I would have never given much of the things I have been reading about over the past few weeks, had

I not been enrolled in this class. I know that it can be a lot to cover, but I find that it is a good read. It

is interesting how Strayer refers to the time period between 1750 and 1914 "the long nineteenth

century." He is again making his own division for histories timeline. Strayer  makes it a point to let

the reader know that Europe's great success during this time period was not responsible by Europe all

 on its own. A series of different factors were involved. If I  could only remember a few things that I

have learned about all the things that happened during this time period, on top of my list would be the

notion of nationalism. Nationalism was the driving force behind all the revolutions and changes

during this time. The ideas derived from European Enlightenment was spreading everywhere quickly

with the help of ocean travel in the form of newspapers, books, and pamphlets. The main idea behind

these publications was the notion that human political and  social arrangements could be engineered,

and improved, by human action. New ideas of liberty, equality, free trade, religious tolerance,

republicanism, and human rationality were in the air. It was an exciting and dangerous time to live. I

find it not surprising to learn that the American Revolution did not grow out of tensions between the

colonies, but that it grew out of the greed of the British government. Im glad it happened because it

produced a document that the whole rest of the world admires, the Declaration of Independence. The

"right to revolution," inspired revolutionaries and nationalists around the world. The importance of

the U.S. Constitution, with its Bill of Rights, cannot be overlooked either. It was one of the first

sustained efforts to put the political ideas of the Enlightenment in to practice and that document, and

the ideas that it embraced, echoed in the political upheavals of the century that followed.

Part Four The Early Modern World

Chapter 14 started off interestingly enough with Winona La Duke, president of the Indigenous

Women's Network, who declared: "Columbus  was a perpetrator of genocide..., a slave trader, a thief,

a pirate, and most certainly not a hero. To celebrate Columbus is to congratulate the process and

history of the invasion." Wow! Strong words. Empire building tends to have its casualties. I liked the

quote of one Spanish conquistador:"We came here to serve God and the King, and also to get rich."

That summed up what compelled many of the early Spanish settlers.  It was very surprising to find

out just how devastating to the indigenous people decease was, brought over by the Europeans and

Africans. Native american people lost up to 90% of their population! To hear that many starved in

their beds due to being too sick is appalling. The labor shortage that followed made room for

immigrants who brought over their culture, plants, animals and made America what it is today. It was

interesting to read that the livestock brought over multiplied quickly due to a lack of natural

predators. The domesticated animals made ranching and cowboys possible. It was also interesting to

learn how North America developed a sharply defined racial system whereas Portuguese and Spanish

colonies had more mixed-race groups.

The World of Islam

Before I read this chapter I already had my predispositions on the faith of Islam which were solidified

after reading about it in this book. The story starts off nice enough with the story of Malcolm X
 
converting to Islam and abandoning his earlier commitment to militant black separatism, but then I

 read about the reality of Islam. For starters, the belief in Jihad is enough to turn me off to this radical

 religion. These same nut jobs are responsible for a lot of the terrorist attack that go on today. Do we

 need to tolerate a religion that promotes this sort of behavior in the 21st Century? I would argue that

 we do not. To read that the prophet Muhammad enslaved and killed Jews made me lose all respect

 for this beloved man. Jesus would have never done such a thing! Muhammad was both a religious

 figure and a military leader. I don't condone force of any religion. His belief of no distinction between religious

 law and civil law is absolutely unreasonable. What is ironic is that they don't all believe in the same thing, which is

apparent with the warring between the Shia and the Sunni Muslims. Then you start to look at how

badly they treat women. Women having to pray at home and be veiled while in public...ridiculous!

The Muslim view of women as overall inferior to me is unacceptable. Reading about Islam in this

book only solidified my feeling that this religion is not a religion I would ever consider practicing. I

know that there are many good people who are Muslim, but these religious wars that have been

 raging on for centuries are very unnecessary. Say what you will about America being a country

 based on Christian values, but at least women here have equal rights to men. I

am sorry if I offend any Muslims in the class, however this is a blog and I was never very fond of

being politically correct.