Part 5 & Chapter 16

I want to discuss more of part 5 than chapter 16. Part 5 really intrigued me in that the author mentioned a new way of thinking that has significantly influenced the world today. Strayer mentioned that these "modern" societies "generated many of the transformative ideas that have guided human behavior over the past several centuries: that movement toward social equality and the end of poverty was possible; that ordinary people might participate in political life; that nations might trump empires (lol at the word "trump"); that women could be equal to men; that slavery was no longer necessary." This quote made me really think about how far we have come as a country and as a world and humans. This also reminded me of my other class Intro to Comm with Professor Lowenthal, and she mentioned that women and everyone else has all of these rights, but they can easily be taken away at the snap of a finger. It makes me think that yes, we have these ways of thinking and ideas of human decency, and I find myself sometimes questioning whether these rights can be taken away and we'll move backwards in time before the time of the "long nineteenth century." When I read further, I feel that the Europeans then felt entitled because they were central and powerful, successful and prosperous. I think that this Eurocentric way of thinking is beginning to creep back into society if we don't notice the symptoms of such behavior and thinking that is being displayed. Moving on to chapter 16, I am both appalled and surprised that France made Haiti pay them so much in compensation for property! However, it was interesting to learn and compare all of the revolutions that occurred .