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 .

Founders' Week

The reading about the Julie and Francoise was very inspiring. I definitely most related to Julie in that she was brought up in rich and fancy household. I also attended a very religious private school, which shaped in the person that I am today. However, I find myself very different from Julie in that her childhood was very disheartening and upsetting to read about. Even though Julie did not have the best childhood, that did not stop her from helping others regardless of how bad she had it personally. Julie still taught her children while bedridden, something that I would probably never do if I was in her situation. Francoise's life was inspiring as well in that she had basically the best of the best growing up, but she still managed to be selfless and think of others first. Francoise figured out how unfair the world is and did her part in trying to change that. It was interesting to learn about not only these two women but also the history of my school. Even though I am not Catholic, I still know much of the religion and can somewhat still relate to it because my grandmother was raised Catholic. I was also touched with the volunteer work that the Sisters of Notre Dame have done and are still doing. I also enjoyed touring the chapel. I loved everything about the chapel. While Sister Roseanne was describing the glass in the chapel and the Bible stories behind them, I knew almost all of them from my childhood and learning them in school and in church. Hopefully I will learn more about this school's history and will be inspired to take part in it when I feel more comfortable.

Chapter 15

In Chapter 15, it discussed the crossing of religion and science. For me, I take religion very seriously when it comes to my faith. Even though science is a wonderful thing, and we have the means to discover most of God's creations, I do not believe in replacing science with my faith. Science is a human study, and some things are not meant to be understood. Again, I appreciate science and I enjoy learning about it, but I feel that we should not lose touch with our God and all of what He made. I know I may sound like I'm preaching, but I just do not agree with the book's statement of how science became a competing worldview and almost a new religion. We should appreciate science but not praise it. Even though I am a firm believer in my religion, I do not think that it is right to have religious wars like they did in the past. I certainly did not agree with how the Europeans felt that it was their God-given duty to conquer the New World. It was interesting to learn about how the spread of Christianity failed in China. Even though I was not surprised, it was still very intriguing to read about how China looked down upon the Westerners and their Christian beliefs. I always thought of China having their own minds and not being able to be controlled by anyone but themselves. Lastly, it is obvious to say that science and religion played a major role in most of the world in the early modern era.

Chapter 13 and 14

After reading Chapters 13 and 14, I can't help but to wonder if this country will ever move away from inequality. I think that America was built on inequality, and it is still haunting us today. One thing that I did not realize was how slavery occurred well in other countries. I always wondered how some Brazilians, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Haitians, etc. looked more like me and realized that maybe there are some who are mixed with black. It is astonishing how much these countries relied on slavery. As I learn more and more about the "discovery" of the New World, I tend to feel annoyed with how I learned about it in middle school. I think that we are still teaching children about the good things of the Columbus's work rather than being more truthful about the event. Even though there were some good incentives with Columbus, there were only a few and still automatically lead to inequality. I also wonder what our country would be like if the Europeans did not result to their use of power and inequality. It is also interesting to have read about the other countries like Brazil and how they view race and/or color differently than America. I find myself very interested on how the Europeans found it okay to own people and enforce their power over the native people. It is also very frustrating to have people today who try to shove this history under the rug. I feel that if everyone accepted history for what it is and admit that some people are still at a disadvantage and unequal in society, we can move this country forward for the better instead trying to "Make America great again," which was never the case for this country ever in its history in my opinion. However, I am somewhat positive for the future in that the younger generation is making their voice heard around the world for equality. I pray and hope everyday that this history will not be the downfall for this country. I have a lot of concerns on how the future looks at the moment, but I am still hopeful that this country will no longer be divided in a negative way.

Yay I'm done!