Ways of the World Reflection ch 14-16

Christopher Columbus, what’s to celebrate?  After learning more about what his true intentions were, I agree with Winona LaDuke, president of the Indigenous Women’s group, that he was a perpetrator of genocide.  His quest for gold proved to be unsuccessful, he had to fill up his ship with something, so instead he captured, tortured, and enslaved the native people of the Americas.  He also took women and children as slaves for sex and labor.  What a eye opener for me, as a child growing up, the only memories I have of Columbus was  that of his journey to America,  when landed was greeted by the native people, embraced each other and sat down for a huge and elaborate feast together.. wow…. What really happened was the total opposite..  Why would our classrooms omit such truths about our history?? 

It’s not enough that CC invaded the native Indian land, enslaved, tortured and murdered, but also came the disease for which the native people were not immune to that killed nine tenths of the population.  In fact one Governor quoted such conditions as “good hand of God” at work (Ways of the World p 407) this so there can be more room for the Europeans…  these are human lives we are talking about, not some irrelevant population of insects.. very  disappointing

Interesting that back in the colonial societies of Mexico and Peru, there were 7 men to 1 woman, resulting in mixed race population of Spanish men and Indian women.  The Indian women welcomed this as a form of security for their children in that they would not receive the same treatment as they did.

 Even though the Portuguese had a clear opening for their ships to reach and fortify the various bases at several key locations along the Indian Ocean, they insisted on using force in obtaining these bases from the small and weaker states such as Mombasa, none were spared, not even the smallest of child. I thought we were suppose to learn from past history and progress, this is no different than the acts of Ghingas Khan and the Mongols… except instead of by land,  by sea… after failing to dominate the ocean, the people assimilated, learned the local languages, became part of the trading culture of the East.  If you can’t beat them, join them?

Unlike the Portuguese, the Spanish used small scale military action, gifts, favors to chiefs and Catholic religion to accomplish a blood free takeover.  I’m glad that they tried to act in a more humane manner.

Hmmm.. The Dutch were no better than the Portuguese…….used slave labor to produce nutmeg crops…

The Atlantic slave trade; it makes me sick to think of the 11 million people taken from Africa; stripped from their home, their family; their freedom; some to become slaves and tortured; others to die on the way – the owning and exchange of human beings, who in their right mind would even come up with such an idiotic idea, and actually think it would create progress and positive change..

What’s more disturbing is reading that officials of Africa themselves were involved in the slave trading…  

Although born and raised as a Catholic, I never really understood the message that was given during mass.  I agree with some that the Catholic Church is a cover up for corruption; money; and sexual abuse by the priests.   Interesting to know that the Europeans brought with and spread Catholicism to the societies that it conquered.

Research Project

My research paper is going to focus on the history of homosexuality and gay rights.  I am very excited to meet and interview a gentleman who is legally married to a same sex partner and who has lived through an era of acceptance, non acceptance and change.

Questions:

Have you ever felt discriminated against in your profession due to your sexual orientation?

How has Proposition 8 affected your life?

Do you feel that you have the same rights in your marriage as the marriage between men and women?

Over the years do you think that there has been an increase in social acceptance and respect for same sex couples?

Can you describe a situation in your life when you have been discriminated against?  

How have the events around the assassination of Harvey Milk and George Moscone played a role in your life?

Ways of the World Reflection ch 11, 12, 13

I didn’t realize just how many of the world’s population are Muslims.  1.2 billion people, or a whopping 22% of the world’s population reported at the beginning of the twenty first century!!

I feel that Allah had this great vision; creation of a whole new society based on sharing of wealth, disexploration of the poor; removing corruption in business; abuse of women; and neglect of widows and orphans which was delivered through the messenger Muhammad. 

I was angry to learn that once  Muhammad died, this vision turned into power and conquer by the Islamic/Arab Empire.  They began to translate the original word of Allah to justify their actions by stating that God gave them the victory, enabled them to take countries by force, giving rise to a more powerful empire than ever. 

Which leads us to September 11^th and the jihad

I was not surprised to read that after only twenty five years post Muhammad’s’ death civil war broke out Muslim against Muslim

Do women ever get a break?? Allah’s great vision for equality and respect for men and women.. sure thing, except for when women are “disobedient”, then you can beat them,

It was interesting to learn about Allah’s great vision with regards to women.  On one hand, if they did not “obey” the man, they were allowed to get beat.  On the other hand, in a marriage, women were expected to enjoy sexual satisfaction and could actually sue for divorce if they have not had sexual relations for more than four months..  LOL… too much..  The more I read, the more I feel sick to my stomach.. Bottom line, women in all societies, over thousands of years, and to this day are in some form or another are looked upon as weak, inferior, less intelligent; second class human beings..

Is it all because deep down inside men are afraid to acknowledge that women are more powerful??

Ultimately it made me glad to learn that some good did come out of the Islamic world; like Arab physicians diagnosing many diseases; development of medical treatments, and even surprised that the first hospitals were developed within the Islamic world. 

Afro Eurasian world

 It was interesting to read about the Mongols and compare the Pastoral Nomads to the Mongols in agriculture civilizations.  In the pastoral nomad civilization society’s women were held with higher regard.  They had fewer restrictions and greater roles in public life as oppose to their sister roles in the agricultural civilizations    

Was it genuinely more freedom, or more involvement all around due to small and widely scattered encampments less populated.  They were a herding society; use of livestock rather than agriculture to survive   fascinating that these nomads were able to survive primarily on livestock

Chinggis Khan the charismatic leader or the notorious tyrant??   It appeared as though his mission in life was to make war, conquer, and continue to build a stronger army, the measure of his success as a leader….. I wonder why he never developed intellectually, socially?  Lacked sophistication; regalness, kept nomadic roots;  no valid goal only to kill torture make suffer men women and children.. and or turn them into slaves

For such a charismatic and powerful leader very surprised that he didn’t leave a big foot print behind, the many civilizations that he defeated the people did not reap any benefit;  only the feeling of defeat, subordination and exploitation.  Eventually swallowed up by Chinese and Russian empires.

The Plague !!

Although Europe was spared from Mongolian conquest, the plaque which infiltrated Europe by way of the vast Mongol trade routes destroyed an estimate of  between one and two third of the European  population.  Just horrible..

Time to rebuild…

The world of the fifteenth century was all about rebuilding.  In the after math of the plague, both China and Europe successfully recovered..

I thought that the Aztecs had an interesting cyclical understanding of the world.  They held the sun central to all life and feared endless darkness; they felt that the sun required life-giving force found in human blood in order to maintain cosmic order. In order to feed this sun, they held massive sacrificial rituals.

Another interesting  Aztec symbolism involved  sweeping !!  As odd as it may seem, the Aztecs valued sweeping as  powerful and sacred act with symbolic significance as an “act of purification and a preventative against evil elements penetrating the center of the Aztec Universe – the home”  (Ways of the World ch 13, p 388) .   I find it fascinating that such a simple act can be held in such high regard…

World History Reflection 2

After delving into the second and third wave civilizations;  I was rather surprised to read that as far back as the 500’s B.C.E. the Persian empire had in place its own government system; monetary system (standardized coinage) and taxes.  They even had a Persian postal system.   

I was impressed that the people of Greece were able to put their rivalry with other city-states aside every four years to participate in the Olympic Games, this tells me that they were not all power and greed. 

There were many thinkers and philosophies of the Classical Era.  With this came a vast array of religions.  In learning the different types; from Zoroastrianism in Persia, Daoism in China to Christianity in Palestine; although I was born and raised as a Catholic; I have found Buddhism to be the most interesting and spiritually liberating.  I actually had the opportunity to visit a Buddhist Church about a year ago.  The experience was extra special because the service that I attended was in honor of Nirvana Day, the mind liberating state of being free from suffering.  The entire journey was great, from the church’s massive roof top, similar to a Chinese tea house, to the overwhelming scent of incense, to the continuous sound of bells chiming, to the flurry of gold in and around the Onaijin (alter). 

As I sit in quietness, in this peaceful temple, all of the thoughts running through my mind of the day’s tasks that wait suddenly disappear, and I am in complete peace, if only for a moment.  All at once, this sudden burst of chanting commences, it is almost startling. We were all asked to stand and open up our programs to Gatha, Long Ago in India.  We all began to sing, I felt the spirit in the room, all of the members together in harmony.  It was an Ah Ha moment for me, one in which I have never felt in any other church service that I’ve ever attended.  I felt good about myself, where I was in the present, I felt a warmth from the people around me even though they were complete strangers, and most of all I felt a sense of belonging.  It was a very spiritual moment.  I was never really attached to my Catholic upbringing, not because it was bad, but because I didn’t understand. With Buddhism, it is all so clear to me, the enlightenment and the awareness and the spiritual power is from within.

Although, as I reflect, I’ve found that Buddha and Jesus were very similar in their message.  They both spoke of personal transformation and letting go of internal pain and suffering. 

Eurasian social hierarchies 500 B.C.E. and the caste system.  When you compare the caste system back then to the caste system of today, nothing has really changed.  It’s all based on wealth and power.  When I think of the case system of today, I see three layers.  The people with money, no matter what religion, race, or name, are on the top.  The middle class, mid size house, two kids, both parents working family occupy the second layer.  The poor, homeless, unfortunate folks of society occupy the bottom.  And to some extent, I feel that there is still the dominance of men over women and inequality in each layer.  Unless there is a drastic World change, this will be the wave of the next 100,000 years.  Sad but true.

World History Reflection 1

First peoples….

It was very interesting to read about Dreamtime, the Paleolithic peoples outlook on the world.  All of the events of the past were shared through stories, rock art, ceremonies.  From the beginning of all things, this ritual revealed how the people evolved from ancestors to current day.   It’s amazing how they were able to relate to each other, to animals and to the land through this mode of communication.  When I think of this in today’s world, Ancestor.com is a far cry from Dreamtime. 

It made me very angry to read about how in the first human societies, although women were treated as equal as women could be treated to men, how these same women had to endure public brutal beatings by their husbands due to this need to compete with other men..  Did this pave the way to the world of domestic violence.   It makes me sick to my stomach to read this, especially because I grew up in a home filled with domestic violence!!  I feel that men who hit women are week and pathetic!

When comparing Paleolithic societies, I was most impressed and intrigued with the Jo/Hoansi society.  On one hand their life was extremely simplistic, no leaders, decisions were made by individual families, on the other hand, they had this extremely complex social system.  They measured the bond of relationships based on their names.  So, two complete strangers with the same name treated each other as if they were family.. the kicker is, because of this, one could not marry another if that person has the same name as a family member.  I guess that would be considered incest…

I was very surprised to read that divorce was common back then.. 

One question that the Paleolithic ask and that I too ask “What have we lost in the mad rush to modernity and how can we recover it” (ch 1 pg 32).  Sometimes I sit, think and wonder what life would be like if things were simple, if men and women were treated equal, if there wasn’t this fast past, need to excel, need to be better than your brother, way of life.  If I had it my way, I’d be living in the old west, riding horse and carriage, focusing more on family, friends and living than working 80 hours a week, having little time to do anything else, days running into each other.. before you know it.. ten years have passed…

First Farmers….

In this chapter it was interesting to read about the different aspects and changes through the agriculture revolution.  The most interesting is reading about how this revolution shaped the various agriculture village societies.

It was kind of refreshing to know that in some of these societies they had “Chiefdoms” which unlike lineage societies and the typical actions of kings, in order to build their power and prestige, they did not use force, take war captives,  or implement slavery.. Instead they gained followers by showering them with gifts, and the power of persuasion…  This to me is a far better way to gain power and respect; it shows that one does not have to use force and violence to make your mark in society.   

First Civilizations…

This is the period when states were formed, hierarchies established and equality destroyed.  I realize That is the natural progression of evolution, but it saddens me that the actions of the people from 3500 B.C.E.- 500 B. C. E. set the stage for the world that we live in today.  Unfortunately this is the time when women and men are viewed in two different ways.  Women were looked upon as inferior, child bearers (barefoot and pregnant) . Amazing, how someone who really is the creator of life.  Slavery was in full force as early as 2000 B.C.E. and regarded as “normal” and casual.  In a marriage, men were allowed o sleep with the help but women caught sleeping around were “hung’ at their husbands discretion.  And finally, if a woman was raped, the father or husband would be considered the “victim”.

 The question is, "will we ever evolve from this period….."

My first History Blog

This is my first blog posting.