Guest Speaker Extra Credit

Extra Credit

            On February 21, at about 7:30pm Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker presented a lecture at the NDNU church about the environment.  Before she spoke the audience was informed of her background education from Yale University and how she majored in Environmental studies.  Her entire lecture was devoted to informing the audience of how the environment needs tender care.  She mentioned how humans and the earth go hand in hand.  What she meant was that humans are guests on the earth where humans should give the land more respect.  My understanding of the lecture was similar to the Native American beliefs of how humans must respect the land.  There was much value in the comparison of humans and the earth.  Her presentation was smooth and she spoke passionately about her views on how the environment depends on humans.

Communist Influence

            Carl Marx is the man who started the communist way of thinking.  He sees this as a utopic vision because if everyone is treated the same and makes the same profit then there is no room for a major gap between classes.  The problem with communism is that if everyone makes the same amount of money no matter what, then many people will lose the motivation to work hard.  The mentalities to strive for greatness will dwindle and those that work hard will be upset with the inequality of work effort.  Soon those that work harder than others will demand higher pay resulting in the end of communism.

            So there is the bourgeoisie which is the middle class and there is the proletariat which is the working class.  The bourgeoisie own the means of production which means they own the building, materials, tools, decision making, what to produce, the wages, and benefits.  The proletariats own the right to sell “labor power.”  Recognizing the unfair advantages between the working and middle classes, the working class decided to reform.  They want to “liberate the means of production” which means they want to put an end to the factory belonging to the owner and not the people.  The working class faced horrible working conditions.  The factories did not have windows which results in horrible temperature control and bad air quality.  The number of hours before the worker could have a break was cruel.  The tools and machinery may be helpful in speeding up production but were incredible dangerous for people to use.  Also the sense of job security was not there because the owners of the factory viewed their workers as being disposable so that put pressure on the workers to push them way past their limits.  The factories also lacked efficient emergency exits.  Taking note of the poor conditions, the working class has a right to fight back against the companies and gain the respect they were fighting for.

Industrial Revolution

            The chapter starts off with a question from Gandhi that reads, “Is industrialization a “curse” for mankind?”  This is an interesting concept to think about because the industrialization improved technology.  Some will argue that it is a great thing because there was an increase of profits since the speed and volume of production grew at a substantial pace.  With improved technology the way people worked has changed.  This caused many to mainly focus on their jobs versus the outside world.  Soon there was great concern that the people were “alienating” themselves to their job.

Now, imagine an individual with a specific job to do at a factory.  This person does an amazing job working buy creating wonderful products.  Then one day they fall ill and have to take time off of work.  Once they stopped working, the factory would immediately hire a new staff member to take the place of the individual who has fallen ill.  So now, the sick person is jobless, has no further income, and still sick.  The factor owners expressed no mercy for their customers because to them everyone is disposable because all the owner cares about is the profit.  This is an example of why many started alienating themselves to their jobs because the working force was incredibly competitive and cut throat.

Not too long after the rise of capitalism began.  The companies would continue to exploit all of their resources to gain even greater profit than the company has been making in the past.  This is what Gandhi meant that the industrialization is a curse for mankind because they lost themselves in materialistic objects versus their family or the earth.  The industrial revolution improved technology and work rate but it also damaged each individuals soul.

Ch 17 Multiple Revolutions Continued…

            The North American Revolution is the first of the many revolutions.  The Americas started the revolution to oppress British rule in 1775-1787.  The main reason that Europeans fled to America was because they demanded their independence from Europe.  Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence in 1776.  This document may be thought of as a break up letter with Europe.  The document detailed how they are going to be independent, no longer pay their taxes, and no longer be run by a monarchy.  The people declared separation of Church and State which is exactly what the people in America finally achieved; a democracy.  Though with this new rule, not everyone was pleased with the outcome.  No women or people of color shared any gain in the experience.  Though, America became the world power at the end of the 19^th century which was inspired by the revolution and the constitution.

            Sometime after smaller revolutions began to happen after 1830 with an increase in 1848.  Ideas about Republicanism, greater social equality, and national liberation from foreign rule spread throughout the land.  As a result of these ideas three different movements arose to the challenge.  The first are Abolitionists, whom sought the end of slavery.  The second group is the Nationalists who hoped to do away with disunity and foreign rule. The third group to start is the Feminists who tried to end or at least mitigate male dominance.  In modern times, slavery has become illegal, foreign rule is no more, and women’s suffrage is better than it was before but still a work in progress. 

Atlantic Revolutions and their Echoes (1750-1914)

            On 4^th of July 1989 France celebrated the bicentennial famous Revolution in Paris.  The French revolution inspired communist government, as well as other revolutions.  Then the Haitian Revolution occurred which is the first successful slave revolt in history.  The Latin American revolution was between the Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule was ended and the modern states of Latin America merged.  Other revolutionary outbreaks that occurred were in Europe in 1830, 1848, and 1870.  North America, France, Haiti, and Latin America all influenced each other to revolt.  Each revolution influenced the next because when individuals witness a people fighting for their rights and winning, they find the courage inside themselves to do the same.

            The Atlantic Revolution shares similar comparisons with the French Revolution, Haiti Revolution, Latin American Revolution, and North America Revolution.  The ideas were derived from the European Enlightenment shared in newspapers, books, and pamphlets.  The new ideas of liberty, equality, free trade, religious tolerance, republicanism, and human rationality are examples of what the people would fight for.  For a long time people were being repressed and it was not until the first revolution occurred that slowly they all started to fight back.  Authority to govern derived from the people rather than from God or from tradition.  The few people who did not gain anything from the Revolutions are the women, slaves, Native Americans, and men with no property.  This angered many of the people which resulted in Atlantics movements that referred to “Democratic Revolutions.”

American Revolution leads to French Revolution

The American Revolution started because the of the Enlightenment era in Europe.  As a result of the many wanting their independence from the European Monarchy, the people traveled to the Americas where soon after the American Revolution began.  This was not easy for Europe because they were in need of money and so they kept trying to milk more out of the colonies.  This upset many over in the colonies because the whole reason they left Europe was to separate themselves from that Rule, so they finally put their foot down to fight back.  The limitations were based on the definition of the “people.” This was their way of proving they are going to be different and stick to their new morals of wanting to have a say in their government.  Many began to wonder if this was a “conservative” movement because they actually attempted (and achieved) to keep their autonomy.  The people continued to develop the rights of self-government.  Even though the colonists considered themselves British their way of thought was more “American.”  Europe taxed the colonies, which upset many because they felt they should only put money towards something they have a say in, thus leading to “No taxation without Representation.”  This sparked the inspiration for others.

Soon the French echoed the American Revolution in the fight for independence and fair representation.  The church ruled one percent and nobility ruled one percent.  The other ninety-eight percent had no say in any of the matter.  These numbers did not make sense to many of the people in Europe because the high two percent was making decisions for the ninety-eight percent which is deemed unfair.  The growing middle class was forced to pay taxes, deal with the poor food distribution, handle unjust labor requirements, and horrible marriage rights.  The upper two percent did not care about these problems because they were the ones voting for these issues to not affect themselves.  This unfair voting system caught the attention of many throughout Europe once the people caught word of how the Americans were fighting back against Europe’s unjust governing policies.  As the middle class grew the importance for the equal rights grew stronger.

EuroCentric (Modern Era)

Europe teachings spread out throughout the land and dominated most of the world.  As a result, permanent changes in people and demographics are made.  There were a lot of interracial marriages happening, and with that a person’s upbringing, morals, and values alter as well.  Here there is an increase in progress in the way of thought of humans to reach perfection.  They were striving to reach a new modern era which has them focusing on Human Rights.  The people demanded separation of Church and state, along with popular sovereignty.  Though, the question remaining was who deserved these human rights.

In Europe, many were trying to reach Enlightenment which means “lifting of ignorance.” Many live in ignorance where they felt some races are more “human” than others.  It is a shame how many thought one race was more superior to the other.  It is important to understand that intelligence is unrelated to race but to the individual themselves.  Intelligence all depends on how determined he/she is to prove to themselves and to others that they comprehend the subject.  The “Post Modern” world continues to strive to reach enlightenment.  Europe has the set where the King ruled everyone and the people served the king.  In America, we have a president who serves the people.  This is the basic difference for why many wanted the change in Europe which resulted in many leaving this land to the Americas because they were tired of being repressed.