Reflection: Does North Korea have anything to be thankful for?

My Thanksgiving went pretty well, though it would have went better had the Red Sox actually made a trade or signing or something as an early Christmas present.  While this was a disappointing development (or lack thereof), I was happy to see my family again.  Although, I have to say that I was surprised that my usually up-to-date family was unusually silent on one of the more controversial and alarming issues in world affairs lately and that is the sudden escalated tension between the South Korea-United States and North Korea.  While we were passing around the rolls I was just waiting for my grandmother to say in her abrupt and loud tone about "what the hell is going on with North Korea." Perhaps my family is unconcerned with the thought of a (more) assertive North Korea, or perhaps they are much too concerned that they didn't even want to discuss the possibility of a nuclear standoff in East Asia, and possibly in the Western Hemisphere.

A best guess on my part is that my parents side with the former way of thinking.  Like it was discussed in class, I feel that North Korea is merely showing its teeth in an era where we've become accustomed to a more liberal, transparent world power apparatus that such a display of a realist method is distressing to nations and people across the world merely because it has become an antiquated technique among developed and even developing nations.  North Korea knows internally that it's going to be difficult to assert their (imagined) authority over the countries of East Asia once their "fearless leader," Kim Jong-Il passes away.  It's similar to what will certainly be a problem for Cuba once the man who is now supposedly working behind the curtains, Fidel Castro, finally kicks the bucket.  Also, as was noted in the New York Times this morning, South Korean officials and diplomats feel that after Kim Jong-Il dies, it will only be a matter of time (likely a few years) before the government collapses. China, through the new WikiLeaks story, has shown impatience with North Korea, perhaps signaling that their mutual friendship that has spanned decades may finally be coming to an end.  North Korea doesn't really have any other friends in the world; China is their last hope.  I mean, if the United States were a nation run like North Korea, and we had a dynasty family running things in our country, wouldn't it be rather destabilizing once the leader died and a transfer of power is taking place?  North Korea may not get another chance for a governmental change for years, as Kim Jong-Il's heir apparent, his son, would probably lead the country for decades to come.  The government, wanting to keep its authority over its people intact, and at risk of losing their only real ally, will attempt to

Reflection: Thanksgiving and East Asia

This Thanksgiving I was thankful that I have a family that’s there for me. Living such a long time away from home reminded me how I took a loving family for granted. Even though I’m no longer a permanent resident of my house, I didn’t feel any different. I felt exactly the same as I did in high school, just enjoying the break with family and friends. My home computer was taken over, but that’s forgivable when you got a shiny new laptop for college. Besides the good food, I missed the average conversation at the dinner table. I also missed my dog so much. It felt weird saying goodbye to my parents when I’m going to be back in just two weeks. I find it funny that people quickly change their minds as to where they want to be. When you’re at home, you wish you were at college; when you’re in college, you wish you were home.

This Thanksgiving I was thankful of my family, as well as for not living on Yeonpyeong Island. I don’t know what’s scarier, the possibility of a full scale war or living in constant fear of attacks. While I’m pretty sure North Korea doesn’t want a full-on war, I’m not optimistic that the whole situation will end on a happy note. South Korea so far hasn’t taken North Korea’s taunts strongly enough to take it to the next level, but the new President might respond differently. The reluctance of China to condemn North Korea’s actions is too bad. I don’t think it would be in China’s best interest to associate itself with such a country as North Korea. If China wants to grow into a major superpower, it would be beneficial to ally itself with countries that have good reputations. Even though I understand that China doesn’t want to look like its taking orders from the U.S. and South Korea, I think China would gain an improved record for helping tame a problematic neighbor.

Reflection: Throwing Money at the Problems of Today

The discussion in class last Tuesday focused on the allocation of resources toward global problems in our contemporary society.  If the world were to suddenly create 50 billion more dollars, without worry of inflation, what would we spend it on?  What is the most efficient way to go about using the money to solve a universal issue?

In the lecture we read/listened to, the man seemed to give credence to the theory that it would be better to use that money toward abolishing hunger in the world's developing nations, or using it to fight an epidemic like AIDS.  Certainly these are noble causes, but he seemed to brush off the threat of global warming as unimportant and irrelevant.  Perhaps hunger/poverty issues should take precedent over global warming, as no one really ever died over global warming.  However, if it is a global inheritance of this money, shouldn't the funds be used to fight an issue that affects those in Switzerland as well as those in Swaziland? I'm pretty sure bioterrorism isn't a majorly pertinent issue in those nations, but the threat of global warming doesn't know borders.

Investing in a "Manhattan Project" of the 21st century could help spark initiative in the world to pay more attention to green technology.  We could save our planet and secure our economic security for decades to come.

Poverty can't be solved, and to be honest terrorism can't theoretically be solved either.  However, global warming can only be solved in a subjective light.  We can't all agree even at this time that climate change is real, and much less whether it is man-made or merely natural.  Perhaps funding should be put aside for the advocation of global warming measures, since a great segment of the population (including an alarming number of people in our class) still believe global warming to be a false prophecy of the future.

I'll actually quote a Republican to finish this reflection.  Before he began his run to the right in order to get re-elected, Senator John McCain noted this about global warming in a debate between his Republican counterparts during the presidential campaign:

"If it's real, then we can help save ourselves from a global disaster.  If it's not, then all we've done is left our children and our grandchildren with a cleaner world."

Maybe we should just have some tax cuts?  50 billion dollars could give every person in the world about $8.15.  Pretty sweet deal.

Reflection on Columbus

Reading about Columbus in The Conquest Of America was a very thought-provoking experience. Columbus comes off in the book as a highly eccentric person at best, and a total lunatic at worst. He seems so irrational and downright deluded that it’s almost hard to hate him, because if he really was so out of his mind as to punish people for suggesting that Cuba was an island just because he wanted to have reached Asia, how could he have hoped to comprehend or draw any logical conclusions from his interactions with the native americans? While I had always known Columbus had all the closed-mindedness and religious rigidity of the times, I had never heard just how bizarre a person he was. Perhaps his exploits in the new world weren’t quite what would be expected of a typical European explorer. If another person had discovered America instead of Columbus, surely they would have had a different approach.

The question, however, becomes how different? After all, while Columbus was undoubtedly someone who would seem strange to anyone, in any time era, were his overall actions in the Americas that far from the norms of the times? While his sponsors were taken aback by his enthusiasm, and his crew noted how odd his behavior was, he ultimately did not get labeled as someone who was famed as being chronically deluded. Even modern times, with the sharp increase in acknowledging Columbus as being nothing close to a hero, usually emphasizes the quest for gold and ill treatment of the natives he recorded in his letters, not his convictions that mermaids existed. Perhaps we are viewing him from too far in hindsight, from a time when logic rather than faith was the norm, for if he had truly been considered as strange as he would today, the reputation would have followed him. We see mild versions of this even nowadays, with the flaws and eccentricities of various public figures being brushed over as not being a big deal in their lifetime, only to provoke outrage much later on. What is considered normal for a culture steadily changes over time, and it was clear that even if Columbus's actions did not represent an average European, they were not wild enough to severely damage his reputation as the great discoverer of America for many centuries.

Reflection: Native American Museum

Visiting the Native American museum was interesting to say the least. As discussed in class, there is almost no mention whatsoever of the horrible treatment of Native Americans by the “new” Americans. While going through the exhibit and not seeing any harm caused to the Native Americans, I thought the museum must have a section reserved for all the atrocities. I assumed this was the case because the museum wouldn’t want to make the whole place depressing by adding relocation and deaths after many of the tribes’ history. They might as well share the tragic stories in one big swoop. I was shocked to learn that this wasn’t the case at all. They simply left out a gigantic section of Native American history. I’m extremely surprised that Native Americans haven’t spoken up against what I see as the bending of truth. They aren’t telling the truth when they don’t tell the whole story.

To put this in perspective, Congress in 2003 authorized the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to be built in 2015. Suppose they decide to totally emit the history of slavery. Without a doubt that would spark a major public outcry. I don’t understand why Native Americans as well as the general public aren’t outraged at the museum’s portrayal of history. I know that the passing of time comes with a “relaxing” of past tragedies. It seems that this happened such a long time ago, that it doesn’t really matter anymore. No one alive today was involved in slavery, yet I bet many people would care if museums didn’t mention it at all―even if the United States wants to keep its terrible past to a down-low. I think this is an injustice Native Americans and the country should fight to correct.

Reflection on Columbus' Motives

Was it gold or god that brought Columbus to the new world? Was it gold or god that made him treat the Indians so poorly? Columbus claimed it was god and his desire to spread the greatness of Christianity, but was it really?

One of my favorite musicians, Julian Casablancas, once said "Greed is the inventor of injustice as well as the current enforcer." This can be applied to Columbus and his "holy" mission. Columbus was motivated by greed for gold and power and that was why he treated the Indians with injustice If he were really embarking on his voyage to spread Christianity I don't think he would have looked upon the Indians with superiority, but would rather treat them with compassion, like Christianity teaches.

Greed always encourages us to act unfairly toward others because we are blinded by what we desperately desire.

Redskins vs. The Many Native American Nations

The Museum of the American Indian is a much more acceptable depiction of Native Americans than the exaggerated, easily-represented, old-fashioned stereotype used to symbolize the Washington Redskins. In the pop-culture encyclopedia from which simplistic concepts like sports teams are taken, the native american is a feather-adorned, red-skinned, warpainted, weapon-wielding noble savage. Like all stereotypes, this image takes a grain of truth and treats it as though it is the whole truth. As shown by the museum exhibits we saw, native americans are a vastly complex, varied series of different nations, all of which have unique identities. The “Native American” is not a single idea, but a term that can only be used correctly when referring to all the indigenous people of the Americas.

The depiction of the Native American given by the Museum of the American Indian is one of a number of different people who are described as human beings, with the histories of any other number of world civilizations and the same modernization and variation that other cultures have today. The pop-culture depiction embraced by the Redskins strips the humanity out of native americans, reducing them to an outdated cliche that, after bombarding the population enough without opposition, begins to affect peoples’ thoughts about real Native Americans. Without a strong presence of real Native American culture to be an alternative, the cliche is sadly all the exposure some people receive to the idea of Native Americans. And when this is the only idea they have to work with, Native Americans logically seem like an idea that isn’t real, and can’t really exist in the modern world, and become in peoples’ subconscious minds an extinct concept, like crusaders or Arthurian knights.

Largely because of this, the fact that Native Americans are real people who not only live in the present and are nothing like the stereotypes depict, but are also a people who still struggle with ongoing problems left over from the European conquest, slips many peoples’ minds. This is not just a matter of cultural knowledge and sensitivity, but poses another hurdle for the problems of Native Americans. When a marginalized group, such as African Americans during various periods of history, are given attention and presented accurately, people quickly begin to figure out the injustices and problems they deal with, dismissing flawed conceptions of the group in question as they go. But when a group is pushed to the side and never gets a chance to speak, overcoming any problem becomes much harder. And because the stereotypes of Native Americans is so pervasive (and not nearly as widely derided as stereotypes of most other minorities), Native Americans not only have to make their voices heard, but have the added task of doing away with the stereotypes first. After exposure to Native American cultures, such as the exhibits of the museum, it is simple to see that it is a more acceptable depiction, because it is a more accurate depiction. Unfortunately, too few people get that kind of much-needed exposure.

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”

Benjamin Franklin