Chapter 24

Here we are on our last reading in our book “World History.”  The class was long, and lots of work, but yet it went by quickly.  I learned so much in such a short time.  Every time I get closer to the end of a class, I start to feel sad.  I truly enjoy all my classes here at NDNU, as well as this History class.  Sometimes I wished that my classes were longer instead of short courses.  But at the same time, I am glad to see that I am getting closer to being finished with my education. 

Now this brings me to the last chapter I read.  This chapter brought me back to when I was a little girl playing with a Barbie doll.  I never looked at the doll “as being more harmful than an American missile” (p. 723) as it states in this chapter.  Let alone Ken being her unmarried companion.  I just thought Barbie was a mature, shapely doll that I was playing with.  When I was young I always did notice her figure and everything else that came with it.  At a young age, of course we don’t have that type of figure yet, and I guess when looking back we probably did want to look like her when we grew up.  But I never saw that being harmful to me.  I never knew that in other countries they were seeing the Barbie as a negative influence on their children. 

When I look back at the first chapters when human first evolved, using basic old stone tools and also known as gatherer-hunters, I think of them as that how we were at the beginning of mankind.  Then the Neolithic era became a bit more advance using new stone tools, and then came agriculture.  We look at how amazing we have grown on this earth from the beginning.  Most of us would think of this as progress, but after reading Chapter 24, the progress we have made is not really progress as far as the environment goes.  With all the new technology, our environment is being destroyed.  There are three ways that the environment is being change:  1. “Is by the quadrupling of the world’s population in a single century”.  2.  “The ability of humankind to tap the energy potential of fossil fuels” and 3. The economically growth.

With all the above, it’s changing our forest and grasslands.  Some animals and plants are being extinct.  There is heavy air pollution in some cities.  For instance, Japan are having to wear facemask.  The pollution is even killing people in Mexico at a large rate.  We all heard years and years ago that the “chlorofluorocarbons have thinned the ozone layer, which protects the earth from excessive ultraviolet radiation” (p. 749).  Has anything really been done to protect the ozone, since it’s been pointed out?

Logging has been a great concern for years.  All of our forests are being destroyed.  I enjoy hiking the beautiful areas like Yosemite.  If technology keeps destroying the environment then our children’s children will not be able to see the world like we see it right now.  This is a global concern now and with this technology someone, and all of us need to take a different approach to save the environment.  Otherwise we simply won’t have one to save.

Last, I thank Professor Andrews for making this class entertaining with all the debates, and projects we did in class.  Even though I would rather being traveling somewhere in Europe this summer, I am glad that this class was part of my summer.  It was as if I were in Europe, well perhaps studying it instead of actually being there.  

Blog 7

This week readings were not only hard for me to read, but it was painful.  I was able to fill their pain as I read about each section in Chapter 21.  Somehow, I wished I could have been there to help the sick with their farms or animals during the Plague.  I know that it might have been a big chance that I would have died too, but living in this century, we don’t think of dying when trying to help someone.

Lot of us get up in the morning and we either hate to get up to go to work, or feel tired of going to work.  When you really look at the situation, we are fortunate to have a regular job.  Some of us might have larger problems then others, but some of the problems you can simply solved yourself by either disassociating yourself with that person, by saving your money and not spending beyond your means, and by paying off debt.  These people seemed to me that they were always fighting for their for food, let alone for their lives. 

Perhaps there are some that don’t make enough money to purchase groceries, but there are ways to eat without having a lot of money.  Like when you purchase a meal that is premade, what you could have purchased with that is 2 days of food, which you have to cook yourself. 

When I read the part of the Holocaust I thought I was going to read more in detailed about what Hitler did to the Jews, but I was a bit disappointed that that was not in there.  I wanted to get more information from someone else perspective, I guess. What really surprised me about the details of Hitler was I always thought he targeted only the Jews.  I didn’t know he also like homosexual, handicaps and Jehovah Witnesses.  If that is the case, while aren’t things being said about those groups.  If they are, then I must not have paid attention to that in my other history classes.  In one of my psychology classes I read that Hitler was angry because had some sexual dysfunction.  Well with his charismatic personality you would think he had lots of women right, but why did he never produce a child.  I think there is some truth in his sexual dysfunction would you say.

Going back on Hitler and the Nazis caption, I never really heard what accomplished.  But after reading Chapter 21, I almost felt for him, but then I said, “if someone does something good in their lives, does it overcome the horrible things they did not?”  Well in Hitler case, I can’t image what he did should be overlooked over what he did do for his country. 

In conclusion, what I would like to say, is why are there so many wars.  One war after the other.  Killing and killings of people.  Why can’t this world get along.  I know we are all different, and we all look different and have different features, but then that’s what makes this world exciting.  Otherwise, it would be to boring if we all looked alike.  There needs to be a class  in elementary that teaches young children how to get alone with all races.