Sanders and Marxism

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/14-things-bernie-sanders-has-said-about-socialism-120265

In the link above, a brief history is given of 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders' statements on his form of democratic socialism. Some critiques have made connections to Sanders having classical communist views, as described in our discussion of Karl Marx.

Sanders has stated in the past that he believes government should be accountable for the following: health care, free college education, and wealth equality. I believe that Sanders shares a great deal of ideas with Marx and I think the two would agree certain property destroys equality in the vast majority of instances. After reading the above Bernie Sanders quotes, what do you think? Are there significant similarities between Sanders and Marx? or do they follow different ideologies?

Are Modernization and Westernization the same thing

http://tinyurl.com/p5udz9lb

The link posted above argues that if we want to have a better understanding of the acts of violence like 9/11 and the unrest among Muslim populations, we need to focus more on the historical developments rather than those Orientalist caricatures. Orientalist connects Muslims and irrational violence.  Orientalist is not simply an attempt to study and understand Islam or the Orient, rather, it is a way of narrating the West’s sense of itself. According to this article, colonialism was not only the imposition of authoritarian racial rule, but also a state of mind. European colonialism provides the appropriate background to understand the chaos in the Muslim societies. Currently, there are mainly two influences of colonialism. One is the Western governors imposing their rules on the natives, another is the westerners making those native rulers believe that ultimately modernization and westernization are the same thing. Since the Iranian revolution, Muslim societies around the world have been involved in the conflict between the native leaders who believe that they can replicate the success of the West and those groups who reject the view that the West knows best. There is a struggle against a world that colonialism made, that is pivotal to analyzing the turmoil. What do you think of the colonialism? Do you think the modernization and westernization are the same thing for colonized people?  What do you think of those violent actions?

This article reminds me of what we read from The Wretched of The Earth. The author Fanon argues that: “Colonialism is worse than a lack of governance, it is humiliating, it is to be unseen and unheard”. Moreover, those violence acts of the natives reminds me of what Fanon argues that, “at the level of individuals, violence is a cleansing force. It frees the native from his inferiority complex and from his despair in action,” (Fanon, 94). Even though Fanon advocated violence against the settlers as the way for colonized people to regain their sense of self-respect, such violence would not be automatically justifiable today. It is unrealistic to encourage those terrorist attacks since they are not innocent. According to Fanon: “violence can be effective” and “violence is needed to match violence”. Therefore, violent struggle is a necessary agent for colonized peoples to gain independence.Thus, we should only encourage the colonized to use violence to reject the dehumanizing domination of Western culture.

A sense of nationalism

This year on Veterans Day President Obama addressed citizens who are in the armed forces at the Army base Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, South Korea. He praised the soldiers and their families for the sacrifices they have made for the security of our country. He emphasized that we should not only thank our soldiers on Veterans day but also everyday of the year. He explains that our country thanks our veterans everyday by the benefits they not only receive but they deserve. His emphasis on the word "deserve" gives every veteran a sense of mind that we as citizens of this country do not take their personal sacrafices for granted. It also shows that we will take care of the people who are in the armed forces the same way that they protect our freedom every day while they are in the armed services.

President Obamas Veterans Day speech reminded of Pericles speech and the funeral oration because of the effect the speech had on the people listening to it. Both President Obama and Pericles both created a sense of nationalism while praising the citizens in the armed forces. President Obama used the word "we" as did Pericles to show the soldiers that the citizens of the United States are grateful for the sacrifices they have made for the good of the country. As President Obama was addressing the marines you can feel a sense of nationalism as he stated that we will take care of our veterans the same way they took care of us while being enlisted. You can hear the marines shouting in the background praising President Obamas statements. It is clear that President Obama was able to make the soldiers feel that the citizens of the United States are very thankful of what the soldiers do for the country.

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/40122222

Chinese Realism in a Melian Light

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11341139

The Melian Dialogue was a conversation between the Melian grand council and Athenian representatives detailed by Thucydides. It concerned the invasion of Melos by Athens in the fifth century BCE. The rulers of Melos attempted to make a case for their Island State retaining its sovereignty, as they held to their morals of remaining a sovereign state. Realist theory proved to be the outcome of this situation, as the Athenians used their superior military power to take over the island, killing the men and enslaving women and children in the process.

Recently, there has been a conflict between China and Japan over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. These islands have been uninhabited for years and remain an important landmark in designating which power gets to retain the rights to the fisheries off the coast of the islands. Both countries have historical claims to the islands. My question is, is there more power in taking of the area by military force, as it appears China is ready to do, or is there more power in persuading the other side to accept the opposing view? Do you think it is even possible for the two polarized sides to come to an agreement without the use of power?

The Power of Speech

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ryan-has-a-lot-going-for-him-but-hes-still-unlikely-to-heal-a-broken-house/2015/11/01/6e73549a-80a9-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Last week Paul Ryan gave his first address as the newly elected House Speaker. In the article above, it explains how Ryan's speech was effective and direct. In Ryan's speech, he described that he believes that, "The House is broken" and that he thinks that "We are not solving problems. We are adding to them." The article mentions how in his Speech, Ryan states that he has a vision for the House's future and how he plans to "fix" all of the problems he sees within the House. The article continues to bring up all of the different aspects Ryan said that he wants to change in the House and also lists the steps he has created to start what he believes will be a positive transformation of the House.

This past week we discussed the power of speech and the effect it can have over the people you are addressing the speech to. When reading this article I thought of our reading and discussion on Pericles speech at the funeral oration. In class we mentioned how Pericles was able to argue his opinion in his speech, but did so in a way that made the people of Athens respect and listen to his ideas. He created a sense of honor for the soldiers lost in the war, which is a topic many people do not want to discus. In relation to Pericles speech, Ryan was able to state his criticisms of the House, but in a way that caused his fellow lawmakers to listen and respect his ideas. Ryan used the word "we" a lot throughout his speech, which is a word that unifies people as a group instead of just pointing fingers and accusing people of their wrongdoings. Ryan used the power of speech to talk about what he wants to do while in his position as Speaker of the House. So far Ryan has received positive feedback on what he talked about in his speech, which demonstrates how effective his speech really was.

What people want to hear.

In Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, he recounts a speech Pericles gave at a funeral oration during the war.  This main objective of this speech was to memorialize the fallen soldiers, while Pericles does just that this he is also sowing seeds of nationalism into the minds of his people. The power of speech is a power that is often overlooked, but popular leaders are able to use speech into their advantage.  Leaders such as Winston Churchill in his Finest Hour speech, George W. Bush after 9/11, or President Obama throughout his campaign were all able to use this tool of speech to their advantage.  The common theme we see in all of these leaders, is the ability to infuse their speeches with nationalism.

Everyone who has even glanced at a news source for at least a second since the start of this past summer know the slogan, 'Make America Great Again' and which presidential hopeful is using it. Since the start of the summer Donald Trump has either been at the top of the polling in the Republican Party and has been there largely due to his slogan, 'Make America Great Again' and his speech skills.  In a recent article in The Washington Post, Marc Fisher writes that this slogan is reminiscent to people who believe that American has been on a downward trend since Reagan held office and those people believe that Trump can fix it.  Trump may not be the best presidential candidate, nor will he win the Republican nomination but his speech skills and the nationalism he infuses with his speeches made him a heavy favorite in the Republican Party.

The Death Penalty: A powerful tool?

The image above is a satirical cartoon about the death penalty in the United States.  The two men at the bottom are looking at the Uncle Same lookalike who us deeming what is "just" in the U.S..  He says how advanced and sophisticated we are in the U.S..  But the two men do not think agree.  The death penalty looms over all of them, dressed as the grim reaper.  This cartoon is asking the viewer the question, how advanced and valued is our society if the death penalty exists? \
This cartoon made me think of the class discussion we had on Socrates The Apology.  That story asks many questions, one of which is about the death penalty.  Socrates society was going to put him to death for teaching against what they think people should learn.  They wanted to kill him for asking questions and having different beliefs than them.  In that story, I do think it is unjust to kill him.  However it unjust, I think it makes the government less powerful.  Killing someone over different views proves that the government doesn't actually believe their own views are strong enough to convince anyone of them, so they just kill people who think against them.  In our society, I think the death penalty has more validity.  I believe it is there to discourage people from doing what they do in the first place.  If you have that threat against you, you may not commit those crimes at all.  In our society, we don't kill people over opposing views either, and the death penalty isn't just thrown around and given to anyone.  Depending on the circumstance, the death penalty gives the government more power, and in others it takes it away.  Does the death penalty ever give the government more power?  If so, in what circumstances?