On Conquest and Brutality

Why is brutality a necessary part of conquest? Brutality and conquest seemingly go hand in hand when one looks back on the civilizations of old. The definition of conquering listed by Merriam-Webster is "to gain or acquire by force of arms" They go hand in hand so much that sources rarely talk about the why. In Conquest: How Societies Overwhelm Others by David Day the only discussion I found about brutality revolved around how societies justify brutality, not why they engage in it in the first place. Then again doesn't justification provide some instance for why the acts were committed? Either way Day listed several ways of justification: Religious, (spreading the faith) moral (our society is the best and we need to show the barbarians how to behave) and Hitler famously said the only justification he needed was the blood of his enemies (Day 94).
      These reasons provide a bit of insight into the psyche of why brutality is a part of conquest. Most every conqueror didn't have a problem with brutality. and from the justifications given, it is fair to say that most conquerors thought of their opponents as lesser in some way. This condescending attitude I believe is the root of brutality. When you consider the american slave experience such as in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison, the prevailing attitude among the Whites committing acts of brutality is that these people are worth less than their own lives; they do not view them as equals. Once that mental barrier is down humans are capable of horrific brutality. But just because someone is capable of brutality doesn't mean they will commit it, so why is brutality committed in conquering?
       From the dawn of time, wars have always been ugly, and one could argue that war has evolved to favor the brutal.  In early primitive wars, wouldn't a society that was more brutal and willing to destroy the will of the enemy be much more likely to survive? If we look at the history of American Wars as well we find that the further along we go, the more brutal warfare becomes. For example in the American Revolution, the US army engaged in guerilla warfare and broke many of the established rules of war such as firing upon officers, attacking the day after Christmas. This willingness to temporary suspend morals definitely contributed to the American victory. Move forward 4 score and seven years and in the civil war and Union General William Sherman is leading his infamous march to the sea. Sherman burned down farms in the south and stole food from civilians. Sherman argued that the war was against the people supporting the enemy as well. Now skip ahead to World War 2 where the allies bombed Hamburg, Germany and killed at the very least 40,000 civilians. Lest we forget the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that forever are shrouded in controversy. Then we move forward in time and still we haven't changed dropping napalm on Vietnamese innocents and ordering drone strikes in the Middle East which hit civilians.
       The societies that are around and about, are those who have succeeded in warfare and the current world we live in dictates that to win a war you must be brutal. That is why conquest and brutality go hand in hand, because people value victory at all costs; even their own morals.

Senior Project Paper Review

I wrote my paper on the history of the 88 constellations in the sky and my thesis was that Greek mythology allows casual astronomers to appreciate the night sky significantly more. My paper was plenty long and had many facts, and the formatting was solid; I didn't get my paper back. I think the paper was a good summary of all the stories of Greek mythology. Had it been a college paper, it wouldn't have passed though. There wasn't nearly enough analysis and the structure was very boring and repetitive. If I was to do it in a more serious setting I would supplement the facts with analysis and transitions to make the paper easier to read.

Research Paper Update with Outline

1. My topic is the Arab Spring and the overall task I am trying to accomplish is to find out how revolutions happen, why they work and will they continue to happen (using Tunisia as a case study).

2. The Aljazeera article entitled "How Tunisia's Revolution Began" written by Yasmine Ryan was my most helpful source because it was most directly related to what I wanted to accomplish. It gave me insight into how Tunisia's revolution was started, how it was sustained and how it ended.

3.  Right now I still take the side that revolutions happen because people are unhappy with their leader and feel their basic human rights are being violated, but successful revolutions need resources, publicity and tenacity.

4. Difficult Quote followed by layman's explanation:
"Iran has itself both gained and lost from recent events. higher oil prices, the fall of the staunchly anti-Iranian regime in Egypt and projected reductions in US military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan have all strengthened its hand. These gains are offset at least in part by the weakened status of Iran's close partner Syria - and by signs that Iran's leadership is divided against itself" (Haas).

Iran is in a delicate balance in Middle Eastern relations and just because its government is a "republic" doesn't mean it is immune from to the Arab Spring. Iran gains positively from conflicts in the region because oil production is halted or slowed in countries where conflict occurs therefore there is a higher demand for oil and prices go up. However Iran also loses a bit from the Arab Spring because it's close trade partner and ally Syria, is weaker and in the political battlefield, Iran has one its friends' voices diminished.

-It appears that the type of explaining I have to do will be explaining how the relationships got to where they are and why one move spells disaster for a country and success for another country. People know the names and terms, but not necessarily the prior dynamics and relationships of the Middle East.

5. The "Whoa!" moment for me was realizing that social media really was utilized and that technology really was the medium through which all of this was made possible. It just blew my mind that the thing I text on every day or type on could be used to start a successful revolution. Words are powerful. Ideas are powerful. Unity and tenacity trumps all.