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. 

Why do teens stink at reading people?

     I can definitely believe the results of the study conducted that teens have difficulties reading people. In my personal experience in high school, I can remember a dozen memories that still sting from when I misread a situation. Insecurity is rampant in high school, it really is a bit of a twisted social experiment. Thinking about who are my friends right now, there are a few that I can say are for sure my friends but many more people I converse with fall into an unknown category. On a daily basis my peers and I misinterpret each other.  Perhaps we misunderstand each other due to the intensity of our experiences in our adolescent years. As we struggle with our own identities, the events around us are magnified. In this myriad of emotions it is easy to see how we could get confused.  Perhaps a reason high school occupies such a large place in our heart is because the rejections we feel have been magnified. At the root of those rejections, however is failure to read one another.

Mental Illness

     The other day I stumbled across an article written by a functioning schizophrenic. My first reaction was amazement. How could someone with a life-altering mental illness function so well? Then as I read the article I realized I was making a very basic common mistake in psychology. Not treating the individuals like individuals. The basic premise behind psychology is that every individual has different needs. And furthermore there is no such thing as a general treatment that can applied to every individual. It is a case by case science that has trends. I assumed that the best treatment for someone hearing voices inside their head was institutionalization but his story is a case example of why individuals with mental illnesses need to be evaluated individually. Mental illnesses and how we treat them are a key topic in psychology as psychologists strive to better mental health for all.

A quick definition of a mental illness:  A condition that disrupts the happy state of the mind and makes functioning daily more difficult.
   
The following graph with statistics provided by the National Institute of Mental Health shows how common mental illness is among adults.

The numbers are a little surprising. millions with schizophrenia, millions with phobias and millions who are bipolar. It's stunning that there is a large chunk of the American populace that struggles with severe mental illness

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 4 americans of age 18 or older in a given year struggles with a mental disorder and 1 in 17 have to daily live with an illness of the mind such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression. These numbers clearly illustrate that mental illness is a massive problem. 

Recent mass shootings such as the one in Newtown, CN have brought mental illness to the forefront of the political discussion. There is no question that we could be doing more to help the psyche of America. The NAMI posted a telling stat: less than a third of adults with treatable mental health disorders receive treatment. Perhaps the road to a mentally healthy America starts with a culture change. Many of us individually frown upon seeking mental health treatment as a weakness. If this attitude changed, we would definitely see a positive change in American mental health. Sometimes, it's not entirely up to the individual to seek treatment. As citizens, we should watch our loved ones for signs of illness and be supportive in helping others to get treatment.

Treatment for mental illnesses can take many forms. There is psychoanalysis or talking through problems which is an effective way to combat most illnesses. Another option is medication. Some illnesses can be lessened by the use of drugs to stabilize chemicals and in turn moods. Institutionalization, while it gets a bad rap, is probably the most time effective way of mentally healing, or stabilizing an illness whether temporary or permanent.

The most important thing with all treatments of mental Illness however is personalizing the treatment. Some people need to talk, others need to feel loved, some need to feel a part of something by working. The important thing with mental health is that we don't give someone the wrong treatment because we lumped them into a category. Diseases of the mind are far more complicated than a broken bone or a deep laceration. The healing has no predictable time range and there is no such thing as standard treatment.

Thoughts on a pre-9/11 world by a post 9/11 child.

     Personally, I am a law-abiding citizen and I have no problem with my actions being monitored, I'm just going to keep living my life the way I was before. Movie stars always talk about not letting the fame get to them, and I think it is similar with security. When you're life is scrutinized you can't let it get to you.
     As a child too young to remember the pre-9/11 world with any depth, invasion of privacy is normal for me as is bringing your ID everywhere with you. When reading essays about the USA PATRIOT Act, it illuminates to me that there was a time before censorship, before massive airport security, before "live" television was put on a 9 second delay.
     One of the pieces we read references being uncomfortable writing while someone is watching. To that, my natural reaction is that a person should be more assertive, be confident that one is in the right, and practice civil disobedience when you disagree with society. If you cannot do something when everyone is watching, then you cannot do it at all in this increasingly public and clashing society. Today's liberty is a public one. Thoughts, without action and debate, thoughts that stay chained in the mind are worthless.
     These essays put into perspective the fact that some people have privacy, and it being written into the constitution makes it a sore subject.

Sentence Fixes

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