I am starting to appreciate this book a little more due to the fact that it does not only talk about European and US cultures. It actually strives to include all other civilizations other than those of only Europeans and US.
This book actually covers more than what I have studied in a previous History class that I have taken. So far it has given me a better understanding of the relationships of the different cultures and how they interacted amongst each other.
In the late 1990s, the term globalization grew in popularity. Wall Street and companies have made it sound that this is a new concept whereas in reality it has been around for centuries. Trades were happening across continents and even across oceans from 500 - 1500 C.E. Before there was an internet super highway there were the silk roads, sea roads and the sand roads.
It sounds like during those times, people were free to move around from place to place, country to country and continent to continent. There were no strict border laws and one didn't need a passport or visa to travel. I wonder where and when did we start complicating things and started closing borders and requiring people documentation for travel.
I also now have a better understanding why there are a lot of Muslims in the Southeast Asian region. This has been due to the trades during those times and bringing religion with them in the process.
The study of World History, I think and feel, should begin in elementary school instead of just a semester in college. It is quite a great deal to accomplish in 10 weeks time or even 3 1/2 months time in a semester. This should be really be broken down into several years of study if the accreditation body expects a well rounded person to graduate from school.
This World History book tries to cover a lot of ground and try to encompass a lot of information into a single book. The problem with this is that it skips or misses a lot of pertinent data. For example, it doesn't go into detail about the creation of the Great Wall, I don't think it covers the creation of the pyramids of Egypt and so far, the only mention of martial arts are the samurais of Japan.
I would like it to include more stories about the creation of martial arts because these were developed stemming from the conflicts with other regions and countries. Martial arts are as much part of history as religions and trade therefore should at least be mentioned.
I did read that Bodhidharma went to China to teach Buddhist monks the art of meditation or yoga then later stemmed into the creation of Shaolin kung-fu.
So far, I have not read why people from different areas look different from each other. I don't think evolution could be attributed to this because it wouldn't explain why people who have moved into certain area still look the same as their ancestors who have migrated to an area centuries ago. Let's take United States for example, generations of people who have moved here centuries ago still looks similar to the land in which they came from. Sure, one can argue that evolution might take longer than a few centuries but it really does not address why people have various differences amongst them.
Empires rise and they fall, so far this has been the common theme in human history maybe in World History. Dinosaurs ruled then they fell. Various empires rose and they fell. It is only logical to think that we will soon face this pattern. As grave as it may sound, it is probably the reality of it.
All of the conflicts and empire buildings in the history make human history quite dismal to study. I think we could study history all we want but people never learn and would create the same conflict over and over again. Maybe never is such a finite word but I do notice that people in general takes a very long time to make a change.
I think we, as a human race, would not unite until we find a common enemy. When I think of the Earth coming together as one society then the only example that I can think of is Star Trek. I know it's a bit Sci-Fi but this would probably the only time it would be possible. Not until we find an enemy other than ourselves.
The basic premise of life is simple, to live our life. People make it difficult. We add various and possibly unnecessary complexities. We have created laws but constantly modify it by adding or deleting items from it as someone sees fit. Do we really need all of these laws? I would answer it as yes we do and no we don't. I would answer yes because there are inherently evil people out there were others need to be protected against. At the same time, these laws just adds another layer of complexity to our lives.
I would also add the basic premise of religion is to worship or believe in a supreme being or God. Religions are created by mankind and further complicated by mankind. Religious wars have been fought and other religions have been formed to separate themselves from their previous religion. Rules have been set within religions according to the ruler/head of the religion at a particular time. I guess this would only be true for Christianity and not other religions. Come to think of it, other religions do not have a central figure/political head like the Catholic church.
In summary, life is simple, it's people that make it difficult.
No comments:
Post a Comment