I cannot count on my hands how many times I have not fully grasped a topic in school because it was very boring to learn about. Honestly, when we first got the assignment to read about Rwanda I thought… another boring topic. I changed my mind yesterday at about 2:00. The idea of learning about a topic in an active debate is brilliant. It forces everyone to be active and know what they’re talking about. Blaming people for the Rwandan genocide was really exciting and I liked watching everyone's faces when they were asked to respond to a hard question. I am sure many had a laugh watching me try to comprehend some of the things I was asked.
Although it went very well for our first debate, there were a few things everyone, including myself, would agree could have gone better.
First off, it would have been better if I had some more intelligent questions to ask. It was very nice watching the RPF and the “dead” Juvenal battle it out because it really seemed like they knew what they were talking about. Also, I wish we had more time in our groups to help each other out in the questions and intros we came up with.
First time, first pancake… none of us knew what to expect so I am pretty positive to say that our next debate will be even better!
Friday, November 20, 2009
G is for Genocide
In any situation there are always many different directions in which you can point the blame. No conflict starts without a bunch of different sources added to it. In regards to the Rwandan genocide of 1994, more than 800,000 lives were lost, but in my opinion there isn't just one group to blame. Though, I could say one major group to blame was the Interahamwae. There could have been fighting in Rwanda, but the Interahamwae is what caused it to be genocide. These live probably would have not been lost if they hadn't existed.
You could just point the blame at them, but you could go farther back and blame the MRND. They are the ones who organized the Interahamwae and brainwashed them into killing the innocent people. Farther back than that, you could blame Juvenal Habyarimana for creating the MRND in the first place.
So as you can see, no matter who you want to blame for something, you can always look farther back and find something that cause them to do what they did. In such an event no one is innocent. Instead of everyone blaming each other for causing the genocide in Rwanda, the problem could have been easily solved if everyone would have just taken responsibility for their part in it.
You could just point the blame at them, but you could go farther back and blame the MRND. They are the ones who organized the Interahamwae and brainwashed them into killing the innocent people. Farther back than that, you could blame Juvenal Habyarimana for creating the MRND in the first place.
So as you can see, no matter who you want to blame for something, you can always look farther back and find something that cause them to do what they did. In such an event no one is innocent. Instead of everyone blaming each other for causing the genocide in Rwanda, the problem could have been easily solved if everyone would have just taken responsibility for their part in it.
Friday, November 6, 2009
The American Scholar
Emerson"s argument in "The American Scholar" about American society still holds true today.
One reason Emerson's argument still holds true today is people are becoming specialized and focused on only their job. By doing this, they are not becoming the diverse American that we need in regards to their job, in this world. Emerson says, "The fable implies that the individual, to posses himself, must sometimes return from his own labor to embrace all the other laborers." In essence, that one should not only know about their job, but sometimes they should care about other jobs and have more than one specialty. For example, if we as students only learned about one field of knowledge, such as science, we would never learn how to read, write, or apply math to our science skills. Therefore, it would make us less diverse in the real world. Not only are people becoming less diverse in the job industry, but they are also not relying on their own brain to think.
Imagine if everyone in America had the same opinions about everything. There would be one flavor ice cream, no arguments about anything, one T.V. show everyone liked, or only Coke and no Pepsi. This would cause a huge problem in our society because there would be no variety. This is another reason Emerson's argument still holds true. People are relying on other peoples opinion and not varying enough in their thinking. Emerson relates this to being a "parrot of other mans thinking." So if that is all we do, rely on other peoples opinions and only widen our thinking to one subject, how can we become a diverse and educated population that this country needs to compete with others?
One reason Emerson's argument still holds true today is people are becoming specialized and focused on only their job. By doing this, they are not becoming the diverse American that we need in regards to their job, in this world. Emerson says, "The fable implies that the individual, to posses himself, must sometimes return from his own labor to embrace all the other laborers." In essence, that one should not only know about their job, but sometimes they should care about other jobs and have more than one specialty. For example, if we as students only learned about one field of knowledge, such as science, we would never learn how to read, write, or apply math to our science skills. Therefore, it would make us less diverse in the real world. Not only are people becoming less diverse in the job industry, but they are also not relying on their own brain to think.
Imagine if everyone in America had the same opinions about everything. There would be one flavor ice cream, no arguments about anything, one T.V. show everyone liked, or only Coke and no Pepsi. This would cause a huge problem in our society because there would be no variety. This is another reason Emerson's argument still holds true. People are relying on other peoples opinion and not varying enough in their thinking. Emerson relates this to being a "parrot of other mans thinking." So if that is all we do, rely on other peoples opinions and only widen our thinking to one subject, how can we become a diverse and educated population that this country needs to compete with others?
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