Blog #6- What would the Athenians think?

The Athenians would have a lot to say about the politics of the modern world. One of the first things they would probably be astounded at is the fact that women are allowed to vote. The women never had those sorts of rights in the Ancient Greek times. Also, they wouldn’t understand the Electoral College and the representatives system. All of the free men were involved in politics, so having only elected officials wouldn’t make too much sense. They might be proud of our checks and balances system because they also believed in no one person having too much power. They might not like us having one president, but the Athenians always have something to say!

Blog #5- Mayan values today.

We can see Mayan values exemplified in Modern society in a few different ways. The first way is through writing. We know that writing and hieroglyphs, or even just plain art was very important to them. Nowadays, it's almost impossible for illiterate people to advance in the world. Also, we know the importance of food to them. They used a lot of corn in their food or Maize as they called it, it was a staple in their diet, and it is used in countless items of modern day food. Even though food isn't a value, they valued eating and the importance of agriculture, as do we. Finally, the Mayans very much valued their myths, superstitions and calenders. They would predict when the world would end and trust very much in what their calender foretold. In a weird way so do we. In our modern society, our lives revolve around times, when and where we are supposed to be. Also, myths and stories are a part of our modern lives, as children we hear them as were growing up and our lives sort of take shape around what we learn as children. We can definitely see Mayan values in Modern society.

Blog #4- Mohism and Daoism, how well do they keep order?

Mohism and Daoism are very much alike, and in my opinion neither one would be very good at maintaining order. Both remind me very much of hippies, the 1960's and the saying "go with the flow." Daoism in particular, even rejects and ignores political and social laws, which would not make a very good government. Mohism believes in universal love and love for everyone, which is not a great tactic for war, in a battle, love is not usually the tactic one would want to teach their soldiers. Another thing they have in common is practical knowledge, which is probably the only thing included in the beliefs that could keep people calm, and keep order. One part of Mohism is act the way you believe, and that would making keeping a government impossible if everyone acted the way they freely wanted. Daoism and Mohism are alike in so many ways, but none of them are useful in keeping order.

Blog #3- What does it take to be a good leader?

Question: What does it take to be a good leader?

What does it take to be a good leader? This is the question that leaders and people have been asking themselves for centuries. Well, the person needs to have good qualities like kindness, patience, and knowledge. But what about the appeal and respect to and from the people? There are so many answers to this question that it’s hard to answer with just one.

I think a good leader needs to be present in the lives of the people he or she is leading. For example, president Obama makes lots of addresses to the media and directly to the people so that he can stay connected with them. The people need to know what is going on in the government, and Mr. Obama is trying to do that, by being a good leader. A good leader also needs to respect the demands/requests of their people, like a democratic leader. Another example is the congress we have in our government today. They are delegates from every county in America, so that they can voice the opinions of the people, even from small towns. The congress tries to pass laws to help the people, and that way the president can know what all the people want, from every political party.

It is impossible to have a perfect leader, they will all make mistakes, but it takes so much to be at least a good one. Kindness, respect, being present, and even just being a good listener just to name a few traits of a good leader. I also think they need to be able to take control of a situation as well as be compassionate, and so much more are what it takes to be a good leader.

Blog #2

Jared Diamond's thesis- Geographical Luck!

I most certainly agree with Diamond's statement. I believe that the reason the people in the Middle East thrived so well was because of their land and their climate, all luck in their case. They could farm and set up steady civilizations. Unfortunately in Papua New Guinea, they didn't have so much luck. Their land is unfarmable, the weather too hot and the geography consisting of too much rainforest. The crops can't be stored and don't have much protein or nutrition.

Also, the land influences the people. For example, the people in the Middle East were able to farm, so they could sustain the whole community, allowing other people in their community to hold other specialty jobs. The people in the Middle East no longer hunt and gather for their food, in fact they haven't done so for several thousand years, their geography permitted them to advance into the modern age. The people in Papua New Guinea, though, still hunt nowadays, considering it one of the only ways of attaining food in the country. In the game of geographical luck, some win and others don't, and unfortunately for those who lose, they get to stay behind while the rest of the world propels into a new age.

Blog #1

The advantages of farming and agriculture outweigh the disadvantages significantly. The disadvantage is mainly how costly it would be to farm and create a self-sufficient agricultural environment. The main advantage of farming and agriculture is that, though it may be costly at first, when farmers have their own land and crops to grow, they can over time sell. They can also use them for food for themselves, making the farmer’s work self-sufficient. The advantages of farming and agriculture most definitely outweigh the disadvantages.