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  • Rose Miller 10:44 pm on April 14, 2014 Permalink |
    Tags: civic issues blog 2013-14,   

    Implosion 

    The textbooks tell of stories. They tell of battles won and lost. They tell of those who made it home and those who didn’t quite. They tell of pinnacle moments and times that the course of history was changed. The stories surround the moments when humanity was as it’s greatest and it’s worse. The books tell of when the future of the Earth was irrevocably changed and when history completed a full circle of events.  These moments cannot be swept away or forgotten. They tell the stories of generations of men and how the past will and has affected the present and the future. The stories are not to be lost. They have to be remembered in order to remember those who lived through it.

    Especially as the textbooks are marred by violence. They are scarred by the horror of what man can do and does do to the world around them. The textbooks do not only encapsulate the good in the world, they tell of the bad. And somehow the bad becomes more important. The bad is easier to remember. It is the parts of the history lessons that hook the students in more.  The bad sound more and more like an action movie except the good guys do not always win. The bad bits are not more important however. The good bits are harder to remember but are needed to be remembered in order for the best parts of humanity to not be lost. The world is full of evil. The world is full of bad people and bad decisions. However, the bad and the good come in equal proportion. You just have to look for it. You just have to be able to get past the bad.

    Sometimes, the bad is just too much. Sometimes, the bad is overwhelming and encompassing. When that happens across a nation, then a revolution occurs. When the way of life is too harsh, the world needs to be changed. Nations implode in on themselves. A spark becomes a barrel of dynamite. And the world is shattered and a new group of people are left to pick up the pieces and try to put the puzzle back together. Sometimes this works. Other times, the nation crumples over and over again until the correct solution is found.

    In the modern world, revolutions are more political than they seemed to be in the past. Nations help out the rebels and governments alike on whichever side the aiding nations will get more of a benefit from. If a nation believes it will be more beneficial to aid one side or another, then that is the side that they will choose. If they do not see a, generally, monetary benefit to choosing a side in the disagreement, then the nation will stay out of it and aid neither side. Political ties are created and frayed as nations pick and choose who to get involved with and when that decision should be made. Nations develop differing views and those views can change the course of history. Those views do change the course.

    Revolutions seem to have been on the rise in the past years with many nations taking their own future into the hands of the civilians with places like Egypt. There have been civil wars and revolutions across the world. The world powers have gotten involved or not gotten involved depending.

    World is changing. World is rearranging itself. The world powers are slowly being joined or overtaken by new powers as more nations want to a piece of the sun. New nations are springing up like grass after a fire. Revolutions play a part in this. They play a part in reinvention. They are necessary. The world gets redone and revolutions are an avenue towards that. It is not always the correct option but it is always an option. Some revolutions like Gandhi’s are peaceful. Some are beyond violent. Both can be effective.

    It is the way that the world works in order to improve. Revolts should be listened to and revolutions should be obeyed. Otherwise why should people continue to try to better the world they live in if they never see success? This is not to say that everyone’s ideas are what is really best for a generation of people and some people are just insane. But on the off chance that they aren’t, the world should stop and listen. The world grows old and needs to be renovated. So sometimes, you have to let the world implode and hope that whatever comes after is as good as you hoped it would be.

     

    • Susan Nahvi 1:38 pm on April 18, 2014 Permalink

      I liked how you explained exactly why revolutions were so important for you to make a full blog out of them. I agree with Michael that often times, they seem to do more harm than good and there is so much awfulness in the world. But you’re also right about people often overlooking the good parts of history. For my IR class, we were reading about the UN peacekeeping missions during the 1990s, when there were four REALLY REALLY huge failures resulting in the genocide in Rwanda and other atrocities. But, what everyone ignored was that they had a number of quiet successes at the same time. They just received less attention because everything was going right. Anyway, thanks for the blog posts!

    • Michael Geitner 1:32 pm on April 18, 2014 Permalink

      It’s disappointing that after the sacrifices made for a revolution the outcome is often just as bad as what preceded it. Fortunately, as you pointed out, improvements are still generally made in the long run.

  • Rose Miller 11:12 am on April 4, 2014 Permalink |
    Tags: civic issues blog 2013-14,   

    Remembrance 

    It is twisted. It is looming and leering and grotesque and harsh and strange and cruel and threatening and all-compassing and inescapable. It overtook the world and spasm on the surface of everyone’s thoughts until it consumed a generation of men. It began with a purpose but it dissolved like powder in water until everything had turned a sickly shade of green and nothing left resembled a logical world. The world had turned sick. The world had turned in on itself  and nothing remained. The world that existed was disproportionate and despicable. The men trapped in the bubble suffocated from the lack of sanity and the lack of oxygen. Nothing was sacred and nothing was safe. The world had lost its morals and soon, very little was left standing.  It was in this world that Siegfried Sassoon lived in. He was transformed by it. He was a second lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during World War One. He was a hero. He was beloved by his men and honored with the Military Cross. He was given the cross for his actions during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The cross itself was engraved with

    2nd Lt. Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon, 3rd (attd. 1st) Bn., R. W. Fus.

    For conspicuous gallantry during a raid on the enemy’s trenches. He remained for 1½ hours under rifle and bomb fire collecting and bringing in our wounded. Owing to his courage and determination all the killed and wounded were brought in.

    During the battle of the Somme, he saved the lives of many a good man. He saved his friends and his soldiers and acted in a way that most people could not even dream of. He was gallant. He walked back and fro from a German trench, carrying the wounded and killed back into the safety of the British lines. He saved all those he had lost and all those he was losing. He was a man’s man. He was one of the cover faces for the British army. He was one of the stories that the government was proud of.

    He was a villain. He was despicable and cruel and un-understanding and threatening and harsh and twisted and strange. Sassoon lost his favor with the government and the military and therefore lost everything. He was the emblem of revolution. He was leader of a revolt. He lost. He was stripped of dignity and power. He was reduced. He was lost. Sassoon was a name of courage and passion. Then he was a name lost in a dark, empty, forgotten hallway.

    Sassoon wrote a letter to the British government. It was called a Soldier’s Declaration. It was a list of reasons as to why the war needed to end. It was the story of the sick and twisted world that he lived in. The war had lost its purpose and now there was no earthly reason to send in more men to die. The British government said he was mad. They said it was shell-shock. They said he was a coward. He was sent to Craiglockhart which is a mental institution. He was a problem that was hidden away. His revolt was over.

    However, Sassoon disagreed. He began to write. He wrote about all that he saw and all that he went through. He painted a realistic image of the war in poetry. He captured a generation of men lost. He had survived the war. He found his humanity again by telling of unhuman things, of acts and creatures and dark nights and cold rains and rats and rum. Sassoon’s poems are world famous. Sassoon’s story marvels the world over. His cause is now supported. The war is described in his words. He was a loser who got to help write the history books. He was a survivor and he made sure the ones he lost and the ones he was loosing were remembered as well.

    He is an example of a revolt that failed. However, he still “won” in the end. He survived and continued to tell his story. Now, his story is known and he is viewed as more of a hero because of it.

     

    • Michael Geitner 1:40 pm on April 4, 2014 Permalink

      It’s unfortunate that someone so heroic would be cast aside because of his views, especially when he would have known the reality of the war far better than those in government. Fortunately, history seems to have righted the wrong and Sassoon’s bravery even after he left the front is now appreciated.

    • Susan Nahvi 1:40 pm on April 4, 2014 Permalink

      Hmm… that was really interesting because I’d never actually heard of Sassoon and what he did. It’s so typical and tragic that because he criticized the war he was sent away to a mental institution. In the opening paragraph it was a bit much, but, in general, I love the very romanticized way you describe the events, talking about honor and villainy and such 🙂 .

  • Rose Miller 1:05 pm on March 21, 2014 Permalink |
    Tags: civic issues blog 2013-14,   

    It started with a fall It started with… 

    It started with a fall. It started with a tumble. It started with the world going topsy-turvy. It started with society breaking down and the world holding still.

    It started with a breathe. It started with an utterance. It started with a word. It started with a voice speaking through din. It started with a command. A command to feel. A command that rose the anger in those who heard it.

    It started with a birth-right. it started with a culture. It started with privilege. It started with an idea of what was correct. It started with a disagreement.

    Sound familiar? It started the way anything else does. Rapidly. Quickly. Out-of-hand. Beyond control. Beyond the boundaries.

    The English Civil War started in 1642. The British people rose up against their ruler. The British people rose up against the King. They rose up against the idea of monarchy. They rose up with the idea that they as people deserved to rule themselves. They succeeded. They tore down the social norms and created a new existence. They created a world that they thought was going to be better. They created something that they believed to be pure.

    King James the Second of England was an outsider. His wife was French at a time when the English people had little love for their neighbors over the channel. Therefore, there was a feeling of distrust through the island as the citizens viewed their ruler as being more loyal to France then to England. This caused a feeling of us against them spread like a plague of rats across the island, infecting the homes of those who lived there. The inhabitants of the island tossed in their sleep as their minds slowly began to fill with hatred for their monarch.

    The hatred only grew when the King began to act over his bounds. As many Kings believe, James thought that his right to rule was given to him by a divine authority. He believed that it was his birthright to rule. That is was his and his alone. He began to rule as he saw best. He began to break the laws that even affect the King. He stopped listening to Parliament. He stopped listening to his people. On more than one occasion, he threatened to disband Parliament. On more than one occasion, he followed through.

    The British people did not stand this for long. The King was breaking the laws of the Magna Carter. Therefore, he had no right to be King. The citizens began to come together. They banded in an army. A war raged. The island groaned at the weight as battle after battle took place and the entire government was brought to its knees.

    Leading the army of rebels was a man by the name of Oliver Cromwell. He was man for a nation and lead his people onto victory. After the Revolution was over, Oliver Cromwell continued to lead his people. He ruled over England in what is known as the Protectorate. He ruled with a military dictatorship. For a while, the British people lived on high from their victory against the late King James the Second. However, as power generally does, Cromwell became corrupt. He began to impost very strict rules on the citizens such as no Christmas or parties or alcohol or smoking or pretty much anything fun what so ever. He was forcing his puritan viewpoints on the subjects. He was acting more and more like a king. He was acting more and more like someone that the British people did not want on their throne. He should not have ever even become as powerful as he was. Cromwell was never king but by the end of his rule, he acted like something much worse.

    Once again, the British rose up. Once again, the British went against an idea of privilege. The British people took control of their own destiny. The sceptered island went under a process known as the monarchy restoration. Oliver Cromwell was killed and his laws and rulings were forgotten and left to flutter in the breeze as they fell to the floor. King James II son was called back into England. He became the next rightful ruler under the name King Charles the Second and the nickname the Prince of Partying. King Charles the Second was a better ruler than his father and gave the British people the freedoms that Cromwell had stolen from them.

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    • Caroline 1:53 pm on March 21, 2014 Permalink

      England never seemed satisfied with the ruler at this time. Have you read “The Ocean at the End of the Lane?” The characters mention Cromwell and his not-so-good ways of ruling as being from some ancient magic…but that’s beside the point. It was a pretty turbulent time in England’s history for sure.

    • Michael Geitner 1:49 pm on March 21, 2014 Permalink

      Unfortunately, it seems like a large number of revolutions end with a worse situation. Even today, despite the many lessons from history, new governments often become corrupt or power-hungry, leaving their nation worse off than before the change of leadership.

    • Adam Rastatter 1:44 pm on March 21, 2014 Permalink

      For whatever reason I couldn’t help but read this in a British accent. I think it was the repetition. I remember learning about this a little in my European history class and high school and remembering that they weren’t allowed to celebrate Christmas. That would have actually been the worst. Interesting blog though!

    • Susan Nahvi 1:36 pm on March 21, 2014 Permalink

      I really liked the repetition that you used (is it called anaphora?…). Sometimes it wasn’t necessary, but it gave a nice flow/feel to the piece. It called upon the fact that you’re comparing the grand ideas of birthright, nobility, freedom, etc. This is what I’m wondering: was there any fundamental change to the system of British rule after the return of King Charles? It doesn’t sound like there was, which would kind of undermine the whole revolution. A very interesting entry, though!

  • Rose Miller 12:01 pm on February 27, 2014 Permalink |
    Tags: civic issues blog 2013-14,   

    Ladies on the Steps 

    There are names that can define an age. There are names that define a war, a group, a goal. There are names that are in every textbook on the subject. These names spark an emotion, they spark a response. The name does not loose power when it is confined to the yellowing pages in a history book.  Names hold a power all to their own. The most well-known historical figures are not dulled by the passing of time, like Martin Luther or Hitler or Churchill or George Washington or Robespierre. Robespierre was a Frenchman. He was a man for a culture, for a society. He broke the social norms and tore down order. He was born of a revolution and, ultimately, destroyed by it. He was the center of a storm. He was the power and the weak-link. He was the epitome of the revolution. As the head of the Jacobin’s, Robespierre was a rebel leader during the time of the Reign of Terror.

    The French Revolution raged for ten years, collecting the heads of those that opposed it. The Revolution was sparked by hunger and anger and a monarch who did nothing. It became, however, un-human. It became, however, the most human of responses. It lost control. The Revolution became an entity. It became tangible. It became something feared.  The rebels were swallowed up and those who remained where somehow not precisely man. Those that remained were not precisely anything. The Revolution, as it raced and rambled throughout France, became something known as the Reign of Terror. The Revolution itself by this time, was no longer the leading charge. Now the new nation was being fought over like seagulls on a piece of bread. The new nation had no chance to be brought into this world without a sea of blood surrounding it. Known as the Reign of Terror, the France under Robespierre was a terrifying place. Terror was his form of justice, “prompt, severe, and inflexible.” (Robespierre) Blades of Guillotines swiped hundreds each day. There were no trials. There was no hope. Traitors to the state were found in everyone and those who were caught merely thinking against the government were killed immediately.

     

    Suddenly, Robespierre the Incorruptible was killing off anyone who had a differing of opinions. Suddenly, he had become corrupt.  The Reign of Terror lasted for only nine months and in that time, the forever hungry Madame Guillotine took the lives of 15000-50000 people. The world had sick. Women would knit on the steps of the guillotines. People used the daily murders for entertainment. Morals had been disturbed. Pandora’s box had been opened in the center of Paris, trapping hope inside. Paranoia was the new illness that was sweeping the nation. Nothing and no one was safe from the blade hanging over everyone’s head, even Robespierre. On the 27th of July, 1794, the Reign of Terror ended. Robespierre was killed as a traitor to the state himself. He had gone too far. He had become a rebellion and rebellions get stopped.  Robespierre’s idea of the New France was not based on any functions of government. Anything positive he could have done was wasted as the poison he created soaked into every corner of France. For all the good he did in power, the legacy he left was one of murder. His name in the textbook is surrounded by a fear. His name is surrounded by a hate. For this, for the monster he controlled and was controlled by, Robespierre was arrested and killed the next day.

    Robespierre illustrates a loss of control. Revolution is an unstoppable force. It is, however, a fickle mistress. There is no right or wrong way to storm a castle. There is no right or wrong way to overthrow a government. Rebels think of the best way to overcome the trials and tribulations. Sometimes, they are successful and the world better off for it. Sometimes, however, the causes are forgotten and the revolution is poisoned. Sometimes, the revolution goes too far. It can dip back into rebellion. It can dip back into failure. Harassing the power of an entire citizenship is difficult, nigh impossible for some. However, it is necessary. It is important. It is something that humans do. It is natural. It is completely and utterly human. Which is completely and utterly terrifying. Revolutions like the one of the French in the late 1700s are terrifying. They are not pure. They are sick. They are the memories of a nation and the nightmares of those who it for what it is, a force dominating a nation and a force that remains victorious.

     

    • Caroline 1:52 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink

      The revolution had a good starting point and a bad ending point. The way it turned around so quickly is terrifying. It’s interesting to think how a city and country so praised today for its beauty and romance and such was once such a poisonous bloodbath.

    • aog5478 1:48 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink

      Each revolution is unique in its own way, but the majority of them since the French Revolution have some element of that one in them. The French Revolution was so varied in its approaches to overthrow the government that its influence spans far more than just in Europe. Even today, the Reign of Terror is one of the most radical ways of getting people to comply.

    • Michael Geitner 1:36 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink

      It seems as if most revolutions are of similar nature when they begin. The major difference between them is what happens once the fighting has stopped, how the people carry on and rebuild. Unfortunately, new governments often make missteps, but few come close to the Reign of Terror.

    • Susan Nahvi 1:35 pm on February 28, 2014 Permalink

      Again, you have quite a way of lyrically describing these dramatic events that is always fascinating to read. It might have been interesting to talk a little bit about Robespierre’s philosophy of government and exactly how he departed from that in embarking on the Reign of Terror. But otherwise, a beautiful entry!

  • Rose Miller 12:03 pm on February 7, 2014 Permalink |
    Tags: civic issues blog 2013-14,   

    Spark 

    It’s black and white and grey. It’s dry and dull. It’s continuous and endless. It is all-encompassing. It is overwhelming. It is a reminder and it is a warning. As students in grade school we all have had to take history- American history, World history, European history, French, Spanish, ancient, and modern. Therefore, reading a history textbook is something that we are all familiar with. Reading boring chapter after chapter of events in the distance and present past is a sentence we have all be forced to undergo.

    history book

    However, history should not be dull. It should not be grey scaled and dry. It should be fast-paced. Events and facts should be fired into your head with the precision and speed of English long-bow men during the 100 years war. You should be out of breath. You should be completely taken in by the wonders and horrors of mankind. When a student reads about a war, any war, their head should be filled with the cries of the soldiers, the wailing of equipment, and the darkness of a world lost in war. And in a passage of a revolution, spirits should be raised. Problems should be brought forth and solutions should be found.

    jointherevolution

    A revolution by its very fabric is an awe-inspiring battle. It is a group of people fighting solely for a belief, fighting under a cause that is intangible.  It is a group of people fighting for their definition of what is right. They are fighting for their homes, their families, and the idea that tomorrow will somehow be better. It is a pure form of violence. It is something that draws people in even without them meaning to. It is something that nations crumple over. It is something that nations are born in. It changes and twists the fate of society. Revolution changes the world. Revolution makes history.

    keep-calm-and-start-a-revolution-6

    It starts with a spark. It starts with the idea of something being unfair. It starts with money or government or rights being stolen. It starts with something so small that eventually poisons the mind until that small idea is every thought and breathe. Until every thought and breathe is full of anger and resentment that curdles the citizens and forces a rebellion. Revolution starts small and grows until it brings the government to it knees. It grows until the rebels are satisfied with the outcome. Until the anger can be quietened and the resentment blown away on the breeze.

    images

    Not all revolutions are violent. Some revolutions are in the form of internet blogs and angry protests. Some are in the form of camp sites and petitions. However, the most powerful ones take place in a bloody field with mountains of dead. The most powerful revolution forcibly make people listen. The most powerful revolutions sacrifice everything to the cause. The most powerful are not afraid of the consequences because for the rebels, there is no life if the revolution is not successful. For the most powerful, the world is already too far gone for there to be any other solution. The citizens are starving and too poor to buy food, the citizens are under threat from other nations and cannot build an army, the citizens are chained by their government and cannot breath against the collar. These rebellions work because there is no turning back. There is no future. And the past cannot continue.

    revolution

    Revolution is for winners. It is for the successful. It is for those left alive to write the history books. It is for those make their own nation and alter the social norms of what is correct and proper. If the group of citizens rise up and are torn down, then it is merely a rebellion. Rebellions are black spots. They are the ink blots of the history textbooks. They do nothing except make the books longer. Rebellions make the living conditions worse and the problems more pronounced as the governments tightens the collar around the citizens neck. Rebellions bring the issues to the table but cannot follow through. Revolutions, however, are unstoppable. Revolutions are like a fire raging in a building. They are like a wild-fire in California that can be compromised with but cannot be halted. Revolutions make and break nations and take what they want and give nothing back.  They are a necessity in the world to keep the world changing and becoming better.

     

     

    • Caroline 1:46 pm on February 7, 2014 Permalink

      Can you teach me history? This is much more fun to read than any high school class. Also, what would your revolution be? You seem super into them, and they are pretty cool, so what do you think would be a good cause? or is there already one going on that you like?

    • aog5478 1:45 pm on February 7, 2014 Permalink

      I like the way you describe revolutions and how they work, especially the pure rebellion that they represent, but I feel like revolution being a pure form of violence is a little bit too extreme. While revolutions do often have significant elements of violence, the underlying goal is so very important to the whole thing. However, I like the passion with which you write about the different revolutions – it really stands out.

    • Adam Rastatter 1:45 pm on February 7, 2014 Permalink

      Such a passionate blog! I thought it was interesting that you said the most powerful revolutions were those fought on bloody fields. I always considered the passive aggressive revolutions such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King to be the most successful but revolutions involving war are by far more interesting for history buffs.

    • Michael Geitner 1:43 pm on February 7, 2014 Permalink

      This post points out a lot of the common ground that exists between all revolutions. Looking at the Arab Spring, there have been widely varying results and much is yet to be determined, but the principles underlying the actions that the rebels took are largely the same between nations.

    • Susan Nahvi 1:42 pm on February 7, 2014 Permalink

      Wow! You certainly do have a flair for bringing the excitement into historical events! You write so passionately and descriptively about the causes of revolution. I definitely think you’ll be able to speak from the point of view of the different revolutionists you’ll be talking about in this blog. Captivating!

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