Blog Entry #7

How did the Romans manage to effectively combine their whole empire into one unit?

The Romans were able to effectively combine their whole empire into one unit by extending citizenship. This made everyone a whole, as Roman citizens. They organized a passenger freight, and express system. The imperial couriers were given post stations for changing horses. The goods transporters were given mansions/waiting places, which maintained riders, drivers, conductors, doctors, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, and forty best and right amount of rolling stock. By doing this, the empire's trade could always be kept moving. They were also able to combine the entire empire into one unit, with their military as well. They became an unchallenged military, because of their determination to win and devotion. They never gave up.

How would an Athenian of the 5th Century BCE criticize our present-day representative democracy?

I think an Athenian of the 5th Century BCE would love/be very much pleased with our democracy. Our democracy is so great, that any Athenian would agree with it. They love freedom of speech, and basically a chance to be heard and choose their leaders. Thats exactly how we handle things in America. They fought so hard for democracy, and to see such a great country run by democracy, they might even break down in tears of joy. We learned that their democratic government, is almost the same thing as ours, except the white/black bean voting system. We have caucuses, but the style is a bit different. I understand an Athenian of the 5th Century as a person of great thought. They love to be heard, and to choose.

How do we see Mayan values exemplified in modern society?

We can see Mayan values exemplified in modern society by just observing a calendar. The Mayan calendar evolved into what we use in modern societies. They valued mathematics greatly. The Mayans were able to create a symbol for the number zero. Modern societies took that symbol and changed it into what they wanted it to look like. The Mayans advanced incredibly in astronomy, from what we see in their calendars. Their success in mathematics and astronomy led them to success in establishing accurate calendar systems In the agricultural society, the Mayans were very productive and had many surpluses. They worked very hard on producing their crops. The Mayans focused mostly on producing corn and maize. I think, besides from those two main products, they grew kidney beans, squash, and avocados. A very interesting value was sports. The ancient ballgame, pitz, was a big part of Mayan political, religious, and social life. They used a rubber ball that relates to a soccer ball, or a softball, depending on how big it is. The area which the game was played symbolized the cities wealth and power. Now, in modern day society, we worship many sports. We can see that basic sports like basketball, came directly from pitz. In pitz, the players had to bounce the ball into stone hoops on the walls. This is very similar to basketball. In my opinion, we would not play basketball as much if the Mayans did not invent pitz.

Blog Entry #4 Chinese Philosophies

Confucianism and Legalism

The point of Confucianism is to treat each others with respect, and love each other and be rewarded with good things. Legalism says that everyone is bad and should be controlled and given harsh punishments. They are completely different. I think that maybe Confucius and Han Fei Zi were enemies. Their opinions are completely different, and its only logical that they argued a lot and fought each other to prove each others ideas were better. I am not completely sure, but it IS a possibility. In Confucianism, the people are good and avoid bad things. In Legalism, People are tyrants and stupid. Confucians repress bad things, and get rewarded. Legalists do bad things, and get punished. Complete opposites

Maintaining Order

In order for a leader to maintain order, he/she has to know how to stay calm and control his/herself. If a leader does not know how to stay calm, he/she will not be able to be a leader, especially in hard times. A leader also needs to be able to make good, smart, and very strong choices. He/She needs to make decisions that will be good for the civilization. IF not, then the civilization will get otu of order. The most important part is to make laws. Laws tell people what they cannot do, which is also telling them what they can do. It is stronger than words, because with laws, there are punishments.

Jared Diamond's Thesis

Diamond has developed a theory about what has caused these huge discrepancies among different countries, and he says it boils down to geographic luck.

I agree with Diamond's theory, because the reason New Guinea survives so well, is because of the location. They have tropical climates, animals, good soil, great water sources, and a lot of land. With all of this, it is very easy for them to live and prosper. China has a lot of rice, because of its location. Europe and India have a massive amount of crops, because of their locations. New Guinea may not have as much technology than other America, but it can definately survive longer and stronger. America may not always be able to depend on other countries, but New Guinea can depend on itself.