Blessed Unrest: Indigne

Blessed Unrest: Indigne

Written by Paul Hawken

"Indigenous people do want the conveniences of modern life - electricity, antibiotics, the Internet - and while speaking other languages provides that access, they do not wish it at the expense of losing their birthright." pg. 96

The reading from Blessed Unrest this week was very influential for me. It reminded me about the society I live in, versus the many other societies around the world. This chapter talked about how language is a huge part of a culture, and every culture HAS a language. Paul Hawken brings the point that many people today view minimal cultures such as the Fuegian tribes (Selk'nam, Ona, Haush, Alculufs, and Yamana) as inferior, and being lowly. 

Even the great Darwin himself (sarcasm) described these tribes as "I could not believe how wide was the difference between a savage and civilized man: it is greater than between a domesticated and wild animal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement." Darwin had observed the tribes as came to the conclusion that they were "full of savagery" and their language seemed to be "sounds & a few gutturals mingled with them". If only Darwin had taken a closer approach to these people. I think that if he had examined these people not based their looks, or how the acted, he would've realized that they are the same type of human race. There is nothing separating Darwin to a tribal person. 

This brings me to my next point. To prove that these people weren't "savages", Thomas Bridges had studied the Fuegian language, and with his studies, he helped to "reveal the true complexity" of that language. Through Bridge's twenty-one years of studying, he compiled a dictionary that contained 32,430 words and inflections from the Fuegian language. How does this compare? Paul Hawken gave the comparison that a well-educated American may have only a vocabulary of 20,00 words. How does that compare to the Fuegian language?

The Fuegian language is so complex because it has so many different descriptive words. It is said that the word for kin (one's family & relations) has sixty-one different words to describe it. Sixty-one different meanings for kin. To me, Darwin certainly was wrong about these people. These people are surely not savages in no kind. They are remarkable, and very intelligent.

But why is it that they still live in the environment, and situation they did hundreds of years ago? This is where the quote I picked comes into play. These people know of all the technological advances, but to use and adapt to these advancements, these people would have to learn a new language. They would have to learn a new language to understand the meaning and use, and how to use these advancements. 

We all know the famous Spider Man quote right?; "With great power comes great responsibility". Well, these people understand that concept. They know that if they start to adapt and change to the conveniences of modern life, they would gradually begin to forget their cultures and languages. 

This could be compared to learning a new language. Let's say that I learned German in high school for three years. After high school, I was never given the chance to build up my German, and use it at all. And with that, my ability to acknowledge anything I had learn in German became a waste, and was forgotten. This is the same with the tribes today that became extinct. These living tribes gave up their culture and language just to be able to have the conveniences we Americans have in life today. They traded their blood (not literally) for the modern life of antibiotics, and reassurance of a better life.

I think that tribes that refuse to change to the modern life today is such a great example. They are working to hold onto their culture. The culture that has been in their people since forever. As this blog ends, I would like to end with a quote from Blessed Unrest. 

"As we drift toward a blandly amorphous, generic world, as cultures disappear and life becomes more uniform, we as a people and a species, and Earth itself, will deeply impoverished." pg. 96

-Tai

:]

Exterminate All the Brutes

Exterminate All the Brutes

Written by Sven Lindqvist

"No one points out that during Hitler's childhood, a major element in the European view of mankind was the conviction that "inferior races" were by nature condemned to extinction: the true compassion of the superior races consisted in helping them on the way." pg. 10

I chose this quote because it means a great deal of what we've learned in the fall term of Sustainability. The reading for this week touched subject on the idea of extermination. When you think of people being tortured in an era, what do you usually think of? Probably most people actually think of Hitler, and the holocaust. They just assume that this is the most important time era where someone crazy killed millions of people just because of "extermination". These days, there are classes designated just for the study of the Holocaust. In eleven weeks, all you would talk about is the Holocaust. But is there a class associated, or just on the German extermination of the Herero people in South Africa? No. Why is it then that we focus on one problem, and not address all? 

It wasn't just that Hitler decided one day to exterminate the "inferior" people. He was moved by it. He was moved by philosophers alike, and the European view on mankind. The European view on mankind was that there were two groups of people. The rich, and noble, and destined to survive, versus the inferior. Consider Social Darwinism. Here, the theory of Social Darwinism when applied, means that only the fittest of species survive. Because of this, the inferior would die. This is the main reason why the Europeans back then felt that it was their duty to exterminate, and help the other race on their way to extinction. 

That sounds like such a good plan. Right? I mean, if the fact that a certain race is already heading towards extinction, wouldn't the nice thing to do is to move their process of extinction faster, so they wouldn't have to suffer? That may sound like such a great idea (because the Europeans viewed it this way), but it does not help in away way. Trying to go right ahead, and kill off a race is inhumane, and justifies no human compassion at all.

I think what we truly need to think about today, is the need for education. Education that not only places emphasis on the Holocaust, but emphasis on world problems. Students today are given such a broad overview of a situation. If a deeper look and explanation about the problem is looked at, students and people will have a clearer view of word problems. Like the theory we learned about last week, this need for education is very similar to cross-cultural referencing. When we examine what happened to other cultures, and apply what we know from observation, we will have a closer view of each problem. We will have a more refined answer for problems. 

Well! That's it for today! I'll hopefully be post more this weekend. I have a few thoughts to share about some things that recently crossed my mind. Bye!

-Tai

:]

Cultivating Humanity: Citizens of the World

Cultivating Humanity: Citizens of the World

Written by Martha C. Nussbaum

“True courage, they held, requires freedom, and freedom is best cultivated by an education that awakens critical thinking.” pg. 55

I would have to agree fully with this quote that was found in this week’s reading for Sustainability. When I think of freedom, I envision choices. Without choices, the world would be filled with people living the same life styles. People would be living in uniform. I think that individuality is key in life because it gives a person opportunity to display their emotion; their preferences; their choices. In Cultivating Humanity: Citizens of the World, Nussbaum talks compares the two cultures for the Athenian, and the Spartans. She discussed the importance of education.

When comparing the two cultures of Athens and Sparta, Athens was universally educated, while Sparta was compared to having a preference for uniformity. The Athenians praised the “freedom of inquiry and debate”, while the Spartans preferred to deny “the importance of free speech and thought”. The Spartans were seen as people who didn’t choose to serve their city because they weren’t taught on the reasons why they should serve their city. They were taught that it was necessary that they served their city, and that their loyalty was demanded. But truthfully, the Spartans didn’t have feeling or their heart in their loyalty. Why? Because if they were to be set free and without the “constraint of law and rule”, they would most often act badly, and never learn to choose for themselves. This is because they were taught that a good citizen as an obedient follower of traditions. The Spartans were to follow the rules, and be uniformed and this resulted in the Athenians viewing the city of Sparta full of people who did not choose to serve their city.

Athens, on the other hand, used cross-cultural inquiry to examine cultures like the Spartans. Their process of cross-cultural inquiry showed them what establishments and regimes worked for other cultures, and what didn’t work, and thus lead to consequences. Comparing cultures allowed the Athenians to think freely without constraints. They were encouraged to be aware that life “contains other possibilities”. This meant that life wasn’t straightforward, uniformed, and that everyone had the same thinking.

I admire the Athenians greatly because they realized that freedom required being knowledgeable in every aspect in life. They were encourage to “think outside of the box”, and examine other cultures. When examining other cultures, and what they can do to change, adopt or quit their regimes, this brought critical thinking, and critical thinking will in turn help cultivate freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought.

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed my thoughts, and especially what I learned from this week’s reading on how we can cultivate humanity. See you next week!

-Tai

:]

Required Readings

For this spring term of Sustainability, we are required to read these following texts. Be prepared to hear my thoughts, and interpretations of each reading. :)

Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History is Restoring Grace, Justice and Beauty to the World (Penguin, 2007)

Written by Paul Hawken

The Lorax (Random House Books for Young Readers, 1971)

Written by Dr. Seuss

Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air (Version 3.5.2. November 3, 2008)

Written by JC MacKay

About Me!

Hello! You’ve fell upon my Sustainability Blog! I’m currently a freshmen hard at work at Portland State University. I can still remember being a toddler, and immersing myself in art.

I still remembering being only in the second grade where I signed up for the arts & crafts club after school. Then after that, being specially picked to join the school’s elite Marimba band. That band helped guide me towards the love of music. It doesn’t take music lessons to train a person to love, or appreciate music.

I feel as if without art, life for me would be dull. I can’t imagine going anywhere without my iPod, sheet music or my voice. My perspective on art may change because I’m growing, and learning daily, but my love for art will never change.

I am currently studying to major in Health Sciences/Study with a pre-professional program in Physical Therapy, and minor in Music.

As my side-bar says, this blog is a weekly update on my thoughts and opinions to class assigned readings, and class activities. I will always relate what I write on here to Sustainability (as it is a blog for that class).

Enjoy reading!