Nuremberg Trials Reaction

While watching the movie in class, I began to get a true sense of the gravity and importance the Nuremberg Trials were on the world. These trials were not only a way to punish the Nazis after the end of WWII, but also they were a test of Western Ideals and even the Western World itself. The allies could have simply killed those who they knew to be guilty or even worse, released them into a crowd of those they tortured. Instead, the allies stayed true to the judicial process to not only punish those who were responsible for various atrocities but to set an example and show the world that no matter what one does, they will not be immediately killed without due process. This set a kind of precedent so that those put on trial and punished would not be looked at as martyrs by their followers, but guilty parties only. The trials tested the West, and the West was able to come out of WWII stronger and with a sort of morality. They were unlike the Nazis who would arrest thousands without evidence or due process. The Allies remained above all of that. If they would have not put their enemies on trial and simply killed them, they would have been no better than the people they had fought against in WWII. It is also important to note the fact that the city in which the trials took place was a center for the Nazi mentality especially during the time of Hitler. To use such a location is significant for many reasons, especially the reason that it is a smack in the face to the Nazi party in their once upon a time stronghold.

Final Reflection

Throughout this year I have discovered various strengths and weaknesses in the course.
I felt one of m better strengths were doing projects and getting involved in class. I was able to speak to voice my opinions and actually be understood by me peers. Usually, people just didn't seem to get involved like they did in APEH. In projects, I specifically thought I did well with the newspaper project. With my group we were able to produce "British International" which I felt was my best project throughout the whole year. I was able to work with a group and contribute to a great project. Not only did we put a lot of effort into it, but we had fun doing it.
Some of my weaknesses this year have mainly revolved around tests. Even though I was able to learn more in this class than any other, I did not feel as confident on tests. I would make simple mistakes during tests and the grade I received because of it didn't always reflect the knowledge I obtained. Again, that has been a weakness of mine for quite sometime, and I hope to get better at taking tests as I continue my education. Also, procrastination itself is a great weakness of mine. I always wait until the last minute and sometimes pay the price for that.
This course helped me very much in multiple areas. To increasing my ability to participate in class to the amount of time I put into my work, this class has been the one that I feel has most prepared me for college. I was challenged on almost a daily basis by this class. I cannot say that is true of all my classes. Also,this class has also helped me in realizing my stance on many issues around the world. From whether the French Revolution was worth it to my views on the Arab-Israeli conflict I have been able to better find myself in my political views.
This class does not even compare to my other history classes (although I must applaud Mr. Niklaus for he was an excellent teacher and I enjoyed his class more than many of my classes throughout my four years) in what I was able to learn and appreciate how our world came to be. I can safely say this class has been my favorite all year and I would like to thank you Maz personally because I can say you are one the few teachers that have the ability to create a fun, involved, exciting, and challenging class that I look forward to on a daily basis. This class has made me prepared for college and the work ahead of me. I will miss this class very much next year and I hope you have a wonderful summer and rest of the year :)

Jasper Johns's "Map" (Current)

Looking at this painting by Jasper Johns titled "Map", I was immediately able to see how the painting really illustrated an accurate picture of this country. Built on the backs of immigrants from every nation in the world, the USA is the melting pot of the world. It is the center of diversity and provides an example to all how different cultures can co-exist peacefully. The USA is not just a one culture country. We are a collection of the world's people working together to create and sustain the greatest country in the world.
This map also made me think of New York City specifically and how it is the most diverse city in the world. You could see a mosque on one side of the street, a synagogue on the other and a church down the road. From Little Italy, Astoria, to Long Island City, the diversity of the city is virtually endless. We are many people united under America. I think this painting does an excellent job in capturing that idea and reality that we live in today. Our diversity as a nation is what makes us strong and a leader in innovation. Even looking at the map as what it is a map of the USA, one can see how the states themselves are colored differently from each other. This represents the diversity that is present throughout our own nation's land. From state to state we are different, but we all share a common factor: We are all American!

Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup I (Current)

Looking at Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup I created in 1968 I began to see how often I have come across this work of art. From art class in elementary school into my years at the high school, I have seen countless copies of this work everywhere. This piece of art, for as simple as it is, is one of the most notable pieces of art in the country. It is so simple; a picture of a can of soup. Every time I look at a can of tomato soup, I think of this picture.
This type of art can be seen in many pictures and even ads throughout the past century. Many similar types of art depicting other products such as Coca-Cola can be found. I can remember a time in Elementary School when we had to make our own work similar to that of Andy Warhol's. I painted a picture of a box of tissues. They are used by eveyone (especially me when it is this time of year haha).
In conclusion, this painting is an iconic piece of American art from the past century. When our children and their children look back at the twentieth-century, this will be one of the most important pieces of art that they study. Who would have thought that a picture of a soup can would become so famous?

Arab/Isreali Conflict (Current)

Continuing to learn about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians I came to find that unfortunately, the conflict has escalted with the recent attacks by Israel on the Gaza Strip in December of 2008. If I had to make an opinion on the situation between the two peoples, I must admit I am more sympathetic to the Palestinains in the area, for they are the ones who have been removed from their homes and packed into small, densely populated areas. Granted, I understand the Israel claims rights to the Holy Land from Biblical Times, citing they received the land from God. Although this may hold true, they were gone from the area that is today Israel for a very long time. Centuries went by without the Jews running back to the homeland they only recently went back to within the last century. I feel that claiming they have rights to the land from almost 3,000 years ago is a weak argument when speaking in terms of politics. Once they were conquered, they lost the rights they had to the land. It has happened to every civilization, and you don't see any country today claiming, "Well we were here 2,000 years ago so we want our land back". No one in the international community would take them seriously. Constantinople, the center of Orthodox Christianity and the window to the East was taken over by the Ottomans and the Christians were pushed out. Still today the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church and it is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who has the status of "first among equals" among the world's Orthodox bishops. He is the leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, the second largest sect of Christianity behind Roman Catholocism. You don't see Greeks today or other Orthodox Christians petitioning the Republic of Turkey to return Constantinople to its rightful owners. Still to this day in Greece, there is no such place as "Istanbul", it is refered to as Κωνσταντινουπόλεως (Constantinople). Still there are no representatives in the UN or anywhere fighting to make Constantinople Greece again. There are 300 million Orthodox Christians, and only 13 million Jews in the world today. By those calculations, the Orthodox have more of a reason to protest and get Constantinople back than the Jews had to get back Israel. If 13 million can get a state, why can't 300 million get back the place that is the center of their faith?

To provide another example I look to our own nation. If all the Native Americans in this country banded together and demanded they have their homeland returned to them what would our government do? They would laugh at them and tell them their nuts! Now, that seems very hypocritical to me since we can allow the Jews (Who were first in the area/Native American connection) to take back their land from the Palestinians (who came later/ USA connection). The continued support for Israel from this country displeases me more now than I used to seeing what horrors we have seen from the presentations in class. Why is the USA so quick to support Israel? In all honesty it is because the population of Jews in this country is more than 5 million, almost the population of Israel itself. With such a large minority, and since many Jewish-Americans hold many positions of influence, I can see why we are so Pro-Israel. I can only hope that the Obama Administraition takes a harder look at what they're really supporting. At this point, I think they are re-examing the situation and I hope it leads to a different relationship with Israel. We as a country cannot openly support a state that has inflated their borders, responsible for the death of thousands, and cut off vital supplies to many. All of these atrocities have broken many international laws, but no one seems to care because Israel has the support of the USA. If Israel is attacked, not only will the perpetrator be attacked by Israel but have the support of the USA (which means weapons, soldiers, money ,etc. whether or not it is publicly done or in secret).

In conclusion, my goal was not to illustrate a hatred for Israel by any means. I just fail to comprehend how one race of people is able to simply come back to their land thousands of years later and claim they have more of a right to be there than the people who have homes, families, and lives there already. In a perfect world, I would like to see two states created. I think this would satisfy Israel and Palestine, as long as it can be divided equally. Jerusalem should be controlled by neither state and stay as a protected territory by the UN, with a military presence in the city at all times with soldiers from nations across the world. Now as unrealistic as this sounds, again this is in a perfect world. I hope that one day the region will find peace for everyone's sake, but I doubt I will live to see that day with the increasing tension in the area.

"Just What Is It that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?" ; Richard Hamilton (Current/Connection Across Time)

Looking at art from the the more modern era I stumbled across a painting titled "Just What Is It that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?" by Richard Hamilton. Created in 1956 this collage became the first piece of "pop art" to become iconic. The collage is created from a variety of images from various American Magazines. In the collage, one can see a television, a beautiful woman, a strong man, with a staircase in the background with a window pearing out on to the lights of the theater in the city. The collage paints a picture of the new lavish lifestyle people began to live during the 50's and 60's. The sterotypical American Dream in the suburbs was being born at this time. Having a beautiful house with a wife at home and the exciting city just a quick car ride away was the dream. It fascinates me to see how such a collage could capture what life was like back in those days. When I think of making a collage today I probably would imagine it filled with iPods, Iphones, Laptops, the latest clothes, moveis, etc with maybe the 3-d Avatar playing in the background. The dream of the suburban life is not as it used to be with the younger generations leaving the suburbs and rual areas for the cities. Times have changed now, from our daily lives to the happenings around the world. Whether or not times have changed completly for the better or for the worse can be debated, but it surely has evolved into something no one could have seen decades ago.

Reaction to China/Utopia Article (Current)

Reading the article on how the USA is trying too hard to be a Utopian society compared to the society the Chinese have somewhat disturbed me. I do agree with aspects of the article on how China is catching up to the USA and in some ways leaving us in the dust. The ideals and values we have over here are not the same though. In China there is no freedom of speech, press and censorship and government control can be seen everywhere. Google even left China because of the government restrictions it was under. In the States we are very PC (Politically Correct) and because of that I feel we are falling behind. We are so afraid of offending anyone here it is hard to get anything accomplished. Maybe we need to take a hint from the Chinese. Granted we shouldn't take it to an extreme but the States have become a country filled with red tape and bureaucracy thanks to our government and the lawyers who are in our congress. I also would like to point out the fact that the Chinese economy has been able to grow at such a rate due to a number of reasons. First, for a period of time when oil prices were skyrocketing around the world, China subsidized the price of fuel so the growth of the economy could not be slowed. Also, the chinese currency is adjusted by the government in terms of value to suit its needs. The currency is not purely an accurate picture of the economic changes in the country. Here in the States and most of the Western World, the currency is at the mercy of the market, jobs, government confidence, etc. I believe the day will come when the Chinese will eventually rise up against their government and cry out for the right to free elections, free speech, and free press. Its happend in history the past few centuries and its only a matter of time until China faces the inevitable conflict the west has already gone through.