Reaction to Alexis' post #3

I really like your post too Alexis. I've been thinking of these same kinds of questions as we've read about Sarmiento and his desire to civilize Argentina. I think the best part of your post is that you've connected it with our world today. 
We're still trying to tell people what to think, say, and do all the time. Everyone's out there telling each other how they should feel via Twitter or Facebook. It's more subtle than it used to be. People aren't waving swords in each other's faces saying they have to pledge loyalty to their country or their religion or they will be killed. But, I think it's out there more than ever, and a lot of people don't even realize it. 
The worst part about it is that people are afraid to accept differences. And I mean really, really accept. As a nation we're very conscious about being Politically Correct. We make sure to call black people African American and we tell teachers they can't bring their religion or their politics into the public classroom. But being politically correct isn't the same as accepting. In fact, it makes the problem worse. People try and shelter their thoughts, like they aren't supposed to share them with other people. They live through their idols because they're too afraid to be real with everyone. We're not accepting, we're just hiding. We still have a long way to go. 
Fortunately, I think people are beginning to see this. Our world is becoming more and more connected. Some of us are embracing new ideas and cultures everyday. That's exactly why Macklemore won so many Grammy's the other night and why he won best album. He's not the best rapper, but he embraces differences and he's not afraid to say it like it is. Here's some lyrics from his song "same love" to tie it all together. 
"Playing God, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don't know.
We press play, don't press pause
Progress, march on
With the veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
No law is gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever God you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love"

A Fresh Punch on Civilization Vs. Barbarism

In the reading last week, Sarmiento described Argentinian society as being split in half.  The gauchos were the front-runners of the "Barbarians" and the white elites were the front-runners of civilization. In this post, I'm going to make a modern-day comparison to this societal struggle.  When I first read Sarmiento, I wasn't very quick to pick up on the fact that Sarmiento was a white elite who had personal bias on the matter.  After reading both chapters it became apparent that Sarmiento was a white elite, he had been to Europe, and what's more, he had political aspirations as well- as he would one day become President of Argentina.  I realized that Sarmiento wasn't just making a comment on the state of Argentina's nationhood because he was just a concerned citizen.
Sarmiento played his part well.  He clearly stated his position on the matter as if it were completely factual, divine and natural.  It was very convincing, but a big part of me knew that Sarmiento wasn't completely right.  I even pointed out in my last post that the whole idea of a nation wasn't everything it was supposed to be and would eventually lead to terrible things. Sarmiento was definitely wrong in that regard.  I ended my post by suggesting that perhaps those men who are sort of "rough around the edges" should be left to lead their cattle because they certainly aren't fit to lead men.
This is exactly where I want to pick up.  This week I watched a movie called Fight Club.  You may have heard of it- some of you may have seen it.  But i'm not here to recommend the movie to anyone.  It's not a Disney movie.  To put it plainly, Fight Club is rude.  It's supposed to be.
Some people call Fight Club a guys movie.  For one, people shouldn't label movies based on gender stereotypes. But even more importantly, Fight Club is much more than a "guys movie" with guns and explosions and fast cars.  Fight Club is truly a commentary on society.  It is a wake-up call.
In the movie, an unnamed man, frustrated with his dull desk-job, TV-dinner, lonely lifestyle, decides to take action on his life and creates a fight club.  Eventually, all sorts of guys, all frustrated by the system of society, begin to meet each week to release their pent-up frustrations, boredom, sadness, and lack-of freedom by getting beat to a pulp.  These men are like the gauchos of Argentina with no horses and no open fields to run on.  Without those freedoms, the men slowly begin to die as they sit in their offices, filing away papers and buying new dining room sets off the internet.  Many of these guys are living what others might call "The American Dream" and yet they are some of the most unhappy people in the world.
Unfortunately. I believe there is a lot of truth to this representation of modern society.  We convince ourselves we need that new t-shirt, or that new oven, or that we care about our job approving (or more likely not approving) loans.  We're just like the "civilized" people of Argentina who believed that they needed steamboats and railroads and industry and European fashion.  They were just the beginning.
The men in Fight Club eventually take their Fight Club idea too far.  I don't want to give away much detail other than that.  But, I think that you can understand that the main idea of the movie was to point out the negative effects our societal structure and our obsession with consumerism have on the people.
Fight Club goes to show that the Civilization Vs. Barbarism theme hasn't gone away.  Some of us are still fighting it today.  It's why we play football.  It's why people climb mountains and jump out of airplanes.  It's why some people choose not to go to college.  People can't just always be so civil all the time.  The frustration builds up.  It wears you down and puts crazy ideas into your head.  That's what I meant when I said that rough guys like the gauchos should lead cattle and not men.  If you force them into a society they don't fit into, the results won't be good.
That's what happened in Fight Club.  The main character hated his shallow, meaningless life so much that he had gone crazy, inventing a new personality for himself and starting a cult that would eventually go on to do some spectacularly horrible things.  He wasn't born crazy.  He became crazy when he realized that no matter how many clothes he bought or how big his apartment was he was never happy.  You really can't blame the guy.  Thousands of other men felt the same way he did and followed him to the grave.    
I think that something similar to this really does happen to people as a result of our "civilized society".  To further a previous example, this is what may have happened with Hitler.  People thought that Germany needed to become a strong nation with a big army and a pure people, in a similar way to how people thought Argentina needed to become "civilized" like Europe, and also similar to how people today believe all the ads on TV.  Hitler simply had a powerful voice that could be extremely convincing.   Like the main character of Fight Club, Hitler got others to follow him, and with the words of people like Sarmiento, he was able to disguise his misguided aggression as Nationalism, Imperialism and politics.
In the end, people realized Hitler was a mad-man, just as viewers of Fight Club realize that the main character is a multi-personality psychopath.  The movie isn't about a hero.  It's about the villain.  The one called society.  The Nation.  The thing that Sarmiento so eloquently convinced everyone we needed.
With Fight Club and the Holocaust as evidence, the struggle of Civilization Vs. Barbarism within the Nation has never gone away.
I wish that people like Sarmiento would stop writing books trying to eradicate it.  His essay was wrong in a lot of ways, but we should know that, considering his motives.  People will never fully lose their wild side, and forcing them to will only make things worse.  The fight is internal as well as external.
That's all for now.  If you've made it this far, congratulations and thank you for reading the whole thing.  Oh and side note- If you can't already tell I love Fight Club, it's an awesome movie, but my point was that I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone.  Here's a quote from the movie.  You stay classy, Honors 280.

"Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."   -Tyler Durden

My Reaction to Emily's Post #2

Emily-
It's been a couple years since I've watched it, but I too was a big fan of Lost. I think you've made a really interesting comparison. 
In the beginning, the Others leave the crash survivors alone for awhile. The survivors don't even know the Others exist. This is similar to Sarmiento's description of the relations between the elites and the gauchos: they want nothing to do with each other, like two separate societies. 
Eventually, the others, with their vision of how they want the island to work, begin to manipulate the survivors. (like you said)
I think the biggest difference would be that in Lost, the survivors just want to leave the island and find a way home, while the gauchos/poor folk are defending their homes as well as their way of life.

Hello everyone.   Last week while we were discussing nation-building, I realized that I had been making a very blind (and inaccurate) assumption about the concept of a nation.  Before I tell you what that assumption was, let me give you a little background information.
Like most American kids, I was taught from a young age that we live in a great, powerful, advanced country with a government and society based on freedom and equality.  Ever since I can remember the patriotic messages have been instilled in my brain. We were taught to be proud of where we lived and to consider ourselves lucky.  Some people say that America is the best country in the world.
And I'll admit, sometimes I've subscribed to that.. sentiment.  It feels good to be a part of something big and important.  It's comforting to know that you have something in common with every single person living on the southern half of North America.  I've never been a politics guy but I've always loved my country and what it stands for.  And after all, what would the Olympics be without national pride?
So, when we started discussing nation-building, the assumption that I had been making was that 'the nation' was a good thing.  Like Sarmiento, I would have looked at Argentina and said, "alright guys, it's time we get our shit together.  Look at this picture I drew of Paris.  LOOK AT IT!  They have shops, and roads, and government, and art, and music, and romance!  And what do we have?  A bunch of dudes riding horses!"
At first, nation-building sounds like a great improvement.
But when i really thought about the "criteria" for becoming a nation, and considered some of the less-obvious consequences, my whole mindset was completely turned upside down.  I began to question everything I had previously thought about being a nation.   Let me show you what I mean.
According to Burn's 'criteria' this is the best example of the ideal nation:

Think about it.  Nazi Germany had impressive military power (to defend their borders, of course).  They also had an unprecedented sense of national culture.
At first, people saw Nazi Germany and said, wow, what a nation!  What a nation, indeed.  Millions were slaughtered because of that nation.  World wars were started because of that nation.  And for what?
Now, I know that Nazi Germany is an unfair example.  Most nations aren't like Nazi Germany.
But I guess my point is that, under the surface, the nation really isn't all that it's cracked up to be.  I had been making the assumption that 'becoming a nation' was the right answer, the only answer.  Now, I'm not so sure.
Sarmiento, even with all of his criticism of their lifestyle, recognized that the gauchos were happy.  They liked their style of living.  They liked to play rough.
Perhaps Argentina never should have became a nation.  Maybe we shouldn't have any nations at all.  Maybe those guys who were a bit 'rough around the edges' and full of pride should have been left alone to tend to their cattle.  It's a lot better to have a crazy man leading a herd of cows than to have him lead people.
That is all for now.  Good night, and good luck.  You stay classy, Honors 280.

Introduction

I'm Lucas Gerard and this is my blog.  I just decided that I'm going to be very blunt when I write this blog.  I won't sugarcoat anything and I won't be afraid to express my true thoughts.  This is my page, and I wasn't born in the Midwest, so you won't find any of that submissive, apologetic attitude here.  For example- I actually enjoy writing sometimes, but I never considered writing a blog because I always thought they were for lonely people who needed a place to rant.  Well, here goes nothing.

So, answering the question; why did you choose to study Latin American Civilization, I have to admit, I chose the class because there wasn't much else open.  I was very late in deciding to come to Grand Valley because I was waiting to hear back from another school.  Professor Serrata and Professor Stark, I'm sorry, but I must say this class was not my first choice.  I'm going into business, I'm not taking any Spanish and I don't really enjoy history.  

Having said all that, I do have something positive to say, I promise.  I actually think this is a great class, despite my apparent lack of enthusiasm.  I don't like listening to history lectures but I understand the value of history.  I'm not taking Spanish in college right now, but I took four years of Spanish in high school and have a desire to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country.  I have learned a ton already.  Finally, I think this class offers a lot of skills that can be used in a multitude of different settings.

Sorry for ranting, everyone.  You stay classy, Honors 280.