GVSU Honors Blog!

I completely agree! I would love to see an easy solution to the Russia-Ukraine situation. The last thing we need to do is fight another world war. To answer your question, I think it comes down to this: humans want power and fame, and those that want it badly enough will fight a war for it. This is why there is so much seemingly pointless violence in the world. It is all about fame and power, and probably money as well. As pessimistic as this is, I think humanity will continue to act this way. Ultimately, I think this whole situation proves the point that humans are not inherently good. This is also one of the foundational arguments of the Christian religion. The hope in Christianity, though, is that Jesus came to earth to save sinful people. Ultimately, that is why I can look at world events and still believe that there is a higher purpose in life. I am not looking to force my beliefs on anyone, but I still want to point out that Christianity presents a ray of hope in the world, even ...

As we have been talking about the Mexican Revolution, we have talked a little bit about what was happening in America at the time. This was extremely interesting to me, as I have learned much about American and world history in the 1910s. When talking about what happened in that decade, many things come to mind. America was in the middle of a progressive shift led by President Woodrow Wilson. The automotive industry was just taking hold. Russia was beginning to spread its Communist ideals. Most notably, World War I held the attention of most of the world. And in the middle of all that, Mexico was undergoing a chaotic and bloody revolution. It is very easy to consider the Revolution as its own event that remained distinct from the rest of world politics, but it is fascinating to know what else was taking place at the time. This raises the question: Why is the Mexican Revolution so obscure, when it only happened 100 years ago? Is it because it had no obvious influence on the rest of the ...

Hi Illy! I completely agree with both of your points. It is especially good to remember that as you said, while a leader can be strong and inspiring, that leader is still human. However, it is important that we can look past a leader's faults and appreciate them for the good things they have done. Your point is also interesting that there are different types of leaders. Some of the world's greatest leaders have acted more on logic, and some acted more impulsively. It goes to show that there is not a blueprint for success. Lillie, that also relates to the last point you made in your comment - we should not hold back from becoming leaders just because we have certain faults or do not live up to a certain standard. Everyone has the potential to be a leader - that is good to remember.

This week, we watched a film having to do with the Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata. Just like after we watched the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise , I was thinking about the fact that the film can inadvertently add in details that are inaccurate, and we would absorb that information and not even realize that it is inaccurate. Such details can seriously warp our perspective on historical events. One such example in this film was that all the characters were talking in English, not Spanish. There is an obvious reason why they were, but still, this Americanizes the characters and does not portray their culture accurately. This made me wonder how many other inaccurate details I completely overlooked. While the film was much, much less fictionalized than  1492: Conquest of Paradise , the filmmakers of Viva Zapata! inevitably did not get every historical and cultural detail correct. Therefore, when watching films, we must watch with discretion and be careful about maki...

Hi Angie! I too would agree more with Martí. Even though we are all Americans, we should always remember where we came from. I also have a lot of Dutch heritage, and I think it is good that we remember our roots and family traditions - that will help keep family ties strong, and it will diversify society and enrich American culture.

This week, I started writing the paper that is due next Monday. As I was working, I realized that although I felt somewhat at a loss for what to write, this paper was noticeably easier to start than the first one was. While my writing is not perfect, I feel like I have made enormous progress in writing since the start of the year. Specifically, it seems like my ability to write my own interpretation of things, rather than simply parroting back lines from readings and material from lectures, has improved significantly. While writing papers seems incredibly monotonous, it is not a waste of time. This class does improve the writing skills of anyone that puts forth any effort. While it still remains to be seen what grade I will receive, I am much more optimistic this time than I was in the fall. Thank you to the professors for your help!

Dylan, that is a very interesting point! I have never thought of that before. It could be that they wanted to take land from the indigenous; it could also be that they just wanted more land for bragging rights. That is the same idea that was behind U.S. expansion. While the government was not showing Native Americans basic human rights, I still do not think it was expanding for the sole purpose of eradicating native populations. Rather, the government claimed more and more land simply because it wanted America to stretch "from sea to shining sea". The natives were not the reason for the conquest; rather, they were an obstacle in the way of the conquest. I think Argentina had the same mindset. More land usually means more power, so Argentina scrambled to conquer more land without thinking through the practicality of this decision. This is just my take on the issue; I, too, would like to find out more on this topic.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book The Gaucho Juan Moreira  - this may be my favorite thing we have done all year. The life of a gaucho in general is fascinating to me. They were content to constantly live on the move, which basically meant living without a family. They essentially earned their reputation by violence. And yet, in spite of all their hardships, they were so extremely good at what they did. Juan Moreira's talents included horsemanship, sharpshooting, card playing, negotiating with both friends and enemies, and simply surviving under such a physically draining lifestyle; and in this respect, he was no exception. Every gaucho (every real  gaucho, as Moreira would argue) possessed these skills; in short, they were some of the most talented people of the day. Argentine history is not complete without stories of these legendary gauchos; we owe them our respect, and we should emulate their bravery and resilience.