Western Civilization

Western Civilization: Beginnings to Present Although Western culture has been defined by both Christian and secular values across the course of time, the West’s primary goal is to achieve economic supremacy, using Christian and secular philosophies, as well as colonization and technological innovation as means to achieve this goal. Of the features that define western culture, the most unique is democracy. Originating in ancient Athens, democracy created a sense of pride in one’s government which, in later centuries, would evolve into nationalism.In Athens, democracy allowed the people to have a say in their government, furthering the unification of their empire and thus strengthening it. Out of this democratic world came many of the world’s oldest philosophers, including Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates who challenged the world around them and attempted to rationalize it with mathematics and even proposed the idea of elements. It was this inquisitiveness and curios ity that would be harnessed on a much greater scale in the Enlightenment, which would allow Europe to flourish.As their Greek neighbors had before them, Rome too adopted a democracy in order to unite their people after a tyrant king Tarquinius and prevent placing the control of their nation into the hands of one man, which would eventually allow Rome to expand and connect with the trading routes of the silk roads. Even after the roman republic, Julius Caesar, as the first emperor of Rome, would do any means necessary to extend the borders of Rome as far as he could to obtain profit from war. This suggests that Romans were more concerned of the profits to be made by the war than the democratic beliefs that defined their government.The romans were also tolerant of many religions as long as they paid taxes for keeping their religions suggesting that money and riches was more important to them than having everyone follow one religion. This was certainly true as Christians emerged in Rom e, upsetting the local Jewish population who paid taxes to the state, giving them leverage towards the Roman politics to persecute them. This however ended as Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity in the fourth century A. D. As emperor Constantine saw that it would be more beneficial to stop persecuting the Christians and accept them to avoid another civil war, he ecame a Christian. This was only the start as Christianity spread throughout the European continent and Emperor Theodosius established it as the official religion of Rome in 380. This proved especially beneficial for the empire as it allowed Rome to be governed during its greatest extent. When Rome official fell in 476 to the barbaric tribes of the Germanic region, Christianity was the uniting factor as the chaos of local groups sought to hold power. Out of this developed a complex feudal system comprised of lords, vassals, and serfs along with the power and wealth of the Catholic Church.The Catholic Church demanded eno rmous amounts of money from the people as they sought redemption in times stricken with the Black Death and famine thus allowing the monasteries to emerge as the source of riches and the Church as the largest landholder in all of Europe. As the Church’s power grew towards the first millennia, and had sucked the wealth from nearly all of its local citizens, they desired to find the holy land. Despite the first commandment of â€Å"thou shall not murder† and the Christian idea of â€Å"turn the other cheek,† the Crusades were some of the bloodiest battles in European history.These crusades, although against Christian ideals, provided a vast amount of wealth for Europe and reconnected them to both their Greco-Roman history and the Silk Road trading network, furnishing them with a vast source of economic profit. As the Catholic Church continued down this path of non-Christian ideas including penance, a devote monk by the name of Luther sought to put the church back onto the path of Christ. This however was not favorable for the Church’s income and they eventually excommunicated Luther from their church.Luther was not about to give up however and his ideas spread quickly with the development of the printing press shortly before, weakening the Catholic Church’s grip on the citizens. This combined with the reunification of Europe and their Roman history, led the people of Europe to a more questioning mindset, further weakening the Church, and eventually leading them to the enlightenment. The enlightenment is the period in western history from the early 1600s through the 1700s as the medieval church worldview’s stepped aside for revolutions in science, politics and philosophy. The Enlightenment was a ime when the opinions and ideas of the Church, which were formally in charge of both the economy and the government of Europe, were challenged through a more secular point of view brought about by the scientific revolution and int egration of foreign cultures by the age of exploration. The secular beliefs of the enlightenment were more beneficial for European economic affairs in the High Middle Ages because, with the age of exploration underway, there was many foreign ideas entering Europe and having a more secular governmental and ideological system would be more accommodating and accepting of outside policy allowing for better trade.Also the enlightenment view was very in line with the discoveries of the scientific revolution allowing the inventing process to be spurred on. Some of the key inventions of the scientific revolution include the magnetic compass, lateen sails, and advanced map making technologies which allowed for the Spanish to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach the Americas. The lateen sail and compass also allowed for better navigation to the Indian Ocean trading network, an essential source of wealth for the Europeans as they began their climb to economic supremacy.In 1492, once Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue was the beginning of a new era in the history of the world. His discovery marks the beginning of Colonization and imperialism as the Spanish and French began exporting tons and tons of silver from modern day South America and trading it to China for their silk, porcelain, and tea commodities. But silver was not the sole source of economic power received from the colonies, they were also great places to build plantations and thus the slave trade began.The trans-Atlantic Slave trade was when millions of Africans were ruthlessly taken from their homes and shipped to the Americas in horrid conditions. In general, the ruthlessness of the slave trade goes specifically against the Christian values of â€Å"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,† and other teachings of Christianity which shows how the economic benefits that came through the slave trade was enough for them to ignore the defining factor of European culture for the past five hu ndred years to make some coin.This overlooking of Christian values was popular throughout the people and as Frederick Nietzsche said â€Å"God is dead† signified the end of the Church’s power in Europe as it became replaced with monetary lust. As Europeans spread across the globe and began forcing their way into the Asian countries it became a vital part of Indian Ocean commerce and as they established ports and colonies in India, China, and Japan they began to bring with them an idea of imperialism. Europeans came about this idea as they became an economic power nearly overnight in world commerce and they were also able to coerce ideas onto older, existing civilizations.In Europe, nationalism drove many young explorers to go on expeditions for buried treasure and biblical references like the Ark of the Covenant or the Garden of Eden. Imperialism, or the overseas extension of nationalism, led many European explorers to believe, despite the Christian belief of acceptanc e of every race, that they were better than anyone and everyone else especially as they became the civilization that defined success and advancement in the world. This overextension of nationalism would end up bad however for the Europeans as it would cause cultural blinders and then revolutions as was the case of the Sepoy Rebellion.Imperialism would prove very beneficial for the Europeans Economy as it encouraged individuals to charge more for products because nationalistic view said that â€Å"European gold was worth more than Foreign gold,† making individuals demand more for their products. Also Imperialism encouraged the establishment of many colonies throughout Asia and the Philippines giving them massive amounts of silver, making them economically superior. Back in Europe however, rises in nationalism led to competition between the European states and the division of Europe into two major groups of alliances. Western Civilization Sometimes, it is very easy to read books about the lives of the real people who were able to overcome the crux in their own lives. The harder their challenges and difficulties were, the more entertaining it will be for the readers. We tend to be impressed with people who were able to write an account of their between life and death experiences and how they almost die. However, we have the tendency to forget how hard it might be for them to write down their own story of bitterness and much worse if their tragic experience was simply the beginning of a worse condition. The two authors in the books that are going to be analyzed and compared in this paper had the courage to relate their own experiences and humiliation as a Jew during World War II for the world to witness and remember the brutality of the War. They both endured the pain as they recall the torture they had been through and put them in writing. They narrated how tranquil and promising their lives were before the World War in the abode with their families. However, the war had ripped them with everything that could have included themselves. They were traumatized by massive and brutal deaths of people, their loved ones included. The two authors were the protagonists of their books. It was based on their first hand experiences during the war. If we are going to analyze the two books, we would have an idea how brutal the Nazi’s were and how tragic the Holocaust was. The first book was a narration of the true experiences in the Holocaust in the perspective of a Transylvanian son as he witnessed the brutal death of his family members and how it gained an impact in his faith and his life. On the other hand, the other book described the same event on the perspective of a Czech daughter who lost her family and lucky enough to be able to escape and return to her hometown in Prague. The only thing was her escape in that war did not spare her. It simply opened the door that led her to another war and another torture she had to bear (Kovaly). If we are going to compare accounts of two authors, we first need to consider the background of each author. We have to identify the compelling forces in their lives that gave a blend in their works. The first book was titled â€Å"Night†, which was written by the author Elie Wiesel. He began his story by describing his town in Sighet, his family and himself in the year 1942 when he was only twelve years old. He had three sisters and his dad was a shopkeeper and a venerated Jewish leader. Their family was deeply religious; as a matter of fact, Elie was enthusiastic in learning the dogma of their religion. He wanted to learn more and he had a very deep faith in God (Wiesel). However, this changed when the Germans arrived and captured their land in 1944. Despite the early warning of a person who survived and witnessed the maltreatment that the Jews suffered in Poland, his townsmen did not heed. Rather, they simply made fun of him. It was year 1944 when they regret not to take proper consideration of the admonition given by the old man. The Germans invaded their land and moved all the Jews out of Sighet to concentration camps in Auschwitz. The Germans were cordial at first but suddenly issued a decree that they should be impounded and transported into ghettos and concentration camps. They had no idea on what would happen next. It would have been a blessing if they would be killed immediately to spare them from torture and misery. However, it was an ardent intention of the Nazi’s to impose agonies to these religious people as imposed by the leader, Adolf Hitler. They were treated like animals as they were being transported to the concentration camps. When they reached the reception center, Elie was permanently separated with her mom and sister since they were directed to the gas chamber. He was left only with his father. Inside the camp, they were forced to witness how the innocent babies where ruthlessly burned and thousands of people crying in despair. It was his first night in the camp but it made an indelible mark on Elie’s heart. It was the night that he doubted God’s reverence. That night, he thought that his God also died. It was the night that dissolved his optimism and enthusiasm for life. At a very young age, Elie witnessed the cruelty of life and that he is just a tiny speck of worthless being who had to fight hunger, oppression and injuries in order to survive. He was once a very religious student whose life at that time depended on the whims of the Nazi’s. His virtues changed. His idea of retaliation against anybody who would threaten to hurt his family changed and turned into his despair to live. His concern changed as he suffered blows and fought to live. His main concern that was previously focused on God deviated to anything that could fill his stomach. In the camp, they were identified not with their name but with their number to signify perhaps that their lives do not matter, they are just mere numbers. He did not look up at his father as a blessing because they are still alive but a curse, a burden that might cause him his life. The hard work and inhuman conditions made him deny God (Wiesel). Their transfer to another camp in Buna served another challenge to Elie. He had changed. His god had already died and hanged in the gallows. He was beaten and his pain no longer mattered. Days and nights do not have any difference nor death and life. It was this transfer that he realized his father’s worth because the latter was separated from him. They had to work hard in order to live. This was the last camp they had been before they started the most painful march. It was the march that separated Elie permanently from his father. It was the march that forced a son to leave his loving father. It was the march that deprived them of food and water and were even mocked by the guards A lot of prisoner killed even their own kin just for a morsel of bread. Out of the hundred prisoners who marched, only a dozen survived and reached Buchenwald where his father finally died of dysentery and sever beating from the officer and other prisoner. It was the climax of Elie’s senses. It was weeks before the aids arrived and he could be finally branded as Holocaust Survivor. This was the end of the World War II and the end of this book. However, this period was only the beginning of the other book (Wiesel). The other book, â€Å"Under the Cruel Star: A life in Prague 1941-1968†, the author narrated her life as a Jew in the Lodz camp. Her name was Heda Margolius Kovaly. Albeit they were in a different country and ghettos, their religious faith brought them into similar fate in the ghettos. Heda and her family were sent to Lodz ghetto. She was also separated from her family and needed to bear the abomination of the soldier’s in the camp. She was of the same age as Elie at that time, still an adolescent, supposedly innocent to the atrocities of the world. Like Elie, she witnessed massive deaths, injustices and forced labor. When the Russian troops approached, they were also forced to march. Unlike Elie, Kovaly was very fortunate to have a chance to escape and return to her homeland in Prague. However, much to Heda’s dismay, this was not the end of her torment; rather, it was just the advent. The citizens of Prague were scared and refused to provide help, simply because they are Jews. Even her relatives and non –Jew friends were apathetic towards her condition because they, too, were afraid to suffer the beatings from a Nazi. The war was coming to an end and she was already in Prague, her home town. Supposedly it should serve as a citadel for her to soothe at last the pains that she suffered during the war. Unfortunately, it was not (Kovaly). However, one good thing that happened to Heda after this war was a birth of hope that finally a gush of tranquil wind will finally blow over her. She was able to reunite and later marry her sweetheart Rudolph Margolius. Like Heda, he also survived the concentration camps and the war itself. He was a very virtuous man with a lot of ideas about his country and Prague in particular. He supported reform and believed that the principles of the Nazi were the exact opposite of Communism so he supported the principles of Communism and thought that it would be effective government systems that will help his countrymen develop after the ravages of the war. He was able to get a good job in the government as the Communist government rose into power. However, this actually marred the supposedly happy ending of the couple. This job actually took his life when he was accused of conniving with an enemy of the Communist government. It was the system that he supported that accused him of being a traitor. Everything would have been perfect if the Communist party had not risen into power and condemned her husband and separated him from her forever. Things were made worse because they had a son, Ivan Margolius, who was growing up at that time. Heda was forced to make a living to support her son. However, the incident deprived her and her son the right to live a normal life. Since her husband was an enemy of the Communist State, she was deprived of the privileges to get a decent job to raise her son nor was she allowed to be helped by others without suffering the consequences from the Communist government. No matter how her friends in Prague would have wanted to help her and her son, they were scared of the repercussions just like when the Nazi’s were still in their land. They were forced to live life in poverty. They were treated like lepers that were needed to be isolated. Despite all this social persecution, she fell in love again and remarried Pavel Kovaly. However, it seems that she was born with so much bad luck that whoever would lend a hand to help her would also suffer failure. Because of what happened, her new husband, who had a very promising career ended up having a bad reputation just because of his affiliation with Heda. In the book, Heda’s miseries and continuous struggle lasted for more than twenty years. When the social had gone worst, she was able to escape again and finally live peacefully in the United States. That was the end of her book and the end of the war in her life. This book was dedicated to her son who was clueless with the persecution of his father and the agony of her mother (Kovaly). These two books actually presented the two victims and survivors of war in different perspectives. They both believed in the same God and the same doctrine. It was the same religion that led them to concentration camps. They both had the ardent desire to overcome whatever challenges that would come their way. One magnified and illustrated the turmoil inside the concentration camp and the genocide of the Jews, while the other placidly illustrated her agonies during the war when she lost her family and yet survived just to face another war that took her beloved away from her. They were all torn by the war. They were all innocent victims of abusive government and capricious rulers. The titles of these two books were quite similar in a sense that they all compare their experiences with darkness. The first one was even titled â€Å"Night† (Wiesel), to describe that one long night of unbearable nightmare that altered his life forever; while the other one denotes the cruelty of the stars that deprived her of any light to guide for more than twenty years of her life in Czechoslovakia. It was a saga of continuous struggle for better life but their struggle simply ended up into another saga filled with tears and bitterness. The courage of these two authors to share their tragic and humiliating experiences to reveal the truth about the grim of the war was so remarkable. It is not easy to share how tragic one’s life was, but these two authors made the difference in bringing the truth about what happened during those times. If there is one thing that their books reflected, that would be their determination to overcome whatever obstacle that would come their way. They did not resolve to self-pity. They struggled to move on even if they do not know what the future brings. They did not stop when they lost their loved ones. Instead, they continued and embraced life no matter how difficult it may seem. Their books reflected tragedies and misfortunes in one’s life are not enough reason to give up. No matter how heavy our burden in life could be, still, life must go on. Western Civilization (1) It has always been the power struggle that led people to revolt. Developments in agriculture were not enough to feed the whole French nation, especially in the cities, because the poor has always sufferred. Despite the advancement in agriculture and the use of modern agricultural techniques and â€Å"expected† increase in food supply, the prices of the food was still going up. Why? Because it was only â€Å"more food—rather than a fairer distribution† (Brown, 2003, p. 24) which means the peasants has still to push their luck to survive in the cruel world. Thus, peasant unrest in 1789 eventually came into view with so much oppression of the poor. To end constant riots and demonstrations, the politics during that time believed that the poor can be set aside disallowing them to cast their votes and making them cultivate food produce for the wealthy. Even the constitution that time discriminates poor by putting so much emphasis on individual private property ownership â€Å"at the expense of any right of the poor to subsistence† (Brown, 2003, p. 24). The unrest in 1789 was an incident where agriculture played a major role. Without farmers' efforts to provide food in the urban areas, or if the crop these farmers tilled produce a bad harvest, the effects were simply devastating: skyrocketing food prices, unemployment, and chaos. (2) There was so much developments in the eighteenth century Europe leading to acquisitions of various colonies by different European nations. Not counting prior developments, even the 15th and 16th century Rennaissance and Reformation, this 18th century alone has been a remarkable era. Who could imagine Napoleon defeated? And it happened in this period and â€Å"it begins and ends with the frustration of an attempt to dominate the Continent by its leading power, and between lie the events which brought about the French Revolution and its aftermath. â€Å"(Cowie, 1963, p. 1) Europeans' way of life during that period might be varied but they all have shared a long history together and similar longings and thus more often than not, imitate the good things that can be found in each other. For the Englishmen, they had freedom from having their passions done, especially the freedom to express and write and this was viewed as a favorable thing not only to themselves but to other nations in the continent. The same principles apply with the French chaateaux and its admirable tastes. And how about the Europeans' impositions to have colonies? These were obviously laid out in the Treaty of Utrecht and in the Treaty of Vienna. And when? Naturally, that was in the 18th Century Europe!