"Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal" - Pablo Picasso

In response to a recent discussion with a friend, I felt like I needed to write down my thoughts on the matter of 'plagiarism'. Pablo Picasso supposedly said that "Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal". This leads one to think about the concept.

First, I would like to discuss the idea of owning property. This is a HUGE thing in Western Culture and Capitalism. It is a normal concept to us that you own property. Be it that barbie doll or action figure that your sibling just stole and ran off into the other room with, or a house, or the book you just published. This is a seemingly normal way of life. It seems to just make sense and be the 'correct way'. We go so far as to punish those who do not conform to this idea.

From there we have to understand that this is not what the entire world thinks. In many cultures, in Asia and Africa, the concept of knowledge being 'owned' by someone is completely foreign. In Asia, quoting something from an authority on the subject is considered being the greatest respect that can be owed. Knowledge is owned by the society as a whole.

It is an interesting concept. Something to think about. It can be argued that the concept of owning knowledge, art, and such only adds more problems to society then they aid. Of course it is wishful thinking that society would change enough to allow such a thing. But it is something to consider when we start thinking about people who 'steal' copyrighted items, or download music, books, etc, or share a piece of artwork on a different website than the one it was posted on, or want a copy of a picture from a photo studio but don't have the money to pay 250 dollars for the copyrights to their own child's face that's in the picture.

Dissatisfaction in Government

Ok. As the Presidential elections loom on the horizon, I start hitting the mute button on my TV even more. I hate election seasons. Nothing is ever really achieved. But as that i was just invited to an event on Facebook entitled "Obama leaves office!" I felt like I needed to get something off my chest in regards to this. 

Throughout history people have been dissatisfied with the leaders of the world. Athens cycled through every single kind of government, tyranny, democracy (the real kind), republic, oligarchy, aristocracy, and monarchy, and were never happy with it. Emperors of Rome were killed in office, people hated the monarchs of England and France. Tribal leaders were often killed so that someone else could take over leadership. Tsars and Tsarinas of Russia have a bloody history of being murdered by their own people. Even great leaders who wanted to end suffering, like Alexander II of Russia and Abraham Lincoln were killed because some people weren't happy with their policies and changes. 

This is still alive today. People are still unhappy with current leaders. Whether or not they are actually to blame for the faults of the world. Whether or not they are actually trying to influence change. People are still going to be unhappy. No matter what the president or other current leader does, people will still disapprove. People will still complain that the leader is to blame because their lives are difficult and not perfect. It seems utterly impossible for an entire group to be pleased with government and leadership. 

Graduate School Update

I was accepted to a graduate program! YAY! Excitement!
I thought as i was fighting with all the requirements for the application that that was the hard part. I was wrong.

As an undergraduate, financial aid is handed to you. You really don't have to worry in the state of Georgia how you are going to pay for college. There was HOPE, and PELL, and then loans. Graduate School is different. All you have are scholarships that entry level students don't really have access to, and loans. Lots of loans.

but here is the other problem. As an undergrad... its unlikely that you have credit. Not necessarily bad credit... just not enough. Which means that private loaners, banks, etc aren't willing to give you the loans. and if your parents are financially burdened, they can't help you either. You're pretty much screwed.

Also, they don't accept you to these schools early enough that you can get into a decent dorm. So you are scrambling for housing.

My advice... Do everything as early as you can... because then you have more time to scramble...

Graduation/ The Future

As I sit here on the eve of my graduation from college, I can't help but look back on the years I've spent here. I started off at University of West Georgia, then transferred to Kennesaw State University. I've been at KSU since 2007. I've made friends, gotten to know professors and staff. It has been an amazing experience.
 I have learned a lot from my time as an undergrad. How to do research. How to write a paper. How to coherently express my ideas. In the last five years since i graduated high school, I have grown from a shy young girl to a confident, intelligent, young woman. I have learned to stand up for myself and my ideas. I have learned that I can survive on my own. I have a new set of skills and an education that I can be proud of.

As this chapter of my life closes, I look towards the future. It is unknown and veiled in shadows. I await acceptance letters. But I have faith, and hope, that I will receive that desperately awaited letter soon. With that letter, I will be working on graduate work. To gain my Masters and then my Doctorate in World History is my ultimate goal. To spread my knowledge to other people. To open their eyes to new perspectives. To understand that history is still something worth learning. To inspire people to think. To reevaluate what they already know. That is what i aspire to. To through teaching and writing, that people might walk away from me knowing a least a little bit more than they thought they did.

Generalizations

Hello all, this is your friendly neighborhood outspoken historian. I'm here for another blog to put my thoughts out there on a subject that is at least, vaguely related to history. Enjoy.

So I was talking with a friend on Facebook about a group of Christians who are stating that the world will end on May 21st 2011 (which is worthy of a blog all onto its own). She got upset with me and asked me not to generalize all Christians into one group because not all Christians think the same way. So this got me to thinking. Why should i NOT generalize?

As I look around me, I see people generalizing other people into groups all the time. I turn on the TV and I see complaints about Muslims. All Muslims and all countries with high Islamic populations. Even though it is only a small group that is radical. But if you look outside at American Christians, there are radicals who also call for extreme measures.

Also, I see the generalization of all non-organized religions, including Pagans, Druids, and Wiccans, into Cults or Devil Worshipers.

Then all people from China are generalized into a stereotype of 'Chinese.' All Russians are the same. All of the French are rude and unclean. All Canadians are unintelligent. All Hispanics are from Mexico and they are all illegal. All men are loud, dirty, and horny. All women are bitchy, emotional, and nags. All African Americans are lazy, loud, and expect everything handed to them. All whites are racists.

No one likes to be generalized. However, people do it all the time. Sometimes for dramatic effect. Sometimes to prove a point. Sometimes to be mean. and Sometimes because they are ignorant.

I admit to generalizing on occasion. Often to prove a point or a trend over time. Though never, in my experience, have a I heard people complain more about it all then I have heard Christians. It amazes me at how vehemently people will object to the generalization of Christians than any other. Its ok, in so many people's eyes to claim that all Muslims are terrorists, but saying that Christians over time have predicted the end of the world over and over again, that is worthy of objection. That is an interesting fact.

My take on Current Events.

Last night at about 11pm EST I got the news. We came in from our Beltane celebration (a pagan festival of prosperity and fire, details of which are information for a different blog entry) and rushed to turn on the news. Then, honestly, I went to bed without giving it much thought. I awoke this morning to a news station that believes that nothing else important could have happened today or over the weekend, and my Facebook friends posting all about it. I guess you can say that I am jumping on the bandwagon with this blog, but as a historian and a scholar I just felt that I needed to put my thoughts out in the mix with everyone elses.

10 years ago I was 13. It feels like most of my life has been lived under the shadow of 9/11, Bin Laden, and the wars in the Middle East. It seems a little surreal. Like a child learning that the Boogie Man that you have lived in fear of coming out from under your bed for years... is now dead. Over the years, I have come to know people who have fought, people who have waited for those to come home, and I have been lucky enough to not feel the loss that many others have felt.

I admit to being critical over the last few years. I still am very critical. I will be the first to admit that. I will also state that I have studied history. I have studied wars. I am critical of every war, past, current, and future. For example, in many ways, the Revolutionary War can be viewed and treason. It is all in the perspective. But I digress. This blog is about the death of Bin Laden, not about perspectives on war.

Today I wonder what this death will truly bring us. Today I wonder if it is a good thing that the man is dead. Today I ponder the moral issue of murder. Today I wonder if whoever will take over and fill his shoes will be worse or easier to take out or manipulate. Today I wonder what the backlash will be. Today I wonder if it was worth it.

No one can say for sure right now. It is a bit like we are between a Roc and a hard place.Sure he was bad, Public Enemy #1 or something like that, but there is the uncertainty of his successor. It is like a new chapter that is beginning and all we have to go on is the last sentence of the previous chapter. "And Bin Laden is dead." Like reading a suspense thriller that isn't finished. All we have this the chapter heading of the subsequent installment.

I can hope that this means the end. I can hope that with the head cut off that another will not grow back. But I have to admit that am not too optimistic. Wars have been happening in this area for centuries. And the United States' current position in the World's Political Sphere does not easily provide peace. There are many reasons for opposing groups to hate the USA. There are many reasons that are even logical. And unfortunately, while we were retaliating (after 10 years) against a crime against Americans, the horrible cycle of revenge is just as likely to continue as it is to not.

We can praise his death. We can celebrate. But we also have to understand that a whole new can of worms has been opened. And consequences for actions must be accounted for no matter what noble intentions the actions may have been carried out under.

And those are just my thoughts on the matter.

A Controversial Topic

I try to avoid massively controversial topics, but today I cannot hold back. After conversations with friends, people on forums, and things I've seen around my campus, I have to say my piece and this is what this blog is for. For me to state some facts and then my opinion.

What is this controversial topic you wonder? *sighs* I'm talking about the issue of Israel and Palestine.

First, a short history lesson.
Lets go back, and I mean WAY back. Before the Middle East was the middle east, even before it was the Near East, or the Holy Land, before the Roman Empire, or the Greeks or the Persians, it was Mesopotamia. The Cradle of Civilization. People have lived in this area since around 3000BCE. That is over 5,000 years! Great empires grew out of this region. Including the Babylonians and the Assyrians. Later the Israelites would arrive in the area and build up a kingdom after, as the story goes, an exodus from Egypt and wondering around for a while. The Assyrians made a habit of relocating the Israelis to new parts of the Assyrian Empire. But it was the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 597BCE and took a massive chunk of the population back to Babylon, this would be known later as the Babylonian Captivity. Some 70 years later, the Persian Empire would defeat the Babylonians and send the Jews home. However, when the Israelis arrive at where they used to live, it was inhabited by new people! The Arabs.

Now to back up just a little. I need to take a moment to say something of religion here. At this point, we are talking about almost 500 years before the birth of Christ. These Arabs are not Muslims. Also, after running into several people in a recent class that did not know this. Christianity developed out of Judaism (and for those of you who don't know, this is the religion of the Jews) around 33CE. Then in about 622 CE, Islam was developed out of Christianity. Islam was, in essence, considered to be a continuation of the Abrahamic Tradition. It is one of the beliefs of the Arab Muslims, that the illegitimate son of Abraham and one of his servants, Ishmael, is the forbearer of the Arab race.

So back to the story. The Arabs had moved into what the Jews had considered to be their homeland during the time that the Jews were away. This is the beginnings of the issues that we see today. The Jews thought that land was their homeland and did not like that there were other people there. And on the other hand, when the Arabs moved in, there was no one there to tell them they couldn't. So by the time the Jews returned, the Arabs had made the land their own. This has led to one conflict after another between the two groups. But Jews have consistently been the minority through the centuries.

Now we reach the 19th and 20th centuries. A time of globalization. Of Imperialism. Exploration, and Colonialism. Britain had colonized the area in the late 18th century. Then World War II happened. No one can legitimately denied the atrocities that were inflicted upon the Jews (and many other groups) by the Nazi regime. A certain amount of guilt over a feeling of not doing enough to save those Jews, the World Powers decided to give the Jews their own state.

Now this seems like a great idea! Lets give this minority  group who has traditionally been persecuted, particularly by Christians, and were extremely persecuted during the war, their own space. It would be like a sanctuary. This sounds like a great idea. Except for the fact that there were already people there. There was already a country there. People who did not take lightly to all but being displaced themselves. These people are the same Arabs that were there over 2000 years ago! But now the Jews are excitedly moving into the area. To the land that they feel has been given back to them.

So that is the background of the conflict in Israel. I don't think many people know that. They just fall on one side of the debate or the other. People are either for Israel while others are supporting Palestine. I saw stickers around campus proclaiming the Israelis as invaders and call for the freedom of Palestine. While others claim that the Israelis were there first and deserve the land because of the persecution they have suffered over the centuries.

No matter what side you fall on, it is near impossible to solve this problem. There is no easy solution to fix this situation. No matter what, someone is unhappy. No matter what either the Israelis or the Muslim Arabs are going to feel like they are not receiving the fairest deal. No matter what, the conflict is unresolved.