Empires in Collision (Blog # 15)

Something I found quite interesting about this chapter was how 3 seemingly similar countries can face the same challenges and can yet have three different outcomes. China and the Ottoman Empire were the two that had the most similar results after extreme pressure from the West, while Japan seemed to strive in the face of adversity and ultimately landed itself on the same playing field as the West. This chapter further illustrates the dominating and unforgiving oppression of Western influence and how the search for power and influence in the East led to many uprisings and diminished the political and economic power of those countries; at least in the case of China and the Ottoman Empire. Both China and the Ottoman Empire had a fully developed political, economic and social structure that for them seemed to work well. It wasn’t until the West, specifically Britain that destroyed these structures and left both China and the Ottoman Empire dependent on the Western countries. It is very frustrating to me when I hear about how our ancestors, and even people from other countries with no ties to myself, treated others for their own personal gain; to think of all those who were oppressed, forced into slavery and were killed in the name of progress makes me think progress is not such a noble cause. Although I don’t agree with all of Japan’s decisions during their time of Western pressure, I do find it fascinating and inspiring that they were able to not only repel Western pressures but build itself up enough to be seen as an equal; so much so that Westerners actually repealed their unfair treaties with Japan and re-wrote them to favor Japan as an industrializing nation. Something else I found really interesting was that in all three of these empires, women’s rights and equality were suggested, worked towards and then finally rejected. Unfortunately women would have to continue to wait for their opportunity at equality; sadly many are still waiting today.

Call to Action Day (Post 14)

For Call to Action Day my food and politics class and I went to Saint Anthony’s Padua Dining Room in Menlo Park. This is an amazing organization that has many food services that helps provide hot meals as well as bags of bread and groceries to those who are less fortunate. They provide a judgment free environment where individuals and families of any age or economic status can come and enjoy a meal with peers in a no questions asked atmosphere. While the nine paid staff members and the multitude of volunteers at Saint Anthony’s works very hard to provide a hot and nutritious meal for around 350 people per day, they also provide hundreds of take home bags filled with bread and other goodies for those who come to eat at the Dining Room. Although I didn’t experience this first hand I was also told about a series of several hundred lunches and grocery bags that get delivered from the Dining Room to individuals in need that are unable to make the trip into Saint Anthony’s each day.

While serving with Saint Anthony’s we prepared vegetables and other food products, helped prepare take home grocery bags, unpacked crates of food, served food and drinks, mingled with those attending Saint Anthony’s for food services and helped with clean up services. Three other people and I mainly did chopping of fruits and vegetables for various salads and entrees. We ended up chopping around 100 yellow bell peppers, 100lbs of Brussel Sprouts, 40 honeydew melons, 3 crates full of strawberries, and 3 bags of grapes. This job was slightly tedious at times but we were able to see the finished product which made performing the task more rewarding. While we were chopping and preparing food we were able to mingle with several of the long-term volunteers there who had some amazing stories of why Saint Anthony’s is meaningful to them and why they decided to volunteer their time there every week. When we were done with the prep work we were able to grab some food and sit and mingle with some of the other volunteers and those who come to the Dining Room for a hot meal; there were some really interesting people that I met there, some families and some individuals, which made this experience so rewarding.

What I really enjoyed about this experience was the sense of accomplishment I felt during and after completing my service project. So many people suffer from food insecurity in this country, and in our own backyards, so it was really nice to be able to help provide a hot meal for those in need; especially since it is very well the only hot meal these people are able to eat every day. It was also very rewarding to see how many other people selflessly volunteer their time to consistently provide these food services to the less fortunate every week. These volunteers worked so hard the entire time we were there and they worked like they were getting paid for it; it was incredible to see how fast and hard these volunteers work every day for no other reason but to help out families and individuals in their community.

Although I had a wonderful time and I wouldn’t complain about any aspect of my time spent at Saint Anthony’s, there were three things about the experience that I wish were a little different. First I noticed that certain volunteers had very particular ways of doing things, so when volunteers needed direction or correction in a task they tended to explain it in a harsh and somewhat confrontational way. This made it slightly intimidating for some of the volunteers to ask follow up questions about a certain task. Secondly I would have loved to be able to mingle and engage more with the families and individuals utilizing the services at Saint Anthony’s some of the volunteers were able to work the whole time with these people while my group was in the kitchen during the serving of lunch, so we were only able to visit with the few people who remained in the Dining Room once we were finished with our tasks. The only reason I felt like this would have been valuable is because when I think of community engagement projects the main aspect of it, to me at least, is the engagement with the community; despite the fact that my particular group were only able to spend about fifteen minutes talking and interacting with those who came to Saint Anthony’s we were able to hear so incredible stories and meet some amazing people. The last thing that was actually really upsetting to me was that a few of the people who came by for the free hot meal openly complained about the food that was being served. I did not see this personally, but in our debriefing we were told about a few people who became very upset because the food didn’t contain enough meat products or various other products that they would prefer. This was heartbreaking to me because so many people worked really hard to put together the meal that was provided and if you don’t have access to food on a regular basis you would assume that people would be happy just for a free meal. Everything there is made from scratch and with “fresh” ingredients, and the menus are prepared by a nutritionist to ensure that people are getting the most nutritional benefit from the meals provided.

Although this experience had a couple things I wish could have been improved upon, it was an incredible experience. We met so many amazing people both as volunteers and those utilizing the food programs. This was a very humbling experience and it really helps put my life and my struggles into perspective. I was so grateful for the opportunity to volunteer with Saint Anthony’s and I will most likely return in the future on my own time to continue to help support them in their mission of providing hot nutritious meals for their less fortunate neighbors.

Catholic Social Teaching in Action (Blog #13)

I actually found this article very interesting and inspiring. At first I found it interesting that the Catholic Church initiated change in international relationships since they seemed to have such a big role in the mistreatment and dominance of so many natives in underdeveloped countries. It reminded me of when England decided the slave trade was bad and started demanding that countries did not partake in the selling, keeping or of buying slaves. The reason it took so long for this idea to become widely accepted was because for so long England and supported and participated in the slave trade. I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of “mutual assistance among nations”, worldwide hunger and poverty is a big issue that requires widespread cooperation to fix. It is too easy for people to focus on their own personal surroundings and lose touch with the struggles of strangers, but it is important to do what we can to improve the standard of living for all. I think the Catholic Church represents a lot of great programs that actively work to provide economic, educational and physical health to those living in poor conditions without adequate access to food, water, medical aid and education. Hunger and poverty are not just matters for religious organizations; this is an issue that should be on everyone’s mind. As the article points out, “Despite the artificial divisions of people into races, religions, and nations, all are members of a single human family” and “all people have a moral obligation to care deeply about world poverty and to do all they can to address this scourge on our common humanity.”

The Eurpean Moment in History (Post #12)

          What I found the most striking about this chapter was the idea that the industrial revolution and the progress of technology colonial views and racial differences actually intensified. How is it that the enlightenment ideology of humanism and equality, that was becoming so popular and widespread at the time, were completely ignored in the treatment of migrant workers and those who could be viewed as “technologically simple”. With this new form of racism Europeans also used “science” to relate, or validate, ideas about racial differences. It really upsets me that at a time of such progress Europeans, and other developed countries, reverted back to primitive ideals of racial superiority. Progress at the expense of others, especially entire cultures and peoples, is never justified. Europeans felt the natural laws enforced “survival of the fittest” and they used this ideology to justify wars, death, and the mistreatment of migrant workers. It never ceases to amaze me that if you give someone just the slightest bit of power it tends to completely change their behavior, ideas and attitudes towards other, less powerful, individuals. For whatever reasons the industrial revolution began in Europe and led to many new technologies and markets, including machine guns and weaponry, but that does not justify European’s actions towards other cultures that were not as technologically advanced. There always seems to be this idea of “making savages civilized” but who is to say what is considered civilized? Just because certain cultures don’t use fancy machines and have advanced weaponry doesn’t mean they are not civilized or that their not advanced; what matters most is in the eye of the beholder. I actually value Native population’s connectedness to nature over westerner’s connectedness to technology; the important thing in life is to respect and appreciate the values and ideas of others. It makes me ashamed when I learn about some of the practices throughout American history, the deception and manipulation of those less “civilized” populations and the exploitation of resources and people. True humanistic and enlightenment ideas would argue that each person, despite the differences in their beliefs, is important and valuable; because of this they deserve equality and freedom.

Varations in Industrial Revolutions (Blog #11)

Two things really surprised me about the last half of chapter 17. First was that, despite horrible working conditions and wages, no socialist party was able to take hold in the United States; and the party even became known as “un-American”. I understood how this was affected by the diverse population and the rapid economic growth, but it still surprised me that workers weren’t able to come together through common interest and benefit to improve their working and living conditions. I wonder how different American government and social life would be today if socialism took off during the Industrial Revolution.

                Secondly, I was surprised and somewhat impressed that the Tsar of Russia initiated changes within his political structure, especially the ‘freeing of the serfs in 1861’ (Strayer, 590). I can understand why he would want to catch up with the rest of the world but most governments were forced to make changes due to upheavals/strikes/revolutions. I wonder if he could have predicted the changes he would be forced to make after this if he still would have decided to initiate change within Russia. It is really unfortunate that these changes led to so many violent revolutions and caused so many hardships. The industrial revolution varied depending on the region that it was occurring; personally I believe it was most successful in Europe and the United States.