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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (140255)	7/14/2004 12:15:08 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Not so OT -- continued... Family is the basis of all political systems. Family relations therefore shape how the national, and sometimes international governments behave. To view the history of Europe without taking into account the effects of kinship amongst the upper classes is to ignore a big influence (rarely have I seen this discussed in history books) St. Augustine and St. Thomas argued that the practice of marrying one's cousin promoted family loyalties at the expense of universal love and social harmony. Eliminating it was seen as a way to reduce clan warfare and promote loyalty to larger social institutions -- like the church. Had this been taught to (and remembered by) our leaders, then they'd understand that Iraq with its closely nit family and tribal relations is a very different world than the West and requires a different approach. Now in terms of education, it really doesn't matter to remember names of Augustine or Thomas or the exact year; what matters is to remember that how we behave at home directly affects what kind of government we will have and what these effects have been through out the ages. Similarly, it was Niccolo Machiavelli who argued the military has to be formed from citizens so that the government is obliged to govern well. His point was that people would refuse to give their lives to protect a government who did not treat them well. Now what is important here is that Machiavelli believed prosperity and social justice is the driving motivation of the average citizen (rather than say the glory of the state or racial concerns). Equally important is the realization that a measure of good governance is how much the many social classes within that state are willing to commit to its armed forces. Seen this way, we realize how hollow the governments of Saudi, Kuwait, and so on really are as their armed forces are almost entirely made up of foreign nationals. Similarly, the lack of volunteers here at home, and the choice to allow foreign nationals to serve in the army, goes a long way towards measuring the legitimacy of the current war, IMO. Finally I doubt that the book you are holding discusses the creation of religious states and their evolution (or lack there of) into separating the church from state in any meaningful details. I am almost certain that it does not even mention the process and its effects in Tibet, Japan, and of course the Islamic world. So I guess we are looking at history classes from different angles. I sympathize with the lack of time and resources issue you have raised. And possibly you had better text/school/teacher than I, but I suspect there is not much difference in the perspectives of most high school history texts. I hope that my answers to the questions clarified what I would consider valuable in a history class...when I started skiing, I refused to start with a V shape stance (a.k.a. the Wedge or Wedge Christie). I skied parallel from the very first day, albeit on a nearly flat snow (and often using only one foot). As I progressed, it was the steepness of the slope and the amount of time that I skied on a single foot that increased rather than fundamental change in my skiing techniques. As a result, in a matter of two seasons I went from absolute beginner to a half decent black diamond skier...the point I am making is not what a talented skier I am (I certainly don't think that is the case), but rather the value of establishing the right foundation and then gradually adding to it. Lack of time means you teach less; but it should not mean you teach differently. ST