December 14th

December 14th…I couldn’t wait for December 14th because it would be first day of Christmas break. I would be free from homework, free from work, free to have fun and enjoy life again. Yet, once that romanticized break finally arrived I didn’t feel free or happy. Emptiness was overwhelming. I could watch one more movie, spend more time with friends, spend more time talking with family, spend more time focused on pleasing myself, but this was making me feel sick and empty. I had worked all semester just so that I could reach that amazing break, but for some reason it no longer seemed amazing.

I’ve noticed that we work not for the sake of working but to reach the next break, the next weekend, the next hour when we can finally head home. We hate having to work because, honestly, it’s hard. Who wants to be exerting themselves, pushing themselves to seemingly unreachable heights when you could be hanging with friends or vegging in front of the T.V. We are not happy at work but are happy once we leave it behind and can amuse ourselves.

Amusement has been equated to happiness, but if this is true then why do I feel empty and disappointed when I finally have six weeks to amuse myself? We hate work because it takes away our happiness, but I believe that it is only through work that we are finally content. Saying no to my selfish desires to push through a difficult task may take effort, but it is only through these activities that we find the depth of living necessary for happiness. As Aristotle says, “Happiness is not found in amusement; for it would be absurd if the end were amusement, and out lifelong efforts and sufferings aimed at amusing ourselves. It seems correct to amuse ourselves so that we can do something serious, for amusement would seem to be relaxation and it is because we cannot toil continuously that we require relaxation. Relaxation, then, is not the end; for we purse it to prepare for activity.” We seem to have confused which is the end and which is the mean. Work is seen as the mean to living; a good job pays for a house, food, and extra money to spend on amusing ourselves. We do not work to make us happy but to allow us to live in our society. But amusement should be the mean to productive work, not work being the mean to amusement. If the whole point of our being is to amuse ourselves, we are empty and unsatisfied. We are cutting ourselves short of a much greater purpose, but that purpose does take effort and self-denial.

Work…taking the focus off of myself. It doesn’t sound pleasant and is something I struggle with daily. Pleasing myself is so much easier and obviously brings immediate pleasure, but an empty pleasure. I have to work to get the focus off of myself, but once I do this I can finally glorify my Creator, fulfilling who I am made to be. I am tired of being a creature who was meant for one purpose but is trying to work properly while doing something completely different, like a spoon trying to excellently cut meat instead of stirring the sauce. All that I get is worn down and discouraged that I can’t seem to cut anything.

God, I pray you will help me to humbly deny my selfishness. Help me to not get so involved in pleasing myself that I forget that I am your child. Help me to know how to act as you want. I want to please you but I seem to always be faced with the question of how. Teach me what it truly means to have you as my number one priority. –Your Daughter

The Cold War- The War of Words

The Cold War was not a war in the tradition sense, including troops, tanks, and bombs. This war was an economic war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The struggles lasted from 1945 to 1989. The two countries engaged in governmental battles, threatening each other with nuclear weapons, cutting off trade and commerce, and creating strong allies in case of a full-fledged war.

The most important event of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis started on October 16, 1962, and was finally resolved on October 28. Although this crisis only lasted thirteen days, it was the closest event leading to a nuclear war. The crisis began after U.S. reconnaissance reported to President Kennedy that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles on Cuba. The crisis ended when Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, promised to end the installations and take out the missiles already located at Cuba.

The Atomic Bomb Movie

Today in history class we watched an amazing movie about atomic bombs. The movie was interesting, beyond the dramatic music and awesome titles, and I loved watching the videos of the bombs exploding.

The very first atomic bomb was created in Los Alamos. The earlier models created in Los Alamos used uranium. Later models changed from uranium to platonium. The first test caused the creation of the Trinity Crater, causing the temperature of the area to rise to ten million degrees.

The first real atomic bomb activity were the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Hiroshima, the bomb killed 70,000 people and injured many more people. In Nagasaki the death toll was slightly less, the deaths numbering 42,000, but there were also many injuries.

Eleven months after the atomic bombs in Japan, Operation Crossroads took place. This was a test of the magnitude of atomic bombs by detonating one bomb in the middle of the ocean. Ships of various sizes were stationed in the ocean, containing animals so as to test the effects of the bomb. This surprised those who saw the explosion from a distance, finally being able to understand the magnitude. The video was amazing as the mushroom cloud expanded in the cloud and an enormous wave swept through the ocean. Another such operation took place two years later. This operation was known as Operation Sandstone, and the bombs X-Ray and Yonke were exploded.

On August 29, 1949 the Russians exploded their first atomic bomb. They were able to construct their bomb only through stolen information from American researchers.

There was still more to the video, but this was as far as we got today.

Cinco De Mayo- The American Holiday

Well, the Mexico Mission Team got back from Mexico yesterday and we had a blast! We spent Cinco de Mayo in Mexico and I noticed that no one was celebrating at all. So I thought that I would blog about it and explain the reason why it is celebrated more in America than it is in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican victory against the French on May 5, 1862. The battle is now known as the Battle of Puebla, with General Ignacio Zaragoza leading the Mexican army. The history concerning the battle began earlier in 1862 when the Mexicans refused to pay taxes to the governments of other countries ruling over them. As a result, Spain, Britain, and France sent troops to Mexico to enforce their dominion over the people. The elected official of Mexico at the time was able to make agreements with Spain and Britain, but not with the French. The armies of Spain and Britain retreated out of the country, but the French army stayed.

The French prepared themselves to make an attack against Mexico City on May 4, but they were met with strong resistance. A small number of Mexicans had become allies to the French at this time and were planning to help the French armies, but they were unable to reach them as they were attacked by Mexican loyalists. Therefore, the French did lose more men than they had planned, but their army was still decent and ready for combat.

Despite the French army's losses, the army of Zaragoza was still incredibly small in comparison. However, Zaragoza's army entered into combat against the French on May 5 and were victorious.

Cinco de Mayo is not the Day of Independence for the Mexicans, theirs being on September 16. Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory against France, but the Mexicans were more concerned with defeating the Spain, which they succeeded in doing on September 16. Americans tend to celebrate Cinco de Mayo more because it drove French influence out of the Americas, French influences which would have changed many aspects of American culture today.

Just A Brief Look

I am going on a mission trip to Mexico tomorrow, so I thought that I would write about the history of the country. The most prominent cultures between 1800 and 300 B.C. were the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huatec, Purepecha, Toltec, and Mexica (also known as the Aztec) civilizations. These people began forming complex societies, advancing in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, writing, agriculture, engineering, and theology. These civilizations were mainly known for their construction of pyramids, highly-accurate calendar systems, and the use of the wheel. Copper and gold were also used in these societies, but these were the only forms of metal. Large cities were built and the culture thrived during this time.

The civilizations of early Mexico changed dramatically after the arrival of Spanish colonists. Spain established their colonies after overtaking the area of Mexico in 1521. The Mexicans were never able to free themselves from Spanish rule until 1821. A Mexican revolution began after Napoleon I invaded Spain. The Mexicans took advantage of Spain preoccupation in their own country to initiate a revolution. Their war against Spain lasted eleven years, but finally ended with a Mexican victory.

The Mexicans were able to establish their first independent government at this time after so many years of Spanish rule. They created a Republic, with Guadalupe as the president. This is only an extremely brief history of Mexico, but it gives you a general idea of what happened. I do find it interesting after finishing my Vietnam project that Mexico was also ruled by a European country. Vietnam certainly was not the only country dealing with a European country taking away their independence in their early history.

Ho Chi Minh, The Backbone for North Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh was a very important character in the Vietnam war. Not only was he apart of the war against America and South Vietnam, but he was in the original protests and battles with the French.

Ho was born in 1890, in Hoang Tru Village where he spent the first five years of his life. He spent most of his childhood in Kil Lien Village, living with his parents, brother, and sister. Ho's was given the name, Nguyen Tat Thanh, when he turned ten according to his Confucian traditions. His father was a Confucian scholar and Ho was sure to be brought up with Confucian based education. Ho was also educated at a French-style secondary school.

In 1911, Ho left his home and boarded a ship headed for Marseilles, France. He worked on this ship as a cabin-boy, spending long hours working many jobs around the ship. After arriving at France, he spent most of his free time reading at the public libraries, reading newspapers or listening to conversations about politics and current events. He later moved to England in 1913 through 1917, but then he returned to France until 1923. During his second stay at France, Ho began to pay special attention to the ideas of Communism. He was determined to free Vietnam from French rule so that he could establish a Communist government, but he could not find any country to support him. He became involved in the establishment of the French Communist Party and then moved to Moscow. He did not stay in Moscow for very long but soon moved to Guangzhou, China. While he was in China, he established the Communist Party of Indochina.

Ho returned to Vietnam in 1941, and it was at this time that he adopted the name, Ho Chi Minh. He helped organize rebellions against the Japanese government when they invaded during World War II, but mainly against the French government. He named himself the leader of the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, forcing the emperor, Boa Dai, out of command. Ho signed a document that allowed his government to be apart of the French Union, but he was incessantly fighting against them. Even after he controlled North Vietnam, he was not satisfied and fought against South Vietnam and America to control all of Vietnam. He was known for his continual fight for his dreams, even when his dreams seemed impossible to achieve.

Ho died on September 2, 1969, on various health problems. He died at the age of 79 and his embalmed body was put on display in a granite tomb in Moscow. He is still idolized by Communist Vietnamese citizens referring to him as "Uncle Ho."

A Not So Happy Subject

Happy Easter everyone! Easter is such a happy holiday that gives hope to all Christians as we are given the opportunity for forgiveness and salvation. Unfortunately, I must turn the subject away from Easter as it is not the subject that I will be discussing. Today, I would like to discuss the concentration camps used by the Nazis during World War II. In class, we are watching Schindler's List, and so, I thought that I would give some historical background to the movie.

Concentration camps got their name as they were camps used to imprison a mass amount of people. These people were not judged individually, but were placed into the camp because of a general involvement. In the case of the Germans, they used concentration camps to imprison Jews. Jews were proclaimed as being weak and behind the Germans, forcing the Germans to be brought to a lower level. Therefore, Jews were discriminated against and forced to leave their homes.

Most concentration camps were not meant to be used as Hitler and Stalin used their camps, but Hitler and Stalin had a different motive for their camps. The British were the first people to establish the concentration camp, using them during the Boer War. Stalin changed the methods used at his camps by either working or starving his prisoners to death, and Hitler used his camps for "medical experiments," using gas chambers and ovens.

These horrible camps first started after the Nazis took control in 1933. Many of the camps did not remain in use after World War II, but some did continue its work. The Germans also established extermination camps for the mass murdering of Jewish people. These camps were established in 1941, and became known as the Holocaust. Over three million Jews were killed in these camps by the end of the war.

Both the concentration and extermination camps were famous for their horrible treatment of their prisoners and for the terrible conditions. The prisoners were worked under small food rations and very poor sanitary conditions until they could work no longer. At this point the prisoner was killed if he provided no more useful labor. Prisoners were killed either through gas chambers, mass shootings, or severe starvation. The guards at these camps were encouraged to practice their shooting, using humans as targets. Many times we try to forget the awful events that transpired at these camps, not being able to understand how one man could treat another man so terribly.