Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 9

Here's how the federal government made the maps that crippled black neighborhoods:

          The persistent racial segregation found in many American cities can be traced back to policies intended to create just that. The practice of redlining (refusing to give loans to inhabitants of a specific area) significantly restricted the upward mobility of African Americans, who were the primary targets. By effectively removing the possibility of investment in predominantly black communities, redlining has maintained social stratification along racial lines. 

America's Great Fitness Divide:

          Income inequality in the United States produces obscene differences in the quality enjoyed by different economic classes. Among these differences is physical health. While being wealthy is not a prerequisite to being healthy, there is nevertheless a strong positive correlation between fitness in cities and income per capita. This suggests that, to some degree, our physical health may be related to our choice of city. 

Mapping the Great Housing Divide:

          Gentrification is a glaring contradiction. On the one had, it raises property values and adds upscale additions to previously run down neighborhoods. On the other hand, gentrification raises the cost of living to such a degree that many families are forced off of the property. This created an environment in which excess walks hand in hand with squalor. 

Burying a 1950's Planning Disaster:

          Our cultural landscape is dynamic, reflecting the needs and priorities of those who construct it. In the 1950s, when city planners adhered to the notion that urban highways were necessary for traffic, the cultural landscape of many urban centers became marked with constantly jammed asphalt roads. Now, as we reconsider the impacts of these highways, it looks as though many may be removed from urban centers. 

People in Brazil wanted to find better opportunities, so many migrated to urban centers in the Amazon. But the swell in population required these cities to expand, contributing to the devastating deforestation of the Amazon.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/world/americas/swallowing-rain-forest-brazilian-cities-surge-in-amazon.html

Map of connectedness in Spain 

Map source: http://images.slideplayer.com/20/5944617/slides/slide_5.jpg

Power, Faith, and Fantasy Post #4 Pages 155-176

          In Antebellum America, a strong restorationist movement prompted American interest in the Middle East. Americans viewed it as their duty to help Jews establish an independent state in Palestine. They also considered it within their purview to "civilize" the Middle East, primarily through means of conversion to Christianity. Optimistic U.S. born missionaries established the route and itinerary which most American travelers in the Middle East adhered to. Driven by religious zeal and enticed by the often dismal but nonetheless compelling writings of early American travelers, tourists began to visit Arab cities such as Cairo, Jerusalem, and Petra. But tourists were almost always appalled at what they perceived as the brutishness of Arabic culture, though steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the gross injustice of slavery that was common practice in their homeland. This increased exchange between the United States and the Middle East left tangible cultural impacts on both regions. Among those that toured the holy sites of the Middle East were celebrated authors and artists, including Herman Melville and Washington Irving. Their experiences abroad impacted their art and writing, and in doing so disseminated a touch of Middle Eastern culture to the American people. 

Image source: http://www.tabletmag.com/wp-content/files_mf/melville_jerusalem_081412_620px.jpg

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 8, Lines in the Sand, This is What America would look like without gerrymandering, and Crossing the Mexican-American border every day.

How does the drawing of borders by intellectuals of statecraft affect people's every day lives?

           The way in which we draw our maps influences quality of life at almost all scales. In Africa for example, where states' borders are the legacy of profit-driven European colonialism, members of many different nations are clumped together in arbitrarily delineated territories. The current map of the Middle East is, to a lesser degree, the product of this system of European apportionment. Apart from bringing various ethnic and religious groups into conflict with one another, the current geography of the Middle East deprives certain peoples, such as Kurds and Palestinians, of their own sovereign states. The drawing of maps can have less obvious but highly significant impacts on democracy. The practice of gerrymandering in the United States allows politicians to isolate certain voting demographics in ways that benefit their party. By drawing congressional districts, intellectuals of statecraft are able to influence the outcomes of elections and by extension influence policy that may impact millions of people. National borders can also impact people by restricting where they can live and travel based on their country of origin. The arbitrary boundaries given to each independent state have tangible impacts on the lives of innumerable citizens across the world, and create an imbalance of power in both geopolitical and private spheres. 

Image source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/8f/f9/6a8ff9580aaed118529139564ea60d2e.jpg

Kurds wanted to reclaim territory along Syria's Turkish border from the Islamic State, but Turkey feared that this would encourage the formation of a Kurdish state. So, Turkey proclaimed that they would forcibly oppose the formation of such a state.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-turkey-to-take-necessary-measures-on-border-security-pm-davutoglu-2015-6

Image source: http://www.factsandopinions.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Kurds.jpg

Benedict Anderson, Man Without a Country - Renowned Benedict Anderson, who famously asserted that nationalism is a centripetal force within countries, has passed away. Born into an Anglo-Irish family in China, he had no real homeland until he adopted Indonesia as his home country. 

Texas is Turning Blue - Texas's recent growth consists primarily of minority groups that consistently vote democrat. If this trend continues, it is likely that new majority-minority districts will pull the state left and deprive the Republican Party of their most valuable state in presidential elections. 

Lines in the Sand - After WWI, England delineated arbitrary geometric boundaries in the Middle East with little regard for existing nations. These boundaries have contributed to the near constant unrest of the region. 

Gerrymandering Solved - The problem of gerrymandering, in which politicians draw district lines in order to benefit their party, could be solved by a computer algorithm that draws unbiased districts. But political interests make it unlike that politicians will willingly surrender their power to draw districts. 

Map of supranational organizations in Euerope

Power, Faith, and Fantasy Post #3 - Pages 76-104

          After the United States emerged victorious from the Barbary Wars, hostilities between the two regions ceased and trade flourished. The wars left in their wake a more cohesive and military-capable Union. The newfound stability between the U.S. and the Middle East prompted a wave of American missionaries to crush upon the region. The missionary movement began slowly in 1819, but was greatly spurred on by the Great Awakenings of the 19th century. American protestants felt a kinship with the Jewish faith, which lent a Zionist undercurrent to the movement. Many Christians in the United States felt an obligation to evangelize Jews in an effort to bring peace to the world through shared faith. Despite their zeal, American missionaries were largely unsuccessful at converting the population of the Middle East. But they were the first group other than merchants to normalize travel to that part of the world. Religious travel to Jerusalem greatly increased in 1831 when King Mohammed Ali of Egypt claimed the territory from the Ottoman Empire and relaxed laws restricting religious freedom. American missions to the Middle East in the 19th century reflect the intense religious fervor of the time and set the stage for future U.S.-Middle East interactions. 

Image source: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/news/missionaries.htm