Dec 21 2008
Recent Events
I always think of neat things I should say on my blog when I am away from the computer, but when I actually sit down at the computer I forget everything that I was going to say.
Good news on the school front: I know I got an A in my Foreign Policy class! I was really worried about that class when I first started the semester, but all is well I suppose. I actually learned a lot in that class, and all of the books he asked us to get for class I am actually keeping for reference. I enjoyed it.
Greg and I went to the Art Institute of Chicago on Friday, it was neat. We watched pieces of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and what they went to see at the Art Institute, and then we tried to find those things. Specifically the one painting that is all dots (for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the artist, but it’s a famous painting). We saw lots of Monet’s waterlilies and bales of hay, Van Goh’s, Buddah statues, Egyptian tomb carvings, miniatures, a suit of armor, and all kinds of other neat things. I doubt they had any, but I would have liked to see some Bob Ross’s. I really really like that guy… “Let’s just drop a happy little tree right on in there… He lives right there…” PBS daytime TV, “Joy of Painting”, gotta love it.
Work has been absolutely crazy, of course. Saturday was nuts, I think that is the busiest day I have ever seen at Border’s. I was in the cafe all day, and let me tell you, if you buy coffee at coffee shops, please please please tip your barista. They do not get paid enough money to work themselves like that day in and day out. Trust me, I know, that’s what I do. I may just be serving you coffee, or steaming you milk, but it is more than that, I am providing you with the caffiene you need to get through your day. Love me for it. You American-caffiene-addicts.
Um….
I know there were other things. Oh yeah! Go vote for Tom Faraci: www.myspace.com/flipvideo . It’s the awesome design of Icarus falling from the sun with wings that are falling apart. VOTE. Please?
I think I should start also recommending things as well, so, this segment will be about a good book I read for my FP class: The Paradox of American Power by Joseph Nye. Here . It defines how soft power is necessary for a world power to stay a world power. Hard power (ie. military force) is no longer enough to maintain the US as a super power. Historically, the country with the biggest and best military were the rulers of the most lands (Rome, Great Britain, Spain). However, today our borders are more internationally porous via things like the internet, increased communication, nuclear bombs, ABMs (anti ballistic missiles), “global warming” (issue for another day), pollution. Domestic problems are no longer simply domestic, they now concern everyone on a global level. The US needs to learn global cooperation in order to keep up soft power, loosely defined as what other countries think about the US.
Every country has soft power. When I say France, what comes to mind? For many it’ll be wine, cheese, Eiffel Tower… and these are all forms of soft power. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but internationally, if someone says ‘great wine’, one might think of France. (Same with City Of Lights.. and no I am NOT talking about Aurora, IL!)It’s all about how one country perceives another. A game of sorts.
The Bush administration did not play well with others, this was a huge concern for people interested in Foreign Policy. Because if we loose a lot of soft power, other countries may not want to purchase US Treasury Bonds, the things that are going to help with the recession. And, unfortunately if we continue to sink economically, since nearly the whole world is tied together economically, the whole global economically will sink as well. When the dollar value fell, there was a huge concern around the world of devaluation of other countries’ monies, because they are closely linked with how well the dollar does. This also ties in to the fact that we are the world’s largest importer, and if we don’t import, other countries loose out, so they also want us to succeed, because if we don’t, they don’t have money coming in either. We’re all globally linked.
So if you want to see some good art, go to the Art Institute of Chicago, and if you want to read a good book, read Joseph Nye’s Paradox of American Power.
