Just a bunch of farmer talk*...

If one perspective is accurate, it does not necessarily mean that others are wrong. When analyzing Bretton Woods institutions from the perspectives of a realist, constructivist and liberal, almost all the points from all the perspectives were accurate, it was just another way of interpreting a situation.

Let me phrase it this way:

Why would teachers make us write papers analyzing books or defending or refuting a statement? If only one perspective is accurate, then the ENTIRE class would have to modify their thoughts and opinions to reflect the "correct perspective" instead of analyzing the material and displaying their analytical ability.

Why read other people's blogs? If there is only one right point of view, find it and stick to it. Live in a freakin' bubble, accepting that there is only one way to look and the world and life. If only one perspective was correct, then why does everyone in this class have to blog and publicize our opinions on the internet for our classmates and the rest of the world to read? What would be the point?

There is a reason why people's perspectives are valued. It opens our minds to unexplored thoughts and ideas. Things we hadn't even considered become evident by listening to other people's experiments. Putting these different perspectives in boxes labeled "realism," "constructivism," and "liberalism" is only beneficial when trying to explain the world to budding scholars.

The fact of the matter is that the egg came before the chicken and the theory of evolution explains why the egg came first. Similarly, the world's political climate and history came first, the IR theories are just a way for scholars to discuss and explain events that have already happened.

*I am not a farmer...I just like to garden :)

Theories as a means to an end

Because there is always bound to be an incompatibility between perspectives, it might be best to analyze the situation and decide what perspective best applies to what that goal is. All of the perspectives can be pulled from if you take a "best of both worlds" kind of approach. Take different aspects that may work depending on the situation or combine approaches to form the best solution. There's never going to be a magic answer for a theory that works perfectly in every situation all of the time. Different situations will merit a variety of responses.

However, this does not mean that if one theory is perceived to be right for the situation, the others are inherently wrong for that same situation. It really depends on the result that you want out of it that determines what theory you should apply. The others aren't wrong in themselves; they might just not be useful for getting what you want out of the situation. If you think that building up the power of your state would be most beneficial means to your end, utilize a realistic perspective. Same goes for a social argument or individual focus. Just as there are different ways to analyze a situation, there are many ways to apply the theories. You just need to pick the best means to your end, however that might be.

You Say TomATOES and I Say TomaTOES

In class Friday, we began to discuss the concept of "la langue francaise" or a universal language. Is there a language that is spoken universally? Students studying business are highly recommended to learn Mandarin Chinese and/or Arabic because those are the up-and-coming languages in the business world. It used to be the people have to know English to be a successful in international affairs, but now I’m hearing more and more about culture emersion and how businessmen are adapting other cultures’ customs in order to show open-mindedness and their sincere desire to work together. I feel like there is no official “universal language” because people are trying to be more culturally flexible. For instance, I grew up in Texas saying “tomaTOES” while my peers were saying “tomAtoes” because my parents who speak British English taught me that the word is pronounced with a soft “a” instead of a hard “a.” It’s a difference in dialects, but when I go to Subway in the Eagles’ Nest and order tomatoes, literally everyone in the store stops what they are doing to say, “Did someone say tomatoes?”

Even a slight dialectical difference seems like a different language. We tend to specify British English and American English because there are so many dialectical variations that it is far simpler to split “English” into two separate languages. However, then must people wanting to do international business learn British English or American English? It is a matter of saying loo or bathroom, willies or rain boots, football or soccer. To make matters more confusing, Americans are using the British terms and [some of] the Brits, though not many Brits from what I gather, are using American terms. So even though the two “languages” are separate, we are using terms interchangeably.

I think that the era of a universal language has ended and the era of cultural expansion has arrived. People are becoming more focused on acceptance of other cultures and integrating other cultures with our own.

Reflective Post: Week 5

I don't want to write a reflective blog post. In fact I don't want to write anything at all. I want to sleep. But desire is irrelevant in the face academic betterment which is in turn made irrelevant because academic betterment is what I desire so this entire statement is in turn made irrelevant.

My brian right now

This week started interestingly with a simulation to illustrate power. Specifically how PTJ has all the power and we have none, like the Russian peasants under the Tsarist reign of terror (sorry about that reference, I just finished writing a paper on the Russian Revolution). The esteemed professor started off class sitting in the back of the room, dressed uncharacteristically in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball hat with Erin teaching the class. But in a pivotal moment, he cleared his throat and the room went silent as we remembered who had the real power and it had nothing to do with who is wearing the suit and holding a lightsaber.

You're not fooling anyone in those khaki's and Oxford, Star Wars kid

Later that same class (or maybe it was the next class, my mind is to overloaded with knowledge and snark to save any room for a linear sense of time), we did another experiment in power when we scrapped the good old foam baseball and hand raising in favor of anarchical discussion form. In my opinion, this worked better, nothing against the baseball, but it forced people to speak up and make themselves heard when they had something to say. Of course this is coming from me who has never had a problem opening my big mouth (I may even have the opposite problem).

We also went to the French Embassy and for that I will include a French military joke for your reading pleasure:

Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?

A: We don't know, they never tried

Reflection Week I Don't Even Know Anymore

With much of our focus this week on identity (actually a key word for September 21), I found the trip to the French Embassy in contrast with our identity to be fascinating. When the French diplomat came and spoke to us, what I find most interesting was the idea that European identity is "catching up quickly" with French identity, although he doesn't believe the latter will be surpassed. It almost made me think of how here, we have the people identify themselves as members of a state and also an American. Although he said European identities are a compliment to the country’s identity, the fact that people in Europe are beginning to see themselves as part of the whole continent as oppose to their states shows something about the future. We don’t refer to ourselves as North Americans commonly, although we don’t have a unifying force like the EU in Europe. Still, prior to World War II 60 years ago, people in Europe were fiercely loyal to their countries and wouldn’t have even thought of referring to themselves as European up there with their native country. It’s interesting to think about how much Europe will continue to unify and if there will be more of a melding of culture, which is what gives the countries so much of their separate identities. Although day to day life hasn’t really been affected by this continued unification, how much longer will this last for? Culture is essential to this identity distinction for countries (especially language and art in France) and I think will be what keeps the various European countries holding onto their identities even with the EU, etc.

French Embassy Talk...

In other news, on the note of the French embassy and Sarkozy and generation gaps in the French identity:

Here are the lyrics, roughly, first in French and then English. 

Ma France à moi elle parle fort, elle vit à bout de rêves,

Elle vit en groupe, parle de bled et déteste les règles,

Elle sèche les cours, le plus souvent pour ne rien foutre,

Elle joue au foot sous le soleil souvent du Coca dans la gourde,

C'est le hip-hop qui la fait danser sur les pistes,

Parfois elle kiffe un peu d'rock, ouais, si la mélodie est triste,

Elle fume des clopes et un peu d'shit, mais jamais de drogues dures,

Héroïne, cocaïne et crack égal ordures,

Souvent en guerre contre les administrations,

Leur BEP mécanique ne permettront pas d'être patron,

Alors elle se démène et vend de la merde à des bourges,

Mais la merde sa ramène à la mère un peu de bouffe, ouais.

Parce que la famille c'est l'amour et que l'amour se fait rare

Elle se bat tant bien que mal pour les mettre à l'écart,

Elle a des valeurs, des principes et des codes,

Elle se couche à l'heure du coq, car elle passe toutes ses nuits au phone.

Elle parait faignante mais dans le fond, elle perd pas d' temps,

Certains la craignent car les médias s'acharnent à faire d'elle un cancre,

Et si ma France à moi se valorise c'est bien sûr pour mieux régner,

Elle s'intériorise et s'interdit se saigner. Non...

{Refrain: x2}

C'est pas ma France à moi cette France profonde

Celle qui nous fout la honte et aimerait que l'on plonge

Ma France à moi ne vit pas dans l' mensonge

Avec le coeur et la rage, à la lumière, pas dans l'ombre

Ma France à moi elle parle en SMS, travaille par MSN,

Se réconcilie en mail et se rencontre en MMS,

Elle se déplace en skate, en scoot ou en bolide,

Basile Boli est un mythe et Zinedine son synonyme.

Elle, y faut pas croire qu'on la déteste mais elle nous ment,

Car nos parents travaillent depuis 20 ans pour le même montant,

Elle nous a donné des ailes mais le ciel est V.I.P.,

Peu importe ce qu'ils disent elle sait gérer une entreprise.

Elle vit à l'heure Américaine, KFC, MTV Base

Foot Locker, Mac Do et 50 Cent.

Elle, c'est des p'tits mecs qui jouent au basket à pas d'heure,

Qui rêve d'être Tony Parker sur le parquet des Spurs,

Elle, c'est des p'tites femmes qui se débrouillent entre l'amour,

les cours et les embrouilles,

Qui écoutent du Raï, Rnb et du Zouk.

Ma France à moi se mélange, ouais, c'est un arc en ciel,

Elle te dérange, je le sais, car elle ne te veut pas pour modèle.

{au Refrain, x2}

Ma France à moi elle a des halls et des chambres où elle s'enferme,

Elle est drôle et Jamel Debbouze pourrait être son frère,

Elle repeint les mures et les trains parce qu'ils sont ternes

Elle se plait à foutre la merde car on la pousse à ne rien faire.

Elle a besoin de sport et de danse pour évacuer,

Elle va au bout de ses folies au risque de se tuer,

Mais ma France à moi elle vit, au moins elle l'ouvre, au moins elle rie,

Et refuse de se soumettre à cette France qui voudrait qu'on bouge.

Ma France à moi, c'est pas la leur, celle qui vote extrême,

Celle qui bannit les jeunes, anti-rap sur la FM,

Celle qui s' croit au Texas, celle qui à peur de nos bandes,

Celle qui vénère Sarko, intolérante et gênante.

Celle qui regarde Julie Lescaut et regrette le temps des Choristes,

Qui laisse crever les pauvres, et met ses propres parents à l'hospice,

Non, ma France à moi c'est pas la leur qui fête le Beaujolais,

Et qui prétend s'être fait baiser par l'arrivée des immigrés,

Celle qui pue le racisme mais qui fait semblant d'être ouverte,

Cette France hypocrite qui est peut être sous ma fenêtre,

Celle qui pense qui pense que la police a toujours bien fait son travail,

Celle qui se gratte les couilles à table en regardant Laurent Gerra,

Non, c'est pas ma France à moi, cette France profonde...

Alors peut être qu'on dérange mais nos valeurs vaincront...

Et si on est des citoyens, alors aux armes la jeunesse,

Ma France à moi leur tiendra tête, jusqu'à ce qu'ils nous respectent.

My France she talks loud, she saw at the end of dreams,
She lives in groups, talking about corn and hates rules,
She skipped classes, usually for nothing, fuck,
She plays soccer in the sun, often Coke in the bottle,
This hip-hop dance on the tracks,
Sometimes she gets a little rock, yeah, if the melody is sad,
She smokes and smokes a little shit, but never hard drugs,
Heroin, cocaine and crack are garbage
Often in war against the government,
Their mechanical BEP will not be boss
While she struggles and sells shit to bournemouth,
But the shit get her mother some food, yeah.
Because the family is love and that love is scarce.
She fought as best they can to put them away,
She has values, principles and codes,
She goes to bed at the cock, because she spends all her nights on the phone.
It seems lazy but in reality, it loses no time
Some fear it because the media are struggling to make her a dunce,
And if My France is taken of her worth and conquered,
It is internalized and agrees to bleed. No ...

(Refrain: x2)
Is not My France, that France profonde
The one we give a damn shame for and that would be plunged
My France does not live in the lie
With heart and rage in the light, not in the shadow

My France she speaks in SMS, works with MSN,
It reconciles mail and occurs in MMS
She traveled by skateboard, or scooter by meteor
Basile Boli is a myth and Zinedine synonym.
She will not believe we should hate her but she lies to us,
Because our parents have worked for 20 years for the same amount,
She gave us wings, but the sky is VIP
No matter what they say she can manage a business.
She lives at American, KFC, MTV Base
Foot Locker, MacDonalds and 50 Cent.
It is baby boys who play basketball in no time,
Who dreams of being Tony Parker on the floor Spurs
It is the women who are not doing tites between love,
courses and muddles,
Who listen to Rai, Rnb and Zouk.
My France is mixed, yeah, it's a rainbow,
It bothers you, I know, because she does not want you to model.

(Au Refrain, x2)

My France has halls and rooms where she retreats,
She is funny and Jamel Debbouze could be her brother,
She repainted the mature and trains because they are dull
She likes to fuck shit because it pushes her to do nothing.
She needs to sport and dance to evacuate,
She goes after her folly to risk killing herself,
My France but she saw at least it opens, at least she laughs,
And refuses to submit to this France who wants us to move.
My France is not their own, one who votes extreme
The one that banishes the young, anti-rap on FM
The one that 's believes Texas, one that is afraid of our bands,
One who worships Sarko, intolerant and annoying.
He who looks Julie Lescaut and regrets the time Choristes
Who let the poor die, and puts his own parents at the hospital,
No, My France is not theirs, which celebrates the Beaujolais
And who claims to have been screwed by the arrival of immigrants,
The racism that stinks but pretends to be open,
This France hypocrite who may be under my window,
He who thinks who thinks that the police have always done a good job,
The one who scratches his balls at the table watching Laurent Gerra
That's not my France to me, the deepest France ...
So maybe we will vanquish our values but disturbing ...
What if we are citizens, while the arms Youth
My France held their head until they respect us.

Interessant, non?




I'm sorry about the highlighting, I can't make it go away. Wah.

wree you arawe taht the hamun mnid can raed lkie tihs as lnog as the frsit and lsat leettrs are the smae?

It's due largely to the way the brain is wired to receive information. It only actually works with words that we recognize as wholes and that we see frequently enough though, imposing limitations on what (for a while) was thought to be a rule of the human mind. For instance:

TEHRE

It says there. Did you get it?

FLOOSIH

foolish, right?

ATCCUUURPNE

Anybody get acupuncture?

A vast majority of people will get the first one,  a solid majority the second, and very few get the third. If you got acupuncture, actually, I'm willing to bet you're either interested in acupuncture, dyslexic, or do those scramble things in the newspaper sometimes. Speaking of those things, if you only got acupuncture by trolling through it like those newspaper words, it doesn't count. You're supposed to just be able to understand it instantly. 

Which is sort of how international politics work. (Finally, right?!) There are things that, even when they look sort of wrong, we read correctly because we're used to adjusting for and to the things around us. Not until they look REALLY wrong do we sort of go, 'hrm, how can i fix this'. There are social norms in the global society; don't kill other people's people, don't kill civilians, try to maintain a presentable image, etc. These expectations are often disappointed, and in those instances we have a tendency to ignore it if we can, to "read it" as if it were normal, and hence they aren't really very well upheld. So while we do have social norms and expectations on the global level, they don't really actually serve to limit nations actions until the word gets too big and we are forced to acknowledge its wrong-ness.

speaking of wrong-ness...

Unfortunately, letting it escalate in this manner leads to situations that are exceedingly difficult to repair. (i.e. the well used examples of Stalin, Lenin, and Walt Disney. Perhaps if someone had called them on their extensive power beforehand, we would have avoided the great purge, the red terror, and the inability to get children's movies songs out of our heads.) It's not that we entirely choose to ignore them for our own self interest. We're just prone to ignoring the little anbroalmtieis (abnormalities, anyone?) and assuming they'll fix themselves. 

That is all, lest I tangent more.