"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine

"There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of Monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of a king shuts him from the World, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly; wherefore the different parts, by unnaturally opposing and destroying each other, prove the whole character to be absurd and useless."

This excerpt explains that a citizen wasn't allowed to know about where their money goes and what is going on, but can do things that can be extremely positive or negative and requires thought. Also, the King follows his own special laws made just for him, but is required to know about everything that goes on across the Atlantic in the colonies.

"It hath lately been asserted in parliament, that the Colonies have no relation to each other but through the Parent Country i.e. that Pennsylvania and the Jerseys, and so on for the rest, are sister Colonies by the way of England; this is certainly a very roundabout way of proving relationship, but it is the nearest and only true way of proving enmity (or enemyship, if I may so call it). France and Spain never more, nor perhaps ever will be, our enemies as Americans, but as our being the subjects of Great Britain. "

This excerpt is saying that each colony in America are only part of one nation through Great Britain, and because they are then British, they have to share the same enemies as Great Britain, even though they would never be enemies if the colonies were a separate nation from Engalnd.

"But, admitting that we were all of English descent, what does it amount to? Nothing. Britain, being now an open enemy, extinguishes every other name and title: and to say that reconciliation is our duty, is truly farcical. The first king of England, of the present line (William the Conqueror) was a Frenchman, and half the peers of England are descendants from the same country; wherefore, by the same method of reasoning, England ought to be governed by France."

This excerpt means that the colonists, even though they have Britsh blood, are not British in any other way because England is the colonies' enemy. Also, the first french king of England being French, along with half the citizens, does not mean that England is ruled by France and that the colonies should not be ruled by England.

http://www.sagehistory.net/revolution/topics/PaineCommonSense.html

What is Enlightenment?

1. He says that "freedom" is ability to be able to share his opinions with the public and makee good use out of them.

2. He thinks that the more free we are, the more enligtened.

3. People becme enlightened by leaving behind their childish immaturity along with other people.

4. He uses religion, a major political issue, as an example of enlightenment.

Pericles Funeral Oration

1. What makes Athens great is the fact that they have a strong army that fights in portions, yet they still win. Also, they are well educated at an early age and don't exclude anyone from Athens.

2. Athens fighting / army style is different compared to other city-states. Sparta fights with not only their entire army, but with their allies. Athens on the other hand only fights with part of their army.

3. Their are some things wrong with Pericles' description of Athens. He describes a man who minds his own business as "good for nothing." Everyone is good for something, even if it doesn't have something to do with you personally.

Plato & Aristotle Notes

Plato
Lived from 428 B.C. - 347 B.C.
He was a son and descendent of Kings
He was aristocratic (rich)
His mother married Pericles
He was well-educated
He was a student of Socrates
He was forced to watch the excecution of Socrates in 399 B.C.
He left Athens to travel
When he returned, he created the first university called "the Academy" in Athens
He wrote a lot of dialogues about what he believes
He came up with the idea of Atlantis
He came up with the idea of Hell
He thought that the state should contain 3 parts:

1. Desiring (Lower Class)
2. Spirited (Middle Class)
3. Rational (Upper Class)

People who were in the upper class were well-educated

Some in the upper class who took a position in government had to give up their land, money, etc.

Aristotle

Lived from 384 B.C. - 322 B.C.

He was one of the most famous philosophers and scientists of Athens

His father was a royal physician

He moved to Athens at 17 years old and enrolled at "the Academy"

He became a teacher at "the Academy"

His home was sacked by the Macedonians, so he was not able to go back home after Plato died and the school closed

He took off to Asia Minor and married one of the King's daughters

He moved to the Macedonian capital of Pella and became friendswith King Phillipe II

He became Alexander the Great's personal tutor

He created his own school called "Lyceum" which was a parapetetic school

Alexander the Great died n 323 B.C.

He spent his last year away from school in a family compound and died a year later

He thought of geocentricity which was later proven wrong

He thought of the elements

He thought that denser objects of the same material and size would fall faster than less dense objects, which was also proven wrong

He thought that every species produces its own type (no evolution)

Plato thought that the perfect ruler should be a lover of mankind, which probably started getting into his head when a past ruler ordered the excecution of Socrates.

Aristotle thought women shoudl have equal rights as men throughout each state, which is probably because the rights were so varied depending on who you were and where you lived.

Top 10 World Issues

Here is a list of my top 10 global issues today.

10. Oil
Oil is an important issue because the oil levels are depleating and we are just starting to come up with alternatives. Most of the oil left is in the middle east, creating more dispute over who owns it. Also, the more the oil depletes, the higher the price is raised, which leads to money just being dumped down the drain at the expense of the government.

9. Iraq
Too many soldiers and civilians and dieing in the war over in Iraq. This war has gone on way too long and is pointless, yet people are still dieing over it.

8. World Debt
Many countries are in major debt including a lot of third world countries and the United States of America. We have to try and pay off these debts, even though there are many more important things we could and should do with the money.

7. Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are destroying natural habitats and manmade homes. This is creating more poverty around the world and pollution of rubble and trash from torn up homes.

6. Human Rights
Human rights vary throughtout the world, but they all discriminate against someone. This is going to lead to another revolt like we've had in the past, but at a much larger level with the technology available today.

5. Poverty
Poverty is important because the homeless rate and hunger rate are growing and we have nowhere to put them and nothing to feed them.

4. Nuclear Weapons
Many countries that rival each other are developing the technology of nuclear weapons. This will lead to the start of a nuclear war. Everyone in the war could die, plus people not even near it because of all the radiation given off.

3. AIDS / HIV
AIDS and HIV are really important because they are spreading around the world and their is still no cure. It is one of the most abundant causes of death.

2. Human Population Growth
Human population growth is really important because the world population is still growing rapidly. Eventually we are going to run out of room on Earth and in the process, destory habitats for other species around the world.

1. Global Warming
Global Warming is one of the most important issues today because the atmosphere is heating up rapidly, which is melting polar ice caps. This is destroying habitats for nothern and southern widlife. It is also making sea levels rise, causing dramatic changes all over the world.