Prompt 8/31/2009

Upon reading both intros, I discovered that comparative government was a social science - something I'd probably known before but of which I hadn't been consciously aware. I am used to taking strictly history classes, but comparative government is something very different. I enjoy learning history and about events that occurred in the past, but I'm excited to learn about current events in a different way than I have in previous history courses. Comparative government is the study and comparison of countries in similar situations. These studies begin with a hypothesis to come to a conclusion as to why a country is the way it is. The singular country, however, cannot be examined alone. To draw a truly educated conclusion, this country must be compared to others in similar situations. Learning the skills to make hypothesis and conclusions about current events today is very exciting to me.

I think this course will teach me to understand politics (and the world) much better than I do now. It will teach me not only to know current events, but to really understand them and try to figure out why they are happening. This skill, however, is easier said than done. From reading, I've learned that comparative politics is a particularly challenging and unsure science. The inability to have controlled variables - like a natural scientist in a lab - makes conducting "comparative" experiments difficult and challenging. Dealing with something so fickle as politics will definitely prove to be a great challenge in this course.

Suicide Bomber Rams Truck Into Police Station in Russia, Killing 20

On Monday, a suicide bomber drove a truck filled with explosives into the police headquarters of Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia. The explosion killed twenty people and wounded many more. This most recent attack undermines the already doubted authority of the populist president Yunus-Beck Yevkorov who has decided to combat rebel violence with a softer approach. In response to this attack, President Medvedev ordered that Ingushetia’s interior minister be fired and that the interior minister, Rashid Nurgaliyen, to strengthen Ingushetia’s polices forces. This attack is a sign to leaders that Yevkorov’s experiment in reconciliation with opposition leaders has failed.

Not only does this bombing shock people all over the world, but it also raises the question of Russia’s national security and how well they are dealing with violence. How to deal with rebellion is a complicated question. The recent bombing and violent acts show that it is not easily handled with a soft touch or with reconciliation. However, how much strength should be given to the police department before internal corruption begins? How much power is too much? Brute force is not always the best way to handle violence – fire is not always best fought with fire.

Schwirtz, Michael. “20 Die In Suicide Bombing in Russia.” The New York Times. 17

August 2009. The New York Times. 23 August 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/world/europe/18russia.html>.

The Women's Crusade

Men have been the economical, political, and social leaders in many different cultures for centuries. Until the twentieth century, women were considered only as housewives and mothers, as though they were got good enough to lead and work. And though in many cultures, this view as changed, in places such as Pakinstan, India, and China, these stereotypes of women as cooks and child-bearers still hold true. In these families, men are in complete control over their wives, over money, over their children. And yet, women seem to have a better grasp at dealing with these things. Though men try to tell the children what to do, mothers are the ones who truly raise the children. When men get ahold of money, they will spend it on frivolous things -- alcohol, prostitutes, and other luxuries. Women would be much more careful by spending money on education, children, or saving. They tend to prioritize, while many men are merely greedy.

On the Ivory Coast, both men and women grow crops for a profit. When the men's crops have a good year, they spend the majority of their money tobacco and alcohol. However, when women's crops have a good harvest, women spend their profit on food and nutrition. Children are healthier when women prosper versus when the prosper. If women are always this prosperous, the quality of life in these regions could improve greatly. Not only would poverty become less of a problem, but children would live longer and health would improve.

In China, woman are now finding work in factories. During the Industrial Revolution, working in a factory was seen as exploitation, but in for impoverished women in China, it is empowering. Many of them are the breadwinners of the family. Chinese men are doing more domestic chores and daughters are becoming more valued. Not only do urban families settle for a daughter, they may prefer one, for she is more likely to take better care of her parents in their old age.

It is also interesting to notice that men don't seem to think women deserve education, but when women are educated and empowered, the can contribute greatly to their community. If more women are educated, instead of either dying young or being enslaved, many failing countries could become stronger and more prominent. The best hope for these countries right now is not going to war or bombing their enemies, but the education of it's women.

Men's fickle attitudes towards women are surprising to me. Saima Muhammad was a woman who's life was falling apart until she became self-sufficient and took the initiative to begin her own embroidery business. Her husband was unemployed, so she took it upon herself to become the support of her family. Before her business, Saima's husband would beat her and treat her as though she were totally irrelevant. He was even contemplating taking a second wife who would possibly bear him a son, since Saima had only given him daughters. When Saima went to the Kashf Foundation to get a $65 loan to start her business, she became the main supporter of the family. Her self-sufficiency earned her a great deal of respect from her husband. Saima's story proves that if more girls are educated in Pakinstan, India, and China to become business women and earn a salary, less families will suffer from poverty, leading ultimately to the reversal of poverty in those counties.

Before reading Three Cups of Tea and this article, I would not have thought women's education would be so crucial to improvement of these countries. Of course, I have always thought women should be treated equally and deserved education. Everyone deserves a chance to learn and succeed. But reading these two pieces have opened my eyes to since such a simple solution to a huge problem. Putting money in the hands of men has proven ineffective. However, when women are in control, they are more responsible. The education of women could change the poor state of these countries forever. And when the issues in these countries begin to improve, the United States' relationship with these countries will improve.