Kim Jong-il has died.

And now, we got bad news. A great leader since Kim il-Sung, the son of that leader, Kim Jong-il, has died on Dec. 17, 2011. He was a great Korean leader, that helped transform Korea. Under his rule, Korea suffered through a famine but it rapidly rebounded. He was a leader that modernized Korea, and now without him, what will Korea go through next?

In my opinion, I feel sad that the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il has passed on. He was a great source of inspiration, a hero to all Koreans. Now that he is gone, where will Kim Jong-un lead Korea? Will he make DPRK pro-American? And did the USA assassinate Kim Jong-il?

Answers to Mr. Catton's Questions - 12 to 15

Answer the following questions on your blog in paragraph form. Make sure you use proper paragraph structure, punctuation and grammar.

1. How can movements such as The Wave be defeated?

For movements like the Wave to be Defeated, we have a few answers. One answer could be directly criticizing movements like the Wave, to say things that are against the Wave, for example, and have support from the other members of the opposition. Secondly, an idea can be joining the group, and then all of a sudden have a speech that criticizes the higher levels of the group, and demand that the group ceases its actions against the other group. A third idea can be not joining, because if you do not join a group, you will not be contributing to the mess it makes, like for example, the Wave damaging the relationships between Laurie and David. That is why they broke up, since David was part of the Wave, but Laurie criticized it, for example. Why do they want to join a group that will take away their individualism and rights in the long term? The possible reason could be to protect them from a threat, in the Wave's case, the non-members, and in the case of the Nazis, the communists. Thus, these are the methods that groups such as the Wave can be defeated.

2. What does this film say about authority and power?

If one person becomes the sole leader of a group, and has absolute authority over others, he could have good intentions, but where does it turn bad? It turns bad if you encourage people to hurt others, because of some characteristic, like being disabled, or a communist, for example. That could easily damage ones own reputation, but if the person cultivates a cult of personality, and rewards members of the group, for obedience, they could still have "support" from the members of the group. Thus, one can easily grow too authoritarian, and transform into a dictator, like many a person, now in the pages of history, has done. To quote an old saying, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." Therefore, this what the film says about authority and power.

3. What does this experiment say about the cause of the Holocaust?

The question one can pose to this concept is "How could many good German peoples do really horrible things and follow the one that can damage Germany in the long term?" The experiment says that one feels that it is not their fault if they harm someone else, if the group wants that person removed from the face of the Earth, and that it is not their fault, but rather, the group. One proof of that is by the Nazi guard, that even in the present day, has no regrets for the actions that he did, because Adolf Hitler told him to do the killings. So, because of that, if one stable group rises in a country like Somalia, one will want to join, to make the country, like Somalia, stronger, to form a greater Somalia. Therefore, the experiment proves that if one can reward members for obedience, they can follow the party, for fear of punishment.

Rise of the Nazi Party - ESSAY and SPEECH

This is my essay of the Rise of the Nazi Party for the assignment. This is the blog copy, since essays are to be on the blog. The italic in the last paragraph, is sarcasm. You will know why. ;) Anyhow, comment, comment, comment.

It was November 1918. All hope had been lost, for the German Kaiser was defeated. The German Empire had crumbled, its Kingdoms now a republic. Its empire was no more, the victory secured by the allies. It all seems like the Germans deserved to pay it, after all, while a Bosnian Serb started the First World War, Germany has to take the blame. The once great German nation was gone. Was it ever going to rise again? Or was Germany going to become a puppet state, devoid of a leader, and never going to attack anyone? Henceforth, the speech I will be making is the rise of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, or for short, the NSDAP.

In the early years of the NSDAP, we describe how Hitler joined the party, and the era before the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. In 1919, Germany finally suffers defeat as it was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, negotiated between the allies and the Central Powers. One of its clauses was to place the blame of the war, the starter of the war, to Germany. While Germany tries to negotiate, in Germany itself, the German Worker’s Party, the forerunner to the NSDAP, had a right-wing ideology. One man, born in Austria, was to give life into the party. Adolf Hitler, a former corporal of the German Army joins this group. Due to his speeches, one by one, he began to take a right-wing course, emphasising National Socialism, or Nazism. By 1920, the party has three thousand members, and by the following year, Hitler becomes the Fuhrer, or Leader of the Party.

Here, we describe Hitler’s attempted coup in Munich, in 1923, his trial, and his time in prison. In 1923, Hitler finally attempts a coup d’état in Munich, to try and overthrow the local authorities in Munich, known as the Beer Hall Putsch. He unfortunately has failed, and was arrested. From there, he was charged of High Treason, and so were other Nazi Party leaders.  However, while he was on trial, he used it as a propaganda platform against the Weimar Republic, and thus, after twenty-four days, he got a five year sentence, with early parole. During his time in prison, he wrote “Mein Kampf” or “My Struggle,” which reveals his nationalism, desire of a pure “Aryan” race, and elimination of other races, such as Poles, Jews, Gypsies, communists and those with disabilities. Thus, the book became a foundation for the ideology of the NSDAP, or the Nazi Party, and the Holocaust.

Now, in this part of the speech, we describe the time when Hitler began the NSDAP’s rise into power, up to the Wall Street Crash in 1929, which triggered the Great Depression, a worldwide economic crisis. In 1925, Paul von Hindenburg was elected as the President of Germany. Germany was stabilized, when that conservative military hero came into power. However, by that point, Hitler was now beginning to mobilize a mass movement, to help form a core body, for a future German government. Now, many organizations affiliated with the NSDAP were forming, like the Hitler Youth, the Student League, and the Pupils League, that were open to young Germans, whilst the females were allowed in the National Socialist Women’s league. With that, there were organizations, such as the S.A., of which the S.S. was born, as an elite division of the S.A. From 1925 to 1927, they failed to attract people from the large cities of Germany, like Berlin, and Munich, for example, so when they did poorly in the 1928 Elections, it only won 2.9% of the seats in the Reichstag. Due to that, they had to switch strategies, to rural Germany, blaming the Jews for Germany’s problems.

Finally, we reach the era between 1929 and 1932, of which during that period, the Great Depression occurs, and had impacted Germany. In 1929, the Wall Street Crash impacts the German economy, and thus, it begins a domino effect. Within a few years, unemployment grew from three million persons to six million persons, which was a third of Germany’s population, and due to that, the Grand Coalition, a “salad” of liberal and conservative parties collapsed while arguing over how to fix it. Finally, the German government pressured Paul von Hindenburg to impose emergency laws, to stabilize the Weimar Republic. The demise of the democracy in the Weimar Republic had begun, for a democratic government was now ruled by decrees, with chancellors instead of democratically elected politicians. The first Chancellor under the new system, Heinrich Brüning attempted to stabilize the Weimar Republic but it fails, causing new elections in 1930, with the NSDAP winning 18.3% of the seats. This was a victory for the NSDAP, for it became the second largest party in the Reichstag.  In 1932, however, 84 year old Hindenburg’s term was ending. As much as he did not want to run, and retire, he knew that if he did, Adolf Hitler would become President of the Weimar Republic, so he reluctantly runs for office once more. After many a debate, campaigns and efforts by both sides, Hindenburg won, but Hitler won 37% of the votes. The Government of the Weimar Republic was still on the edge, appearing like it is to fall off the metaphorical cliff. Did it even appear like it will survive? As arguments and debates upon the senior political leaders occurred, they did not think that Hitler will manoeuvre himself to the top of the German crown, so thus, they under-estimated his abilities. It was too late, by that point. Within several months, the Weimar Republic was to end and a Third Reich was beginning to rise, to be led by Hitler.

This was my speech of the rise of NSDAP, known as the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, or known to many English speakers as the Nazi Party. In this speech, I described the NSDAP early years, his Beer Hall Putsch in Munich in 1923, and his time in prison. We also described the NSDAP’s rise to power, from a small political party to a “dark horse” in German Politics, able to out-manoeuvre its rivals, to institute a beginning of a 1,000 year Empire, filled with happiness and joy for all. This is how a group of ex-soldiers, within 15 years, grew from many small political groups that followed right wing ideologies, to a party that controlled German society. In conclusion, I leave you with one question. Did the National Socialist German Worker’s Party have good intentions in mind, but ended up a corrupt party that seeks a pure Aryan race? Or did the party have those views all along, and wanted absolute power? The choice is up to you.

What I would have asked Father Maynard (AN EXPOSITORY ESSAY)

What I will ask Father Maynard
By Odin Callahan Swidzinski

            Many survivors of the Residential School system testify that the system has destroyed their culture, and in turn, their identity. However, we wonder whether the system had good intentions, but in the long term was marked with corruption, leading to the mistreatment of the First Nations. We also believe that they could possibly be over-exaggerating the mistreatment, so that they could have an excuse to preserve their own culture. However, some of the mistreatment could be at one residential school, which is called Kuiper Island Residential School, located off the coast of Victoria Island. They had plenty of students and staff, and even a headmaster who was later indicted with sexual abuse against the Residential School students. Thus, what I am going to discuss is the questions I would ask Father Maynard.

            I would ask Father Maynard what was his opinion on the Residential Schools. For him, he would respond, that he believed the Residential Schools helped the First Nations become a “civilized” ethnic group, instead of what they try to damage everything the Europeans have known. He would’ve said that we taught them how to farm, to work at a job, and to instil traditional European values onto the Aboriginals. Thus, another thing he could’ve said that we taught them English, mathematics, how to read English, and European science, because he felt the European model was much superior to the Aboriginal model. However, he would’ve also cited that in the long term, they helped the Aboriginals become a contributor to society.

            Another thing I would’ve asked him was why he was so determined for the First Nations to adopt European values when they could exchange ideas, just like how they did it with Hudson’s Bay Company. He may reply that at the time, the Europeans believed that they were superior to the First Nations, and because of that opinion, many believed that dominant opinion about the First Nations. Even in the 1950s and 1960s, he was enforcing the Federal Government’s orders to maintain the European values instead of the First Nation culture that used to dominate the Dominion of Canada. To quote A.O. Neville, “he would’ve attempted to protect the Aboriginal peoples from themselves.”  Thus, that was why we wanted to “civilize” the Indians. We did not treat them like how Rome treated trade to China in the past. At the time, we treated them like what they were at the time. Therefore, we did not want any Aboriginals to follow their values, but instead to follow a new culture, the European culture.

            Finally, I would’ve asked Father Maynard whether he regrets the actions of what he did when he was the headmaster of Kuiper Island Residential School. He could have responded that he admitted to his share of the atrocities that were committed in the Residential School System, from beatings to sexual abuse, and even taking First Nation children away to head to the Residential School. However, at the time, it was the orders of the Dominion of Canada for him to take the children away and make them attend the Residential School in Kuiper Island. It may have been wrong, but he may have wanted, like many others, to civilize the First Nations in Vancouver Island, to try to make them more European, to adopt a new identity that is European. He may have regretted the long term results and the damage that has impacted the First Nations ethnic groups in Vancouver Island. Thus, I would’ve summed up that he regrets for doing his part in the Residential Schools, but that at the time, he was following orders from the Dominion of Canada.

            The topic I had discussed was what I would’ve asked Father Maynard. I would have asked him what his opinion on the Residential School system was, and he could’ve replied that it had good intentions but due to corruption, it went downhill. I could’ve asked him why Europeans were so determined to eradicate the First Nations identity from the Dominion of Canada, and he may have replied that it was to “civilize” the First Nations and adopt a European identity. Finally, I would ask whether he regrets his role for the actions during the Residential School system, and he could have regretted what he had done for the First Nations in Canada, but that it was due to orders from the Government. To conclude this essay, I leave you with one question. Was the Residential Schools had good intentions or was bad all along? The choice is yours to make.

Plan