Commitment

A pledge to support a policy then reinforced by any actions necessary to maintain that policy requires sacrifice, determination, and endurance. That is commitment.
     From the last decades of the eighteenth century to the civil wars marring the land today, subjects and citizens of nations have risen up to claim their own political and economic freedoms.
     The American Founding Fathers began the experiment of modern democracy through a three-branched republic. While some of the men paid gravely for their treasonous decisions, the desire for liberty and political self-determination encouraged the revolution to press on. Similarly, men seeking to gain political power outside of the three estates began a revolution in France a decade after the Americans. Trying to override the centuries of systematic tradition left the European terrain bloody from executions of nobles and peasants, soldiers and saints, instigators and innocents. No group surrendered peaceably because all saw themselves as right. Another example of men seeking independence is the Indian colonization by Britain in 1757 which ended in 1947 after forty-two years of constant opposition from the Indian peoples. The nation fought for independence while simultaneously supporting Britain through two world wars.
     These examples only exhibit large movements of a deterministic, steadfast commitment to the ideal of independence and freedom. Individuals have committed their lives to various independence movements through history with particular emphasis in the last few centuries from Simon Bolivar's revolution in South America to Martin Luther's clerical reform that sparked the Reformation to the industrial revolution that introduced a new materialistic mindset on world wealth.

     Commitments do not always result in the fall of government, rebellion, revolution, or war. Justinian I of Constantinople chose not to flee during the Nika riots. Instead, the emperor suppressed the public outburst, cemented his role, and took opportunity from the destructive riots to create architectural masterpieces that awe the world today. Commitment results in change, but the change can be catastrophic like the French Revolution or beautiful like the Hagia Sophia.
     Hanging on through the rough patches to achieve what is desired and see the greatness of accomplishment is why endurance is highly prized. Humanity is unique in its robust ability to subdue its surrounding environment, but while changes are occurring out of your control, a true test of your determination is your willingness to hold steady and finish the task at hand.
     If you believe strongly enough, it is worth it.


Happy anniversary, Jessica!
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Agatha Tyche

A Lesson in Empathy

    Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

     Here is a mental exercise. Take what you are most devoted to and passionate about and convert that into a feeling of patriotism for your country. Imagine four years of rain, mud, bullets, and dead friends culminating in losing the war against your most hated enemy. The enemy then forces your nation, that you love most dearly, to pay for the entire cost of the war, never form a military again, and surrender valuable tracks of land.
     After your participation in the largest battles of the war and seeing the courage and strength of your nation only to have it surrender, you feel betrayed. Not by your enemy or the soldiers you fought alongside. Instead, the political backbone of the nation surrendered, destroying the triumph of the military efforts.
     Now imagine, after four years of devoted, unfailing service, after betrayal by the thing you most loved, you raise up opposition to end this political monstrosity that has taken the place of  your beloved country. You are arrested for acting out your beliefs, but, eventually, you are released. Sharing your thoughts with your friends, they pass on your inspiring ideas to give hope to the people. Your people. Who lost all dignity, wealth, and hope after the war. With a surge of emotion, you announce a plan to achieve just revenge against the enemies that destroyed your country and your people. The adversaries responsible for the imploded economy and the death of millions of brave men.
     After years of planning, you succeed in getting large-scale attention and support for your revenge plan. In fact, you go a step further and say that victory will be a new world. A better world where success will out last the lives of your supporters - and the lives of their children and grandchildren  - in a version of stabilized, near-eternal glory.
     But you fail to achieve this dream for millions of your countrymen. The antagonistic countries oppose your dream, and they fear and hate you just as you fear and hate them. How can inspirations of greatness and righteous revenge be objected to? Because they were accompanied by mass racial genocides.
Can you empathize with Adolf Hitler?

     Part of what historians must do to succeed in understanding history is to stand in the shoes of the people that experienced it. For another example, to understand the impact of Martin Luther's Reformation, historians place themselves in Luther's life to flush out motivations. After this the lives of church officials, royalty, nobles, and the common people of all nationalities are similarly related to to explain history's reactions as they progress. Whether or not these individual perspectives are accurate is unimportant since to understand actions, the initial biases must be empathized with. A true test of a historian is to relate to the most disagreeable characters while sharing bias, prejudice, and conviction in order to portray history as the past actually happened.

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Agatha Tyche