An Extroverted Introvert: The American History of Isolationism and Expansionism

     Being an ocean away from its European parents, America has long been an individualist, isolationist nation peopled by self-motivation and determination, yet a nation that was founded to oust external influence now is the most extroverted country in the world which is a complete reversal of its initial political stance.
     The first American president, George Washington, set the tone for American isolationism with his precedent of non-interference and, especially, his Farewell Address.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government. the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

This statement significantly impacted American foreign policy for over a century. The Monroe Doctrine officially stated this U.S. policy from 1823 until 1904.
     The United States, with its incredible ethnic and religious diversities, has always been divided on issues; however, since the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the 1780s over the Constitution, the "negative" side has always lost. No significant debate in American history has been won by a side that is "anti-" which explains the modern abortion debate labels of "pro-life" and "pro-choice." That said, American foreign policy has always brought domestic disagreement.
     Despite the war hawk nature of the American spirit, foreign policy remained stable until the late nineteenth century. As European nations began to colonize all parts of the world, some Americans feared being left technologically, economically, and militaristically behind the European states.
     From 1880-1904 the anti-expansionist cause fought American imperialist policy. These anti-expansionist "Mugwumps" fought against American claims on overseas territories such as the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). William McKinley's election to president in 1897 and the Spanish-American War in 1898 drained the anti-expansionists of a political voice. The Spanish-American war was America’s first interventionist war, and it set the tone for America’s foreign policy in the twentieth century.
     The Mugwumps's arguments against colonialism were defeated by the political precedent of America's Manifest Destiny - the century long process of continental expansion and settlement.

     As the long standing isolationist period fell to an imperial ideology, the war hawk blood lust of America faded as well. With the United States policing the Philippines in East Asia and the Banana Republics of Central America, the intensity, cost, and commitment of World War I deterred the general American population from entangling itself with the great European powers. It is fitting that World War I bloodied America's hands as Europe's, for one of the most feared warnings the Mugwumps had stated was that colonial expansionism would end America's militaristic innocence. These warnings were proved true in Cuba, the Philippines, Central America, and Europe - all within a decade.

     As World War I closed, America withdrew once again only to re-emerge in 1941 with a war spirit matched only by Stalin's U.S.S.R. The remainder of the twentieth century revealed how far America would stray from her isolationist roots to become bloodied in the involvement of "liberty" and "independence" around the world. Despite the incredible wealth, love of war, and history of expansion, America was never built to be a ruler nation. Her people's heart has always been isolationist, and her founding document, the Constitution, gives no reference to global involvement.
     America began as a small, independent nation that rejoiced in its separation from the warring countries of Europe. It conquered its whole continent in only a century but could not further restrain its greed for growth. Despite a divided people who wished to leave the world to its own problems, America bathed in the blood of a century to "police" half the world and "protect" lesser nations from the "evil" clutches of its Soviet competitor.
     Finally, after seventy years of war, a decade of fruitless struggle in the Middle East, and a stagnant economy, isolationist sentiment within the United States is growing again. Most Americans are happy to leave the world alone, but the political leaders, hungry for more power, seek to disrupt the "injustices" of the world and "liberate" by subjugation to the American military.
     As difficult as it is to see a people apart from its government, a country is more than its officials. The Islamic nations are undergoing "spring," Eastern Europe is struggling for an identity between the might of Western Europe and Russia, and the two richest nations, America and China, have populations that are happy to leave other nations alone. As diplomacy affects the globalized interconnections of all nations, do not despair that governments are corrupt and power hungry. The majority of people in the world are content with food and friendship, so go about your day with a smile and remember that whatever language or culture people have, life is a blessing.

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Agatha Tyche

Road to Tenochtitlan

     "Interesting" is always occurring. Whether you prefer technological advancements, medical miracles, archaeological digs, or political maneuverings, the world is full of coincidences, twisting plots, and ironic actions.
     Christopher Columbus is usually credited with discovering the New World in 1492. Most textbooks ignore the suspected Viking expeditions, stories of shipwrecked sailors, and historic possibilities that China, Rome, and Greece had access to the Western Hemisphere, never mind the estimated 20-60 million people already populating the Americas before Columbus. When arriving on an island somewhere in the Caribbean, Columbus concluded that he had arrived in the Eastern Hemisphere, incorrectly assuming this "New World" was Asia. At this time the Spanish were competing with the Portuguese for a trade empire and sought riches in this new land. Thus, the conquistadors arrived in ships with gun powder weaponry intent on dominating a heavily populated continent. Suspecting this new land to be filled with gold, the Spanish traipsed through the continent to encounter several powerful civilizations.
     Because of the successful obliteration of pre-Colombian societies, all sorts of Spanish-sponsored myths have sprung up that alter accurate historical insights. Despite the popularity of the belief that Moctezuma announced Hernando Cortes as an anthropomorphized form of Quetzalcoatl, a god, the Aztec's understood their own superiority over their Spanish guests and believed themselves safe in the strength of their numeric advantage, imperial dominance, and secure military might. The Spaniards, with a total army of about a thousdand men, only succeeded in their conquest by turning vast numbers of indigenous groups against the Aztec overlords.

     The Spanish efforts were nearly entirely focused on financial accumulation in the suspected, readily available quantities of gold, but the first decades of interaction between the Old and New worlds saw "wealth" mainly through slavery. Interestingly, if the natives of South America had treated their European guests in the sixteenth century the same way as their North American brethren had repelled the Baltic colonists in the ninth century, the difficulty of an army traversing the Atlantic en mass would have severely limited the effectiveness of the European New World domination, but that is not what happened.
     History is filled with "what if's" that will never be answered. Circumstances, timing, coincidence, and opportunities either unravel or weave the tapestry of the past whose threads entangle the present with gifts, curses, and curiosities. Predictions, estimates, and theories only go so far in determining the path the future treads. Action is what marks the pages of history, inspires the glorious monuments of fleeting empires, and erases the smoldering ruins of change to give way for new greatness.
     Fear is an ally or an enemy, but he chooses a side just as surely as time marches on. Advance or defend - the choice is yours, but history remembers courage even in defeat.


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Agatha Tyche

Diamond-Water Paradox

     The Diamond-Water paradox embodied the transformation of Europe from mercantilism to be one of the cornerstones to modern capitalistic economic theory. Supply and Demand are assumed  to be obviously coupled in this century, but all ideas are revolutionary at some point. Originating in the eighteenth century, the Diamond-Water paradox stated a counter example to the then prominent Mercantilism theory of absolute value of objects by stating a man dying of thirst in a desert would trade the most valuable diamond in the world for water because the diamond, at that moment, was worthless to him since it could not save his life.
     Items are worth their value - which is dependent upon the situation. As the human population continues to increase, water consumption around the world, especially in areas with a low water table, has reached levels too high for underground reservoirs to maintain. Los Angelos, United States is the third largest city, but all of its water is siphoned from the Colorado River. This aqueduct has significantly escalated desertification in the southern United States and northern Mexico. The Sahara's increasing populations to the south, notably Nigeria, and to the north in Libya and Egypt.

     In two hundreds years the paradox has become truth. While diamonds are less common than water, the value and utility of the most necessary liquid is constantly being evaluated. The world worries about water, yet some oases retain wasteful levels of overuse, particularly the suburbs of industrialized nations.
     Much like the man dying of thirst in the desert who is willing to trade all his wealth for only a glass of water, the world population may soon find out how valuable fresh water is. Unfortunately, as with so much else, few people will realize our doomed trajectory until the cliff's edge is already behind us. That is for the next decade of minds to resolve. Today merely eat, drink, and be merry. The prevention of tomorrow's problems requires too much inconvenience today.
     Efficiency, practicality, and forethought will greatly extend current water reserves, but ignorance and waste has long been the defeat of mankind.


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Agatha Tyche

Maelstrom

     The title of this blog is incoherent. "Wyyes: microcosm" is intentionally enigmatic because it means exactly what the author desires without cluing in a casual observer. The meaning of this article is similarly convoluted, but as much of life is, the presence of confusion does not imply a lack of function or purpose; because a topic is difficult to convey does not mean that the topic is useless. The first time a chef makes a dish, the end result is not always the desired product, but patience, a working understanding of food chemistry, and the determination to persevere combine, sift, and combine to formulate later successes.

     What is a "malestrom" other than a word used to convey fear of the uncontrollable forces of nature? A chaotic current twists and pulls with an unpredictable flow that dictates the direction of watery paths.
     The thoughts of man meander along similar lines through the settings of time. Tangible yet difficult to see, thoughts seem to follow no direction, but once pulled in, there is no escape. History, society, politics, science, and the interrelationships that tie seemingly unconnected things into a powerful, conglomerated entity that forces humanity to either strive for avoidance (nuclear war) or to strive toward (ending global hunger).

     This concept is not new. The secondary definition of "maelstrom" is "a scene or state of confused and violent movement or upheaval." The turbulence of life displaces, disorients, and disenfranchises most efforts to subdue the natural forces around us. While it is nearly impossible to harness nature, by studying its patterns, rhythms, and motions, large scale implementation of improvement attempts is more readily uncovered. 

     Man is unpredictable yet powerfully motivated. Nature is the perfect depiction of inconceivable strength. Both can be ignored and avoided, but once you begin the advance, there is no retreat - from hurricanes to the minds of men, the forces churns with unbridled curiosity.

     The world is turning,

     Man is yearning,

     Time moves on - 

     And so will I.

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Agatha Tyche

Anarchic Desires

     Since revolution means "to revolve" or "to return to a previous position," it is fitting to consider what 2014 will bring. The term "revolution" did not mean "violent coup" until the late 1700s with the American expulsion of British governance in the New World and the ousting of the monarchy in France. The French Revolution sought to ease the tax burden on the Third Estate, the common man, but only established a new monarchy with Napoleon after half a decade of death.
     The new idea of nationalism, that one's own culture and country were inherently superior to others, spread through Europe with Napoleon's conquests. Because a majority of the peoples of Europe lived in national boundaries determined by larger groups, the mid-nineteenth century saw several revolts. Germany and Austria had several cities overrun with revolutionaries because of the nature of those countries' populations: large numbers of minority groups vying for unity and political voice. These politically undermined groups developed a secessionist attitude that created a divisive atmosphere against the common, historic holdings of power. As groups sought independence from major powers, pro-anarchy sentiments rose, and sixty-six years after the revolutions of 1848, the 1914 Serbian situation provoked the great nations of Europe, and with them the world, into the Great War.

     Not all revolutions resulted in the collapse of governments or world wars. The 1848 revolutions in Europe cemented a modern understanding of citizens rallying against government policies without destroying the system as a whole. Seeking a different, maybe better, way of life, economic, civil, militaristic, spiritual, or political reforms gained popular  support to change legislation. In America, "Populists" took on a similar role in the 1880s before transforming into Progressives.
     In the first decade of this millennium the world seems to have invigorated recent revolutions including Egypt and Ukraine which have continued this trend of voicing discontentment for information access rights to national alliances and economic concerns.
     Having examined the acts of insurrection and rebellion of uprisings from Rome to England, France, Germany, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and America, there remains only one question: What drives man to rebel?
     Is it resistance of exploitation? Fear of oppression or destruction? Anger? Desire to protect wealth and family? Hope for a better future?
     If those questions are the answers to the cause, why do some people choose not to revolt in similar circumstances?
     People hope. For improvement, life, and accomplishment. Not always are those hopes fulfilled, but one of the greatest encouragements about our species is the desire to strive forward for greatness. The most devastated people demonstrate their strength and hope in the darkest days. Man does not surrender.
When any of life's aspects challenge the certainties and comforts of familiarity, your choice is whether or not fighting is worthy of man's efforts. For with the power of hope, change comes.


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Agatha Tyche

Christmas Special: Christian and pagan origins

     Christmas is a holiday now celebrated through many different cultures around the world. Some Muslim nations even hold Christmas as a special time of year. The holiday has grown to encompass more than the Christian reverence of Christ's birth, and  it now stands for the love of mankind for his fellows, an appreciative acknowledgement toward the friends and family that make life meaningful.
     The origins of this "Christian" day are far from their modern recognition of Jesus of Nazareth's birth.
Ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks worshiped gods of the resurrection (Osiris and Dionysus respectably) at the end of the year, but European paganism had the strongest impacts on modern traditions.
     The sum total of Christian impact on the holiday is a recognition of Jesus's birth. All similarities end there since Jesus was born anywhere from August to September, not December. Early church fathers make no recognition of Christmas as a revered time of year since adoption of the holiday began later. After centuries of church leaders discouraging celebrations on 25 December because of non-Christian traditions, Pope Gregory I instructed his priests not to ban winter celebrations but adapt them for Christians. This did not definitively end Christian opposition to Christmas's celebration. Though Christmas was eventually an intimate part of Christian religion, Oliver Cromwell's government banned the festivities in England during his reign because of the pagan origins. In the British colonies of the New World, Puritan groups such as the Massachusetts Bay Colony continued the ban for several years while other areas embraced  the tradition.
     The Romans held an annual week-long festival, Saturnalia, 17-25 December, to honor Saturn, the god of agriculture. A Christianized Roman populace later replaced their heathen celebration habits with a recognition of  Christ's birth, but the traditions used to celebrate this holiday did not noticeably change for centuries. An example of unchanging practices despite a religious shift is easily exemplified with the human-shaped biscuits, the origin of the gingerbread man, that were eaten during Saturnalia to symbolize the human sacrifice of the Lord of the Misrule at the end of the festive week. While the human sacrifice is no longer a part of tradition, the gingerbread man is.
     The dominant origin for most Christmas traditions actually spring from European pagans. Rituals celebrated the winter solstice and recognized the return of daylight with spring on the way. Pagans decorated their trees in worship of natural spirits, the predecessor to Christmas trees, used mistletoe to poison the victims for their human sacrifices, and sang carols to ward off evil spirits.

     Santa Claus is an excellent example of merged traditions. Bishop Nicolas of Myra in Turkey attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. In 1087 his body was moved from Turkey to Italy where it absorbed the gift-giving tradition of Pasqua Epiphania, a local saint, especially placing toys in children's stockings. Gifts were exchanged on 6 December, the anniversary of Nicolas's death. As this tradition spread north into pagan tribes, representation of Nicolas merged with Woden: a man with long white beard riding a horse through the sky in late autumn in heavy winter clothing. The celebration date shifted to 25 December as Christians attempted to convert the pagan rituals as was done with Saturnalia centuries before.
     The modern depiction of Santa Claus, however, comes largely from the nineteenth century. In his Knickerbocker History, Washington Irving, an American writer, used the translated Dutch name of Nicolas (Sinterklaas), "Santa Claus," to describe a bearded, horse-riding man. The poem "T'was the night before Christmas" changed the steed from a horse to reindeer and added the descent by chimney. Harper's Weekly, a newspaper, popularized the visual aspects of Santa Claus from the 1860-1880s. As the final touch, Coca-Cola commissioned a Santa advertising campaign in the 1930s with the only stipulation being a Coca-Cola red suit. Thus, Santa Claus contains elements of Christian, pagan, and commercial origins that effectively represents the amalgamation of Christmas today.
     By the 1880s the modern conception of "Christmas" was secured with egg nog, Christmas cards, Santa Claus, and the Christmas poems and stories by Clement Clark Moore and Charles Dickens. By the mid 1940s Christmas became a commercial focus for many American-based companies with FDR's extension of the Christmas shopping season to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, as well as Coca-Cola's successful development of Christmas advertising begun in the 1930s.
     Christmas has long been a winter holiday celebrated by people of different religions around the world. Despite the modern Christian emphasis, it is fitting that a holiday begun to celebrate life and human relationships continues to spread joy around the world in all different cultures, religions, and peoples.


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Agatha Tyche

Years that Question

     The history of man normally has various centers of power. Rarely are those centers tangled into one place. America, the superpower, is projected to be replaced by China at the economic pinnacle by 2016. The Christian missionary title of the world already belongs to South Korea so the United States has lost that too. As a military might, the young nation still holds up the mark for now.
     With the widespread protests, civil wars, and increasing wealth of the Middle East, the population explosion in Africa, and the increasing economic might of SE Asian nations like the Philippines, India and Indonesia, the focal point of global power is already changing, but will the landscape change as a whole or only within the upper classes? European imperialism shredded the last African-based empires a century and a half ago, and the Ottoman Empire's fall after World War I ended the last prominent Middle Eastern empire.
     Will economic development in previously termed "third world" countries finally sling-shot forward? If a non-Western country becomes a superpower, will the change in power be beneficial to their economic development and social stability or will the effort of rising up empty the coffers? Alternatively, will the newly found power refocus attention on the new pole and cause further development?
     Much of the twentieth century focused on the mutual destruction of Europe's powers. With this new century other nations are stepping on the springboards of global domination, but will they learn the lessons of their predecessors or only seek accumulation and domination?

     As with all new things, elements of excitement and fear merge indistinguishably. Population dynamics of a growing world are prying power from the elderly Western nations. What will become of the old powers - looted, restored, or stabilized? Will a multi-polar world destroy or encourage trade?
     Let's find out.

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Agatha Tyche