michael | Date: Wednesday, 2013-06-12, 11:24 PM | Message # 1 |
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| Beautiful Souls We learn a lot ofthe AP Human Geography. We learned about the what, the how, the where, and the when. To study what Human Geo is, we use terms and definitions, to study how it all happens, we have models and theories to aid us, and the where and when is drilled into us with places and important dates around the world. But we learned little of the why, the human aspect of Human Geo. Why are there border conflicts? Why are there ethnic tensions and conflicts that lead to atrocities such as ethnic cleansing and genocide? Why would humans do that to each other? What goes through someone’s mind when they do such a thing in the name of their ethnicity, in the name of their nation, or the name of their religion? Beautiful Souls by Eyal Press goes over the humanity behind actions that goes against the social norm, or what is to be expected of a person in such turbulent times. In his book, he covers extensively the psychology, the human part, of people when they are forced to make decisions that decide the fate of others, as well as the consequences that comes after going against your race, your nation, and even your own people in order to do what is right. His book is brokenoff into four parts, each one detailing a specific scenario in which an ordinary individual does something extraordinary, goes out of his or her way to save others. After describing the event, Press goes on to explain the science behind the event, what goes on in the human mind, as well as touch over the social and political aspects of what lead to the conflict in the first place. Then, he goes on to describe similar scenarios, and the consequences of each one, leading up to a profound statement on selflessness and disobedience. Skillfully written, this book has a little something for everyone, from the first story to the last, every page engages the reader and encourages us to reconsider our moral standing, our perception of what is right or wrong. Many times while I read this, I had to ask myself, what would I do in this situation, would I have done the same? The first storyinvolves a chief of police in charge of a part of the Swiss border in a rather peaceful village. The officer was told to not let any Jews inside Switzerland regardless of their situation, in order to prevent “Jewification” or a Jewish takeover of Switzerland. The human geo topics covered in this chapter are border conflicts, immigration, as well as bits of ethnic cleansing and racism that went on during WWII. We learned a lot about immigration, especially in the US, and about the quota system, however nothing much about the effects of such upon the immigrating family, and what goes on in a border police’s mind when confronted with a situation that could potentially kill the immigrants trying cross. The chief was in a position of the reaper, with two stamps of APPROVED and REJECTED he decides the fate of the Jews crossing the Swiss border. He defies his orders, stripped of his job, his honor, and his life, forced to take on odd jobs, and dies after leading a less than fulfilling life all for because of one thing: he “could do nothing else” – but save the Jews. The next story isset in the warring states of Yugoslavia, during the Balkan wars, specifically in Croatia. A simple man, a Serb, “Acho”, is faced with a morally destructive task, to pick which of the rounded up prisoners are Serbs and Croats, those he said that are Serbs will live, those he leaves alone are bound for death. In front of him are broken, dying, hopeless Croats, who knew only death will awaits them. What he does next is nothing sort of extraordinary, risking his life, he started calling Croats by traditional Serbian names, and getting as many into the “safe” room as possible. His reason? Because he sense it was the right thing to do, he acted on an emotional impulse. The topics covered in this chapter includes ethnic cleansing, ethnic tension, balkanization, nationalism, and a new thing, something I like to call, ethnic isolation. With Acho, the Serbs does not like him because he helped save Croats, and the Croats can’t like him because he is a Serb that goes against what they believe of all Serbs, he was a Serb with kindness. When asked about his nationality, he simply responded, “I am a citizen of the world.”Added (2013-06-12, 11:24 PM) --------------------------------------------- Part 2:
The next installmentincluded an Israeli soldier, one that has the highest honor of serving in the esteemed special units, but was left to defy orders to occupy bordering Palestinian territories. Torn between his duties as a soldier for his state, and the duties he has towards humanity. Disillusioned by the realities and cruelties that happen in these border territories, he decides to not patrol these villages. He is not making a stand to change his community, his disobedience is not to fix the system, but to simply stay out of it, wash his hands of the moral impurities around him. In this chapter, nationalism is also addressed, but also the community and the mentality behind genocide and ethnic cleansing. It is said that ethnic cleansing is more of a communal bonding activity than it is of pure terror or racism. Ironically the humanity behind something so barbaric and cruel, is actually something everyone craves for, a sense of place and self, a craving for belonging. But also this also covers how religion plays into politics. When a soldier is forced to pick between following orders or following his religion, his rabbi, what is he to pick? How do you choose which is best, when in the end, what you choose might very well end up haunting you for the rest of your life in complete isolation.
As for the laststory, I’ll leave that for you to find out on your own, as I highly recommend this book to everyone. However, be warned, although it has a little something for everyone, it is not something anyone can just pick up. You need to reach a level of maturity and understanding before fully grasping the meaning behind this masterpiece. One would not give Lord of the Flies to a 10 year old and expect him/her to appreciate the messages within the book, the same goes for Beautiful Souls. Be warned, if you think you are capable of reading this, then prepare yourself for some serious self-reflections, as you will reconsider a lot about yourself, the world you live, and everything we learned about Human Geo as whole. I rate this book 8.5 out of 10 for its eloquently written stories, in depth research, and life changing perspectives. The only set back is that this is a very tough read, one that takes a lot of time per page due to the amount of insight/ information on each page, it may be short in length, but is extremely extensive in content. This will be one of the few books I will enjoy re-reading.
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