The day you found out "Banana Republic" isn't a good thing

Humanitarians,

Forgive my lack of posting yesterday; your lack of comments have me demoralized. DOES ANYONE CARE?! I will just wallow in the knowledge of my impending death and the total lack of meaning in my life. Or something.

On Thursday, we discussed/worked on some of the big events of the Cold War. (If you didn't finish after today, check the web; the whole packet is online) The biggest take-aways is that the Soviet Union and the United States Hate. Each. Other. Everything (literally everything) is a contest since actual war with each other isn't an option (thanks Robert Mcnamara and MAD). This includes wars with each other's friends, space, technology, sports, entertainment, everything. My personal favorite example of this is the Kitchen Debates, where Khrushchev and Nixon argued about kitchen appliances and whose women had it better.

lol, from Dr. Strangelove. Such. A. Good. Movie. 

Today, we defined decolonization (The withdrawal from its former colonies of a colonial power; the acquisition of political or economic independence by such colonies) and then discussed this very phenomenon in Latin America. Some takeaways:

• decolonization isn't happening in a vacuum; it is also part of the Cold War. How you decolonize and who you ally with are super important questions for these nations moving forward. 
• In Latin America, there was a clear trend: new anti-imperialist leaders tended to favor socialism/communism...this made America nervous or even mad...America intervened and replaced or attempted to replace these leaders....the new leaders tended to be military authoritative leaders ... chaos ensues. SO MANY modern issues in Latin America are tied to this time period and the US's interventions. 
• Check the book The Killing Zone by my professor Stephen Rabe if you are interested in learning more. I've highly enjoyed it. I also recommend Terror in the Land of the Holy Spirit by UT professor Virginia Garrard-Burnett; it's about the Mayan genocide in Guatemala in the 1980's. 
• I told my classes about Salvadore Allende's niece, author Isabel Allende. Her novels rock! I particularly liked Daughter of Fortune and Island Beneath the Sea. 

Next week, we will look at Decolonization in Asia and Africa; but remember we kind of already have...China's communist revolution and Korea's attempt at Communism could also be seen through the lenses of decolonization!!!

This day in history?! I think yes.

•  1521: Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines....where he was killed.
• 
• 1850: Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter was published.



me, teaching this book in AMSTUD


• 1935: Adolf Hitler cancelled the military clause of the Treaty of Versailles and began militarizing Germany.
• 1968: The My Lai massacre occurred in Vietnam (during the Vietnam War). The My Lai incident was a massacre of somewhere around 347 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including women and children, by US soldiers. The incident remained unknown to the American public until the autumn of 1969, when a series of leters by a former soldier to government officials forced the army to take action. Only the leader of the unit, Lt. William L. Calley, was convicted of a crime; he was found guilty of the premeditated murder of at least twenty-two Vietnamese civilians. He served 3 years.The My Lai incidnet contributed to growing disillusionment in the US with the Vietnam War. 
• 
• 1988: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter of the NSA are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States for their role in the Iran-Contra Affair (whaaaaaat we talked about this today!).

And finally....some sweet social media to follow. 

Instagram again, because I felt like I needed to continue the trent. Miserable Men is an instagram dedicated to photos of men forced to go shopping who hate their life. It makes me giggle, because I feel like any of them could be Peter. Also, based on the feed, I love that this is an apparently international issue....lolz....

Have a fabulous weekend! Make good choices!

- cbg