Blog 6 Reaction: Johnny's Blog

I really enjoyed reading your post. I would love to visit Cusco and see how it compares to what we learned in class. I found it interesting that your friend saw a large American influence in the region. I am glad you brought up the "frozen in time" idea because that is how I imagined it to be in real life. I also thought it was interesting on how the Cusco people welcome tourism and it makes me wonder the impact tourist have in the area. Are tourists disrupting the historical and cultural past in the region? Finding a good balance between creating immersive experiences and preserving the past needs to be consistently discussed/monitored.

Blog 6: Immigration

Why is immigration such a controversial topic in the United States? Clearly, there is a desire in people to come to the United State for a "better" life so what's the big deal.  There are plenty of land available for people to settle down. There are plenty of jobs available—no one is stealing jobs. I get there is the idea of public safety but on the other side, Mexicans are not dangerous. While I understand that drug trafficking is a huge challenge along the border, but those participating in these activities are in the minority.

I just wish there was an easier process for people to enter this country. There is a reason why people enter this country illegally—if they could enter legally, they would do so. I really hope that in the future there will be some reforms in the immigration laws that will allow for easier immigration into the United States. 

After taking this course, I have gained a greater sense of respect for Latin American countries, more specifically Mexico. I wish that I could share this gained knowledge and this new feeling inside with all of America. I strongly believe that once more people are educated on Latin American history and culture, there will be greater acceptance and understand. Whenever I go home, I always share the knowledge learned in class with my parents and family. They usually are surprised to hear what I have to say and have changed their views. Moving forward with my knowledge of Latin American history, I will be an advocate for this often skipped a section of history and immigration. 

Blog 5 Reaction: Sydney's Blog

Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies!  This is a great connection between the evil stepmother and Diaz. Throughout Tangled, Rapunzel appreciates the high structure that the evil stepmother imposed because it was an easy life for her. Later on in the movie, she realizes that the structure was not in the interest of herself but the evil stepmother. The stepmother wanted her to be hidden so she could use Rapunzel's magical hair to stay youthful. This is similar to Diaz imposing political stability. While Diaz created political stability, the Mexican people realized that their interests were not being prioritized. I really like how you connected Repunzel's escape and adventure outside of the tower to the Mexican Revolution.

Blog 5: Thoughts on the Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution is very interesting to learn about. If I am being completely honest, I had no idea the Mexican Revolution happened. In this course, I have gained much knowledge on the revolution and I would like to comment on this newly learned content.

Firstly, there are many names involved in this revolution and it can be hard to keep track of who is who. After listening to the lectures and reading Gonzales, I still do not have a solid grip on each individual's involvement and their beliefs. I am constantly going back to look at my notes and the book to remind myself of a one's role in the revolution.

The correlation between power and corruption is clearly seen with Porfirio Diaz. It is interesting to me how someone could gain the presidency with a vision for Mexico and it's people but end up becoming a tyrant after holding onto power for more than 30 years. I wonder how the revolution would have been affected if Diaz stepped down and chose a successful successor. What if the leaders listened to the peoples' grievances?

My view of the United States has dramatically changed after learning about U.S. involvement to protect their national interest. The US Ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson, overstepped his role and infringed on Mexican sovereignty by supporting a coup to overthrow Morelos. Uggg..why won't the U.S. leave Latin America alone!

I am so thankful that I got to learn about the Mexican Revolution because I have gained awareness of how the United States gets involved when their national interests are threatened and I learned about a critical part of Mexican history.

Blog 4 Reaction: Becky's Blog

Yess Becky!! I totally agree with you! When reading the book, I did notice the poor treatment of women. I am glad that you expanded on this thought and went into greater detail. Camila's role throughout the book was very tragic because she was viewed as an object rather than another human being. I like that you brought up War Paint and how the men treated her after she stabbed Camila. It makes me wonder if the author wrote the book with role of women as poor or if he was just a product of the time.

Blog 4: Power and Corruption

After discussing several leaders throughout Mexico's history, especially Santa Anna and Porfirio Díaz, it makes me think about how power can corrupt. When we learned about both, Anna and Diaz, we talked about how they came into power to make a better Mexico and had a large amount of support from the people. Diaz established himself as a winning general in the Battle of Puebla and had an overall favorable image. He came into power to bring growth to Mexico through political stability and the encouragement foreign investments. One of the defining views Diaz had was the belief that Mexican leaders should be "one and done" and no re-election. Overall, he seems like a great leader that had Mexicans interest at heart and truly wanted Mexico to be a better country.

In time, there seems to be a relationship between power and corruption. The longer Diaz stayed in office he began to contradict some of his original viewpoints that got him into office. Diaz changed the laws so that he could stay in power and used fraud ensure that he won election after election. Once he got older, he assigned a weak Vice President, Ramon Corral, to act like his puppet. 

I wonder if and how Mexico's history would have changed if corruption did not occur? What if Diaz set a precedent for a presidential term by stepping down? I believe that Mexico would have seen more growth if leaders did not put their personal interest first before the Mexican people. Leave a comment of your thoughts on whether Mexican leaders acted as an obstacle toward the growth of the country.

Blog 3 Reaction: Kendall's Blog

I definitely agree with you Kendall. I think it is so crazy how some parts of history are left out in K-12 education. It is very frustrating and makes me reflect on everything else I have been taught in the past. I hope moving forward that future generations will be able to be educated through multiple perspectives and not just the United States. It is crucial that our education shows the good and bad parts of history. The point of learning history is to apply it to the future and when some parts are hidden, it becomes difficult to do this.