Module 4

Module 4  Ch 20 Collapse at the Center

1) Summarize the section from chapter 20

Ch 20 as stated by Strayer was a collective summery in how the leaders of western civilization such as Britain, France, Germany, and lost their position and influence through collective conflicts that weekend Europe, led to the death of various Empires and their loss of Colonies. left in its own self-destruction leadership of the western world was left in the hands of one of its predecessors the United states. War had left Europe in a crippling state, so much that by 1945 you wouldn't be criticized for thinking that the western civilization was damaged beyond repair. yet in the second half of the century, the western power showed its resilience by creating a European Union. Strayer latter goes on describing the first world war and how the Empires interweaving pacts lead to an all-out war. how the fighting not only occurred in Europe but also in its colonies, such as in Africa and the south pacific where British and French forces began to take over german colonies. Japan's allying with Britain invaded China in order to overtake German colonies. then latter started on how the Ottomans saw intense fighting not only through Allied hands but also through Arab Revolts. Lastly Describing how America joined the conflict after German submarines endangered American shipments in the Atlantic, this allowed Americans to have its first conflict over European soil and helped turn the tide in favor of the allies. 

2) Summarize what you learned during your self-guided research
Trench warfare that most used tactics in the first world war led to various casualties not only though enemy hands but also do to terrible conditions created by their own undoing.  the infamous trench foot condition was attributed to the disease a soldier would get when further long exposure to damp and unsanitary conditions was intermingled with the soldier's barefoot. another negative outcome that came from the trench's horrible conditions was just that the horrendous conditions soldiers lived in. disease and rot ran rampant the dead and the infected could bearly be told apart. on top of that, there was damage done by opposition such as gasses and chemical warfare. humanity's own ingenuity was turned into a weapon in a feverish attempt to end the war much quicker yet it only made it more deadly. Lastly, there is the ever more present shellshock condition in where the prolonged exposure to loud explosions in the field would leave a man disoriented and proved to have long-lasting psychological effects. 

3) Relate what you’ve learned from both of those activities to the world we live in today. Some people say that fascist tendencies seem to be on the rise in parts of the world today… do you agree? If so, in what ways do contemporary trends demonstrate fascist tendencies? If not, what key elements of fascism would you need to see evidence of in order to say that this is an accurate claim?

Fascism, when defined, is the collective action of putting a nation or race above everything else. this may include individuality and inevitably human rights. Fascism is usually seen as creating a central singular autocracy that is more comparable to a regime or dictatorial leader. Many have compared the similarity in fascism to nationalism in where nationalism, when defined, is the identity of one's own nation and supporter of its nation's interest, especially in excluding the interest of other nations. To be blunt people associate nationalism with fascism do to its ties with its nation's nature yet fascism is an extreme version of nationalism and when comparing the two nationalism seem more calm and domestic than Fascism. The danger in today's political nature is the confusion of the two, it not only blurs the definition of its self but may lead to some unwanted outcomes when the watering down of the word occurs. such as the Orwellian concept in distorting or even corrupting the idea it refers to. Orwellian not in a sense of totalitarian control but in manipulative/inceptive use of language, because language is very powerful it shapes our very own thoughts and opinions.