Man vs. Nature and the Optimism of the Guilded Age

The Guilded Age (1870-1914) was characterized by an intense optimism. The world was reaping all the rewards of its previous progress without the scars of the First World War yet. Huge advancements swept the globe in every field, one notable area of development being vaccines.

When I was in kindergarten, my older sister got chicken pox. She was kept home from school, quarantined, and had strange cream put all over her body. For the dramatic 6-year-old that I was, it seemed to me that she was dying. Two hundred years ago, she might have been.

Bacteria and viruses

Chicken pox, however, was not the scariest pox out there. Small pox was a killer. In 1796, Edward Jenner produced a vaccine for small pox using cow pox. This idea that man could overcome a deadly virus fueled the optimism into the Guilded Age, and by 1900, there were successful vaccines against five viruses and bacteria.

That was huge for society. Man had become industrious and intelligent, productive and creative, but Mother Nature had stood firm. We were finding ways to avoid her, but the birth of vaccines showed she was beginning to be outsmarted.

Looking at the public health scene of today, it is clear that Mother Nature has found a way to fight back. There are what scientists are calling "superbugs" on the rampage, resistant to any drug that we could throw at them, the cure for HIV and the associated AIDS remains elusive, and our own bodies are fighting against us through many forms of cancer.

I don't believe that we aren't meant to live forever. It seems we are hitting a wall of some kind, but for a few glorious decades, we, the underdogs, were on the rise. And it felt so good.

Image Credit: Wikipedia Commons 

Quantum collision: fallen Europe and the roots of quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a branch of science concerning the behavior of subatomic particles. The beginnings of quantum hatched in the early 20th century when Max Planck challenged the idea of classical physics that light behaves as a wave. Instead, he proposed that electromagnetic emission was given off in "packets" called quanta. And so we launched off into an age of groundbreaking discoveries and mind-bending theories.

And while these science-happenings rarely concerned the general public directly, they wouldn't have been possible without the social climate of early 20th-century Europe. Before the war, tensions were tight as social upheavals and the overwhelming fumes of nationalism plagued the Western countries. Alas, all hell broke loose and the gilded dreams of power and prosperity crashed miserably in the trenches of World War I. Afterwards, the general mindset of Europeans was one of total dismay and disbelief. Anger, denial, and utter shock at the atrocities manifested themselves in the humanities of the time period. But physics, too, was no exception.

In this almost "anything-goes" climate, quantum mechanics broke our modern perceptions of reality and shamelessly defied the concrete, empirical facade of science and its seemingly astute handle on "truth". A few examples may illustrate:

• Einstein proposed that light behaved as particulate matter called photons. Nine years later, Robert Millikan provided experimental evidence, making quantized light more than just a philosophical discussion.
• De Broglie proposed that matter behaves as waves, in response to Einstein's theory. (Yes, dear reader, even you are a wave. Just a very tiny one.) 
• Heisenberg, in his uncertainty principle, proposed that you can't actually identify the electron in real-time. Rather, the more you know about its velocity, the less you know about it's position. 
• Boltzmann mathematically connected the random states of particles and the entropy of the universe-- or in other words, its tendency to hurl ever-speedily into disorder-- and supported the idea of quantized energy states.

(And did I even touch the ideas of relativity? No.)

Einstein himself was unhappy about these theories' reliance upon randomness. He famously stated, "God does not play dice!". He was searching and scraping, perhaps just hoping for a "hidden variable" that could explain the strange nature of nature. But as of yet, no one has disproved these theories, and nature remains as a product of total unpredictability.

One can already see why quantum mechanics fit the chaos-filled setting of a world post-war. Things we saw as so complete and sure-- matter itself-- collapsed in artillery shells and subatomic particles.

"God does not play dice!"

Image credit: http://www.hawking.org.uk/does-god-play-dice.html 

Millennials and the American Dream

Source: Chris Kutarna

We are familiar with the concept that with hard work, persistence, and initiative, it is possible for any person to achieve success and prosperity.  This idea is known as the American Dream, and is well-known around the entire globe.  This is why we see so many people fleeing their homelands to immigrate to the United States.  Due to the crippling grasp of communism and dictatorship in countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Columbia, etc., it can be near impossible to make a name for oneself and to find a successful and happy life.  

This successful and prosperous life doesn’t come without challenges and it doesn’t come without work. This was understood a century ago, but the question is, do we understand it today?  It seems as time goes on, we want to reap all of the benefits of the American Dream without putting in the required work.  Millennials, for example, are one particular group who want to live the life our parents are currently living.  We want the nice house, and the fancy car, not to mention the lavish vacations, and shopping sprees.  I’m sure sometimes our parents scratch their heads, wondering when we will understand that it wasn’t easy for them to get to that point, and surely it won’t be easy for us to get there.  

The point is, however, that the American Dream is still a real possibility.  And it’s a real possibility, for everyone.  That is the beauty of it.  The American Dream doesn’t discriminate by picking and choosing who gets to be successful, but rather it gives all the opportunity to live the life he or she wants. So, it may be time for some to have a wakeup call to realize that all of the glamour and shine won’t come without a price. 

Beauty, Truth, and Love

One of Mucha's famed posters.

My most long-standing friend is my cousin Adam. One of the first things I remember of him is his amazing artistic ability. Growing up, I was always in awe of his drawings, which largely consisted of lanky ladies in lavish outfits. My second summer of high school, at our local Barnes and Noble, Adam introduced me to one of his favorite artists—Alphonse Mucha.

Looking through Mucha's works, I realized why my cousin admired him. His pieces were completely captivating, unlike anything I had ever seen before. The artist's trademark style has an ethereal quality to it; the subjects appear enchantingly regal, like quietly omnipotent goddesses; the paintings are highly impressionistic but still precisely detailed. Mucha's unique Belle Epoque style is unmistakable, even among other art nouveau.

Mucha, like my cousin, had always been an artist, even before he could walk. Still, he struggled to make ends meet at first. Finally, at age 34, Mucha was by chance tasked with creating a poster for the upcoming performance of famous Parisian performer Sarah Bernhardt. He used a narrow poster and pastels to create the advertisement, and Bernhardt loved the distinctly modern-yet-sophisticated style so much she had him create posters for all her performances. People were so obsessed with the posters they would cut them down off their posts for themselves.

Our Innate Desire to Romanticize

I am the definition of a day dreamer. One single thought has the potential to lead my down a rabbit hole of endless possibilities of humor, stress, adventure, or recognition. When I was in the third grade, I had a crush on a girl named Meg. I don't remember much about single thing about third grade except trying to impress her. For that valentines day I even gave her my sister's teddy bear (without permission). Oftentimes I remember daydreaming about something heroic I could do that would make her and her family "fall in love" with me (I went to church with them). One specific daydream I remember having was saving her from being hit by a school bus and breaking my leg in the process. They would come visit me in the hospital and I would be the hero. That probably sounds absolutely insane, but it's true!

I guess you could say I was quite the romantic as a 3rd grade boy. A part of that can be attributed to the fact that I was trying to win the heart of the prettiest girl in school. But there was more to it than that. The other part was the glory and recognition I would receive. It was the very fact that I daydreamed about chivalry and the opportunity to sacrifice for something that meant a lot to me. Inside my mind was the innate desire to make everything one big dramatic show where I was the protagonist.

Seeing this in myself makes it easier to understand romanticism in the context of World War I. This war happened at a time where there were endless possibilities and immeasurable potential for personal growth. In this context the young people of the world were presented an opportunity to go on an adventure and prove their worth. Rather than jump in front of a bus to save their crush, they went to war to save their country. My intent was to save Meg from the mean bus driver. Soldiers went to war to stop darkness from spreading across the planet. Just like I would receive recognition in a hospital bed, these young men would return home to be honored, having traveled the world in the process. Romanticism was behind every individual desire to be involved. It appears that I'm not the only one who daydreams about what the future could bring.

Image: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS767US767&biw=1242&bih=569&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=dRntW4fJCcGIggfEkpiQAQ&q=boy+and+girl&oq=boy+and+girl&gs_l=img.3..0j0i67j0l8.6117.7187..9805...0.0..0.124.1322.0j12......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......35i39.KORdMOGO0Ds#imgrc=nCyQNyNnZShLVM:

Railway to Heaven

The building of railroads was a significant part of the gilded age. The Transcontinental Railroad was built and for the first time people could travel across the United States by train. From history we learn that ideas spread when people begin to have contact with others. People who live is different places or within different communities can have shared beliefs and contrasting ideas. At this time, they obviously didn't have the internet, so this exposure to other people in the States and their ideas would have been extremely significant for them, even more so than it is for us now. 

Original Transcontinental Railroad Map

With the internet and connections so easily made through our phones and computers it isn't as much of a crazy experience for us to experience new ideas. But back when the Transcontinental Railroad was finally finished, for the first time people were able to travel across the whole country. There was a fascination with the wild west, and with cowboys as well as interest in the cities in the east. People were finally allowed to connect with people they otherwise never would have been able to connect with. It really makes me think about progression and how much people can do when they connect with others and share ideas. 

I was in a BYU Adlab meeting about a month ago and someone made the comment that 'On our own, we can go fast, but together we can go far' and that has stayed with me. I can totally see how that applies here in the time of the gilded age as well. In fact, the Transcontinental Railroad itself wasn't even built by one company, it was build by two! Two separate railways, The Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad came from the east and the west to meet together in Summit Utah where the golden spike was driven into the ground to bring them together. I think there is a lot to be said about teaming up with other people and sharing ideas, there is a lot we can do on our own, I'm sure of it, but there's WAY more we can do when we come together, share ideas and really work.

Image Credit: https://tcrr.com

Staying One step Ahead of the Enemy

We often take the mundane in our lives for granted. Take for example breathing: most people don't walk around thinking, "Boy, it sure is great to be able to breath". That is, until you have a runny nose, and the one thing you wish for is to be able to breath normally. In our modern world, we are saturated with the ability to communicate. We can send a text, blog, snapchat, call, facetime,skype, and interact with anyone at the touch of a screen. Communication is a mundane task for us, that was incredibly important to those in the gilded age leading up to WW1. So important that a single miscommunication between the Czech drivers and the security of Archduke Ferdinand led to  his assassination and the start of World War 1.

Field Telephone

In the days leading up to world war one, mass real time communication was a luxury. The telephone was just catching on, and wireless radio sets were bulky and unpredictable.  It was only as the reality of a grueling stalemate in WW1 set in that the British realized they needed better communication to win. They designated a core of Signal Engineers to lay down telephone wires, in order to communicate with the front lines. The price to do so was tremendous however. The Signal Core had an attrition rate of nearly 50% because they were so exposed on the front lines. This loss of life shows just how critical the British thought it was to have communication. 

In our day, we take this ability as routine. We complain when we have to move to grab our phone. We gripe about bad signal, moan about loading times, and grouse when when we don't hear back from a friend instantly. For the soldiers in world was one, communication was life or death. In the battle of Loos, communication to wireless radios in Ally vehicles saved the day. They warned of friendly fire, a trap, and reinforcements on the way (Gannon). For us, the ubiquity of communication may have destroyed its significance. We forget the person that we are talking to face to face in favor of the one on the screen. We give half our attention, and a quarter of our effort into understanding what is being said. 

In a time past, communication was rare, but valued, and that made all the difference.

Picture: wikicommons: image has been released as "CCBY" by Auckland Museum

Gannon, Paul. “WW1: First World War Communications and the 'Tele-Net of Things'.” RSS, Engineering and Technology, 16 June 2014, eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2014/06/ww1-first-world-war-communications-and-the-tele-net-of-things/.

The Saxophone, a Magnificent Monster

Look at this beast!

Initially invented in 1846 by Adolphe Sax, it wasn't until the 1920's that the Saxophone really came into prominence. It was seen as an important staple of the Jazz music genre alongside other brass instruments, which really came to dominate the musical tastes of the Roaring 20's. While initially the genre it was a part of was simply a derivative of ragtime, with the inclusion of the Saxophone alongside the popular instrument of the time the piano, the swinging dance music fused with the smooth sombre tones of the blues to form a combination that would both inspire people to dance and party as well as establish a good atmosphere in the room. It got it's big start down in New Orleans (or "N'Orlens" to any with a southern drawl), but soon migrated up into the smokey clubs of the Northeast. The saxophone was even included in a number of orchestra's in the 1920's such as the Duke Ellington Orchestra, having it's place cemented in classical music history.

I will gladly admit my love of this musical instrument, in every style of music. It's croons help in forming the conjured emotions present in the blues and classical pieces, as well as to help decelerate the tempo of a piece, such as in Derek and the Dominoes guitar piece "Layla". Meanwhile, the rapid fire jabs of a true master of the instrument can help establish the atmosphere of a freeform style like Jazz, or in more controlled bursts to set the pace for a action-packed song in a movie or video game. Even hearing my Godmother's son play his soprano sax is a delight to the ear, as the vibrations echo throughout the house and into my bones. Truly, there is nothing more wonderful, more soothing, more empathetic than the shrill cry of the sax player's beast.

Image Credit: "Alto Saxophone" obtained via Wikimedia Commons

When Romantic Ideals Begin to Come True

At the very core of Romanticism is a yearning for the unknown, the unattainable, and the incomprehensible. And while the movement to spread these ideas began relatively recently, in the last few hundred years, many concepts dubbed "unattainable" had eluded mankind for thousands of years before the Romantic Era. Mysteries such as flight and lightning have consumed the imagination of men for as long as history has been recorded. In the late 19th century, however, things changed. 

Some awe-inspiring lightning

With advances in industrialization came advances in technology. Suddenly, we discovered how to capture lightning, how to harness electricity and put it to our own deliberate use. We finally conquered the air and learned how to soar through the sky without meeting the ground in an unfriendly manner. Almost overnight (in the grand span of time), things that people had romanticized about for thousands of years became possible and even accessible. The question I ask is: how did achieving some of our wildest dreams affect society?

Thomas Edison's Laboratory

Some might say that once a person fulfills a deep desire, that person loses purpose and becomes bored. I've definitely seen examples of this in my own life, such as finally finishing a puzzle and suddenly feeling let down because I've lost a sense of direction. On the other hand, however, I've also had experiences in which I've seen fantastic technology, been filled with awe, and immediately filled with even more questions and ideas than before. 

As we can see from history, progress did not stop in the 19th century. Perhaps some people felt a loss of direction during the Gilded Age; it is well-known that the U.S. Patent Office closed down in 1899 because someone apparently thought everything had been invented. But the evidence shows that technology continued to flood the world and advanced at a unprecented rate. 

In short, I think this quote by Walter Ong describes accurately the relationship between the Gilded Age and the Romantic Era which preceded it: 

From man’s beginnings perhaps well over 500,000 years ago until recent times […] knowledge had been in short supply. To keep up his courage, man had continually to remind himself of how much he knew, to flaunt the rational, the certain, the definite and clear and distinct. Romanticism and technology appear at the same time because each grows in its own way out of a noetic abundance such as man had never known before. Technology uses the abundance for practical purposes. Romanticism uses it for assurance and as a springboard to another world. (Walter Ong, Rhetoric, Romance, and Technology: Studies in the Interaction of Expression and Culture) 

Image Credits: in the public domain and licensed through Creative Commons 

Whited-Sepulchre

The Gilded Age was a time period in American history which took place from 1870-1900. The name of this period suggests that it was a wonderful time, Gilded meaning covered with gold. It makes it seem as though this time period was care free, rich, and full of hope for everyone. However this name was coined not for its honesty about the era but to jab at the lie of the era. It may have seemed like a grand period for some with the nation becoming the most industrialized country, advancing far ahead, and becoming wealthy, but this time period was rife with social issues caused by this.

Those in charge in this time period had huge power, while others suffered.

A movement that came about in this time period was the realist movement. While other movements idealized mankind and showed off the grandeur possible to us, this movement sought to strip away all the exaggerations and extra stuff that muddled reality. This time period was dangerous because if the rich who were running the factories and leading the charge of industrialization were left to paint the picture to the public people may have just gone with the status quo and not questioned. But because of the realist movement people were able to see what was really going on and take note of the social issues. Realism is an attempt to see things as they are. Its stripping off the gold from society and see its naked underbelly. Realism allows us to see the strengths and weaknesses of something and where something needs changing.

I think that the realist movement has incredibly important implications for everybody. It was all about seeing things how they really are. Its about breaking down the walls around something and dispelling illusions so that you can see the problems and fix them. Personally I needed to do this in my own life. Before I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ I thought my life was going extremely well. I felt like I was in a place I wanted to be and loved where I was and what I was doing. I had idealized my situation, myself, and who I was with. It wasn't until I took a deeper look at myself and shed the safety net which blocked me from the problems I had that I realized I had crafted a ruse of a life. Applying realism, stripping away that ruse and moving on from my situation allowed me to tackle my problems head on and overcome them.


Matthew 23:27 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness."

There is a danger in idealizing ourselves and mankind because we can miss the danger hiding beneath that shroud. 

All That Glitters...

The Gilded Age is often seen as an age of prosperity--a time where technology advanced and the quality of life rose. Due to the Industrial Revolution, America was experiencing an overall boost in industry and production, but at a cost. With the increase of factories, there was a move to the cities. The populations boomed, but the cities found that there was not sufficient space or supplies for those that came to work in the factories. The standard of living for the factories workers was abysmal.
There was rarely the amenities that we enjoy today such as heat, lighting, or general sanitation. Millions died from these poor conditions. But due to desperation, the workers continued in these conditions in order to make a living, even if that living was barely getting them by. All this time the monopolies capitalized on the cheap labor and built their corporate empires. The poor got poorer and the rich got richer.

Meanwhile in Europe, these same principles were driving nationalistic mentalities that lead to countries like Germany to embark on a mission to monopolize power to promote their agenda at the expense of the countries around them. Nationalism seems to be on the same wave length as monopolies but on a national rather than corporate or individual scale. These ruthlessly ambitious agendas paved the way into World War I and eventually to the fascist systems that perpetuated World War II.

While The Gilded Age seemed to be a golden age, it fueled the sentiments and passions that led the world into two consecutive world wars that rocked the societies and governments of multiple nations. Progress comes at a cost. All the advances allowed people to gain power and wealth, but it also gave us crucial technology and medicine that has allowed us to continue our societal growth clear into the twenty-first century. Without it we could have avoided millions of deaths, but we wouldn’t be where we are today. How do we choose between progress and peace?

image credit: public domain images via Wikimedia Commons

Lost Generation; Lost Purpose

In the wake of World War One, authors struggled to make sense of the meaning behind the world. It became undeniably more difficult as the world sought for comfort in senseless living throughout the Roaring Twenties. Perhaps it was inevitable that writers, those steeped in worlds of thematic purpose and meaning, would be among the most identifiably impacted artists of the Lost Generation. We are all well aware and well versed in their stories. I’d like to unpack them, however, specifically with this quest for purpose in mind.

Let’s start with Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. The work follows Robert Jordan, an American in the Spanish Civil War. Like Chekhov’s gun, the fate of each character seems inevitable within the first couple chapters- Jordan will die blowing up a bridge; he will fall in love with the gypsy girl; his comrade will put their simple mission in grave jeopardy. It becomes clear that Hemingway’s world sought a simple purpose over a happy ending. Life could be satisfactory so long as a purpose was achievable. This is reflected as well in The Old Man and the Sea, where a man begins a long, life-threatening battle with a fish. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated,” the narrator quietly suggests. For so long as there is a purpose, the world is understandable.

The Great Gatsby deals with a similar theme. Gatsby, too, is involved in a silly quest that seems to have more on the line than first suggested. Daisy is horribly shallow, yet he pursues her as though she can give his life meaning. I think he misplaced his hope- steeped in corruption, he sought her as one memory in his life of an innocent joy, when they were both young. He made her his purpose, when in reality he sought something he along with all of society had lost with the war. 

Innocence.

Image credit: https://hannahyjin.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/green-light.jpg

Dirty on the Inside

When I think of the Gilded Age, I think back to when I first learned about it in seventh grade American History. My teacher showed the whole class pictures and news articles discussing the conditions that people were living and working in. The United States didn't have the laws it does today regarding cleanliness and hygiene, which led to food sometimes being contaminated (pictured above). It also didn't have laws regarding safety, which led to a lot of women dying in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory as firefighters were not adequately equipped and there were not enough exits for all of the workers to evacuate through, among other problems.


Along with these issues, the Gilded Age was a difficult time for immigrants to the United States. Among other things, they struggled with abysmally poor housing conditions. Oftentimes, immigrants lived in tenements, buildings that were similar in structure and appearance to today's apartments, and they had awful plumbing and ventilation and also lacked some basic amenities like beds. The tenements were also very expensive to live in, despite the scanty and filthy conditions they were in. Once these things were brought to light for the general public, please realized just how greedy the owners of these tenements were, as well as the owners of the factories who cut corners around worker safety and hygiene.


Thankfully, in the modern age, we have laws regulating so many of these things, largely because of the Gilded Age and all of the awful things people dealt with. However, greed is still a very prevalent problem in the world today and it's effects can be seen across multiple industries, especially politics. We don't need to look very hard to find stories in the news where the root of the problem was someone or some company wanting money and prioritizing income over people. Although we were able to fix some of the worst problems of the Gilded Age, the core of it still exists and thrives in today's world.

Image Credit: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Examining-Labor-Working-Conditions-in-the-Gilded-Age-A-Gallery-Walk-Exercise-3208715 Public Domain

Change of Pace, Change of Scenery

Born and raised in Northern Delaware, I was always a stone’s throw away from some of the art hubs of the East Coast, like 25 minutes away from the Philadelphia Mueseum of Art and the about 2 hours away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These were easy for field trip destinations for my schools growing up and day trips with my mom when I didn’t want to go to school. Whenever the museums had exhibits of impressionism, specifically of Claude Monet.

When I graduated high school, I skipped the normal ceremonies, took all my savings, and travelled around Europe with my cousin. On my itinerary was the Museum d’Orsay which houses a rather large selection of impressionist-era paintings, including works of my favorite childhood painter Claude Monet.

Patrons of the museum weren’t allowed to photograph anything inside, and for the first time in a rather hectic vacation of two poor East Coast girls, one of them freshly tossed into the world and having no idea what to do with her life, I just sat and looked at the famous paintings that literally wrapped around the room. I took in the thoughts and colors of a dead painting and suddenly felt full of life.

With a weekend for attending international cinema movies and a debate of dead soldiers from WWI, the heaviness of those topics were elevated when I decided to spend some time writing this post about the tranquility of Monet’s impressionism the generation before the War to End all Wars. I think that some of the beauty that came from the impressionism era is that it add beautiful color to the stark, gray contrast of battlefields, shell-shock, and the carnage of war. Like my experience in stepping out of the chaos of a busy city in the quiet of Monet’s gardens, art like impressionism preceded the war in what I can only hope was a serendipitous therapy offered to the war via nature-art.

Photo Credit: The Garden Way (Public Domain Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Dadaism: Who Even Cares Anyway?

For a long time I believed that there were two responses to complete upheaval of everything you ever believed or loved: either you cling to it all more tightly than ever before, or you discard all of it. Recently however, it's been dawning on me that there is a third option. Keep the beliefs that are still functional while recognizing that everything is flawed on some level and then make jokes about the inevitability of everything's eventual collapse to make yourself feel better by enshrouding yourself in absurdity. You might be inclined to call this meme culture, but in 1920's Europe it was called Dadaism.

"L.H.O.O.Q." by Marcel Duchamp.
Pencil on postcard, 1919

After WWI, Europe was in shambles, picking up the pieces after a conflict that had exhausted the world in every capacity.People were pushing art to new and interesting extremes with Post-Impressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. Each of these ideologies hoped to push the envelope, to challenge their viewers to see things in a new way. This was not enough for the Dada movement. Dada, or Marcel Duchamp at least, wanted to create art that served the mind. More than that, Dada's intent was to ridicule the meaninglessness of the modern world. Duchamp became one of the heroes of this movement with his "Readymades"- common objects that he made little or no modification to and presented as art.

Probably the most famous of Duchamp's work was his "Fountain", in which he submitted a urinal signed "R. Mutt 1917" to be displayed. My personal favorite is "L.H.O.O.Q." (pictured right). The title, said aloud in French, sounds a lot like the French phrase "Elle a chaud au cul", which translates roughly to "She has a hot ass". I think it's freaking hilarious. Something about the world's most famous painting rendered on a cheap postcard with a crap goatee scribbled onto it just kind of... encapsulates how relative the importance of anything is. People get different things out of different scenarios. Out of war you could pull nationalism, or despair, or you could accept that it's all a sham anyway and decide to invent dank memes. Take your pick

The Forgotten Man

I dug my spurs into my horse’s flanks, urging her forward to cut off the cow before she wandered off the trail, dragging half the herd with her.  She complied but bellowed to let me know she wasn’t happy, and it wasn’t too long before a heifer tried the same thing.  My horse diligently obeyed, though I could feel her heavy breaths as her sides expanded and deflated, moving my legs out and in with each pant.  Her mane was damp and her hide glistened with sweat, but on she went. 

It’s not a perfect parallel, but to coincide with William Sumner’s ideas, we could call this horse “the forgotten horse.”  William Sumner was an American social scientist who taught at Yale during the Gilded Age.  The uprisings of monopolies and flourishing of the middle class starkly contrasted with the life the new immigrants and lower class were living.  Efforts were put forth to hinder the growth of booming businesses and others sought ways to assist the immigrants and lower class.  So what does this have to do with a forgotten horse?

In Sumner’s work, What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, he passionately argues that “every effort to realize equality necessitates a sacrifice of liberty.”  He sees many people working diligently and seeing success, yet the fruits of their labors are laid at the feet of those in poverty.  There is no motive to rise above that condition when “social doctors flock about him, bringing the capital which they have collected from the other class, and promising him the aid of the state to give him what the other had to work for.”  With these circumstances, the social reformers and philanthropists, A and B, dictate what C will do for the poor, D.  And what does he call C?  The Forgotten Man. 

Image Credit: Scale (via mesosyn)

A Communist Trial Run:

The Kulaks were a group of people in rural Russia who were able to accumulate land and become somewhat successful farmers after the Stolypin reform after the fall of the Czar. In 1918 the label Kulak was attached to anyone who wouldn't surrender their harvest to the state. Lenin saw this as rebellion and wanted the thought of private property and industry eradicated.

The massacre started with the hanging order. "You need to hang- hang without fail, and do it so that the public sees- at least 100 notorious kulaks, the rich, and the bloodsuckers. Publish their names. Take away all of their grain. Execute the hostages..." (Lenin) The killing didn't stop at 100. According to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who was imprisoned in one of the Gulags (concentration camp) upwards of 5-6 million people were killed. That is how many Jews were killed in the concentration camps.

Third degree interrogation. Drawings from the Gulag. Danzig Baldaev.

Between Lenin and Stalin, according to historians, the number of those murdered capped at around 20 million. That is about the same number of deaths as the number of soldiers and civilians who died in WWI.

The dictatorships in Russia began to fascinate me as soon as I heard about them. I never learned about it in great detail in my formal education later to find out that it was most likely because of western scholars who were sympathetic to the communist movement. In studying more about Lenin and Stalin I realized that those who supported the Marxist philosophies were more concerned about pulling down the rich than lifting up the poor.

I wouldn't consider myself wise enough to think that I know what's best for humanity, but it worries when people tell me that I am "a privileged white male" as if they know what I had to overcome to get where I am. I am extremely fortunate, and I don't deserve what I have. But does anyone? Who decides who deserves what? When people decided they knew what everyone deserved or "needed" tens of millions of people were killed. You can decide for yourself, but I will stick to the imperfect method of letting people decided for themselves what they need.

 


 

The Miracle of Snow White

Snow White 1937 Poster

I remember the first time my family went to Disneyland. I was four years old but I still remember meeting some of the characters. My sister was two years old when we visited the park, and she loved getting to meet the Beast. She snuggled up to him and stroked his long fur. Meeting Snow White, however, was a terrifying experience. She cried and struggled to pull her hand away from my mom’s as we got closer and closer to the ever-smiling princess. I, on the other hand, loved getting to meet her and for years I treasured her note to me in my autograph book. “Berlyn, someday your prince will come. --Snow White.”

Snow White was the first full length animated film of all time, and during its production many thought that the project would fail. In fact, most of the movie business referred to this project as “Disney’s Folly.” There were several reasons for this. For one thing, the project was unbelievably costly, and at its conclusion the bills amounted to about $1.5 million, an unheard of amount for a project like this. Disney even had to mortgage his house, and while his wife (Lillian) and brother/business partner (Roy) did everything in their power to dissuade him, Walt continued on. If that wasn’t enough, it was also believed that the film would hold little interest with the public. Who would want to sit through an hour and a half cartoon, anyway? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Making the movie was difficult. The storyline drastically changed several times and the focus on the characters was constantly in motion. I’ve heard so many people complain about how little the prince takes part in the storyline. Did you know that there were supposed to be scenes about his capture by the queen and his eventual escape? The focus of the story shifted, however, and the prince’s role was reduced to give more room for the queen and Snow White.

Even amidst all the struggles and disappointment, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was finally released on December 21, 1937. Unsurprisingly to us now, the film was an enor-mouse success and proved to be the key to a whole new genre of cartoon classics.

The impact that Snow White has had on modern culture is oftentimes grossly underestimated. I hear people constantly complain about how “weak of a character Snow White is” and how she’s “saved by the prince instead of being able to save herself.” If people stopped to think about the time period of the film’s production, the circumstances of its creation, and the monumental experimentation this film engages in, might we cut the princess a little slack?

Image Credit: public domain via Wikipedia "Snow White 1937 Poster"

Nationalism, Facism, and Opposition

How do you get people to listen to something crazy? You shout at them. Loudly.

Aggression at the right time creates tension. It elevates simple things or latent feelings to urgent matters that need to be solved immediately. The people who agree with what’s being shouted, even if just ever so slightly, will get pulled into the excitement, while those who disagree are forced to decide to back down or fight back. And if they fight back, the answer in the early 1900’s was to get louder.

This was a tactic employed by both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler in the years leading up to WWII as they attempted to secure power. Mussolini found a group of disgruntled soldiers who felt that Italy had been put under the rest of Europe’s heel. He gathered them up into a vigilante militia bent on keeping socialists from taking over Italy. They were loud, they were violent, they were intimidating, they were the Blackshirts, and they viciously suppressed any opposition.

Inspired, Hitler created his own league of extraordinary bullies. Different targets, different name, but the same tactics. Hitler’s Brownshirts would patrol rallies, shouting down or mobbing opposition. They would also attend the opposition’s political rallies, disrupting them with intimidation and violence. Both the Blackshirts and Brownshirts thrived on power and the creation of fear.

But, history had two different ends for them. The Brownshirts, deemed to be too socialist and not loyal enough to Hitler, were decimated and replaced in 1934. The Blackshirts were loyal to the end, fighting for Mussolini until he was ousted in 1943. They were promptly disbanded.

As it turns out, human beings are incredibly capable. Looking through history, that capability has been as glorious as it has been horrible and these two groups of bullies are another example of that. Their anger tore apart millions of lives. We need to carefully watch those who fall back on these same tactics before we add another colored shirt to the list.

Image credit to Mindaugas Danys

The Seventh Art and La Belle Epoque

La Belle Epoque, as people would later call the period leading up to World War I, was a time of discovery. People had been playing with the idea of moving pictures since the 1820s, but it was not until the 1880s that discoveries really began to take place that created the ideal situation for film. There was fierce competition to create a viable way to show moving pictures, causing people from England, America, France, and many other places to compete against and build off each other. Thomas Edison in America was particularly infamous for the amount of clout he used in trying to monopolize the industry before it had even begun. However it was the Lumiere brothers in France that would ultimately succeed in creating the first projected motion picture that could be sold to a wide audience. 

The original Cinematographe 

At the heart of the history of film is the idea of, bricolage. The closest English equivalent would be a bringing together of bits and pieces. The cinematographe that the Lumiere brothers "invented" was merely the reflection of a longer chain of changes to previous creations. Newton's statement that he "stood on the shoulders of giants" greatly reflects this period of history. Like many other inventions of the time, the end result reflected the work of hundreds of hands. 

Initially film focused on presenting reality. The first films were documentaries, but they also presented their own narrative through framing and shot. However La Belle Epoque generation's desire for entertainment quickly manifested itself in film through one of the greatest early filmmakers, Meliese. He is best known for Le voyage dans la lune, which was the first fantasy, science fiction, and comprehensive story told through film. Many others would come afterwards but there is still something captivating in watching these early films. This semester I have been studying French and Italian cinema and have come to have a greater appreciation for early film and its contributions to society. Now looking at film and its impact specifically on the gilded era has helped me understand better how film came about and why the two most important filmmakers of the time, Lumiere and Meliese, focused on documentation and Entertainment. Documentation was linked both to the greater desires of the world of science in its continued quest to understand the world around it - the first "moving pictures" was actually of a horse in motion as well as people's desire to improve the world and show the real world to others. The entertainment industry was a growing phenomenon as modern inventions helped make life easier and gave people more time to do what they wanted. Meleise captures these desires for the fantastic through pyrotechnics, special effects, strange transitions, and story driven narratives. 

Today film is a staple of entertainment consumption for people world wide, but from its humble beginnings people have sought to use the medium to express society's needs and desires by transporting us to other worlds. These other worlds may be just down the street or in another universe, but in each in their own way reflect society's problems, desires, and fantasies. 

Distribution of Wealth

Throughout all time and in all societies, the distribution of wealth has been and will always be a problem. I doubt there will ever be a solution that will satisfy the masses. 

It was the English philosopher John Locke who was known as the “Father of Liberalism.” He believed that a person should be able to enjoy individual freedoms, and that the government should protect those freedoms. Locke preceded Adam Smith who was known as the “Father of Capitalism.” Smith also believed that the government should not intervene in the workings of the marketplace. Smith’s ideologies are spelled out in his book The Wealth of Nations. From the problems of the Industrial Revolution came the idea of Socialism: that wealth should be distributed equally. Capitalism seemed to produce too many losers and not enough winners. 

For over fifty years, I have struggled personally with the unfair distribution of wealth. Having come from both a famous and wealthy family, I always feel the need to take care of those less fortunate than myself. Over the past thirty years, I now have had enough experience to realize that people who are really motivated to succeed in life will do so, regardless of their economic circumstances, and that there are people who are willing to accept as much help as you give them, never intending on trying to better their lives along the way. 

                                                                                       Image credit: flickr.com

The irony of my situation is that my dad began as one who did not have many resources to help him fulfill his dream. At age six, he decided that he wanted to be a cartoonist. He served three years in World War II, and upon returning, he began to do all he could to fulfill his dream. His Peanuts comic strip was syndicated in 1950, and he went on to become the most famous cartoonist the world has ever seen. 

Being a part of that legacy causes me to favor the idea of capitalism. The world is filled with people like my dad who would not have been able to contribute to society if it had not been for the freedom to do so. That being said, dad was always bothered by the income he received from drawing the strip. It did not seem fair to him that although he did the same thing every day, for fifty years, his income increased constantly. But, isn’t this what capitalism is? Dad created a product that the world loved. It was the choice of the Peanuts fans that caused his income to increase. 

As a human race, we are here to dream, however big or small. Capitalism allows the dreams of one to be enjoyed by many.  

The Great War Changed the Definition of War

War has always been an interest of man. He who has the strongest army tends to hold the power. In the feudal society, the lords had access to armies which resulted in their dominance over the common man. In imperialistic Britain, the British were the most powerful, and thus, the economically wealthy nation in the world. With a dominant army, came a correlation of a strong economy. People saw war as romantic because the most skilled warriors determined a victory. World War 1 turned these ideas around.

Howitzer artillery gun used in World War I

World War 1 introduced the first mass killing machines. The introduction of the machine gun changed warfare forever. No longer was a war dependant on who was a better-trained shot, because with a machine gun, a spray of bullets into the enemy did not require skill and it was much more efficient. Artillery meant shells could devastate large groups of enemies.

One's skill with a rifle or a sword no longer determined if they would win a fight. The machine gun was the great equalizer where the only thing that mattered was how strong a position was. Mortar shells no longer required soldiers to even have to see their enemy to kill them. For the first time, a war was turned from an art or skill to an extermination effort. Whoever could kill more in less time, wins the war. The devastation was unprecedented.

Today, war can often be performed from different sides of the world. Rarely are conflicts large outright invasions because death can be delivered on a scale that would make large masses too easy with too large of costs of lives. War is impersonal. It is disconnected. Killing enemies is closer related to exterminating pests with a drone strike screen and hunting high-profile leaders like rodents.

Image credit: Howitzer gun Turkey World War 1, by WikiImages. Licensed by Pixaby under CC 2.0

PTSD and Empirical Benefits

WWI Soldier in Trench

For the commemoration of the armistice of the First World War, I attended the “Debate of the Dead” and it was worth the hour of my Monday evening. Starting off comically, four BYU history professors walked onto the stage “possessed” by the spirits of four soldiers from WWI. One was German, one was British, another I believe was African-American, and one was a home-grown Utah boy. I’d like to focus on the latter whose name was Leonard Allred.

Lieutenant Leonard Allred suffered from PTSD or what was first called “shell-shock” because it was believed the close proximity that soldiers had to falling bombs literally vibrated their brain and caused them mental illness. With little empirical research, little thought was given that perhaps the killing, the dead bodies, the mangled friends, AND the explosions probably caused the post-war stress and trauma. Allred (or the “spirit” of Allred) said that there were 3 things recommended to cure shell-shock: sex, alcohol, and insanity, all three he used to cope, leading to the abuse of his wife and her eventual suicide.

Help wasn’t available for the Allred family. But I find it interesting that the greater the adversity, such as war or other stressful experiences, the greater our knowledge grows towards a concept, like psychology. Does anyone remember that Mormon Message called “The Refiner’s Fire”? About the woman whose entire family died of cancer and what she learned from it was the greater sorrow we have, the greater our capacity to feel joy is? In some ways, I relate empiricism to this.

Art Therapy Project of Veteran with PTSD via WikiCommons

Though I don’t think I condone war as a mean for understanding mental illness, I do believe that one of the good things that came out of the war was the empirical psychological research initiated that would ultimately lead to a greater understanding of mental illnesses such as PTSD. Yes, war is an unspeakably traumatizing experience, one I can’t possibly imagine being on the frontlines of. But the sensory experiences of trauma have lead to amazing progress in medicine to help PTSD victims. 

And I think some may wonder, and this is something I have wondered as well: "But without war there wouldn't be PTSD." As modern studies show, not true.

Here is a cool article talking more about this. 

"Sweet and proper"

English Poet Wilfred Owen
Source: Wikipedia

As young men went off to fight in World War I, they carried with them in their minds and hearts that it was “sweet and proper” for them to die for their country.  Their ideas stemmed from widely accepted beliefs of the time period where war was not only embraced but glorified as well. Heinrich von Treitschke was a German historian in the late 1800s who taught that “war brings progress and becoming.”  Because of these commonly held beliefs, idealism and optimism spread in the minds of the soldiers at the beginning of the war. 

Unfortunately, this idealism and optimism didn’t endure the war, and for most soldiers, was lost early on in the trenches. The shift in attitude is evidenced in the literature and poetry that we have today that dates back to the Great War.  Much of what the soldiers recorded is dark and cold as they write of death, pain, and horror.  

Today I had the opportunity to listen to many poems written during WWI, and I’ll be honest with you, it was hard to keep my composure hearing about the lives of the soldiers. There was one poem in particular that struck a chord with me by an English poet and soldier, Wilfred Owen, entitled ‘Disabled.’  I felt that it related to my life, even though it was written one hundred years ago, and even though it was written from the perspective of a soldier.  Owen writes about a subject that I, along with most people in the world face daily: fear.

One parallel specifically regarding fear is that the soldiers had no idea where the next bomb was going explode, so they had to constantly be on guard.  Do we see this today?  In movie theaters, line dancing bars, night clubs, classrooms, and concerts?  

Another commonality is that with real fear, there is no off button.  Fear is a force that lingers, we learn from his poem, though it would be nice if it didn’t overstay its welcome.  

What we can conclude is that whether on the front lines at war, or the battlefields at home, we will face fear.  But like any good soldier, we can brave our fearful challenges as they come. 

The Seductive Nature of Nationalism

Today, I attended a Dead Soldier's Debate, in which four people represented soldiers who served on different sides of World War I. Although I've always struggled to wrap my mind around WWI, around the horrors and the pointless sacrifice of an entire generation, this particular event struck me from a new direction: the dangers of Nationalism. 

One of the soldiers, a decorated African-American, talked about his passion for freedom. Predictably, talking about freedom soon led to comments about the glory of the American cause in WWI--spreading democracy and freedom to other countries in the world. Listening to him ignited this sense of patriotic pride in me; I felt proud of my country's values, and for a brief brief moment I felt a burning in my soul for the cause of spreading freedom and democracy. 

The burning soon subsided when I became aware of the emotions I was feeling. The feelings of national pride were so seductive. With just a few words of rhetoric, they slipped past my carefully constructed filters of pacifism and reconciliation and ignited a desire to spread the American way of life. 

Is this not the same emotion that the French felt, having been outsmarted by Bismarck in the 1870's and consequently filled with a righteous passion to regain their lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine from Germany? Is this not similar to the passion for independence felt by the Serbs who assassinated Archduke Ferdinand to fight back against the occupation of their country by an empire?  Is this not just a smaller version of the same feeling of national pride felt by virtually every volunteer soldier in every country in the early days of the war? 

Soon after the American soldier's representative finished speaking, another American spoke about the horrors he had experienced in the war. He shared a story about a friend of his who was killed during the last day of the war simply because the American generals ordered attacks even when they knew an armistice was already assured.

This is the danger of Nationalism. When you want your own country to come out ahead at all costs, you forget that this can only happen at the expense of other countries and other people. And what ended up happening in World War I? Millions of equally passionate and patriotic men entered a conflict which few of them left alive, let alone filled with purpose and pride. 

Image Credits: in the public domain and licensed through CC

Perpetuating Tragedy in Poetry

The First World War forever shattered the global perspective on tragedy. Pain, at least to many ideologies, has a purpose. To sacrifice one’s life for another is noble; to suffer for a cause is celebrated; heroes get happy endings. The Great War trampled many of these ideals, for the level of destruction did not seem to match at all the nobility of the cause or the joy of victory. It was a senseless conflict of all the young men of the world killing and torturing each other with no real reason than rather bland words like patriotism. This tested the faith of the world audience as well- if God has a purpose in everything, what was the purpose of this?

Poetry helped that generation express their sense of confusion. While some may argue that to dwell on the worst of humanity is pessimistic, I think it’s important to show the limits of mankind. It’s important to see what God allows to happen, process our emotions, and comprehend Him on a higher level of faith.

The Poetry Reading for the First World War at BYU showcased some of the best poetry. One person read Flanders Fields- more hopeful than most. McCrae wrote, admonishing faith and hope,  “The torch; be yours to hold it high/If ye break faith with us who die/We shall not sleep, through poppies grow/In Flanders fields.”

My favorite is “The Hollow Men”, by T.S. Eliot. It is the most visceral reminder for me of what the soldiers felt. These are the most painful words I’ve read in poetry.

"Life is very long

Between the desire

And the spasm

Between the potency

And the existence

Between the essence

And the descent

Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

For thine is

Life is

For thine is the

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but with a whimper."

https://images.8tracks.com/cover/i/000/547/501/hollow_men-5908.jpg?rect=0,105,500,500&q=98&fm=jpg&fit=max