Blog 2

So I guess for this weeks blog post I will talk about a little bit about what I found interesting in my favorite of the readings this week, which for me was Chapter 1 of Sarmiento's Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism. Compared to the other readings for this week I found this one easier to understand and a little more interesting. I actually did a project on Argentina way back in 6th grade so I was trying to remember a little bit about the country and the history, but really, how much do you actually learn and remember from 6th grade. I really enjoyed how the first few pages in this chapter were very descriptive in the geography of Argentina. It was really useful and interesting to actually be able to picture the landscape in which each of the types of people reside. He talks about the two very distinct types of people, the Spanish and the Indigenous. I always struggle with comprehending why people think certain things, specifically about other people. For example, why do the elites and "superior" European people think so lowly of the indigenous? I always feel as though a lot of people throughout history are really selfish and it frustrates me and does not make sense to me because I guess of who I am and how I think. What makes the Europeans automatically better than the indigenous people? I feel fortunate to live in a time where most people are respected and loved, even though obviously there will always be issues and people who do not do so. Another thing I found interesting was that Sarmiento referred to the natives who lived in the countryside as savages. The word savage makes me feel like they are not even human. He does describe the conditions in which they liveas basically horrific and animal-like which is appalling to me. Why not just help them out a little bit to get them off the ground? Is it because they are frightened of the natives and want to control them and keep them far away from the "civilized" state or do they just not care about the conditions of another human being? I know these are silly questions, but I guess with the way I think and the way I am these are questions are difficult for me to comprehend and understand why people do certain things and think certain ways. I even struggle to understand what I believe as well. Hopefully, the second chapter of this reading is even better than the first chapter!