Author Archives: Demian Gass

Please Vote for Me

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I thought this documentary was a great example of the different types of leaders we actually see in politics. Luo Lei uses his physical strength to assert his dominance. Furthermore, he uses his father’s position as a police officer to take his class on a field trip and win over their votes. Cheng Cheng on the other hand is a leader of charisma. He goes around the room after his speech telling his classmates that they have “good karma” and manipulates his classmates to vote him by promising them positions if they vote for him. With classic campaign drama, the 7 year olds point out everything that is wrong with the other candidates. Cheng Cheng accuses Luo Lei of being a dictator and a fascist because of his use of violence. He also accuses Xiaofei of having no confidence, and being too soft to be a good leader. However this wasn’t enough since Luo Lei still ended up winning the election. Clearly this is democracy in action as we’ve observed the typical political tools used by the 7 year olds.

Democracy’s Prospect

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Many people in the US feel as though whoever they vote for won’t change anything in our society. This is one of the reasons that voter turnout has dropped so far in recent decades.   Many people believe this signifies the beginning of the end of our democracy. This belief in an inability for change is a sign that people have less faith in the potential of democracy. The main function of democracy is after all the fact that the public votes for who has the power, and when that fails then it is understandable that the people begin to lose faith in the system. Additionally, voters have become more and more polarized, voting for either the republican or democratic party are on completely opposite political spectrums of one another. We talked about in class about how the most liberal republican is still very much more conservative than the most conservative democrat, illustrating just how different the two parties are. Clearly these points can be interpreted as signifiers for the crash of democracy, however I don’t think they are. Although I agree that politics in America have certainly taken a few steps back in recent decades, I believe that they will always come back. Most, if not all, people in America can’t imagine a non-democratic society and wouldn’t even entertain thoughts of a different form of government. While our politics might be in a rough patch, I am strong believer in that they will bounce back.

The Grocer of Balgat

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Daniel Lerner’s story about “the Grocer and the Chief” of Balgat was truly a story of modernity. He begins by retelling the account of Tosun B. who visited Balgat in 1950. A dim picture is painted of the grey desolate town, whose people all seem to conform to the same traditional perspective of the world and their lives. This is true except for one citizen of Balgat- the grocer- who seemed to be the only one who felt he hadn’t reached his life’s full potential. He knew that there was more to life than what he got from his small town in Belgat, and he realized that many of his neighbors didn’t have this realization. Lerner then transitions to tell his own account of Balgat 4 years later. It appeared as though the village had in many ways taken on the image painted by the grocer’s fantasies and dreams that had been described by Tosun. The village had electricity, new roads, a bus system, and many more things that were the true tell signs of modernization that it seemed none of the villagers had known were possible for their home in Balgat. And yet, from the accounts of the villagers after these changes occur, this modernization is clearly something that most if not all citizens view as positive. In many ways this contradicts what they had said to Tosun: many saying they wouldn’t change anything about their country if they were president, and had no desire to live anywhere but Balgat. Only the grocer seemed to realize and predict the potential that modernization brings.

Response to Dying Russians

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This study certainly differs in many ways than the ones I read about in my Econ and Stats classes. Gessen takes a interesting approach to solving the problem of the dying Russians. As is traditional, the topic is approached with empirical methods of analysis, researching STD rates, smoking rates, and other possible culprits for the high mortality rate in Russia. And eventually one is found: a high rate of cardiovascular diseases. However, this is where the research veers from the norm. When a cause for the high rates of heart attacks isn’t found, there is a turn away from the more “traditional” science approach. Instead, the culture and history of Russia is analyzed, and from there we seem to get our true culprit for the high mortality rate: a lack of hope. I certainly don’t disagree with the conclusion of the article, I can completely understand how the society that Russians live in has had an effect on their health in ways that may not be immediately clear through an empirical approach. However, I felt as though the authors of the research were too quick to conclude that this must ultimately be the reason why Russians are dying. I feel as though there was a lot left on the table that’s still worth researching, both from an empirical standpoint and from a method-driven approach.

Elephante

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There is certainly no definite answer as to who has power in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. The answer depends on perspective. From the perspective of the Burmese natives, George Orwell and his fellow English officers unequivocally have the power. In fact, most people, I think, would agree that the English have the power in this scenario. After all, the English were the ones to come assert their rule and establish a colony in Burma. The officers are the ones with the weapons and the ones that enforce the laws created by the English.

However, Orwell offers us a very interesting perspective from the view of the officer. To them, though they do enforce the rules, they also feel forced to act a certain way because of the natives. They are required to act in a certain way so as to fill their role of ruler. Yet, as Orwell speaks about, this often leads them to acting in ways they would not act out of their own volition (i.e. shooting the elephant).

So in many ways, both the Burmese natives as well as the English officers have power. The English force the Burmese to act a certain way and conform to their laws through the use of violence and fear. However, the Burmese force the officers to act a certain way and embody their positions though the use of their numbers and their opinion: the officers do not want to “disappoint” the natives.

Response to John Gatto’s “Against School”

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I have always understood the practice of assigning grades and scores as a form of incentive: a way to ensure that we take our learning seriously. In many ways, this is true. Without a lack of incentive, I am certain many young kids would give their learning far too little priority. Yet scoring systems are much more than just an incentive. They force students to conform to the belief that we compete against our peers in most of what we do. Furthermore, it promotes the idea of School as a means by which to earn grades, rather than a way to enrich one’s knowledge. I think this is especially true at Williams, a place where nearly every student had an amazing GPA in high school and/or excellent standardized test scores. Williams students are no doubt hungry for knowledge and interested in exploring the curriculum offered here; however, the concept of grades is nonetheless engrained in the way we approach school. It almost always seems the case that, when course registration rolls around, the courses with “easy grading” or a “light work load” are ranked above those with “engaging material” or which are “challenging but rewarding”. While I believe that Williams students are nowhere near being the monotonous and robotic products of the school system that Gatto describes in his paper, I certainly agree that the idea of ranking and distinction is something that we have all come to accept as normal and important in our Williams experience.