Wednesday, April 1, 2009

G20

Currently watching some of the live coverage of the G20 protests over in London and it's clear that European citizens are even more enraged about the recession than we are. The Bank of England, which is equivalent to the Federal Reserve, has had several windows broken and in the heart of London's financial district there is an unwavering crowd inching closer each moment to small acts of violence. There have been several arrests, some brief fights, a few broken windows, and a lot of shouting ("Abolish Money!" was the most interesting one) about what should be done or what the protestors believe should be done.

While I don't think the G20 protests will turn into anything vicious (there are after all people playing guitars and performing slow interpretive dance), it does raise a few questions about us, the Americans: do our views necessarily reflect those of the world's, are we entitled to demonstrate our anger in the streets as well, should we be more enraged in general, and are the views of nations that lean more towards a constructive socialism a smarter (and safer) alternative to the rampant capitalism we have seen recently?

Of course I'm not the first to bring these up, and I won't be the last, but there is certainly a different political and social outlook in the European countries as compared to here in America. President Obama received less than 60% of the popular vote in the US, but earned nearly 85% in England, Italy, Germany and Spain and received more than 90% of the popular vote in France. Some would suggest there's a large discrepency between the beliefs of Americans and Europeans.

A great journal entry topic: Has there historically been a conscientious citizenry and how have we seen it displayed in the literature we read today? Has it been more prevalent in Europe or America (deduce from the novels of authors depending on where they are located when writing)? Is it a minority or a majority of the population? Does some of the literature we read today reflect an approach that would agree with the demands of the protestors or would agree with those who are being protested against?

Food for thought: Pizza.

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