Sovereignty Reflection

To reflect on this week, I would like to begin with Tuesday's class and the simulation of sovereign states. I thought that this example was taken way too far and became incredibly unrealistic, perhaps not the goal, although I enjoyed the beginning as a way to demonstrate some relations between sovereign states. I believe that these simulations and analogies in class are meant to structure learning around the specific subject, and therefore, when they are taken to a level where events JUST DO NOT OCCUR, I'm not sure that it helps us at all. There are many complexities in the world and international politics that cannot be explained, and sometimes should not be argued over, because there is no analogy that fits.

I enjoyed Friday's discussion, although again, I thought that we took the analogy too far. A classroom of children can perhaps mirror sovereign states, but only to some extent and I felt that examples involving the fourth grade class were being used inappropriately to prove every point.

To add on something to this week's discussion, I read an interesting article this week that was published by the Hoover Institution. It discussed the growing difference between the United States and Europe, and how we deal with power. The United States tends to be more forceful and worried, whereas Europe has strayed away from the militaristic side in the last 60 years or so. I think this is interesting because our conversation had to do with how countries deal with each other, and I think that it shows that we do not all do it in the same way.