If I Were Emperor...

          In the account "The Peoples of the West" from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢 Rome and its products are described for the Han Emperor's sake. If I were the emperor, I would regard Rome as a potential friend, though more like an acquaintance, and I would keep vigilant. Rome appears to be organized through a strange system with minor kings under the king. The people of their country are talented and the common people are literate. Some of their traditions seem strange, but they could be a good trading partner since they have so many products. Even though no military is described, Rome is large enough to become a threat, so I would proceed with caution.

The Silk Road

          Drawing a map of the Silk Road doesn't sound like a difficult task. In reality, my unfamiliarity with the app I was using combined with technology issues and research incapabilities, made this task more challenging than anticipated. At first I began in an app that could not zoom in... mistake number one. I found it too difficult to draw the points on the map accurately, so I switched to a new app that I had not used before... this unfamiliarity meant that I had to figure things out by trial and error... too bad I had more errors than successes. In addition to these complications some points of interest on my map were difficult to find correctly on the Internet. Over all, I prefer paper and writing utensil as opposed to my iPad.

The Roman Empire

          I think that the Roman Empire shaped the world to be what it is today. With that in mind, I still have a negative image of the Roman Empire. It used force to suppress its people. Through my exposure to the Roman Empire, I have seen how they mercilessly kill innocent people, how they disregard the plebeians and the manner in which they run their empire. In class, Mr. Whitten talked about how the Roman soldiers just killed anyone who didn't do what was required without listening. In the book, the political structure is introduced as a hierarchy where the plebeians appear to have power, but they do not. This manner of maintaining the big Roman Empire worked well, but the people it ruled had many negative feelings. The reading about marriage and divorce further exemplifies the power and control the Romans had. For example, the Augustan Marriage Laws along with many other of his laws were created to help Augustus to maintain control of his empire.

Republic to Empire

          Rome's path from #RepublicToEmpire began with strict class biased laws, which triggered a desire for justice, then a conquest of land and a power struggle and finally an assassination and a new leader and a new style of ruling. The 12 Tables outlined rules with obvious inequities between classes, the patricians and the plebeians. Inevitably someone, this time it was Tiberius, who will strive for justice. He attempts to redistribute land that will give the plebeians a fair say in government... well... the patricians like their power and want to keep it, so they murder Tiberius. Social unrest continues and even among the political power heads there are rivalries going on. The Civil War of Marius and Sulla lead to the Caesarean Civil War which leads to the collapse of the Roman Republic. Julius Caesar is assassinated, Augustus takes power and the Roman Empire is formed. Thus the Romans go from #RepublicToEmpire.

Alexander the Great for POTUS

          If you haven't already figured it out... POTUS stands for President Of The United States. If Alexander the Great were running for President of the United States today, I think he would be electable... except that he would show up drunk and lose the election. He has the motivation and the charisma to be electable, but his fatal flaw would be alcohol. Alexander the Great showed that if he wanted something, he would get it. He had motivation; he conquered an empire that spanned from Macedonia almost to India. He has charism; he got legions of people to follow him in his conquests. Alexander the Great had the skills to be president, but his electability would depend on if he wanted it enough to abstain from alcohol. Track record says "No"; he would fall to alcohol once again.

King Abdullah II of Jordan

          King Abdullah II of Jordan is trying to peacefully change from a constitutional monarchy to a democracy. I think he can succeed. King Abdullah II has a different strategy than most of the other Middle East nations to achieve a peaceful transition  to democracy. Most of the other nations have elected a leader that is constrained by the old laws, but King Abdullah's plan is to change the constitution first then elect a ruler. This means that the law changes first then the ruler can use the new law to run a democracy.

Democracy

          Democracy, a ruling style where every citizen has an equal vote, is best used in small societies and can not be successfully implemented in large complex societies. It sounds like a good idea where everyone gets equal say, but when its further explored, it's not so good after all. It works in a small society because there are less people to account for and less people to disagree. In a large complex society, the problems of democracy are magnified. Having everyone vote on everything would become a tedious time consuming chore every time anyone disagreed or wanted a change.