This post will be the second rant for the grind diary. I refer to these posts as rants because I purposefully do not plan them. Hopefully you guys see them as entertaining or ideally get some value from them.
As of this writing, I am a couple weeks into my final semester for my physics bachelor’s degree. So far, the semester hasn’t been too bad, but it also hasn’t had enough time to really suck just yet. Most of my work is major projects that we are given multiple weeks to do.
Nothing happens in a vacuum
The major project that I am trying to knock out first is a book review for my modern history class. For this project I am reading A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev by Vladislav M. Zubok. It is a thick book, but I would definitely recommend reading it to anyone.
This book has really opened my eyes to just how interconnected everything is, especially with history. I don’t know if it is because how things are taught in school or what, but I have noticed that people tend to compartmentalize things and keep them separate. This is most noticeable, at least to me, with historical events.
For example, it is rather easy to think of the Korean war, the Vietnam war, and the war in the middle east as separate events in history. This concept that I am bringing up isn’t exclusively for wars, they just happen to be the example that I am using. However, when you start studying them more in depth, they are connected somehow, in this case, the Soviet Union was involved in some degree.
The point I am trying to make is that people tend to think of events in a sort of linear fashion, the specific causes, and achievements. At least when they are looked at or “studied” superficially, as they typically are in school. Its as if they are reading a book and each event is its own chapter. However, history is more like a collaborative work in which there are many authors writing about the same thing, at the same time, for different perspectives, and they collectively come together to create an event.
Understanding
One thing that I have noticed as I talk to people and try to have intelligent discussions, something that is surprisingly difficult to do on a college campus, is that a lot of people think knowing something and understanding something are the same thing. They are not.
I have talked to a lot of people who know a lot, and they can just regurgitate what they know, but they do not actually understand it. Understanding comes when you can apply what you know because you know what it means.
The American civil war in the 1860s is a good example to expand on this a bit more. Most Americans are aware that the Union won the civil war, at least I would hope so. Okay, well knowing that is cool, but do you understand what that means?
Why was the war started? (Hint: it wasn’t started to end slavery, it was started to preserve the Unions, slavery played a bigger role later into the war)
What exactly does the union victory mean? Well, after the war, the south, now a part of the United States again, had to be reconstructed.
Now, WHY WAS THE CIVIL WAR IMPORTANT? Through further study, you will find that the civil war was an obvious catalyst to the major theme of American history: Government Expansion. From the union and northern/federal governments forcing the south through reconstruction, FDR’s new deal, LBJ’s Great Society, to the welfare state we have today, that theme is consistent with American history. Whether or not these events are positive or necessary is a different question, but either way, they exhibit the expansion of the federal government.
Fun Fact
Fun fact. Before the civil war, “The United States are” was proper grammar. After the war it was “The United States is”. This was because before the war the country was few more as a collection of sovereign states since federalism was in full effect. It wasn’t until after the war that America was viewed as a single unified entity in its own eyes. This is also seen in how the citizens identified themselves. Before the war they identified more with their state rather than the country, this changed after the union was fully preserved.
Completely different topic
So, on top of school, weight training, and this blog, I also have a side hustle with my significant other selling homemade decorations. I would like to bring this up because I have found that there are some difficulties that come along with a business that involves physical products.
The thing about physical products is that you must store them and move them. This have been a bit of a problem since we are both in college, so we are only in the same location for a few months max. This means that every few months we must move everything, and by ourselves too. We can’t hire employees or have a storage facility since we are both of modest means. This also comes from us both being in college, so the work we do over the breaks is basically enough to put some kibble on the table while we are in school.
However, is has been a learning experience, and this is not to say a business that sells physical products isn’t good. These types of businesses are obviously necessary; however, whether it will fit with your current situation is something that you really need to put some thought into before you start.
Conclusion of this Entry in the Grind Diary
Another topic that has come to mind is the question of whether a college degree is worth what it once was, and some of the problems that I have noticed with higher education, at least in America, while I have been put through its wringer. This will be saved for another post though because it is something I could probably write for a few pages about.
I hope this rant wasn’t too all over the place and hard to follow. To reiterate that nothing happens in a vacuum, especially on the global stage, whether it is with politics, economics, or some other concept.
Also, it is almost impossible to understate the importance of truly understanding history. History doesn’t repeat, but it can rhyme. This is important because there are no certainties in life, only probabilities, and with a true understanding of history, you can see the probabilities of certain events occurring change in real time, and that is wisdom rears it head. Hopefully this rant of the grind diary hasn’t been too boring.
To your wealth and freedom,
James Forsythe
The Grind Diary with rants
https://jamesdforsythe.com/category/the-grind-diary/
