Why do we hold elections in November? Because it's the best time to pick out a Turkey.

Ahhhhh Turkey day! Best holiday after 4th of July and Christmas. And Cinco de Mayo. And New Years. Anyways, let me crank this out so I can hit the road- 6 hour flights baby, Rachel and Catherine know what’s up.
Well I managed to successfully get caught in my own argument today. I concede: it only makes sense to judge history in order to learn anything from it and move forward. I guess where I found the issue is how to go about doing that. Like many of us said, judgment is subjective (but not arbitrary). Yet if we don’t judge people with our own sense of morality, everything becomes moral. This reminds me of people who love to champion all cultures, even those cultural behaviors that are abusive and backward- people aren’t willing to say “yes, my morality is superior to yours,” which is necessary- not exactly what I was arguing in class, but what I’ve concluded from our talk.
Onwards.

“The man who finds his country sweet is only a raw beginner; the man for whom each country is as his own is already strong; but only the man for whom the whole world is foreign country is perfect.”

Let me get this straight:
The man who’s satisfied with his own country is lame.
The man who thinks he can do whatever he wants with all nations like they are his own is pretty alright.
The man who sees all other territories as foreign and conquerable rocks.
Hmm.

Maybe from a strictly Machiavellian/realist perspective that’s “correct,” it certainly maximizes one’s ability to conquer without remorse. However it wouldn’t rest very easily on most people’s consciences.
PTJ asked if we (as a collective modern humanity? What does that even mean when half the world isn’t socially “modern” by our standards?) are better suited not to engage in genocidal behavior nowadays. This goes back to the “is our knowledge better?” question. Yes, our morality is better than Cortez's, but it’s not the best. We still have genocides going on and military conflicts such as Rachel was making a connection to (I’m assuming Iraq). While I personally do think we have a superior moral code, I don’t believe it is our place to intervene in affairs not directly relevant to us (insert Family Guy Ground Zero clip haha). The majority of Spaniards in Cortez's time were probably unconcerned with his actions abroad. The fact that a vast percentage of the population today is not a fan of such interventionist activities shows the continual evolution of morality.

And now I’m off to pack! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!