Taiwan

Taiwan has always been a fascinating place for me. My Mom and her side of the family are all from Taiwan, so I have visited the country several times throughout my life. Besides Canada, it is the only foreign country to which I have traveled. I've always taken this part of my heritage for granted. But, I never really took the time to really explore the fascinating history of Taiwan. The country is really an inspiration, because it is a great example of how a once third-world country picked itself up off of its feet and transformed itself into one the world's leading economies.

Taiwan has been shaped a lot by the United States in developing its fledgling democracy. American companies were contracted in the development of much the country's infrastructure. Undoubtedly, the West has left its mark on Taiwan. However, it is remarkable how well Taiwan has been able to embrace its own heritage and culture, all while integrating the Western amenities that helped propel it forward into the 21st Century.

The ideals of capitalism and democracy that are so-called "American" values seem much more pronounced in Taiwan. Taiwanese towns, big and small, are lined with vendors that sell everything from lunch meals to jewelry. Quite cheaply, as well. It seems that there is far less regulation strangling businesses than there is in America. As a result, there is much more variety and competition to my options when it comes to things like finding a place to eat, finding transportation to a train station, buying electronics, etc. Seems that, in the interest of appeasing big business, America has lost some the commercial activity that it once might have had.

The government of Taiwan is a democratic system that, like that in America, consists of a combination of elected and appointed leaders. Thus, the people have a significant voice in their government. However, despite the access that people have in their government, Taiwan's relationship with China is a looming issue that often dominates elections.

The Taiwanese government has striven to make significant investments in technological research and infrastructure. In fact, it recently opened up a state-of-the-art high-speed rail system that traverses through all of the major population centers of the island nation. Traversal of the island between the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung takes about 4-5 hours by car; by high-speed rail, it takes about 90 minutes. The government invests directly in technology, facilitating the incubation of several cutting-edge technologies. The government's role and priority in high technology is what has helped Taiwan remain one of the world's leading countries in areas like semiconductors, materials science, manufacturing, and more.

Taiwan strikes me as a model for which I would like to see America adopt. Their government is hands-off when it comes to commercial regulation - but pro-active in supporting research and other projects that expand the Taiwanese economy. They do not try to enshrine religious or social values of any particular group of people into law for all citizens, like America's right-wing Christians do. The government is focused on the nation's growth, through quality and accessible education, investments in research ventures, and quality infrastructure that its citizens can use.

The incredible diversity and cultural understanding that exists in Taiwan is also incredible. Taiwan does not seem to be dominated by any particular religious majority. (Else, this majority is very tolerant of other religions.) They were one of the first governments to consider legalizing gay marriage. The Taiwanese seem to be able to embrace their rich heritage and cultures, all while respecting those of minority groups within the country. Again, it seems that Taiwan is better at facilitating a diverse society than America (the so-called "melting pot").

Taiwan is one of several Asian miracles that emerged over the past couple decades. America played a huge role in helping develop its economy and infrastructure. Now, as America continues to for ways to reform itself from the inside-out, we should look to places like Taiwan to adopt policies and governmental philosophies. Once we're able to get over the awkwardness with China, that is.

Americans

I have been horrible with keeping up with reading in my classes this quarter. As an engineering student, I'm used to having my classwork mainly consist of working out problems, writing lab reports, developing code, etc. Reading, though?! Sheesh. This quarter will be a change of pace for me.

Despite my lack of attention span to textbooks, I am a total junkie when it comes to reading the news. I can spend hours on BBCNews.com, linking between tons of interrelated articles. Some of my other favorites are MSNBC, The Economist, and Wired. They all have informative and user-friendly websites with interesting articles from around the world.

I've just started researching stuff for our first paper, due this weekend, about culturally mosaic societies. It's interesting whenever I hear folks try to characterize Americans and American culture. I tend to disagree with this whole notion that American culture is converging into one giant cesspool of capitalism. People tend to forget just how vast America is geographically - and overlook the distinct regions and subcultures present in America. Folks in the Southern states are distinctly different from New Englanders, Midwesterners, Californians, Texans, folks from the Plain States, etc.

Structure

Admittedly, I'm a little behind in my reading here... I didn't realize that each of the parts on these reading assignments were so long! This is my first ever online class, so I am trying to adjust myself to a class that is void of much structure - which is hard for someone like me who generally lacks self-discipline!

My previous journal entry tried to take a look at religion, without considering it as a form of control over human beings. I focused on the inspirational side of religion.

I'm reading Chapter 2 right now, a discussion of precolonial history. I have always felt ignorant to any decent perspective on non-Western culture. Seems like our education system really only emphasizes American history and Western Civ. It's unfortunate that we totally neglect other advanced cultures, especially those in China, the Middle East, etc. Kinda makes you wonder if there's a correlation between that and the current awkward foreign relations the United States has with some of those areas...

It was interesting reading about the stateless societies. The governance of people with a dynamic system of organization is fascinating. The fact that people self-organize so fluidly, based on function - not hierarchy or some other form of self-entitlement - is really interesting. In the informational age, it seems like many organizational bodies are adopting a similar governing structure. Less emphasis is placed on title or ranking; more seems to be placed on competency and specialization. It also reminds me of how some computing systems operate. Some forms of artificial intelligence are based on "nodes" within a computing system that self-organized, based on the nature of the problem. Even in the U.S. government, when confidence is lost in the federal government's competence, it seems like we see local and state governments form coalitions to essentially override the negligence or incompetence of the federal bureaucracy.

This decentralized structure seems suitable during times of peace. However, during times of crisis, this seems vulnerable. Without any definite chain of command, it is not difficult to imagine that these systems would be vulnerable to confusion, miscommunication, lack of consistency, etc. Perhaps this is what explains why the Department of Defense succeeds as a rigidly organized body and why Google is able to thrive with a less structured management environment.

With folks becoming more educated and having better access to information and faster communication, it seems that this day and age favors decentralized systems of governance. It relies moreso on the intelligence and specialization of the individual, as well as their abilities to self-organize in order to solve a problem. This system results in a society that empowers folks towards individual growth and spurs innovation among a society - but perhaps at a cost of added vulnerability to hostilities.

The good in religion

This is something I wrote for my personal online journal. I figured it loosely relates to the advent and development of many non-western (as well as western) societies.

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I found an interesting Newsweek article that was discussing the decline of Christianity in America. A huge part of me wanted to say "good riddance!" But, it's always easy for me, along with agnostics, atheists, etc. to decry Christianity (and other organized religions) as a means to brainwash and control folks - not to mention the grounds for wars, outright discrimination, etc. However, I think it's well worth taking a look at some of the more positive lights of religion.

Unlike some of my friends - particularly those in the GLBT community - I have never been directly persecuted for my sexuality. Of course, it helps that I can count the number of times I've gone to church on one hand. And, it helps that my sexuality was never a subject of conversation during any of these times. When I think of church in my life, I think of the wonderful old ladies that never fail to say a kind "hello" with a bright smile on their face on a Sunday morning - all while embracing me in a tight, genuine hug. I think of this powerful force in the room whenever a praise choir sings - a force so strong that it can uplift ordinary people to spontaneously exclaim "Hallelujah!" and affirm the inspirational sermon of the day. I think of the comfort that I have when God and I have a nice chat about life during a moment of prayer. To me, church was always an inviting place to which I unfortunately never gave up enough of my time. Sunday mornings at an uplifting church mass sure beats the hell out of a wasted Sunday morning sleeping in.

When discussing the general subject of religion in a cross-cultural context, it seems like all we ever talk about is the bad. A common theme is that religion is a form of control by the elite and those they seek to enslave. Sure, religion is an institution of control. But, during times long ago when the world was seen as a chaotic and uncertain place, religion provided the sense of structure and certainty that people needed at the time. Much like monarchies, dictatorships, etc. Now that mankind is much more confident and comfortable of his place in the world, it is no surprise at all that religion has kind of fallen lower on our list of priorities.

But, does that mean that religion no longer has a role to play in the lives of human beings in the 21st Century? I don't think so. The very basis of any religion is not necessary the sense of control exerted onto its followers. It is the feeling of hope. Hope is a powerful force. Hope helped build this great country from nothing during times of hardship and despair. Hope propelled a black guy with a few good ideas to the highest office in the land. In the darkest hours of our history, mankind has looked for this hope to lead the way to a better and brighter tomorrow. It is this sense of hope that is the common denominator that fuels any religion.

In today's philosophical and moral debates, it is easy to tempt yourself with using religion as a weapon to divide people. While folks get caught up in the semantics and details of who their God is, what makes their God so fucking great, etc., people lose sight that these details don't matter. What truly matters is that each of us has our own path to make sense of this world to make something great of ourselves. If you believe in an invisible man in the clouds surrounded by angels, that's awesome. If you believe that God exists in the trees and the creatures around us, that's great. If you believe that God is some sort of mass delusion crafted by a bunch of nitwits in power, then that's also great. The only things that matter to me are that your religion and philosophy provide the following: happiness, sense of purpose that propels you to help others, and open-mindedness. That last requirement is rather tricky to come by, it seems, but it's a crucial element in preventing folks from committing murders and suicides in the name of their god(s).

Religion is a substrate of humanity that hasn't existed for thousands of years for nothing. Religion provides the fuel for which people can strive to be someone better than they already are. It empowers folks. It provides a commonality that forms the basis for diverse communities. Looked at in a positive light, religion is something that should not be feared. With the right leadership and the right state of mind to use it, religion can be something that propels mankind forward to achieve something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Religion represents a powerful force at the very heart of every individual that, when used for good, can bring people together in jubilation, but can also, when used for bad, be used to tear people apart and destroy them.