http://fortune.com/lusitania-gregg-bemis-legal-battle/
When the passenger ship, the Lusitania, was sunk by a German submarine in 1915, it became one of the pivotal moments of World War I. Should any individual have “salvage rights”–which means the right to strip the Lusitania bare and sell the artifacts (think about the Titanic)–to a critical part of world heritage? The Irish government is doing the right thing, trying to protect it from possible exploitation by a profiteer. Good work, Ireland.
Those who’ve read our PEOPLE OF THE LONGHOUSE quartet of books already know why American democracy–and modern democracies around the world–are different from classical Greek democracy. People like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin valued and incorporated Iroquoian democratic principles into the fabric of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Women, of course, were still excluded from voting. In Iroquoia everyone voted, women, children, and often prisoners of war were allowed to vote.
Here’s our question for you: If you were a voter in ancient Greek society and you voted to go to war, you had to run home, grab you bow and armor, pack some food, and head off to fight. So…if we were obeying Grecian rules of democracy, and you knew you had to fight if you voted to go to war in Syria, Iraq, or Iran, how would you vote? http://www.historyextra.com/blog/ancient-greece/ancient-greek-democracy-similar-ours-we-think
Take a careful look at these two bodies. They are both men and date to around 2,000 years ago. Do you think they were thrown into the bog and accidentally ended up in these positions? Or did someone deliberately arrange them? Why or why not?
http://www.archive.archaeology.org/1005/bogbodies/index.html
PREVIEW! PEOPLE OF THE SONGTRAIL, coming May 26th! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/people-of-the-songtrail-kathleen-oneal-gear/1120327521?ean=9780765337252
Father’s voice is urgent. “And the succession, my lord? Who rules now?”
“Harald succeeded him, but the Danish fleet proclaimed his older half brother, Cnut, king. In the confusion, Aethelred the Unready marched back from his exile in Normandy and drove Cnut out of England. Aethelred rules England now and Harald is the Danish king, though Cnut asked Harald to share the kingship with him.”
“Will he?”
The man laughs bitterly. “No. But, trust me, Cnut will be king soon anyway. Harald cannot stand against him.”
Father glances at me, and a chill climbs my spine.
My younger brother, Thord, leans sideways to whisper, “Why did Father look at you?”
“I don’t know.” But a black bubble is swelling in my chest. When it bursts…
“Cnuts army is mending ships. He’s marshaling his forces to return to reconquer England.”
Mother turns her back to us, and I watch her long red curls blow across her shoulders in the cool breeze. She’s whispering to Father, but his tight eyes have fixed upon me and Thord.
“And what of our charge, sir?”
The ealdorman pulls a jangling bag from his belt and hands it to Father. “Personally, I think it’s a cruel myth, but if not, the girl may be useful to keep her mother in line.”
The girl….
Me?
Those of you who’ve read our short story, THE DEAD MAN’S DOLL, have already met Thyra’s mother. Do you really think anyone can keep her “in line”?
This is a fascinating article from the perspective of anthropology. Culture is created through a process of separating “us” from “them.” And food is certainly one of the ways we do that. For example, if you are member of a religious culture that does not drink alcohol, the group ethic says, “We don’t pollute our bodies with alcohol. They do. Therefore, they are polluted.” Dietary rules are often used as ways of identifying “us” and reinforcing group solidarity. And we’re not saying this is bad. Group solidarity is what culture is all about. Every group has to define who “we” are, and social rules are largely how we do it.
Just as a personal example, we say, “Bison is a pure clean meat. We eat bison. We don’t eat unclean animals,” and by that we mean animals filled with growth hormones and antibiotics. Now, of course, we do eat unclean animals all the time when we’re away from home. Nonetheless, the group ethic that identifies our group–the group we think we belong to–has dietary rules. They’re just not hard and fast rules, as is generally the case with a religion-based diet. But in a way, aren’t we ascribing a “religious” value to our diet? Ah, there’s a hint in there somewhere that growth hormones and antibiotics in food are “evil” and “impure” and, well…maybe even “ungodly.” THAT is what Alan Levinowitz is talking about in this article. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/05/the-puritanical-approach-to-food/392030/
Does your diet have “religious” values?