written 2020, last edit 2020, submitted as an assingment for class
The West only rose when the Old World fell
After Muslim scholars had developed the sciences
And the Islamic civilization had brought peace and tolerance
After the Arabs had spread important crops
And the Indians had brought the idea of zero, the idea of infinite
“India contributed the idea of infinity, the use of simple numerical symbols (Hindi numerals), the idea of “zero” to represent “nothing”, and the use of place values.” (CIE 208)
After the Mongol Empire had secured routes
“Not until the area was “unified in the early days of the Mongols under the “world conqueror, Genghis Khan, did it become feasible for Europeans to traverse this long and treacherous route.” (Abu-Lughod 49)
And African gold had built cities, oases, life
After trade had built the reputation of those empires,
And the gold funding delivered beyond the most wildest dreams
You know that this very same system,
This which influences our own world, our own lives
Is the reason for the West’s rise
It set a beautiful stage,
With silk curtains and porcelain statues from China,
With people of all faiths sitting together
Ready for the show
With scholars and priests and emperors and leaders
All together, all ignored
By those on the very same stage they had set
On the very same stage they created, decorated
Those who they had lifted to the stage
Those who were different and behind, who had nothing to offer,
Now point fingers and call names
Now say “It was inevitable, we didn’t need you”
They say “We are and were always the best”
And they ignore history, true history
They cast aside the idea of an unbiased telling of events
For it wouldn’t glorify them, immortalize them
It wouldn’t make them superior
Like they've been saying for so many years
Like they've been preaching,
Like they've been teaching
Since “Columbus set sail on the ocean blue”
They’ve been pushing a single story
A single strand of history, of ‘history’
Without context, without both viewpoints
Like the Nacerama.
^^ evidence
They scream at the top of their lungs
That it was always like this,
That the patriarchy is inherent,
"Some have argued that men's control and exchange of women's sexuality and reproductive capacity generally became the basis of private property... Women’s experience in the first urban centers are marked by a general devaluation of their social freedoms..."(Clay et al 27)
That the distribution of wealth has always been like this,
“The notion that the gods depended on offerings from mankind for their survival was peculiar to these cultures, no doubt because it was very convenient for the members of the ruling elites. It legitimized the unequal distribution of wealth and power and provided an implicit warning that without the managerial activities of the elite, the world would come to an end.”(Standage 56)
Always worked like this
They yell to us that they are heroes,
They they should be memorialized
Like the columbus statues
But history isn’t about commemoration
(line from my unit one essay)
Or celebration
It's about context
(line from unit one essay)
Evidence
Seeking the truth and fighting for it to be known
It’s about educating one another to grow
Together
This wasn’t fate or destiny,
Even shouting they can’t hear us,
It was never meant to be,
Or maybe they can but choose not to listen,
It wasn’t “Inevitable” like they preach,
Maybe they plug their ears and count back from ten, unknownling using Arabic numerals,
It was chance, an odd set of consequence
Funny, right? Or maybe pathetic…
It was no more predictable than the outlandish decisions of youth
It’s like a self centered phase they never grew out of
It’s simply the twists and turns of time’s child, history
After Muslim scholars had developed the sciences
And the Islamic civilization had brought peace and tolerance
After the Arabs had spread important crops
And the Indians had brought the idea of zero, the idea of infinite
“India contributed the idea of infinity, the use of simple numerical symbols (Hindi numerals), the idea of “zero” to represent “nothing”, and the use of place values.” (CIE 208)
After the Mongol Empire had secured routes
“Not until the area was “unified in the early days of the Mongols under the “world conqueror, Genghis Khan, did it become feasible for Europeans to traverse this long and treacherous route.” (Abu-Lughod 49)
And African gold had built cities, oases, life
After trade had built the reputation of those empires,
And the gold funding delivered beyond the most wildest dreams
You know that this very same system,
This which influences our own world, our own lives
Is the reason for the West’s rise
It set a beautiful stage,
With silk curtains and porcelain statues from China,
With people of all faiths sitting together
Ready for the show
With scholars and priests and emperors and leaders
All together, all ignored
By those on the very same stage they had set
On the very same stage they created, decorated
Those who they had lifted to the stage
Those who were different and behind, who had nothing to offer,
Now point fingers and call names
Now say “It was inevitable, we didn’t need you”
They say “We are and were always the best”
And they ignore history, true history
They cast aside the idea of an unbiased telling of events
For it wouldn’t glorify them, immortalize them
It wouldn’t make them superior
Like they've been saying for so many years
Like they've been preaching,
Like they've been teaching
Since “Columbus set sail on the ocean blue”
They’ve been pushing a single story
A single strand of history, of ‘history’
Without context, without both viewpoints
Like the Nacerama.
^^ evidence
They scream at the top of their lungs
That it was always like this,
That the patriarchy is inherent,
"Some have argued that men's control and exchange of women's sexuality and reproductive capacity generally became the basis of private property... Women’s experience in the first urban centers are marked by a general devaluation of their social freedoms..."(Clay et al 27)
That the distribution of wealth has always been like this,
“The notion that the gods depended on offerings from mankind for their survival was peculiar to these cultures, no doubt because it was very convenient for the members of the ruling elites. It legitimized the unequal distribution of wealth and power and provided an implicit warning that without the managerial activities of the elite, the world would come to an end.”(Standage 56)
Always worked like this
They yell to us that they are heroes,
They they should be memorialized
Like the columbus statues
But history isn’t about commemoration
(line from my unit one essay)
Or celebration
It's about context
(line from unit one essay)
Evidence
Seeking the truth and fighting for it to be known
It’s about educating one another to grow
Together
This wasn’t fate or destiny,
Even shouting they can’t hear us,
It was never meant to be,
Or maybe they can but choose not to listen,
It wasn’t “Inevitable” like they preach,
Maybe they plug their ears and count back from ten, unknownling using Arabic numerals,
It was chance, an odd set of consequence
Funny, right? Or maybe pathetic…
It was no more predictable than the outlandish decisions of youth
It’s like a self centered phase they never grew out of
It’s simply the twists and turns of time’s child, history