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Effect of the Revolutions
When the shift from Agricultural to Industrial revolution occurred it was a drastic change. With the shift, it gave everyone in a sense “jobs.” Everyone worked and had their responsibility. Children were often overworked as well as many others. With the industrial revolution it created different classes in society. The lower class fell into poverty and it led to homelessness. With poverty, came many issues for the lower classes.
The Industrial age changes still impact our everyday lives. Yes, women and kids are no longer exploited, but we still live in a world where time is money. We also live in a society with low class, middle class, and high-class citizens. Unfortunately, the upper class only takes up 6% of the US population but also runs most of the businesses and companies. This creates a system where the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.
All throughout the world homelessness can be found. In today's day and age as prices build and the cost of living in paradise increases more people are found on the streets. Surviving day to day on what the can find or is given to them. Here in Hawaii, homelessness is a big problem. Yes, the weather is great and the beaches are legendary but this all comes with a cost. Hawaii leads the national homeless rate affecting 505 out of 100,000 people, and the numbers keep increasing. At this rate, there will be more tourist living here then the Hawaiians themselves.
Thompson, Megan, and Mori Rothman. “After 8 Years, Hawaii Sees Decline in Homelessness Rate.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 June 2017, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/8-years-hawaii-sees-decline-homelessness-rate.
Staff, HNN. “Census: Nearly 200,000 Hawaii Residents Are Living in Poverty.” Https://Www.hawaiinewsnow.com, 12 Sept. 2019, www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/09/11/census-nearly-hawaii-residents-are-living-poverty/.
Rawes, Erika. “7 Most Expensive States to Live in the U.S.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 13 Sept. 2014, www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/09/13/cheat-sheet-most-expensive-states/15455129/.
Staff, HNN. “Census: Nearly 200,000 Hawaii Residents Are Living in Poverty.” Https://Www.hawaiinewsnow.com, 12 Sept. 2019, www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/09/11/census-nearly-hawaii-residents-are-living-poverty/.
Rawes, Erika. “7 Most Expensive States to Live in the U.S.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 13 Sept. 2014, www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/09/13/cheat-sheet-most-expensive-states/15455129/.
Relating to French Revolution
According to how the French Revolution started, there are many factors that would lead to the people wanting to rebel. The first and main point would be the rising taxes on the working class (poor people), especially when the rich don’t need it. The French monarchy spent most of their time partying and drinking booze while the farmers and workers worked day and night to barely afford to feed their families. The Age of Enlightenment also played a huge role in the early days of the revolution. The people of France began to learn of the “Americans” and how they revolted against the British Empire. The major goals of Enlightenment theorists were progress, liberty, reason, tolerance, fraternity, and ending the abuse of the church and state towards their people. Two of the many factors that would start a revolution.
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In modern America and modern Hawaii, we do see some signs that connect to the French revolution. The main factors of the start of revolution are the standings and status of the people and government an imbalance that causes chaos in a country or place. For example here in Hawaii, we do have some social differences in the way one lives and how much they get paid. But I think out imbalance happens with race. We tend to see white people having a higher social status, living jobs and pay. While we, the Hawaiians live in Hawaiian homes, lower-income housing, struggling to make a living. And with the government and their recent decisions, they are defining the line of economic standings are itʻs very visible. In modern America, their wars waging all around. People not being treated as equals, working of little pay, fearing for their lives. And stated in the video “Fear unattended can turn to anger which boils over in violence” which is happening across the globe. Revolution is happening everywhere. Itʻs happening now.
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If a revolution occurred and the Hawaiian Nation replaced the government, I believe the issue of homelessness would decrease. In the ancient Hawaiian Kingdom, everyone has a role in their system of living similar to the French. Homelessness wasn’t an issue because people had a job or work that had to be done in order for their entire community to thrive. Later on, when money and political power came into play is when the Hawaiian people started to lose land due to the prices and high powers that were coming into Hawaiʻi. The lower classes didn’t get much because of the cost of land. In the French revolution, one of the main causes was the lower class wanting justice. If the nation was put in place of the government I think that a good solution would be having the homeless people start to work in the loʻi patches or farms and through that, they can get resources like food, housing, etc. Working for their place of residence instead of money could be a viable solution.
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Akana, M. (2020, November). Honolulu .
Homelessness Is Highest in These States. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2018-12-19/west-coast-states-have-highest-rates-of-homelessness-hud-report-says
Davis, K. J. (n.d.). A Computer Is Analyzing Parliamentary Speeches To Understand How The French Revolution Started. Retrieved from https://www.wesa.fm/post/computer-analyzing-parliamentary-speeches-understand-how-french-revolution-started#stream/0
Homelessness Is Highest in These States. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2018-12-19/west-coast-states-have-highest-rates-of-homelessness-hud-report-says
Davis, K. J. (n.d.). A Computer Is Analyzing Parliamentary Speeches To Understand How The French Revolution Started. Retrieved from https://www.wesa.fm/post/computer-analyzing-parliamentary-speeches-understand-how-french-revolution-started#stream/0
Exploration, Exchange & Expansion
Based on the four major concepts that impacted globalization, the main concept that set up our specific Kahiau project was colonization. During the early stages of empires and kingdoms after exploration, exchanges and expansion, colonization occurs. Especially colonizers colonizing native cultures, here in Hawaii we can see many mainland people traveling and buying houses across the island. With this, housing prices have risen and the cost to live here is getting almost impossible. Booting out of native people and sending them to live on the streets. Impacting and becoming what we know today as, homelessness. Today, I think that colonization impacts the issue of homelessness the most. Although, it’s not the same as the past, there are still forms of colonization present in our modern day Hawaiʻi. Many of the residents here are from other places. Prices of homes and land are available at huge costs and we as natives don’t usually have that kind of money to spend. We also see forms of colonization through the workforce. Foreigners come to Hawaiʻi and take jobs which lead to our native people living in poverty. Without money from jobs, the option for a house isn’t available for many people. The system that Hawaiʻi is living in, are sending these people out onto the streets and into poverty. In modern America, we don’t see much of the impact of poverty on the economy. Since before the colonists arrived in America, there has always been a separation of people by their worth, whether it be by physical worth, religious value, or their monthly income. On the topic of poverty and homelessness, modern America isn’t much different from America two hundred years ago. Modern Hawaii has always had a “lower-to-high class economy.” The high-class “citizens” would be similar to the kings, queens, and aliʻi, who have most of the power and are respected like gods. Next would be the kahuna or the priest of the land. With his/her connection to the gods, they would be compared to middle-to-high class citizens. Following the kahuna would be the makaʻāinana or the common people; their jobs as citizens are to do labor and provide food, not only for their family but for their whole community and their leaders. The common folk would middle-to-low class people. The absolute lowest valued people were the kauā, also known as the slaves or outcasts. These people not only owned nothing but were also used as religious sacrifices to the gods. Having little to no value at all, the kauā were at the absolute bottom of the economic food chain. Every person falls into one of these categories; in modern Hawaii, the economy only evolved from what it once was. With the issue of homelesness, I think that the best way to be prepared is to change the system we are living by. As an independent Hawaiian Nation I believe that if we brought back some of the ancient Hawaiʻi values it could benefit those in need. In ancient Hawaiʻi everyone had a place in society and they all worked together to live prosperly. If we started to help one another once again we could possibly get some people off the streets and out of poverty. We can reflect on our past and create a new, better way of living to support everyone here in Hawaiʻi. In the current government of Hawaii the best way to handle this situation of homelesness, is to create more housing for them. Establishments that can hold more people with resources to sustain them. Doing this could get them off the streets and let them live their lives here in Hawaii. Although many people have different opinions about homelessness the bottom line is that there are still people that need basic things to survive day by day. From the money our Hawaii government has we could provide for them, not enabling them but to help them survive. Akana, M. (2020, January). Honolulu. |
Impact from Enlightenment Theorists
The two philosophers that relate to our Kahiau Project is Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jeremy Bentham. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a political philosopher who helped with the french and British enlightenments. A quote by him can be related back to homelessness/poverty because he talks about a man is in chains wherever he goes. To me, this means that no matter what you do there will always be something that stands in your way or holds you down. Sometimes we just need to help one another by giving, food, money or even water to help overcome those obstacles that hold us down. Jeremy Bentham believed in good principles and actions that promote happiness. Giving back to those in need can make a person’s whole day a lot better. Often times we implement the normalization of seeing homeless residents and choose to ignore or walk past them. The saying “a little goes a long way” can be applied in this scenario. By providing even the tiniest of help can create a big change.
The biggest result that occurred from the Industrial Revolution was the steam engine. The steam engine, developed around the early 1700s, was the latest in technology and propelled factories and industrial plant production. This increases supply, causing demand to lower, therefore, cheapening the economy. A big result that negatively impacted our topic was the increase of population. With the increase in steam engines/new energies and the use of coal, the citizens and working-class of the population had less to do. With less work needing to be done, the more time they had to do “other things,” increasing the population and decreasing the land and space available for the people. Two propelling factors that occurred during the era of expansion, exchange, and colonization was countries conquering others and how the exchange of goods from around the world increases pricing rates in everyday life. These factors come from the beginning of empires and colonization, countries wanted to control and expand their lands meaning kicking out native people and taking their land. And with the new lands, trades and exchanges between nations occurred and started a whole new connections between them. Yes, expanding your empire is great and so is trading with other countries but it had a great impact on the communities living in them. They took away our native land illegally just for the profits and resources here in Hawaii, taking away Hawaiian homes. And now that prices increased the people that live here canʻt buy basic needs and get head for the streets. The propelling factors that happened that impacted our kahiau project based on the results of the era of imperialization was their belief that native people were unable to fend and take care of themselves and dominance in a government standpoint was crucial to silence the people living there. This mindset can be described as manifest destiny/white man’s burden. These factors were caused by America's imperialism to Hawaii. It impact the Hawaiians in general, everyone believes and is taught that we are savages and can't do things for ourselves and need Americaʻs help, when we really don't. The definition of dominance means to have power and influence over others, and as seen throughout history America has conquered and used these nations for their benefit. |