Hey! I was hoping to get some feedback on a few of my supplemental essays, since I have had trouble finding anyone I know personally to help me out. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
One hundred years ago, in 1912, the Austrian writer and social critic Karl Kraus, famous for his provocative aphorisms, wrote "Civilization ends, since barbarians erupt from it." Write a short commentary on what you think this might mean from your perspective 100 years later, and whether it makes any sense.
The notion that our current American culture raises barbarians is, unfortunately, a common perception. Many speculate that the decline in appreciation for the arts and sciences, coupled with a sense of entitlement and a lack of worldly perspective is causing an 'eruption of barbarianism' among Americans. All over the media, we see news anchors and pundits ranting about the laziness and arrogance of the youngest generation and the dead-end direction our nation is taking. But is our current culture really heading towards self-destruction, and for that matter has any civilization really collapsed under the pressure of its own negative cultural developments? I would venture to say that really, civilization has never ended as a result of its own "barbarians," and ours is no exception.
Karl Kraus may have been sensing the turmoil about to erupt in Europe in the years precluding World War One when he wrote "civilization ends, since barbarians erupt from it." The dysfunction of the current European cultural system had been evident for years, and it took the largest war in history to finally bring about change. The barbaric practices of oppressing nationalist minorities and of failing monarchical governments may have arisen from 19th century European civilization, but they did not cause civilization to end; civilization simply changed, albeit in a cataclysmic way.
Even in the ancient times of the Western Roman Empire, cultural devolution was not as bad as it may have seemed. The empire lasted hundreds of years, passing through multiple periods of great decline and great power. Even the most definite collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 BCE was ultimately caused by an outside invasion of Germanic peoples, not just the weaknesses inherent to the empire due to disintegrating cultural integrity.
For a far more recent look at supposed declining culture, we can look back a mere fifty years. In the 1960s, when radical change was bursting through all facets of American culture, the adults mourned the loss of civilization as they knew it. Minorities were gaining ground towards equality and the sexual revolution was up-heaving societal norms left and right. Nowadays, we take for granted the equality of all people or the right for someone to their own body, but less than half a century ago such things were unheard of. The revolutionary heroes of today were the barbarians of the 60s.
In our modern culture, we teach our children about these civilizations of the past and expect them to synthesize their information, to critically think about the history they learn. The mere fact that so many high school students enter the battlefield that is the college application process stands testament to the fact that the people of the youngest generation aren't turning into barbarians: our teenagers work tirelessly in order to pursue a higher learning environment where they can grow to be as knowledgeable and skilled as possible. Colleges are becoming more and more difficult to get into and more and more expensive, yet the college attendance rate is steadily rising.
So, it appears that civilization never ends due to the barbarity it creates. In fact, maybe civilization never really ends at all: perhaps it just takes short breaks. People have a defined propensity for predicting the worst to come - it's in our nature. But when you really look at the way culture has developed over the course of human history, it's clear to see that the trend has been towards liberal social mores and equality for large amounts of people. I'd like to think that human nature ultimately leads us as a species towards a more civil civilization each day. What may be barbarism today could be the social and cultural step forward of tomorrow.
Nowadays, we take for granted the equality of all people, or the right for someone to govern (?) their own body, but less than half a century ago such things were unheard of. The revolutionary heroes of today were the barbarians of the 60s.---This is such great writing!
The mere fact that so many high school students enter the battlefield that is the college application process, stands testament to...
Your essay is perfect and so well written! This looks more like a magazine article than an essay, and I thank you for breaking up my day with some great writing! Good luck with school (not that you'll need it) and have fun!
:)
