In Class Simulation (Some Notes)

This simulation was very interesting and had some of us feeling some type of way. I really enjoyed the conversation we had today. I loved Anne's point about security for all, rather than security for some. Many countries were geared towards war immediately because of fear and paranoia of being attacked before they were ready. Security became stocking up for war and aligning with other countries to protect common interests, rather than taking care of problems at home. I think this simulation brought out a very real side to human nature. We tend to look for enemies to define us and make us feel safe. We connect over common enemies and feel power only when we take it, rather than remaining in a neutral state of peace. In our simulation Country 4 became the scapegoat. There needed to be an objective and that became to conquer, even without reason. Country 4 was not in any clear alliances and though they were weak in other ways, they had the most soldiers so they became a target. This happened due to the fear of a conspiracy and the choice to take over the country for "resources". These resources were minimal, yet they were enough to incite a full-on war. The two strongest countries were 1 and 2 and they aligned themselves with weaker countries. Country 2's plan was to slowly pick away at weaker countries and as Jia pointed out world domination seemed to be the path being traveled. Many other countries aligned just to be protected and went along with choices to remain in these alliances, but the loyalty in alliances was not clear. It's interesting that people exchanged lives for pieces of paper that no one could be sure would be upheld. If country 4 was up for domination for no real threat, but the suspicion of a weak threat, then what would have prevented other countries from being considered "threats" or "easy targets"? There were so many other things going on in this simulation and, as in real life, things got messy, but these are a few I wanted to note for this blog. What aspects of this simulation have we seen play out in real life?