This is one of my best friends Dan, and while he doesn't have much to do with Marin Luther, I can't wait to go to Germany with him. I hope all you guys enjoy getting to know him, because at the end of the day he's a great guy. 

Berlin at night? Can it really look this pretty?

I love this document, and its impact on history cannot be described in words...

It can be argued that we live under the most democratic government in the world.  The First Amendment of our Constitution guarantees us the freedom to several rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to the petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  We find this clause, in particular the “freedom of religion” clause in the First Amendment of our Constitution, but how much are we willing to invest to secure the freedom of these ideals?  Are we willing to send our loved ones across the world to die in the name of religious freedom?  Are we willing to sacrifice everything to promote what we hold most dear?

            I believe that most American citizens are willing to accept that we are culturally diverse and have a variety of religions across our nation; however how dedicated are we to securing the protection of religious freedom?  In my mind, the previous question I listed above leaves me at a crossroads…Am I willing to die for my religion?  For multiple reasons, I will not elaborate on the previous question, however let me tell you how much I respect someone who is willing to risk everything in order to secure their own religious freedom.  Regardless of your personal religious views, you cannot help but admire Martin Luther’s ability to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of his own religious freedom.  In an era dominated both secularly and religiously by the Catholic Church, Martin Luther risked everything to defend the things he believed in.  He stood up against the strongest governmental organizations of his times to defend what he believed in, and for that reason I cannot help but admire Martin Luther.  You always should stand up for what you believe in, but what are you willing to stand up against? Are you willing to face adversity in the best interest of your beliefs? To Martin Luther the answer to these questions was yes, and I cannot help but respect him for defying adversity in the best interest of his beliefs.  

This picture depicts Martin Luther posting his 95 Theses.

Anyone wondering what the author of our book looks like ha?

This is him, Hagen Schulze.

I thought this might be helpful to show where nations were that we discussed in the text.

Some people typically refer to the United States as a “melting pot” to describe the culturally diverse makeup of our nation.  While we are proud to be culturally diverse, most Americans also take a great deal of pride in the notion that we are “free.”  “Free” of tyranny and oppressive regimes through our ability to actively partake in the election process through voting, our constitutional rights and a multitude of other safeguards enacted to protect democracy.  It can be argued that we are the founders of modern democracy, however similar to Germany we are a relatively young nation (less than 300 years) and major themes of our political and judicial systems can be traced back through history for thousands of years. 

            An entire library could be dedicated to books entailing the influence Rome had on the formation of the Western world, but Schulze says it quite perfectly: “The foundations of national statehood and low the customs of urban life, our languages and ways of thinking, our alphabet and books, our architecture—in short, the whole basis of the modern world in the West is unimaginable without the contributions of Roman civilization and the two older civilizations interwoven with it, those of Greece and the Hellenistic Orient (Schulze 2).”  Most college students would agree that Rome and Greece have had a significant impact on the Western world, however I believe that we often overlook the impact that more modern nations have left on Germany and us.  Neither nation started off as a “thoroughbred” and to put it bluntly, we were both “mutts” from a collection of different European “states.”  Our culturally diverse makeup contributed to our ability to use European states as an example on how to or how not to mold our nation. 

            The first two chapters of Schulze’s book have given me more information on the formation of Germany that I could have ever known, but what I have appreciated most about the book is Schulze’s ability to clearly define the historical context leading up to the creation of Germany, and the role that certain individuals played in that event.  Further, the first two chapters have started to indirectly point out multiple similarities between the formation of the United States and Germany, and I look forward to finding out more! (W/C 381)