Unit 2 Summative Assessment
By Sierra Mielens
Analysis
Bullets & Ballots
Migration is caused by conflict, but also cooperation, resulting in the creation of social groups and cultural mosaics.
There were five groups in the game: the Army and Wealthy, the Guatemalan Government, the Guerrillas, the United States, and the Peasants of Guatemala. My role in the game changed with the shifts of power, conflict, and cooperation. I was originally a Guerrilla, but due to a treaty made with the Army and Wealthy, I became a Peasant.
The bullets and ballots game showed us that people do migrate because of conflict or cooperation between social groups. The Guerrillas made a treaty with the Army and Wealthy that said they would send one person over to the Peasants and vote for the Army and Wealthy's presidential candidate. In return, the Army and Wealthy would give the Guerrillas 25 MSU's. I was a member of the Guerrillas, and I joined the Peasants because of this treaty. This is an example of migration through cooperation. The Guerrillas wanted MSU's from the Army and Wealthy to try to weaken their strength. This would give the Guerrillas more power so they could use military strength to take over the oppressive Army and Wealthy. This is an example of how cultural mosaics could be made through conflict - the Guerrillas would go into power and change the way the country was.
Based on the results of the game, I believe that the Army and Wealthy would continue to fight against the Peasants and Guerrillas. The Army and Wealthy ended with the most MSU's, followed by the Guatemalan Government. Both of these social groups would not easily relinquish their power and they would therefore continue to fight. After these results, I think it would be extremely difficult for Guatemala to find peace again.
Application
While Democrats may see a national issue, such as abortion, as something that is necessary to better our society when it is needed, Republicans may see it as unconstitutional and taking away life. Another issue that has different perspectives to it is healthcare. Democrats see healthcare as something that should be provided by the government and available to everyone, but Republicans see it as something that people should receive through hard work. These are examples of how the two parties conflict and have different perspectives on many national and international issues. Power shifts between the Democratic and Republican parties with whoever is President or a leader in their group. If the majority of the House of Representatives is Republican, the majority of the votes will most likely be on the Republican side. If the President is Democratic, he or she can veto or approve bills passed by Congress. This shows how power shifts because if there is a Democratic President and a mostly Republican Congress, the President will usually have more power over Congress.
Another example of the unit's enduring understanding is between the United States and Russia. The United States have put financial, energy, and weapons sanctions on Russia because Russia after the "...downing of a Malaysian airline over eastern Ukraine" ("Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Defends The 'Smart Power' Of Economic Sanctions"). If Russia breaks these sanctions, there will be even stricter ones put into place, which would be intended to harm Russia's economy. This is an example of cooperation through conflict. These sanctions implored upon Russia could change the way the country functions, which would be changing Russia's cultural mosaic, and even causing migration. The United States may see the sanctions as necessary to restore peace between nations, but Russia may see the sanctions as a threat to their nation. Power shifts in Russia can be caused by the sanctions; their economy has been weakened by the sanctions. The United States can also gain more power over Russia if they can persuade or convince other countries to join them.
In the Bullets and Ballots game, opposing teams made treaties with each other to try to compromise and barter for what they wanted. This is shown through both of the above examples because in both situations treaties were/can be made to attempt to benefit everyone involved. However, these treaties were not always seen in the same light. The Guatemalan Government suggested a treaty for them and the Peasants that said they would provide the Peasants with land if and in return, the Guatemalan Government "hoped" the Peasants would vote for them in the upcoming election. The majority of the Peasants signed the treaty, seeing the word "hoped," so that meant that they did not have to vote for the Guatemalan Government. The Guatemalan Government could have seen the treaty working to their advantage, but they did not account for the fact that they used the word "hope" in the treaty. Overall, the Bullets and Ballots game and real world situations are very similar when it comes to the migration of people, conflict and cooperation.
Transfer
In the Bullets and Ballots game, my experience can be related to my life. Near the beginning of the game, I switched from a Guerrilla to a Peasant. Something similar to this in my life is when I switched soccer teams. I used to be on a team called the Timberwolves, but now I play soccer for a higher level Seacoast United team. My social group changed because I met new people and played in a higher competition bracket.
A possible conflict in my soccer team's social groups could be between the more experienced players and the less experienced players. The more experienced players could try to tell other players what to do, but from my own experience, that can become very frustrating. A conflict like this would result in a lot of arguments between players and then that would result in a lower performance for all of the players involved.
Humans migrate because of push and pull factors. I might move close to Pinkerton because my family is not currently in any of the school districts. Both my brother and I go to Pinkerton, so it would make sense for us to move into a school district to save money. This is a pull factor (education). If we move, we will all be creating and adding onto our individual cultural mosaics and become part of a new social group: the neighborhood. Moving would require most of or all of my family to agree with the decision, so we need to cooperate in that way. Overall, my beliefs and values put me in a variety of different social groups.