Listening to some of the presentations today reminded me of a few things that are different here in the United States. Sure, there aren’t any civil wars and we have the closest thing to a democracy that exists today. However, the thing that kept going through my mind as well listened about Russia, China, and even a nation that is technically newer like Macedonia: The United States, and specifically Phoenix, is just so young!
Macedonia has been in conflict with Greece regarding its name because of a dispute that dates back to before Christ. While the country is new, that land has been inhabited since then. They have buildings that date back hundreds of years and conflicts with neighbors that are even older. Here in Phoenix, the oldest building was built in the late 1800’s and it is now a sports bar. Even the United States does not have an extensive history. Going to the east coast is where you will find the oldest buildings, but they don’t even begin to compare to the history of Europe.
Phoenix really does not have much of a history before the invention of air conditioning seeing as people could not stand to live here. That means that Phoenix really did not begin its modern history until the 1950’s. We have 60 years of history. Macedonia has over 2,000. What’s more, there are places whose civilizations are even older than that. It just goes to show that although we here in America may think that we know what is right, but we are still the new kids on the block and you never know, maybe we still have a few things to learn from these countries with such rich histories. 
Kinda puts everything into perspective, doesn’t it? 🙂
An interesting post, to be sure, and a worthwhile point, though I slightly disagree. It hasn’t always been as hot in Phoenix as it is now…the amount of concrete and urban spread has increased our average temps dramatically. In the early 1900s the dry air was actually sought by those suffering from tuberculosis, and in the north Phoenix area there were several TB-treatment facilities.
And, Native American tribes have been in this region for much longer than 1950…that’s a different type of history, but “history” all the same, don’t you think?
I completely agree with Kristi. What is history? When does the history begin? I know that we have learned since elementary school that the history in America (this is including north, central and south) when the european came to live or explore (in case of central and south america) our lands. The problem is that our education is based in eurocentrism that does not consider other civilizations, or cultures. For example in China, they have a very old history, a great and organized civilization with incredible knowledge, but in most of education system this is not consider as a history! In America, also Africa and Oceania, we also had civilization, history, a long time ago before the european arrival. Those people had their knowledge, also their technology of adaption of any landscape, weather etc. So, why this is it not consider history? This is something to thing about, and try to see beyond of our own culture. Our world is so old, so we have history since then.
This article is full of lies.
Why doesn’t the author mention the majority of people that lived in what is today FYROM used to freely self-identify as ethnic Bulgarians?
“The political and military leaders of the Slavs of Macedonia at the turn of the century seem not to have heard Misirkov’s call for a separate Macedonian national identity; they continued to identify themselves in a national sense as Bulgarians rather than Macedonians.” – US Anthropologist Loring Danforth, “The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World”, Princeton Univ Press, December 1995
Why doesn’t he mention the US used to claim there was no such thing as an “ethnic Macedonian
(presumably not involved in ethnic cleansing)
“This (US) Government considers talk of Macedonian “nation”, Macedonian “Fatherland”, or Macedonia “national consciousness” to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece” – US State Department Dec, 1944 (Foreign Relations Vol. VIII Washington D.C. Circular Airgram – 868.014/26)
http://tinyurl.com/nel46d
Where is the mention of FYROM government’s past identity claims?
We are not related to the northern Greeks who produced leaders like Philip and Alexander the Great. We are a Slav people and our language is closely related to Bulgarian.’ – FYROM´s Ambassador to Canada Gyordan Veselinov, Ottawa Citizen Newspaper, February 24 1999
“We are Slavs who came to this area in the sixth century … We are not descendants of the ancient Macedonians” – Kiro Gligorov, FYROM’s first President, Foreign Information Service Daily Report, Eastern Europe, February 26, 1992
‘We do not claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great.’ – FYROM’S Ambassador Ljubica Acevshka, speech to US representatives in Washington on January 22 1999
….
The fact is the former self-identifying ethnic Bulgariasn currently living in ancient Paeonia (not Macedonia) are lying identity thieves. If they really saw themselves as Macedonians as they claim, why wouldn’t they also call themselves Greeks as ancient Macedonians did?
“Men of Athens… In truth I would not tell it to you if I did not care so much for all Hellas (Greece); I myself am by ancient descent a Greek, and I would not willingly see Hellas change her freedom for slavery. ” (Speech of Alexander I of Macedonia upon being admitted to the Greek-only Olympic games as a self-identifying Greek, Herodotus, Histories, 9.45, ed. A. D. Godley)