Wooden-Headedness

A detailed Summary of Wooden-Headedness

Why was Julius Caesar assassinated in 44 B.C.-by his best friend, yet? Why did the Roman Empire crumble in the 5th century A.D.-historians are still puzzled by that disaster? Why did William of Normandy attack England in 1066 A.D.-the date "every school boy should know?" The stars' positions, moon phases, and especially divine influences, according to the ancients, were without a doubt responsible for such assassinations, collapsed kingdoms and invasions. Certainly, eclipses too were assigned enormous influence over political disasters. Ultimately, of course, thinking became much more sophisticated, but new explanations were still simplistic-Hitler did not cause World War II all by himself; Uncle Tom's Cabin couldn't possibly be the only cause of the Civil War, and the Catholic Church was not solely responsible for The Crusades.

The noted contemporary historian, Barbara Tuchman, on the other hand, takes a psychological/sociological approach to assigning causes for national and international failures such as the recent Russian economic collapse, the ongoing Palestine-Israeli hostility and past Apartheid policies in South Africa. In her book, The March of Folly she identifies "wooden-headedness...

Politicians are, unmistakably, woodenheaded. They tend to do what they want, even if it is against the majority of the general public. One recent example is the proposed tax cut. Republicans keep trying to get it passed, even though the majority is against the proposal. Wooden-headedness is unmistakable in civic affairs. Some people, will say, "It'll never work," before they even take a second to let someone explain how it might. School shootings are another issue that currently proves that some people/organizations are woodenheaded. Whose fault is it? They will not stop backstabbing each other and the blame keeps getting dumped on someone else.

acting according to wish while not allowing oneself to be deflected by the facts," as a "factor that plays a remarkably large role in government." Some people would even go so far as to claim that Tuchman's theory can be applied much more broadly to life in general on a personal level. Indeed, wooden-headedness does play a remarkable large role in bungled human affairs as well as state affairs.

Probably the saddest failures occur in human relationships. Some people just can't keep a relationship with another person, because of their wooden-headedness. Wooden-headedness might just be in the persons mind or how they think about current issues. Wooden-headedness could even come from when we were kids, and in how our parents brought us up. Sometimes a person will not give in and admit fault or that they're wrong, even when the facts are right there. For some people a prejudice is what causes them to be wooden-headed, and this issue has been known to get many people in trouble. Marriage is another example. This is a big decision in one's life and some people don't even think twice about what they're getting themselves into. This is when abuse becomes a major issue in American life. Sometimes they won't even take advice from friends and family, who can see the obvious signs of danger. Simply overlooking these signs c

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Approximate Word count = 1346
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History