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What does it mean to be "modern"?

January 14, 2018
I found it surprising to read that in the early modern period society was far from being what is considered modern today. Many of the power relationships were still intact. The Europeans were still run by a monarchy and china was still ruled by a dynasty. When people think of this idea of modernism they commonly associate it with the concepts of change.

In my mind, "modern" is seen as women gaining equal rights, slavery being demolished, the power of democracy, and technological discoveries. These ideas are parts of the modern period, but actually only started pretty recently on the timeline. 

No one stops to realize that none of the things we have now would have been possible without the creation of settlements, the renaissance period, or even the scientific revolution. People were pushing boundaries and discovering things on their own rather than listening to what was said to be known as true. They separated religious belief from scientific facts which today may seem like no big deal, but in that time period could have had you murdered. 

People had practiced their ways for centuries and having so much change happen in so little time made people denounce all the claimed as true before. Individuals were being taught to defy and proclaim. They had to leave everything they were taught behind and stand behind all the research and discoveries they were making. 

The limits for what was humanly possible took on a new level and everyone in that period was and are currently still racing to find the next big thing. It is hard to be classified as modern when the definition of "modern" is changing on a daily basis. 

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