Rocktopia

Rocktopia
By Racquel Fox
Fox, Racquel Thursday, June 5, 2014 8:30:10 AM Pacic Daylight Time 70:56:81:a9:79:5d
A Guide To a Successful Civilization
Racquel Fox
1
Rocktopia
SECTION 1
With barely any farm land available, the
swamp is a very challenging place to live. Murky
water can be seen in every direction that they eyes
can see. Green crocodiles and brown sh slowly
swim around in the water. Moss covers the top
layer of water like a soft, warm blanket. When the
brown sh swim in the shadowy water, ripples
Introduction
2
This swamp is the location of the civilization, Rocktopia.
are cast from the center of the water all the way to
the edges of the land. Small brown birds chirp a
pretty tune in the tall white trees. The mountain-
ous trees dominate the small pieces of land like
army troops on a battleeld. The crisp air stings at
my skin leaving it cold. Everywhere that the air
touches is damp from the water vapor that clings
to the air. Breathing in, the oxygen feels newer
and cleaner, but also wetter. The brisk marsh scent
lingers in the air like a whisper from an old friend.
Instead of making it slimy and repulsive, the
green and brown moss adds a calming aura to the
swamp. The tranquil swamp is twenty feet above
sea level, and at the horizon, you can see the
snake-like rivers below in the valley. Although
the beauty of the swamp radiates off of it in the
animal life and nature, it would be almost impossi-
ble to survive because of the lack of land.
Upon this land will be born the civilization of
Rocktopia. A civilization whose design has been
inspired from the study of past civilizations such
as the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Romans, the
Greeks, the Arabs, and many more. This book
will document the steps needed to be taken for
the design of a successful civilization; specically
in regards to modications of the physical environ-
ment, infrastructure development, and the favor-
able characteristic of government, spiritual belief
systems, and culture.
3
CHAPTER 2
4
Modifications
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he nds it at-
tached to the rest of the world. John Muir
SECTION 1
Part I: Analysis of the Problems
To make sure that Rocktopia thrives for a long pe-
riod of time, the civilization has to have a steady
supply of food, water, and materials for shelter.
Due to its geography, Rocktopia must deal with
the following challenges to survive:
Type to enter text
Human Changes to the Land
5
This image displays the geography upon which the civilization of Rocktopia will thrive.
1. With hardly any farmland available, growing
crops is next to impossible. The civilization has
barely any land to grow crops on. The civiliza-
tion would have to nd land nearby and grow
their
crops
on it,
but the
prob-
lem
with
that is
that the
swamp
goes on for miles on end. The only food sources
without land would be animals in the water or
trees, and hunting those animals may lead to
their extinction.
2. Although a big percentage of the swamp is wa-
ter, none of that water is clean enough to drink.
The civilization would have to nd a clean wa-
ter source or conserve rainwater, but the swamp
goes on for miles and it hardly ever rains at the
swamp. The Rocktopians would have to store
the clean water in reservoirs to have clean water
to drink. There would not be a clean enough wa-
ter source to drink from so the citizens of Rock-
topia would die of thirst. If the civilization is not
able to trap rainwater, store clean water, and lo-
cate a viable clean water source, the civilization
will not survive.
6
A big percentage of the swamp is water, but none of that
water is clean enough to drink because of the animals in
it, the mud in it, and the plants that grow in it.
Image 2.1 Unsanitary water
3. Building shelter would be very difcult be-
cause of the small amount of land and the lack
of materials. The material Rocktopia has to
build shelter are trees and cutting down those
trees would destroy some animals habitats.
Rocktopia also has reeds and boulders that
come from the water, but the shelter would not
be very strong if it was made from reeds and
boulders. Even if Rocktopia had more land to be-
gin with, the Rocktopians would have to decide
whether to grow crops or to build shelter.
Without nding a steady food supply, water sup-
ply, and materials for shelter, the civilization has
no chance of surviving.
Part II - Proposed Solutions
To make sure that a civilization prospers, it has to
be able to modify to its environment to create a sta-
ble food supply, stable water supply, and shelter.
An environmental modication is a change made
to the en-
viron-
ment to
better
suit hu-
man
needs.
Sinking
timbers, reeds, mud, and boulders to make land
for farming is an example of an environmental
modication of making more land to grow crops
7
Because the swamp is such a high percentage of water,
there is hardly any land for farming. This makes it very
hard to live on the swamp.
Image 2.2 Lack of Land for Shelter
on. Building aqueducts to control and purify wa-
ter is another example of an environmental modi-
cation. If a civilization does not modify to its envi-
ronment to meet its basic needs, the civilization
will not ourish.
Because of Rocktopias limited amount of
land, growing crops is almost impossible. To x
this problem, the Rocktopians decided to build
chinampas. To do this, they had to sink timbers
to make walls. Then, they had to ll in the area be-
tween the timbers with reeds, mud, and boulders.
The timbers, reeds, mud, and boulders lled up in
the marsh and developed into man-made land.
They planted seeds into the newly made land and
built crops. The Aztecs used this modication in
1519, BC. (Frey 274)
Even though a big percentage of the swamp is
water, none of the water is clean enough to drink.
The civiliza-
tion either
needed a
way to pu-
rify the
swamp wa-
ter or they
needed a
freshwater
source that they could use for drinking water.
The people of Rocktopia built chinampas, man-made
land, to grow their crops on.
Image 2.3 Chinampas
8
There was no easy way to purify the swamp wa-
ter, so the civilization decided to nd a freshwater
source. Since there were no lakes or rivers found
around close to the swamp, the Rocktopians came
to the conclusion that the only possible freshwater
source would be rainwater. Since rain does not fall
very often, the civilization had to conserve the
rainwater in canals and reservoirs. The Rocktopi-
ans used
this modi- ca-
tion after the
Arabians
did in 570
C.E. (Frey
79). Since it is
cooler and
drier in the
winter, the
people of
Rocktopia
had to con-
serve a lot
of rain-
water for
them to sur-
vive the winter. Conserving water in reservoirs is
still used to this day; in fact there are seven water
reservoirs in Marin County. The civilization al-
ready does not have a lot of land, so deciding
whether to grow crops or building shelter on the
sunken timbers, reeds, mud, and boulders was a
very difcult decision to make. The Rocktopians
Since Rocktopia didnt have a clean freshwater
source, the Rocktopians had to conserve rain-
water in reservoirs.
Image 2.4 Reservoirs
The Rocktpians had to use chinampas for growing
crops and for building shelter, because the limited
amount of land makes it hard to build shelter.
Image 2.5 Chinamapas
9
nally came to the conclusion of making more
crops than shelter on the land. The only materials
available for building shelter were trees and other
swamp life. To build, trees were cut down and
built into small cabins, which were next to the
crops. By doing this, the people of Rocktopia were
able to have enough land for shelter and enough
land for crops. The civilization of Rocktopia was
able to modify their environment to t its basic
needs, which allowed their civilization thrive.

10
Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted
with their own government. Thomas Jefferson
CHAPTER 3
11
Law & Government
SECTION 1
Lessons of Forms of Government
An important lesson to learn from the Athenians
direct democratic government is to treat the citi-
zens equally. The Athenians prided themselves in
the way that all of their citizens had a say in the
government. This shows that the Athenian citi-
Figure 3.1 Lorem Ipsum dolor amet, consectetur
A gathering of the athenian assembly in ancient Athens. The assembly approved or vetoed the laws that the Council of 500 proposed. Source:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Funeral-Oration-Pericles-e1341757935291.jpg
Maintaing Civil Order
12
zens were proud of
their freedom. As
Frey states, Most
Athenian men en-
joyed taking part
in the citys democ-
racy. They liked to
gather and debate the issues. They were proud of
their freedom as Athenian citizens (Frey 261). Al-
though all of the citizens were treated equally, a
citizen was a man that was over the age of 18 and
was born in Athens, and this excluded women,
slaves, and children from being Athenian citizens.
Every citizen was able to take part in the govern-
ment. The Council of 500 suggested new laws
and ran the day-to-day business, but you had to
be a citizen of over 30 years of age. The Assem-
bly, consisted of 6,000 citizens and met every 10
days, approved the laws that were proposed by
the Council of 500. If not enough people for the As-
sembly showed up, slaves would nd more citi-
zens with ropes dipped in red paint. They would
guide the citizens who didnt show up with the
paint dipped rope on the citizens clothes, which
was very embarrassing to show up with red
stained clothes. The lesson to be learned is to treat
the citizens equally and to value the privilege so
that the citizens are kept happy.
A lesson that could be learn from the Spartan
democratic oligarchy is to have all of the citizens
vote, but to have a small group of older and
wiser citizens make most of the decisions. In
13
The Council of 500 had to propose laws for
the Assembly. They were in charge of com-
ing up with laws to make Athens better.
Image 3.1 Council of 500
Sparta the power was in the hands of the Council
of Elders. To be in the Council of Elders, one had
to be 60 years old, from a noble family, and they
served for life. This age limit is similar to the age
limit in the modern day United States for becom-
ing a senator where you must be over 30 years old
and be a citizen for 9 years. The council consisted
of 28 men and 2 kings. The Council of Elders pro-
posed laws for the Assembly, but the could veto
any laws that they didnt like. In a way, having
the power in the hands of a small group of men
was better than having a king rule. In the past
when kings ruled, some tyrants would take over
and wouldnt x any of the problems that they
promised they would. The Council of Elders was
a very smart government plan by the Spartans be-
cause this enabled kings and a small group to
rule. The Assembly voted on laws that were pro-
posed by the Council of Elders. Although they
could decide whether to pass laws or not, the As-
sembly had very little power. The Assembly was
made up of male citizens, which was men 30
years and older. The lesson to be learned from the
Spartans form of government is that sometimes it
is better to have a small group of wise men in
charge of the city-state because a king or tyrant
may not live up to their word.
14
An important lesson to be learned from the Ro-
man Republic is to treat your citizens equally so
that there are no rebellions. Between 616 and 509
BCE Rome was ruled by a king and his advisors.
Rome was made
up of two classes,
the Patricians and
the Plebeians.
The Patricians
had more rights
than the Plebe-
ians and could be-
come important
military leaders or
be in religious ofces. The Plebeians made up 95
percent of the population and had little say in the
government. In 509 BCE the Patricians drove out
the last king and formed a republic. The republic
gave Rome a more democratic government. They
would elect ofcials who would work for the in-
terests of the people, but the people excluded the
Plebeians. Most of the power was in the hands of
the Senate, which was a group of 300 men that
the Patricians elected. The senators could only be
Patricians and had to serve for life. Consuls, two
elected leaders who shared command of the army,
were supposed to be advised by the Senate, but
the Senates decisions were treated as the law. The
Patricians made sure that only they could be apart
of this new republic government. According to
Frey, To the patricians, the people meant the
patricians themselves, not the plebeians (318).
15
Compared to the Plebeians, the Patricians
had a very easy life. They had a wide vari-
ety of jobs to choose from and could be im-
portant government ofcials. Plebeians
were farmers and had to be in the military.
Image 3.2 Patricians Lifestyle
Laws were not written down at this time, so the
Patricians changed the laws to benet them very
often. The Plebeians began to ght for more politi-
cal rights. This formed the Conict of the Orders,
which got extremely bad during times of war. Ple-
beians could not be in the government, but they
were forced to serve in the war and follow the Pa-
tricians rule. In 494 BCE, the conict got worse
when the Plebeians marched out of the city and
camped on a nearby hill. They refused to come
back to the city until the Patricians let them have
more rights. This is similar to when the workers
for the BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit, refused to
work until they got paid more. The Patricians got
very fearful when the Plebeians left the city. As
Frey states, Rome was in crisis. Work in the city
and on the farms came to a halt. Without the Plebe-
ians, Patricians feared that the army would be
helpless if an enemy stuck at Rome (319). Due to
all of the work that had stopped since the Plebe-
ians left, the Patricians had no choice but to agree
to their commands. The Plebeians were now al-
lowed to elect ofcials, called the Tribunes of the
Plebs, which spoke for the Plebeians to the Senate
and Consuls. They later were able to overrule ac-
tions by the government that they thought were
unfair. Plebeians also made a lawmaking body
called the Council of the Plebs, which made laws
only for Plebeians. Even though the Plebeians
gained many more rights, they still had less
power than the Patricians. For the next 200 years,
Plebeians protested to win political equality. They
16
demanded that the laws be written down so that
the Patricians wouldnt change them to benet
themselves. At about 451 BCE, the Patricians gave
in, which led to tablets that had the laws written
down on them called the Twelve Tables. In 367
BCE, the Plebeians wanted one of the two Roman
consuls to be Plebeian, which led the way for Ple-
beians to become senators as well. Plebeians
gained the right to pass laws for all citizens in 287
BCE. All Roman citizens could now approve or
veto laws. The Plebeian assemblies nominated
the consuls, tribunes, and the members of the Sen-
ate. As Frey states, After 200 years of struggle,
the plebeians had won their ght for equality
(320). Finally, the Plebeians had won the ght for
equality. The lesson to be learned is to treat all of
your citizens equally and fairly or else there could
be rebellions in the civilization.
Code of Laws
Rocktopia has many potential threats that could
sabotage the civilization and having laws would
prevent these threats. There could be people that
steal or murder in the civilization. Equality and be-
ing a helpful citizen both play a very important
role in the civilizations morals. The people of
Rocktopia have to work hard to make sure that
everyone in the civilization is a good person be-
fore entering. The civilization has to have laws to
avoid any unacceptable behaviors in the civiliza-
tion in order for Rocktopia to thrive.
17
The most important laws to keep the civiliza-
tion running smoothly were made to protect the
civilization from the potential threats. If anybody
steals anything, that person will have to pay the
person they stole from how much the item that
was stolen was worth and serve 72 hours of com-
munity service. If someone commits a murder, the
person who committed the murder will have to
serve life-long jail time because the murderer has
no value for the other persons life. Since equality
is valued so much in the society, every citizen is
considered equal. If someone was to treat some-
one less than others, that person is sold into slav-
ery because the individual has no regard for equal-
ity so equality should not come to the civilian. The
civilization was built very well and if it were to be
destroyed by a disaster of some sort (natural or de-
liberate) it would be very bad. To make sure that
the civilization could be restored, the government
made a law stating that everyone over the age of
13 and able must help rebuild the civilization. Fail-
ure to do so will result in the individuals who did
not help being exiled because they did not care
enough for the civilizations well being. These
laws are similar to the ancient Romans 12 Tables.
The 12 Tables were laws that were nally written
down in order to keep the rights between the ple-
beians and the patricians fair. Both Rocktopia and
ancient Rome had to make laws to keep the civili-
zations running smoothly. The people of Rockto-
pia work hard to keep it ourishing and making
sure the citizens are quality people. To make sure
18
the citizens are quality people, immigrants are
brought before a court and judged on whether the
person can provide for the civilization. If anyone
enters Rocktopia illegally, the individual is exiled
from Rocktopia for life. These laws are key in or-
der to keep Rocktopia ourishing for a long time.
The codes of laws for Rocktopia is necessary
for it to be the best civilization it can be. The pre-
vention of
stealing and
murder pro-
vide Rockto-
pia with pro-
tection from
people who
make bad
choices in the civilizations. The law stating that
everyone is treated equally is important because
in the past, there were many times when a lack of
equality was the downfall of a civilization. It is ex-
tremely important that all citizens of Rocktopia
help rebuild the civilization after a natural or un-
natural disaster because without any help, there
would be no civilization to live in for anyone. The
law that forbids people from entering Rocktopia
illegally is one of the most important laws. If any-
body could enter Rocktopia, there could be all
sorts of people, which means not exactly good peo-
ple. The law is important because every citizen is
made sure that they are good people before com-
ing citizens. These laws are the key ingredient to
keep the civilization thriving.
The 12 Tables were very important to the Ro-
mans because it is what made the laws written
down which made it fairer for the patricians
and plebeians.
Image 3.3 12 Tables
19
Julius Caesars Implications on Rocktopia
Lessons the civilization of Rocktopia can learn
from Julius Caesars reign are the importance of
keeping the people happy, making sure people are
employed, and keeping the political power in
check. Caesar made sure that all of the citizens in
ancient Rome were happy, and that gained him
the popularity from the people. He provided the
poor with more jobs and staged free gladiator
ghts for them to enjoy. He expanded the chance
to become a Roman citizen to Sicily, Spain, and
Gaul and reduced taxes and made the tax collec-
tions fairer. He gained popularity from the people
and was a king in eve-
rything but title. He
wore his robes in royal
purple, stamped his
face on coins, and had
his statue put in a tem-
ple. Even though the
citizens of Rome loved
him, Caesar was less
popular with the Sen-
ate. According to a his-
torical article, The
aristocrats of Rome and many Senators feared that
if Caesars power continued, the republican gov-
ernment would never be restored and Caesar
would hand down his leadership to an heir (Ju-
Julius Caesar was a very impor-
tant ruling gure. He refused to be
king because the people of Rome
wanted to be a democracy, but he
was a king in all but name. He was
responsible for expanding the civili-
zation and provided the poor with
more jobs.
Image 3.4 Julius Caesar
20
lius Caesars Rule
as Dictator). The
government
worked very hard
for a democracy
and was scared
that Caesar was
making it more of a
monarchy. The Sen-
ate decided to stab him to death to stop him from
becoming the ruler of Rome. According to the Sen-
ate, Caesar had too much power in the govern-
ment. Julius Caesars reign taught the civilization
of Rocktopia to keep its people happy, make sure
its people are employed (by starting projects to
make new roads and public buildings, staging
free gladiator contests that the poor could watch
for free, and stopped the extensive use of slavery
so that there were more
jobs for poor people)
and to keep the political
power in check.
Caesar Augustuss Les-
sons on Rocktopia
Rocktopia can learn
a lot about making its
civilization safer and
more beautiful, keeping the people happy, and
about the amount of freedom to give to the citi-
zens from Caesar Augustuss political leadership.
Julius Caesars statue was put in a sacred
temple devoted to the Roman goddess Ve-
nus. This showed how important Caesar
was to all of Rome.
Image 3.5 Julius Caesar Statue in Fo-
rum
Caesar Augustus ruled after Julius
Caesar was killed. He too was popu-
lar with the people for repairing the
cities aquaducts, making police and
re departments, and having the
people swear allegiance to him and
not the Senate.
Image 3.6 Caesar Augustus
21
Rocktopia will start to build police departments
and re departments in order to keep the people
of the civilization safe. Although it is important to
have rules, Augustus had many extreme rules that
were not in favor of the citizens. Rocktopia will
learn the balance of too much power over the peo-
ples actions and too little. As the informative arti-
cle states, Augusts emphasis on city improve-
ments and the arts were welcomed by the Ro-
mans. However, he also pursued a strict moral cru-
sade that was largely unpopular (Political Leader-
ship of Caesar Augustus). There were many
things Augustus did that the people of Rome were
in favor of such as, making police and re depart-
ments, repairing the citys aqueducts, having the
citizens swear allegiance to him and not the Sen-
ate, and referring to himself as First Citizen in-
stead of Emperor. However, Augustus made
some laws that did not favor of the citizens such
as: unmarried adults and childless married cou-
ples lost the right to inherit money and property,
unmarried childless women had to pay a special
tax on any of the property they owned, and peo-
ple had to refrain from rowdy behavior at public
events. This made the people upset that special
taxes could be paid depending on whether they
had children or not or were married or not. Rock-
topia can learn many important lessons on run-
ning a civilization from Caesar Augustuss reign.
Rocktopia will avoid some of the laws against un-
married or childless people and controlling peo-
22
ple in public to keep the people happy and not re-
bel.
Decline of Western Rome
Rome was a mighty empire for quite some time,
but as centuries passed, many things led to the de-
cline of the Western empire; the biggest contribu-
tors to the decline were decay in moral values
and rampant political corruption. Although ur-
ban decay, unemployment, and inferior spending
contributed to the decline of the Western empire;
the most important reasons were decline in mor-
als and values and political corruption. One of the
most popular events to watch was gladiator ghts
where two gladiators
fought to the death. This
was extremely violent
and encouraged vio-
lence in the cities and
streets making it unsafe
for the people. Accord-
ing to a historical article,
Should the ground be-
come too soaked with
blood, it was covered
over with a fresh layer of sand and the perform-
ance went on (Decline of the Western Roman
Empire). This shows that the people were being
taught to not care about human life, which
brought out the violence in them. In addition to
Western Rome declined for a num-
ber of reasons, but the most impor-
tant reasons for the declination
were decline in moral values and
political corruption.
Image 3.7 Decline of Western
Rome
23
the downfall of moral character, political corrup-
tion was also a big cause of the downfall of west-
ern Rome. Some emperors were infamous for
wasting money on parties where people ate until
they got sick, while some people in the streets had
no money to even pay for food. These emperors
did not rule well and that contributed to the de-
cline of the western empire. As the Decline of the
Western Roman Empire states, Unlike Greece
where transition may not have been smooth but
was at least consistent, the Romans never created
an effective system to determine how new emper-
ors would be selected (Decline of the Western
Roman Empire). This shows that anyone could
be the emperor and they could assassinate the em-
perors to become it. After about 186 BC, Rome
had 37 different emperors and 25 were assassi-
nated. After a long time the emperors private
army, the Praetorian Guard, gained control to
choose the new emperor, but in 186 CE the army
began to sell the throne to the highest bidder. The
decline in moral values and political corruption
were the biggest reasons for the decline of the
western empire of Rome, although there were
many reasons.
The civilization of Rocktopia can learn a lot about
how to deal with decline in moral values and po-
litical corruption from the downfall of the western
empire of Rome. First off, Rocktopia will ban
ghts to the death for amusement, because it en-
courages violent behavior. According to Frey, A
rise in crime made the empires cities and roads
24
unsafe (Frey 8). The people of Rocktopia will not
have to be scared to walk in major cities and
streets because of the amount of crime. In terms of
political corruption, Rocktopia will have a set way
to elect leaders of the government. One of the ma-
jor reasons the western empire of Rome declined
was that they didnt have a consistent way to elect
leaders so people assassinated the leaders to get
the position of emperor. According to a historical
article, One of the most difcult problems was
choosing a new emperor (Decline of the West-
ern Roman Empire). This will not be a problem
for the civilization of Rocktopia because the peo-
ple will have a democratic way of voting for the
leader; similarly to the way the modern day
United States elects the president. The leader will
have to have nished all years of school and have
done multiple acts of kindness in the community,
because western Rome had a history of having ex-
tremely cruel leaders. However, these main lead-
ers will not have too much power to avoid a
power imbalance, so there will be a Council of 25
citizens over 30 years age who can vote on the
laws that the leader can propose. Citizens over 16
will be able to vote for these government posi-
tions. When Rocktopia applies these lessons of de-
cline of moral values and political corruption that
were learned from the decline of the western em-
pire of Rome, the civilization will thrive for a long
period of time.
25
Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.
- Thomas Paine
CHAPTER 4
26
Belief Systems
Type to enter text
SECTION 1
If the people in a civilization did not know right
from wrong, chaos would erupt because the peo-
ple might make selsh choices that do not benet
the civilization. All throughout history, people
have been able to live life according to the right
choices because of a belief system. The belief sys-
tems were based on the correct moral values that
the people were supposed to follow in order to
Source: http://tinyurl.com/q8ln7ep
Impact of Belief Systems
27
This is St. Peters Basilica, the church in which Rocktopias belief structure is inspired after.
make better decisions. According to the Decline
of the Western Roman Empire, As gladiators
fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from
the audience. Should the ground become too
soaked with blood, it was covered over with a
fresh layer of sand and the performance went
on(1). The civilization of Rocktopia will not have
that little respect for human life, because that
makes people just that, people, no longer intelli-
gent souls who can tell right from wrong. A belief
system is very important for people to be able to
tell right from wrong and to avoid things that
could be potential chaotic problems.
In order to better understand the importance of be-
lief systems within a civilization and how they
can inuence the actions and decisions of a peo-
ple, please consider the following moral dilemma:

A Callous Passerby
Roger Smith, a skill-
ful swimmer, is out
for a leisurely stroll.
During the course
of his walk he
passes by a de-
serted pier from
which a teenage
boy who apparently cannot swim has fallen into
the water. The boy is screaming desperately for
28
Hindus believe that in order to live
with strong moral values, one must fol-
low their dharma.
Image 4.1 Dharma
help. Smith recognizes that there is absolutely no
danger to himself if he jumps in to save the boy;
he could easily succeed if he tried. Nevertheless,
he chooses to ignore the boy's cries. "Why should
I inconvenience myself for this kid," Smith says to
himself, and passes on.
If Roger Smith were a Hindu, he would save
the drowning boy. Part of being Hindu is follow-
ing dharma, and his dharma, his obligation or
duty, would be to save the boy. As Frey states, To
follow ones dharma means to perform ones du-
ties and so to live as one should (148). This
shows that in order to live the right life according
to Hinduism, one should follow their dharma.
Dharma stands for your obligation or duty.
Karma is another Hindu belief that explains the
importance of living according to dharma. Accord-
ing to Frey, If people lived well, they might be
born into a higher class in their next life. If they
lived badly, they could expect to be reborn into a
lower class (149). Even if Roger Smith did not
want to save the boy, he would have to save him
in order to be born into a better caste. Whereas a
Confucian would save the boy because of loyalty
and respect, a Hindu would save the boy in order
to be reincarnated into a better life. Roger Smith
would have to save the boy if he were a Hindu, be-
cause he would follow his dharma and karma.
29
If Roger Smith were a Confucian, he would save
the boy. Confucians are supposed to be kind,
loyal, and wise. As Frey states, The goal of Confu-
cianism was a just and peaceful society. Confucius
taught that society worked well when all people
acted properly based upon their roles and their re-
lationships with others (208). Roger Smith would
have to make society peaceful in order to be a
good Confucian. Even though Hindus and Bud-
dhists would save the drowning boy too, a Confu-
cian would save the boy for completely different
reasons. Respect for elders, proper behavior, and
love of scholarship were greatly valued in Confu-
cian society. In order to show proper behavior and
make a peaceful society, he would have to save
the boy. Confu-
cius taught, Do
not do to others
what you would
not want done
to you (Frey
208). Confucians
are taught to
treat others the
way they would
want to be
treated, and he would denitely want someone to
save him if he were drowning. He would have to
be a good person, full of strong moral values in or-
der to be a good Confucian, and thus, Smith
would be expected to save the boy.
30
Confucius started Confucianism because he
thought that all of the other religions were not
as focused on scholarship.
Image 4.2 Confucius
If Roger
Smith were
a Bud-
dhist, he
would also
save the
drowning
boy. Bud-
dhists believe in living life according the Four No-
ble Truths and Eightfold Path. The Four Noble
Truths is the idea that nothing lasts forever and
people suffer when things change. In order to end
suffering, the Buddha taught people to follow the
Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path states, Live a
life of selessness, love, and nonviolence. Promote
good actions and prevent evil actions (159). Al-
though the Hindu would save the boy as well, the
Buddhist Roger Smith would do so for different
reasons. If Roger Smith were a Buddhist, he
would have to be seless. Not saving the drown-
ing boy, even though you could without harming
yourself, would be selsh. If he did not save the
drowning boy, he would be promoting evil ac-
tions even though if you are Buddhist you are sup-
posed to promote good actions. Roger Smith
would have to save the boy in order to be seless
and promote good actions.
In conclusion, belief systems in civilizations are
important to the people in the civilizations to
know right from wrong. The way that the people
31
Buddhist follow the Eightfold Path because they believe
that it helps reach enlightenment. The main idea of the
Eightfold Path is to stop suffering, which is also a big
help to nd enlightenment.
Image 4.3 The Eightfold Path
in the civilizations learn right from wrong is from
the values taught. The civilization of Rocktopia
would want to be known for teaching the values
of wisdom and loyalty. Wisdom would be a very
important value because it would cause the citi-
zens to think before they act, which could be bene-
cial in any situation. Loyalty would also be very
important in case Rocktopia ever needed a neigh-
boring civilization to be an ally; the ally would
know that Rocktopia could be a trusted ally. Con-
fucians believe in the values of wisdom and loy-
alty. Those values were woven into Chinese soci-
ety because of Confucianism. In a different way,
Buddhists value loyalty. They believe in honesty
and being careful in what people should say,
which is another form of loyalty. Hindus value
wisdom, but not in the exact way as Rocktopians
would. Hindus believed that people in higher
castes had to be knowledgeable and good in a for-
mer life in order to be born into a higher caste.
Both wisdom and loyalty are very important val-
ues, and the civilization of Rocktopia will try to in-
corporate all the ways that Confucians, Buddhists,
and Hindus all created value systems with differ-
ent meanings.
Importance of Moral Values
In an effort to create a successful civilization,
the people of Rocktopia have established a belief
system. This belief system shares similar moral
values and teachings with other world religions
and helps the people of Rocktopia live in peace
with all life forms. Here are some examples.
32
One of the important moral values that Rocktopia
is known for is Wisdor, which represents Wisdom.
To show appreciation for Wisdom, the Rocktopi-
ans go to school for subjects from math and litera-
ture to problem solving and public speaking until
the Rocktopians are twenty years old. With the as-
sortment of subjects to learn from, Rocktopians
learn right from wrong as well as common teach-
ings of math and literature. After Rocktopians
graduate from school, civilians will have to serve
two years as a tutor for any subject for any
younger Rocktopian. All younger Rocktopians
will have to be tutored for ve hours a week until
eighteen years old. According to Frey, Confucius
wanted to teach men of good character to work as
honest and fair government ofcials(208). Simi-
larly to how Confucianism valued education over
title for jobs, Rocktopians judge people only on
education. If someone were to apply for a high
status job, it would not matter if the citizen were
poor throughout the citizens entire life; knowl-
edge would always be weighed more over title.
Wisdom will help Rocktopians of all ages make
the right choices with justied evidence.
Another of the important moral values that Rock-
topia is know for is Ress, which represents Re-
spect. To show the practice of respect, Rocktopi-
ans always have to care for elders and younglings.
Rockopians have to volunteer in retirement
homes once a week to show respect for the elders.
33
Rocktopians also have to tutor children that are
younger than said Rocktopians to show apprecia-
tion for the younger Rocktopians. Everyone must
be involved with the care of nature and or ani-
mals. This practice is similar to the ones in Hindu-
ism. According to Frey, Hindus believe that all
life forms have a soul, so Hindus respect all forms
of life and avoid doing them harm(148). In the
same way that Hindus value all life forms, Rockto-
pians value all life forms and people. Rocktopians
not only care for everything living thing, but also
respect its life and its purposes. Respect will help
Rocktopians be seless because the lesson of car-
ing for everyone and everything will be learned
by every Rocktopian.
The last of the important moral values that Rockto-
pia is known for is Amora, which represents Love.
To demonstrate love, Rocktopians have to volun-
teer in animal shelters, retirement homes, young
Rocktopian school, and more. It is proper in Rock-
topia to smile as you walk by people and to be
friendly to every passerby. Appreciation is an-
other big part of love in Rocktopia. Learning to ap-
preciate everything in life is a subject that is
taught at a young age to Rocktopians. Rocktopi-
ans beliefs are similar to the teachings of Christ in
the Christian religion. According to Frey, Jesus
based his teachings on traditional Jewish beliefs.
But the gospels say he put special emphasis on
love and mercy(352). In Rocktopia, love is not
just affection, it is kindness, respect, and apprecia-
34
tion. The civilians of Rocktopia believe that Love
has many branches to it, and the people choose to
embrace all of the branches. Love will help Rockto-
pians appreciate all that is given to them and to
love all aspects of life.
The Sacred Site of Rocktopia
My civilization built a replica of the St Peters Ba-
silica, which is a church in Rome, Italy. My civiliza-
tion values love, wisdom, and respect. The church
embodies respect for everyone because people go
in to pray for themselves and others, which
teaches appreciation for everyone. The civilization
of Rocktopia really believes in appreciation for
everyone, so the church was an important site to
build. The people were really inspired to make
this building because it was a location where one
could pray, and the people really wanted that for
the civilzation. According to Kahn Academy, The
site [St. Peters Basilica] was a very holy
one(http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/).
Rocktopians wanted the site to be modeled after a
sacred site that was holy to the people. Even
though St. Peters Basilica is place where Chris-
tians pray, Rocktopians will be able to pray with
any religion. In order for equality for everyone to
ourish in Rocktopia, every religion will need to
be embraced. Rocktopians believe that St. Peters
Basilica is important because they will be able to
pray for everyone and be able to be themselves,
which are both two key teachings in Rocktopia.
35
Coat of Arms

Objects
Grifn = Bravery & Caution
Crescent = 2nd born child
Arrowed Heart = Love for everyone & Loyalty to
your friends
Tower = Safety & Strength
Colors
Gold = Power
Purple = Wisdom
Red = Forgiveness
Blue = Love for everything
Turquoise = Appreciation for plants and animals
36
Catholic Churchs Role In Medieval Europe
The Catholic Churchs power within Medie-
val
Europe
was
strong at
some
times.
The
Church
taught
people
the ways of the Church, which were thought to be
the correct ways to live by. The Catholic church
was very powerful in Europe. The church was the
biggest landholder and collected a 10% tithe from
everyone. The most prominent language of
Europe was Latin, and the church ofcials could
read, so they kept records for the kings and be-
came trusted advisors. According to Frey, Dur-
ing the Middle Ages, the church acquired great
economic power The church also came to wield
great political power(33). The church ofcials
were the most educated and were therefore given
bigger responsibilities. The Catholic Church had
control over the peoples salvation, education,
safety, power, and guidance. Salvation is not
only going to heaven for eternity; it is also having
the soul saved for eternity as well. The Church
taught that following the churchs teachings
would gain a person salvation, but failure to fol-
low the churchs teachings would condemn the
The church held most of the power in medieval times. The
monarch, or king, was thought to be important, but the
church even held power over the king.
Image 4.4 Power of the Church
37
person the eternal suffering in hell. People in Me-
dieval Europe were terried of hell and did every-
thing they could to gain salvation. According to
Frey, To believers, hell was a real and terrifying
place (34). Nobody wanted to suffer in hell for-
ever so following the ways of the Church was es-
sential. Sometimes, the Church had power over
the kings as well. An example of this is when King
Henry IV thought that the Church was gaining
too much power. Henry IV thought that his job
was to appoint church ofcials, which Pope Greg-
ory VII was doing already. Pope Gregory VII was
gaining too much power so Henry IV told him he
was no longer pope. Pope Gregory responded
back by saying that Henry IV was excommuni-
cated from the church and no longer had salva-
tion. Similarly to the people of Europe, King
Henry did not want to suffer in hell for eternity,
so he begged the pope for forgiveness. This shows
that the Catholic Church has a lot of power be-
cause even the king was scared to lose salvation.
Not only did the church have power over every-
one, the church ofcials were also the most edu-
cated of the people. Most people were illiterate,
and the church ofcials could read. A majority of
the universities in Europe belonged to and were
started by the churches. According to Frey, Most
of the students in church schools were sons of no-
bles who were studying for careers in the cler-
gy(38). The church schools then led to universi-
ties where everyone could learn. Education was
becoming valued more among the people in the
38
1200s. Ancient writers were beginning to teach
that logical thinking was the path to knowledge,
and the Catholic Church felt threatened by this,
since the church taught people to be guided by
faith. According to Frey, Church leaders feared
that studying such writers might lead people to
question the churchs teachings (38). The church
leaders did not want people to go against the
ways of the church because of what the ancient
writers taught. The Catholic Church had gained a
lot of power over people during feudalistic times,
and overall people were eager to follow their
teaching because they would do anything to get
into heaven.
39
Daring ideas are like chessman moved forward. They may be
beaten, but they may start a winning game. ~ Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe
CHAPTER 5
40
Influence of Ideas
SECTION 1
A Force For Change
European society used to go by the rule of the
church, but as time went on, people started to
think of new ideas, experiment with new
things, and question the church, which became
the philosophy known as Humanism. The well-
known poet, Francesco Petrarch, founded Hu-
manism in Italy in the 1300s. Humanism taught
Id malesuada lectus. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam felis nisl, cursus bibendum tempus nec. Aliquam at turpis tellus. Id malesuada lectus. Suspendisse est
lorem ipsum potenti.
Power of Ideas
41
people to question everything and come up with
new ideas for themselves. The Humanist mindset
produced advancements in both government and
social standing, while bringing in to question the
authority of the Catholic Church. During the me-
dieval times, every idea the church had was be-
lieved to be correct. However, Humanism encour-
aged people to experiment with new ideas and
learning, which was a great threat to the church.
People no longer believed that life after death was
more important than life on Earth, which was one
of the key teachings of the church. According to
Frey, Humanists separated the state and its right
to rule from the church. In doing so, they helped
lay the foundation for modern thinking about poli-
tics and government (321). A modern way of
thinking was estab-
lished by Humanism.
Advances in painting,
sculptures, literature,
math, and science
started because of Hu-
manism. Humanism ad-
vanced paintings by
making the paintings
much more realistic:
adding feelings to faces,
realistic backgrounds, use of perspective, etc. As
Frey states, Renaissance painters were inuenced
by the renewed interest in classical culture and by
the spread of Humanism (326). The beliefs and
ideas of Humanists challenged older ideas and
42
The Mona Lisa, painted by Michaelan-
gelo, is an example of a painting from
the Renaissance.
Image 5.1 The Mona Lisa
changed the tradition of sculpture; Renaissance
artists carved perfected sculptures that looked like
real people and showed emotions. These new
sculptures symbolized the independence and indi-
viduality promoted by Humanism. An example of
one of these sculptures is the Moses sculpture,
which was created by Michelangelo. All of the dif-
ferent textures are seen even though the sculpture
is made out of the same material. It is carved to
perfection, similarly to many other sculptures
made in this time. Humanist ideas helped de-
velop literature by changing the topics from relig-
ious topics to writing about secular or nonrelig-
ious topics. People started writing in individual
dialects instead of in Latin. They also started us-
ing a more individual style, which expressed
thoughts and feelings about life. The Humanists
changed the culture of writing and literature dur-
ing the Renaissance. As Frey states, Before the
Renaissance, most of what people believed about
the natural world was based on ideas in ancient
Greek and Roman texts. As the Humanist spirit
took hold, people started questioning old ideas
(329). Humanism advanced science and mathemat-
43
The Moses Sculpture, sculpted by Michaelangelo, is an example of
the perfected sculptures of the Renaissance.
Image 5.2 Moses Sculpture
ics by encouraging experimentation and analysis
of data using mathematics and logic rather than a
reliance on old books and theories. A stronger be-
lief in experimental science and mathematics took
hold of the people during this time, while faith in
the church started to decline. According to Frey,
This way of thinking sought to balance religious
faith with an emphasis on individual dignity and
an interest in nature and human society (320). As
opposed to medieval times, the Renaissance al-
lowed for a healthy balance between faith and
new thinking. The Humanistic ideas during the
Renaissance changed the way Europeans thought
about classical art, learning, and faith in the
church and led to a different way of thinking in
Europeans.
Humanist Effect on Rocktopia
If a Humanist were to live in the civilization
of Rocktopia, the Humanists mindset would pro-
mote new ideas and traditions within Rocktopia.
Humanists strongly believe that all people have
the ability to control their own lives and achieve
greatness. Every individual deserves respect no
matter what profession they have, and Humanists
focus on human life and culture. According to
Frey, Humanist believed that all people had to
ability to control their own lives and achieve great-
ness(320). Rocktopia would benet by the Hu-
manist mindset of everyone deserving respect. As
the laws of Rocktopia state, If someone was to
treat someone less than others, that person is sold
44
into slavery because the individual has no regard
for equality, so equality should not come to the ci-
vilian (Fox 14). The law may seem redundant be-
cause the Rocktopians value equality, but sell peo-
ple into slavery if they do not treat people equal.
However, the idea with the Rocktopians is to
cause fear within the civilians so that they treat
everyone with equality, therefore, with the fear of
being sold into slavery, everyone would live by
the law. These laws reect the Humanist values
that every individual deserves respect. Rockto-
pias laws are taken to the extreme, but the rules
still show how there should be no political or so-
cial inequality. Nowadays, in the U.S., people are
debating whether to make gay marriage legal, but
if the lawmakers were Humanists, they would
denitely make gay marriage legal because every
one deserves respect. These Humanist ideas
would help Rocktopia improve and thrive by mak-
ing everyone equal and encouraging peace be-
tween all of Rocktopias inhabitants. This particu-
lar law, which has been under-used as a law
throughout history, is important for the future civi-
lization of Rocktopia. When Rocktopia learns to in-
corporate respect for all of its civilians, Rocktopia
will thrive more than ever before. Humanist ideas
would change Rocktopias traditions and ideas
with the new philosophy and help the civilization
by making the civilians stronger minded and
more peaceful.
Danger of New Ideas
45
The effect of Humanism in Europe during the
Renaissance led people to go against the church.
However, the church was already weakened be-
fore the Humanists arrived. The Humanist mind-
set believes that all people should think for them-
selves, which led people to question the church.
There were two main things that led to the weak-
ening of the church, worldliness and corruption
within the church and political conicts. The
worldliness and corruption and political conicts
caused the church to be less trustworthy in the
eyes of the people.
Worldliness and corruption within the
church began when the church became known as
a political, economic, and religious institution.
Many of the church leaders broke spiritual vows
that were made and did not live up to the expecta-
tion that many Catholics had for them. According
to Frey, Church leaders often behaved like roy-
alty instead of humble servants of God(348). Peo-
ple were dismayed that the church ofcials in
charge of the Catholic faith were acting so dishon-
46
The church leaders sold indulgences, which angered the middle
and lower class citizens because they could not buy one. They
were angry that the upper class no longer had to do good deeds to
get into heaven.
Image 5.3 Selling Indulgences
orable. However, not only were the church of-
cials not acting the right way, but ofcials were
selling indulgences and simonies in order to
make money for the church. An indulgence was a
forgiveness of all of a persons sins, or a salvation.
According to Frey, People who received indul-
gences did not have to perform good deeds to
make up for their sins(348). Most of the time, it
was the upper class that bought indulgences; so
naturally, the middle and lower class were out-
raged that the upper class would no longer have
to do good deeds in order to get to heaven. A sim-
ony was a sold leadership position within the
church. According to Frey, Instead of being cho-
sen for their merit, buyers simply paid for their ap-
pointments(348). This could lead to having less
that adequate church ofcials that led the Catholic
church. Since being a church ofcial was one of
the higher paying jobs at that time, many people
bought the simony to get more of an income.
Catholics were now charged to see holy relics
and all Catholics had to pay a tithe to the church.
People were upset about this because people had
to pay a tithe to the church in addition to the gov-
ernment. Wordliness and corruption were a major
reason as to why the Catholic church was weak-
ened.
Political conicts with European rulers began
when the pope became a powerful political leader
in addition to a religious leader. The political and
religious power within the church became a threat
to the monarchs. According to Frey, As kings and
47
queens tried to increase their own power, they of-
ten came into conict with the pope. They quar-
reled with the pope over church property and the
right to make appointments to church of-
ces(349). Popes were often involved with politi-
cal conicts, and the monarchs did not approve of
just how much political power that the pope was
allowed. According to Frey, These disputes
added to the questioning of the popes authori-
ty(349). People were not sure whether to trust
the king or the pope, and it led to a power imbal-
ance. An example of this power imbalance is the
Great Schism. In 1309, Pope Clement V decided
to move the headquarters to Avignon from Rome
to avoid further disagreements with King Philip
IV. In Avignon, France, many people did not think
of him as a fair
pope. According to
Frey, He appointed
24 new cardinals
during his reign, 22
of whom were
French(349). As
time passed, popes
still lived in Avi-
gnon, appointing
mostly French cardi-
nals. Catholics were
losing faith within the pope because of the dis-
criminatory appointing of cardinals. Frey states,
An even worse crisis developed after Pope Greg-
ory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1377.
48
Pope Gregory XI held most of the politi-
cal and religious power. He moved the
church headquarters, or the papacy, back
to Rome from Avignon.
Image 5.4 Pope Gregory XI
The nest year, Gregory died, and an Italian was
elected pope(349). This new pope refused to
move the papacy back to Avignon, but some
French cardinals were very offended. The decision
was made to appoint a new pope in addition to
the pope in Rome. With one pope in Avignon, and
the other in Rome, the Catholics were very con-
fused on where the trust in the faith should go.
Yet despite all of the confusion, the church council
elected another pope. The Great Schism was a
time of great confusion for the Catholics. With
three popes all claiming to be head of the church,
ones trust could be lost in the church. Political
conicts were a very big contributor to the loss of
trust within the Catholic church.
Martin Luther, as
well as other Reform-
ers, had ideas of how
the Catholic religion
should run that dif-
fered a lot from the tra-
ditional teachings of
the Catholic church.
Martin Luther believed
that no one could earn salvation, that salvation
was a gift from God that people only receive from
faith in the religion. Luther was very angered that
the church ofcials were selling indulgences, or a
forgiveness of sins. According to Frey, He argued
that the Biblenot the pope or church lead-
erswas the ultimate source of religious authori-
49
Martin Luther was one of the most
famous reformers during his time
period.
Image 5.5 Martin Luther
ty(352). However, the church ofcials did not
agree with Luthers ideas. The church ofcials
thought that Martin Luther was attacking the fun-
damental teachings of the Catholic religion. Lu-
ther had his own very different ideas that he docu-
mented in the Ninety-Five Theses. As Frey
states, Luther posted a list of arguments, called
theses, against indulgences and church abuses on
the church door in the town of Wittenberg. He
also sent the list, called the Ninety-Five Theses, to
church leaders(352). Luther decided to make his
own church and religion, call Lutheranism, of
which protested the Catholic church. Along with
Martin Luther, there were many other Protestants
that disagreed with the Catholic churchs teach-
ings.
Two of these Protes-
tants include John
Wycliffe, and Jan
Hus. John Wycliffe
was known for pub-
lically questioning
the popes author-
ity. Wycliffe be-
lieved, similarly to
Marin Luther, that
the Bible was the
only source of supreme power within the Catholic
religion. According to Frey, The pope accused
Wycliffe of heresy, or opinions that contradict
church donctrine(350). Wycliffe wanted to make
the Catholic church pure; he did not want people
50
John Wycliffe inspired Martin Luther to
reform the way he did and gave him ideas
that would soon change the Catholics
idea of the Catholic church.
Image 5.6 John Wycliffe
to believe that buying indulgences was acceptable
in the eyes of God. Eventually, after Wycliffe had
gained many followers, John Wycliffe was burned
at the stake. As Frey states, After his death, the
church had his writings burned. Despite the
churchs opposition, Wycliffes ideas had a wide
inuence(350). Even after Wycliffes death, the
teachings taught by this reformer lived on.
Jan Hus agreed with John Wycliffes view on the
Catholic church; he wanted to purify the Catholic
church. Huss wanted to end the corruption
within the church and to return it back to the peo-
ple. According to Frey, He wanted both the Bible
and the mass to be offered in the common lan-
guage of the people instead of Latin(351). Hus
was burned at the stake, similarly to Wycliffe, af-
ter being arrested and
charged with heresy. Jan
Hus and John Wycliffe
contributed to Martin Lu-
thers idea of ending cor-
ruption within the
church.
The Catholic church was
threatened by Martin Lu-
thers teachings, there-
fore, excommunication was the strategy that was
used to deal with Luther. Martin Luthers ideas
differed from those in the church, which made
people start to question the church. Luther
thought that the church was corrupted and
wanted to change the church for the better. Ac-
51
Jan Hus, like John Wycliffe, in-
spired Martin Luthers ideas to
reform the Catholic church.
Image 5.7 Jan Hus
cording to Frey, In the eyes of church leaders, Lu-
ther was attacking fundamental truths of the
Catholic religion(353). Soon after this discovery,
Luther was excommunicated, which means the re-
former was no longer able to be a member of the
church. The Catholic church gave him a chance to
take back his teachings in the Diet of Worms, an
assembly of state leaders in the city of Worms,
therefore being able to take part in the church
once again. However, Luther refuse to take back
his teachings, and ended up going into hiding. As
Frey states, The Holy Roman emperor declared
Luther a heretic and forbade the printing or sell-
ing of his writings(353). Luther had decided to
make a new Protestant religion, called Luther-
anism, that followed his teachings instead of the
ones of the Catholic church. According to Frey,
Having rejected the churchs hierarchy, Luther
looked to German princes to support his
church(353). Lutheranism grew, with the help of
the German princes, and still lives on today. The
church leaders were not happy with this new Prot-
estant religion. People were losing faith in the
Catholic church, because of Protestant thinking,
so the church felt the only way to deal with Lu-
ther was to excommunicate him from the church.
Even though Luther was punished for his Protes-
tant ideas, Luthers punishments were not as bad
as other Protestant thinkers. Many other Protes-
tant thinkers, such as John Wycliffes followers
and Jan Hus, were burned at the stake for having
a different opinion than the Catholic church. Ac-
52
cording to Frey, Over the next 30 years, Luther-
ans and Catholics were often at war in Ger-
many(353). The two different ways of thinking
contradicted each other, making it hard for the of-
cials to get along. Although Protestant religions
are popular today, many of the early Protestants
were punished for the thoughts that were brought
on by the Humanist mindset.
Strategies for Dealing with Threatening in Rock-
topia
Rocktopia has decided to listen with open ears,
but contradict when needed when dealing with in-
dividuals ideas that may threaten the civiliza-
tions political or religious belief systems. There
will be an assembly full of the most trustworthy
council members, so the decision to accept the
ideas or not is not biased. Whether the ideas are
accepted or not will be decided on how the person
presents them and
how much evi-
dence the person
has to prove the
idea. Many peo-
ple, such as Char-
les Darwin and
Galileo, had ideas
that seemed crazy
to the leaders, but
the ideas ended
up becoming revo-
lutionary to todays time. According to an article
from Christs College, Cambridge, When Darwin
53
People thought that Charles Darwin was
crazy for his new ideas. Rocktopians will
always listen to peoples new ideas so
that everyone will have the chance to
change the civilization for the better.
Image 5.8 Charles Darwin
rst wrote to his friend and condant Joseph
Hooker detailing what he modestly called his pre-
sumptuous and foolish work on evolution and
admitting that he had come to the conclusion that
species are mutable, he said it is like confessing a
murder(Charles Darwin and Evolution). Dar-
win was embarrassed to tell people about the evo-
lution theory, but the theory was one of the most
inuential in all time. By listening to the ideas pro-
posed by the people, Rocktopia will be revolution-
ized in a better way. The assembly of Rocktopia
has no idea if the peoples crazy ideas could be in-
uential or not, so by making sure there is the
right amount of evidence, most ideas will be ap-
proved before the assembly.
A Guest From the Past
If the civilization of Rocktopia were to invite some-
one from the renaissance to live there, the person
invited would be William Shakespeare, who
would spread knowledge of literature and lan-
guage throughout the civilization. Although
Shakespeare never went to university, Shake-
speare shaped poetry and playwriting to be much
better during the Renaissance. According to Frey,
Shakespeare had a deep inuence on writers. He
also left a lasting mark on the English lan-
guage(342). Shakespeare created over 1,700
words in the English language that made the lan-
guage much more advanced. One of the Rocktopi-
ans key values is scholarship, and Shakespeare
would help with all of his knowledge over litera-
ture. Shakespeare would make the Rocktopians be-
54
come more interested in playwriting and that
would open new jobs for more citizens. Shake-
speare also used writing to critique society and
the government, which would help Rocktopias
government by having a set of critical eyes. With
Shakespeare in the civilization, Rocktopians love
for learning and advancing would grow even
more.
55
lvi
IMAGE CITATIONS
http://www.religionfacts.com/symbols/big_gallery_of_symbols.htm
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/8foldpath.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/8foldpath.htm
http://www.oxbridgebiotech.com/wp-content/uploads
/2012/12/lightbulb-head-300x300.jpg
http://rappingmanual.com/wp-content/uploads/201
3/01/BrightIdea.jpeg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/galleries/vatican/images/3.jpg
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/symbols.htm
http://www.livescience.com/34660-tenochtitlan.html
http://capitolvalleyforensicleague.org/images/ancient-rome.jpg
http://www.nps.gov/bicy/forteachers/cypress-swamps.htm
http://ecoweekrome12w15.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2
012/09/030-chinampa.jpg
http://dmwiki.reedschools.org/users/ticlark/weblog/f68eb/imag
es/__thumbs__/8f2e0.jpg
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eral-Oration-Pericles-e1341757935291.jpg
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Lisa.jpg
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/08/Horns-of-Moses-2.jpg
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ndulgences.jpg
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uther-.gif
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02_104_Wyclif.gif
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an-art-place/541px-Charles-Darwin-31.jpg
Frey, Wendy. History Alive!: The Ancient World. Palo Alto, CA:
Teachers Curriculum Institute, 2011. Print
Frey, Wendy. History Alive!: The Medieval World and Beyond.
Palo Alto, CA: Teachers Curriculum Institute, 2011. Print.
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