Importance of Life

Lofe is imprtantBecause it is your one chance to do anything. You can use The meaning of life is to take care of our planet. To be hard working and serve God. To help out in fixing communities – that's what life is about; you should not live only for fun but help others enjoy life too. A humanist would say we each make our own meaning by the way we live. The meaning is whatever meaning/purpose you care to assign to it†¦ or none at all. If you have a religion, you could find meaning there; a particular philosophy, ditto. If you're a nihilist, you might conclude that there is no meaning at all.To understand the meaning of life we have to turn to the source, or creator. If you believe in such things, God. If he put us here, it was for a purpose. So He may be the only one able to provide us with the answer. Some people will acknowledge that everything we need to know about the purpose of life and about God himself is found in one book, the Bible. If you believe in the Bible, the meaning of life is in God's inspired words: â€Å"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. † Luke 9:23. Ecclesiastes 12:13 â€Å"Fear God and obey His commandments for this is the whole duty of man. â€Å"The irony in life these days is that, in order to find it's meaning, you merely have to Google it. To tell you the truth, I don't think anyone knows the true meaning of life. People say that the only way to know the true meaning of life is to live a full life with many near death experiences, then God tells you an instant after you have died.If you have a complex enough mind, and when God wants us to know, he will tell someone after they die and let that person be revived to tell the rest of the human race. If that never happens then we will just have to live life with many questions and as best we can. That's what God wa nts us to do. That's one way to look at it. The meaning of life is to utilize our main driving force, curiosity, without which none of us would even exist. Discover and find out new things. Space travel, for example, will lead to great new discoveries – including life near and far from us.The meaning of life is that we exist, that we are products of a force called creation, and that we should all support and affiliate with that force in every one of it's manifestations. The difference between life and the inanimate is that life has consciousness. The Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Any Christian should know the purpose of life is simple: to serve God. Any Christian who doesn't know this needs to build up their relationship with God; He'll show you all you need to know.You're born, you breed, you die. Therefore the only meaning is to keep the species alive, all the other stuff is just to make it interesting. No one really knows the answer to this. Philosophers and religionists have been debating it for thousands of years. Life's meaning is what it means to you! What do you value in your life? Everyone has there own meaning and there own perception of life. Britannica says it's the sequence of physical and mental you body and go to amazing places and see amazing things.Life is a once in a lifetime thing so if you don't enjoy it then you will have wasted the most brilliant thing on earth. Dictionary. com states the meaning of life is: â€Å"The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism. â€Å"I believe it's the beauty of God's creation. The meaning of life is to make life meaningful.

Miss: 21st Century and Young People

Fashion is becoming more and more important to young people. However, some argue that this has negative impact on young people and on society. Do you agree or disagree?In the 21st century, It is difficult to ignore the immense popularity of fashion, which could be found anywhere and everywhere, on the street, television, internet and magazines. Its influence have extended to younger consumers. However, some argue that this trend has an adverse effect on youngsters and even the whole society. Personally, I agree with this view to some extent.Having appealing appearance help youngsters to express their individuality and build their confidence. Firstly, fashion is a form of art, which changes constantly and requires creativity. It inspires these young people to express their personality and taste in a unique way. Without fashion, they miss a sound opportunity of expressing themselves. Secondly, by wearing trendy clothing the way they like, youngsters may feel comfortable and pleasure; m eanwhile, they are more likely to become attractive. As a result, their confidence level could be boosted.This trend also benefits the whole society, namely, creating more job opportunities. Youngsters love for fashion, which is an integral part of their lives, produces numerous new job opportunities, related to fashion industry. For instance, a fashion magazine , called Seventeen, is published for young girls who love to keep up with the latest trend. This is helpful to relieve employment pressure, which is extremely severe in the economic recession.Despite of this, it is undeniable that this trend may distract teenagers from study and generates the social problem of fashion bullying. Firstly, if teenagers involves themselves too much with fashion, they may find it difficult to concentrate on study because there is insufficient time for study. This is especially true for those student who are not good at time management. Secondly, youngsters may judge their friends based on their c lothing, jewelry and hair style. Those students who look unfashionable may  be isolated or even bullied. This damages their psychological development.In conclusion, it is advantageous for youngsters to follow fashion; however, the disadvantages should not be ignored. The school and parents should guide young adult to view fashion in a appropriate way.

What are the key issues facing Public Service Broadcasting in the UK Essay

What are the key issues facing Public Service Broadcasting in the UK - Essay Example â€Å"Neither commercial nor state controlled, public broadcasting’s only raison d’à ªtre is public service. It is the public broadcasting organisation...[that] develop knowledge, broaden horizons and enable people to better understand themselves by better understanding the world and others† (World Radio and Television Council, 2002). At present in this highly technological and globalised world, the system of public service broadcasting is facing â€Å"declining budgets, audience fragmentation, and debate over their proper role† (Collins, et al., 2001). In the present context, on examination we will find that the PBS in UK is facing serious challenges from the issue of substantial downgrading of support from the public funds, and the entry of competitors along with new advanced technology into the world of media and communication. We will examine these very issues and explore various subjects to find out logical and workable solutions to these imminent problems, which threat the very existence of modern day UK PBS. In UK by the regulations of the Ofcom it is mandatory for BBC to have public service addresses, for all its television and radio stations, including the ones that have digital transmission. Besides these, other stations that transmit through the terrestrial analogue television like ITV and Channel 4 whose programs are transmitted to all of UK, that includes Scotland, Northern Ireland, England; FIVE and also SC4 in Wales, are bound to transmit programs that fall under the category of public service broadcasting, since these free to air channels are available to all citizens in UK. Under the Community Radio Order 2004, it is also mandatory for the 200 community Radio services to play the role of public service providers; the only exemption in this case are the commercial radios, which are allowed to transmit nominal or

Argumentative Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Argumentative - Research Paper Example dy is to describe the impact of societal issues that may affect children and their up brining; there are many researchers who wrote a lot regarding the impact of social set up on children. The use of drugs in teenagers have been rising in todays civilization, and the majority of drug users start to take drugs in their preteen or teenage time as in that moment in time, the young people have to face a tough time to discover themselves. One of the most significant aspects that cause teenagers to use drugs is because of their family. As everybody knows, parents are the foremost teachers for their children, so the families educations are very important. The parents act as an active teacher and model of such patterns. Unfortunately, a number of parents sometimes use some drugs such as cigarettes and alcohol, which are very popular substances, when their children are at front of them. When their kids saw their parents to use those kinds of substances, they might think that it does not matter to use cigarettes and alcohol because their parents also use them. Therefore, they would imitate their parents and try them. In the same manner, the parents pressure and family problem also can cause a teenager to use drugs. Sometimes, the parents give their children too much stress such as getting high marks in school, and think that their children are the perfect, so when the children cannot receive those stress any more, they would like to escape from it. In todays high school the availability and variety of drugs is very widespread. Since drugs are easy to get, the people naturally interest in them may build up quickly. You ought to hear that a person to say his experience reaction on drug usage, such as, "hey, this made me so cool, and I was a stoned and big man". Therefore, his response about using drugs may increase your curiosity about using drugs. The teenagers use drugs not only caused by their families, but social factors also are the most important elements to influent

Incident Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Incident - Essay Example In the case of Ada, she must show that someone's negligence caused her son's death and the injury she suffered to claim damages under tort. With regard to Bob's death, two parties can be found liable - Charles and the organizers of the Senley Regatta. Charles has a duty of care to Bob at sea to exercise due diligence in driving his boat just as drivers on the road have a duty of care to other cars, which he breached when he crossed Bob's lane without giving appropriate signals - an act which any boat driver must be aware of. This is evident in applying the "neighbour test" in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932]2 and the three stage test in Caparo Industries v Dickman [1990]3. The event organisers, on the other hand, are also liable because they have a duty of care towards its participants and spectators. This duty of care is analogous to that in Michael Watson v British Boxing Board of Control Ltd. [2001]4, where the differences in the facts of the case are immaterial because it is evident t hat the organisers in both events both failed to put safety measures to ensure the protection of its participants and spectators. ... the claimant must be sufficiently proximate both with its relationship to the victim and with the incident itself, such that it was witnessed by the claimant in person. This view was furthered in McLoughlin v. O'Brian [1983]6, where it is stated that damages can be awarded if the plaintiff "comes upon its immediate aftermath." In this respect, Ada her sufficiently proximate relationship with Bob, was neither present during the incident nor was she able to arrive immediately at the scene and experience its immediate aftermath. To claim damages, she must therefore illustrate that unlike the case of Alcock v. Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police [1992]7, where there were no "depicted suffering of recognizable individuals", the satellite feed she watched on television allowed her to recognise Bob's boat, not only because she was aware he was participating in the event, but also because she recognised his distinctively coloured boat, allowing her to see the suffering of a recogni sable individual. While this claim can be risky, because it departs from conventional interpretation, she has a good chance to claim damages for nervous shock, provided that she can illustrate the substantial differences of her case. With respect to Freddie, a fireman who suffered nervous shock after rescuing ten of the children in the pleasure cruiser two of whom died in the hospital, he cannot claim damages under tort of negligence for two reasons. First, even though the rescue doctrine in Wagner v International r.r. Co., (NY) [1921]8 , 9 and in Ogwo v Taylor [1987]10 makes Charles liable to the physical injuries that Freddie may suffer as a result of the rescue; Freddie was not rescuing Charles, but one of the students, who were victims of Charles' negligent act. Thus, this makes the

College Scholarship questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

College Scholarship questions - Essay Example Besides the access to excellent research programs and world renowned faculty, I have a soft spot for the universiy that has been the alma mater of many of my family members. My father too dreamt of graduating from here, but due to family problems had to begin working soon after high school. He’d be proud to see me graduate from a school after his own heart. I come from a small rural farming community and have worked with Hereford Cattle since I was 9 years old. I have started a small successful business with my Hereford herd and I want to improve my herd and work with other ranches to help develop and improve animal breeding. The department of Animal Science at A&M has undergraduate courses in animal breeding and genetics available to students like me and the possibility of participating in such research programs excites me. The field of embryo research and animal breeding is the goal I have set for myself. I shall work very hard to learn as much as I can while I pursue my bachelor’s degree. I plan to make full use of the facilities and the expert guidance that TAMU can offer me to help me attain my goal of doing a doctorate in embryo research. I want to be an embryologist and work towards new and path breaking research in this field. I am passionate about my job and enjoy every day to the fullest. I’d like to make a huge success of my chosen career; at the same time have a happy and contented family life. I’d love to discover something new for the cattle industry, make my mark in this field and contribute my mite to the future of the ranching

WSJ.com only Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WSJ.com only - Essay Example What interests me is how analysts assume that by reducing interest rates, acquiring assets in huge portions, and funding the bank system can be an option in ending inflation. The market can be freed through employing mechanisms that can help the Yuan appreciate. It is interesting how the U.S. reacts at this move, calling it currency manipulation. For this reason, they have issued sanctions for China to review her motives. However, through such currency uncertainty, China is in a good position to attract investors. Economic problems are present in all countries. This makes it impossible o use similar mechanisms in reversing the problems. As seen, the European nation is yet to recover from the 2009 great economic depression. There have been a lot of suggestions on how to counter the menace. This includes reducing interest rates and funding the bank. China finds it nice to use currency uncertainty to improve her

Managing External Stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing External Stakeholders - Essay Example The company management has to make a balancing assessment and evaluate all such external forces in order to adjust them with company's objectives. While taking crucial corporate decisions, it is necessary to know about the expectations of different stakeholders and to determine the extent to which they could and would exert their influence. Johnson & Scholes (1999) define stakeholder as, "Stakeholders are groups or individuals who have a stake in, or expectation of, the organisation's performance." For any organization to work, all the stakeholders have to pool their efforts. Terry & Franklin (1994) define management as 'a distinct process consisting of activities of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling performed to determine and accomplish stated objectives with the use of human beings and other resources'. Different organisations have different sets of stakeholders, whose nature and composition varies depending upon the nature of business. For example the Arsenal Footbal l Club, besides being a soccer club is a public limited company in itself. As football club, its main stakeholders are, the players, the spectators, football fans, the club administrators etc. But as a plc, a broader array of stakeholders comes into picture. The Arsenal Holdings plc manages stadiums, matches, football teams, online TV channel, credit card business, sports academies, strategic partnerships with host of other organizations etc. Therefore the company has stakeholders from different corners of the society in general. The Arsenal Football Club started off when a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory decided to form a football team in late 1886. The club has now transformed into a full fledged company organizing different types of activities. The recent half yearly financial results for the company indicate an impressive growth rate with group turnover increasing to GBP100.8 million (2005: GBP57.0 million) as a result of higher gate and match day reven ues at Emirates Stadium and sale of a property development site at Drayton Park1. Similarly, British Petroleum (BP) is a leading oil and gas company. The company's operations include the exploration and production of gas and crude oil, construction and mining, manufacturing and transportation. Besides this the company also has a network of subsidiaries engaged in the chemicals, power and renewable energy sectors. The company maintains leading brands like BP, AM/PM, Aral, ARCO, Castrol etc. With operations spread over six continents in about 100 countries, the company maintains stakeholders in many forms and profiles. The humble beginning of BP can be traced back to 1901 when William Know tried to explore oil in Persia. But it was not before 1908 that the first commercial oil discovery was made in the Middle East by BP (Datamonitor, 2006). In 1935, the company prospered and was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Similarly, exploration expanded into North America (mainly Alaska), South America, Africa, and Europe. The war effort resulted in the British governmen t becoming a shareholder in the company, an association which went on till 1987. Any organization is managed by soliciting crucial support and guidance from respective stakeholders and by taking care of different factors affecting the functioning of an organization. A coordinated approach is required for taking care of all the

Budget Measures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Budget Measures - Essay Example A relaxing environment contributes to the well-being of a patient. Food - An External Caterer seemed to be a wiser alternative compared to an internal facility. An internal facility seemed too luxurious and could probably promote patients not eating on time. Aside from being less expensive, an external caterer would make the dining area more spacious. A larger eating area can house more patients so that they could eat together and thus promote interaction among one another. In the case of patients getting hungry between meals, the center still offers a facility for cooking light refreshments. Medication - Although much expensive, an Automatic Dispenser is more accurate. With the automatic dispenser residents can be traced they have indeed obtained their required medicine. And since they are the only ones who know their individual codes it is easy to check if they have complied with specific dosage regimen. Recreation - I checked Recreation Area, Library, and the TV Room. Recreation is essential to one's recovery from illness and trauma. The sports area will provide effective wellness and fitness programs for the residents. The upgraded amenities offered by the Library will be for leisure and also for learning process. A TV Room would be great for entertainment. These facilities will provide the patient with a "sound mind, sound body." I left out the Transportation because the residents wouldn't always be going out for a leisure trip and the two new vans can only accommodate 30 passengers and 12 wheelchairs. Perhaps renting transportation for occasional trips is wiser. Communication - I chose Dedicated Telephone over Internet Access because internet access is very expensive. If residents need internet services, they can access the web in the library. In addition, communication over the telephone is much clearer as compared to the internet Miscellaneous - I chose to install an Audio System because soothing music is proven to contribute to the wellbeing of persons in any environment especially in a health care facility. Improving the Interior Decoration will encourage the resident to stay outside the room and mingle with other residents. Social interaction is proven advantageous. But I left out Furnishing because it is unwise. Perhaps it is more appropriate for particular residents to furnish their individual rooms at their additional expense. My decision for the accommodation proved to be a good one as it caters the need of a larger part of the private payer population. The $3.3 million was wisely utilized for the expansion plan. With concerns to food, external catering was not a good decision. I guess I failed to consider the preference of the age group to flexible dining time especially when their families come to visit them. Medication through an automatic dispenser was also not a good decision. I should have researched more about it before preferring it over Common Inventory. Also it was unwise not to purchase new vans as these vans are aimed to provide the patients comfort while traveling. Anyway, I was right not opting to provide each room with a computer. The evaluation said that it was also a good idea to repaint the walls and provide the rooms and the corridors with paintings. I was also correct on deciding not to purchase new furnishings because it was very expensive and unnecessary.

Food Inc, opinion paper Essay Example for Free

Food Inc, opinion paper Essay Question 1: Based on your viewing of Food, Inc., how does your view of â€Å"farm-fresh† and other marketing messages that suggest a more organic flow of food products relate to the realities of 21st-century marketing channels for food? The American Marketing Association defines marketing as â€Å"the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large† (https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx). The marketing mix consists of product, price, place, promotion, which means that a company needs to sell the right product at the right price and in the right place, using the best promotion. Because of all of this, â€Å"farm-fresh† and organic foods must fight in the marketplace against traditionally farmed foods. Looking at the product: what exactly makes a food organic? Organic can mean different things to different people, and even has a different meaning between companies. According to organic.org, the USDA defines organic food as that which is produced with emphasized use of renewable resources, plus conservation of soil and water. Organic food is produced without conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetics or waste, bioengineered, or ionized radiation. â€Å"Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones† (http://www.organic.org/home/faq). A government-approved certifier must inspect farms where organic foods are grown to assure that the farmer follows all USDA rules and meets organic standards. Price is a large factor when most people go grocery shopping, especially during these tough economic times. Many, including myself, can argue that organic or â€Å"farm-fresh† foods are just too expensive to buy on a regular basis, or even at all. Personally, I will buy whichever brand is cheapest, without paying attention to where or how it is produced. According to organic.org, one should consider the following facts when wondering why an organic product might cost more than it’s traditionally grown counterpart: Conventional farmers receive federal subsidies, while organic farmers do not, so the price of organic food reflects the true cost of growing. Environmental cleanups, that we pay for with our tax dollars, is not reflected in conventional food. Organic production is more labor and management intensive. And finally, organic farms do not benefit from the economies of scale that larger, more conventional farmers receive. The placement of organic foods is generally next to conventional foods in most grocery stores. Some stores may have a separate organic section, or the organic product could be placed next to its conventionally grown counterpart. Some grocery stores, such as Natural Grocers, only sell USDA approved organic or naturally grown produce and meat, and would not be concerned with placement. Organic foods are generally promoted as being more nutritious than conventional foods. Although, organic.org admits that there is not research to back this claim, at this time, there are studies that show that organic food has a higher nutritional value. This makes since, considering they are grown more naturally, with less chemicals. This film does expose something about organic or â€Å"farm-fresh† foods: the American food industry is supposed to be protected by the USDA and FDA, but they have been allowing these suppliers to focus on profit and put aside consumer health, the environment, and worker safety. Question 2: Based on your answer to Question 1, are you likely to change how and where you procure your foods (i.e., grocery stores, farmers’ markets, fast-food outlets)? Please explain your reasons. I have never been concerned about how my food was made or where it came from. I have never paid attention to organic foods, GMOs, all-natural, or anything related to the production of the foods I eat. As far as I know, my parents never paid attention to these things either. Because of this, â€Å"farm-fresh† and other marketing of organic foods has not affected me. I just purchase the foods that I want and pay no attention to whether they are â€Å"farm-fresh†, organic, locally grown, etc. I will buy whatever is cheapest,  not whatever is healthiest, most natural, or whatever. My opinion and food purchasing habits will most likely not change after viewing this movie. This question reminds me of high school health class, where we had to watch â€Å"Supersize Me.† Everyone started saying how gross it is, that they are never eating at McDonalds again, or whatever other promises they were making. All I could think was that I could totally go for some McNuggets after school that day! I guess it is just because I have never worried about where the food I eat comes from. However, I have always paid attention to salmonella and E. coli recalls. I remember not eating beef or spinach or peanut butter when there was an outbreak in their plants, because why would I want to get sick? So, I would say no, I will not change where or how I procure my groceries. I will not say that I did not get sad watching those little baby chicks die, or the chickens getting slung around. And those poor cows getting slaughtered, and that one that had that hole and the guy was digging around in her stomach, and said that she was not in pain†¦how does he know?! He’s just cut a big hole in her and is sticking his hand in her stomach, and she cannot tell you that she is in pain! Question 3: Finally, do you think there are any ethical and/or social responsibility issues that confront marketing channels for food distribution? Chicken are manipulated to grow bigger breasts, tomatoes are genetically engineered to not go bad by being picked while they are green, then ripened with chemicals. Tens of thousands of Americans get sick from new strains of E. coli every year. Levels of obesity are shooting upwards, and diabetes in adults and children have reached epidemic proportions. If Americans knew how corporations used subsidies and exploited laws to make more money, would they think more carefully about what they are eating? The truth is, most people have no clue where their foods come from. Below, I will list secrets and other things that the public should know about the food that they are putting into their bodies. I found a list on www.takepart.com (http://www.takepart.com/photos/food-inc-facts/the-impact-of-food-inc-lives-on-) of 18 â€Å"Food, Inc.† facts that everyone should know, which I have compared  with my notes and compiled the following paragraphs. I feel that if everyone was aware of these facts, it would increase the social responsibility of these companies, and people would have trust in them. These facts pertain to the slaughterhouses and meat packers. In the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled about 25% of the market, while today, more than 80% of the market is controlled by the top four. In the 1970s, there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of beef sold, while today, there are only 13. In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. Approximately 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, NC, the largest slaughterhouse in the world. In 2006, the FDA only conducted 9,164. These facts pertain to Monsanto and the USDA. Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical company. In 1996 when Monsanto introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, the company controlled only 2% of the U.S. soybean market. Now, over 90% of soybeans contain Monsanto’s patented gene in the United States. In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and an E. coli strain so that the USDA could shut down the plant if they repeatedly failed these tests; the USDA no longer has this power after being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations. These facts pertain to the FDA, USDA, and congressmen. During the Bush administration, the head of the FDA was the former executive vice president of the National Food Processors Association. Also during the Bush administration, the chief staff at the USDA was the former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from 1976-1979; after his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed patents. The SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure, requiring all food derived from cloned animals to be labeled as such, passed the California state legislature before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger, who said that he couldnt sign a bill that pre-empted federal law. The rest of these facts are just interesting. The average chicken farmer (with two poultry houses) invests over $500,000, but only makes $18,000 a year. The average American eats over 200 pounds of meat each year. The modern supermarket stocks, on average 47,000 products, most of which are being produced by only a handful of food companies. About 70% of processed have some genetically modified ingredients. According to the American Diabetes Association, 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes. Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2. E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have been more frequent in America. In 2007, there were 73,000 people wicked by the E. coli bacteria. Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually.

Brazil Films and National Politics †City of God

Brazil Films and National Politics – City of God Brazil Films and National Politics – City of God Introduction: Culture and Politics: Culture in all its form happens to be the mirror of the society and the political scenario. Since ages primitive and ancient, intellectuals have used the platform of culture as the media through which they have vented their feelings regarding the popular happenings that have been enveloping them. Various types of literary movements and literary works, both novels and poems have been created by literary geniuses of various eras that have been showcasing the popular norms of every contemporary age. These literary works have along with reflecting the popular social and political order of the day had also become a very convenient stage where resistance and revolution against the same had been declared. Such stages often proved to be successful due to their immense social reach and appeal. With the innovation of motion pictures we see that culture and art did find a new dimension. Soon the creative geniuses of the arena of film making did use the various raging conte mporary political and social issues as the protagonist of their film plots to churn out some of the most influential films of all times. It has been often observed that the various trending cinema does reflect some of the most recent issues that happens to be coloring the current social and political condition and in turn these films also has a major influence in shaping up the future trends in the arena of politics, society and also the future patterns of culture. Discussion: Brazil as a Nation: America is often referred to as the pot boiler of cultures and it is one for sure. Out of the country the Americas or the Latin American countries are the ones that happens to be standing out in the said genre. Brazil is one of the most noteworthy countries of the Latin America both in terms of its geographical area and the population volume. In this context we see that Brazil which is officially the Federative Republic of Brazil is in fact the largets country in South America as well as the Latin American area. The nation is the World’s fifth largets country in terms of the area and the population mass and is again one of the largest Portugese speaking nation in the world and is the only Portuguese speaking country in the Latin American region. The nation is bound by the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side and has a coastline that stretches for a distance of bout 7491 km. The borders of the nation touch the borders of most of the nations in the Latin Americ an region other than the nations of Ecuador and the Chile. The nation as a whole happens to occupy nearly 47.3 percent of the South American Continent. The nation has a long history of very tumulus political conditions that had been affected by the various change of political authorities which has also been interim by very violent outburst and civil security uncertainty. In the current times we see that the political instability of the country has some what abed and the country has seemed to found its long sought political stability. However even in the present scenario it could be said that the index of violent crime in the country is quite high especially the instances of gun violence and homicide is quite large in number. In the year 2012, the WHO estimated a number of 32 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants that has been stated to be the highest rate of intentional homicide in the entire world. The nation is however not very unanimous in its crime index in all the parts of the nation. Certain parts of the country seem to have a comparatively larger index of crime instances than the others. Brazil in fact has the third highest prison population in the world. The whole phenomenon clearly reveals that the number of criminals in he country is quite surging, which in fact happens to be reflecting the loop holes and the vices of the political and the economic systems of the nation. Brazilian Film Industry: Brazil again as an economy is quite vast and diversified. In fact it could be said that the national economy is a vastly researched and investigated arena with in the social structure of Brazil. Out of the various industries that do exist within the super structure of the Brazilian economy, the industry of film making in the contemporary times happens to be no insignificant stream. The Brazilian cinema wsa introduced in the country by the early 20th century. The stream did not happens to be an immediate success but at the same time we see that with time the stream did establish itself not just as a popular form of entertainment but also at the same time it again became a consolidated form of revenue generating source. The Brazilian fim making industry has seen its own ups and downs and for a long time has been dependant on the state funding and incentives programs. The Brazilian fil industry did come into operations as early as the late 1890s. The initial bla ck and white filsm that were made had been mainly on the local events that had taken place in the contemporary Brazilian society. In this case we again see that the later age films that were made and were the first of its class of fictional works and were known as the posed films were mainly fabricated on the local events of crimes and other political agenda. The first success of this genre was Francisco Marzullo’s â€Å"Os Estrabguladores† that had been released in the year 1906. As mentioned earlier the film industry of the nation was considerably supported by the State and the government. Much amount of the funding and the economic investment into the creation of the films were mainly made by the state as a result of which we see that the control of the government over the various facets of film making was again quite strong. This is a trend that in the later ages did happens to wan. In the later ages it was in fact found that slowly the investment of the state and the government into the film making operations did diminish considerably as a result of which we see that the slowly the art and the genre of making and producing films and cinema became an independent genre and we see that the government and state say and opinions were many times not given the chief importance. As a result of same we see that though the control of the government and the State authorities did not erase completely yet, Brazilian cinema did evolve as an independent form of art and creativity, that reflected the moral and the social and the political matters and issues in the contemporary context and also did attract attention of the common population just as the political heads towards the reigning problems of the nation. City of Gods (2002): From the huge labyrinth of the various films that has been made in the Brazilian context and in the same industry, in the article we will be throwing a flood of light on the film City of God that was called in Portuguese Cidade de Deus. The film was Brazilian crime drama that was directed by Fernando Meirelles and was again co directed by Katia Lund. The film was released in the homeland in the year 2002 and overseas in 2003. The film story was adapted by a novel of the same name however the plot of the film was influenced by certain events of the contemporary society. The film through its storyline does depict the growth of organized crime that could be seen in the region of Cidade de Deus or the suburbs of the capital city of Rio De Janeiro. The film era is that between 1960s to the 1980s. The climax of the film shows a war between the drug dealers and the Knockout Ned. The tagline of the film happens to showcase the contemporary situation of the Brazilian soci ety where the rate of crime happens to be quite high – that clearly reflects the idea that one is damned if he runs and is again damned if he does not. The Film was a world wide success and also attained world wide critical acclaim. Relevant against the National Backdrop: As mentioned earlier the Brazilian nation and also its culture is quite a fusion and has seen a large number of changes. Once again we see that the nation and its society even in the current times happen to face some very violent instances of crime and transgression. It is against the same backdrop that the film â€Å"City of Gods† have been depicted that set against the contemporary times happens to show case brilliantly the various ills and vices that happens to rest in the society of Brazil. Although the time pace of the film is not exactly current, nevertheless the current state of criminal violence and frivolities have been very aptly depicted in the film, that in its trails also highlights the various shortcomings and the loopholes of the political system of the nation. In this context it would not be completely wrong to point out that the various crimes that do take place in the context of the Brazilian society also has a strong i nput from the various wrong tremnds of the political scenario. In this context we see that the cinema City of Gods along with portraying the ills of crime, gang war and the vicious cycle of drugs that is prevalent in the nation also within it scope portrays the corrupt political super structure that happens to be fostering crime and anarchy. Hence the popular depiction not juts made the common population all the more aware of their own misery but at the same time did again attract the attention of the political and the economic elite that did turn their attention towards the problem of the Hybrid society of Brazil. Effect on the National Politics: Although many people of the international world beliefs that the Brazilian cinema is nothing more than the earlier comedies such as the chanchadas or the exotic sun bathed sea beaches that will be showcasing sun tanned bodies against the backdrop of a tropical paradise. Although this type of cinemam is not diffiocult to find in the Brazilian arena, nevertheless we see that Brazilian films in its maximum part is quite unflinching, confrontational and often on the brink of exteremely violent. In fact many critiques happens to say that Brazilian cinema is the most radical form of cinema. In fact it is the platform where the struggle for the country’s identity is activated and fought. City of God is far from being the escapism cinemamthat would export its audience to a world of color and fantasy and quite unlike the Carmen Miranda films. Like the Brazilian cinema history this film again has a more tilt and inclination towards solemn film making, th at brings the attention of the national political figure heads towards the regining problems and the ragiung issues of the era. This again has helped the political heads of the nation to have better understanding and gain insight into the psyche of the common people and the weay they happens to be viewing their nation and its society and the life that is offered to them by the both. In a correspondence to the same the national leaders could take the required and the decisive steps that would be fortifying the security and the civil peace issues of the nation, that would be curtailing the growth of crime and would be restoring a much more stable and peaceful social life for the population of the nation, that again will be much more conducive for the growth of the nation and its people at the very same time. Conclusion: On a concluding note it could be said that cinema is nothing but a popular portrayal of the common life and the common population. The trending phenomenon and the reigning agendas are often found to be the central issues of the films. In the recent times we see that films in maximum cases can be divided into two genres – the commercial and the influential. The commercial cinema is more into fantasy and fictional where as the influential films does cast the existing trends in the society and often creates ripples in the political level as well. The film City of Gods happens to be such a film that did depict the evils of crime in the Brazilian society with a lot of craft and in depth style, which in its totality again not just reflects the political system of the country but also influences the operational patterns of the same.

Dont Confuse Freedom with Individual Rights :: argumentative, persuasive essays

How many times have we heard people justifying their needs by saying something like, "This is a free country. I have the right to (anything goes here)". For words that people use quite frequently, they are often misused and misunderstood. From my point of view, it seems that most people use them as an alternative to explaining the real reasons why they want something. So let me tell you what I think the two words mean in practice. Freedom is taking responsibility for you own actions and your own life.   If for example someone says, "I am freeing you of the need to make decisions", they are in fact taking your freedom away. So, how many people act as if they are free? Not all that many. Those who constantly complain that the government should do something about this or that, or that they have had a lot of bad luck in life, are not free. These people have abdicated their freedom to outside factors. Acknowledge that you are in the best position to alter your own situation and accept the consequences of all of your actions and you will be truly free. And it will be obvious, from that point on, when someone tries to take your freedom away. What about personal rights. Do we have the right to free speech? What about a minimum standard of living? Or the right to bear arms and to vote? All of these rights seem to change in every culture in the world, so are there no ultimate rights. Well let me tell you. There are two ways to look at it. There are the rights that nature has given us. Which are the right to have what ever we are strong enough to take and the right to die without mercy. Does that seem a little harsh? Well that's nature for you, she's a mother. Now the other way to look at it, is that rights are what most of the people in any given region agree is fair treatment. So, under this system there are no universal rights, just opinion. Does that make rights useless? Far from it. By constantly testing our rights against the current opinion, we learn the unofficial rules of our society. Thus if you can convince enough people around you that you have the right to fly unaided, then you are free to do so.

The Persian Gulf War: A view through the themes of individual and society :: Essays Papers

The Persian Gulf War: A view through the themes of individual and society The Persian Gulf War began in 1990 when Iraqi forces invaded the border of Kuwait. The United States led a coalition of forces between other countries eventually ending the war in 1991.1 The Persian Gulf War made many people of different backgrounds suffer by starvation, malnutrition and disease. The Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, was the main cause for this suffering. Problems between Iraq and Kuwait started when Kuwait gained their independence and gained protection from British. Iraq did not want to recognize Kuwait as a separate country because Iraq believed that Kuwait was in their territory. Iraq and Kuwait were both part of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century, and Iraq thought Kuwait was still a province from the South of Iraq.2 Oil became the main problem that led to war. Iraqi leaders blamed Kuwait for pumping oil from Iraqi territory, and for not paying revenues for the oil taken out. Since Iraq had debts with Kuwait, Iraq then started harassing Kuwait. Another accusation Iraq placed on Kuwait was that Kuwait was pumping too much oil. According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), there is a limit of oil extraction on every country.3 All of these complaints led then to war. Kuwait did not want any confrontation and Iraq was not there to take any land away but to intimidate Kuwait. Talks between them did not help and invasion took place in August 2, 1990, when Iraq started mobilizing towards adjoining borders.4 On February 26, 1991 the war was, if not in its end, but to close to the defeat of the Iraqis by the coalition led powerfully by the United States. Public communication mainly by radio in Iraq told the contrary but not even its own people could belief victory but they all accepted defeat. Statistics showed that 148 Americans were dead, and 467 wounded. Many of these deaths or injuries were result of friendly fire. According to New York Times of September 1990, 200,000 Iraqis died.5 The main task for the world and the coalition was to stop Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s Mandatary.

Discuss Stevensons portrayal of the nature of good and evil and the dual nature of mans personality Essay

Question- â€Å"Discuss Stevenson’s portrayal of the nature of good and evil and the dual nature of man’s personality. What does this show us about Stevenson’s view of Victorian Britain?† Born into the middle-class, prosperous district of â€Å"new† Edinburgh in Scotland, 1850, the young Robert Louis Stevenson’s life was a existence of opposites and contradictions. Just a few miles from his homeland lay the slums of â€Å"old† Edinburgh- a destitute sprawl of old urban living, disease and vice widespread and all to common. The young Master Stevenson was forbidden from this area, instead confined to his bedroom with his fanatic religious nanny- largely in part to his poor health and fragile immune system. His nanny, Alison Cunningham, was a devout Calvinist, a religion with a mixture of both Christian and Folk religion ideals. Calvinism teaches that every human being is born into sin, and thus must take it upon themselves to seek God, going against their natural inclination. This rule, entitled Total Depravity, was taught to the young Stevenson by his nanny, therefore leading the young seven year old to question his every step, paving the way for horrific nightmares of Hell and the fury of the Devil. As Stevenson grew up he found himself swept up in the cultural revolution that was â€Å"Bohemianism.† A now teenage Stevenson found himself attending raucous parties and living a second hand existence in near poverty, as what was expected from any bohemian person. He also found himself increasingly attached to the bottle and, on more then one occasion, visited prostitutes- an act that was seen as greatly immoral in the Victorian era and an action that would certainly have shocked his nanny. This deliberate act of rebellion shocked his parents and they temporarily disowned him and, although, Stevenson kept his attitudes and dislike of religion, the fall-out with his parents made him question the gulf in lifestyle that he and his parents had and the arguments also led him to question just what was right, and what was evil. Whilst travelling Stevenson met a certain Fanny Osborne, a women both older then him and already married. They had a short lived affair before Osborne absconded, leaving her husband for the young Stevenson and the couple soon wed. Second marriages were considered a â€Å"taboo† topic in the Victorian era, and Stevenson once again found himself branded as â€Å"evil† and â€Å"ignorant†, further stimulating Stevenson’s mind on right and wrong. Stevenson’s first wrote â€Å"The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde† in 1885 and the book was released a year later. Rumour has it that Stevenson wrote the book whilst heavily drugged; the author had a considerable liking of Cocaine, a mind-altering drug. The drug would have momentarily changed his perceptions and view on the world, and this is perhaps reflected in the book, further strengthening the divide that was beginning to shape his book. The book was fairly popular yet drew heavy criticism from some scholars who read the book as an allegory of inappropriate sexual desires. At the time Stevenson re-buffed the ideas, through fear of the popularity of his book diminishing, but he later admitted that the book could be read as an allegory of the troubles of Victorian society. There are many themes that run deep through Stevenson’s novella, all centred around the line that divides good and evil. This topic of morality particularly fascinated the Victorian audience, largely thanks to the strength of the British Empire. The common Londoner’s heard tales of strange, far-away lands and peculiar, ritual-abiding tribe’s man and started to question their own rituals and actions. Stevenson’s book tapped into this market, asking whether what was considered â€Å"good and evil† was â€Å"good and evil† everywhere, or whether different people had different opinions on the difficult and dividing topic. Stevenson’s story begins with â€Å"The story of the door†, an opening chapter which tells the friendship of Mr Utterson and Mr Enfield, two respectable men who refuse to indulge in the spread of gossip. However they eventually begin to discuss the indecent trampling of a small girl, committed by a mysterious, twisted man, later named as Hyde. The fact that Hyde is introduced before Jekyll keeps the character of Mr Hyde fresh in the mind, and the irregular pattern (time-frame) of the book leads to the resulting conclusion being even more startling, especially for the Victorian audience who wouldn’t have expected anything similar to the actual ending. The chapter is also rich in subtle foreshadowing of opposition and restraint. â€Å"He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages;†, is a perfect example of Stevenson’s subtle touch. The fact that Utterson drank Gin when alone, a drink regarded at the time as a â€Å"poor-man’s† drink, a drink that was crude and often associated with criminals and vice, to quench his thirst, nay, desire for rich wine represents Jekyll’s attitude towards Hyde: Jekyll deliberately starves himself of the drug he slowly becomes addicted to, the drug that turns himself into Hyde despite despising Hyde with every bone in his body. Yet Jekyll still feels a craving for the drug and has to substitute himself with other activity’s, despite his attempts at distraction resulting in vain. The setting and atmosphere of Enfield’s recollection of the night when he first met Hyde also reflects the duality of man, a crucial aspect in Stevenson’s book. â€Å"A black winter morning†¦there was literally nothing but lamps† being a prime example of this. This abnormal lighting situation would produce shadows- the shadows representing the underclass of London society, the people that would hug street walls late at night, trying desperately not to be seen as they went about their shady business. The natural image of the black winter morning also juxtaposes the artificial light of the lamps, depicting the fact that, in the Victorian era, the citizens were always trying to triumph over nature, attempting to create social standards that even Mother Nature abided to. The stark contrast between dark and light is almost ignored in this quote, as the blackness of the night and the brightness of the lamps merge seamlessly into one another, thus representing Enfi eld’s confusion. This confusion is epitomised by the quote: â€Å"I got into the state of mind when a man listens and listens and belongs to long for the sight of a policeman,†. Enfield states his nervousness and â€Å"longing† for a policeman, a rather unusual trait as the Metropolitan Police Force was still in it’s infancy and battling many an unfavourable opinion. Also the character was earlier described as a rather dull man, the â€Å"man about town†, an experienced figure who had seen just about every city occurrence. Yet here Stevenson describes him as worried and nervous, determined to find a member of the establishment that was so untrusted around town. As well as this Stevenson implies that he character can sense something is wrong; he has potentially sourced the overbearing threat of Mr Hyde. This demonstrates the main antagonists intimidating nature before we are even introduced to him. This fear of the unknown could be related to Stevenson’s upbringing, surrounded by religion and threat of the Devil. In Christianity, and Calvinism, the Devil is both feared and yet paradoxically respected. His fundamentalist Nanny would have taught him of the threat of the Devil and also of the reason why the Devil was cast into Heaven (most prominently for failing to understand that he was created by God (that he had a dual nature)). This links in with Hyde’s nature and internal struggle- he can never fully become Jekyll because he was created BY Jekyll. The quote: â€Å"like a forest in a fire† is a good example of Stevenson’s views on current society and the changing world that was revolving around him. The simile is used to emphasise the differences between the old, poor row of houses and the new, upper class street- no doubt a product of the industrial revolution that was currently sweeping the country. Forest’s contain nothing but wood, and the single most dangerous thing one could encounter in a forest is fire, where the spitting flames spread from tree to tree. The simile could be linked to the Victorian industrial revolution: Stevenson views it as a hungry flame, sweeping away all of nature’s beauty and all of what the world used to comprise of, for now metal and steel is starting to replace the natural woods used to build shelter, and trees were being cut down to feed machines, which spat out new inventions and ideas. The quote has a negative edge relating to the industrial revolution, which fits in with Stevenson’s lifestyle and ethics. For he was a romanticist, a bohemian- interested in the preservation of nature, which they believed directly fed and influenced literature, poetry and art. The quote symbolises the divide that the industrial revolution was creating, and also questions whether the industrial revolution is good or bad, similarly to how the main theme of the book questions whether humans truly are good or evil. The second chapter, entitled â€Å"The Search for Mr. Hyde† continues with some important quotations regarding the duality of man, â€Å"It was his custom of a Sunday, when this meal was over, to sit close by the fire, a volume of some dry divinity†, being one of these. The â€Å"dry divinity† means a religious book or text, and the reading of these kinds of texts was considered a honourable and dutiful act in the Victorian era. However Utterson describes the text as â€Å"dry†- he finds it boring, dull. Thus the quote informs us that Utterson sticks to conventional Victorian traditionalism, yet aches with boredom in doing so. He yearns to be doing something else, somewhere else but feels compelled to follow his upstanding â€Å"Sunday custom†. This is typical of Victorian society and a crucial element of understanding the â€Å"duality of man†. For the Victorians tried to quench man’s natural instinct and mould him into a figure they determined respectable. Yet in pushing, in repressing people so far man rebelled, and began to question the life he lived under, leading to all of the Victorian â€Å"vices†, sex, alcohol and homosexuality becoming acceptable. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the Victorians oppression of the minority and the poor we probably wouldn’t be living in such a free society. The usage of pathetic fallacy is a common and important tool in Stevenson’s novella. The fog increases in depth and prominence whenever Hyde is near , and the fog clears towards the end of the story when the mystery is close to being unravelled. â€Å"the first fog of the season, a great chocolate coloured pall lowered over the heavens† is a quote from the chapter: â€Å"The Carew Murder Case† and the use of pathetic fallacy has connotations of impending danger as well as connotations of the industrial revolution. The â€Å"chocolate coloured† essence of the fog has implications of the industrial revolution â€Å"poisoning† the fog, changing it’s colour and also the times when the fog appears. The fog is stated as being the â€Å"first of the season†, yet the timeline would mean the fog was unnaturally early, implying the industrial revolution is harming and manipulating Mother Nature. The fog could be interpreted as nothing more then smog, a poisonous relation of the cleaner and more natural fog. The relationship between the unnatural smog, produced by the industrial revolution and the natural fog could also be linked to the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde; Hyde is a less natural side effect of Jekyll’s curiosity, Hyde is the poisonous, dangerous aspect of Jekyll. Jekyll could be interpreted as the influence of nature on Victorian society, an old-fashioned traditionalist being poisoned by new ideas and new beliefs. The murder of Sir Danvers Carew is an important part of the book, and Stevenson’s description adds to the sense of confusion and fear that is created. We are fed the murder from the viewpoint of a maid who was â€Å"romantically given† just before the crime was committed. â€Å"he was trampling his victim under foot†¦under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the roadway† is an extract from the murder description. The description is vivid, Stevenson notes how the maid heard the â€Å"bones shatter†, surely an awful, sickening sound. The murder is incredibly violent, representing Hyde’s anger boiling to the surface- alas; the exact reason for the murder is never truly revealed, leading us to think that Hyde needs violence to satisfy himself when he is allowed to roam free. The phrase â€Å"the body jumped upon the roadway† is also an interesting use of language, possibly representing the violence of the act; the body has been hit and abused so hard it is physically moving away from Hyde, his blows have pushed it away. The phrase adds to the sense of strength Hyde possesses, making him an even more formidable character. â€Å"with indescribable amazement read the name of Gabriel John Utterson† We first learn the full name of Utterson in â€Å"The Last Night†, after Jekyll puts his name on his will. His name could be interpreted as some as incredibly significant to the story. There are many religious connotations in Stevenson’s novella, and Utterson’s first name could be another of these connotations. In the religion of Christianity, Gabriel is the arch-angel of God, and God’s chief messenger. He passes on messages from God to various biblical figures, giving him the title of â€Å"God’s medium†. His role in Christianity is similar to Gabriel John Utterson’s in the â€Å"Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde†, he retells messages between Lanyon and Jekyll, and also uncovers the truth by reading messages intended as replies to another. Utterson’s first name also reveal his â€Å"good† side- he is a constant friend to Dr. Jekyll throughout the novella. Nearly every member of the reading Victorian audience would be familiar with the arch-angel Gabriel, and many readers would have made the link between â€Å"the two messengers†. Stevenson could also of used Utterson’s name as a way of stating that not everyone caught up in evil, is evil. Utterson is confronted with pure, undiluted evil a number of times in the story but he never once loses his sense of moral decency or moral fibre. The final chapter in Stevenson’ story contains the most information regarding the â€Å"duality of man†. The final chapter is in chronological order- right from Jekyll’s childhood to his death. The chapter also informs us of how Jekyll grew up harbouring an â€Å"evil† side. â€Å"Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures† being an example of his youthful, dual personality. A youthful Jekyll realises that, once one enters manhood and the adult world one must learn to conceal any hope or joyfulness for fear of be let down by society or taken advantage of. So we learn that, even from childhood, Jekyll is living a lie and hiding his â€Å"split† personality from the world. â€Å"I was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of me were in dead earnest† is an example of a slightly older Jekyll’s newly stifled personality. He has forced down his natural, animal-like instincts and replaced them with an acceptable, Victorian type attitude. He has learnt to ignore his impulse and instead confer to Victorian era conformity. He has become emotionally repressed and, whilst he is coping at the minute there will always be a threat of his emotions bubbling over in a â€Å"Jack the Ripper† type emergence. â€Å"My Devil had been long caged, it came out roaring†¦Instantly the spirit of Hell awoke in me and raged† is an example of such an outburst. We know from the story that a drug causes Jekyll’s evil side to emerge but the warning Stevenson writes of is that anybody can be unleashed, any human has the potential to be a crazed mass-murderer, or an evil psychopath if pushed (or oppressed) hard enough. This would of hit a chord with the reading audience who were still recovering from the Jack the Ripper attacks, which left many Londoners wondering just what kind of person could commit such crimes. The answer? Anybody- for the Victorian style of living had the potential to depress, oppress and ultimately, end lives†¦ Overall, I believe Stevenson wrote â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde† as a warning to the Victorian reader. He wanted the audience to realise that everyone, regardless of social stature, finance or credibility, had the potential to be evil. Yet, in his novella, Stevenson almost determines that there is no real definition of â€Å"good and evil†. The human body is a complex machine and, like a snowflake, the human body changes with each individual. Humans realise and readily accept that every human has different fingerprints yet seems to find it harder to link this fact with the human brain. For ultimately, every single human is different thus the guidelines of â€Å"good and evil† change with every single person. And, ultimately, who are we to question who is good and who is evil? There are thousands of different religions, what if they are all wrong and the one, true religion (if there is one) actually determines evil as good, and good as evil. We are just mere mortals, and the human brain is the most complex thing on the planet. Before we even begin to scrape the surface of this complex machine, we must first begin to understand the secrets of the universe, and life. â€Å"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.† So said Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. I believe that this quote sums up Stevenson’s approach to the dividing line between good and evil. For where other people of the age, fresh from the horrors of the Ripper murders, strived to find a logical answer to the line between good and evil, Stevenson instead â€Å"moved in the opposite direction†. Rather then attempt to answer the question, he questioned the question, asking whether there was an answer to a question that people were still questioning. After all, how can one answer a question that is not even based on fact, or truth, but instead on prediction? Stevenson’s opinion on religion is prevalent throughout the story. The story has a number of biblical links, no doubt harking back to the days he spent locked in his room with Alison Cunningham, whilst being fed awful stories of Hell and the Devil. There are a number of religious links, one of these being: â€Å"This inexplicable incident, this reversal of my previous experience, seemed, like the Babylonian finger on the wall, to be spelling out the letters of my judgment.† This quote mirrors the experience of Prince Belshazzar, a Babylonian prince featured in the book of Daniel. The prince, whilst dining one night, sees a mysterious, disembodied hand floating behind him. As he turned to face it, the hand begun writing in a mysterious code, on the wall. A translator later interpreted the coded writing as: â€Å"Thou art weighed In the balance and art found wanting†. Later that night Belshazzar is murdered in peculiar circumstances, hence the popular saying; â€Å"the writing on the wall†. Jekyll can see his impending doom, due to his evil exploits as Hyde but his good side is still portrayed by Stevenson, the use of religion is used for this. In the book, I believe Stevenson uses religion as a writing technique; when Stevenson wants to signify the emotive nature of people , he uses religious links and connotations. Hyde is forever associated with Hell and the Devil, whilst Jekyll and Utterson is associated with Gabriel, and the â€Å"light† side of religion. Religion is used to measure and signify, to compare and contrast. Religion also represents a divide in beliefs and personality. The end of the Victorian era was the first time, since the beginning of Christianity, that people were beginning to question and doubt religion. â€Å"Jekyll and Hyde† was penned during this time and concerns itself with the duality of man. Stevenson simply used the biggest cultural divide of the day: religion, and weaved it into his book, making the theme of duality more relevant to the reading Victorian audience. Overall, â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde† questions and challenges what would have been conventional beliefs in the Victorian era. It makes the reader question his own sense of right and wrong, and challenges religion and science- the two cultures that were so opposed to each other in the Victorian ere. It incorporates the depression that surrounded the Victorian dynasty, the industrial revolution, the Jack the Ripper murders and the strict conformity of living the Victorians imposed. But it also includes the first green shoots of hope that began to surface around the late 1800’s- Charles Darwin’s â€Å"The Theory of Evolution† is integrated through Jekyll’s science and the fact that Jekyll, despite through the persona of Hyde, engaged in activities such as sex and alcoholism sent the message that man can experiment, as long as it didn’t threaten or harm anyone else. The book was aware of the duality and diversity of it’s audience and revelled in this. Stevenson’s book was a revolution in itself. For it changed the conventional type of living and made people question the rules they lived under. And any book that can influence people on this scale is a rare, and beautiful, thing. â€Å"The mark of a good action is that it appears inevitable in retrospect.†

Stalin: Movie Review

Yousef Khalil Modern World History Research Paper Stalin Hollywood seems to portray most of the historical movies it produces inaccurately in order for them to sell. Movie producers twist the original story and make up some facts, translated into scenes, which would attract the audience to a particular movie. But should we blame Hollywood, or the audience for being less aware of our history, and just pay to watch movies for the sake of entertainment, not caring on how historically inaccurate it is?The idea of historical events literally being rewritten for the sake of an almost fictional retelling is something that can be regarded as controversial, but the fact of the matter is that Hollywood and film writers will always be able to take a historical story and spice it up simply for the sake of creating drama and subsequent revenue as a result. These films often contain the â€Å"based on a true story† message, but as long as it is not actually classed as a factual film, there is essentially nothing wrong with taking a historical event an re-telling it for the sake of a film.Not every event in history contained enough drama to be made into a film, but as long as the general basis of the event had the potential to create drama. Hollywood will always be able to take the story and make it into a blockbuster masterpiece just as they have done in the past and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. As long as they continue to do so, the concept is something that will continue to be shrouded in controversy from both historical enthusiasts and film critics alike. Stalin (1992) was the movie of my choice that I think has the closest historically accurate content than any other movie.Narrated by Stalin's daughter Svetlana, this begins with Stalin joining Lenin and the Bolsheviks in their fight against the government, eventually setting up their own government themselves. Most of his biography is well known to us, however this movie brings out the chara cter of Stalin as a psycho villain who did not trust a single person, not even his associates, and took extreme measures to exterminate all of them. His ego and paranoia alienated him from his friends and his family, even to the point where his wife Nadya (Julia Ormond) commits suicide and young Svetlana hates him.But in the end, he does not change, and this leads to his downfall and death. This movie really wasn’t a cinema film, but a television movie that wasn’t going to play neither in theaters nor around the world, which might count for something. This film would have been ruined by a big studio production. There is no way to â€Å"Hollywoodize† Josef Stalin. He was perhaps the worst and most brutal tyrant of the 20th century. Estimates range from 20-40 million deaths he was responsible for (Rummel, 2006) He was in no way a nice man. In him there was not an ounce of decency, only a vast void of feeling that Robert Duvall conveyed very well.The film itself al most seemed hollow or lifeless at times, and generally moved slowly. Passer's meticulous method pays off, however, with powerful performances from Plowright, Schell, and Ormond complimenting Duvall's brilliance. My whole point is Duvall is â€Å"Stalin’s† embodiment. This film is historically excellent. What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes. Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific. The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life.All the important historical is there: the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges and WWII. The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union. Many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and w hat made him tick, not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters. If the viewers don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then they simply missed the point.The way that he treated his family, friends and so-called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film. The end of the film brings up a very important question that I think many previous reviewers had difficulty with. Fact: under Stalin the Soviet Union industrialized to levels never seen before. With industrialization, this could enable the USSR to compete in the world on par with the US. It would also lead to the development of a nuclear and hydrogen bomb, on par with the US (Brainerd, 2002). The film brings up the critical question of whether or not Stalin was necessary for the USSR.That is a powerful and thought provoking question that one carries away from this film. Any film that lingers in the viewers mind and makes them think has merit. Is it a perfect film? No. Is it historically inaccurate to merit throwing it away? Absolutely not. Robert Duvall does an excellent and convincing job of portraying a monster. But this is one of the rare biopics that offers fewer opinions and more facts. Over three hours long, the movie covers the dictator's life from his exile in Siberia, when he took the name Stalin, up to his death in 1953.It does not try to feature the then world politics and even contemporary Russia as a whole, nor does it waste further screen time on the social reaction to Stalin's policies too much. It features Stalin and only Stalin. It focuses exclusively on his personal life (naturally, since the movie is narrated by his daughter Svetlana) and his take on the fellow comrades of the party. The filmmakers remain more-or-less true to the facts, giving neither imaginative shock moments nor just plain history. Stalin’s wife committed suicide, which made me think whether that affected him psychologically later on.It is h ard to know what effect did the death of Stalin’s wife had on him. Clearly the film needed an overarching plot structure to attempt an explanation of a complex man. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get inside Stalin's head. If anything, the man was driven by hatred and little else, a hatred that is difficult to articulate, but which was at least admirably displayed in the film. The portrayals of Stalin's wife and some of his associates were less convincing. This is the fault of the script or the direction or both, not the actors.For example, Stalin's second wife Nadya was not quite the principled heroine seen here who apparently took her own life because she saw no other escape from the evil that her husband was bringing to the country. The real Nadya brought some of her own problems to her marriage and these contributed to her death. (Marsolais, 2010) Bukharin, wretched in his final weeks, may have been the best of them but that was saying little. He was not quite the nobl e, tragic ‘swan' portrayed. He was prone to hysterics, about his own problems primarily. The suffering millions could suffer as long as he was approved of.During his final imprisonment, Bukharin wrote to Stalin offering to do anything, put his name to anything, if only Stalin would be his â€Å"friend† again. (Marsolais, 2010) Stalin takes all the heat and deserves plenty, but many of the rest of the people around him seem like innocents, fooled by him, finding out too late that they were caught up in his evil and were either corrupted or destroyed by it. But Stalin, like Hitler and any other dictator, was only possible because those around him saw advantage for themselves in supporting him. If there's a problem with this film it's that it lets some of Stalin's minions off the hook.It settles for extremes: Stalin and his chiefs of secret police on the one hand, and the good or loyal but naive on the other. But the only innocents were the people of the former Soviet Unio n, those far from power whose lives were destroyed according to the requirements of a command economy. So many deaths and so many slaves were required from every walk of life, like so many tons of iron, to meet quotas. They are acknowledged in the film's dedication. Those around Stalin, however, were all up to their elbows in blood just as he was, obsessed with their own positions, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev included.This is perhaps something to bear in mind in watching a generally excellent and historically accurate film. When evaluating Stalin, I think of it in comparison to Nixon, another biopic with similar scope and ambition. And, quite honestly, this film comes out streets ahead, for one single reason: it tries to explain what Stalin was, but not ‘why’ he was like it. There is no feeble psychoanalysis, no looking inside his mind, and no needless and questionable reconstructions of his own self-reflections. What you see in this movie is the director's interpre tation of what you might have seen if you'd followed Stalin around.He gives you the dots. You can then join them by drawing your own conclusions. It works because Duvall is fantastic at Stalin, both in terms of appearance, voice characterization, and his general manner. Having read about Stalin for some years, I had no trouble accepting that the man on the screen was the ‘Man of Steel'. The film is essentially reconstructed from the diaries of Stalin's daughter, Nadya, and therefore some aspects are historically questionable. But as historic epics go it follows the research and convention thinking quite closely; it doesn't digress into wild peculation like Stone, and doesn't propagandize either. It does make the error of dichotomizing characters into ‘good' and ‘bad' – Bukharin, for example, is portrayed as something of a great man in this film, then again, that seems to be the standard modus operandi of historical films these days. The biggest problem anyon e making a film about a tyrant will face, is exactly how much they know (or don't know) about the atrocities their regimes commit, and to what extent do they get involved: do they sit, aloof, like Hitler at Bertchesgarten. Or do they lead slaughter brigades like Amin?Stalin seems to be quite detached from it all, even when on a train travelling through the freezing, starving villages of the steppes. A rabid paranoia about being overthrown, a distrust of others, and a fierce, almost inhumane determination to meet goals were at the core of Stalin's despotism. People meant little to Stalin: they were expendable, disposable and unreliable, even his wife and children, and this idea comes through loud and clear in this well put together and quite entertaining biographical epic. Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership.The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Sovi et leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinist politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monumental device of terror, the funeral scene at the conclusion of the film drips with irony.Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership. The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Soviet leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinistic politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monument al device of terror.Works Cited: Brainerd, Elizabeth. Reassessing the standard of living in the Soviet Union: an analysis using archival and anthropometric data. London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2006. â€Å"How Many Did Stalin Really Murder? † The Distributed Republic. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. distributedrepublic. net/archives/2006/05/01/how-many-did-stalin-really-murder/;gt;. Marsolais, By Jesse. â€Å"Facing Up to Stalin – Magazine – The Atlantic. † The Atlantic — News and analysis on politics, business, culture, technology, national, international, and food – TheAtlantic. com. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2004/07/facing-up-to-stalin/3390/;gt;. Stalin: Movie Review Yousef Khalil Modern World History Research Paper Stalin Hollywood seems to portray most of the historical movies it produces inaccurately in order for them to sell. Movie producers twist the original story and make up some facts, translated into scenes, which would attract the audience to a particular movie. But should we blame Hollywood, or the audience for being less aware of our history, and just pay to watch movies for the sake of entertainment, not caring on how historically inaccurate it is?The idea of historical events literally being rewritten for the sake of an almost fictional retelling is something that can be regarded as controversial, but the fact of the matter is that Hollywood and film writers will always be able to take a historical story and spice it up simply for the sake of creating drama and subsequent revenue as a result. These films often contain the â€Å"based on a true story† message, but as long as it is not actually classed as a factual film, there is essentially nothing wrong with taking a historical event an re-telling it for the sake of a film.Not every event in history contained enough drama to be made into a film, but as long as the general basis of the event had the potential to create drama. Hollywood will always be able to take the story and make it into a blockbuster masterpiece just as they have done in the past and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. As long as they continue to do so, the concept is something that will continue to be shrouded in controversy from both historical enthusiasts and film critics alike. Stalin (1992) was the movie of my choice that I think has the closest historically accurate content than any other movie.Narrated by Stalin's daughter Svetlana, this begins with Stalin joining Lenin and the Bolsheviks in their fight against the government, eventually setting up their own government themselves. Most of his biography is well known to us, however this movie brings out the chara cter of Stalin as a psycho villain who did not trust a single person, not even his associates, and took extreme measures to exterminate all of them. His ego and paranoia alienated him from his friends and his family, even to the point where his wife Nadya (Julia Ormond) commits suicide and young Svetlana hates him.But in the end, he does not change, and this leads to his downfall and death. This movie really wasn’t a cinema film, but a television movie that wasn’t going to play neither in theaters nor around the world, which might count for something. This film would have been ruined by a big studio production. There is no way to â€Å"Hollywoodize† Josef Stalin. He was perhaps the worst and most brutal tyrant of the 20th century. Estimates range from 20-40 million deaths he was responsible for (Rummel, 2006) He was in no way a nice man. In him there was not an ounce of decency, only a vast void of feeling that Robert Duvall conveyed very well.The film itself al most seemed hollow or lifeless at times, and generally moved slowly. Passer's meticulous method pays off, however, with powerful performances from Plowright, Schell, and Ormond complimenting Duvall's brilliance. My whole point is Duvall is â€Å"Stalin’s† embodiment. This film is historically excellent. What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes. Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific. The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life.All the important historical is there: the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges and WWII. The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union. Many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and w hat made him tick, not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters. If the viewers don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then they simply missed the point.The way that he treated his family, friends and so-called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film. The end of the film brings up a very important question that I think many previous reviewers had difficulty with. Fact: under Stalin the Soviet Union industrialized to levels never seen before. With industrialization, this could enable the USSR to compete in the world on par with the US. It would also lead to the development of a nuclear and hydrogen bomb, on par with the US (Brainerd, 2002). The film brings up the critical question of whether or not Stalin was necessary for the USSR.That is a powerful and thought provoking question that one carries away from this film. Any film that lingers in the viewers mind and makes them think has merit. Is it a perfect film? No. Is it historically inaccurate to merit throwing it away? Absolutely not. Robert Duvall does an excellent and convincing job of portraying a monster. But this is one of the rare biopics that offers fewer opinions and more facts. Over three hours long, the movie covers the dictator's life from his exile in Siberia, when he took the name Stalin, up to his death in 1953.It does not try to feature the then world politics and even contemporary Russia as a whole, nor does it waste further screen time on the social reaction to Stalin's policies too much. It features Stalin and only Stalin. It focuses exclusively on his personal life (naturally, since the movie is narrated by his daughter Svetlana) and his take on the fellow comrades of the party. The filmmakers remain more-or-less true to the facts, giving neither imaginative shock moments nor just plain history. Stalin’s wife committed suicide, which made me think whether that affected him psychologically later on.It is h ard to know what effect did the death of Stalin’s wife had on him. Clearly the film needed an overarching plot structure to attempt an explanation of a complex man. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get inside Stalin's head. If anything, the man was driven by hatred and little else, a hatred that is difficult to articulate, but which was at least admirably displayed in the film. The portrayals of Stalin's wife and some of his associates were less convincing. This is the fault of the script or the direction or both, not the actors.For example, Stalin's second wife Nadya was not quite the principled heroine seen here who apparently took her own life because she saw no other escape from the evil that her husband was bringing to the country. The real Nadya brought some of her own problems to her marriage and these contributed to her death. (Marsolais, 2010) Bukharin, wretched in his final weeks, may have been the best of them but that was saying little. He was not quite the nobl e, tragic ‘swan' portrayed. He was prone to hysterics, about his own problems primarily. The suffering millions could suffer as long as he was approved of.During his final imprisonment, Bukharin wrote to Stalin offering to do anything, put his name to anything, if only Stalin would be his â€Å"friend† again. (Marsolais, 2010) Stalin takes all the heat and deserves plenty, but many of the rest of the people around him seem like innocents, fooled by him, finding out too late that they were caught up in his evil and were either corrupted or destroyed by it. But Stalin, like Hitler and any other dictator, was only possible because those around him saw advantage for themselves in supporting him. If there's a problem with this film it's that it lets some of Stalin's minions off the hook.It settles for extremes: Stalin and his chiefs of secret police on the one hand, and the good or loyal but naive on the other. But the only innocents were the people of the former Soviet Unio n, those far from power whose lives were destroyed according to the requirements of a command economy. So many deaths and so many slaves were required from every walk of life, like so many tons of iron, to meet quotas. They are acknowledged in the film's dedication. Those around Stalin, however, were all up to their elbows in blood just as he was, obsessed with their own positions, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev included.This is perhaps something to bear in mind in watching a generally excellent and historically accurate film. When evaluating Stalin, I think of it in comparison to Nixon, another biopic with similar scope and ambition. And, quite honestly, this film comes out streets ahead, for one single reason: it tries to explain what Stalin was, but not ‘why’ he was like it. There is no feeble psychoanalysis, no looking inside his mind, and no needless and questionable reconstructions of his own self-reflections. What you see in this movie is the director's interpre tation of what you might have seen if you'd followed Stalin around.He gives you the dots. You can then join them by drawing your own conclusions. It works because Duvall is fantastic at Stalin, both in terms of appearance, voice characterization, and his general manner. Having read about Stalin for some years, I had no trouble accepting that the man on the screen was the ‘Man of Steel'. The film is essentially reconstructed from the diaries of Stalin's daughter, Nadya, and therefore some aspects are historically questionable. But as historic epics go it follows the research and convention thinking quite closely; it doesn't digress into wild peculation like Stone, and doesn't propagandize either. It does make the error of dichotomizing characters into ‘good' and ‘bad' – Bukharin, for example, is portrayed as something of a great man in this film, then again, that seems to be the standard modus operandi of historical films these days. The biggest problem anyon e making a film about a tyrant will face, is exactly how much they know (or don't know) about the atrocities their regimes commit, and to what extent do they get involved: do they sit, aloof, like Hitler at Bertchesgarten. Or do they lead slaughter brigades like Amin?Stalin seems to be quite detached from it all, even when on a train travelling through the freezing, starving villages of the steppes. A rabid paranoia about being overthrown, a distrust of others, and a fierce, almost inhumane determination to meet goals were at the core of Stalin's despotism. People meant little to Stalin: they were expendable, disposable and unreliable, even his wife and children, and this idea comes through loud and clear in this well put together and quite entertaining biographical epic. Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership.The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Sovi et leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinist politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monumental device of terror, the funeral scene at the conclusion of the film drips with irony.Stalin appeals as a protagonist in the first years of his Soviet leadership. The film portrays him as an outcast, but one who is a firm follower of Lenin and communism. One event after another pushes him up the Soviet leadership ladder, until he becomes the â€Å"feared leader of Russia. † What truly stirs the emotions of the viewer is how he betrays his friends and family in his fight for leadership. He purges the nation of anti-Stalinistic politicians, executing many of his best friends cold-heartedly in the process. In the end, Stalin is a monument al device of terror.Works Cited: Brainerd, Elizabeth. Reassessing the standard of living in the Soviet Union: an analysis using archival and anthropometric data. London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2006. â€Å"How Many Did Stalin Really Murder? † The Distributed Republic. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. distributedrepublic. net/archives/2006/05/01/how-many-did-stalin-really-murder/;gt;. Marsolais, By Jesse. â€Å"Facing Up to Stalin – Magazine – The Atlantic. † The Atlantic — News and analysis on politics, business, culture, technology, national, international, and food – TheAtlantic. com. 09 Dec. 2010 ;lt;http://www. theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2004/07/facing-up-to-stalin/3390/;gt;.

Distribution of US Budget in Military and Education

Even though the Cold War era is a distant memory, encased in glass forever like some museum piece, our government is still spending as if the Soviet Union was in its prime. If the arms race is a forgotten memory, then why is the military still spending 86% of what it was spending during the Cold War. It†s not that us Americans do not want a solid military, we just believe that our military is wasting billions of dollars at the expense of our children†s education and well being. 50 years ago our country, and the entire world was in disparate need of a strong U.S. military. We inflated our military budget, and gave the government and private businesses an enormous appetite. Without a major threat to the United States since the collapse of the Soviet Union, our government seems to be in competition with itself. 50 years ago we sent tons and tons of troops overseas to fight in a foreign land, while we pumped private businesses up with the manufacturing of military equipment. The need for such products and the need for an over-healthy military allowance is long gone. While we sunk billions after billions of taxpayer†s money on wars that we were boisterously proud to spend (it gave us all the prestige we could ever ask for), our Allies were investing in their children†s education and well being. The result now is that while we have the most elite military capabilities, our children†s educational level is extremely under developed. European and Japanese children significantly outperform American children in math and upper-level reading. This should not be too surprising, our children are studying history books that are from a decade ago. This creates difficult obstacles for our children to keep up on current politics and other global events. Also the over crowding of classrooms makes it extremely difficult for your child to get that personalized learning which may determine his or her ability to learn at all. Every child learns at a different rate and possibly in different ways, this makes it virtually impossible for teachers to tap into every child†s full learning potential. If your child needs that extra, personalized attention, but is not â€Å"defined† as handicapped their specific learning needs will most likely be overlooked and that may be the beginning of your child†s inability to learn. According to a study done by the state of Tennessee, reducing classroom size in early grades (K-3rd) can improve a child†s performance even after being placed back into their regular sized class. Another major problem hindering our children†s education is the fact that the teachers with the priceless responsibility of developing our child†s mind are absolutely underpaid. Teachers barely make an honest living and are often subliminal role models to our young students. Although there are countless exceptionally dedicated teachers in America, a significantly higher salary would ensure the quality of almost all teachers. Remember what we were taught about incentives at a young age, the carrot in front of the rabbit, well that would definitely apply for these individuals we need to count on everyday. So, where is all of the money going to come from to improve our children†s education, well, remember our friend with that uncontrollable appetite? During the Cold War†s prime the U.S. was spending $325 billion a year. And today, with the Cold War boxed up and put on a shelf, the military is still spending $290 billion a year (NCR,1999). This is an alarming figure that we are spending on a military without any outside threat to contend with, in fact it seems to be their only real mission is to play servant to the United Nations, fighting little skirmishes in countries that don†t want our help. One would be hopeful that since we are in an era of peace time that we could enjoy â€Å"peace dividends.† However, the military and those private sector businesses that created such an enormous appetite refuse to exercise a Post-Cold War diet. Maybe we need to e-mail the pentagon, they might be reading our children†s decade old history books, in that case they wouldn†t know that the Berlin Wall is down and the Soviet Union has collapsed. Another astonishing fact is that our country has become the world†s largest arms dealer, selling to almost any country with the money to do business. And if they can†t afford them, our government will put them on a payment plan, acting much like a scene right out of The Godfather. Is this our government, or is this Don Corleone, striking deals with some pretty shady characters. One can†t help wondering where all of this cold hard cash is going from these deals. It is no mystery that our government budgets are in desperate need of reform, well, there are active groups lobbying to change the spending habits of our government. One of the most effective of these groups is the Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, which is comprised of influential individuals like Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry†s; and former assistant secretary of state, Lawrence Korb, along with a cabinet of ex-military and big business leaders. The group is most certainly not an anti-military faction, however they are dedicated to refocusing the military†s useless spending (NCR, 1999). They are not opposed to our military having the best equipment possible, that is if someone were to donate it to them. If the decision is for the military to have a great new ship, or for our children to have a better education, of course the military is going to have to make due. Currently the federal government only participates in 7% of the funding for our schools, while the state and the local community split the rest. This is an raises enormous concerns due to the fact that poorer communities are at a significant disadvantage. Some communities can spend up to five times as much as less fortunate ones (NATIONAL PTA, 1996). To achieve these goals for a better future for our kids and further more, our country, we need to make education our biggest priority. Adding up the military†s inflated $290 billion a year, and comparing it to what†s left over for all other spending, including education, a meager $246 billion (NCR, 1999). This is an insult to our children†s development as growing intellectuals. 6% of the entire budget is allocated for our children†s education, this states the true fact that their education is not important. The money is truly there, we simply need to redirect it and our governments priorities. Like stated by Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, † The winners and losers are not going to be determined by the size of their gunboats, but by the level of their children†s level of education.†