Legal essay(family law) Essay

Evaluate the effectiveness of the law in achieving justice for parties involved in relationship breakdown. Legislation and cases strive to achieve justice for all parties involved in a relationship breakdown. However, justice can be difficult to achieve as the law does not always uphold the rights of individuals. The law does reflect social and community values and strives to be accessible. Divorce is an example of the law being easily enforced, while with disputes involving children effectiveness isn’t always achieved. Amendments to legislation now make the law more effective when dealing with relationship breakdown’s between same sex couples and de facto relationships. Divorce is becoming more common in society, this means that legislation has been made more effective in achieving individuals rights. The Family Law Act 1975 (cth) established ‘no fault’ divorce, as long as the couple is separate for 12months, that overturned the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959 (Cth). Divorce is an effective method in achieving justice for parties involved in a relationship breakdown. An example of this is in the case Pavey v Pavey 1976, this case established ‘separate under one roof,’ this allowed couples to get a divorce even if they were living together due to financial strain. Pavey v Pavey is an example of how the law achieves justice for individuals and the accessibility of the law. Most issues related to relationship breakdown involves children, legislation has been improved in recent years to overcome this, but there are still many cases where justice isn’t achieved for all parties. The Child Support (assessment) Act 1984 (cth) aims to deduct money to support the child if the parent isn’t living with them. The Federal Government in 1990 ratified the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. This ruled that all cases were to be solved in the ‘best interests of the child.’ The Family Law Reform Act 1995 (Cth) recognises ‘best interests of the child’ and also changes ‘custody’ to ‘residency’ and ‘contact.’ This legislation has effectively achieved justice for families however, the ‘best interests of the child’ and the presumption of shared parenting outlined in the Family Law Amendment Act (Shared Responsibilities) Act 2006 (NSW) was overturned by the High Court. The High Court overturned ‘best interests of the child’ in the case MRR V GR 2010, as shared parenting wasn’t reasonably practible and the rights of the individual was not being upheld. MRR v GR is an example of how legislation is not effective, but due to the responsiveness of the legal system, justice was achieved. The Family Law Amendment (Shared Responsibilities) Act 2006 (NSW) also created Family Relationship Centres that allowed families to resolve disputes and there is compulsory 3 hours mediation in the breakdown of a marriage involving children. The law has been effective in achieving justice for parties involved in a relationship breakdown as it upholds community values, is accessible and responsive and aims to protect the rights of individuals. The law is also responsive in protecting the rights of individuals through the media and lobby groups. Lobby Groups such as Dads in Distress, aimed to establish shared parenting as they were unable to see their children. This lead to reforms in the Family Law Act with a presumption of shared parenting. However the media has given reports of children being at risk because of shared parenting. This is shown in the SMH report ‘For the Sake of the Children.’ The law has to reflect community’s conflicting vales and therefore is not always effective in protecting the rights of the individual. Unmarried couples also have to be protected in the event of a relationship breakdown and justice must be achieved. The Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW) defines de facto relationships and included same sex relationships in the definition. This act protects individuals in the situation of a relationship breakdown by identifying which parties get what. The SMH released an article, ‘Here’s an Idea’ that recognises de facto relationships as a valid choice and that they should be protected by the law. Through recent legislation reforms individual’s rights are achieved, as well as the law being accessible. However, legislation is not always responsive, as de facto relationships were only defined in 1984, and they did not have the same rights as married couples until then. The law is effective in achieving justice for parties involved in a relationship breakdown. Divorce is easily accessible and responsive. Relationship breakdown including children is mainly effective in protecting the rights of individuals and upholding societal values. Through recent legislation developments the relationship breakdown of de facto relationships is now treated the same as the dissolution of marriage. The law is mostly effective in achieving justice and protecting the rights of individuals involved in a relationship breakdown. View as multi-pages

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 24 (HSPD 24): Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security

The Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is an arm of the Department of Homeland Security which has the responsibility and mandate to conduct research aimed at improving homeland security by applying the latest technologies. The applications of science and technology developed at S&T are marketed at its clients who include federal, state and territorial emergency officials and responders. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 24 (HSPD 24) Establishes a framework to ensure that Federal executive departments and agencies use mutually compatible methods and procedures in the collection, storage, use, analysis, and sharing of biometric and associated biographic and contextual information of individuals in a lawful and appropriate manner, while respecting their information privacy and other legal rights under United States law (Department of Homeland Security 2008) This research paper aims to discuss the specifics of this directive, its potential impact on homeland security and explains threat, vulnerability and criticality assessment in the context of HSPD 24. Specifics of HSPD 24 HSPD 24 lays a foundation for ensuring that Federal and state executives and agencies employ compatible methods and procedures while collecting, using, analyzing and sharing biometric and biographic information of people in lawful, ethical and appropriate approaches so as to respect individual and information privacy and any other rights legally recognized under U. S. law (DHS 2008). This directive defines biometrics as the measurable anatomical, physiological and behavioral characteristics attributable to an individual. Such may include fingerprints, facial and iris recognition. It also covers for interoperability, the situation where organs within the security apparatus can mutually exchange information, and use the information to undertake security operations. Impact of HSPD 24 on Homeland Security HSPD 24 is intended to increase the capacity of security agencies to identify â€Å"known and suspected terrorists† while providing a Federal framework for the application of existing biometric technologies as well as the upgrading of biometric information collection systems in line with emerging related technologies. Since the terrorist attack on the twin towers on September 11th 2001, there was a need to increase the capacity of identifying individuals who pose a threat to national security. The collection and storage of biometric information in a database accessible to all security agencies (DHS 2008) is therefore crucial for the protection of American citizens as it makes the tracking of criminal suspects and terrorists more efficient. International criminals can be identified before entry into the nation, and the system also forms a base foe more applicable crime-scene investigations since evidence can be linked to perpetuators of crime. Explanation of Threat, Vulnerability, and Criticality Assessment in the context of Homeland Security and HSPD 24 By definition in this context, a threat is a situation, condition, object, an individual which or who is a source of danger. A threat can also be defined as the declaration of a plan to harm. Threats to national security therefore include terrorism, violent crime, drug trafficking and robbery. Vulnerability in this case is the state or measure of the state to which a nation or its citizens are susceptible to crime. Its dimensions may include physical, social and economic vulnerability. Criticality assessment is an evaluation concerned with the identification of assets, infrastructure and other resources that sustain security agencies, their operatives and their activities and are considered to be of prime importance for the success of a mission. Criticality assessment addresses the impact that a temporary or permanent failure or loss of such resources will have on the functionality of a security unit and its ability to perform its duties. Time and cost of a recovery of security infrastructure in case of temporary or permanent loss of infrastructure or resources is also considered in this assessment. Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security: A Review In my opinion, HSPD 24 is a very essential component in the war against crime as it provides a working platform for almost all other crime prevention endeavors. Once accurate biometric information is collected and shared between security agencies, the movement of criminals can be easily tracked. The implementation of this directive also complements routine security measures like airport passenger and luggage screening. Once accurate biometric information is available in databases accessible to security agencies, evidence collected from crime scenes can be used to track crime suspects and implement justice. It therefore ranks higher than most other directives, especially specific ones like Homeland Security Presidential Directive 19: Combating Terrorist Use of Explosives in the United States since it creates the framework form which they can operate efficiently. Conclusion With international and domestic terrorism becoming an increasing threat to national security, there needs to be elaborate mechanisms of preventing it. Technology keeps on changing, and criminals have a knack for using the latest technologies to commit crimes and then cover their tracks. Security operatives therefore need to be ahead of them; and HSPD 24 is one of the ways they can. The creation of an elaborate database of biometric information will not only aid in identifying and tracking criminals, it will also dissuade potential criminals since they will realize it is hard for tem to escape authorities after committing crimes. References Department of Homeland Security, DHS (2008) Homeland Security Presidential Directive 24:Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security. Available: http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/laws/gc_1219257118875.shtm [August 7, 2010]

Joni Mitchell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Joni Mitchell - Essay Example Her songs communicate her emotions powerfully, and she connects with her listeners directly and honestly. The album Blue consist of songs that are confessional in nature, where Joni Mitchell reveals her anguish of self discovery concerning her past actions based on selfishness and dogmatic beliefs, which led to her losing important relationships. The artiste is commended by her listeners and critics for her lack of subterfuge or self-justification (Bego 2005). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the music of Joni Mitchell and her album Blue released in 1971; to determine whether there is a relationship between popular music and wider social, cultural and political issues; to examine the album Blue’s genre, and its lyrical and music creativity. Further, the album’s impact on popular music and on wider culture as a whole will be determined. The Relationship Between Popular Music and Social, Cultural and Political Issues Joni Mitchell’s son gs in the album Blue are acknowledged to be poetic and forthright, with a complexity of emotions depicting raw feelings, the beauty of love, the sadness of loss, and the singer’s confession of her own part in creating her failed relationships. Thus, Blue is considered to be the â€Å"quintessential confessional singer/ songwriter album† (Bego 2005: 100). Generally, popular music goes through changing genres and styles, and forms one aspect of popular culture, along with advertising, films, and other parameters of public interest. During the last few decades of the twentieth century, popular culture in the west became established through its music as a â€Å"predominant, social, cultural, political and economic force† (Walker 2007: 18). The sales of audio-visual recordings, the performance of live shows, and related processes produce high economic returns. This has created an ostensibly limitless earning capacity for pop megastars, thereby raising them to the ver y heights of socio-political and cultural prominence. The increasing power of popular culture, mostly led by popular music has been evident over the last five decades. Until Rock ‘n’ Roll emerged in the mid-1950s, popular music utilized core elements of music, particularly in melody and harmony. This progressed to the recent historical diatonic traditions of western art music. From well-established rhythm and blues traditions, emerged Rock ‘n’ Roll’s vigorous and powerfully hypnotic rhythm and dance. Diatonic melody and harmony was decreasingly relied upon. In the beginning, after an initial hostility to what many people considered as overtly sexual depictions of the rhythm, the words and the music, rock ‘n’ roll was accepted as an alternative style of popular music, and in the duration of a few decades, it became the preferred cultural mode and norm of music expression. Thus, â€Å"from an interesting 1950s socio-cultural phenomenon to mainstream cultural domination by the 1990s† (Walker 2007: 18), the transformation of popular music appears radical in its magnitude. As a result of the changes, in the 21st century now, the term â€Å"music† has become synonymous for many people with rock and pop music. Musicians and singers frequently express their political protest through their musical performances. Protesting through music became a popular

Java Graphical user interface (GUI) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Java Graphical user interface (GUI) - Essay Example In the early 1930s, Vannevar Bush first envisioned of a device he called a â€Å"memex,† which was visualized like a â€Å"desk with two touch screen graphical displays, a keyboard, and a scanner attached to it† (Reimer). During that time, there was no way to execute his ideas and his concepts caught little attention. It was not until after the Second World War that those computing machines that are programmable were produced. Bush revived his memex desk concept and, in 1945, he published it in his article in Atlantic Monthly, entitled â€Å"As We May Think† (Reimer). This was the inspiration of the young Douglas Englebart, the pioneer of the graphical user interface. In 1948, Douglas Englebart finished a degree in electrical engineering. While working at the Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s, he began developing the On-Line System, â€Å"which incorporated a mouse-driven cursor and multiple windows† (Szturc). Xerox Corporations Palo Alto Research Center designed the first graphical user interface in the 1970s using the â€Å"WIMP (windows, icons, menus, and pointers)† model (Szturc). In 1981, Xerox 8010 Star system was released commercially. Several units were released after the Star system; nevertheless, the first commercially successful GUI was that of the Macintosh, released in 1984. The widely used Microsoft Windows (MS Windows) was sculpted in 1985, modeled after the Mac OS GUI. Two years after, Apple introduced the first color GUI, the Mac II. MS Windows 3.0 was released into the market in 1990, the advent of the popularity of the Windows interface series. Java is a general-purpose programming language. Its features are best suitable for Web-based use. Graphical user interfaces work best for Java applications designed for a wide range of users, and for Java-based applications that require the display of data. Through the Abstract Windowing Toolkit, or AWT, Java supports a graphical user interface development. AWT

Political cultures of texas Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Political cultures of texas - Research Paper Example This culture establishes the outer boundary of all the possibilities within the political dominion. According to ‘Texas Politics, today’ (Maxwell et al., pp. 20-39), the political culture of Texas consists of three sub-cultures: traditional, individualistic, and moralistic. The individualistic culture stresses minimum government intervention that should be limited to safeguarding individual rights while other social and political relationships should be upon private sector. One the other hand, moralistic political culture urges government intervention in social and economic matters for the well-being of the people and general welfare. Traditional subculture, however, has a different viewpoint. It states that since the political power lies in the hands of the dominating or elite group therefore role of the government should be limited to maintaining the social order and tradition. The traditional subculture dominates in East Texas while other subcultures dominate in the r est of Texas. The political culture and philosophy is elaborated under three philosophical streams: classical liberalism, social conservation, and populism. Firstly, Classical liberalism’ focus is to place political value on political measures which helps an individual to exercise full liberty until and unless others are not limited by it. It often forms opposition to the use of the government to attain social goals. They press for the market forces or private motives to provide the best outcome. Moreover, historically Texas also supported religious acceptance for civil liberties for both individualism and entrepreneurship. One of the classic examples of reputation in Texas is H. Ross Perot (political candidate and rich businessperson). Other examples also include Willie Nelson and several Texans who disobeyed social values, rejected the acceptance of race and gender like Barbara Jordan (Maxwell et al., pp. 23-25). Social conservatism came out of classical conservatism viewed liberalism with distrust and appreciated traditional hierarchical social relations. This has rooted in feudal English and European thinking. Moreover, in contemporary forms, the idea of government intervention to reinforce social relations is very well substantiated by the social conservatives. They value traditional practices such as religious beliefs and respect traditional authorities, which can include business or religious leaders. While on the other hand, socially conservatism continues to influence within Democratic Party since decades although their ideology is under the ideas of Republican Party. Populism, the third category, is concerned with well being of ordinary people and has both political and social dimensions. Popular will is the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong in political position. The idea of Populism supports government politically in managing society and the economy. Populism depends on the style and rhetorical appeal to its audience rather than on the content of the policies of the political candidates. Populism can also take socially conservative forms in its support to the political leader. Thus, populism has different positions to support, which depend on the context. Moreover, it ignores the traditional views

Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson - Essay Example The producers of the song were Moody and Hodges, whereas the song was sung solely by Clarkson. The song ‘Because of you’ was released as a single on August 16, 2005. One can like the album because of its touching approach. For example, the song ‘Because of you’ takes away the soul of a person to a world where everything is fine but the traces of the circumstances go back to the experiences of some other person who had suffered a lot to enlighten the way for others. In this song, Clarkson tries to tell that she has learned a lot about living a safe life through the experiences of another person. She is living a life based on the experiences of some other person. Given below are a few lines from the song. Kelly Clarkson is an American singer who rose to prominence by winning the American Idol competition in 2002. She signed contracts with 19 Recordings, RCA Records, and S Records soon after winning the competition. Her first and record-breaking success as a singer occurred in 2002 with a commercial hit, ‘Before your Love’. This song led Clarkson to the heights of success and fame from where she never looked back. Since then, she has continued to deliver high-quality hits to the world of music. If we talk about the twelve songs included in the album, ‘Breakaway’, we can say that all of them are wonderful and are able to take away the mind and soul of the listeners to the world of feelings and emotions. The music sounds good both stylistically and emotionally, as well as the way it goes with the lyrics of the songs. The album received a good reaction even from the critics who were left with no other option than to admire the composition and approach of the songs included in the album. Comparing the album with other musical works of the same time, one will find it revealing, heart touching, and stylistically different.

Financial Contracts in Islamic law compared to that of American Law Dissertation

Financial Contracts in Islamic law compared to that of American Law - Dissertation Example Financial contracts can be entered in both written and verbal formats and must be discussed and accepted during a single meeting without any noticeable interruptions including multiple negotiation sessions or changes in the meeting venue. Unlike provisions under American law, Islamic financial contracts can be accepted based on personal conduct of the parties (Hassan, 2007). Under special circumstances, non-responsiveness to a given contract proposal is taken as an acceptance. Islamic law also allows further flexibility among parties within a given meeting session whereby parties have the right to refuse a contract up to the point when either party leaves the meeting venue physically. However, variations do exist over the interpretation, implementation and recognition of this feature even within countries where Islamic finance is practiced (Vogel, 2008). Contents of the financial contracts under Islamic law are prohibited from discussing or relating with any item prohibited by the re ligion. Such substances include alcohol and tobacco besides prohibition on gambling. All applicable items that constitute the contract content must further be in the possession or ownership of either party and legally exist at the time of the initiation of the contract (Rayner, 2001). In simple words, items that will be devised in the future may not be included in an Islamic contract. Specific properties of all these items including specifications, origin and quality must be clearly states in the terms of the contract. Other than deals that involve the exchange of money, the exact price at which the goods will be delivered should be agreed upon prior to contract agreement (Hassan, 2007). Contracts based on future prices that are speculative in nature are not allowed and cannot be developed based on the advice of a third party. While there are several types of Islamic financial contract, the most common one that is used for sale and exchange of goods is known as mu’awadat. Goo ds can be sold either for money or can be exchanges as part of a barter transaction. Even exchange of money is valid under Islamic contract. Real estate or equipment can be leased to external parties by using another type of contract known as the ‘ijara’ (Vogel, 2008). The concept of Islamic contracts has been in existence for several centuries in regions like the Middle East, Asia and North Africa where Islam continues to be a major religion (Ayub, 2009). Islamic finance is considered as a tool from the almighty and is based upon relevant Islamic principles that place a high value on moral principles that is expected of all followers of the religion. Conventional American law is aimed at helping create contracts that are ‘ethical’ in nature. Islamic finance advocates a similar approach when developing contracts and related transactions. However, this feature must not lead to an assumption that Islamic contracts bear a close resemblance with Western contrac ts (Rayner, 2001). In fact, contracts agreed upon under Islamic law are rather less binding than conventional American contracts that imply all aspects covered under them. Legal advice and further scrutiny is thus necessary in the case of Islamic contracts to understand the circumstances under which a contract may not be valid. In addition, the application of Islamic contracts has not been uniform across the Islamic world. While countries like Pakistan and Iran apply Islamic law in a stringent fashion, other countries

Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Shakespeare - Essay Example Shakespeare moved to London in around 1590 and by 1592, his plays and ability as a playwright were already being recognized and handsomely rewarded all over London. During this period of 1590s, his plays became famous all over London and this made his wealthy through investments and purchases. The wealthy and lavish life of London made most of his work contain issues of social class and its effects on society in general and hence this marked the theme for almost all his literary works (Bradbrook, 2005). The contents of the literature and art in Europe gave a reflection of different issues in society. This is true for example in the literary works of Karl Marx which discussed political and economic ideologies through his books and other works and gave a reflection of what was happening in Europe at the moment and what could be done about it. Other art works like paintings also gave reflection of the different events in the different eras. This was also true for plays like those by Shakespeare which gave an understanding of the society’s division through social status and even the religious issues happening in the society during those times (Arendt, 2007). Through these various art and literature which gave a reflection of Europe, people are able to understand and deduce what was happening and even the cause of such

Sense and Sensability Essay Example for Free

Sense and Sensability Essay Abstract: In this essay I discuss Jane Austen’s use of both neoclassical and sensibility writing styles, in attempt to define whether Sense and Sensibility is more a product of the 18th or 19thh century. After much research and deliberation I have discovered that as Austen utilizes the sisters to express both themes of neoclassicism and sensibility that the novel is holds equally to both the 18th and the 19th century. 1. Critic Lionel Murphy said that ‘Sense and Sensibility forms a bridge between the neoclassicism of the Augustan Age and the Age of Sensibility, or the Romantic Age. Written on the cusp of the 19th Century, is Sense and Sensibility more a product of the 18th or 19th Century? Discuss. Novels of the 18th century featured neoclassical, rationalistic writing, however from the late 18th century and into the 19th century, sensibility was a popular writing feature for novelists. Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ features both sensibility and neoclassical themes as Austen uses a subtle balance and proportion of the issues she wishes to address about society and the way she incorporates her characters and their stories to have equal justification. The Augustan age is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as, â€Å"relating to or denoting 17th- and 18th-century English literature of a style considered refined and classical. † Whereas, Sensibility is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as a conception of the term held by Jane Austen’s contemporaries, it is a nice and delicate perception of pleasure or pain, beauty or deformity. It is very nearly allied to taste; and as far as it is natural seems to depend upon the organization of the nervous system. The differences between the styles is clearly evident, however it was not uncommon for 18th century, neoclassical writers to utilize both styles in their work (Macfarlane 2007). This was common as, sensibility was placed by literary history as a phase that transitioned between the decline of neoclassical ‘reason’ and into the eruption of romantic imagination (Keymer Mee 2004). Sensibility rejects the ideals of neoclassical values on correct judgement and restraint and heavily emphasizes the value of instinct, feelings and intuition (Pike). The reputation of the 18th century literature has never quite recovered from its embarrassing association with unmeasured and extravagant emotional displays. It was not just distaste for the fading fashion of sensibility, but often because it was an inherently unstable style of writing (Keymer Mee 2004). Sensibility arose out of the opposition to rationalism and neoclassicism of the Augustan age which held the deepest feelings of the individual’s morals (Pike, 2013). The unstable nature of sensibility came from its anti-rationalism that focused on emotional reactions, for example tears, swoons, fainting, prevailing mood of melancholy, fragmentation of form and set piece scenes of virtue and distress that appear throughout the sensibility period (Keymer Mee 2004). Women’s voices were cemented in 19th century literary history through their increasing popularity from the 20th century onwards, (Shattock 2010). The literature produced by the women of the 19th century supply an image of personal tragedy and suffering that became the theme of their work. The theme of personal tragedy and suffering was familiar to the characteristic tendency of these women as it was relatable to the phlight of women’s rights but also due to the popularity of sensibility (Harris 2005). Austen had clear statements to make about individual conduct as well as the structure of society and the relation of one to another (McMaster, 1970). Austen’s interested in the virtues and the vices is evident throughout Sense and Sensibilty as the imperfections of the personalities of Elinor and Marianne’s characters (McMaster, 1970). Marianne expressive nature frequently, a clear example of sensibility, the reader often sees Marianne extremely emotional responses to the situations she finds herself in, â€Å"She was awake the whole night, and she wept the greatest part of it. She got up with a headache, was unable to talk, and unwilling to take any nourishment; voicing pain every moment to her mother and sisters, and forbidding all attempt at consolation from either. Her sensibility was potent enough! ’ (81). † Spectators and readers are witness to the exclamation becoming declamation, grief modulating in self-pity stoicism (Keymer Mee, 2004). Austen utilizes Marianne to emphasize the theme of sensibility throughout Sense and Sensibility. This is apparent as it is repeatedly expressed by Austen through Marianne Dashwood who feels deeply and suffers cutely, it is evident her sensibility is genuine, (Mcmaster, 1970), â€Å"In such moments of precious, of invaluable misery, she rejoiced in tears of agony to be at Cleveland; and as she returned by a different circuit to the house, feeling all the happy privilege of country liberty, of wandering from place to place in free and luxurious solitude, she resolved to spend almost every hour of every day while she remained with the Palmers, in the indulgence of solitary rambles. The conception that sensibility maintains extravagant emotions that may in some ways appear artificial or overacted, is evident as there is something synthetic about her acute feelings that deliberately augments them only the artificial additions to her emotions, this is evident as she repeatedly plays Willoughby’s favourite songs when he leaves and when she takes to going on long walks in the gloomy weather (Mcmaster, 1970). Marianne sees everything through her own subjectivity, On the contrary, nothing can be a stronger proof of it, Elinor; for if there had been any real impropriety in what I did, I should have been sensible of it at the time, for we always know when we are acting wrong, and with such a conviction I could have had no pleasure. (13. 19) Her inability to see things from a more realistic view again emphasizes Marianne’s role in showing Austen’s use of sensibility, her total concern is with her own emotional needs and actions a clear example of sensibility. Neoclassicism was witness to many extraordinary writings about all kinds of man’s ability to think, feel and postulate. Building on the critical thoughts of the 17th century, English philosophers, writers, clerics and artists produced a massive body of literary works. These works were concerned with taking original works and ‘creatively criticizing’ them (Macfarlane 2007). Neoclassicism was a part of the Augustan age, in literature, Augustan’s expressed the distrust they felt for the imagination, as well as individualism, innovation and emotional freedom (Pike 2013). Characters of the Augustan age often retained features such as, clarity, propriety, order, elegance and good sense, all features are evident in Elinor Dashwood’s character (Pike, 2013). Elinor appears to be the more reserved of the two sisters as she uses acute observation of what is happening around her and through this is able to find out more about people and their feelings (McMaster, 1970). We are shown Marianne has much learning o do and reverse her values, the values that her emotional needs have created; love is not really the be all and end all, that Elinor and Edward are phugmatic and that men over thirty can feel. This is in contrast to Elinor, who only has to reproach herself once as she has been overconfident that Marianne will recover from her illness rapidly (McMaster 1970). Austen uses this to emphasize Elinor’s maturity and responsibility and show Marianne’s more childish and emotional nature. Austen uses Elinor to express the neoclassical and Augustan themes of the novel, this is evident when she is deliberating over her love for Edward and decides he has the correct qualities, â€Å"I have seen a great deal of him, have studied his sentiments and heard his opinion on subjects of literature and taste; and, upon the whole, I venture to pronounce that his mind is well-informed, his enjoyment of books exceedingly great, his imagination lively, his observation just and correct, and his taste delicate and pure. It is difficult for Austen to show Elinor’s neoclassical emotional control, without suggesting her feelings are weaker than Marianne, who appears to maintain free expression and vivid immediate reaction. However readers are able to look into Elinor understanding due to Austen’s narration which shows that there is more in her in showing the reticent love between her and Eduard Femars, Austen manages to an occasion convey intense feeling humorously through the narration of seeming trivia. This is seen their reunion scene in which Edward toys with the scissors while he blurts out news of his freedom Elinor’s heart is not empty we find her head is certainly far more active (McMaster, 1970). Both of the sisters are affected by romantic love but unlike Marianne, Elinor does not inhibit her sisters passion or feel the rejections so obsessively to the verge of self-destruction (Keymer Mee 2004). Elinor’s more emotionally stable standing allows her to be endorsed in preference to Marriane’s senseibility (McMaster 1970). Austen has clearly portrayed the sisters as each theme; Marianne Dashwood has a personality that is evidently themed to be part of the sensibility movement, whereas Elinor retains herself in a way that appears neoclassical. Therefore it does not seem that Austen’s novel, Sense and Sensibility is based in 18th century or in the 19th century as Austen utilizes both neoclassicism and sensibility throughout the novel.

Importance of Lying Essay Example for Free

Importance of Lying Essay Dishonesty is, and has been, a vital piece of human culture since the beginning of time. Through the need to improve and compete, this trait developed into sneaking and trickery, but eventually gave way to lying and deceit. Stephanie Ericsson’s article, â€Å"The Ways We Lie,† is a blunt take on the negative effects associated with the act of lying. She covers the topic from many different angles, dissecting why each type of lying is destructive to others, but she neglects to think of the beneficial aspects of the activity that have structured civil society around the globe. Without various types of lies, humans would be unable to compete against each other in the 21st century version of natural selection that is present in the world today. In order to be successful in life, elaboration and embellishment are necessary on a daily basis. These facades are fragile lies though, that are often disproved and discredited, hence the evolution of defense mechanisms used by us that rely on more deception to gain advantages. This chaotic scene of embellishment and defense mechanisms would make society near impossible if it wasn’t for our susceptibility to common ignorance. All civilizations form under the same beliefs, whether they’re true or not, bringing us to where we are today, a society that relies on the uses of facades, omission and deflection in order to function. With the era of technology, social networking, and mass media, human interaction has become much more frequent and scrutinized; every word that is said is judged instantly. Thus comes the necessity of facades for the sake of survival of the fittest. It is natural human instinct to go for the â€Å"fittest mate,† and in this day and age, that doesn’t mean most physically able. Character is a factor, and self-presentation, multiple different things that don’t come naturally to everyone, but anyone can put on a facade and present themselves as whatever they so please. The social advantage of putting a mask on and embellishing oneself to attract any sort of benefits whether they be romantic, financial, or professional. In America, there is an idea of an â€Å"ideal life,† commonly known as the â€Å"American Dream,† is a common goal that most citizens share to get a job, house and family, and the most efficient way to get there is through elaborate facades. The brutal side of the â€Å"American Dream† type natural selection mostly lies in the selfish aspects of it. Developing through this survival of the wittiest requires a thick shield of defense mechanisms in order to compete verbally. Humans use forms of lying that Stephanie Ericsson lists as deflection and omission. A man using his original facade to improve his live is at the scrutiny of his peers in the sense that his facade may be discovered, but developed defenses even the playing field so that lies may stay hidden. Stephanie describes deflection as instead defending oneself, going on the offensive. This defense mechanism draws attention away from whatever lies you may hold a bring other issues to the table, holding whatever facades may be hidden deep inside. Omission allows the liar to pick and choose what parts of the truth are told when they are, so the collaboration of omission with deflection creates a shield of misinformation and uncertainty that can deflect attempts to discredit and help grant people benefits all throughout their lives. But, with these fake personalities, and the reliance humans have on defense mechanisms to protect those personalities, how can people coexist with any trust at all? The answer lies within people’s susceptibility to ignorance on a massive scale, and their quickness to accept common knowledge for fact. The form of lying Stephanie calls ‘Groupthink’ suggests that humans rely more on the loyalty of the group than on any other sources. This is the lie that can be associated with all societies, civilizations, religions, and superstitions. People who all believe in the same things align with each other and defend the similar facades they have with their own uses of deflection and omissions to protect their group beliefs. Stephanie Ericsson seems to wish for an end to lying in general, but lying has been an essential part of human evolution and natural selection since social interactions have been in existence. The theory of groupthink is reflected on the devout nationality of people around the world, and the influence that facades such as religion have over people’s lives. Without these fundamental lies, there’s no telling where human history would be. Our dishonesty and ignorance have shaped and molded us just how predators have molded prey throughout history.

Ethical Decision Making In Nursing Scholarly Nursing Essay

Ethical Decision Making In Nursing Scholarly Nursing Essay Nurses are constantly confronting various ethical issues in their everyday clinical practice. An ethical dilemma is complex situation emerging from the conflict between moral obligations in which complying with one would result in contravening another (College of Nurses of Ontario [CNO], 2009). Nurses using CNOs ethical conducts and decision-making framework will help in directing their ethical course of action. This framework involves the use of moral component such as claim, evidence, warrant, basis, rebuttal and ethical decision to guide in resolving the conflict (Arnold Boggs, 2011). Thus, the aim of this paper is to use ethical decision-making framework step by step in exploring an ethical issue by analyzing a pediatric case study to make significant decisions. Claim is the first moral component of the framework. It emphasizes on various dilemmas arising from the case study such as pediatric advance directive, consent to treatment by being competent minor and decision-making capacity. The ethical dilemma arises from this case study is whether to choose wishes of adolescent patient considering his treatment or should the wishes of his parents outweigh his request. The case study describes Kyle 14 years old male who has stake in outcome of the decision, and suffering from lymphocytic leukemia cancer. The case study involves Kyle as patient with physicians and his parents to determine the care in best interest of patient. The involved Physicians in care stated Kyles health is deteriorating and not responding to the chemotherapy treatment. Hence, the value of Kyles parents is to continue with the chemotherapy treatment in hope to work and prolong his life. However, Kyle having different point of view, refused to take any heroic measure and aske d for DNR order to be placed in his chart. This way, his parents value would be violated if nurse chooses to accept the decision of Kyle. According to article by Tabak and zvi (2008), patient being mature minor competent has right to refuse treatment and is allowed to choose decisions regarding all the aspects of his treatment. Hence, nurse is caught in conflict between parents and Kyle. Thus, Kyle being in client center care, whichever decision nurse chooses from patient and parents will impact the Kyles care. The evidence is next moral component of the framework. According to the scenario, physician sharing information with patient about the health status shows their mutual trust in relationship. This relationship indicates Kyles right to know as being cognitively capable to understand pros and cons of the treatment and participate in the discussion. According to Tabak and zvi (2009), the norm of informed consent is that patient has right to know truthful information about his health status from health care professionals to make informed decisions. From the case study another evidence indicates, Kyle being cognitively mature adolescent with a chronic illness (at the age of 5), knowledge to make informed decisions (DNR) and, experienced with treatments (several dose of chemotherapy). According to the article by Tabak and Zvi (2008), if the adolescent being minor is coping with long term and life threatening situation then patient is cognitively aware of the nature of the illness and has ri ght to give consent. With this fact, his parents are seizing over his autonomy by denying his choices or capacity to make decisions. According to the article by Rogers, Alex, Macdoland, Gallant and Austin (2009), states that allowing children to express and offering choices escalates their quality of life and dignity. In this case, parents emotional grief for child may prevent them understanding childs moral value or quality of life. It seems parents attachment with child making them not to understand childs perception of suffering from medications and wishes to extend his life even if it has to do with holding on to the hope of future medication to work (Macgrawth Phillip, 2008). As a result, parents are going against standards and not performing critical thinking. The evidences found in the case study are true, relevant to make decision, but lacks in sufficiency due to having inadequate in-depth reasoning behind klyes decisions. Warrant is another part of the framework. It requires using professional standard of care, and legal precedents and policies. If I were a nurse confronting ethical dilemma conflict between patient and parents decision over treatment, I would critically examine choices using professional standards. First thing I will take childs age into consideration for informed consent. As stated in pediatric Cancer Society (CPS) (2008), in Ontario there is no age of consent. However, there is mature minor right where patient not being adult in age, but cognitively able are allowed to consider the treatment choices and alternatives based on the evaluation of consequences. This explains Kyle being only 14 years old is able to give consent of refusing treatment, which is on his best interest along with knowing his nature of treatment. As well as, according to CPS (2008), when benefit of the treatment overweighs burden it should be respected. Similarly, Kyles choosing to preserve his quality of life o verweighs the option of treatment associated with pain and suffering which should be respected. Moreover, according to CNA (2008) code of ethics, under promoting and respecting informed decision-making, nurses have right to advocate for the patient if his/her rights are being influences by others decisions. In this case, by abiding this code, I would recognize the kyles right and support his capability to withdraw or withhold the consent for treatment regardless of his parents request. Furthermore, according the CNOs (2009) practice standard ethics clients well-being and client choice are relevant ethical values for nurse when parents and patients view are differentiated in what is beneficial. I as a nurse without judging would evaluate, respect and determine the rationale for the chosen option by parents and patient in terms of benefit vs. risk to assist in making decision. By abiding professional standards and policies will help me as a nurse to have evidence based rationale to de liver ethical clinical care to Kyle. Basis is the next component in the framework involves ethical principles. In this scenario, autonomy, beneficence, and veracity are ethical principles used as guide to analyze ethical issue (Arnold Boggs, 2011). Autonomy refers to patients right to make informed decision about his/her medical care without having anyones influence on it. In this case, parents desired decision takes over Kyles autonomy by contradicting his decision-making capacity (being minor) regarding his treatment and DNR options. Hence, allowing Kyle to make informed decision by allowing him to express his preference, concerns, and wishes would respect his autonomy and will preserve his dignity (Whitty-Rogers et al., 2009). Another principle, beneficence requires to prevent harm to others. In this scenario, kyles going through chemotherapy treatment shows no improvement (beneficences), yet him going through this process for prolong life will increase his pain and suffering. From parental perception, treatment hel ping to prolong lifetime indicates harm in hope of beneficences. For parents, treatment adding to survival period over side effects would appear as convenient option to accept (Mcgrath Phillip, 2008). Last ethical principle veracity refers to responsibility of telling truth. In this case scenario physician or HCP has provided truthful information to patient and family regarding health status and effectiveness of treatment. Hence, there is no other information hidden from patient to help making informed decision. Hence, it is significance for nurse to continue using this principle to support and oppose argument made by each person to solve the conflict. In addition, rebuttal is another component of framework. It focuses on costs and benefits of each choices. The benefit of the choice made by Kyle will alleviate his suffering by refusing the unresponsive treatment and DNR, which will increase his quality of life. It will strengthen the trust in nurse-patient relationship. On the other hand the risk associated with Kyles choice shortens the quantity of life due to having no treatment and DNR actions to rescue his life. Another harm associated is that it would hinder the relationship between parents-patient and nurse-family due to opposing their request. Furthermore, the benefits associated with parental choices of continuing treatment will prolong their and Kyles time of togetherness. As well as, risk associated with parents choice will escalate the pain and suffering of patient by reducing the quality of life. This violates the ethical principle of choosing non-maleficence for the hope of beneficence and reducing patients autonomy an d dignity. As denying parents preference can hinder trusting nurse-patient relationship. Especially when trust, respect and honesty are essential to meet the health care needs of patient and in facilitating end of life care decision making (RNAO, 2006). Although, alternatives could be arranging meeting with parents and patient will help to understand each others perception, as well as allowing to accommodate/negotiate any choices to reach mutual decision. This way parents might be able to see the suffering and pain that treatment brings for child in order to prolong time. Also, Kyle would be able to understand emotional side of parents where his life is more valuable and beneficial over side effect of the treatment. As a result, palliative care could be an alternative option in progressive illness to ease quality of life with quantity of life. Palliative care can benefit in relieving the suffering in holistic way of patients life. For example, chemotherapy being used can have medica tions to relieve side effects of nausea to minimize the suffering (Mcgrath phillip, 2008). As well as, choosing to continue with the unresponsive chemotherapy treatment (side effects) with palliative care may limit the patients quality of life. At last, a nurse being reasonably prudent and ethical should apply moral principles in decision-making. The primary object of the nurse would be to identify ethical issue. The ethical issue in this case study is adolescents treatment decision conflicts with parents decision in determining authority for decision-making. Then nurse will evaluate the evident data to obtain all the relevant and sufficient information. Moreover, nurse should have understanding of CNA, CNOs code of ethics, and RNAO BPGs to have knowledge regarding law, legal action and to have evidence-based rationale in guiding the decision-making process. Nurse would evaluate the claim by recognizing moral reasoning in each persons perspective. According to CNA (2008) values, under client wellbeing and choices, nurse should respect family and patients opinion. Nurse should make parents acknowledge about the adolescents right in making decision. If patient is mature minor and competent to make informed decision then nurse should advocate for patient even if its opposes parental request. Last but not least, nurse should weigh risk and benefits of each persons choices in terms of possible long terms and short-term consequences. Hence, nurse can offer alternative options by collaborating with other HCP if necessary to balance and develop mutual goal between HCP, patient and parents. In conclusion, to achieve resolution in ethical dilemma involves critical thinking. This paper has analyzed an ethical dilemma in determining whether is it Kyle or parents, who has authority to take decision regarding treatment. It evaluated others factors such as pediatric age consent, and being cognitively competent to understand the consequences that could influence the decision-making. Paper also included three nursing journal to support the evidence, professional standards, and ethical principles to direct decision-making. At last, being ethical nurse, to determine decision in patients best interest, possible consequences from the choices were outweighed in terms of risk and benefits. Thus, the use of decision making framework facilitated in deciding what is morally and ethically acceptable in patients best interest while facing ethical dilemma. Kyle is a 14 year old male diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at age 5. He has endured multiple relapses requiring several rounds of chemotherapy with short periods of remission. He has been readmitted to the paediatric oncology unit after metastases to his lungs and brain have been found. During a family meeting to discuss treatment options, Kyles attending physician explains that the cancer is rapidly progressing and unresponsive to treatment. Kyle feels that he has endured enough and does not want any further heroic measures and has asked that a DNR (do not resuscitate order) be placed in his chart. Kyles parents do not agree with this course of action and are holding onto to hope that more treatment may prolong his life.

Billy Budd - Convictions Shaken Essay -- essays research papers

In Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor, readers are introduced to the conflict of good and evil between Billy Budd and Claggart. However, there is another conflict, which, in ways is more significant than the epic clash of good and evil. Vere’s struggle between duty and conscience is more significant because it occurs in the mind. Whereas Billy Budd was clearly the noble sacrificed hero and Claggart was the vindictive villain, duty is just as noble as conscience and conscience is just as noble as duty. Melville sets up this conflict by placing a man with the intuition and innocence of a child, in the hands of a captain amidst war. In a description of Captain Vere it can be anticipated that Vere, who values peace and common good, would be in conflict with his job, which requires him to be a militaristic authoritarian. Captain Vere learns important lessons when innocent hands bring about destruction of life. Vere was moved by his beckoning duty as captain, to convince t he drumhead court to convict Billy Budd. However, the paternal emotions towards Billy Budd and his rational thinking did invoke indecision. Captain Vere realizes, when he has to act, he does not have the strength of conviction he had thought. Vere’s character is written to be a medium between Billy Budd and Claggart. Vere, like Claggart, has experience that makes him a salted sailor. However, like Billy Budd, Vere has been able to hold on to his natural intelligence. Along with his intelligence, Vere has an innocent quality to him: he believes when a crisis between duty and conscience calls, he will be able to hold fast to duty as called for on the seas during war. Captain Vere learns that in the face of conflict between duty and conscience, he does not have the strength of conviction he thought he had. Captain Vere learns that to balance conscience and duty is a very hard task even for a man as conscious of his actions as he is. Captain Vere, despite having paternal feelings towards Billy Budd, soon realizes the decision facing him. After Claggart’s last breathe, â€Å" ‘Fated boy,’ breathed Captain Vere in tone so low as to be almost a whisper, ‘what have you done!’ † (350). Vere’s paternal feelings can be seen when he says â€Å"Fated boy†. The fact Captain Vere whispers this implies the emotions he is feeling. He realizes the severity of Billy’s actions and reproaches him as a father would a child... ...d conscience. The manifestation of complete opposites in the characters of Billy Budd and Claggart give readers a very clear sense of the enemy, and which character to emulate. However, Billy Budd and Claggart are very exaggerated views of balancing opposite interests. Melville, more subtly, uses the murder of Claggart by Billy Budd, to show the readers the balance needing to be achieved within Captain Vere. His struggle between duty and conscience are representative of different interests. These different interests might not be clearly right and wrong. Duty is just as noble as emotion and vice versa. Despite what people think of themselves, it is very hard to strike that balance in which both interests can be achieved. Vere’s actions when wavering between emotion and duty reflect how actions counteract one another. One minute Vere was calm and the next he was passionately exclaiming. The human condition is always shifting, always looking for that balance of interests. Peo ple believe strongly in many things, but when the strong beliefs are pitted against one another balance must be found. As Vere learned, in the face of conflict between two rights, he finds his convictions shaken. Billy Budd - Convictions Shaken Essay -- essays research papers In Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor, readers are introduced to the conflict of good and evil between Billy Budd and Claggart. However, there is another conflict, which, in ways is more significant than the epic clash of good and evil. Vere’s struggle between duty and conscience is more significant because it occurs in the mind. Whereas Billy Budd was clearly the noble sacrificed hero and Claggart was the vindictive villain, duty is just as noble as conscience and conscience is just as noble as duty. Melville sets up this conflict by placing a man with the intuition and innocence of a child, in the hands of a captain amidst war. In a description of Captain Vere it can be anticipated that Vere, who values peace and common good, would be in conflict with his job, which requires him to be a militaristic authoritarian. Captain Vere learns important lessons when innocent hands bring about destruction of life. Vere was moved by his beckoning duty as captain, to convince t he drumhead court to convict Billy Budd. However, the paternal emotions towards Billy Budd and his rational thinking did invoke indecision. Captain Vere realizes, when he has to act, he does not have the strength of conviction he had thought. Vere’s character is written to be a medium between Billy Budd and Claggart. Vere, like Claggart, has experience that makes him a salted sailor. However, like Billy Budd, Vere has been able to hold on to his natural intelligence. Along with his intelligence, Vere has an innocent quality to him: he believes when a crisis between duty and conscience calls, he will be able to hold fast to duty as called for on the seas during war. Captain Vere learns that in the face of conflict between duty and conscience, he does not have the strength of conviction he thought he had. Captain Vere learns that to balance conscience and duty is a very hard task even for a man as conscious of his actions as he is. Captain Vere, despite having paternal feelings towards Billy Budd, soon realizes the decision facing him. After Claggart’s last breathe, â€Å" ‘Fated boy,’ breathed Captain Vere in tone so low as to be almost a whisper, ‘what have you done!’ † (350). Vere’s paternal feelings can be seen when he says â€Å"Fated boy†. The fact Captain Vere whispers this implies the emotions he is feeling. He realizes the severity of Billy’s actions and reproaches him as a father would a child... ...d conscience. The manifestation of complete opposites in the characters of Billy Budd and Claggart give readers a very clear sense of the enemy, and which character to emulate. However, Billy Budd and Claggart are very exaggerated views of balancing opposite interests. Melville, more subtly, uses the murder of Claggart by Billy Budd, to show the readers the balance needing to be achieved within Captain Vere. His struggle between duty and conscience are representative of different interests. These different interests might not be clearly right and wrong. Duty is just as noble as emotion and vice versa. Despite what people think of themselves, it is very hard to strike that balance in which both interests can be achieved. Vere’s actions when wavering between emotion and duty reflect how actions counteract one another. One minute Vere was calm and the next he was passionately exclaiming. The human condition is always shifting, always looking for that balance of interests. Peo ple believe strongly in many things, but when the strong beliefs are pitted against one another balance must be found. As Vere learned, in the face of conflict between two rights, he finds his convictions shaken.

Evaluation of The Psychoanalytic Approach Essay -- Papers Psychology F

Evaluation of The Psychoanalytic Approach Sigmund Freud the founder of psychoanalysis (1896-1939) worked on many ideas and cases that were to do with the mind and the body. Freud spent most of his life in Vienna where he expressed and distinguished the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression. Freud identified psychosexual stages, which are: - Oral stage – (approx 0-2 years) During the first year of life the libido is gratified through stimulation of the mucous membrane of the mouth (breast feeding, sucking behaviour). The child will enjoy sucking and biting. Freud suggested that if a child is weaned too early or too late they can have a fixation by using sucking sensations. Freud though did not give any indication when the correct time is to wean a child in order to overcome these fixations. He did though suggest that the fixations could be apparent in later life in the form of pen sucking or biting of the nail and smoking, as they are all types of oral stimulation/activities. Freud also said that too little stimulation in this early age could lead to the child in adult life having uncaring, self-centred attitude. And the other way with too much stimulation can lead to self controlled, gullible and unrealistic goals. These are both long lasting affects in later life if this stage is not correctly overcome. Anal stage – (approx 2-4 years) Pleasure is focused on the passing or excreaton of faces. On this stage Freud said that if parents were too pushy and strict with toilet training then the child may become anally retentive – resulting in excessive tiredness and cleanliness and very self contr... ...success, it has very much failed in the eyes of most of today's critics. Carl Jung (1875-1961) did not agree with Freud in the distinction between manifest and latent content as to Jung dreams had no deliberate disguised meaning but directly reflected the minds current state. A major difference therefore was that where Freud emphasised the dark and destructive nature of the unconscious Jung was influenced on the positive and constructive nature of these influences. Sigmund Freud has had a huge impact on psychoanalytic techniques and most of them are still used today i.e. dream analysis and the talking technique. Without Freud’s ideas and findings maybe the world of psychoanalysis would not be where it is today as many theorists have used Freud techniques’ as a base for their own modifications and contributions.

An Exploration of Individualism as Described by Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America Essay

The classic work Democracy In America by Alexis de Tocqueville has been the reason for scholarly pursuit as well as strife within that same community. Through a brief examination of this text, several of Tocqueville’s arguments helped to define many of the constructs that made America what it was as well as those that have led to what it has become today. Of the many themes and ideas presented by Tocqueville, his thoughts on individualism struck the loudest chord with me. Tocqueville describes America as a society of joiners because of the fact that it is a country almost entirely composed of immigrants. This, in addition to the pursuit and promise of â€Å"equality of conditions† that Americas touted as an unofficial theme, brought citizens from many classes together in closer proximity and relation. Although this sounds like a good thing, Tocqueville argued that with this blending of social classes and increased opportunity people would isolate themselves, â€Å"bond of human affections is extended and loosened† (p. 483). As people gained wealth and left behind the daily struggle to survive many sought out education and as a result of this enlightenment developed the â€Å"habit of always considering themselves in isolation† (p. 484). This individualism is likened to selfishness by Tocqueville but he is careful to point out that he does not believe that it is the same thing. He does this by describing selfishness as â€Å"a passionate and exaggerated love of self that causes man to relate everything to himself alone,† and individualism as â€Å"a reflective and peaceable sentiment that disposes each citizen to . . . withdraw to one side with his family and friends† (p. 482). The way in which individualism caused people to separate from society with only their friends and family caused a problem, in that, by doing so a public conscience can not be established. Individualism leads to a slowdown of democratic culture and the results in such â€Å"fabric of time is torn at every moment and the trace of generations is effaced† (p. 483). If people are not careful equality of conditions can, over time, make â€Å"each man forget his ancestors . . . and threatens finally to confine him wholly in the solitude of his own heart† (p. 484). Tocqueville goes on to say, â€Å"all the passions that equality gives birth to or favors, there is one . . . that it sets in the hearts of all men at the same time: the love of well-being† (p. 422). Unfortunately this kind of passion usually manifests itself as an uncontrollable desire to acquire wealth and material things. â€Å"The taste for material enjoyments, must be considered the first source of this secret restiveness revealed in the actions of Americans and of the inconstancy of which they give daily examples† (p. 512). Although this kind of materialistic pursuit of wealth may appear to be true freedom for some, Tocqueville argues that it is in fact the manifestation of the middle class American’s overwhelming fear of death. â€Å"He who has confined his heart solely to the search for the goods of this world,† Tocqueville observes, â€Å"is always in a hurry. . . . In addition to the goods that he possesses, at each instant he imagines a thousan d others that death will prevent him from enjoying if he does not hasten† (p. 512). Equality of conditions awakens the inner feeling of hope and happiness in all people, but unchecked theses feelings can lead to an all consuming obsession with one’s own mortality that ignites and hinders passion which leads to â€Å"unceasing trepidation† compelling a person to â€Å"change his designs and his place at every moment† (p. 512). Tocqueville then goes on to describe an America where the individualism described above leads to a desire for materialistic wealth that â€Å"disposes men to believe that all is nothing but matter† (p. 519). He talks about how this can lead to an American society that emphasizes development of â€Å"the goods of the body† (p. 521) and disregards the development of the mind and care of the soul. Tocqueville qualifies these statements by making the claim that there is no other country that is â€Å"less occupied with philosophy than the United States† (p. 403). It is both profound and interesting that Tocqueville saw this happening in his time as it has certainly continued and grown since then. The epidemic of people, like the Kardashians, becoming celebrities for doing nothing perfectly illustrates what he describes as â€Å"minds so disposed, every new method that leads to wealth by a shorter path . . . every discovery that facilitates pleasures and augments the m seems to be the most magnificent effort of human intelligence† (p. 436). These observations lead to another important point of Tocqueville’s, the lack of understanding and allowance for the â€Å"profound, slow work† (p. 435) of ones own mind. During his travels Tocqueville found few people that would take the time to develop a true passion and desire for introspection and contemplation. It is because of this that America eventually gave birth to philosophy and the practice of pragmatism only serves to illustrate what Tocqueville described as America’s â€Å"unparalleled energy toward application† (p. 437). This â€Å"unparalleled energy† is what led to the practice of planned obsolescence and why it is an ever increasing part of day to day life in America. With the rapid advancement of technology it is not unheard of for a computer or other device to be obsolete within weeks. Although the device was different, Tocqueville observed this phenomenon when speaking with a sailor, â€Å"art of navigation makes such rapid pro gress daily that the most beautiful ship would soon become almost useless if its existence were prolonged beyond a few years† (p. 428). Rapid advancement, in addition to the population’s desire for the â€Å"latest and greatest† forced craftsman â€Å"to make many imperfect things very rapidly† (p. 441) just to satisfy demand. Even language in America changed and began to mirror this â€Å"industrial taste†(p. 435) With the ever increasing emphasis that was placed on progress and application it is not surprising that the purity of the arts were affected as well. Tocqueville described the way in which art and artists in America could not escape the desire to be relevant when he talked about how the work turned from depicting â€Å"sentiments and ideas† to â€Å"emotions and sensations† (p. 442). The embodiment of this, according to Tocqueville, is best illustrated by America’s obsession with theatre, which he regarded as â€Å"most natural to democratic peoples† (p. 467). He goes on to say â€Å"Most of those who attend the acting on the stage do not seek pleasures of the mind, but lively emotions of the heart. They do not expect to find a work of literature but a spectacle† (p. 467 / 468). This is the direct consequence to and result of the â€Å"practical, contested, and monotonous† (p. 448) lives that were created due to the emphasis that was placed o n the materialistic growth we discussed earlier. Through television and film, this kind of spectacle, which Tocqueville criticized and ascribed to democratic societies, has reached a level of cultural relevance and depravity that he could have never predicted. Tocqueville believed that a strong and flourishing democratic society could cultivate, in the spirit of its people, a consciousness of the delicate balance between the finite amount of material goods this world has to offer and the overwhelming affect of an â€Å"exalted and almost fierce spiritualism† (p. 510). Throughout the examination of Tocqueville’s words it became clear that biggest threat to America is not foreign enemies or the government, the greatest threat to America are it’s citizens. Only through understanding and the abandonment of the selfish practice of individualism will America survive.

Ethics of Child Labor Essay

Ethics of Child Labor I. Intro A. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century child labor was a rampant problem with the advancements in technology. Then during the mid twentieth century, the United States started implementing child labor laws such as setting an age limit for somebody to work for pay and also setting certain health and safety codes at the work place. Despite efforts to prevent child labor, it is still prevalent in some areas in the world today. Most of these children work on small farms. II. Is Child Labor right or wrong? A. Pros: i. â€Å"Human Rights Watch says that child farm workers in the United States- the vast majority of whom are Latino- regularly work 12 to 14 hour days, often suffering pesticide poisonings, heat-related illness, machine and knife-related injuries, and life-long disabilities. Many are forced to work without access to toilet or hand-washing facilities or adequate drinking water. † (Cray 4) i. Helps support a struggling family financially ii. Child labor has a place in the world economy as long as it is neither hazardous or dead-end work, where the child laborers can still get an education and thereby help their families out of poverty since an education will ensure better paying jobs in the long run. iii. Work alongside their parents is both a financial necessity, and also part of the ethnic family work ethic. B. Cons: i. Illnesses, injury, lifelong disabilities. ii. The associative qualities of child labor is it produces a negative image of the associated company, country, family that enforces it. iii. Emotional distress is put on that child for life III. Jeremy Bentham A. Ethical System including the influence of Theology 1. Moral Aspects of Awareness: i. Finitude-â€Å"capacity of transcendence which gives humans the ability to imagine their own end†(Schaffer 66). ii. Incompleteness-â€Å"Comes from a sense of transcendence- we are able to imagine states which we can never quite achieve. This is about the individual†(Schaffer 66). 2. Beliefs about Right and Wrong i. Hedonic calculas:â€Å"According to this doctrine, the way to judge between alternative courses of action is to consider the consequences of each, in terms of the pleasure and pain of all the people affected†(Mills 281) 3. Definition of Good i. â€Å"Utilitarianism presupposes one overriding moral principle: that one ought to aim at the greatest happiness of the greatest number. â€Å"(Mills 280) ii. Bentham thought what was good was whatever gave the most amount of pleasure to the most amount of people iii. Subjective Theory of Value-â€Å"How I feel, not a matter of right or wrong, knowledge not needed. â€Å"(Schaffer 73) 4. Obligations i. â€Å"If the central question of political philosophy is taken to be: â€Å"Why, if at all, should the citizen obey the state? The utilitarian answer is quite clear. The citizen should obey just so far as obedience ill contribute more to the general happiness than disobedience. If the central question is taken to be the nature and ontological status of the state, the answer is equally clear: the state is not a super-entity with purposes and a will of its own, but a human contrivance to enable men to realize as many of their desires as possible. â€Å"(Mills 281) ii. Explanation: Bentham believes it is the obligations of the state to provide the people basic pleasures and if the state is doing that then the people should comply with some of the states’ demands and if that is not the case then the people don’t have listen to the state. 5. Ideals and Virtues i. â€Å"It is as the exponent of utilitarianism and as the acknowledged leader of the philosophical radicals, whose program of social reform was firmly based on utilitarian theory, that Bentham is chiefly remembered. He thought of the principle of utility as primarily a guide for legislators. Thought it he hoped to impart some order into chaos and illogic of the law†(Mills 281) ii. â€Å"Perhaps the crucial question for a utilitarian ethic intended mainly for lawyers and legislators is whether it can account adequately for justices. It may be argued that justice requires the equalization as well as the maximization of pleasures. It is not unjust to require me to endure five units of pain on Monday for the sake of ten units of pleasure on Tuesday. But is it just to require Smith to endure five units of pain for the sake of ten units of pleasure for Jones? It is doubtful whether Bentham can meet this objection. He does, however argue that the maximization of pleasure will itself involve an equalizing tendency. This is because the economist’s law of diminishing utility applies to pleasure. The minor amenities of life afford much pleasure to someone whose other pleasures are few, but comparatively little to someone whose pleasures are many. Consequently, while it is true that a utilitarian, forced to choose between a course of action that gives X and Y 10 units of pleasure each and one that gives X 31 units of pleasure and Y 10 units of pain, will prefer the second, it is also true that such choices are most likely to arise when X’s life is as a general rue more painful than Y’s†(Mills 283) iii. Sincerity-free from pretense or deceit, proceeding from genuine feelings (Oxford American Dictionaries) iv. Tranquility-quality or state of being tranquil;calmness;peacefulness;quiet;serenity(Dictionary. com) 6. Culpability/Consequence i. â€Å"In Bentham’s view, our conviction that it is unjust to punish an innocent man is based on nothing but the empirical consideration that punishing the innocent is not likely to deter others from crime. This is, however, not always true: the innocent man may be a hostage, or he may be generally thought to be guilty. †(Mills 283-284) ii. Consenquence:â€Å"a conclusion derived through logic, something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions. † (Merriam Webster Dictionary) B. How Bentham would address Child Labor i. If Bentham were assessing the issue of child Labor he would probably take into account the pleasure and pain involving the children and the employers. From the employers point of view their getting workers working for lower pay and also more capability of certain tasks rather than adults. From the children point of view, Bentham would see that it would be a advantage for a struggling family for their children to work to help put food on the table also it could help inspire a stronger work ethic for the children. Then when calculating the pain involved, that would be attributed to possible injuries and diseases the child might get and also the trauma inflicted upon the child and family. Bentham would also recognize the outrage of other countries around the world that condemn child labor as a legal practice. Using hedonic calculus, Bentham would determine if this right or wrong and taking account of all the pleasure and pain involved he would probably come with the conclusion that Child Labor is wrong. IV. Aristotle A. Ethical system including the influence of theology 1. Moral aspect of awareness i. Unfinished-â€Å"Seeking the Other half-we have to drive to discover otherness through poetry, literature, movies, etc; profound desire to be in relation/community Philosophical & Religious Understandings-in complete (dream) Aristotle, long for innocence Augustine†(Schaffer 66). ii. Explanation: Aristotle thought that to reach a higher level of being we must engage ourselves in the field of arts to reach the other half of our self 2. Beliefs about right or wrong i. Aristotle believed good was something that brought you happiness or fulfills your desires. ii. Aristotle also believed if you don’t overly indulge yourself in your desires then it would be considered ethical but if you indulge in excess then it would be unethical 3. Ideals and Virtues i. Temprance:†The Greek philosopher Socrates considered temperance to be almost synonymous with self-mastery. The temperate person, he argued, is the one who exercises control over his or her desires and thereby escapes domination by them. Aristotle took a similar view, holding self-indulgence to be childish. For these philosophers, and for many of the ethicists that followed them, the hallmarks of temperance are moderation and restraint of one’s desires and passions. †(Ruggiero 112) ii. Prudence:† This virtue known also as practical wisdom, consists of choosing one’s behavior judiciously by consulting experience and deliberating thoughtfully about what response is most appropriate. Prudence is the exact opposite of rashness and impulsiveness. †(Ruggiero 111-112) 4. Definition of Good i. Subjective theory of Value: â€Å"How I feel =not a matter of right or wrong; knowledge not needed†(Schaffer 73) ii. Aristotle thought whatever was good was whatever fulfilled your desires or made you happy 5. Obligations i. Obligations of friendship:â€Å"Friendship entails mutual respect and a special interest in the other’s well being. It requires one to rejoice at the other’s success and good fortune and to share the pain of the other’s disappointment and failure. It also requires on to be trust-worthy about confidences, to provide emotional support when it is needed, and to restrain the urge to be critical in small matters. †(Ruggiero 100) ii. Obligations of friendship:â€Å"Citizenship obligates a person to promote the well-being of the country and fellow citizens by respecting and observing the law and respecting the legitimate initiatives of the country’s leaders, even if one disagrees with their political perspective. In a democracy, it also requires participation in the electoral process. When the country is unjustly attacked, it is also a citizen’s responsibility, conscience permitting, to support the country’s response and even, if one is young and healthy enough, to play an active role in the country’s defense. † (Ruggiero 100) 6. Culpability/Consequence i. Consenquence:â€Å"a conclusion derived through logic, something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions. † (Merriam Webster Dictionary) B. How Aristotle would approach Child Labor i. Aristotle would approach Child from a subjective theory of value and determine if it was right or wrong depending on the situation. For example if the family of the child is in desperate for money then he would consider it ethical for child to work. But if the child is suffering from the work then Aristotle would then consider it unethical. VI. My ethical system A. Ethical System Including the Influence of Theology 1. Moral Aspect of Awareness i. Incompleteness: â€Å"Comes from a sense of transcendence-we are able t imagine states which we can never quite achieve. We have a desire to have a complete awareness of our incompleteness† (Schaffer 66). ii. Unfinished-â€Å"Seeking the Other half-we have to drive to discover otherness through poetry, literature, movies, etc; profound desire to be in relation/community Philosophical & Religious Understandings-in complete (dream) Aristotle, long for innocence Augustine†(Schaffer 66). 2. 3. Beliefs about right and wrong i. Believe you should do whatever gives you most amount of satisfaction and security. 4. Definition of Good i. Subjective Theory of Value: â€Å"Subjective theory of Value: â€Å"How I feel =not a matter of right or 5. Ideals and Virtues i. i. Justice-â€Å"Evaluation of situations according to their merits, without prejudice, and giving each person his or her due†(Ruggiero 102) ii. tranquility: quality or state of being tranquil;calmness;peacefulness;quiet;serenity iii. Temprance:†The Greek philosopher Socrates considered temperance to be almost synonymous with self-mastery. The temperate person, he argued, is the one who exercises control over his or her desires and thereby escapes domination by them. Aristotle took a similar view, holding self-indulgence to be childish. For these philosophers, and for many of the ethicists that followed them, the hallmarks of temperance are moderation and restraint of one’s desires and passions. †(Ruggiero 112) iv. Prudence:† This virtue known also as practical wisdom, consists of choosing one’s behavior judiciously by consulting experience and deliberating thoughtfully about what response is most appropriate. Prudence is the exact opposite of rashness and impulsiveness. †(Ruggiero 111-112) 6. Obligations i. Obligations of friendship:â€Å"Friendship entails mutual respect and a special interest in the other’s well being. It requires one to rejoice at the other’s success and good fortune and to share the pain of the other’s disappointment and failure. It also requires on to be trust-worthy about confidences, to provide emotional support when it is needed, and to restrain the urge to be critical in small matters. †(Ruggiero 100) ii. Obligations of friendship:â€Å"Citizenship obligates a person to promote the well-being of the country and fellow citizens by respecting and observing the law and respecting the legitimate initiatives of the country’s leaders, even if one disagrees with their political perspective. In a democracy, it also requires participation in the electoral process. When the country is unjustly attacked, it is also a citizen’s responsibility, conscience permitting, to support the country’s response and even, if one is young and healthy enough, to play an active role in the country’s defense. † (Ruggiero 100) 7. Culpability/Consequence ii. i. Consenquence:â€Å"a conclusion derived through logic, something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions. † (Merriam Webster Dictionary) 8. Ethical influences i. Parents: My parents have instilled a strong ethical foundation for life. Since I was little kid, they have taught the importance of kindness and honesty. ii. Coaches: I have played sports my entire life and it has been a major influence in shaping my character. Sports have helped keep me disciplined and how to stay cool under pressure, and not letting my emotions control my actions. 9. My tradition i. â€Å"Natural Law-(def) the view that there is an unchanging normative order that is a part of the natural world†(Schaffer 83) ii. â€Å"One way to provide criteria of judgment on major issues, examine natural law (in relation to divine law) and human law to show the way in which they complement each other. † (Schaffer 83) iii. â€Å"Orders of Creation- (def): a hierarchy is given in creation which reveals obligation, responsibility and offer criteria for morality† (Schaffer 84) B. How I would address Child Labor i. I believe child labor is an unethical practice. It puts way too emotional distress and also physical injuries to be justified. The only positive I can see coming from child labor is the money that child would bring in. Conclusion A. Child labor is not as pressing as an issue as it used to be but still practiced around some parts in the world. I believe Bentham and Aristotle would both disapprove of child labor based on their idea that the basic goal in life is too find happiness and satisfy your desires which labor does not serve.

Black Culture Essay

During the Harlem Renaissance, writers, especially black ones, portrayed the black culture and style in their writing. They used black assumptions, generalizations and stereotypes to show, what they thought was, the black culture. Not all of this was far from the truth. Three writers, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Sterling Brown are examples of writers that emulated black culture in their works. Langston Hughes works, â€Å"†The Negro Speaks of Rivers,† â€Å"Mother to Son,† â€Å"When Sue Wears Red, † â€Å"The Weary Blues,† I, Too,† and â€Å"Harlem† are examples of the portrayal of black culture through writing. In â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers,† Hughes focuses on important accomplishments and places where Negroes were heavily populated. â€Å"I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. / I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. /I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. / I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln/ went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy/ bosom turn all golden in the sunset† (Hughes 1291). In â€Å"Mother to Son,† he describes advice of a mother given to her son. She tells him how her life was no â€Å"crystal stair† and how she had to struggle to get where she is and that she is still struggling to get even further. She describes her trials and tribulations as â€Å"tacks/†¦and splinters/ and boards torn up/ and places with no carpet on the floor–/ bare. † (Hughes 1292). She tells her son never to give up on his dreams and to keep climbing that â€Å"crystal stair. † This is because the mother knows how hard it is to get ahead in the world when you’re black and that everything that blacks have they have worked hard to get. â€Å"When Sue Wears Red† describes the beauty of the black woman. He compares Susanna’s face o â€Å"an ancient cameo/ turned brown by the ages. † He also compares to â€Å"a queens form some time-dead Egyptian night† (Hughes 1293). â€Å"The Weary Blues† portrays the musical side of the black culture, describing a man playing â€Å"that sad raggy tune like a musical fool† and singing in â€Å"a deep song voice with a melancholy tone† The music that â€Å"comes from a black man’s soul† (Hughes 1294). â€Å"I, Too† show the degrading manner in which black people were treated. The black house workers were treated as if they were inferior or not fit to be around white people. This is shown when the worker tells us, â€Å"they send me to eat in the kitchen/ when company comes. † Due to the high hopes and determination of black people, this does not discourage the speaker. He knows that, one day, he’ll â€Å"be at the table/ when company comes. / Nobody’ll dare/ say to me/ ‘eat in the kitchen’/†¦they’ll see how beautiful I am/ and be ashamed† (Hughes 1295). He believes that one day black people will be accepted and will be able to â€Å"eat† with the whites. This attitude is what kept blacks striving to succeed. â€Å"Harlem† questions what may happen if black people put off their dreams and progression. This delay may be willing or by force but either way the dreams may â€Å"dry up/ like a raisin in the sun† or stink like rotten meat† or even worse â€Å"explode† (Hughes 1309). Stopping black people from fulfilling their dreams would at worst cause a rebellion. This rebellion may not be nonviolent. Sterling Brown uses poems such as â€Å" Odyssey of Big Boy,† â€Å"Southern Road,† â€Å"Slim Greer,† and â€Å"Ma Rainey† to describe black culture in his eyes. Brown wrote mostly of the working class black population. He wrote his poems as though it were a work song that they used to keep time. Thus, you see a lot of repetition in his works. This is seen in both â€Å"Odyssey of Big Boy† and â€Å"Southern Road. † In â€Å"Odyssey of Big Boy,† Brown gives sight to some of the folklore heroes of the black culture, such as â€Å"Casey Jones† and â€Å"Stagolee† (Brown 1248). This not only shows the heroes represented in black culture but also their use of stories past down through the generations to keep the culture alive. He goes on to describe the manual labor that black people have done over the ages. This includes how they â€Å"skinned as a boy in Kentucky hills/druv steel there as a man/†¦striped tobacco in Virginia fiel’s/†¦mined de coal in West Virginia† etc (Brown 1249). These are prime examples of the jobs that the lack culture held whether it is when they were slaves or after they were freed. It was characteristic of them to hold jobs that involved a great deal of manual labor. â€Å"Southern Road† depicts some of the struggles that a typical black man may have dealt with during those times. He speaks about working in a chain gang, a father dying, going to jail and white men degrading the black man. â€Å"Slim Greer† is about a black man that passed as white. He met a white woman who â€Å"thought he as from Spain/ or else from France† (Brown 1256). It was not until he played â€Å"some mo’nful blues† that they found out that he was indeed black (Brown 1257). This depicts the musicality of the black culture. Music was one of the many ways they used to express themselves, so, for the most part, they had a great talent in it. â€Å"Ma Rainey† is also a poem about the musicality of the black culture. Whenever Ma Rainey came to town â€Å"folks from anyplace/ miles aroun’/†¦flocks to hear/ Ma do her stuff† (Brown 1258). Black people enjoyed gathering around to listen to music. This was probably because not only was it entertaining but it also told a story. Zora Neale Hurston depicts black culture through her works entitled â€Å"Sweat,† â€Å"How IT Feels To Be Colored Me,† and â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God. † Hurston wrote a great deal about the togetherness in the black community. Many of her stories, including these three works, took place in an exclusively black town and included at least one seen where the entire community sat outside together talking, usually gossiping, and watching passersby. In â€Å"Sweat† they gossip about Delia Jones, mainly they talk about how her husband, Sykes, beats and abuses her and how he is having an affair with a woman named Bertha. They badmouth Sykes, saying how horrible and stupid he is for cheating on a god woman like Delia, especially with such a fat woman. This also shows how it was common in the black culture, especially in the south, for men to like thicker women. â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† also has a few scenes in which we see the black community together. In the beginning, Janie is seen by the whole community walking back in overalls. They immediately begin to talk about her. They make assumptions, such as Tea Cake stole all of her money and abandoned her. They talk about how silly she was for taking off with a younger man in the first place and whatever happened to her probably serves her right. In conclusion, the black culture is evident in many works by various black writers. They show the good and the bad, the truth and its exaggerations. Reading works written in the time gives us a good look into what the black society was actually like back then.

Paulo Freire and Revolutionary Education Essay

In reading Paulo Freire’s inspiring and idealistic book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, first published in 1970, the question arises is whether such a radically transformed educational system is even possible. According the person I interviewed, a professor with many years of teaching experience in many countries, the answer is not particularly optimistic. Paolo Freire’s radical and humanistic view of education is light year’s removed from what actually takes place in most classrooms around the world. At the lower levels, education often amounts to little more than rote memorization to prepare for standardized tests, with administrators mainly concerned that their ‘numbers’ look good. Higher education has devolved into career training for big business interests, and frankly has become a business itself. Virtually none of the creativity, humanization or liberation that Freire writes about so eloquently really exists in most educational systems around the world, which simply turn out more cogs for the machinery. There may be a few truly creative and humanistic teachers, although they usually end up frustrated, burned out and cynical because of the nature of the system itself. For Freire, the worst form of teaching is the banking concept of education, in which students are passive and alienated note takers of any information the teacher provides. This has been the normal type of education system in most of the world throughout history, mirroring the authoritarian and paternalistic socio-economic relationships in the world outside the classroom. In fact, the schools and universities are preparing students to take their place in the system without questioning it. Freire claims that teachers can either work â€Å"for the liberation of the people—their humanization—or for their domestication, their domination. † They can either create an education system in which all persons in the classroom are â€Å"simultaneously teachers and learners†, realizing that â€Å"knowledge emerges only through invention and reinvention, through the restless, impertinent, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world†, or simply uphold the status quo (Freire 72). He also insists that â€Å"the teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thoughts on them† (Freire 77). Ruling elites merely want to use the education system as part of the apparatus of â€Å"domination and repression†, to maintain order, but real education should be revolutionary and deliberately set out to â€Å"transform† the world (Freire 79-80). Are there teachers who actually believe in this radical mission for education? Is it even possible within the present system? How long does it take for teachers who were once young and idealistic to become disillusioned? The following are excerpts from an interview with ‘Dr. W. ’–a university professor who has taught in various countries around the world for twenty-two years: Question: Have you ever read Paulo Freire’s book Pedagogy of the Oppressed? Dr. W: Yes, parts of it. Over the years, I’d say I’ve become fairly familiar with his general theories. Question: Do you regard the educational systems you have seen as oppressive? Dr. W: I have experienced many educational systems around the world, including a number that I would regard as extremely oppressive. For example, I’ve taught in Asian and Middle Eastern countries where primary and secondary school teachers regularly slap, punch and beat students†¦hit them with sticks and so on. For the most part, those systems are based on rote memorization as Freire described, and the students are not even allowed to question the teacher: they are strictly passive. Mainly, the students are just being prepared for standardized tests, not to develop creativity or imagination, and this becomes very clear when they reach the university level. At that point, they have become used to treating teachers like little tin gods, although I suppose it prepares them for the kind of bureaucratic and managerial salaried positions most of them will be expected to fill in society. Question: Isn’t that also the case with the American education system? Isn’t it mostly geared toward jobs in the capitalist economy? Dr. W. : Absolutely. The American education system is also a class system, and this is already the case in primary and secondary schools. My first job was as a student teacher in a high school in New York. The kids from working class backgrounds were generally tracked into ‘general† classes† that were not preparing them for higher education, while those from the middle class were. I’ll never forget the first class I ever taught, with a group of sullen, nonresponsive working class kids, stuck in a basement classroom that did not even have windows, taught by people who didn’t much care whether they learned anything or not. These kids knew it, too. They were not dumb, although the system certainly treated them that way. They knew they were being prepared for jobs as mechanics and cashiers. And this was not an inner city school, though, where the American class and caste system reveals itself at its most brutal. Question: Caste system? Dr. W. : Yes, in the United States, we have a long history of education segregated by color, with the worst schools always being reserved for minority groups. Compare any inner city public school system today with those in the white suburbs, or with expensive private schools for the upper classes, and you will see the difference in about two seconds. For the poor and minority groups in the inner cities, the teachers and facilities are much worse than in the suburbs, as is the housing, health care, nutrition and so on. Conditions in these ghettoized schools and neighborhoods are not all that much better from those in developing countries†¦the types of places Freire was talking about in his books. In those countries, the oppression is very real indeed, and the students are being prepared for lives as peasants, workers or simply part of the marginalized economy and society, like kids in America’s inner city schools. Those institutions are programmed for failure. Question: But you never taught in inner city schools like those? I mean the types of schools that are like jails, with cops on duty, metal detectors and things like that? Dr. W. : No, my career has been mostly at the university level, and the students I’ve had were relatively privileged by the standards of this world—middle class or upper class. In the Middle East, I taught students from royalty and the aristocracy who had huge allowances every month, and in Asia I once taught students who arrived in limos with their own drivers. I wouldn’t say that they were exactly the oppressed masses Freire was describing. On the other hand, I taught at a university in the former Soviet Union were about 60% of the students were on scholarships and came from fairly modest backgrounds. A lot of people had also been hit hard by the collapse of the economy when the Soviet Union ended. We even had a former brain surgeon who ended up working as a janitor at the university, earning about $150 a month. The whole medical and public education system was so far gone that she could make more money that way. Question: So you basically see the education system as being unequal, designed to keep people in their place generation after generation? Dr. W. : Yes, that’s been mostly my experience. I think it’s designed to insure that the children of the owners and the ruling class will stay at the same level as their parents, while the children of the middle class will continue to manage and administer the system for them, and the children of workers will continue to be mostly worker bees, although a few might be allowed up into the middle class. Question: So in all your years of experience, you never experienced education as being liberating in the way Freire describes? Dr. W. : Absolutely never. The system is set up to do the opposite and it will usually weed out teachers who do not conform to its requirements, unless they are protected by tenure. Most teachers just go along and get along, never rocking the boat because they are relatively powerless themselves and just need the paycheck. Moreover, parents of middle class and upper class students do not want anyone to be liberated, but expect their children to conform to the system—to insure that the family maintains its class position. Question: So given this reality, is there any way you can imagine that a truly liberating education system might be established? Dr. W. (laughs): I think to do what Freire was talking about would require a revolution. Clearly, then, Dr. W. was a case of someone who had become cynical about the education system after long years of experience. He admitted that he had once been young and idealistic and might even have believed some of Freire’s ideas, but over the years he had found that there was really no meaningful way to put them into practice under the current system. In addition, he thought that most students simply went along with this system because that was what their parents expected, especially when they were paying private schools and universities to provide certain services. They were most definitely not interested in making students more humanistic, rebellious or questioning of authority, but only to prepare them for careers and to ‘get ahead’ in life. Only in rare cases in American history, such as the 1960s during the era of the Vietnam War, counterculture and civil rights movements did students actually come to question the dominant values of society on a mass scale. That has most certainly not been the case in recent decades, at least not in the United States, nor in most other countries that Dr. W. had experienced. He had come to regard education as a business, run by bureaucrats and entrepreneurs for a profit rather than to encourage critical thinking or humanistic values among the students. Only occasionally would rebels and nonconformists challenge this system, except in very unusual historical circumstances. WORKS CITED Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy on the Oppressed. NY: Continuum, 2000. Interview with ‘Dr. W. ’ by author, February 4, 2010.