short essays
So I was digging through this computer and found all of my old essay's that I've written in the past few years. Not sure why I'm posting these, some of them are interesting though. I didn't want to lose these so I figured I'de put them on here.
Gay Marriage
There has been an ongoing debate between Massachusetts's lawmakers and the President regarding legalization of gay and lesbian marriage. On one side, the Mass. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of gay marriage, while President Bush along with the conservative Christian right, are opposed. This is no surprise coming from a President who has been quoted as saying that "God" told him to get Saddam and Al Queda to a foreign minister at a middle east peace conference.
Bush is saying that marriage is needs to stay "sacred". He also is being pushed by numerous Christian Political Interest Groups, which for some reason he doesn't see any problem with. Apparently the separation of church and state has no value in his administration. This situation is affecting homosexuals throughout the entire country, not just those who reside in Massachusetts. If the courts continue to rule in favor, and a federal law opposing the issue fails, it will set a precedent for the rest of the country. While gays are allowed Civil Unions in some states, they are still not recognized to receive certain benefits including healthcare and certain tax write offs. I for one hope gay marriage will be legalized, it's not George Bush place to decide if two people who unconditionally love each other should marry, it is there own. If he wants to keep marriage sacred, he needs to realize that his Holy Guidebook is outdated and "get with the times", so to speak. The social impact here is huge, it affects a vast majority of citizens and hits them very personally.
This issue is going to take a lot of time and effort whatever way it goes. Even if it is passed, the Judeo-Christian right will continue to battle it with Tim Lahayle on the front lines bible in hand. They need to realize not everyone needs or cares at all what their beliefs are. The fact is, people in this day and age need to learn to mind their own business, and that there's bigger fish to fry than this one, like the ongoing farce of a war in Iraq which of course, they backed from the beginning.
The Poclice beating in Cinci
Last week in Cincinnati police killed a man. The man's death is now being ruled a homicide in the long and distraught police struggle. The death of this 350-pound black man who was clubbed by police was caused primarily by the struggle that ensued after the suspect lunged and swung at the officers, the coroner said yesterday in a case that has heightened racial tensions.
Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott Jr., ruled the death a homicide, but said Nathaniel Jones, 41, suffered from an enlarged heart, obesity, and had intoxicating levels of cocaine, PCP, and methanol in his blood.
I feel he was attacked for a good reason. He was asking for what he was to get. In the same breath again the police in our country bend their rules and take the situations to far. They have authority, but they have limits to and I believe this should be a homicide. They killed a man even though he may have deserved a good beating, but not to death.
My Grandpa
A long time ago, in a hospital not too far far away, a child was born. No one then could have predicted the life that the child would pursue, but if they could only here some of the stories I can tell about that small child that later became my grandfather, Ed Isch.
Although he was my grandfather, I never called him "grandpa". To me he was Bop Bop. The origin of the phrase remains a mystery to this day, although it has always been assumed that I couldn't pronounce the word grandpa but, there is no way that could be humanly possible as I have been a genius since birth.
My grandpa and I had a great relationship in the short time that I was able to spend with him before he passed away when I was 6. Some of the things I can remember best remember doing with him were up at our family cottage at Long Lake Michigan. I could always be seen riding on the lawn mower with him or out on the pontoon boat desperately trying to catch some dinner. One time I remember him asking me what happened to all of his artificial rubber worms, the funny thing is, I had eaten the whole bag thinking they were really bland gummy worms. We kept that one to ourselves.
One time, coming home from a fishing trip, my grandpa was hauling his brand new boat behind his truck. He felt as if something had come loose with the hitch as he was driving, so he started to slow down to see what had happened. A few seconds later he noticed that he was getting passed by none other than the boat! It had completely came off of the hitch and went to the right. Immediately after noticing what was happening, he rammed the truck into the boat to knock it off the road into a field.
My grandpa gave me the best Christmas present that I've ever had and remains my favorite till this day. I had a fascination with trains when I was young. My grandpa loved me so much that he spent countless hours in his garage building me a permanent model train set. It was mounted on an old kitchen table and consisted of two separate tracks each with stations, tunnels, towns and landscaping. I have a picture of my grandpa smiling with me in his arms just as He showed me the train set on Christmas Eve. The picture has very special meaning to me to this day.
One of my grandpa's hobbies other than fishing was making decoys. Although he wasn't really an avid duck hunter, he spent a lot of his time making wooden duck decoys inn his garage. Sometimes when I'm at my grandmas house I like to look through his tools and find old sketch's he had made of things he was planning to make and look at all of the of the ducks he had made.
My grandpa was a well-known hard worker starting at the age of 12 when he worked at the Hirzel canning company. At age 15 he became a stock boy at a local grocery store and eventually worked his way up to manager. After that he went on to work in the Sun Oil Toledo refinery until his death in 1991. He was well known throughout the refinery and still is to this day. My dad works at the refinery now. Although my dad desperately wants me to never have to work there, in a way I feel as if its where I belong. Only time will tell if I will be a third generation refinery worker. If I do end up at Sun, or anywhere else, the one thing I want to be known for is being a hard worker, just like my grandfather.
"Bop Bop" was great man who was loved by everyone he knew. Some of the values he's instilled upon me are to always be nice, respectful, and always work hard at my job. I hope that I can at least become half the man my grandfather was, as long as I can do that, I know I can lead a good life.
The Crucible Domino Effect
Today's society is a big game of follow the leader. When an individual goes out and does something, others will follow. This is the main theme in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. When Abigail Williams started to accuse people of witchcraft, the rest of the town did the same. This is an example of mass hysteria.
Most people aren't leaders; they're usually followers. What this means is, for anyone to do anything in our society someone must act out and do it first. Abigail was meant to portray the leader while the townsfolk were the followers.
An example of mass hysteria that everyone can relate too right now is the situation regarding the Washington DC sniper. All it took was a man with very precise aim and a gun to send the whole country into turmoil. Another example would be the anthrax scare a few months back. Once again, all it took was a little envelope sent to Congressman Tom Daschle's office to scare the whole country. People all over the country were refusing to open their mail and the powdered donut industry came to a halt.
In a sense, Abigail used this to her advantage. She knew that if she could get the whole town to do it, she would win. This also happens a lot today. Businesses use this approach like a religion. If a clothing store (the leader) were to market their new product as "the next big thing", everyone would want to buy their product. This is an everyday occurrence with today's fashion trends. Once one person wears something unusual or different, other people will start to imitate it. This is why if you go to the mall, you will notice that most of the clothing stores are selling almost identical clothes with different brands pasted on the front.
The people of Salem were brainwashed to a point where they actually believed in witchcraft. At first they may have thought it was all rubbish, but at a certain point, with so many reported accounts, anyone could easily start to believe these falsehoods.
Abigail was not the only one to use the hysteria to her advantage. Other townsfolk were using it to get land, money, and settle old grudges. There was no way for the people convicted to prove their innocence, nor could the court prove that they were guilty other than the fact that someone had accused the so-called witches. Since the court was so religiously biased and pressured to convict the accused persons, they were all killed for nothing. Several people were killed because of one sick-minded little girl.
Hysteria is just one of the themes used in The Crucible. Another is revenge, which is funny because in the story, revenge was carried out through hysteria. Miller did an excellent job of relating something that happened over 200 years ago to things that happen everyday in the present time.
The Goodness in people
After The events of September 11th, many people questioned the moral values of the world. At first, one would think that there could be no good left in the human race for someone to deliberately murder thousands of human beings, let alone civilians, but that's far from reality.
After the attack our country came together like never before. There were stories of people running back into the fires hoping that they could help in some way. These people didn't think for a minute about the dangers that they were putting themselves in by running back up those stairwells.
There is the story of Todd Beamer, a man who organized a counteroffensive plan to bring crash one of the hijacked planes down into a field outside of Shanksville Pennsylvania. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives were saved by a few people. These few people on flight 93 made the ultimate sacrifice.
Not only did average people help the rescue effort, Government official's also risked their lives. There is footage of The United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld running in and out of the Pentagon in Washington trying do all he could.
Now, one year later our Nation is getting back to normal. New documentaries are televised every week. Though some of these programs seem repetitive and morbid, they are not necessarily unneeded. The fact that our Nation can sit at home and watch the hundreds of videos of planes running into the World Trade Center goes to prove the saying "that which does not kill us makes us stronger".
Though there are countless examples of how purity and innocence have not been lost in the world, the September 11th attacks are a perfect example on how most of the human race is good at heart. There are some groups of people that in a way make it seem like evil will overcome. These people failed to realize that they were doing something that proves the exact opposite. Its impossible to try to figure out what would drive human being to kill one other person, let alone hundreds.
When a child is brought into this world, they represent everything that is pure and innocent. The child's upbringing can change that. The majority of the human race is not international terrorists, wifebeaters, rapists, etc., they are normal human beings with good ethical values.
Once again, to only consider the September 11th attacks as an example of how people are good at heart is an understatement. There are countless stories of heroism that go to prove that innocence and purity have not been lost, but Sept 11th is an example that all Americans can relate to at this point in time. Our nations heroes are not limited to just firefighters, police officers, EMT workers and military personnel. Anyone has the opportunity to be a hero. The one thing that all heroes have in common is that when it comes down to it, they are all good at heart.
Frankenstien 1
Today's society is very quick to judge someone without getting to know them. People are used to a sort of normalcy to the point when they see something drastically different, they tend to be scared or confused. This was also the case in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Although the monster did not intend to scare anyone, he still did. People were terrified of him because he was different. At first, he had the mind of an infant, but over time he became smarter and started to learn the attributes of human life.
The monster wanted to communicate with the people, as if to let them know that he meant no harm. He decided that he must learn to speak in order to be able to do this. All of his other methods had failed. He tried leaving wood for the family at the cottage, but still they feared him.
The monster was also very lonely. He had no friends what so ever and his creator had abandoned him. If he could speak, then perhaps he could make a friend that he could share his hardships with and feel less lonely. This is also why the monster wanted Victor to create a companion for him later in the story.
Frankenstien 2
Man is constantly striving to achieve greatness. It is simply instinct that drives him to do so. He knows no better. Sometimes it can get to a point where a person becomes completely infatuated in it that they don't consider the consequences. This is just what Victor Frankenstein did.
By creating the monster, Victor seeks to become " God-like". Victor was brought up in a family where was expected to do great things. His parents treated him as if he were a trophy, rather than their child. In a way, Victor felt as if it were his "duty" to achieve greatness. Although he did accomplish what he had originally set out to do, he doesn't get near the recognition that he had expected.
When the monster is brought to life, Victor is appalled. He is utterly disgusted at the sheer sight of it. Victor never realized what he was actually doing until it was done. Once, the monster was created, it was Victor's responsibility to care for it whether he liked it or not, even though he didn't.
Victor was very reckless when creating the monster. He didn't even think once what would happen if it were a failure, or if something went wrong. He just assumed everything would go fine and he would be viewed as a "God" or a creator of life. This is exactly the opposite of what happened. People didn't necessarily view Victor in a bad way after it was finished but they were far from calling him a "God".
Frankenstien 3
If one were to take a look at the inhabitants at a United State's correctional facility, they would find that a good portion of the inmates went through a rough childhood. It is a known fact that people who were neglected as children are permanently scared. When these people commit crimes, they don't know any better because they weren't taught right from wrong as children.
The monster was severely neglected in the beginning of its existence. It was alone from day one. Not only was it abandoned, it was feared and hated by all that it encountered. If only Victor had cared for it, maybe the monster wouldn't have committed murder on more than one instance.
Victor was a very shallow individual and a horrible father figure. He didn't care for the monster one bit when he first created it. He hated it just as the rest of humanity did all because it wasn't attractive and different. Its hard to blame Victor for being scared at first, but it is no excuse for the way he treated the monster. He was its father and the monster was his responsibility just as parents are with children today.
A Separate Peace
Websters defines the word "friend" as a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. This is a very vague definition for such an important word. A friend is someone one can love, care for, console in, help out, and even die for. This is the kind of friendship Gene and Phineas shared in the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles.
In the beginning of there friendship, Gene was confused. He couldn't understand why someone like Phineas would choose him as a best friend. This led him to the point of beleiving that Phineas has some sort of secret reason behind everything. Gene believed that Phineas was trying to hold him back in his studies so that Phineas himself could excel. Gene eventually learned that Phineas just wanted to have fun. This part of the book tells a lot about Gene and Phineas' personalities. While Gene thinks about things too much, Phineas doesn't seem to think about them at all. Phineas is a very carefree person, while Gene worries too much. Sometimes friendship works this way; two completely opposite people form a sort of balance together. This also happens in relationships. One person may do too much of something while the other does not do enough, but in the end, it all works out.
One can tell how deep the bond is between Gene and Phineas is by the way Phineas reacts when Gene claims to have been responsible for Phineas' leg injury. Phineas completely disregards what Gene has to say, and goes into denial about the whole situation. While Gene actually is responsible for the fall, he feels horrible and overrun with extreme guilt. He knows that he is responsible for ending Phineas' dreams of being an athlete. Because of this Phineas decides that if he himself can not partake in athletics, then Gene will in his place. This shows just how strong Phineas' feelings are towards Gene. Phineas' makes a vow to train Gene for the 1944 Olympic Games although there is little chance of them even taking place with the war going on.
What Knowles is trying to say throughout this book is that a strong friendship can not be broken, no matter what happens. Even something as betraying as Gene making Phineas' fall out of the tree couldn't break the friendship that the two boys had. If a friendship is strong enough, there is nothing that can change it, and that's the whole message behind A Separate Peace
Music Censorship
Music censorship is wrong, unconstitutional and should be put to an end. Censorship is not a new issue. It's something that's been happening since Elvis first shook his hips around or when the Beatles debuted. Music censorship is a violation of the United States Constitution, yet it is still a major problem today. Music is meant to be heard, but it seems that some people feel they reserve the right to violate the constitution and take the right to freedom of speech away from the American people. These people need to be stopped (firstammendement.org).
One major supporter of music censorship is Tipper Gore. Mrs. Gore is wife to former vice president of the United State, Al Gore. Back in the late 80's, one of Gore's daughters came home with a Prince album. After hearing what her daughter had been listening to, Gore was appalled. Prince is known for his provocative and sexual lyrics, this is exactly what set Gore off. After talking to other wives of government officials. Gore went on a power trip attempting to put an end to what she saw as "obscene" music. Gore and her group of "Washington wives" started the Parent's Music Resource Center, a non-profit organization targeting musicians who put out "objectionable" or "obscene" music. Some recent targets include artists such as Marilyn Manson and Eminem. The only thing the attention from the PMRC and government seems to do is ignite these artists' flames. The hatred toward Gore is very evident on Eminems latest album The Eminem Show. One song that easily shows Eminems defiance is the track " White America". In "White America", Eminem raps the following verse: "Fuck you Tipper Gore! Fuck you with the freest of speech this divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have, Fuck you!" While " White America " isn't the only song with references to music censorship, it is the most blatant attack featured on the album. Some other artists to speak out against censorship are Rage Against The Machine, Frank Zappa and Anti-Flag (Nuzum book 43, The Eminem Show).
In April 1999, two teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, walked into Columbine High School and started a shooting spree, killing thirteen of their peers and leaving over twenty others injured. While the incident was a great tragedy in itself, another tragedy occurred after. Americans are always quick to point a finger and find the blame for when something like that happens. Rather than accepting the fact the two had been screwed up in the head for years, the media immediately started targeting music and violent video games. The two were known for playing "corridor shooter" type computer games and listening to "industrial" music. It wasn't long before Marilyn Manson was blamed for encouraging violence in his music, which had apparently encouraged the two deranged teens to commit a mass murder at their high school. Manson released a statement short after the talk had started. He was quoted as saying, "Times have not become more violent. They have become more televised." Evidence was released later in the investigation stating that Harris and Klebold didn't even like Manson's music, they apparently thought he was "lame" (Nuzum book 119 45).
Another event that prompted a closer look at artist's lyrics was the terrorist attacks on September eleventh 2001. Clear Channel (a company that owns radio stations across the country including 92.5 KISS FM) issued a list of banned songs that they thought were inappropriate after the attack. Some of the banned music was from musicians such as Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and other popular rock bands. In addition, every song ever put out by Rage Against The Machine was banned. Some reasons the songs were singled out are because of references to airplanes, death and destruction, "satanic lyrics" or they were considered "Anti-American". The most ironic point to be seen here is that while radio stations were sugarcoating their playlists in attempt to help the grieving process, the rest of the mainstream media was constantly replaying the footage of the two plains striking the towers over and over again. Clear Channel may have had good intentions when putting out the list, but it proved pointless. Not one of the songs on the list had anything to do with the attack, in fact, a good number of them were over ten to twenty years old. Attempting to shelter the public of America was a pointless attempt to get good PR from the government yet, it was waste. One thing music is meant to do is help people through hard times. If Clear Channel really wanted to help, they should have actually aired more music than usual. Instead, their disc jockeys spent time constantly talking about what had happened in-between songs (Ericnuzum.com).
MTV (Music Television) has also played a big part in both fighting and helping the censorship efforts. While a good portion of the videos on MTV could easily be considered controversial, there is an editing process that does take place before they are aired. Once an artist releases his or her video to MTV, it is reviewed. Sometimes videos are sent back to the production studio more than once for further editing. MTV does a good job in choosing what should and shouldn't be aired. While music censorship itself is wrong, there is a point where a line has to be drawn. Young elementary age children have no business owning a hardcore rap or death metal CD. This is where parents need to step in. The problem is, the government isn't letting parents do their jobs. While artists shouldn't be censored for their work, parents should know what their young children are listening to. Once a child reaches junior high age, he or she will listen to what they want whether the parent likes it or not. Its inevitable (Nuzum book 5 91 95).
Religion is also a large factor. Whether its Sinead O'Connor tearing a picture of the Pope in half or the John Lennon being paraphrased and accused of believing that The Beatles were "Bigger that Jesus", artists are always going to push the buttons of the church. Religious groups are only being hypocritical when it comes to attacking an artist for being against their belief. They're basically doing the same thing to the artist themselves. By being against an artist's beliefs, the church is doing the same thing by attacking the artist's religion as the artist is doing to the church (Nuzum book 119).
What the censors need to realize is that they have no right to regulate what another person wants to listen to. Why should John Doe down the street not be allowed to listen to his Black Crows CD just because Tipper Gore thinks its "obscene?" If someone doesn't like a certain artist or genre of music, they shouldn't listen to it. That's all it comes down to. Censorship violates the first amendment, and infringes the right to freedom of speech and expression.
Gay Marriage
There has been an ongoing debate between Massachusetts's lawmakers and the President regarding legalization of gay and lesbian marriage. On one side, the Mass. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of gay marriage, while President Bush along with the conservative Christian right, are opposed. This is no surprise coming from a President who has been quoted as saying that "God" told him to get Saddam and Al Queda to a foreign minister at a middle east peace conference.
Bush is saying that marriage is needs to stay "sacred". He also is being pushed by numerous Christian Political Interest Groups, which for some reason he doesn't see any problem with. Apparently the separation of church and state has no value in his administration. This situation is affecting homosexuals throughout the entire country, not just those who reside in Massachusetts. If the courts continue to rule in favor, and a federal law opposing the issue fails, it will set a precedent for the rest of the country. While gays are allowed Civil Unions in some states, they are still not recognized to receive certain benefits including healthcare and certain tax write offs. I for one hope gay marriage will be legalized, it's not George Bush place to decide if two people who unconditionally love each other should marry, it is there own. If he wants to keep marriage sacred, he needs to realize that his Holy Guidebook is outdated and "get with the times", so to speak. The social impact here is huge, it affects a vast majority of citizens and hits them very personally.
This issue is going to take a lot of time and effort whatever way it goes. Even if it is passed, the Judeo-Christian right will continue to battle it with Tim Lahayle on the front lines bible in hand. They need to realize not everyone needs or cares at all what their beliefs are. The fact is, people in this day and age need to learn to mind their own business, and that there's bigger fish to fry than this one, like the ongoing farce of a war in Iraq which of course, they backed from the beginning.
The Poclice beating in Cinci
Last week in Cincinnati police killed a man. The man's death is now being ruled a homicide in the long and distraught police struggle. The death of this 350-pound black man who was clubbed by police was caused primarily by the struggle that ensued after the suspect lunged and swung at the officers, the coroner said yesterday in a case that has heightened racial tensions.
Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott Jr., ruled the death a homicide, but said Nathaniel Jones, 41, suffered from an enlarged heart, obesity, and had intoxicating levels of cocaine, PCP, and methanol in his blood.
I feel he was attacked for a good reason. He was asking for what he was to get. In the same breath again the police in our country bend their rules and take the situations to far. They have authority, but they have limits to and I believe this should be a homicide. They killed a man even though he may have deserved a good beating, but not to death.
My Grandpa
A long time ago, in a hospital not too far far away, a child was born. No one then could have predicted the life that the child would pursue, but if they could only here some of the stories I can tell about that small child that later became my grandfather, Ed Isch.
Although he was my grandfather, I never called him "grandpa". To me he was Bop Bop. The origin of the phrase remains a mystery to this day, although it has always been assumed that I couldn't pronounce the word grandpa but, there is no way that could be humanly possible as I have been a genius since birth.
My grandpa and I had a great relationship in the short time that I was able to spend with him before he passed away when I was 6. Some of the things I can remember best remember doing with him were up at our family cottage at Long Lake Michigan. I could always be seen riding on the lawn mower with him or out on the pontoon boat desperately trying to catch some dinner. One time I remember him asking me what happened to all of his artificial rubber worms, the funny thing is, I had eaten the whole bag thinking they were really bland gummy worms. We kept that one to ourselves.
One time, coming home from a fishing trip, my grandpa was hauling his brand new boat behind his truck. He felt as if something had come loose with the hitch as he was driving, so he started to slow down to see what had happened. A few seconds later he noticed that he was getting passed by none other than the boat! It had completely came off of the hitch and went to the right. Immediately after noticing what was happening, he rammed the truck into the boat to knock it off the road into a field.
My grandpa gave me the best Christmas present that I've ever had and remains my favorite till this day. I had a fascination with trains when I was young. My grandpa loved me so much that he spent countless hours in his garage building me a permanent model train set. It was mounted on an old kitchen table and consisted of two separate tracks each with stations, tunnels, towns and landscaping. I have a picture of my grandpa smiling with me in his arms just as He showed me the train set on Christmas Eve. The picture has very special meaning to me to this day.
One of my grandpa's hobbies other than fishing was making decoys. Although he wasn't really an avid duck hunter, he spent a lot of his time making wooden duck decoys inn his garage. Sometimes when I'm at my grandmas house I like to look through his tools and find old sketch's he had made of things he was planning to make and look at all of the of the ducks he had made.
My grandpa was a well-known hard worker starting at the age of 12 when he worked at the Hirzel canning company. At age 15 he became a stock boy at a local grocery store and eventually worked his way up to manager. After that he went on to work in the Sun Oil Toledo refinery until his death in 1991. He was well known throughout the refinery and still is to this day. My dad works at the refinery now. Although my dad desperately wants me to never have to work there, in a way I feel as if its where I belong. Only time will tell if I will be a third generation refinery worker. If I do end up at Sun, or anywhere else, the one thing I want to be known for is being a hard worker, just like my grandfather.
"Bop Bop" was great man who was loved by everyone he knew. Some of the values he's instilled upon me are to always be nice, respectful, and always work hard at my job. I hope that I can at least become half the man my grandfather was, as long as I can do that, I know I can lead a good life.
The Crucible Domino Effect
Today's society is a big game of follow the leader. When an individual goes out and does something, others will follow. This is the main theme in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. When Abigail Williams started to accuse people of witchcraft, the rest of the town did the same. This is an example of mass hysteria.
Most people aren't leaders; they're usually followers. What this means is, for anyone to do anything in our society someone must act out and do it first. Abigail was meant to portray the leader while the townsfolk were the followers.
An example of mass hysteria that everyone can relate too right now is the situation regarding the Washington DC sniper. All it took was a man with very precise aim and a gun to send the whole country into turmoil. Another example would be the anthrax scare a few months back. Once again, all it took was a little envelope sent to Congressman Tom Daschle's office to scare the whole country. People all over the country were refusing to open their mail and the powdered donut industry came to a halt.
In a sense, Abigail used this to her advantage. She knew that if she could get the whole town to do it, she would win. This also happens a lot today. Businesses use this approach like a religion. If a clothing store (the leader) were to market their new product as "the next big thing", everyone would want to buy their product. This is an everyday occurrence with today's fashion trends. Once one person wears something unusual or different, other people will start to imitate it. This is why if you go to the mall, you will notice that most of the clothing stores are selling almost identical clothes with different brands pasted on the front.
The people of Salem were brainwashed to a point where they actually believed in witchcraft. At first they may have thought it was all rubbish, but at a certain point, with so many reported accounts, anyone could easily start to believe these falsehoods.
Abigail was not the only one to use the hysteria to her advantage. Other townsfolk were using it to get land, money, and settle old grudges. There was no way for the people convicted to prove their innocence, nor could the court prove that they were guilty other than the fact that someone had accused the so-called witches. Since the court was so religiously biased and pressured to convict the accused persons, they were all killed for nothing. Several people were killed because of one sick-minded little girl.
Hysteria is just one of the themes used in The Crucible. Another is revenge, which is funny because in the story, revenge was carried out through hysteria. Miller did an excellent job of relating something that happened over 200 years ago to things that happen everyday in the present time.
The Goodness in people
After The events of September 11th, many people questioned the moral values of the world. At first, one would think that there could be no good left in the human race for someone to deliberately murder thousands of human beings, let alone civilians, but that's far from reality.
After the attack our country came together like never before. There were stories of people running back into the fires hoping that they could help in some way. These people didn't think for a minute about the dangers that they were putting themselves in by running back up those stairwells.
There is the story of Todd Beamer, a man who organized a counteroffensive plan to bring crash one of the hijacked planes down into a field outside of Shanksville Pennsylvania. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives were saved by a few people. These few people on flight 93 made the ultimate sacrifice.
Not only did average people help the rescue effort, Government official's also risked their lives. There is footage of The United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld running in and out of the Pentagon in Washington trying do all he could.
Now, one year later our Nation is getting back to normal. New documentaries are televised every week. Though some of these programs seem repetitive and morbid, they are not necessarily unneeded. The fact that our Nation can sit at home and watch the hundreds of videos of planes running into the World Trade Center goes to prove the saying "that which does not kill us makes us stronger".
Though there are countless examples of how purity and innocence have not been lost in the world, the September 11th attacks are a perfect example on how most of the human race is good at heart. There are some groups of people that in a way make it seem like evil will overcome. These people failed to realize that they were doing something that proves the exact opposite. Its impossible to try to figure out what would drive human being to kill one other person, let alone hundreds.
When a child is brought into this world, they represent everything that is pure and innocent. The child's upbringing can change that. The majority of the human race is not international terrorists, wifebeaters, rapists, etc., they are normal human beings with good ethical values.
Once again, to only consider the September 11th attacks as an example of how people are good at heart is an understatement. There are countless stories of heroism that go to prove that innocence and purity have not been lost, but Sept 11th is an example that all Americans can relate to at this point in time. Our nations heroes are not limited to just firefighters, police officers, EMT workers and military personnel. Anyone has the opportunity to be a hero. The one thing that all heroes have in common is that when it comes down to it, they are all good at heart.
Frankenstien 1
Today's society is very quick to judge someone without getting to know them. People are used to a sort of normalcy to the point when they see something drastically different, they tend to be scared or confused. This was also the case in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Although the monster did not intend to scare anyone, he still did. People were terrified of him because he was different. At first, he had the mind of an infant, but over time he became smarter and started to learn the attributes of human life.
The monster wanted to communicate with the people, as if to let them know that he meant no harm. He decided that he must learn to speak in order to be able to do this. All of his other methods had failed. He tried leaving wood for the family at the cottage, but still they feared him.
The monster was also very lonely. He had no friends what so ever and his creator had abandoned him. If he could speak, then perhaps he could make a friend that he could share his hardships with and feel less lonely. This is also why the monster wanted Victor to create a companion for him later in the story.
Frankenstien 2
Man is constantly striving to achieve greatness. It is simply instinct that drives him to do so. He knows no better. Sometimes it can get to a point where a person becomes completely infatuated in it that they don't consider the consequences. This is just what Victor Frankenstein did.
By creating the monster, Victor seeks to become " God-like". Victor was brought up in a family where was expected to do great things. His parents treated him as if he were a trophy, rather than their child. In a way, Victor felt as if it were his "duty" to achieve greatness. Although he did accomplish what he had originally set out to do, he doesn't get near the recognition that he had expected.
When the monster is brought to life, Victor is appalled. He is utterly disgusted at the sheer sight of it. Victor never realized what he was actually doing until it was done. Once, the monster was created, it was Victor's responsibility to care for it whether he liked it or not, even though he didn't.
Victor was very reckless when creating the monster. He didn't even think once what would happen if it were a failure, or if something went wrong. He just assumed everything would go fine and he would be viewed as a "God" or a creator of life. This is exactly the opposite of what happened. People didn't necessarily view Victor in a bad way after it was finished but they were far from calling him a "God".
Frankenstien 3
If one were to take a look at the inhabitants at a United State's correctional facility, they would find that a good portion of the inmates went through a rough childhood. It is a known fact that people who were neglected as children are permanently scared. When these people commit crimes, they don't know any better because they weren't taught right from wrong as children.
The monster was severely neglected in the beginning of its existence. It was alone from day one. Not only was it abandoned, it was feared and hated by all that it encountered. If only Victor had cared for it, maybe the monster wouldn't have committed murder on more than one instance.
Victor was a very shallow individual and a horrible father figure. He didn't care for the monster one bit when he first created it. He hated it just as the rest of humanity did all because it wasn't attractive and different. Its hard to blame Victor for being scared at first, but it is no excuse for the way he treated the monster. He was its father and the monster was his responsibility just as parents are with children today.
A Separate Peace
Websters defines the word "friend" as a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. This is a very vague definition for such an important word. A friend is someone one can love, care for, console in, help out, and even die for. This is the kind of friendship Gene and Phineas shared in the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles.
In the beginning of there friendship, Gene was confused. He couldn't understand why someone like Phineas would choose him as a best friend. This led him to the point of beleiving that Phineas has some sort of secret reason behind everything. Gene believed that Phineas was trying to hold him back in his studies so that Phineas himself could excel. Gene eventually learned that Phineas just wanted to have fun. This part of the book tells a lot about Gene and Phineas' personalities. While Gene thinks about things too much, Phineas doesn't seem to think about them at all. Phineas is a very carefree person, while Gene worries too much. Sometimes friendship works this way; two completely opposite people form a sort of balance together. This also happens in relationships. One person may do too much of something while the other does not do enough, but in the end, it all works out.
One can tell how deep the bond is between Gene and Phineas is by the way Phineas reacts when Gene claims to have been responsible for Phineas' leg injury. Phineas completely disregards what Gene has to say, and goes into denial about the whole situation. While Gene actually is responsible for the fall, he feels horrible and overrun with extreme guilt. He knows that he is responsible for ending Phineas' dreams of being an athlete. Because of this Phineas decides that if he himself can not partake in athletics, then Gene will in his place. This shows just how strong Phineas' feelings are towards Gene. Phineas' makes a vow to train Gene for the 1944 Olympic Games although there is little chance of them even taking place with the war going on.
What Knowles is trying to say throughout this book is that a strong friendship can not be broken, no matter what happens. Even something as betraying as Gene making Phineas' fall out of the tree couldn't break the friendship that the two boys had. If a friendship is strong enough, there is nothing that can change it, and that's the whole message behind A Separate Peace
Music Censorship
Music censorship is wrong, unconstitutional and should be put to an end. Censorship is not a new issue. It's something that's been happening since Elvis first shook his hips around or when the Beatles debuted. Music censorship is a violation of the United States Constitution, yet it is still a major problem today. Music is meant to be heard, but it seems that some people feel they reserve the right to violate the constitution and take the right to freedom of speech away from the American people. These people need to be stopped (firstammendement.org).
One major supporter of music censorship is Tipper Gore. Mrs. Gore is wife to former vice president of the United State, Al Gore. Back in the late 80's, one of Gore's daughters came home with a Prince album. After hearing what her daughter had been listening to, Gore was appalled. Prince is known for his provocative and sexual lyrics, this is exactly what set Gore off. After talking to other wives of government officials. Gore went on a power trip attempting to put an end to what she saw as "obscene" music. Gore and her group of "Washington wives" started the Parent's Music Resource Center, a non-profit organization targeting musicians who put out "objectionable" or "obscene" music. Some recent targets include artists such as Marilyn Manson and Eminem. The only thing the attention from the PMRC and government seems to do is ignite these artists' flames. The hatred toward Gore is very evident on Eminems latest album The Eminem Show. One song that easily shows Eminems defiance is the track " White America". In "White America", Eminem raps the following verse: "Fuck you Tipper Gore! Fuck you with the freest of speech this divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have, Fuck you!" While " White America " isn't the only song with references to music censorship, it is the most blatant attack featured on the album. Some other artists to speak out against censorship are Rage Against The Machine, Frank Zappa and Anti-Flag (Nuzum book 43, The Eminem Show).
In April 1999, two teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, walked into Columbine High School and started a shooting spree, killing thirteen of their peers and leaving over twenty others injured. While the incident was a great tragedy in itself, another tragedy occurred after. Americans are always quick to point a finger and find the blame for when something like that happens. Rather than accepting the fact the two had been screwed up in the head for years, the media immediately started targeting music and violent video games. The two were known for playing "corridor shooter" type computer games and listening to "industrial" music. It wasn't long before Marilyn Manson was blamed for encouraging violence in his music, which had apparently encouraged the two deranged teens to commit a mass murder at their high school. Manson released a statement short after the talk had started. He was quoted as saying, "Times have not become more violent. They have become more televised." Evidence was released later in the investigation stating that Harris and Klebold didn't even like Manson's music, they apparently thought he was "lame" (Nuzum book 119 45).
Another event that prompted a closer look at artist's lyrics was the terrorist attacks on September eleventh 2001. Clear Channel (a company that owns radio stations across the country including 92.5 KISS FM) issued a list of banned songs that they thought were inappropriate after the attack. Some of the banned music was from musicians such as Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and other popular rock bands. In addition, every song ever put out by Rage Against The Machine was banned. Some reasons the songs were singled out are because of references to airplanes, death and destruction, "satanic lyrics" or they were considered "Anti-American". The most ironic point to be seen here is that while radio stations were sugarcoating their playlists in attempt to help the grieving process, the rest of the mainstream media was constantly replaying the footage of the two plains striking the towers over and over again. Clear Channel may have had good intentions when putting out the list, but it proved pointless. Not one of the songs on the list had anything to do with the attack, in fact, a good number of them were over ten to twenty years old. Attempting to shelter the public of America was a pointless attempt to get good PR from the government yet, it was waste. One thing music is meant to do is help people through hard times. If Clear Channel really wanted to help, they should have actually aired more music than usual. Instead, their disc jockeys spent time constantly talking about what had happened in-between songs (Ericnuzum.com).
MTV (Music Television) has also played a big part in both fighting and helping the censorship efforts. While a good portion of the videos on MTV could easily be considered controversial, there is an editing process that does take place before they are aired. Once an artist releases his or her video to MTV, it is reviewed. Sometimes videos are sent back to the production studio more than once for further editing. MTV does a good job in choosing what should and shouldn't be aired. While music censorship itself is wrong, there is a point where a line has to be drawn. Young elementary age children have no business owning a hardcore rap or death metal CD. This is where parents need to step in. The problem is, the government isn't letting parents do their jobs. While artists shouldn't be censored for their work, parents should know what their young children are listening to. Once a child reaches junior high age, he or she will listen to what they want whether the parent likes it or not. Its inevitable (Nuzum book 5 91 95).
Religion is also a large factor. Whether its Sinead O'Connor tearing a picture of the Pope in half or the John Lennon being paraphrased and accused of believing that The Beatles were "Bigger that Jesus", artists are always going to push the buttons of the church. Religious groups are only being hypocritical when it comes to attacking an artist for being against their belief. They're basically doing the same thing to the artist themselves. By being against an artist's beliefs, the church is doing the same thing by attacking the artist's religion as the artist is doing to the church (Nuzum book 119).
What the censors need to realize is that they have no right to regulate what another person wants to listen to. Why should John Doe down the street not be allowed to listen to his Black Crows CD just because Tipper Gore thinks its "obscene?" If someone doesn't like a certain artist or genre of music, they shouldn't listen to it. That's all it comes down to. Censorship violates the first amendment, and infringes the right to freedom of speech and expression.