Necessary and possible Essay Example for Free

Necessary and possible Essay Among the countless present that God endowed to men, the gift of life is the most superb of all. Everything around here on Earth is alive, and so it is our task to take good care of this grant. Reflecting on this idea, each of us must act in a way that propagates it, thus making a better world. And so the question stand still, how can we make a better world? Among the many individuals who has answers are Seyyed Hossein Nasr, he recommend two action steps first â€Å"the interiorization of ecological values† second â€Å"to reflect in what I write and what I say the significance of seeing nature as the domain of the sacred. † (1990). He refers on the importance of the environment in sustaining life, which is indeed true because we get all our needs from it in order to survive. Audrey Shenandoah also laid her answers. â€Å"It has to begin with every individual†, (1990). We should learn to give thanks on everything that we have as well as anything that are given to us. Being responsible to manage our life accordingly will result to better lives. On the other hand, Ronald Engel had another answer to the question, â€Å"making new covenant† (1990). We should exercise democracy n everything around us. Sallie Mcfague reply that â€Å"a basic metanoia, repentance, a turning around. Be submissive to Gods will is what she exemplified, furthermore He has plans for each life He create. Trusting and doing what pleases him is the central key in every aspect of our existence. Ismar Schorsch has his own response to the question. â€Å"It is necessary to have a little less self-indulgence. † (1990), we should not have inferiority towards our self for us to be able to move on and have a good living. The Dalai Lama views that, â€Å"We need a certain discipline, contentment, awareness and what I call a sense of responsibility. † (1990). While Rockefeller relates religion in his answer, â€Å"It is necessary and possible to develop ethic of sustainability that will be accepted by all the different religious traditions and by many different cultures of the world† (1990). As a whole, every creature are part of our nature, thus it should start from our self through serving as an example to others and this eventually will lead us to a better world.

Discrimination Essay Effects of Discrimination

Discrimination Essay Effects of Discrimination As far as historical records show, no society or nation has been immune to discrimination, either as victim or victimizer. Contemporary forms of discrimination date back to when European colonizers penetrated and transformed previously isolated societies and peoples. The more extreme forms of discriminatory practices include genocide, slavery, legislated discrimination (such as Apartheid), discriminatory immigration laws, and disenfranchisement. Less extreme forms of prejudice and discrimination, but nevertheless pervasive and oppressive, include social exclusion at the institutional level (such as in schools and hospitals), and the more subtle forms practised by the media. Some groups appear to suffer from more persistent forms of discrimination, such as Jews (as in anti-Semitism) and the Roma (a.k.a. Gypsies), regardless of time and place. The keywords that need to be looked into before delving the topic in question are discrimination and disturbing. According to the Oxford Dictionary, disturbing means causing distress or worry or anxiety, upsetting, an unpleasant mental state by such effects as irritation, unfairness and distraction. Discrimination, brings the meaning unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice and partiality. It can lead to emotions such as frustration and anger. In humans, it is a mild or serious form of suffering, often with anger about this, in particular, if applicable, anger at the person or persons who caused it. This essay examines the cause and effects of discrimination in its various forms, on an individual, society or nation. Our world has always been faced with the problem of discrimination. It is one of the most discussed topics nowadays and throughout history. In all countries there is most likely at least one type of discrimination that affects different groups of people. The definition of discrimination is the denial of opportunity or equal rights for a specific group of people that may be differentiated by things such as their religion, color of skin, or gender. Discrimination can be confused with other terms such as prejudice and stereotype. The world we live in has been struggling with this sensitive subject for as long as we have recorded. Stereotypes are images held in our minds in regards to certain racial or cultural groups, without consideration of whether the images held are true or false. Stemming from stereotypes is prejudice. The prejudicial attitude occurs when we prejudge a person, good or bad, on the basis that the stereotypes associated with the person or group being prejudged are tru e. Discrimination is the combination of the terms mentioned above, but involves actually acting out with unfair treatment, directing the action towards the person or group. Prejudice and discrimination do not just occur racially, but it is found among gender, religion, culture, and geographical background. Remember that prejudice is a result of attitude and discrimination is a result of action. Many people believe discrimination has made big steps forward, but has it really? If it has, why do people still get turned down, receive hate mail, or get ridiculed simply because they differ from each other. I guess these are questions we must ask ourselves. I guess you could also ask yourself if you have ever called anybody a name, looked at them different or judged them when you did not even know them or understand them. You may be thinking That is not discrimination, but, in fact, it is. CAUSE AND EFFECTS OF DISCRIMINATION There are many forms of discrimination, besides the more familiar forms like race and gender, based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age , disability or handicap, and sexual harassment. The mentioned characterization refers to a situation of the direct discrimination, in which a person is treated adversely directly on the basis of a prohibited ground. Indirect discrimination, refers to a situation in which an apparently neutral provision or practice is discriminatory in its effects. Besides direct and indirect discrimination, we may use the term institutional discrimination. Institutional discrimination refers to the practices or procedures in a company or an institution, or even the society as a whole, which are structured in a way that tends to produce discriminatory effects, for example in the Apartheid regime in South Africa. As to the root cause, discrimination appears to be no clear acceptance of any theory of causation but that discrimination often causes a chain reaction of disadvantages. For instance, it should be noted that there is a connection also between discrimination and social distance, given that it is usually psychologically easier to discriminate against people that one is not familiar with. Although there is no wide agreement as to the cause of discrimination, there is a consensus that they constitute a learned behavior. The internalization of discrimination starts with parents and, later, teachersthe groups primary in the formation of attitudes within children. The media and social institutions solidify discriminatory attitudes, giving them social legitimacy, since discrimination is learned. At best, one can reduce discrimination. Society looks most often to education and legislation to alleviate discriminationfor reasons still not clearly known, intergroup contact alone is not enough to reduce discrimination. On one hand, multicultural education, whether direct or indirect, constitute the mainstay of educational efforts to eliminate discrimination. On the other hand, the emphasis on civil rights, enlightened immigration policies, and mandates for quota hiring are the cornerstone of legal approaches to alleviating the effects of discrimination. The most overlooked area in resolving the problems of discrimination lies in the web of close relationships where genuine feelings of love can be fostered and strengthened. Discrimination produces immense effects in the psychological, social, political, and economic domains. Whether intended or not, the effects are compounded by the loss of self-worth, a sense of alienation from the wider society, political disempowerment, and economic inequalities. Prejudice and ethnic hostilities constitute a major danger to peace both within a nation and among nations. As a consequence, the emergence of a new global moral order increasingly provides a leverage point to counter the effects of prejudice and discrimination. While many agree that the various international instruments to protect people against prejudice and discrimination are still not universally followed or even implemented, it is clear that a new international consciousness is indeed emerging and is, in fact, intensifying. The effects of discrimination in society are reflecting on race, religion, and disable discrimination. One of the main reasons cause violence is race discrimination. It is easy to find evidence from Hollywood movies. The black people always fight with white people because they were discriminated. Now in Australia, the aborigines are discriminated. Many people do not understand their culture, so the Australian looks down on these people. In addition religion discrimination can endanger the world peace. Different religion has different god and the numbers of believers are huge. Once the conflict between different religions break out, which can easily cause a world war. Discrimination is about exclusion an d subordination and it effectively conveys an explicit message of differentness and inferiority of the victim Humiliation. Studies carried out in the field of racial discrimination provide also direct proof of this humiliating nature of discrimination, as it has been found that experiences of racism and racial discrimination have a direct bearing to the psychological well-being of persons w ho have suffered ethnic discrimination: such experiences were found to increase symptoms related to anxiety and depression. There are no reasons to believe that the same would not apply with regard to the other grounds as well. Victims of discrimination cope with these experiences in a variety of ways. As a response to experiences of discrimination, victims often consciously or unconsciously develop a strategy of survival. Some engage themselves in what might be called denial of discrimination. They may explain the incident in terms other than discrimination, or even believe that the discriminatory framework was legitimate, blaming themselves for what happened. One very typical strategy of survival is avoidance, by way of which an individual seeks voluntarily to avoid situations in which the probability to end up discriminated against is particularly high, by way of self-imposed restrictions. From the point of view of the society this is not however a desirable strategy, as lessened social contacts ruin the possibility of integrating vulnerable groups to the general society. Discrimination leads to disunity which results in the dissolving of society, through strife and war. World peace will elude our gras p while discrimination continue to bedevil the collective life of humanity CONCLUSION Discrimination runs against the most fundamental values of a modern society. In fact, it is a threat to democracy, which is predicated on the idea of a society in which arbitrary hierarchies and preferences based on, for example gender, ethnic origin, and wealth have been eliminated with a view to achieving equality. Democracy recognizes worth and equal rights of all whereby, equality prohibits discrimination which is also the cornerstone of human rights. Discrimination not only forms a menace to the society, but also to the individual who is subjected to such an adverse treatment as it is a direct denial of the equal worth of the victim. It is a violation of a persons identity. The consequences of discrimination match the severity of the offence, a causal link to alienation, exclusion, radicalization and decreasing psychological well-being. Therefore, discrimination is wrong because it is selfish. Discrimination throughout the world today occurs to many extremes. From one extreme to another, it is in any way wrong. Discrimination is happening all over the world, today for many reasons. One being because parents have taught their children to believe and think the way they do. The only thing we can do about it is to raise our children to not discriminate against others. It could lead to more tension and fighting within people and groups. To sum up, the discrimination can cause many problems. The government should constitute laws to avoid it, and society should also set up some organizations, programs or communities to help build a better plateau rid of discrimination.

The Downfall Of Music Today :: essays research papers

The Downfall of Today’s Music The nineties began with the grunge scene, an alternative style of rock and roll that revolutionized rock music today. This music that was once praised by MTV was gradually pushed out to make way for the sound of generic rap beats, watered down heavy metal and sugar coated pop tunes. The pattern of the nineties is nothing new. The seventies and eighties both saw fresh new music that preceded a pour attempt at a new innovative sound. In the seventies disco followed the likes of rock legends such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Pink Floyd. The eighties began with such innovative bands as Dire Straits, Van Halen and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and ended with groups like New Kids on the Block and Milli Vanilli that overlapped into the early nineties. The nineties began with an original brand of rock, alternative. This style of music produced bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice and Chains that revolutionized rock and roll. Some of these bands are still around today but are over shadowed by the trendy pop and rap The rock and pop groups of today are primarily concerned with an image they are trying to achieve through music videos. Bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn are chief examples of groups who try to attain a hard-core image but are failing. They claim to have a large underground following but in reality they are just another MTV band that is identified by its multi-million dollar music videos. If you have to spend that much money on a video you must be compensating for something. This is true with groups like the Backstreet Boys, N’sync and Brittany Spears. Without their music videos they would be nothing. The songs that these groups produce are very simple pop tunes that thrive off the bands look and fashion statements. The rap music of today shares many characteristics of the pop/rock industry. They are primarily concerned with money. It is not about the quality of the rhymes being released but about how many they can put out in a year. The result is music that is very monotonous and thin. The albums are released so frequently that people never get a chance to realize how one-dimensional their favorite rapper is, and are buying their next album. The other side of the rap industry is filled with phonies.

Emerging Nationalism after American War of 1812 :: essays research papers

After the war of 1812, the United States moved toward to the creation of a unified national state and by 1830 became a nation-state. Through major changes in infrastructure, establishments of national banks, and the purchases of land, America was developing into its own fully functional and self-sufficient nation. The victory of the War of 1812 was a huge leap toward America becoming its own nation because of the national unity the win provided its citizens. The morale of the citizens lifted greatly because they managed to defeat the greatest military powers of the world and managed to survive. It also proved to the world that the american nation could defend itself from foreign threats. The victory improved America’s self confidence and faith in the military to defend the natiosn freedom and honor. Clays American system was an economic plan consisting of the establishment of protective tariffs, to establish a national bank, and to improve the country’s infrastructure. Protective tariffs protected americans from cheap imports. America Needed a strong national bank to help regulate money and to get funding for internal improvement projects such as roads. Among the most important internal improvements created under the American System were the Erie Canal and the Cumberland Road. He wanted to unify the country by integrating the industrail with the agricultural and have a strengthened infrastructure and economic nationalism to allow for self sufficiency. The National Bank created a standarad form of currency and helped pay off the revolutionary war debt. In 1816, there was a second twenty year charter. It was founded during the administration of U.S. President James Madison to stabilize currency. The estblaishment of a national bank led improvements in transportation because now roads could be paid for. These Improvements in Transportations were good for communication around the nation, which helped send messages faster. In 1818, the national road started the growing road systems that tied the new west to the old east. The Erie Canal was built in New York and runs from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The Loose construction of the elastic clause gave more power to the congress and allowed Thomas Jefferson to purchase the Louisana territory. The Louisiana Purchase was more than 530,000,000 acres of territory purchased from France in 1803.

Themes in Rain of Gold, by Victor Villasenor Essay -- Rain of Gold Ess

Rain of Gold, is a true story about the history of Mexican people, their culture, traditions and customs that were passed down from the Euro-Indian heritage of Mexico. Rain of Gold was written by Juan Villasenor in search for his ancestral roots. The people of this story are real and not fiction. The places that are discussed are true. And the incidents did actually happen to his family. There are several underlying themes that need addressing. Such as: the importance of family, the importance of religion and spiritualism, woman as center of home and family, respect--protection of woman's virtue; ideal of women as pure, power of the woman--the mother, being a man-man as protector of the family, pride of man to be a provider, importance of traditions, respect for life, work and education/learning, death as part of life, honor, dignity, and finally discrimination and prejudice. I will be using this book as a reference and as a guide throughout this review to discuss t he themes that are stated above. "La Lluvia de Oro" that means Rain of Gold in English, was the name of a gold mine located in a box canyon in the mountains of Chihuahua. I would first like to introduce you to the Gomez family. There's Dona Guadalupe who was an unofficial adopted Yaqui child of Leonides and Rosa Camargo. Dona Guadalupe married Victor Gomez, and they had Sophia, Maria, Carlota, Victoriano, and Lupe. Lupe was conceived in 1910 when a huge meteorite hit the box canyon where her family lived. It was said that her parents thought that it was the end of the world so they prayed and made desperate love, asking God to spare them (p. 9). Lupe was referred to as the meteorite child. Next, I would like to introduce you to the Villas... ... the street. "They're dirty!" (p. 302) The lady did not know anything about Juan and she had a stereotype of what Mexican's were. This happens to many people. People are ignorant and don't watch what they are saying. This type of behavior leads to discrimination, prejudice and racism. I really enjoyed all of the characters and this book tremendously. Both Lupe's and Juan's mother were very strong and God fearing women. They had a very strong bind between their children who were taught values and morals. This book made me want to know my ancestral routes and learn more about my culture. Since this book was a true story about Victor Villasenor's family, it made the stories even more real. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves to read. Bibliography Villasenor, Victor. Rain of Gold. Arte Publico Press, 1991.

Communication and Society

Can ideas from the past be useful in our modern day problems? The answer is yes, because people do not want to repeat the mistakes their ancestors made in the past. But some of the mistakes may be repeated due to it being inevitable. After World War II, the press was free to criticize whomever they want, and it appeared to the world that our press was irresponsible. And when Marcos became the president, he did not want the Media to overpower him, He was the president and he thought that having been seated in the top most position he should have absolute power, he couldn’t have the media scrutinizing him for every move he makes. Our grandparents and parents use to say that Marcos reign was the prime era of the Philippines because of the good deeds he has done for the country, but little did they know that his good image is due to the fact that Marcos has a leash on the mass media to prevent news of his somewhat malicious intentions on killing journalist who publish bad news about him. Media is a politician’s biggest opponent. The use of Media might have supported the government/politicians on campaigns but when fooled or did not kept their promise, The media has the power to ruin you in an indirect manner. When a government is hiding something, it will not last long for it to come out. As technology advances, being in a progressing country, truth be told, we always get left behind when it comes to new things. We have learned to make movies from the Western World, but in the present day, why couldn’t we make movies as good as them? Why can we only make films with so little special effects? Is it because we still lack the technology to do so? The problem is with us, Filipinos already made some animation films, but due to not having met the standards of American animations, we tend to ignore it. If we have supported our own, animation might have progressed in the world of Filipino film. Why is the trend in movies nowadays having an extramarital affair with another woman? Because it reflects the society, it shows the realism about the lives of ordinary citizen in a more glamorous and sophisticated manner, and we Filipinos love that, since many of us have lives that are routine and unexciting, we spice things up a bit by imagining life through celebrities, since they have the money, the status and influence we wish we had. Why don’t we Filipinos get tired of watching the same old stereotyped characters in melodramas? Why don’t we try themes that are based on sex, crime and drugs on television shows? The protagonist always win and the antagonist is always the loser. Why can’t the antagonist win in the end, instead of dying or be imprisoned? Since most of us are all Catholics, The Filipinos are not ready to take on new themes that would contradict the belief of the Church, that evil will finally defeat the good. That is the very reason why we are trapped in a never-ending cycle of protagonist vs. ntagonist themes. We sometimes think if the news that had been reported on the television or the newspaper is really news worthy? Much likely the â€Å"Amalayer† issue, should it have stayed on youtube instead? The problem with people today is the lack of common sense. An issue concerning the â€Å"Amalayer† situation, wherein a student confronted a lady guard who was working i n a train station and that the guard was accusing her of lying. The woman was identified as a student of a known school in Manila. This was videotaped by a passenger and was uploaded in the internet, this issue became a trend in Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Common sense would tell most of us that causing a commotion in public would easily destroy not only our reputation, but have lessen our dignity as well. Basically the role of the mass media is to inform the people and comment about the issues regarding the society, but this issue doesn’t concern us at all, it is just a dispute between a student and an employee. Will we benefit something from watching this? It was basically posted in the internet so that other people could criticize and pass judgement on the girl to how she was treating the lady guard. In our modern society, the Philippine Media clearly reflects the society, since us Filipinos are easily influenced, an example is the Korean wave in 2009, bright and colourful outfits, hairstyles that I couldn’t even describe, eating Kimchi and most of us even studied the Korean language. The television was bombarded with Korean dramas. It is not only the Korean wave but the whole purpose of the media is to influence the society, we tend to imitate what we see in television. People go to a plastic surgeon, so they can look like their favourite celebrity, some would even go to the extent of having two of their ribs remove just to have a waistline they see on supermodels walking down the catwalk. These are the circumstances that will test a person’s ethical behaviour, from what they perceive on national television, if what they will acquire is good or bad, moral or immoral, appropriate or inappropriate. Ethics not only promotes a better individual but a better society.

First Day in School: Growing Out of Dependency Essay

Looking back on a childhood filled with events and memories, I find it rather difficult to pick on that. It leaves me with the fabled â€Å"warm and fuzzy feelings†. As a kid who grew up from another country, I had a pleasure of learning different language and culture. I have to learn both Filipino and English. However, I have discovered that when reflecting on my childhood, it is not the difficult learning that come to mind, instead there are details from everyday doings; a deck of cards, a silver bank or an ice cream flavor. One memory that comes to mind belongs to a day with particular importance. It was my very first day of school. Learning something new can be a scary experience. The first 4 years of my life was spent at home mostly with my parents who were there every step of the way. My day started with a hearty breakfast prepared by Mom, who would patiently cook eggs, fried rice and spam. All of us would rush to the table and get ready for the day’s school or work. After breakfast, I would be the last child left behind with Mom. For 4 full years, my life was comfortable. It consisted of a routine, a structure of dependency which meant I didn’t have to worry about what to wear, when to eat and what time someone was going to give me a bath. It was 4 years built on knowing that my loving parents were there to protect me and my selfless siblings were there as well to pamper me, being the youngest in the family. Then one day, thinking that the morning was going to be how it’s always been, I thought wrong. Mom told me I was going to school. I initially thought, it was going to be fun, to be out of the house and break from the routine for a change. However, as soon as I got to the school in the midst of total strangers, I found my world crumbling. I tugged nervously at Mom and looked at her to say, this was not the place I want to be. She tugged back with confidence and escorted me to my classroom with my new teacher welcoming me with a smile along with the rest of the kids in the room. I remembered crying hard for the first time in my life as if my Mom was abandoning me for the rest of my life. What seemed to be the first 10 minutes felt like an eternity. My first day of school was a realization that my sheltered years of being around my parents and siblings are over. It signaled the day when I realized that my dependency on my family was over. It made me understand that at that very moment, I had to learn to be on my own, make friends with people I barely know and learn to stand up for myself. Before the day was over, it made me realize that there was something to look forward to when school was over. It was scary to be on my own for the first time. However, I found comfort in the fact that Mom would rescue me from the melancholy experience of my first day in school.