Activism, Protest and National Progress Essay Example for Free

Activism, Protest and National Progress Essay The people created the government to safeguard their individual interest and the interest of society. Democracy works upon the assumption that the power to rule belongs to the people. Public officials are mere representatives of the state. The state was created by the people and it should serve the people and not the interest of the few. However as Lord John Acton would put it â€Å"power tend to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† When the state tyrannizes the people, that is the time for the people to take action through collective action. Dr. Martin Luther King said that â€Å"freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.† (1968). The world has witnessed perhaps the most successful collective action through nonviolent strategy of civil disobedience that a country can undertake and that is during EDSA Revolution of the Philippines (Abueva, 1999). They successfully overthrew a dictator for 21 years, Ferdinand Marcos, by giving flowers to the military men. They had tanks and weapons but the people outnumbered them by millions. It was a feat of the entire country, had it been just a few men it would have been easy for the dictator to disperse the group. We must establish the connection of the success of nonviolent strategies of civil disobedience to collective action. Civil disobedience without enough support from the masses will not win over the state that has all the machineries. Dr. Martin Luther King used the strategy of progressive groups which is to â€Å"inform, educate, organize and mobilize†. This strategy can also be used by progressive groups in pushing for their advocacies such as the issues on Iraq war, global warming, and even isolated local issues. First of all they have to gain the support of the masses and this is through the strategy we have mentioned above. First they have to inform the public that there is such an issue, then they have to educate them why there is an issue and what out to be done, then they can organize the public such that when civil disobedience occur they have a unified stand and they are adept with the issue that they carrying. Dr. Martin Luther King organized workshops training the public on taking in blows by police officers and not striking back. The last part is to mobilize. However it should be taken into account that a mass action should only be done when all means of dialogues and legal action has been done yet there is still no resolution to the issue. For when two parties have conflicting interest it is impossible for them to reach an understanding. In the case of Dr. Martin Luther King, they had engaged in dialogues and have agreed to a compromise yet they were betrayed. Collective action through civil disobedience is an effective tool in fighting against oppression since it magnifies the issue and draws attention to it. However it has to be reiterated that collective action is needed so that there is higher possibility of success in the endeavor. Much has changed in society since the time of Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther King. Various medium is now available in disseminating information, thus, it is much easier to â€Å"inform, educate, organize and mobilize† the people. However the challenge here is to break the culture of apathy in our nation. Students would not mind if there are no healthy food in their canteen unless they are informed and they feel the need to eat healthy. Americans will not care about the Iraq war unless they are informed of its negative effects on the economy. Inform te public for them to feel the urgency for an collective, nonviolent civil disobedience. References Abueva, Jose V. (1999). Peoples’ Perception of People Power. October 17, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_Default_files/Philippine_Culture/remembering_the_1986_people_power_revolution.htm King, Martin Luther. (1968). Letter from Birmingham Jail. October 17, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/frequentdocs/birmingham.pdf Thoreau, Henry David. (1849). Civil Disobedience. October 17, 2008. Retrieved from http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil3.html

Stones From The River Essays -- essays research papers

Ursula Hegi's novel, Stones From The River, exposes the reader of the persecutions of religious beliefs, a gossiping dwarf, and the people of Burgdorf, a small German town in the time of the Nazi Holocaust. The novel is set in World War I and continues through World War II. The Second World War is brought on by the hunger of power it is known as the otherness war. 'In the Third Reich otherness is a crime.';(Chadwick 2) Hitler, a Nazi leader, wants to gain control of Germany and surrounding countries. Hitler is a feared name even in our society today. We see things through the narrator's eyes. The novel has many flat characters in it. However, some characters are more developed than others are. Each character has a connection to the narrator whether he/she is a friend, a neighbor, or a bully at school. This novel is unique to Hegi because of her background. She lives in a 'suburb of 'Dusseldorf'; before she immigrates to the United States in 1965'; (Simon 1). It was unusual for her to write about this because the people who survive the holocaust never will talk about the past, they all believe in the 'tight lip' philosophy. In the novel Jews, Catholics, and Protestants become victims of the Nazis. Religious prejudices are common throughout the novel. However, Hegi portrays Catholicism as the primary faith. The author scatters many fairy tales and stories inscripted about the different types of religion throughout the text. 'Catholic water rusted Jewish cars.';(Hegi 88) However, the priest says, 'Protestant babies [are] pagan babies…and the Jewish babies [are] like Protestant babies,'; because they are not christened. (Hegi 58) In both the Jewish and Catholic religion different beliefs and celebrations bring commeraderie to the inhabitants of Burgdorf. While the Jews believe that Jesus is an exemplary man, but not God incarnate, the Catholics believe that Jesus lived and has died for our sins at the hands of the Romans. Catholics celebrate the Christ's Last Supper by receiving communion, a major sacrament in Catholicism because; communion in the Catholic Church is believed to be the body and blood of Jesus. It is believed that when one receives communion that all of one's sins will be wiped away. During the month of December the Jewish celebrate Hanukkah, while the Catholics celebrate St. Nikolaus and Christ's birth in Christmas. We celebrate his ... ...fferent than the rest provided a peaked interest to Max. He cares for her uniqueness not because she is different. Couples in today's society are always trying to change people and make them someone they are not. If one thinks they are going to change a person's personality and actions. Then they need to step back and take a good look at them maybe they are the ones who need to change. Stones From the River, is a wonderful novel. Hegi takes us through the World Wars and explains to us the affects they have on our society. Trudi in the novel takes in and helps shelter those who are hiding from the law. She believes that god put her here to help others and she does, with her gift of storytelling. If we all took the time to help one another than we should all get along. Jews, blacks, gays, and cripples are looked down upon. We are programmed to see people's flaws and to discriminate against those who have these differences. Many colleges have a diversification program that it sends all students through, but this is not solving our ignorance of race or gender. If we as a society become well educated on the horrific affects of our actions we could all live as one race, the human race.

Auto Mobile vs Amusement Park Safety Essay

Automobile’s today are built with many different safety features, and these are so the person(s) within the vehicle do not get injured and or killed. Also these features are not to only protect the people(s) but also the company that the automobile came from, so for example if someone was driving a car and got into a serious wreck and the air bags did not deploy therefore injuring the victim then they could sue the automobile company for money, a new car, pain and suffering, etc. Some of these safety features include Brakes, Airbags, seat belts, and more. When talking about brakes in a car you’re going to want to know what it is your getting because there are many different options in brakes, some examples of this being your regular brakes like you push down the peddle softly and the car with start to slow down or Anti-Lock Brakes or ABS, The primary purpose of anti-lock brakes is to prevent a car’s wheels from locking during panic braking. By allowing the car to slow in a more controlled manner, the driver can often maintain better steering control and avoid an accident. Brakes can easily be interpreted by Newton’s first law of motion which states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. So a car is moving along the road and the car steps of the gas now the car will eventually stop from the friction of the pavement to the tires but let’s say it doesn’t. So while the car is moving at the speed you let off the gas the car will keep moving at the same speed unless acted on by an opposing force which in this case are the brakes. Know the brakes are applied and what brakes do is they but force of the tiers of the car and that produces friction on the tiers which in term slow the tires down thus slowing the car down. Airbags in a car are extreme safety features because they keep a person(s) from potentially coming out of the front window; seat belts will also do the same but with a little more added protection. So say a car were to hit you from behind what would happen? Well besides your car being wrecked. The body(s) would start moving forward. This is because of part of Newton’s first law of motion which states a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by another force. So your car is sitting at a stop light but the car behind you does not stop so they run into the back of you well your body will fly forward. Because you were at rest and then a force came and pushed you out of rest therefore moving you in the same direction as the car that hit you. So the air bag and seat belt are there to stop you from flying forward and getting severely injured. Amusement park rides and cars have some of the same safety features and even if there not called the same thing they do the same thing for example a seat belt in a car is the same as the harness on a roller coaster. In my opinion I find roller coasters safer then cars because there are equipped with the same features but there are few outside forces to mess with it unlike a car. Because unless due to a technical problem a roller coaster cart will not smash into another roller coaster cart. Amusement park rides also have brakes most of these are more heavy duty breaks then car but then again your taking a one ton car vs. a potentially one hundred ton ride so you’re going to need that extra power to help. Some would argue that to many safety features on an amusement park ride can take the thrill away, I would have to disagree with that because I myself have been on many and I feel thrill every single time. But in a ride if there are many safety features then usual then that will typically mean that the ride is potentially more dangerous than a lesser safety featured ride and this can be because of high speeds, higher altitudes and so on. So if you come to a ride with many safety features it’s not because they want to take away the thrill but because they want to make you safe and once again like automobile company’s not get sued.

The Girl Of Everyone s Dreams - 862 Words

Think of the girl of everyone’s dreams. She is perfect, her hair makes them think of golden fields blowing in the wind. Her eyes pop like the prettiest fireworks on the Fourth of July. Her smile shines brighter than the sun. She makes them happy with the simplest things. When she looks at them, they feel like a child. A child who is opening their presents on Christmas morning. They can be themselves around this girl. This is a story about Larry-Gerry. He is in love with this girl. This is a story about this girl and how he finally got his chance. It started off as a wonderful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing beautiful songs, and the air was smooth and refreshing. He pulled his phone out and texted the girl and asked if†¦show more content†¦They sat on a bench. â€Å"I have a question?† She had asked. †¦ Oh, do not ask, â€Å"What is it?† He replied. â€Å"Are you in love with me..?† she had asked the question he knew would come. â€Å"Yes, I truly am.† He said with fear. Fear that she did not feel the same. Fear that she would scurry off and never talk to him again. â€Å"Good. Because I’m in love with you too.† she said. He felt a rush of happiness. He felt like a new man. And in that moment. He had awoken from what had been the best, yet worst dream of his life. He had felt like this was the loneliest moment in someone’s life, when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly. He thought he would never see the wonderful, perfect women, that he had fallen in love with. He thought he would never have another chance at happiness again. He had found the greatest girl possible. â€Å"I need to find this love, if I don’t, I don’t think I will be able to be truly happy.† He thought to himself. So he packed his bags and started his journey. He knew this would be a long journey that could take a long time. But he had high hopes it would be worth it. While on his journey, he had many encounters with girls that at first, he thought was the one from his dreams. But there was something missing with all these girls. He had traveled all across America.He stayed in one-night cheap hotels. He never found the girl that he had encountered in his dreams. He had searched