Oprah Winfrey’s Eulogy to Rosa Parks and Brutus’s Funeral Speech to Caesar

In Oprah Winfrey's eulogy to Rosa Parks and Brutus's funeral speech to Caesar, the stylistic differences are evident. Though both speakers attempt to captivate their audiences with compelling speeches, Oprah Winfrey's compassionate personality and ability to use rhetoric devices effectively prove her speech to have a greater impact on the audience than Brutus's. When used correctly, rhetoric can have an immense impact on the effectiveness of a speech. By using pathos skillfully throughout her speech, Oprah successfully creates a warm, friendly atmosphere for her audience to be embraced in.

Numerous times in her speech, she thanks Rosa Parks for the advances she has made towards society. She builds upon this with a great amount of pathos, stating how much courage and selflessness Rosa had. Instead of mourning the death of Parks, Oprah skillfully shapes her speech to celebrate Rosa Parks's success and achievements towards humanity. On the contrary, Brutus uses ethos and logos to reason with the crowd about killing their beloved Caesar. He tries to justify his murderous actions by saying he did what he did because Not that I didn't love Caesar, but that I loved Rome more,.He reiterates the fact that he did what he did to benefit Rome. Brutus also tries to take the blame off himself throughout his entire speech by providing a rationale for each thing he says. This proves that Brutus' purpose of giving his speech is to relieve himself of the blame and guilt that came along with killing Caesar, not to mourn him.. His speech does not demonstrate he feels guilt or even regret for killing Caesar.

Even his speech has bad intentions. Oprah's speech was filled entirely with sorrow and emotion Because Brutus is a logical and rational-even stoic-man, he uses ethos and logos to try to gain credibility from his audience. However, in the end, raw emotion overpowers logic, proving that Oprah's eulogy is more effective than Brutus'. Another reason why Oprah's speech is so much more effective than the one Brutus gives is her personality and character. By opening with the line Reverend Braxton, family, friends, admirers, and this amazing choir, she captivates the audience just with the order of her words. She shows that she has respect for the people because she thinks of them first as family, second as friends, and lastly as admirers. Also, the tone she uses is very polite and humble, which makes the people feel not as subordinates, but as equal counterparts to her and aren't threatened by her. Brutus, however, is not one to be known to respect or even interact with those lower in rank than him. He sets himself up for failure at the beginning of his speech, simply by stating his opening line.

He says Romans, countrymen, lovers, hear me for my cause,, immediately proving that he sees his audience first as Romans, second as countrymen, and lastly as friends. He unintentionally asserts his dominance right away, making the crowd feel less respected and therefore less trusting towards Brutus. His inability to be empathetic causes him to be unable to build an emotional bond with the audience, and therefore does not allow his speech to connect to the people as he had planned. Brutus' ineptness towards the feelings of the audience results in his speech being a lot less effective than expected, especially when compared to Oprah's skillfully delivered one. By tactfully utilizing rhetoric devices and incorporating different aspects of persuasion, Oprah and Brutus invoke different impressions on their audiences from their speeches. While trying to appeal to a crowds' logical appeals may make sense in trying to persuade people to understand one's actions, Oprah's emotional appeals and comforting tone prove her speech to be more effective and compelling.

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Technology Social Media Playfulness and Human Affect

Play has long been a fascinating topic for researchers studying children psychology, but Proyer (2017) examines how play in general in its respective field is severely understudied and even less research is undertaken with adults. The author acknowledges that across any particular discipline, play and playfulness are incredibly difficult to define and measure, which may explain why the research is so scarce. Despite these difficulties however, studies have begun to increase over the last several years focusing on play and playfulness, specifically adult play.

Even with the difficulties of defining and measuring play and playfulness, Barnett (2007) was able to devise a system of descriptors and traits that are commonly related to playfulness were then further placed on a sliding scale of low to high. The goal of the study was to see if playfulness in general could be more easily identified as a psychological construct in young adults (university students) (Barnett 2007). Even with the difficulties of measuring playfulness, this study showed how playfulness can be defined and measured even if it means different things to different people.

Looking at adult play from a historical standpoint, Voogt (2017) explores how games of strategy, and the use of such game play by adults is more likely to be found in more complex societies. Even though strategy games are more often than not played by adults, the bulk of game-play research up to this point has primarily been focused on children instead of adults. Since there is no current research on the connection between adult play in general and the historical significance of games, the author suggests that research on the combined two would be a productive move forward.

When looking at modern society, it has become increasingly frowned upon for adults to engage in play. Adults are seen as the responsible members of society and any activity that has the potential to go against that or embarrass the adult is therefore seen as unacceptable. Exploring this topic further, Deterding (2018) looks how the societal standard of play (often referred to as childlike play) is at odds with what it considered appropriate and responsible adult conduct. He aims to uncover ways that adult play can live within the standards of society without being embarrassing. Deterding examines how even though adult play is frowned upon, adults do engage in play quite frequently and often quite unashamedly: Bingo nights, bowling clubs, Adult Fans of Legos, etc. (Deterding 2018). Yet, the underlying problem remains that adults should be embarrassed by partaking in playful activities. The study aims to further uncover the connection between adulthood, play, and embarrassment, and how to engage adults in non-embarrassing play.

While play in general is often seen as a negative adult activity, Scott (2018) examines the role of the more acceptable leisurely adult in people's lives. Scott aims to rediscover the adult play group, which he defines as a collection of adults who meet at regular intervals to participate in a given leisure activity (Scott 2018). The scholar notes that leisure activities in general can be deeply enjoyable flow experiences that result in people becoming completely absorbed by the action and losing all sense of time and place (Scott 2018). While there is plenty of research on leisure activities in and of themselves, there are far less studies about adults who participate in common leisure activities. Scott attempts to show not only how adult play groups form, but how they operate on a finer level to create social capital and potentially empower their participants.

In another study pertaining to the implications of adult play, L. and Stenros (2018) attempt to explore the implications behind the phrase adult play, insinuating that even though sexual play could be a part of this broader topic, there are many branches of other activities that could equally be classified as adult play. Through a series of articles, Stenros, et al. uncovers that from a societal standpoint, it appears to be more transgressive and risky for adults to engage in an activity marked as play that is not of a sexual nature (Stenros, et al. 2018). The research of these articles attempts to build bridges between different research traditions. Since adult play is such a vast field, it could be approached from the discipline of game studies but also from sexology, toy studies, sociology, play studies, and game design research (Stenros, et al. 2018).

Now closely looking at toy play, Heljakka (2018) explores how three different types of adults (theorists, hobbyists, and every day players) think about and engage with what is known as adult toy play. The author acknowledges that with the advancements in sociotechnological developments such as the rise in the popularity of the Internet and most importantly the growing popularity of social media platforms as playscapes, we are witnessing a gradually strengthening emergence of the once ephemeral phenomenon of adult toy play. (Heljakka 2018). While the adult who engages in play with these toys shies away from acknowledging their activity as actual play, through interviews, Heljakka attempts to open the idea of play to the toy-interested adult who is engaging in activities that are seemingly already playful in nature.

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Evil in Shakespeare’s Plays

The purpose of my essay is to develop my analysis and research of Shakespeare's Hamlet. While I was reading both I have found a great connection between them. I have come to compare the themes, characters, and the conclusion of each play, and to focus in particular upon the concept of evil as it is treated by Shakespeare in each play. The Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation considerably deepened the moral and philosophical understanding of the concept of evil. . The shakespeare Each play primarily concerns the downfall of a man who has the potential for greatness, but finds himself caught in a web of evil made by others. In the case of Macbeth, there's a man led by greed, an appetite for power, and the urging of an insane wife, who in the course of the play, turns from a noble man into a monster. Hamlet, in comparison, is led to his end by a desire for revenge which he allows to go out of control, and by the continued contact with his mother, whose part in his father's death haunts him.

In Macbeth, the theme of evil is introduced and sustained by the witches, and by Lady Macbeth. Macbeth himself becomes a victim of the impulses within him which lead him to consult the witches, and persuade them to believe in the power of evil rather than the power of good. The tragedy here is that Macbeth possesses a potential for doing good, he is an imaginative man, with a mind which could have been turned to creative governing, but which is instead filled with dreams of ghosts, and of his victims. Macbeth "is a doomed man before he even commits his crime. It is what gives to this tragedy it's deep and appalling quality. Macbeth does not go to hell; he starts there."

The evil in Hamlet develops in the course of the play, for in the very beginning Hamlet himself is not a man capable of the murder of Polonius or of his mother and the king. Thus the evil here is not yet a reality for the audience of this play when it begins; the witches in Macbeth do not function in the same way as does the elder Hamlet's ghost. The ghost tempts Hamlet to revenge him the revenge itself need not be the source of evil, for according to the beliefs of the day, the murder of a rightful ruler could justly be revenged by his son. While the two plays have similar surrounding the evil events which transpire they stem in conception from two very different approaches to the problem of evil. Perhaps the difference is best pointed out by the fact that Hamlet is at first inclined to believe that the ghost is an agent of the devil; he is not prepared to act until he is certain the ghost has told the truth. Macbeth, on the other hand, knows that only the evil way of the witches will lead him to fulfill his ambitions, and he consciously chooses that evil over the good qualities, such as loyalty, towards which he is drawn.

Although the fate of Hamlet and Macbeth is resolved in much the same way at the end of each play, the two characters could not be more different in conception. Hamlet is, and remains throughout the play, a noble and essentially well-intentioned man; he is an idealist a man not afraid to follow his emotions. Macbeth, a much stronger and more decisive man than Hamlet, has a streak of selfishness and stoicism which Hamlet lacks. Shakespeare thus approaches a similar theme the murder of a king from the viewpoint of two very different men, and yet finally arrives at a single philosophical position which is based upon a single human principle: violence engenders violence, and murder ultimately brings about the death of the murderer as well as innocent victims.
An interesting contrast between the two plays is the importance of Lady Macbeth to Macbeth and of Gertrude to Hamlet. In both cases devotion to the woman wife or mother and a concomitant fear and repulsion towards her, acts as a prime factor in the decision making process of the man. But Macbeth envisions a throne which he will share with his Queen, while Hamlet can feel nothing but rage against his mother's betrayal of his father. Macbeth is joined in his choice of evil by his wife, while Hamlet falls into evil alone. There is no equivalent to Ophelia, with her influence towards salvation for Hamlet, in Macbeth.

While avoiding the question of a Freudian interpretation of Hamlet's character, it is interesting to note that the genesis of his drift into evil is more understandable and more forgivable than Macbeth's. It has been said of Hamlet that "Blocked by the double obstruction (the death of his father and the marriage of his mother to his murderer), his life energy flows backward and floods his mind with images of disintegration and death." Hamlet was not made for revenge, was not meant to bear the burden of his own mother's evil, and yet both fell upon him. Macbeth, on the other hand, was a brave man and a strong leader. He was not a victim of his parents, nor even of his king, for the king in this case was a good man. There is ample indication in the text that Macbeth possesses the strength of character to resist his wife's ambitions for him. Yet he falls more easily than Hamlet. "The murder of Duncan inherits Hamlet's sensibility, his nervous irritability, his hysterical passion, his extraordinary gifts of visualization and imaginative expression; and under the instigating influence of his wife the 'rashness' and 'indiscretion' of the later Hamlet are progressively translated into a succession of mad acts."

If Macbeth is Hamlet taken to the limits of his violent potential, the more accurate comparison between characters in these plays would involve Claudius and Macbeth. The murder of a good king by a usurper invariably brings about an uncontrollable chain of events which will eventually ruin that usurper in Shakespeare's world. Yet as horrible as Claudius' deed was, we do not feel the repulsion for him that we feel towards Macbeth. Claudius stands outside the circle of violence until Hamlet draws him in, at the last moment. Macbeth is in the center of his play, his hands bloody after every murder.

Despite the murders in which Hamlet is involved the deaths of Polonius, Claudius and Gertrude, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the madness of the innocent Ophelia, many critics have found it difficult to see in Hamlet an embodiment of evil. Rather, "Hamlet is the quintessence of European man, who holds that man is 'ordained to govern the world according to equity and righteousness with an upright heart', and not to renounce the world and leave it to its corruption. By that conception of man's duty end destiny he is involved in those tragic dilemmas with which our own age is so terribly familiar." Thus the evil deeds which occur are at least partially neutralized by Hamlet's intention to eradicate far worse evils, according to this interpretation. Is it possible that Macbeth too can be seen in this light. It has been argued that despite his crimes, "Macbeth is the protagonist, the hero, with whom as such, for the right tragic effect, there must, naturally, be some large measure of sympathy." He gains our sympathy through Shakespeare's "power of poetry . . . by the exhibition of the hero's bravery and virtue at the beginning, by emphasizing the influence of the supernatural . . . and of his wife's inordinate ambition distinctly mentioned. . . ." Thus while the dramatist must make his audience aware of the fall into evil of both men, he must also make provision for the tragic element, which presupposes a capacity for goodness and even greatness on the part of the hero.

The answer to the problem of evil in each play is that "Shakespeare has again enclosed his evil within a universe of good, his storm center within wide areas of peace." This world of good includes Malcolm and Macduff, Ophelia, and all the others who survive to carry on the job of building peace on the ruins of war, and of healing violence through their gentleness. The tragedy of both Hamlet and Macbeth, "imaginative brothers" is that they are both capable of reflecting back to their innocence, which has been irretrievably lost:

The time has been, my senses would have cooled
To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair
Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir
As life were in 't, I have supped full with horrors;
Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts,
Cannot once start me.
(Macbeth, V, v, 10-15)

Bibliography

Auchincloss, Louis. Motiveless Malignity. Boston: Houghton Co., 1969.
Dean, Leonard F., editor. Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.
Goddard, Harold C. The Meaning of Shakespeare. Volume I and Volume II. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1963.
Shakespeare, William. Twenty-three Plays and the Sonnets. Thomas Marc Parrott, editor. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953.
Martin, Catherine G. "The "Reason" of Radical Evil: Shakespeare, Milton, and the Ethical Philosophers." Studies in Philology, vol. 113, no. 1, 2016, pp. 163-197. ProQuest, https://onesearch.fsc.follett.com/onesearch/lxtrResources/html/ProquestNewPlatform.html?/docview/1773551043?accountid=136288.

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Social Justice Towards War Veterans

Mental health is a major health problem that military community faces. Beyond physical injuries, veterans tend to be affected by all kinds of mental disorders such as psychological and psychiatric. As a result, those traumatic disorders turned these people with brain damage such as disorder post-traumatic stress, depression, addictions to alcohol and drugs and in the worst cases in suicides when they returning to their previous lives. It is very difficult for many veterans to live a normal life after they return to the country, that's why helping men and women who have served to the country is one of the most important priorities of the Government.

Veterans experience higher rates of mental health concerns than nonveterans. Suicide risk is almost four times higher in the veteran population than in nonveterans. A major issue affecting mental health outcomes faced by transitioning veterans is community reintegration. In military populations that have been studied since the deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, it has been observed that members of the military return to their homes are less likely to attend health appointments for mental health needs compared to physical health needs.

A significant group of individual that abandons military service is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. A special edition of Healthcare presents original articles that explore a variety of topics related to the relationship between mental health and risk-taking behaviors of veterans engaged in clinical mental health services. One of them was a reported that veterans have a high rate of risk-taking driving above the speed limit, illicit drug use, and negative alterations in mood and behaviors. Also, examined the associations between anger, aggression. Both anger and aggression were observed to be more prevalent in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans who were arrested but before being found guilty were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder were more likely to be referred for treatment, than those whose diagnosis was made after being found guilty.

This research could have important implications for those veterans involved in the judicial system who are also experiencing mental health difficulties. The reason for this research was carried out to review a variety of different treatments to demonstrate the effectiveness, or not, of the current support for veterans with PTSD. As a negative result of these support programs for veterans with PTSD, they only focus only on reducing the symptoms of PTSD, however, they do not offer support for incorporation into society. (Understanding the Needs of Veterans with PTSD, 2018)

The suicide crisis among soldiers and veterans of the United States Armed Forces in 2012 had surpassed the total of those killed in the battle, an average of 22 to day-about 8000 a year. The nation's military troops are taking their lives at record numbers. Some statistics help to understand what happens. Although more than 69% of veterans who kill themselves are over 50 years old, in recent years the suicide rate has risen by 44% for those between 18 and 24 years old. Which points to the possibility that psychiatric drug prescription has side effects including possible addiction, in the increased aggression and suicidal thinking to those who had difficult military domestic violence, child abuse, and sex crimes, as well as self-harm. (THE HIDDEN ENEMY, 2013)

Due to the barriers that service members and their families faced to the care of mental health treatment, in 2014 positive changes was made as a prevention and intervention strategies for veterans by the Department of Defense. The concern was regarding mental health access associated with seeking assistance for mental and behavioral health care. Therefore, the American Nurses Association partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama's Joining Forces campaign. The objective is dedicated to calling attention to and addressing critical issues facing veterans and military families. Despite positive changes in prevention and intervention strategies, there are barriers such as personal, social and economic, that interfere in the care of mental health treatment for service members and their families. To mention some example; some are not prepared to talk about traumatic events, fear of prejudice and discrimination, or even believe that problems will disappear over time. Transportation problems or financial resources issues. Concerns about command assess to mental health records and security clearance policy. Another method that has been implemented to abolish these special social barriers is that military leaders for their members in service have set the responsible to sends the message that seeking treatment when necessary is good. (The Journal for Nurse Practitioners Continuing Education Credit Application, 2014)

Following these are the new programs instituted in all services for veterans to improve functional performance that has been effective. The US Army has committed an organization by guiding military, community leaders, as well as peers, to identify high-risk behaviors and to call on to assist with primary prevention of behavioral health problems. At the same time encourage individuals the use of mental health services when they experience trouble coping with stress caused by separation, deployments, financial pressures, and other work or relationship issues. Army leadership established a Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program. A similar program has been created by the US Air Force called the Comprehensive Airman Fitness program. Also, the Navy establishes the Combat and Operational Stress Control program. All these programs were created with the same objective, putt mental fitness on the same level as physical fitness to promote positive behaviors in caring, committing, connecting, and communicating. Meanwhile, the Marines have instituted "caring for friends." This program focuses on the reduction of substance abuse to promote connections with others, for the mental health needs of their members in services. (The Journal for Nurse Practitioners Continuing Education Credit Application, 2014)

Brain injuries can be extremely serious. This problem is not only directly related to veterans in the war, but also to immediate family members. Family support greatly influences on veterans to face new struggle. It is very important to have a lot of affection, and patience because sadness and anger is part of the process of adaptation to a new beginning of life to them. Years to decades can pass before a service member seeks professional help for psychological problems. That why it is important to emphasize that to obtain better results it is not enough with the efforts of the campaigns of the support programs that have been very effective in the last years by the Department of Defense. It is also very important the support of family and friends motivating them to recruit to these programs to all those who present symptoms of insomnia, nightmares, restlessness; abuse of the use of alcohol or drug, depression, insomnia, everything that leads to a malfunction and integration to the community and their mental health well-being.

The government has made a serious effort to provide adequate programs and services to the veterans of our nation. These programs are very important, help veterans with new strategies to learn to identify and control their anger and frustration. In addition, gives them a hope for a new beginning of civil life and family, and finding support in the community. Therefore, it is everyone's job to help our veterans in their process of their social rehabilitation as a community.

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Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing

Did you know that 3 in 10 teenage girls in the United States get pregnant at least once before they turn 20 years old, and about 25 percent of teen moms have a second child within 24 months of their first baby (11 Facts About Teen Pregnancy)? The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies compared to other countries. There are many educational resources to people of all ages, and getting contraceptives with absolutely no questions. If all of this is available, then why are 20 percent per 1,000 females getting pregnant in the United States under the age of 19 (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing)?

According to Health and Human Services, in 2016, there were 20.3 percent births for every 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, or 209,809 babies born to females in this age group (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing). Teens aged from 15 to 19 years old account for 5.3 percent of all births in 2016. In 1991 teenage pregnancy was at a record high of 61.8 percent (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing). Health and Human Services also stated that, in 2016, 17 percent, one in six, of births to 15 to 19-year olds were to females who already have had one or more births. Teen birth rates are very different across the region of the United States. Health and Human Services also state that, rates were the highest in the states across the southern party of the country (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing).

In Ohio alone, the teen birth rate in 2016 was 21.8 percent per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 19 (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing). All of the teen pregnancy rates include pregnancies that end in a live birth, abortion, and also miscarriages. Teen pregnancy rate has declined tremendously since 1990. In 1990, teen pregnancy was at 117.6 percent per 1,000 females between the ages 15 to 19 (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing). According to Health and Human Services, about 77 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned. In 2013, a majority of pregnancies to females ages 15 to 19 in the United States, ended in a live birth; 15 percent ended in a miscarriage; and 25 percent ended in abortion. The rate for teen pregnancy in the United States, in 2008 was at 40.2 percent per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 19, (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing), and I was one of those females.

I was 15 years old when I became pregnant. Just like the statistics, it wasn't planned. Even though I was taught sexual education during my freshman year, it was not too long after my freshman year in high school that I became pregnant. I was not on any type of birth control, and the boy did not use a condom. So, there was no contraceptive used to avoid pregnancy or even a sexual transmitted disease. Lucky me, I didn't get any type of sexual transmitted disease, but not everyone gets that lucky. My parents never had the talk with me about sex or what could happen if I was to have sex. During the summer of my sophomore year, I ended up talking my mom into letting me go to London Academy, which is a homeschooling program through London. While all my friends were going to school and enjoying their high school years, I was at home, pregnant, and doing my homework through London Academy. When my friends go shopping or go to the movies, they quit asking me eventually. Since I wasn't attending high school in person, I was slowly losing my friends one by one, because I rarely saw

them anymore. Even though teen pregnancy rates have gone down a bit since then, I think it is a big deal to teach kids and teens about different ways to reduce teen pregnancy.

There are many of different ways to prevent teenage pregnancy. The first and number one method that is 100 percent effective is sexual abstinence. This is the one and only method that guarantees no risk of pregnancy and protects both teens from getting any sexual transmitted disease. Another way to avoid teenage pregnancy is to have sex education and HIV education taught in 7th grade and again in 9th grade. As of November 1, 2018, only 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education; 22 of the 24 states and the District of Columbia mandate both sex education and HIV education; and 2 of the 24 states only mandate sex education (Sex and HIV Education). One more way to avoid teenage pregnancy is birth control. There are many different types of birth controls for females. There is the implant, which is placed by a health care provider and lasts up to 3 years. With the implant, the female's chances of getting pregnant are less than 1 out of 100 women (Preventing Teen Pregnancy).

Another birth control method is the IUD, which is also placed by a health care provider. The copper IUD lasts up to 10 years and the Progestin IUD lasts 3 to 5 years. The chances of getting pregnant with the IUD is less than 1 out of 100 females (Preventing Teen Pregnancy). Next, is the birth control pill. With the birth control pill, you're supposed to take it at the same time each day. The female's chances of getting pregnant on the pill are 9 out of 100 females (Preventing Teen Pregnancy). There is one birth control for the male, and that is a condom. With a condom to be 100 percent effective, the male has to use it correctly every time during sex. The chances of the female getting pregnant with the condom birth control are 18 out of 100 women (Preventing Teen Pregnancy). Condoms should always be used along with the preferred birth control to protect against sexually transmitted diseases (Preventing Teen Pregnancy).

Overall, the teenage pregnancy rate has dropped majorly since 1991, and even though the pregnancy rate in the United States, in 2016, was at 20.3 percent per 1,000 females between the ages of 15-19, we need to get that rate to drop even lower. There are many different types of birth controls to prevent teenage pregnancy, but the number one method to avoid pregnancy and avoid HIV and STD's is abstinence. Also, all middle schools, since kids are starting things young now these days, need to have a sex & HIV education class. It also wouldn't hurt to have the sex & HIV education class again in high school, to refresh the student's brains. In conclusion, the teenage pregnancy rate needs to drop more, and we will get it there!

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Children Rights are Human Rights

Contents

Children rights
Enacted laws on Child abuse
The failing court system
Recommendations
Conclusion

The United States has always prided itself in being a custodian and upholder of international human rights. As a super power, it has set the pace for recognition and protection of human rights by assenting to different legal international instruments and domesticating them. However, its spirit seems to falter when it comes to children rights and youth well-being (Rothschild, 2017. Are children rights human rights? The United States attitude towards a legal instrument by the United Nation in respect of children aroused the desire to establish and demystify this scenario. This paper seeks to make an in-depth analysis of inter alia the rights of children, the most prevalent forms of child abuse, the legislations pertaining to children rights and how the courts have implemented these laws.

Children are considered vulnerable beings deserving protection from the ugly claws of the world. Although most people consider child abuse in a narrow and constrained perspective of physical abuse, child abuse can manifest itself in any form be it physical, emotional or mental abuse (Ackner et al., 2013). The most prevalent form of child abuse is sexual abuse and it goes without saying that it could be without doubt the most reported and documented case scenario. Nevertheless, any form of child abuse should be reported to the authorities regardless of the perpetrator. There is need to cultivate a strong culture of child welfare not just as a fa?§ade but as real foundation informing the best interests of the children.

Children rights

The menace of child abuse has haunted the society for the longest time. This is so despite the various legal instruments which have been put in place to curb this menace. As a society, one cannot help but wonder about the resilience of these unpalatable incidents visited upon the young ones. Where something has a legal backing putting sanctions on its practice, there is usually an expected turn-around from such behaviour but when it comes to child abuse, this is not the case (United States: Events of 2016, 2017).

There seems to exist a resilience and unquenchable thirst to abuse children rights. However, this might not be in the everyday record we peruse due to the fact that most cases tend to go unreported. Consequently, this wrongly depicts a united front to curb such behavior while the sad truth is that the society seems to be mark timing at the stage of baby steps when it comes to this fight. It is estimated that 24% of children become are abused in their first year of life. In 2015, approximately 1,670 children succumbed to child abuse while child protective care centers received a rough estimate of 700,000 cases of child abuse (Co, 2017). Whether it is the society which has failed to protect its most vulnerable or such failure is attributable to the legislative arm of the government, this is an uncalled for debate.

There are in place numerous legislations in regard to children rights. These instruments range from those with international status bestowed upon them to domestic legislations which are specific to the United States jurisdiction. It therefore comes as a surprise that such volatile culture towards children seems to thrive amid such measures being in place (United States: Events of 2016, 2017). It is imperative to note that this is a positive indicator of the system's failure to adequately protect the children. In order to address this issue conclusively, there is need to depart from the traditional view of whether there is in place sufficient laws to curb the menace. A new perspective of interrogating the root cause of the failure by the existing laws should be adopted for one to aptly decipher the persistent menace of child abuse.

The rights of children must be protected by all means and at all cost whether by the state or the society. Any blame game attributed to failure to undertake the necessary measures is an unacceptable culture. It is important to note that the duty of the government does not end at legislating the respective laws in this sphere. It is called upon to take all measures necessary to see to it that the particular legal instruments are given a breath of life (Co, 2017). This can be achieved by ensuring that there are practical and achievable measures in place to aid in implementing these. For example, it is prudent for the government to not only enact a certain legislature but also ensure public participation before such enactment can be done. It can positively be argued that public participation creates legal awareness and emancipation which may most likely reduce the current trend of child atrocities.

Enacted laws on Child abuse

Despite its unwillingness to ratify one of the prominent the United Nation's convention on children rights, some people argue that the United States commitment to the protection of children rights is unshakable. Some may question this commitment intensely and conclude the government somehow maybe deemed as a perpetrator itself. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that there are quite some reasonably good laws which have been enacted to curb this menace.

One of the most celebrated is The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) law which was enacted in 1974 and reauthorized in 2010. This is the largest legislative body which encapsulates in an elaborative manner the rights of children. Among the recognized rights include the right to ethical, legal and fair treatment of children. It further enshrines their right to be free from any form of abuse be it sexual emotional, psychological or physical.

In addition there is in place a mandatory reporting law. This law mandates all persons who work closely with children to prudently report any suspicious dealings involving a child. This law tries to harmonize all perpetrators whether they are the victim's family or a total stranger. Although the spirit of this law is state specific, it can be deemed as a stepping stone towards alleviating the vice of child abuse. The two conspicuous laws in this sphere coupled with a myriad of state specific laws to some extent ensure children rights are protected within the United States' jurisdiction. For a state of its stature, it is evident that the variance in applicable laws in matters pertaining to children rights is not a picture perfect scenario.

The failing court system

Having successfully established the existence of legal instruments, it is important to analyze the mode of implementing the written laws. Laws do not exist in a vacuum, they exist in a society and the society has forever been known for its resistance to change. Take for example a scenario in which the legislature enacts a law which makes corporal punishment for children illegal. Present the scenario in a societal setting which has carried out this practice for long. Obviously, the expected outcome is some form of resistance from the society. With the law in place and the prevailing resistance, the court must step in and either implements the law as is or interpret it to determine its legality.

An effective court system is a sure way of ensuring the operability of any legal instrument. When the legislative arm of government enacts laws, there should be some form of certainty as to its implementation and most especially where the legal instrument is sound. In cases where the courts are not keen to reinforce the legislature's efforts, it can be said that the whole system has failed (Co, 2017). That notwithstanding, seeing as the court is a big part of the government, most times the blame falls squarely on the government.

Although courts are meant to promote justice, one can positively say that at times it becomes hard to further this mission and objective. The evident legal divide is a common feature in the court rooms (Brico, 2018). As per s research by the American Psychological Association the likelihood of abusive fathers succeeding in custody cases is way higher than that of the abused mother (Brico, 2018). The resultant effect of such glaring injustice exposes the child to a lifetime of not only anguish and emotional torture but also a violent unhealthy environment. This ultimately affects the child's right to grow up in a conducive environment. Protracted court battles can in their own form be an abuse especially where the children victims are forced to constantly interact with their perpetrators in the court rooms in pursuit of justice.

Despite the well-known fact of the role the state should play when it comes to rights of citizens and more so those in the margin of vulnerability, the 1989 landmark decision in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services came as a surprise to many. The honourable judge in that matter opined that it was never the mandate of the government to protect abused children and any other citizens in cases where it is not an active participant of the harm (Co, 2017). This is a perfect example of the few cases in which the court has purported to mislead the government when it comes to children rights. It is the supreme duty of the state to intervene and protect its citizens irrespective of the perpetrator.

Similarly, some courts have always viewed child witness differently and are not as eager to admit their testimony. The evidence is often scrutinized jealously before admission. This depicts a system that is still struggling under the influence of the infamous Crawford v. Washington case. This case set a precedent which requires thorough scrutiny of evidence before the same can be admitted (Harmon, 2014). This means that if presented with a case scenario in which the only witness to the abuse is a child and unfortunately the threshold is not met, the likelihood of the perpetrator walking scot-free is high. Instead of adamantly applying the scrutiny rule, the courts should adopt a more flexible means of analyzing child evidence. Aptly put, it will be in line and the spirit of the doctrine of presumed competence for every witness.

The issue of children delinquents is another pressing issue which has bedeviled the court system. While the primary role of the courts should be reinforcing the government's efforts to protect those deemed as vulnerable in the society, the court system seems to derail the government endeavors. While a child witness' testimony is regarded too vulnerable to be directly admitted as evidence, the courts have sometimes found themselves on the receiving end for failing to adequately protect child criminals. There are claims that some children have often been tried in adult courts and even placed together with older criminals (Children Rights, 2014). This is an outright abuse of the children rights although manifested in an advanced degree.

Recommendations

Child care protection centers play a vital role when it comes to protecting children rights. However, the disparity in ascertaining what can be reported and what cannot meet the threshold for their action seems to be an impediment in their work. This is largely attributable to the fact that each state has a mandate to promulgate the applicable threshold within its jurisdiction. Given the sensitivity of the matter, the courts should step in and advocate for harmonization of the laws in respect of child abuse. This will go far in ensuring a common objective in the fight against child abuse.

While it is the duty of law enforcers like courts to protect the children, the courts cannot effectively undertake this task on their own. The courts largely depend on reports by the care providers to come to conclusions on matters pertaining child abuse. Although the United States' court system does not allow the court officers to be actively involved in the investigations there needs to be a different approach. As soon as a case of such nature is reported and brought to the attention of the court, the court can take it upon itself to constitute an ad hoc committee to look into the matter. This will more likely than not provide the court with some inside information and insight into the matter which may subsequently vest on it a better perspective.

Efforts to effectively address child abuse and neglect must be properly informed by a thorough understanding of the complexity and integration of culture and social stratification. While deciding on the best interest of the child, the courts must be alive to the prevailing and ever increasing heterogeneity of families units in the United States. The courts should also take it upon themselves to carry out emancipation campaigns on the applicable laws to this issue. Where the society is fully equipped with the laws and their applicability in this sector, the legal backing may ultimately result into a reduction in child abuse cases due to the imposed sanctions.

As earlier pointed out, child abuse prevention and counter mechanism involve a multiplicity of agents working together to achieve the core objective. However, most of the agents have stringent measures which the victims have to undergo before finally getting their justice. The system would be more effective where the various agencies get streamlined and harmonized to ensure the victims are not subjected to further anguish in their endeavor to secure justice.

Another contributing factor to this menace is the society's outright display and disregard for research touching on children rights. There is little investment both economically and education wise when it comes to such researches. Either the society is ignorantly satisfied with the little information it has or it simply is disinterested in the matter. For example, there are parents who are not aware that corporal punishment can no longer be meted out to the children. They deem state interference as an unnecessary party whose objective is to promote any bad behavior exhibited by their children. A perfect illustration of this phenomenon is the rising figure of parents accused of maltreating their children.

Conclusion

The glaring inter-agency dependence when it comes to the protection of the rights of a child could be both a blessing and a nightmare at the same time. While other departments may actively take part in this fight, the ultimate safeguard lies with the court system. It is therefore incumbent upon the courts to ensure that a child's best interest prevails at all material times.

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Social Networks and Social Justice

The phenomenon of the hashtag was first utilized on Twitter over a decade ago. (Hitchings-Hales and Calderwood 2017) It has helped handle worldwide campaigns to bring issues to light of sexism, inequality, sexual abuse, and strife. "Hashtag activism encourages brisk reaction to imperative events with only a couple of tweets, Facebook posts and instant messages. For dissent coordinators, online networking is a quick and simple approach to make the platform, and that makes it simpler for individuals to gather." (Jamarillo 2017) The National March Against Rape Culture is grasping the hashtag activism by using the hashtags, #NMARC2018 and #SAAM which are trending on social networking sites such as Twitter.

According to Meg Cale, "There are numerous reasons why social activists are concentrating on advanced media to spread their message, yet the primary reason is that it separates the conventional obstructions to activism; access, time, and money." (Cale 2017) The Internet is making the world more interconnected. It can likewise simplify the research procedure; simply composing a couple of keywords into Google and an extensive number of results fly up inside seconds. A standout amongst other things is that digital media improves activism by showing social causes to individuals who aren't actually searching for it. Also, not every person has room in their busy schedules to take part in traditional activism. Supporters can frequently contribute online considerably simpler than when disconnected. For instance, sharing a news article on Facebook can grab the attention of many individuals. Because of lower time duties, a significantly larger amount of supporters can be pulled in while empowering an high state of engagement from individuals who don't think about themselves as activists. The National March Against Rape Culture is an ideal case of utilizing online networking to shed light on rape culture. Supporters can donate directly to the event's home page; they may share information on the event on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks; can take part in a one-day event that includes a low level of effort; and can focus on bringing attention to a specific cause.

Social justice campaigns, like the National March Against Rape Culture, are the tools currently being used by activists to tell their story and bring about social awareness and possible change. Their ultimate goal is to cause the effect by engaging thousands of like-minded individuals in the fight for an unprejudiced and unbiased world in which to live. They are a forum for fairer laws, affordable healthcare, driver safety, drug free/tobacco free children, child labor laws, and even sexual abuse. The campaigns are diverse, covering a range of issue areas from education to the environment to social justice. They empower citizens, protect the environment, and advocate for women and girls across the world. Many are even gaining national attention through the support of media celebrities.

To improve on the goal of reaching a larger audience, NMARC can develop a news release to send to News Stations and Talk Shows such as ABC and Ellen as well as a Social Media News release and Video News Releases. An effective strategy that would make the campaign more effective is the use of celebrities as spokespersons which would grab the attention of the media. NMARC can also create a free app that gives exclusive information about future events and shares places to go, such as support groups or professionals to see if you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault. I look forward to reading about its impact on the issue of rape culture in future legislation.

Regardless of how we feel about social justice campaigns, they are here to stay. Activists must take full advantage of the opportunities they provide and be strategic about how to call attention to their cause. I believe the National March Against Rape Culture is a perfect example of an effective social justice campaign. While taking strides to one day achieve its goal of putting an end to rape culture, The March does achieve its goals of bringing awareness to the issue of rape culture, specifically sexual assault, connecting assault survivors and their allies to like-minded individuals and giving those involved a sense of community and safety.

NMARC has already raised over $100 through their GoFundMe page, has over 100 followers on Twitter, 988 people expressed their interest in the March through the NMARC Facebook Event, 142 people liked the NMARC Facebook page and 145 people followed the page. This information can be found on the NMARC GoFundMe page, Facebook Page, and Twitter Page. The March has also added to the increased amount of awareness surrounding rape culture, specifically sexual assault. With posts shared to the personal social media accounts of the individuals who attended or supported the March, especially those that used the hashtags used by NMARC, the NMARC gained attention which in turn provided more awareness to the social issue of rape culture.

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Vietnam War – Treatment of Vietnam Citizens

Contents

Rippling effects/cost:
Impact on society/culture:
Consequences:

Rippling effects/cost:

During the war vietnamese, citizens were treated very badly. Many veterans raped, cut off limbs, randomly shot at citizens, bombed village twice as much than they did in world war 2, poisoned food stock, and damaged much of the countryside of south Vietnam.US troops also carried out massacres, beatings, arson, and Kidnapping. Most of the citizens were scared to come forward but when attempting to they were ignored, because no one believed high ranking officials would do such things. Because of these incident many people suffered depression and other issues that lead to deaths of innocent citizens. American troops did these horrible things because they wanted power, and they resented the Viet Cong. The US troops did not consider the fact that some people weren't involved so they punished innocent citizens.

Impact on society/culture:

Many women who got raped got pregnant and tried to get abortions but it didn't always work and these women gave birth to the children and many became depressed and considered committing suicide. For the children who were born from this, they were often bullied because of who their father was. Many citizens also believed that the war crimes committed caused them post traumatic stress. The bombings destroyed all of the vietnamese people's crops and vegetation which took many years to regain after everything was destroyed. Racism also played a major role, vietnamese people were not considered real people but mere gooks.

Consequences:

Over 2 million vietnamese citizens died, some from suicide and diseases, while others from bombings in their villages. In these bombings they used agent orange'' which left a major impact on vietnamese citizens, many are now facing various diseases and disabilities. In addition, it destroyed many villages leaving people homeless. Also, farmland was ruined resulting in hunger. Depression was also prevalent.

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Trump and Iran

Contents

IRAN
EXPLANATION
EVALUATION
CONCLUSION

I have chosen to analyze Donald Trump through the lens of realism. Realism's use in international relations is fairly new. The basic ideas of realism can be traced back to classical texts such as Thucydide's History of the Peloponnesian War. Realism essentially says that people are afraid and try to self-preserve by obtaining power. Within realism are two sub-theories which are classical realism and neorealism. Classical realism believes that it is human nature which is responsible for conflict and war. Neorealism posits that it is the anarchic system that is responsible.

Realists' main concern is the accumulation of power. They believe that states try to gain power in an attempt to either deter other states from engaging in war, or have the greatest advantage when war does occur. Power can be expressed in many ways. It can be having the most, and most powerful and advanced weapons. It can be having access to natural resources such as oil. Strategic location of a state can also be a source of power; how many states share your borders or what percentage of your borders are land or water. Population size can be a source of power as well.

Realists focus mainly on the international level of analysis. They believe that states always act in their own self-interest. Also, that the international system is anarchic; there is no governing force that regulates international relations. Realists believe that when a state goes to war, that state will not be swayed by any individual or sub-state actor.

IRAN

I decided to research the Trump administration's relationship with Iran. For many years the US had a great relationship with the country. Iran was an important ally for the US in the middle east during the Cold War. The relationship between Iran and the United States has been turbulent since the end of the 70's. Iran has had a very anti-American stance and supported groups widely considered to be terrorist organizations. Also, their pursuit of nuclear technology has had many countries around the world worried.
Prior to the Cold War, the US had little interest in Iran. During the Cold War, the then Shah of Iran's desire to increase its military capabilities and national defense, and the United States' desire to fight communism led to an important alliance between the two countries. The US played a key role in the 1953 coup d'?©tat which overthrew the Prime Minister of Iran. Over the next few decades, much military and financial assistance was given to the Iranian government. Ironically, the US also gave Iran the nuclear technology that has become the main issue today.

Much of Iran's population resented the United States for their role in the 1953 coup. In 1979, a revolution removed the Shah and replaced him with an anti-American ruler Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Shortly after, a group of students who feared that the US was planning another coup, overtook the US embassy and took 52 American diplomats hostage. The hostage situation greatly devastated US-Iranian relations. In 1980, President Carter cut ties with Iran.

In the early 2000s, it was discovered that Iran was enriching uranium and was attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Over the next few years, the US and its allies imposed sanctions on Iran in an attempt to deter them from continuing to try and produce nuclear weapons.

In 2015, the US along with China, Germany, France, Russia, England, and the EU helped sign the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) which was supposed to prevent Iran from developing the technology to create nuclear weapons. It also lifted sanctions on Iran. Iran almost immediately violated the agreement and began testing long range ballistic missiles. Iran continued to violate the agreement multiple times although they deny that their actions were in violation of the plan.

President Trump has been a very harsh critic of Iran and the JCPOA. He believes that paralyzing sanctions were removed and replaced by a weak deal that failed to stop Iran's development of ballistic missiles or address Iran's activity in countries such as Yemen or Syria. He believes that the sanctions gave the US bargaining power and a strong grip on Iran. In May of 2018, President Trump pulled out of the JCPOA and re-imposed sanctions.

EXPLANATION

The policy decisions President Trump has made towards Iran greatly reflect those of a realist. He views Iran as a threat to American power and to the safety of American service members, citizens, and it's allies. In a speech, Trump said essentially that Iran is a major contributor to conflicts in the middle east, is a supporter of many terrorist organizations, and that their quest to develop nukes is a major threat to the world. He also believes that the JCPOA was weak and did little to curb Iran's bad behavior in the region.
Iran has been seen for a long time as a threat to the United States and its interests abroad. In May, Trump removed the US from the Iran deal. He saw the deal as weak and putting the US in a bad position. He wants an agreement where Iran fully abandons their nuclear and ballistic missile development, allows regular inspections of important locations such as military bases, and halts their involvement in other conflicts in the middle east. Trump sites documents seized by Israeli forces from a storage facility in Tehran. He claims that the documents provide sufficient evidence that Iran has been violating the agreement and either has been or intends to continue their pursuit of nuclear weapons. According to other sources though, there is nothing in the documents that says that Iran has been pursuing the development of nuclear weapons since the deal was made.

Trump has stated that he doesn't feel that the deal is strict enough to prevent Iran from continuing their research. He believes that allowing the regime to continue any enrichment of uranium is dangerous and that they will continue to attempt to create weapons grade uranium.

Iran has violated the deal in other ways though, multiple times since it was made. Iran has test fired long range ballistic missiles that could carry multiple nuclear warheads. The UN had banned Iran's import of ballistic missile technology for up to eight years.
The deal also doesn't help stop Iran's poor behavior in supporting terrorist groups or brutal wars in the middle east. Iran is a supporter of groups such as the Taliban, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Al Qaeda. Iran has supported the development of these groups and some of their attacks against American military personnel and citizens.

Trump's strategy against Iran is to use sanctions rather than military force to cripple the regime. The US alone has pulled out of the JCPOA, to the dismay of its European allies, and implemented sanctions in an attempt to strong arm Iran into compliance. Trump is attempting to cut off all Iranian oil exports, and threatening to implement sanctions against any state that continues to buy oil from Iran. He believes that if he continues to implement sanctions against Iran, that they will not continue their research into nuclear fuel, European allies will eventually join in on the sanctions as well, and ultimately the regime will submit and negotiate a new deal with the Trump administration. And the end goal is to oust the current regime and reinstall democracy in the country.

EVALUATION

Tensions between the US and Iran have definitely gotten worse since Donald Trump was elected into office. His position towards Iran has been hostile and he has given them no wiggle room. Other states that were part of the JCPOA believed that the deal was sufficient and they were against the US pulling out. President Trump seems to pay little attention to the advice of others. It's hard to say what Trump's true intentions are because what he says, and what he does many times do no align, and what he says is frequently not quite the truth.

CONCLUSION

Trump clearly displays behavior that classifies him as a realist. He has made little to no effort to establish diplomatic relations with Iran and has been harsh with his sanctions. His actions appear to be attempting to place the US in a more powerful position in the world. It could be said that Donald Trump might be a constructivist as well. He appears to be trying to change ideas about how government should be run. None the less, he has made it very clear that he believes that the previous deal with Iran put the US in a very weak position and that the US had a lot of leverage on Iran prior to the deal being made. He wants to create a deal that will keep a nuclear arms race from happening in the middle east and put the US in a more powerful position in the international system.

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Will we Stop Trump before it’s too Late

Contents

Introduction
- Conclusion

Introduction

In the April 6, 2018 New York Times article, Madeleine Albright criticizes President Trump by claiming his entire presidency is nothing more than mere fodder for fascists that seek the opportunity to have their backwards views and despicable actions excused by none other than our own leader. Using the American President's ill-received words to invalidate concerns brought up against them, Dictator's around the world have taken advantage of the man supposedly responsible for representing a nation founded on freedom and democracy. Concerning President Trump's notoriously distasteful public dialogue, his brash temper, and his penchant for lying; Albright begs the question, how have Trump's outbursts damaged our relationships with other countries? Can those relationships be repaired? How will this affect our country's future, and can we stop our own leader before it becomes too late? Personally, I chose this article because I am extremely against war, fascism, general hatred, and intolerance.

Our President has continuously made decision after decision to disregard the safety of his nation, and the happiness of his people in favor of his own, often times nonsensical agenda. Throughout this essay, I will be analyzing Albright's political ideology, as well as comparing and contrasting it to my own.Body Fascism, a political movement that is characterized by extreme authoritarianism and nationalism. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, both famous fascists that killed millions and destroyed themselves in the process. Would it be such a stretch to claim, as Albright has, that Trump is similar to these two men, and even unintentionally validates their beliefs? Not according to a Washington Post article that also claims Trump's mannerisms are eerily similar to that of well known and universally despised fascist dictators. Umberto Eco, a late Italian novelist, created a 14-point list that outlines fascists traits in 1995. This list is now globally recognized and referenced around the world, and according to it, Trump isn't very far off. Displaying a rejection of modernism by repeatedly denying the existence of climate change, referring to any minor criticism as being treasonous, and his overwhelming elitism; These are all commonly shared traits among fascists, and Trump is no exception. Mr. Trump has. . . jokingly or not equated mere policy disagreements with treason (Albright, 2018).

Albright laments that Trump constantly tries to undermine America's faith in our electoral process through far-fetched claims and downright lies regarding voter integrity, as well as heckling immigrants and their home countries, among other things. Albright makes her distaste towards the President's beliefs obvious, as well as her concern towards the actions Trump has put into motion; Specifically, America's now thriving rivalry with North Korea. When you're at odds with your own President, it can be hard to decide what to do. So, how should you approach an angry man with too much power for his own good? According to Albright, we must, above all else, defend the truth. A free press is not the enemy of the American people (Albright, 2018). Along with standing by the truth and allowing our press freedom to report to the public, Albright also states we must reinforce the principle that no one, not even the president, is above the law (Albright, 2018).

The government has allowed our President to say whatever he likes without consequence for too long. There should be clear policies against allowing men and women with racist, sexist, and close-minded views from representing our nation. It's not discriminatory, as some conservatives might claim; It's only fair. It goes against America, fundamentally, to allow someone who doesn't value everyone equally to lead. That being said, what do all these things say about Albright's own political ideologies? If she opposes the hand of fascism, and clearly opposes hyper-conservative Americans; It goes without saying, after viewing all the evidence, that Albright is a liberal through and through. A belief in free-speech, abolishment of class systems and protection of the individual; All reminiscent of Albright's beliefs, as well as my own. My ideologies are definitely the same as the author's, without a doubt, as we share many of the same opinions concerning our government.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our nation needs to take steps to ensure that men like Trump cannot fuel hate speech, violence, and discrimination. Trump's words further the agenda of callous leader's all over the world, and as a country with roots seated in freedom, happiness, and democracy; it cannot go on any longer. Especially with the recent strike on Syria, it is crucial we band together and show President Trump that he is not above the law. The question is, will we be able to do so before it's too late?

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Trump’s Campaign

Trump did not win the popular vote, however he did win the electoral vote that is why he won the election. Trump's campaign was not at all common or ethical for most people. Mr Trump ran the most unconventional of political campaigns, but it turned out he knew better than all the experts. (BBC) Trump had spent a lot of money on merchandise for his campaign and while other candidates were focusing on door-to-door campaigns and get-out-the-vote operations Trump focused on rallies He was very bold in his statements and his promises. He would not back down from any of his ideas, opinions, statements, or promises. He would not admit defeat until he and everyone else knew that he had won. In the general elections Trump ended up with 306 electoral votes, and 61,201,031 popular votes. Hillary Clinton ended up with 232 electoral votes, and 62,523,126 popular votes. (Politico) The reason Trump had won more electoral votes while still losing the popular vote was because, he had won large states such as Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin by a very narrow margin. And Hillary Clinton had won other large states like California, Illinois, and New York by a fairly large amount of votes. Thus giving Clinton the lead on the popular votes. Clintons blue wall in the midwest had been the last hope for the democratic party after the toss ups of the larger states and it was close. These states had been strong democratic for the last few years and it was looking good for Clinton. However Trump's promises had been appealing more to the working-class more particularly white and even more so those who had not had a college education. (BBC) Trump had a huge appeal to those who felt they were overlooked by the establishment as well. He spoke to the people who felt screwed over by the government and the economy and gave them hope that he would make living in America better for them. Trump's overall win had come from narrow wins in solid red states. President Trump didn't only have to run against Clinton he faced off against people from his own party. He did not work with them however. His victory may have even been in part of his willingness to stand against members of his own party. His attitude towards the other republican candidates may have proven to the American citizens Mr. Trump's independence. Trump has made some statements in his time of being president that may seem ridiculous or even plain out dumb. However in his campaign he had made many promises that he for the most part has kept, or is continually working on keeping. He was not afraid to put out his opinion and his opinion had upset many people. Trump was very bold both before and after his election. This strength of a leader appealed to many of U.S. citizens. We need a leader that is bold and won't back down. He stands behind his decisions even when he is backed into a corner and he finds a way to win. Trumps probably biggest promise was the southern U.S. border wall. His intentions were for border security. However many anti trump people had tried to turn it on him by saying he was a racist and didn't want the Mexicans in the U.S. Another Promise he had made was to lower taxes which he has done. Tax rates since Trump has been dropped and were able to be dropped because he has been able to provide more jobs. For people in the $500001+ when filing singly with Trump's tax deductions they are only paying 37% while without them they would be paying 39.6%. (josephson) During the elections it seemed that nobody really liked either candidate so a lot of votes were to keep the other person out of office. Trump had won over many Americans by promising to bring safety back to our country. In an article from BBC news it says He defies the normal metrics for success because his voters don't so much support him for what he does as they adore him for what he's against. (BBC) He is gaining more and more supporters by what he is doing to help the working class American citizens. Not to say President Trump hasn't done anything good for the country he has promised to lower, taxes which he has. In fact during Trump's Presidency nearly 5.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts,with nearly 60 percent going to families.(The White House) He has also brought more jobs into the U.S. boosting the economy and providing a better living for many American citizens. There are now 3.8 million jobs created during the Trump presidency, putting the median monthly job creation move or less in line with that of the Obama administration. (Goldstein) America is now producing more products for two quarters in a row for the first time in 3 years. Third quarter GDP growth rate was 3.2 percent. Second quarter GDP growth rate was 3.1 percent. (The White House) Some statistics to help show how many jobs Trump has produced I had found from the website The White House it says The manufacturing Industry has created 159,000 jobs. The mining and logging industry has created 57,000 jobs. And thirteen states had reached record low unemployment rates. (The White House) Not only is he creating more jobs for American citizens. He is providing more of a chance for people to get an education to get a higher paying job. Trump had signed an executive order to expand apprenticeships. What this does is it provides a new process that will make it easier for businesses to create more apprenticeship openings without losing money. In order to help the working class American citizens President Trump is ending job killing regulations. This means that for every one new regulation two of the old ones must be eliminated. The help this brings to woking American citizens is really helping President Trump keep his supporters, because these working class citizens are making up much of the American population with that percentage growing more with the new jobs that President Trump is creating.

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Donald Trump’s Policy

When president Donald Trump won the election in 2016 it stirred up quite the ruckus worldwide not just in the United States. It is certain that more and more racism, police brutality, violence, and discrimination has risen since his election. There are many factors as to why people believe that president Trump should be impeached, it isn't just for the reason of him being selfish and ignorant, or that he has ended contracts with other countries that have been active for many years; everyone has their own reasons as to why he should be out of office. Impeachment was constructed to remove anyone in office that have abused their power and resulted in committing a crime, which then loses trust and prohibits one from continuing their time in office. As for Trump, he has hindered justice for many, has violated the emoluments clause, has been racially offending many, has been unconstitutionally prisoning families, has created a misery for many living the United States and has been extremely selfish to with all his horrific decision making that has affected many citizens in several ways. Trump has only been in office for what it seems to be like a year and months, and has already abused his power and has made some very awful decisions causing this whole country turn against itself.

Trump is known for his strong character, outspoken mindset, and let's not forget he also has a horrid temper that everyone has seen especially news reporters. He has never been a fan of the media and has always said that everything that is reported is fake news, and has also been extremely rude to news reporters and journalists especially when he is being called out on live television on during conferences for all the wrongdoings he has done or even for something as simple as why did you do that or do you think that's right. He is not much of a nice guy when he's being called out for his mistakes especially on national television or face to face in person.

Trump has accused many news outlets of reporting fake news and has labeled them as the Enemy of the American People he has vigorously called out many outlets like; The New York Times, CNN, Daily Mail, ABC, and NBC news. As one may know it is the job, work and responsibility for these news reporters to organize press releases, get media coverage and have interviews with the firm or cover any other major thing that is happening around the country or around the world. But Trump is not a fan, he has a habit of going on rants on his Twitter account, he had tweeted back in July that the media just reports false information and that it is the enemy of Americans, and ended his tweet with SICK!. As a result, this tweet caused a series of backlash that was later deleted and reposted but reworded in a totally different manner. He tends to insult these firms in ways that are very unprofessional like calling them garbage or saying that they're failures and are failing.

Anthony Brooks stated, Attacking the media and fake news was a staple of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. But now as president, he calls journalists enemies of the people. The New York Times publishersays these inflammatory attacks are sparking a rise in threats to journalists that could lead to violence, particularly overseas. Since Trump has very outspokenly talked about his hatred towards reporters, it has affected them in drastic ways and like Brooks said it has risked violent threats towards them.

Trump as well has fired threats to sue news companies and to get their licenses revoked after they have publicized something that wasn't up to standard with him especially when they throw him under the bus. His hatred towards news publishers his so immense that he suggested that the United States liberal laws should change in order to make it less challenging by being able to punish news corporations. He has also attempted to fire some journalists as well as reporters and boycott news organizations.

A few of astonishing clap backs that Trump has given were to a couple of African-American females, he used verbal and derogatory insults that were unnecessary and as the leader of this country, he should know better than to say things like these to people. He has accused many people of asking unrelated and off-topic questions, but as a result, he has been aggressive and rude especially to females. Some of the things that Trump has said were a lot of stupid questions, sit down, loser. It's these things that make people unhappy with the president that we have, his commentary is unnecessary and his negative attitude isn't professional. As a president he should be a leader, set a good example and encourage people to become good United States citizens, he should care for people but instead, he does things like these and puts everyone down.

Trump is also known for his blackmailing tricks and his way of silencing people from speaking up of his wrongdoings or if they speak negatively of anyone close to him, in fact, he blackmailed Brett Kavanaugh and other United States senators about their pasts and said that he had a lot of back history on them and the type of past that they had. One shouldn't have to deal with childish things like these and the president shouldn't do these things either, it's off topic. Everything he says is off topic.

It is a very serious job and commitment to be in control of a country and having to make decisions, some may agree and others may disagree; regardless of the president's decisions no one will ever be satisfied with what they're doing or how they chose to maneuver the laws and deal with crisis's. Before an incoming president steps foot in office they must first pass all of the requirements and once elected they will oath at a ceremony with their right hand up saying, I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. As a result, it is the job for a president to do a good job at protecting everyone in this country and making the best decisions for everyone's protection and safety, as well as improving the economy, providing more occupations, helping out with insurance and more governmental fundings for those that are in need. Since Trump has been in office, he has already violated the constitution in many ways. Trump has made this country a very unsafe place for many and multiple people have caught themselves living in fear and are unable to leave their homes without feeling uncomfortable. As president, he was to prevent this from happening and instead he has been causing it.

According to Newsweek, within two months of firing James Comey who was an FBI director, a California Democrat Sherman introduced the idea of impeachment, and agreeing with this idea was the Texas Representative Al Green. Comey was dismissed in an unjust way, for the reason of not being consistent enough and for performing an unsatisfactory investigation of Hilary Clinton's private emails; moreover, Trump admitted oh firing James on a televised interview over the Russian issued because he believed that that story was made up by Democrats as an excuse so he could lose his election. This just goes to show that Trump obstructed justice and went against his oath. Not only has trump obstructed justice, but according to Newsweek, he has also; insinuated white supremacy, sexism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, race-baiting and racism. All of these factors are a result of the Trump's unfairness and discriminatory ways towards people and since he is very open about his feelings many people think that thinking like him is an okay thing, but it's really not, it's offensive and discriminatory for many. Living in this country one should be able to be comfortable since we claim to have freedom and we shouldn't worry about criticism and we should be self-expressing; with this man in office, none of this is possible.

Vox stated, that the Trump administration justifies its zero tolerance policy of prosecuting everyone who crosses into the US illegally ??” including asylum-seeking parents who are separated from their children by being placed in criminal jails?? Since this policy has passed, there has been over two thousand children separated for their families. Many people thought that this was a marvelous idea on Trump's part because this prevented from job stealers, rapists and delinquents from coming to the United States, but others disagreed. Innocent children and people don't deserve this kind of treatment, their goal is to come to this country to seek for better futures, opportunities, and success; since president Trump has spoken very low of these human beings many see them as horrible people.

With this new policy that was constructed, children have been spilt and put into tents, these children suffered from trauma, were malnurtured, mistreated, raped and physically violated. These innocent children were put through these horrific situations simply because the president thought it was best for the country, and to help it stay safe. He also believed that with these harsh punishments it would prevent for more illegal aliens from coming to the United States.

Many people saw this as dehumanization because they weren't treated like humans intreated like caged animals. President Trump had no intention in reuniting families, but after the backlash some have indeed been reunited, but as for the unfortunate ones, they are placed with the Health and Human Services Department of the United States, and they attempt to seek a home for these children until they have further information based on their status. It seems as if history has repeated it's self with the whole tent set up, family separation, and brutality. Many may say that it was a very Hitler thing to do, as of how back then many men were taken to concentration camps.

Trump is a very cruel and wicked man, heartless needless to say for all the unsatisfactory performance he has done while being in office. It is thing after thing and everything he has done has created a backlash because no one is ever on the same page as him unless it's his poorly educated redneck republican followers who are just as discriminative, rude and ignorant as he is. Our last wonderful president Obama, lasted eight years in office and did a far better job then Trump who only has been in office for less than two years. Of course, not everyone agrees, everyone has their own opinion, but the things that this president has done for many is very unjust and it has made this country fall apart. Police brutality, violence, discrimination, and dehumanization has only become far worse since his election. It is very ignorant and hypocritical of him to attack Mexican folks of being criminals, but since his election, there have been more mass shootings in schools, hospitals, etc. and all these being caused by white U.S. residents. As a leader he has failed tremendously trying to keep everyone united, safe and happy; he has created this country as a danger zone for many, especially those of a different race, ethnicity, gays and those who have different beliefs.

In conclusion, it is certain that many of these actions that president Trump has done have to lead to unfairness, and are very unjust. He has abused his power and the ability to control the country and has made it a very miserable place for anyone to live in, especially if you're not the typical white United States citizen. Trump has broken his oath and has, in fact, went against his promise, as a result, this has just made a hostile environment for many to live in. The tabloids and the media all have their reasons as to why Trump should he out of office, he has been exposed and caught redhanded many times for his wrongdoings, but still, no one seems to really take action. We shouldn't have to deal with a president as horrific as Trump, he should without a doubt be impeached.

Works Cited

Analysis | How Many Migrant Children Are Still Separated from Their Families? The Washington Post, WP Company, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/tracking-migrant-family-separation/?utm_term=.ef25879b0c18.

Bump, Philip. The Children Separated from Their Parents, by the Numbers. The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 July 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/ 2018/07/09/the-children-separated-from-their-parents-by-the-numbers/?utm_term=.cfadf35016a5.

Lach, Eric. Donald Trump Celebrates Violence Against Journalists. The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2018, www.newyorker.com/news/current/donald-trump- celebrates-violence-against-journalists.

Lind, Dara. Trump Keeps Making It Harder for People to Seek Asylum Legally. Vox.com, Vox Media, 5 June 2018, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/5/17428640/border-families-asylum-illegal.

Miere, Jason Le. Here Are All the Ways Trump Has Been Accused of Violating the Constitution. Newsweek, 23 Nov. 2017, www.newsweek.com/trump-impeachment-articles-president-constitution-720430.

Nakamura, David. Trump's Insults toward Black Reporters, Candidates Echo 'Historic Playbooks' Used against African Americans, Critics Say. The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Nov. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-insults-toward-black-reporters-candidates-echo-historic-playbooks-used-against-african-americans/2018/11/09/74653438-e440-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fabdc4bbb3c9.

Presidential Election Process. E | A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies | USAGov, www.usa.gov/election.

Staff, The Street. What Is the Emoluments Clause? The Street, The Street, 12 June 2017, www.thestreet.com/video/14174009/what-is-the-emoluments-clause.html.

Trump Admin Ran 'Pilot Program' for Zero Tolerance at Border in 2017. NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/trump-admin-ran-pilot-program-separating-migrant-families-2017-n887616.

WBUR. Trump Labels News Media 'Enemy Of The American People'. WBUR, WBUR, 31 July 2018, www.wbur.org/onpoint/2018/07/31/trump-labels-news-media-enemy-of-the-american-people. What Happens When We Don't Believe the President's Oath? Lawfare, 17 Mar. 2017, www.lawfareblog.com/what-happens-when-we-dont-believe-presidents-oath.

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Trump and his Pro-Taiwan Position

In the United States, Donald Trump assumed the office with a vision of changing the current Washington, and “Making America Great Again.” Clearly, Trump took office with a different style of leadership from Obama. His platform discussed fairer trade agreements, less external interference, and sturdier borders. In addition, he viewed globalization as a system that is hurting the American citizen and emphasizes most of his attention to politics and economic revitalization. For example, once trump took office, virtually instantly abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Paris Climate Agreement and passed legislation for a stricter travel ban. At times, it gave the impression he sought to undue his former predecessor, President Obama, accomplishments. In 2018, Trump’s adviser Anthony Scaramucci stated, “post-WWII world is no longer suitable for the current world.” Trump’s foreign policy philosophy summarizes into one statement: The United States will no longer share its power or govern the world together with other powers or international institutions. Scholars would argue the vision of a multiplex world would not form under Trump’s leadership and enter a classic power competition phase.

However, interesting enough, Trump has stated his pro-Taiwan position at the beginning of his presidency. Even before taking office, Donald Trump criticized former presidents against their actions. To him, it seems they were missteps and it sacrificed Taiwan to satisfy mainland China. During his campaign in 2016, stated, “it’s time for America to fully and firmly recommit to an island that is indeed both a beacon of democracy and critical to the U.S. defense strategy in Asia.” Additionally, in the same year, the GOP platform lauding Taiwan’s’ political and economic values. In the platform, the plan illustrated the full participation of Taiwan in international organization, even encouraging heightened weapons sales to the island, and the military commitment for the support of defending Taiwan. This reflects the idea of Taiwan card manipulation in President-Elect Trump's earlier challenge of the one-China policy.

China-U.S. interactions in the triangular structure needs to be closely analyzed. Even though United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping relationship is rather “interesting”, scholars couldn’t not neglect the potential of a step back in the structure in his future administration. Like previous mention, Donald Trump’s platform composed mostly of bilateral trade with a robust concentration of America first while being reluctant to multilateral architecture and international regime.

In a thesis, the writer interestedly puts a new perspective on trump by comparing him to Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson was one of the earliest Presidents of the U.S. “His embrace of populism and unilateralism has made scholars and policy practitioners to think of him as his predecessor back to the early 19th century, Andrew Jackson, the first populist president in American history. As a Jacksonian president, Trump's priority is to shore up U.S. domestic economy instead of paying asymmetrically for American global leadership. His intention to break with traditional diplomatic norms also inevitably altered Asian people's perception of the credibility of the United States' threat of force.” – Wen Zhouxing

The erratic Trump administration has also brought allegations for Taipei-Washington relations. Since Washington has withdrawn from the regional economic architecture of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and shown less concern about the human rights issue, the Tsai administration's three-prong strategy of allying with the United States in terms of economy, value, and security has lost two legs, highlighting the issue of sustainability of status quo across the Taiwan Strait. President Trump's priorities are trade agreements and North Korea issues.

On the Asian front, Trump commencing a trade and labeling China as the “economic enemy” then followed by the increase of usual presence in the south china sea convey a clear message and heightened the tension. Most of the high-ranking officials dealing with trade, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, support a tougher stance towards the trade deal. The Trump administration's resoluteness to push China on these two critical issues is reflected in U.S. National Security Strategy released at the end of 2017 and the 2018 National Defense Strategy, in which China is labeled as one of America's major "strategic competitors," along with Russia, on both economic and military fronts.

Underneath Trump administration, he claims that "we are emerging from a period of strategic atrophy" and "that our competitive military advantage has been eroding," rendering Washington-Beijing ties preoccupied with more fierce competition vis-à-vis strategic cooperation in the years down the road. This does not suggest that China-U.S. relations are doomed to be pessimistic as the two powers are comprehensively interdependent and without China's cooperation America can achieve limited outcomes in global affairs. What it means is that more efforts and dialogues are indispensable for making a working relationship between the two countries.

Trump's earlier challenge to and later acceptance of the one-China policy have demonstrated that the president's ignorance of foreign affairs can be improved only through a belated learning process depending on individual channels rather than institutional decision-making processes. When considering all decisions by the U.S. government and Congress concerning Taiwan after Trump's inauguration, one can feel that the strategic importance of Taiwan is reemphasized.

Since the beginning of 2017, for instance, Washington has increased its security cooperation with the island, particularly in a nontraditional sphere like antiterrorism. Besides, the arms sale of a $1.42 billion arms package—including seven proposed defense sales—to Taiwan on 29 June 2017 is the first such sale under the Trump administration. This package includes advanced missiles and torpedoes as well as technical support for an early warning radar system, which has surely overshadowed the Xi-Trump summit in April of that year and threatened to undermine PRC-U.S. relations. In the following Year, the US has approved a 330 million-dollar arm sale to Taiwan in support for the government of Taipei. The proposed deal, which has not been finalized yet, covers parts for Taiwan’s F-16, C-130, F-5, indigenous defense fighter and other aircraft systems. Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated, “Taiwan continues to be an important force for political stability, military balance and economic progress.

In addition, the U.S. Congress has pushed for new resolutions to upgrade Washington-Taipei relations, enhance the security of Taiwan, and bolster Taiwan's participation in international organizations such as the WHA, Interpol, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Some proposals may lead to a port call of the U.S. Navy to Taiwan and sending uniformed marines to the AIT in Taiwan.

Another decision that would exert an extremely serious impact on the cornerstone of U.S.-China relations is the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act (TTA), which was passed without amendment by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate on 28 February 2018, expressing "the sense of Congress that the U.S. government should encourage visits between U.S. and Taiwanese officials at all levels." President Trump's signature of the TTA indicates a breakthrough in Washington's and Taipei's unofficial relationship at the price of U.S.-China ties. This is followed by Washington's reluctance to allow American airlines to redefine Taiwan as a non-state—under Beijing's pressure—on their websites. The Global Times reported a statement from China’s official newspaper pointing “China will and should take timely countermeasure if high-level contacts began to occur. The following weekend, the Chinese embassy in Washington express its firm opposition to the law. Whether any diplomatic will be send on an informal or formal visit in the future is unclear, however the effects of any dialogue would raise the tension that already exist.

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Trump’s Policies and its Effects on the American Economy

When it comes to lowering corporate taxes, the argument is that if large corporations are able to make more profits, they will be able to expand, therefore provide more jobs, raise wages. It is said that they will put the surplus back into their business.

The problem with this clear enough. Neoclassism says it is human nature to be greedy, selfish, insatiable yet also rational (Magrass- class discussion), if you take this theory as truth then why on earth would large corporations take the surplus from their lowered taxes and suddenly start being generous with it. I think the site of that bottom line is too attractive of a site to corporate CEO's and shareholders. If it is human nature to look out for ourselves, then I bet corporations are real good to make it look they are creating more jobs, while in reality, they just purchase goods from overseas instead of American made and they pay lower wages in order to maximize production. The better idea is to lower small business owner taxes in order to allow growth on both sides of the class separation. It makes it impossible for the small business and manufacturers to compete. The bigger the larger corporations get, the harder it is to prevent the monopolization of industries.?? The large corporations are the giants that I think are big enough, why cut their taxes so they can get even bigger? Noam Chomsky writes More precisely, because of the Republican Party, which by now is becoming a real danger to decent human survival in her book who rules the world, in regards to climate change and melting icebergs, she also states that a 2016 Republican Presidential candidate publicly denies and questions climate change this is one of many reasons why democrats oppose Trump.

In class I learned Trump once said, Is it fair that some people get welfare and others have to work. That aims directly towards white middle- lower class workers. It's a heated debate many blue-collar families have over Thanksgiving dinner, while at the same time, it would probably contribute to push black and Hispanics in Clintons direction. Trumps obsessive need to destroy Obama care is another thing that turn blacks and Hispanics away from Trump. They are the denomination in large that work the jobs that do not offer private health care, Obama care may not be perfect, but it was and is something for those who simply do not have access to affordable insurance. Anti -abortion- well that screams pro white southerners and anti- black and Hispanics. Not just for the abortions, but for all the services a clinic offers its community including free std testing, sex ed and affordable birth control for those who again struggle to find healthcare are need of these services more than anyone. When cut funding to places like planned parenthood you are also cutting all these necessary options for lower class neighborhoods and communities.

I came across this quote that answers the question How will democracy, freedom, and capitalism be affected by President Trump's policies?

We should not make the mistake in thinking that democracy is an essential element of capitalistic endeavors. Once again democracy is simply a discard able convenience that can be thrown aside when it's interests' conflict with capitalists overriding objective...perpetuating wealth. (blogger/author Jon Hansen, in response to an interview by Chris Keller and Eugene Mccarraher- Jan20th, 2010)

Even though this quote was written prior to Trumps election it sums up well I think, that it might be a lost battle, that capitalism will survive no matter what. The only thing to really get interrupted by a capitalist's policies would be democracy and freedom. Clearly Trump will pass policies that support capitalist endeavors more than even I realized. Since I myself, a poor white working woman who voted for Trump would care to admit.

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President Donald Trump’s Wall

President Donald Trump has promised to build a wall along the borders. But no matter how big or wide this mighty wall he has been wanting to create is, there will be problems that follow. Many undocumented workers and Narcotics might find their way across any border barrier though the border patrol ends up missing these regardless. As this wall might just become irrelevant to those of whom become unaccounted for because of immigration they may be overstaying their visas, whom though for many years have had those who became undocumented immigrants by crossing the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Now with the physical wall being in thought, The President could possibly see a rise in his U.S. security. The border in question would have a hard time maintaining its flow if someone, or another outside force were to sabotage such a large area, he would have to have over a hundred men on this post, though giving jobs to those in need it could also cause a jeopardy crisis in having immigrants slipping through from undercover guards or oversights. The United States defines its relations with Mexico, directly affects the 12 million people who live within 100 miles of the border. In multiple and very significant ways that have not been acknowledged or understood it will also affect communities all across the United States as well as Mexico.

Many of the maps that would be showing the layout and structure of the border would cover, a border without a fence, many vehicles and or pedestrian forces as a fence, and possibly the Rio Grande. The wall comes with many dire costs, some obvious though hard to estimate, some unforeseen. The most obvious is the large financial outlay required to build it, in whatever form it eventually takes. Although during the election campaign candidate Trump claimed that the wall would cost only $12 billion, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internal report in February put the cost at $21.6 billion, but that may be a major underestimate.

The total estimate of the vary so widely sought after wall by many United States Residents would have a terrible halt because of the lack of clarity and true reason about what Trumps Promised wall will actually be a total of beyond the first small and abrupt Homeland Security specifics that it would be either made entirely of solid concrete, or a see through type of structure, physically imposing in height, what is wanted is an ideal over thirty feet in height but no less a more down to earth size of eighteen feet high, they are wanting it to be roughly sunk to about six feet into the ground to prevent tunneling and smuggling under foot. That is should they make it unscalable with even a intelligent set of climbing equipment and that it should withstand prolonged attacks with impact tools, cutting tools, and torches. But that description doesn't begin to cover questions about the details of its physical structure. Then there are the legal fees required to seize land on which to build the wall. The Trump administration can use eminent domain to acquire the land but will still have to negotiate compensation and often face lawsuits. More than 90 such lawsuits in southern Texas alone are still open from the 2008 effort to build a fence there.

Life of a typical migrant farm worker profile seventy five percent born in Mexico fifty three percent undocumented Scheduled about fourteen hours a day, six days a week, and the pay would be about eleven thousand per year with no overtime pay or benefits, heat stress, infections, poison, respiratory illness. There is little evidence to support such claims. According to a comprehensive National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine analysis, immigration does not significantly impact the overall employment levels of most nativeborn workers. The impact of immigrant labor on the wages of nativeborn workers is also low. Immigrant labor does have some negative effects on the employment and wages of nativeborn high school dropouts, however, and also on prior immigrants, because all three groups compete for lowskilled jobs and the newest immigrants are often willing to work for less than their competition.

To a very high extent however, many undocumented workers often work the unsavory and cruddy jobs those of us do not wish to work for little to nothing such as, back breaking jobs that workers are not willing to do. Areas with bigger numbers of undocumented workers include Farming, construction, manufacturing, care services, and seafood/food processing. The fishing industry for example, is unable to recruit a great number of legal work forces and with such an issue is forced to be overwhelmingly dependent on the undocumented workforce. Jobs such as deboning, and cutting fish is a smelly, exacting chore. Many of these workers rapidly develop carpal tunnel syndrome which is when the bones in your carpals and metacarpals seize up and restrict movement, which can be very painful. It can be a dangerous job, with machinery for cutting off fish heads and flaying knives everywhere frequently leading to surgical problems of amputations on the job. The risk of infections from cuts and the bloody water used to wash fish is also substantial. Over the past ten years, multiple expos?©s have revealed that both in the United States and abroad, workers in the fishing and seafood processing industries, often undocumented in other countries also, are subjected to forced labor conditions, and sometimes treated like slaves.

But opposite to Trump's claim and Moceris emotional (in a good way) belief, NAFTA has not took off a large number of U.S. jobs. It did force some U.S. workers to find other kinds of work, but the net number of jobs that was lost is (compared to other things) small, with guesses (of a number) changing/different between 116,400 and 851,700, out of 146,135,000 jobs in the U.S. (process of people making, selling, and buying things). Going against these losses is the fact that the two-sided trade helped by NAFTA has had (affecting lots of things in many ways for a long time) positive effects on the (process of people making, selling, and buying things).
The trade agreement eliminated taxes/import taxes on half of the industrial products (that are bought and sold) exported to Mexico from the United States (taxes/import taxes which before NAFTA averaged 10 percent), and eliminated other Mexican protectionist measures also, allowing, for example, the export of corn from the United States to Mexico.

NAFTA has enabled the development of combined production lines between the United States and Mexico and allows the U.S. to more cheaply import parts/pieces used for manufacturing in the United States. Without this kind of cooperation, many jobs would be lost, including jobs given by cars imported from Mexico. In 2016, for example, the United States imported 1.6 million cars from Mexico--but about 40 percent of the value of their parts/pieces was produced in the United States. Leaving NAFTA could endanger 31,000 jobs in the automotive industry in the United States alone. But now that it is threatened with the collapse or renegotiation of NAFTA, Mexico has already begun actively exploring new trade partnerships with Europe and China.

A poisoned U.S.-Mexican relationship could also prevent the renegotiation of water sharing agreements that are very important to (the health of the Earth/the surrounding conditions) as well as to water and food security, and to farming. For example, the 1970 Edge/border Agreement (between countries) between the United States and Mexico specifies that (people in charge of something) from both the U.S. and Mexico must agree if either side wants to build any structure that could affect the flow of the Rio Grande or its flood waters, water that is very important to farm animals and agriculture along the border. The fence was built (even though there is the existence of) Mexico's objections to it, and because its steel slats become clogged with (many broken pieces of something destroyed) during the rainy season, it has caused floods affecting cities and (before that/before now) protected areas on both sides of the border, resulting in millions of dollars in damages. It wasn't just Mexico that didn't want that fence. U.S. farmers and businessmen along the Texas border in the Rio Grande valley argued/against it, too, since it blocks their access to the river water and also increases the extreme harshness of floods. Now the wall is to be brought to flood plain areas in Texas where water issues exactly like these had prevented the construction of the fence before.

Meanwhile, manufacturing, farming, liquid-related (related to underground rock breaking), energy production, and communities on both sides of the border depend on fair and effective water sharing from the Rio Grande and the Colorado River, with both sides able to be hurt by water scarcities. Over the at least 20 years there have been many challenges to the combined agreements controlling/ruling water usage, and both Mexico and the U.S. have at times thought about/believed themselves the angry (about mistreatment) parties. But in general, U.S.-Mexico cooperation over both the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers has been (excellent/very unusual) by international standards and has been hugely helpful to both partners to the different agreements between countries. That kind of cooperation is now at risk.

U.S. State Department could persuade Mexico to release some water, even as Mexican farmers were also facing immense water shortages and devastation. U.S. diplomacy did work, no doubt helped by the rain that replenished Mexico's tributaries of the Rio Grande. Without the rain, Mexico would not have been able to pay back its accumulated water debt. But without collaborative U.S. Mexico diplomacy and an atmosphere of a closer than ever U.S. Mexico cooperation, Mexico still could have failed to deliver the water despite the rain. That positive spirit of cooperation also produced one of the world's most enlightened.

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Good Luck Trump and Friends

In light of the Cohen plea deal and the Manafort conviction, President Trump is in a precarious spot. Or is he? Better yet, is Trump closer to being impeached or are we just grasping at straws?

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, and Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, have made headlines across the nation lately. On August 21, Cohen pleaded guilty on eight felony charges, including tax fraud and bank fraud, and was charged on violating election laws by engineering hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump years back.

Almost at the same moment, Manafort was convicted on eight counts and faces a maximum of 80 years in prison for five charges of tax fraud, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud.

This is a big deal. But what will it mean? To start, this Cohen-Manafort investigation is being run on two tracks: a political and legal track. The latter is wrapping up. The political one, however, just keeps ramping up. Perhaps the president's impeachment depends on the Cohen plea deal and the Manafort investigation, along with special counsel, Robert Mueller's Russia investigation report, which is expected to release later on this year.

Right now, only Congress can decide which steps to take. But together, the Cohen plea deal, Manafort's conviction and Mueller's investigation could point to the president's political demise.

Trump as a sitting president cannot be indicted, even though there is continuous debate about that. In order to bump Trump from office, the only path to take is impeachment. In the future, near or far, Congress could initiate impeachment procedures, that is if Democrats outnumber Republicans this year (which is very likely).

A generic ballot from FiveThirtyEight, a website that focuses on political opinion analysis, politics and economics, shows that as of September 2, 2018, 48.8 percent of registered voters would support Democrats in a congressional election. For Republicans, 39.4 percent would support.

In May of this year, The Economist revealed its 2018 election model. It gave Democrats a 65 percent chance of retaking House majority, pegging the party at 222 seats. It seems that the Democrats' uphill House climb isn't as steep as everyone thought.Though these cases are closely related to Trump, there are still no charges against him yet.

As this investigation continues to unfold, the truth is just waiting to hit newspaper headlines for the public in big, black, and bold letters, reading, Supreme Court finds Trump guilty of collusion. It's an administration mired in political scandal after political scandal, so there is no doubt that a negative conclusion is on the horizon.

The suspicious and unscrupulous behavior in the White House should not be tolerated. As a constituent of this nation, I would like to be represented by an administration who focuses on the well-being of the people. A well-rounded president who respects all. After Trump, I hope for a competent and sophisticated successor.

The future is hopeful for an impeachment. But with so many moving parts in this exhausting investigation, all we can do is wait and see.

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Obamacare Vs. Trumpcare

Should Americans have to pay for health insurance? If you are a young adult in today's day and age the first thought that would come to mind would be to say yes. By saying yes you are standing for the Affordable Care Act aka, Obamacare; which includes a requirement called the individual mandate. This is the mandatory health insurance of any and everyone who can afford to pay for it, thus creating money for the ones who can not.

By saying no, you are agreeing that healthcare should be individual and that everyone should be held accountable for their own health and health care methods. These two concepts have been widely controversial for the past couple of years, with people disputing which is more unconstitutional than the other. The fact of the matter is that while the ACA may be socially and morally correct to most, it is much more unconstitutional, to say the least. THE AHCA IS SOMETHING THAT CAN CORRECT THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL NATURE OF THE ACA AND CAN HELP BRING JUSTICE, ACTION, AND CHANGE TO TODAY'S MEDICAL CRISIS. When the American people think of their own laws and rights, one of the biggest ones is our freedom of choice. If it wasn't for this crucial concept in our society, America as a whole would not be the same, so why is it mandatory to pay for anything, let alone something as expensive as health insurance?

Health insurance has always been expensive but because of the requirements in which the ACA demands, insurance is now higher than ever. For the people who decide to opt-out, a penalty fee is given in order to force people to consider getting insurance and to provide insurance coverage for the ones who can not afford it. This is unconstitutional as people are getting a penalty for making more than what is considered enough in the eyes of the law. It also forces people to provide care for people they are not legally obligated to so, in the eyes of the law, this should be deemed wrong while in the eyes of society it can be deemed ethical. This penalty threat in turn ended up backfiring as many people decided to pay the fee instead of getting the actual insurance itself (Potter). 4 million people did this to escape the heavier prices that many insurance companies expect today (Amadeo). This shows that the American people do not see this as something that is just and should be paid for and would rather go without insurance. Going without insurance is a risk they understand as their own and are held responsible for any payments they may need to make in order to get health care. Listening to our people should be the number one concern and many of them have shown that paying for others insurance is not something they want to be a part of. The law causes many issues, especially for the middle class. The prices alone are enough to heavily affect the lives and spending habits of many American citizens. It is estimated that 3-5 million people lost their health insurance due to it not complying to the Obamacare requirements (Amadeo). This left 3-5 million people lost and on a search to find another provider.

This was another reason many people decided to pay the extra fee instead of going through the difficult process to find another insurance company which could, in turn, end up being much more expensive to fit all of the requirements and services that needed to be added to fit the new Obamacare standard. To fund this new plan, the taxes paid for by higher income families, middle-class families, and the health industry rose and created more of a stretch for cash for the middle-class families. Since they make up much of American citizens the economy is struggling to keep up. It also created a rise in health care prices short term due to all of the new parts to the coverage and the increased usage of these services. The ACA has the ability to ruin the economy and can be the difference between adding millions of more dollars to our debt or finally demanding individual responsibility. This is what the AHCA is about as it teaches people to provide for themselves rather than rely on a country that is already trillions of dollars in debt. There are many concerns regarding the AHCA and what it truly entails. Many fear they will lose their health care or will not qualify to receive it. While this is an understandable fear for many, it is not exactly reasonable. AHCA is a law that is very similar to ACA. It still works to provide people with quality health care and insurance but simply thinks that not everyone needs to participate.

AHCA still uses many of the positive provisions that were provided through Obamacare, such as the non-discrimination of people with pre-existing conditions applying for insurance (Athar). This is something that was a big concern for many as they did not want to be turned away from insurance companies. The fear for many that are against AHCA is the quantity of health care providers that are available to help more people, what they are not looking at however is the quality of healthcare and how it is diminishing under Obamacare (Sataline). The quality of healthcare is slowly dwindling under the ACA, this is because there is a shortage of doctors willing to work under such conditions. It is estimated that the nation could be facing a shortage of up to 150,000 doctors in the upcoming 15 years, which will, in turn, cause a higher demand for doctors and prices will, again, start to rise. There is also a fear that because there will be such a shortage, that many patients will be turned away to focus on the more serious cases presented (Cusack).

This is a problem as it can actually mean that fewer people are being provided with adequate health care and more people will have to find alternative methods of care. Since more people have access to health insurance using the ACA, the misuse of it will also increase creating crowding in ER's, hospitals, and clinics which will further the diminishing quality of healthcare under Obamacare. In conclusion, the ACA provides many with health care and insurance that they may not have been able to receive before. However, this is at the expense of the millions of middle and higher income families and individuals who must pay extra to support the ones who can not support themselves. This causes confusion within the different groups about who should pay what and how much. The ACA has been shown to be unconstitutional due to its lack of regard for the people's freedom of choice, the strain it puts on huge groups in society, and lack of effectiveness it is having for most Americans.

Their efforts to get people to involve themselves in obtaining health insurance have been unsuccessful with many people finding ways around the bigger payments that must be made to the insurance companies. It is also hard on the companies as they are being forced to create plans that suit the Obamacare requirements and many are shutting things down completely. While this plan works in theory, in real life many people are not so care-free with their money and work hard to obtain it in order to pay for the things that they want or need. Regulating what we pay for is going against our basic rights and our freedom of choice and because of that, it is unconstitutional in nature.

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The Faith to Persevere: a Theme of Night

Contents

Introduction
Internal Conflict
Personifications
Symbolism
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

How much faith and confidence can we place in the scripture of Hebrews 11:1, now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (BibleGateway)? How much faith is necessary for practically blind confidence and optimism for the future? In Wiesel's book Night, unwavering faith is the final bulwark against submission to the Nazi's inhumanity and murderous tendencies. Mr. Wiesel perseveres through the darkest of times when the future may have seemed bleak and his life teetering at the mercy of death. He perseveres due to his seemingly unshakable Jewish faith, despite moments of doubt. Elie Wiesel emotionally conveys the unbreakable bond of faith in face of numerous, insurmountable adversities in his novel, Night, through the use of intense internal conflict, poignant personifications, and deep, emotional symbolism.

Internal Conflict

Wiesel utilizes the concept of intense internal conflict between himself and his faith to vividly express the theme. While being in a concentration camp, Wiesel is questioning his once solid faith in God. He questions his faith by emotionally asking many impossible questions about God, he says, Why, but why would I bless Him?... He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves?... Because he kept six crematoria working day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days? (Wiesel 67). Wiesel spends so much of his short life abiding by his Jewish faith hoping that God would protect him, but God now places him in Hell on Earth. Naturally, it is human to question their protectors when they let them down. This terrible nightmare possesses the ability to shake the faith of any person, religious or not. This scene also highlights the major transition undergone by Mr. Wiesel with regard to his religiousness. Before he was in the iron grasps of the Nazis, he was devoutly religious. Wiesel, at the tender age of thirteen, was already reading the Talmud nightly, weeps while praying and compares it to living and breathing. Also, Wiesel says how emotional he gets to the historical events of the destruction of the Temple and the suffering of his Jewish forefathers.

In addition, he wants to study Kabbalah, a concept that only Jews at the age of thirty can explore and study. It is not until he arrives at Birkenau he starts feeling this terrible loneliness; this abandonment by God. Despite these feelings, he stills prays. When being inspected by an SS Officer he so eloquently calls the Angel of Death, he says prayers of thankfulness when the officer notices nothing glaring at him. This scene, while showing thankfulness of God's grace, wholeheartedly supports the theme of perseverance through faith. The theme is demonstrated by these actions through the fact that God gave him the strength to persevere, to not have anything glaring about him. Due to prolongment of his life, Wiesel thanks Him for practically saving his life. That scene shows that despite the tests of faith portrayed in this story, he never lost faith and that was essential to his survival. His survival is secured by faith due to referencing John 3:16, that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life, (BibleGateway). As Wiesel believes in God, he is scripture-wise endowed with strength and life and this carries on in the physical world helping him survive. Though that Wiesel's intense, emotional internal conflict present in the story it is supplemented by the use of piercing and impassioned personifications.

Personifications

Through Wiesel's use of poignant personification, it exemplifies how the virtues of fidelity and spirituality are shaken to their very core. On the way to Auschwitz, Wiesel has a moment of self-reflection. He personifies the aspects of fire and silence, ghastly moments that make an impact on his relatively short life. He concludes that mental thought with the personification, Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever...Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul. (Wiesel 34). Wiesel is personifying the killers of his essence and highlights the suffering that he has endured. This heart-wrenching personification helps prove the thesis because it illuminates that despite the flames consuming his life and faith, he still gives his body and soul to his God. That allegiance towards Him allows him to persevere and give him a reason to live. Wiesel must remember the killers of his faith and to do that he must live. He must tell others his story because those who do not learn about it are destined to repeat it. Wiesel's memories are preventing another Holocaust; another genocide by religion. His faith is one of the few things keeping him alive.

In addition, in this scene, he keeps repeating the dramatic anaphora, never shall I forget (Wiesel 34). This shows that Wiesel still cares about his God, especially for a teenager in times of overwhelming circumstances. This shows that he still cares about his God because he specifically mentions how the circumstances murdered his God, who was a part of his soul. He had the chance to mention anyone in that situation, his family, his people, but he chooses his God. That meaningful bond to the young Wiesel is evident and in this instance, he seems even more passionate and even shares bitter resentment to the killers that killed his God and effectively killing himself in the inside. In addition to personification, the final piece of this grand literary trio is symbolism for it adds a heightened emotional sense to this sorrowful story.

Symbolism

The use of deep, emotional symbolism by Wiesel develops the theme in a very dramatic way during one of the lowest points of his captivity. During Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it is customary to fast. On the other hand, due to the already evident food deprivation and the continuing loss of faith, he turns his back on his religion. He says with the feelings of abandonment worsened by the suffering experience he proclaims, no longer any reason for me to fast...I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, or protest against Him. (Wiesel 69). While Wiesel is practically renouncing God. The ever so important symbol in this scene is defiance defiance of God and defiance of self. He deliberately goes against the teachings of God by eating.

He also goes against himself by going against a religion that has dominated his life. This relates to the theme of perseverance by faith. While defiance is an important element in this part of the book, he aims that defiance towards God. Like the personifications, he could decide to aim his sorrow, his anger, his confusion towards anyone or anything. In this instance, he chooses God. The spiritual fuel for his perseverance to live is his faith, his fidelity towards the resentment yet belief of his God. The literal fuel in this instance is that by defying God, he breaks fasting fueling his body with a meager meal. That meager meal allowed him the energy to survive, to persevere through the Nazi's savagery. Wiesel's faith, while uncertain, protects him physically, spiritually, and emotionally from something no human should have to endure.

Conclusion

It takes a considerable amount of faith to have blind optimism in the future. It also takes a substantial amount of faith to persevere with that faith. Through all of the difficulties and misfortunes on his road, his faith, even though flickering, keeps him moving. Vivid, deep internal conflict enables the reader to understand the perseverance factor of faith since that it empowers him with the necessary items to survive. The pithy and stark personifications come to aid when it empowers Wiesel to continue fighting and never to give up on himself and his family. Finally, symbolism, it illustrates the fidelity that fuels his desire to live, only to resent those who place him in constant danger. Faith, as former President Jimmy Carter says, arises in almost every area of human existence (Faith). That is so significant because of how true it is, especially in the context of perseverance and conviction. In conclusion, the only question that is left to ask; how can faith lead us through all of the senselessness of modern society and how much trust should be in it?

Works Cited

Bible Gateway. Acts 3:9-10 NIV Bible Gateway, Bible Gateway Blog, www.biblegateway.com/passage/? earch=Hebrews+11:1&version=NIV.

Faith. Simon & Schuster, Scribner, www.simonandschuster.com/books/Faith/Jimmy-Carter/9781501184413.

Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. Hill and Wang, 2006.

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The Mysterious Nature of Faith

In our daily life, we can hear people say that they have faith in something. But what on earth is faith? Generally, people may consider faith as religious beliefs. However, does having faith just mean believing in god? Or perhaps it has deeper implication? Do people voluntarily have faith or not? Throughout the history, many scholars and philosophers have tried to define the exact meaning of faith. Based on their solid foundation, I argue that faith is a kind of volitional belief, emotion of admiration and feeling of trust. Having faith means people use their volition to believe in and admire evidence that they think is true. On the other hand, it is about trusting our senses, emotions and perceptions so that we can continue to believe in other things in the world.

Before getting straight to my point, let's start with the very beginning. Does having faith merely mean believing in God? In 1200s, a philosopher named Aquinas explained the existence of God in a rational way. He raised five ways, arguments from change, causation, contingency, degrees of excellence, and harmony, to demonstrate his statement. Let's go deeper into some of the ways he claimed. At first, in the argument from causation, Aquinas said that nothing can cause itself. There is no infinite causal chain in the universe. In this condition, there must have a first cause because there will be no intermediate causes or ultimate effect without the first cause. And there is necessarily a first cause that is called God. On the other hand, the argument from harmony, or design, is more controversial.

According to Aquinas, nature is not intelligent but seems to behave in regular and goal-oriented ways. Everything is governed harmoniously. Why? He explained that it is because nature must be guided by something with lots of intelligence and that intelligent leader is God. Opponents drastically refuted that the universe or nature forms randomly. There is also a multi-universe theory that there thousands of universe and our universe is only one of them. Anyway, we can't really judge the authenticity of Aquinas's arguments, but they can really make us ponder what faith is exactly. For a long time, people equated faith with religious beliefs. From his point of view, there are rational proofs of existence of God. It's really odd that by the time we believe some sound arguments and conclusions we have faith. Thus, it looks like faith is something other than belief in God.

If faith doesn't mean belief in God, what can it be? Maybe faith is simply the same as belief? But what is belief? Universally, philosophers consider that belief has some special traits. First, belief is dispositional. It is similar to our unconscious behavior. For instance, we have the belief that water can quench people's thirst. As we feel thirsty, we are disposed to look for water. Second, belief is involuntary. We spontaneously form the beliefs that we viewed as right and trustworthy in our minds. We cannot choose to believe things that are ridiculous to us. For example, in a rainy day, I cannot brainwash myself to form the belief that today is a sunny day. I can say those words but my behavior reveals that I do not really believe this. My behavior that I bring my umbrella is the evidence that I actually believe it is raining. Last but not least, belief is truth-tracking. It is easy to understand because people are all truth-tracking mechanisms. We always want to seek for the truth and get things right. We use our perception and see from others to form our own beliefs.

Our beliefs are likely to be wrong but we subjectively consider them as true. So how is faith related to belief? In the 4th century, Augustine came up with an argument that belief is a volitional content. Volitional means in your power. You may question that isn't belief involuntary? Maybe belief in his words is similar to so-called faith. Then, it seems that belief and faith are not exactly the same. In other words, faith may be a special kind of belief. Think it that way: having faith is more similar to believing in rather than believing. Believing in something means people choose to believe according to their will, while believing is involuntary. For example, when people believe in God, they not only believe the existence of God, they also pray and have special rituals to show their piety. Therefore, faith is more appropriate to be defined as believing in.

Nevertheless, does believing in sound like trust? Trust may be relevant to faith as well. In 2006, Linda Zagzebski from University of Oklahoma put forward that self-trust is necessary for forming our conscientious beliefs. She stated that we need to trust our emotions. The importance of emotion is that it evaluates the situation. For example, fear tells us that something is dangerous and harmful to us. She explained faith by emphasizing on the emotion of admiration. When we admire someone, we actually consider that something about them is worthy of imitation and is a better version of ourselves. Then, we begin to compare which version of ourselves is better, the current one or the admirable one.

On the one hand, we may feel that the admirable version is indeed a better version, which leads to convert. One the other hand, we think that there is something in our current version that is admirable. Then, we don't convert. So the main point of Zagzebski is that faith is not just about forming right beliefs, but it relates to our emotional lives. It is about trusting ourselves and about how we think and feel. We always say that we should have faith in love. Now, we have the understanding that we are not only faithful to the person we love but also faithful to a certain version of ourselves. The purpose of having a relationship with others is not just to find a person you can accompany, but to become a better version of ourselves.

It seems that we have reached an agreement that faith have something in common with belief and trust. However, the discussion about nature of faith doesn't come to an end. In early to mid-20th Century, Sartre, a philosopher who advocated for existentialism, came up with a notion called bad faith. According to Sartre, we always have faith in something. We need faith to sustain our identity. What matters is that faith can be good faith or bad faith. What is bad faith? First, he stated that there are two aspects of human condition, facticity and transcendence. Facticity is a set of facts that cannot be altered. It is fixed. Transcendence is something that goes beyond the given. It is a function of consciousness. Consciousness always exceeds the facticity of current situation. In Sartre's words, consciousness negates the present and brings negation or nothingness.

Take a bottle for example; we can only see one side of the bottle at any position. However, we recognize it is a bottle of water because we use our consciousness to look things as if they had more sides. Our consciousness is always negating the given circumstances. For bad faith, it is the denial of some aspects of one human condition. When people deny their transcendence, they always deny their freedom and potentiality. They are constrained by their current situation.

For example, some students always say that they do something because their parents let them do. This is a kind of bad faith because they deny the transcendence. They have the freedom to do something else but they don't. When people deny their facticity, they overestimate their freedom. It is a delusional thinking. In his book Being and Nothingness, he says that Bad faith does not hold the norms and criteria of truth as they are accepted by the critical thought of good faith. Bad faith and good faith are both certain ways of interpreting evidence. People with bad faith are aware of the evidence but refuse to pay attention to it. They only stick to their own evidence and ignore any counter-arguments. In contrast, good faith is a kind of critical thinking. People who believe something in good faith continuously open to new evidence in the basis of their evidence. They do not have certainties in their current beliefs and leave room for doubt.

Based on predecessor's theory, it is not difficult to understand my argument of the nature of faith. Faith is a kind of voluntary belief and admiration in something. To have faith, a person needs to trust his perception, memory and emotion; otherwise, he can doubt his faith. Now we can see faith in a deeper level. Having faith not only means being faithful to someone or something, but also means being faithful to certain version of ourselves. In order to become a better version of ourselves, we should always embrace new evidence and leave room from doubt. We shouldn't constrain ourselves in the current situation and believe our existing beliefs with certainties but go beyond what is. That is the purpose of having faith.

As for Coates' memoir, many people may think he had a bad faith. In the book, Coates considered black people as victims forced by U.S history. According to him, the social status of the black is fixed. It seems that it is a kind of bad faith because he understood his self-identity strictly in terms of his race, which denied his transcendence. But that is not true. He did write the book to encourage his son and people who read his book to struggle against the injustice in the country. He experienced the death of his colleague Prince Jones who was killed by a rampant policeman. Prince Jones was such a good Christian, scion of a striving class, in his words, but still died from shooting. For his death, Coates felt extremely irritated and hopeless.

In his age, he was impossible to do radical revolts to overturn the discrimination in American culture. Thus, his book is a commitment to the future and a reminder to later generations. Furthermore, in the book, he shows strong sense of hatred towards the Dreamers. Dreamers fully believed the American Dream. However, they pursue their dream by freely plundering the bodies of human and earth. The policy of Dreamers created the tragedies in Chicago, Baltimore, and so on. It is these Dreamers who lack authentic self-understandings, trampled over black people and endangered the planet. Perhaps, this is a kind of bad faith. Coates did not blindly believe this kind of American Dream. For him, the real American Dream is that we all sober up, project our real self-identity and realize who we are exactly. His good faith is perfectly embodied in his dream.

Work Cited

Jean-Paul Sartre, Bad Faith, Being and Nothingness, Philosophical Library, in English, 1956. Print
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me, New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015. print

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A Mankind and Nature

There is no doubt that nature has given back to mankind. Everything individuals have anticipated that would continue was given by the ordinary world around us: food, water, medicine, materials for shelter, ect. Individuals, on the other hand, have caused issues that will keep on influencing the nature around us, for example, contamination through the improvement and advancement of technology. So, the real question is do we need nature or does nature need us, because as it seems that nature is a gift that keeps on giving but the individual can be selfish by not realizing the long term effects we conflict upon nature.

Fresh water is a free source that provides the individual with multiple things, such as the ability to travel across the world by boat, go for a swim on a hot summer day, or simply to drink when thirsty. There's thousands of miles of water on Earth, but according to studies In developing countries, 70 percent of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters, polluting the usable water supply (Girard). Waste is constantly ending up in the oceans, rivers, and lakes all over the world from the individuals not properly disposing of their trash where it's supposed to be put. Man is benefitted in thousands of ways, but none think of the harm they are doing to nature when they decide to leave their doritos bag on the sand while the waves wash it up or the water bottles they throw in the trash instead of the recycling bin to be reused. In the novel, Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless

Nature has also provided us the ability to access a multitude of life-saving medications, being the ultimate chemist. Nearly half of all human pharmaceuticals now in use were originally derived from natural sources and it states that Some 50 years later, scientists identified anticancer compounds in the rosy periwinkle, which pharmaceutical heavyweight Eli Lilly subsequently produced for the treatment of leukemia and Hodgkins disease (Wong). Nature has provided mankind with the power to heal and provide medication to those in need, but once again humans continue to destroy the environment by cutting down the trees and plants that were beneficial to life and science to be able to build new buildings and neighborhoods. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization (Worland). Studies show that humans don't realize the amount of trees they are cutting down each year. Obviously humans cut down these trees for more reasons but by replacing these sources with new architecture, it enables the trees and plants to be able to regrow in that spot. Therefore, plants that provide humans with medication such as periwinkle or aspirin, won't be able to flourish and have the ability to produce more of.

Nature is beneficial to the individual not only physically through the resources it provides, but it is also a reliever of stress and allows for a breath of fresh air. It is proven that patients in hospitals with access to view natural scenery show increased recovery rates, had better evaluations from nurses, required fewer pain killers, and had less complications after surgeries compared to those who viewed urban scenes. It is also proven that nature can clear your head by helping restore harmony to the brain as a whole. Nature is like a psychologist that provides free therapy, but instead of going outside to manage stress, most people choose to go straight to their electronics. A study found that more than half of adults reported spending five hours or less in nature each week. Parents of children 8 to 12 years old said that their children spend three times as many hours with computers and televisions each week as they do playing outside.

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Transcendentalism in the Novel into the Wild

Transcendentalism, defined as the era that transcends the limits of intellect, reason, and society; which allows emotions and soul to aid in creating a relationship with the universe or nature to achieve perfection. This era took place in the 1800s, which was created from the start of controversial debates between New Light theologians and the Old Light opponents. The New Light members believed religion should focus on the people's personal experience, unlike the Old Light members who valued to have reason in their religious approach. Jon Krakauer, in Into the Wild, utilizes the ideas of Emerson and Thoreau, two significant writers of the transcendentalist period, to create a sense of Transcendentalism. In Thoreau's book, Walden, Thoreau went to live out in the wilderness alone with nothing for two years; during his experimentation at Walden Pond, he wrote about the simplicity, unity of nature, the faith of humanity, and individualism. Whereas Emerson believed that a person's potential was limitless, and people should have a free spirit rather than conforming to society's way of living. These idealistic philosophers wished for others to look at nature, at themselves, and art to find the answers to life's hardest questions. Based on the ideas of these two writers, it is believed that Chris McCandless, the main character in Into the Wild, fits the mold of a truly worthy transcendentalist. The main characteristics of Chris McCandless prove he was indeed a transcendentalist because he followed the path of transcendentalism; supporting the ideas of rejection of socialization in favor of isolation by nature, the insignificance of materialistic wealth, and the importance of self-reliance for living in this world.

In the novel Into the Wild, it is apparent that Chris McCandless is dispassionate towards society and socializing. McCandless only socializes and sends letters to individuals that help him throughout his journey. After McCandless had finished college, he left his parents and Atlanta and he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience (Krakauer 23). McCandless makes it evident that he wants nothing to do with his parents or anyone in general and planned to go to Alaska to live a new life for himself. He intended to go into the woods and isolate himself from society, so he can live the new life that he had wanted since he left Atlanta. Even though McCandless met people that helped him throughout his journey, he never intended to stay with them when they had asked him to. It is unclear why his motives led him to carry out these actions, but many of them leave the reader thinking that he may be a transcendentalist.

In the novel, the author states He had not seen or talked to another soul in thirty-six days. For that entire period, he subsisted on nothing but five pounds of rice and what marine life he could pull from the sea (Krakauer 36). This quote from the novel explains that McCandless never intended to socialize with anybody, preferred to be left alone with no help, and wanted to rely on certain foods. McCandless has many characteristics that a transcendentalist would have which would leave many individuals to believe whether Chris McCandless was attempting to practice transcendentalism. Just like the transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau once isolated himself from society, it seems like Chris McCandless was trying to follow into his footsteps by attempting to live in the wilderness.

The purpose of Thoreau's isolationism from society by going to the woods of Walden Pond for two years was to gain a better understanding of what life has to offer and to live a purposeful life. Because Thoreau is a transcendentalist and believes in self-reliance, his actions also set an example of self-reliance by relying on himself to live rather than relying on others. Similarly, McCandless's actions are like Thoreau's in ways that transcendentalism may play a role. McCandless isolates himself from society including his own parents, plans on going to the woods in Alaska to live a new life, and only eats food from nature such as berries and fish. These similarities lead many people to be convinced that McCandless could have possibly been a transcendentalist.
As the reader progresses through the story, it becomes more apparent that Chris McCandless is worthy of being called a transcendentalist when he showed that he was not a materialistic person and preferred to live simply. For instance, During his senior year at Emory, Chris lived off campus in his bare, spartan room furnished with milk crates and a mattress on the floor. Few of his friends ever saw him outside of classes (Krakauer 124). This quote proves that he does not require excessive materials to live out his life, and he should not make things to be more complex with items; he only needed the necessities for his daily life. This can be tied to Thoreau's Where I Lived and What I Lived For, this essay shares similar ideas to Chris McCandless; they both favor keeping their life simple and not having an obsession with materials as society does. Thoreau writes in Where I Lived and What I Lived For, Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail, he emphasizes to keeping it simple. (Thoreau)

An example of this mindset in Into the Wild is when Chris graduated from high school, his parents bought a brand new vehicle as a congratulations gift; they even offered to pay for law school if there was not enough money in his college fund. However, Chris did not approve of this and denied the gift given to him. Chris believed he had the perfect car, a car that has traveled from Miami to Alaska and has not given him any problems; he did not see why he needed another one, and he stated this about a hundred times to his parents. He complained in a letter to his sister, Carine, ...they ignore what I say and think I'd actually accept a new car from them! I'm going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them in the future because they will think they have bought my respect (Krakauer 17). This just goes to show that Chris McCandless truly fits into the transcendentalist ideals and mindset; his respect would not be bought with material objects, it would be earned through their listening and letting him grow as an individual.

Furthermore, there is an additional purpose as to why Chris McCandless decided to live in the wild rather than live comfortably in a house; he wished to prove to himself that man can survive without objects that society glorifies, and McCandless thought the way to do this was to start fresh. He went through such lengths to make this happen, he cut off any connections with his family, donated all of his money, and even changed his name to Alex Supertramp; his old life was tossed away. When it came down to making these choices, they were irrefutable. To the readers, his actions would be significant to be the inspiration for all to follow, and for others, to learn from his mistakes. The fact that he wanted to get closer to nature, start new and considering the lengths he took to get there is proof the man is a transcendentalist.

In Into the Wild, Chris McCandless strived in extremes to be a self-reliant transcendentalist in relations to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Throughout the course of Jon Krakauer's book, Krakauer thoroughly describes to the audience about McCandless' life in college, before his attempt to live in the American wilderness. As stated, . . . Chris lived off campus in a monkish room...And he didn't have a phone, so Walt and Billie [Chris's parents] had no way in calling him. (Krakauer 22). The novel itself portrays how rootless Chris desired to live. Following that, he also refused in accepting a car which his parents attempted to give him and decided to willingly donate his entire twenty-four thousand dollar college fund towards the OXFAM America charity; money, including any sort of materialistic belongings, clearly obtained no sentimental connection towards Chris.

In Emerson's Self-Reliance, McCandless seemingly fits the description as Emerson wrote, Is it so bad then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus. . . To be great is to be misunderstood. . . (Emerson 392). In this essay, Emerson discusses in arguments about his beliefs towards society to which contains an adverse effect on one's own personal perspective and growths. Adequately, through his writings, objectifies the freedom in unveiling one's spirituality and independence. After studying through Chris McCandless' life in Into the Wild, we are given the opportunity to personally understand that he never once allowed his life to stand in the way of something he wished to accomplish. The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances. (Krakauer 58). In comparison to a true transcendentalist, Chris allowed his individuality to course through his dreams and continued his refusal towards conforming in our prosaic society.

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Psy into the Wild

Into The Wild, traditionally a book written by Jon Krakauer, was produced into a movie based on a true story and directed by Sean Penn. Fresh out of college, pressured to move on to law school by his parents, protagonist Christopher McCandless, later re-names himself Alexander Supertramp and ventures out on his own with few supplies having burned his money and social security card. A true existentialist, he leaves behind all superficial constructs of society in an effort to move into the wild of Alaska where he sees nature as the only thing stripped of lies and fallacies. He shows great interests in following the paths/ideologies of his literary heroes, Thoreau, London, and Tolstoy.

Once Chris makes it to Alaska the conditions are tough and the food is scarce in the winter. In a mistake of eating poisonous seeds, Chris McCandless dies.The importance of Chris' age is substantial in understanding the theories behind his decisions and what makes his story so relatable to young adults. He was a high achieving student graduating from a well-established college, born into a middle-class family, but still was not happy and clearly suffered from internal conflict. Although viewers do not see Chris' childhood or adolescence on the screen there is still a lot to infer and pick up on. In one theory, his parents could be seen as the reason he wants to escape from convention.

From an objective viewpoint, Chris has a low social desirability despite being down to earth and seemingly genuine. This viewpoint is shared with his parents and shown through disappointment and confusion directed by facial expressions and tone of voice. For example, when his parents gifted him with a new car for graduation he replies, Why would I want a new car. Are you worried what the neighbors might think? These things, things, things. I just don't want anything. Most kids would be thankful, but not Chris, he was fed up with the superficial society he was living in.

His parents were always concerned with money and financial stability rather than the more simple things he was interested in like happiness and simplicity. However, the stage of life his parents are in compared with his own can support their different ideologies but I don't think either party acknowledged the others. In Erikson's Theory of Development, assuming Chris' parents are between the ages of forty-five and sixty-five their psychosocial crisis would be generativity versus stagnation. They are basically focused on finishing raising their kids and doing well in their job, this could very well be why they are worried about finances and encouraging Chris to go to law school so that in the end he would be able to support them.

On the contrary, Chris' psychosocial crisis is intimacy versus isolation. In brief, this is the period of time where people tend to look for stable relationships and if they fail feelings of loneliness and isolation can occur. Because Chris has an existential view on life, he is trying to avoid intimate relationships even though it seems to go against his nature. For example, the hippie couple he befriends, Bob and Jan Burres, the older man who saw Chris as a son, Ron Franz, and close friend and work partner, Wayne Westerberg. Figuratively, this makes for a good story because by avoiding intimate relationships he very literally died in isolation. However, it was very well possible when Chris was finished with his adventure in Alaska he would have found his way back to some of these people and resolved some of his intimacy vs isolation conflict. Proof for this is in the postcards he continuously sent Wayne on his trip and his promise to Ron that when he would return he would consider getting adopted by him.

The person Chris confided in and got along with most was his sister, possibly because they were closest in age and in the same intimacy versus isolation stage. His sister breaks out in a short monologue saying, It was inevitable that Chris would break away and then when he did he would do it with characteristic immoderation. It's kind of ironic for someone looking to live their most simple life, breaking down what their essentials are, would have to go to the extremes by donating all their savings and break off all ties with friends and family. She continues, I understood what he was doing. That he had spent four years fulfilling the absurd and tedious duty of graduating college, and now he was emancipated from that world of abstraction, false security, parents and material excess, the things that cut Chris off from the truth of his existence.

His parents, schooling, and economic status all support the external attribution theory. Chris is seen to believe that it is these external factors stopping him from achievement rather than his internal characteristics or flaws. This could very possibly be true, however, the audience will never truly know his final thoughts because he died alone and isolated.Most of the evaluation of Chris' psychology will be cognitive, his internal mind struggle, and social-emotional development, his belief that relationships were stopping him from discovering what is essential. Although his journey took a physical toll on himself it was what he neglected the most and indubitably led to his demise. We see this through the visual representation of the leather belt Ron Franz gives to Chris. As his journey continues he loses weight and had to go to the tighter notch and when he reaches Alaska he starts having to puncture his own holes, showing his physical deterioration.

Chris McCandless is a good subject to evaluate intimacy versus isolation in Erikson's Theory of Development because of his quite literal death and physical deterioration in an isolated place. His parent's relationship was the starter of the idea of what he did not want to be and want to escape. The audience can not only see how he encompasses the external attribution theory but how he neglects attribution of any of his internal conflicts to his own characteristics.

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Be Courageous and Strong in the Faith

Intro and Quote:

Many individuals moved to the New World with the incentive of religious freedom. Over the years, regardless of the denomination, religious tolerance has been a fairly well-fulfilled objective. Most people in the American colonies could practice the religion they wanted to pursue. Toleration even extended to those who were enslaved. Slaves brought non-Christian beliefs with them and those beliefs were generally tolerated by the colonists. Despite this limited freedom, large numbers of slaves chose to convert from African beliefs to western beliefs. Their conversion was not immediate and it was not advertised; the process was slow and somewhat quiet. As a result, there is little conversation today about the conversion of slaves to Christianity, the purposes of the conversion, and their impact on the nation are a quiet thread in the fabric of our country's complex history.

The Apostle Paul's letter to to the people of Corinth includes one of his most resilient messages. It was written to followers at a new church who faced many conflicts as they tried to survive in a new, spiritual world. Followers in Corinth were, in some notable ways, similar to those who were living in the American colonies. They faced physical threats from outsiders, dissention and in-fighting internally, and a sense of loneliness. They wanted something better, they wanted a land of promise, but the path was not as easy as they had hoped. Similarly, slaves in the colonies also faced physical threats, a fractured environment, and a sense of loneliness. Paul wrote his words of encouragement to deliver spiritual resilience and motivation. His letter to the Corinthians delivers instructions, much like the military leader to scared and unsettled troops, to stay strong and hold the lines. Each section of the quote above gives a specific, heartening instruction.

Be on Your Guard. Paul asked these early Christians to stay alert and watch their surroundings carefully. A possibility of division within the church could arise. Threats and sin often arise from within an environment rather than outside of it, so cautiousness must be taken. Stand Firm in the Faith. Paul encouraged followers to stay firm in their beliefs. Spiritual faith is not easy; it is beset by challenges, doubts, and misgivings. He advised the Corinthians that Christianity requires a commitment to certain beliefs and an unbending trust in God. Paul made it clear that faith is firmly held, it is not simply observed on a part-time basis. Be Courageous. Paul understood the frailty of men and women; he knew they would have doubts. He knew they would face obstacles and he knew that they would have to sacrifice in order to commit to the Lord. Paul knew the young Christians had no physical weapons to battle doubt, obstacles, and sacrifices, but he knew they had a great spiritual tool: courage. He knew true courage was everlasting and that it could not be conquered. Finally, Paul wanted the followers to, Be Strong. Strength allowed the Corinthians to believe and to trust. It allowed them to maintain their determination and faith. It allowed them to see in spiritual darkness, to love in times of anger, and to believe in times of doubt. Strength allowed them to defeat weakness. Strength allowed even the weakest to maintain determination. These were assets that would aid the Corinthians; they were also assets that could aid American colonists, slaves, and abolitionists as well.

Paul reminded the young followers at the church in Corinth that their commitment to God and to love would not be easy, but the challenges they faced were surmountable. The Christians--both in Corinth and the American colonies--could defeat any hardship because God, in his grace, had already given them tools to do it. Paul's message was a reminder to use the gifts God gave them.

The quote reveals that with continuous faith and love, both survival and salvation can occur. It is a message that served the Corinthians well, and it is a message that offered hope for future generations. The message, like the teachings of Jesus, said that God's love and eternal salvation are offered to anyone and everyone; in fact, God even gives followers the tools he or she can use to survive and flourish. Paul's message is one of promised hope, but not everyone accepted it. Some in the American colonies embraced it with enthusiasm and vigor, while others twisted its meaning and converted the words for their own selfish reasons. The two spiritual approaches towards Paul's message are highlighted when examining the institution of slavery in America.

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The Features of Faithful Womens’ Life

There are a myriad of women, all different ages, who are exceptional leaders. They are especially leaders in the sense of their teachings of how to live life filled with faith and love. Two notable women who lead their lives with God include Mary Magdalene and Lady Gaga. For instance, Mary Magdalene appears in the bible multiple times as an extraordinary woman who gives up her life to love and praise Jesus. In the bible, she is portrayed crying over Jesus's tomb and at his crucifixion. She was one of the women who witnessed the angel who told her that Jesus had risen. She was a profound follower of Jesus who is also remembered by kissing his feet and washing them. Many people are most surprised to learn that nowhere in the Bible is Mary Magdalene described as a prostitute. However although not written in scripture, the reputation does have church support. Pope Gregory I delivering a sermon that technically stated that Mary Magdalene probably had that job. Indeed, then Mary has more often than not been represented as a prostitute who gave up her awful ways to follow the savior, Jesus.

This sometimes allows a powerful positive effect on women and the image of God being forgiving. Regarding Mary's time period, her personal life did fit the time era however once she followed Jesus she was known as a radical. We can learn from Mary Magdalene that Jesus always gives peace of love. We must remember to be persistent in faith no matter what sins have occurred and we can learn to spread the gospel. One contemporary leader that reflects Mary's actions would be Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is similar to Mary Magdalene through numerous aspects of her life. One example of this is her persistence of faith. Lady Gaga grew up very Catholic and seemed to have always kept that close to her heart. She has always preached the word of God to her friends and fanbase, no matter what others thought of her, especially paparazzi or news crews. This is similar to Mary following Jesus no matter what everyone thought of her. Another instance of their similarities include the fact that Mary has a reputation of being used by men. Lady Gaga had struggled with sexual assault only as a teenager. Although this tested her faith she stuck with Jesus and knew that He would always be there for her.

This is something Lady Gaga has addressed and proudly stated to many. Lady Gaga even mentioned Mary Magdalene as an inspiring leader to her. An article called When Celeberties Share Their Faith, shared their thoughts of faith filled celeberties by saying, Many celebrities are sharing Bible verses, quoting priests, and singing Christian music while at the same time still leading a typical Hollywood lifestyle void of Christian values such as modesty and purity. Lady Gaga wisely defended herself by posting on social media, Mary Magdalene washed the feet of Christ and was protected and loved by him. A prostitute. Someone society shames as if she and her body are a man's trash can. He loved her and did not judge. He let her cry over him and dry his feet with the hair of a harlot. We are not just celebrities we are humans and sinners, children, and our lives are not void of values because we struggle. We are as equally forgiven as our neighbor.

God is never a trend no matter who the believer. I think this illustrates Lady Gaga's values perfectly. Her whole act of wearing crazy clothes or costumes is solely to show that even at her craziest she is loved by God. The differences between Lady Gaga and Mary Magdalene include that Lady Gaga obviously is a performer and she has started several charities for sexual abuse, which Mary did not especially in that timer era. A few bible verses that initially described Mary, also stood out to me that they perfectly described Lady Gaga. This includes one from Mark 15:40, "There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James.

While many of the disciples of Jesus, like Peter, were quick to leave Jesus, Mary stayed and followed Christ no matter the cost to herself. This reminds me of how although Lady Gaga is always criticized for being faithful and a pop singer, she still sticks with Jesus and defends herself. Another bible verse is from Luke 24:1-3, "But at daybreak on the first day of the week [the women] took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." Mary could have stayed home and mourned or even waited until later to bring the spices to the tomb, but Mary had a servant's heart. She rose the earlies to serve Christ and honor him.

This again is similar to Lady Gaga's persistent faith and honoring him the best way she knows how. The last bible verse is from Luke 24:6-8, Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.' And they remembered his words. Mary never question Jesus and she immediately went to tell the disciples what she had seen and heard. Lady Gaga too never questioned Jesus although she was tested by her sexual assault. She still became even stronger than ever. In conclusion, although there are many differences between Mary Magdalene, the biblical leader, and Lady Gaga, the pop performer, they still both keep God the center of their life. Thus, this inspires many to keep God the center of every relationship or activity.

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India’s Faith and Indonesia’s Faith

I watched Around the World in 80 Faiths: India and Nepal . Around the World in 80 Faiths is documentary series by BBC executed by the Church of England Vicar, Pete Own-Jones, who travels far and wide to many continents such as North and South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. I live in North America specifically in New York City, US (United States of America). So I wanted to watch an episode that I knew little about and will feel the most interested in, so I chose India. Coincidentally, India is also my name but that is not entirely why I chose to watch this particular country. The reason is that I had always come across Indian people who have migrated from there to the USA and when I asked what is India like, they always say that it is one of the most beautiful places to visit, its full of many types of beautiful people, culture, understanding, and peace, and their culture is ancient and like no other. So I can see for myself if any of the things I heard were true.

In the show Around the World in 80 Faiths, episode six: India and Nepal discussed ten faiths found in India: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism: Muktinath, Hindu/Buddhist, Hinduism: The Durga Puja, Hindu Aghoris, The Bishnoi, Nath Fire Walkers, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Hindu Gorehabba ritual. What was most interesting to me was the Hindu and Buddhist's child blessing. This blessing was performed by the goddess grandmother, who was also the midwife (a trained professional who can deliver babies), which we have as well in the USA. The child blessing was similar to a Christening, a child blessing ceremony or ritual found in the religion Christianity. Christianity and Catholicism is the religion (Catholicism is a specific type of Christianity) I was raised in. Christianity is the belief in one God through teachings and beliefs of Jesus Christ. However the Hindu/Buddhist's child blessing in Kathmandu, Nepal did things much differently during the ceremony. First, the midwife massages the newborn while they're fully naked with mustard oil, to welcome the new life to the world. The newborn baby is then provided with two names, a secret name that only God and the child's soul knows, which is given to protect them from evil.

The next name is the name that his family and the world will know and call them by. During the ceremony, the midwife meditates, and pray over the child with a lit candle and rubs oil on the child's forehead and the mother. The mother of the child then squeezes her breast milk on the small lit candle, as an offering to the Gods which is passed over the newborn during the ceremony. This is a very sacred ritual for good karma for their newborn. In Hinduism/Buddhism you have what is known as good and bad karma, meaning the good deeds you do and good spirit you have will lead to a life and afterlife of good and vice versa for bad. This can also lead to reincarnation, it is after you die you will be reborn but as something or someone else. For example, I am a human woman, when I did I can be reincarnated to a male horse. Therefore, the newborn will go through many experiences before he is reborn in the afterlife but the baby must devote their life to the Gods who will determine whether their path gave them good or bad karma. This is interesting because of it the complete opposite of how I grew up in a Christian home. For Christians, a child blessing is known as a Christening.

In a Christening, the ceremony is conducted in a Christian Church by a pastor or a priest (Catholic), who reads a bible scripture. The bible scripture reading is used to welcome the baby to the world and Christianity and in a way, this is similar to Hindu/Buddhist where this can be a sign of giving the child giving good karma. These bible readings are to help instill good life and guidance. During the ceremony, the pastor will be reading the bible while he is the parents of the child will hold the baby while both sides of the parents will have two people besides them called Godparents to witness the child's blessing and provide that they accept the responsibility as a Godparent. These are people who will care and have guardianship to the child if the parents die, there. But, unlike massaging the mustard oil all over their body, the baby is instead dressed formally in white like a white gown for a girl or a white suit for a boy and after the bible reading the oil or holy water is rubbed or poured on the head of the newborn.

In addition, in order to receive good karma, one has to go to the temple and pray to the god while also performing various meditation rituals. One major reason for this process is because in their religion they do believe in the afterlife also known in the Muslim community as Akhirah, this belief is that after death the Atman (soul) of a person passes into a new body and life. This new life depends on how the person lived their previous life. This belief was a complete opposite to my culture Christian's believe when they die our soul is now sent to heaven with God. Another difference to the Christian faith is the belief in one true God while Hindu/ Buddhist believe in many Gods because each God represents something different, there is no all in one God like in Christianity. For instance, throughout the documentary Vicar, Pete Own-Jones was very active in the Hindu/Buddhist practices such as The Tara ritual at the Kutsab Ternga monastery ,this was apart of the Tibetan Buddhism. The Tara is a very important figure in Buddhism because she is known as the mother of liberation. Moreover, there are several types of religion and denomination around the world, as mentioned so I decided to take a deeper look but on another religion known as "Manpru " religion. This is a religion practiced by Indonesian people specifically those in the island of Sumba. They are considered the last Indonesian who follows an ancestral faith.

In order to get a close look at I watched a documentary directed and produced by Laura Scheerer and Janet Hoskins in the year 1988 titled The Feast in Dream Village . The film focused on how the ancestors' spirits restore fertility after their village was destroyed by fire. The religious practices are lead by the head priest along with a second in command known as the archer as well as the sponsor. In this religion, the archer is the one who recites the history of the village so the Indonesian people can prepare an offering known as the feast to the ancestors. This feast preparation took twelve years to prepare. According to the head priest, when the fire took place the souls and spirits got lost .The feast will allow them to restore the souls to their rightful place and which they can ask the ancestors for favors like for of their crops to be of abundance and longevity for their lives. The feast is performed in their village with many guests such as government officials and local villagers. Also, there is a two seven day period before the ritual specifically prepared and performed by the head priest and the archer by inviting the spirits to a scared space this is known as "Palau Marque." This is where the archer makes an offer to the spirit in order to complete the invitation.

Along with the request is a performance of ancestral dances with instruments such as the drums and also their spears (their weapons). The second ritual is performed every day for seven days. It is their main offering, the buffalo. They would slash open the buffalo to ensure the liver is good which is a sign that the offerings were accepted by the spirits. All and all, these rituals are very scared and important to their culture because this is the highest form of respect to the spirit which allows them to revive favor for their troubles. Many ancestors before them performed these same rituals and since then has too had much success according to an elderly villager, the rituals are their way of connecting to the spirits and god in the heavens.

In conclusion both documentaries showed religions that I have never encountered personally and they both had similar traits such as them both are religions that believe in a higher being such as spirits or gods however the Indonesian faith focuses only on the soul and spirits of their ancestor and do believe in heaven but not an afterlife and many gods that are not ancestors as the Hindu/Buddhist believes in. They both also believe that no one should be above or comes before their deity and to always keep their faith in them no matter where they go.

The Hinduism and Buddhism has several elements to their faith and rituals, they believed in reincarnation and the afterlife, good karma (deemed by how you lived in your previous life depicts if you will return as a better version or worst they believe if you pray and mediated and live by the word of budda better is in store in a next life). Both documentaries highlighted major rituals of the natives and allows the viewers to see real-life culture first hand. Ironically both religions and their native were geographically located in Asia; both faiths had leaders who lead in religious practices such as head priest for Manpru and puja for the Hindu. They were religions that I think culture wise was different from mine but similar as they all believe in higher purpose and good and bad (good vs. evil), showing all religions may be different but all have a common goal, by giving them more purpose in life.

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Elie’s Faith in God

The Holocaust. A genocide that occurred during World War II. This catastrophic event lead to the death of around 6 million Jews. And the mental, emotional, and physical damage of 17 million Jews. One of those Jews is Elie Wiesel. Eliezer Wiesel, Romanian-born American Jew, and author of the book Night. Which is a vividly detailed memoir, about his experience in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. Elie was taken at age 15, along with his father, his mother, and his three sisters. In this memoir, Elie's struggle with his faith is a dominant conflict in Night. Elie's faith takes a drastic revolution from being fully devoted to his faith, to rebelling against God, and to coming to means with his broken faith.

In the beginning of Night, Elie's faith was very strict and focused on his religious studies and his view of God. Eliezer has grown up believing that everything on Earth reflects God's holiness and power. Elie was heavily studying Talmud and Kabbalah. Talmud is an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. And Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought of Judaism. Eliezer's faith is a product of his studies in Jewish mysticism, which teach him that God is everywhere in the world, that nothing exists without God. He speaks of his routine in the book when he writes, By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the temple (Wiesel 3). Even though his father believed he was too young explore the studies involved in Kabbalah, Eliezer remained committed to his quest to study Kabbalah and found himself a master who could guide him. And throughout chapter one of Night, Elie's belief in a good and pure God is so unconditional, that he himself does not understand how. This is brought up by Moishe the Beadle, when he begins to question Elie while he is praying. Elie mentioned this when he wrote, Why do you pray? he asked after a moment. Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe? I don't know, I told him, even more troubled and ill at ease. I don't know (Wiesel 4). This shows that Elie doesn't fully understand his faith, but his need for God as well as his commitment to his faith.

Elie's faith is completely broken by his tragic experience in the Holocaust. Because of all he has had to endure in these camps, his faith is slowly but surely diminishing. The suffering Elie sees and experiences during the Holocaust transforms his entire worldview. Before the war, he cannot imagine having to ever question his God. Observance and belief were unquestioned parts of his core sense of identity, so once his faith is irreparably shaken, he becomes a completely different person. Elies' innocence is cruelly stripped from him. This is made known when Elie wrote, Behind me, I heard the same man asking: Where is God now?And I heard a voice within me answer him: Where is He? Here He is”He is hanging here on this gallows. . . . (Wiesel 62). The hanging of the young boy symbolizes the murder of God for Elie. The boy's death also represents the death of Elie's innocence. Once having his faith completely lost, Elie begins to rebel against anything involving God. At the end of summer in 1944, the Jews of Buna come together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, despite the cruelty that has been afflicted on them. Elie's religious rebellion intensifies, and he cannot find a reason to bless God in the middle of so much suffering. Elie even mocks the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people, deciding that they have only been chosen to be massacred. He exact words were, How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces? Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar? (Wiesel 67). He feels as though praising God, in that moment was just foolish.

Elie's faith has undergone an irrevocable journey. From one having a firm devotion to God, his faith, and his studies. To completely abandoning his faith and his view of God. But this does not completely erase God from his conscious. When Elie is finally liberated, he ends up getting food poisoning, and has to in hospital for a few weeks in order to recover. It is then that he comes to a new found realization. In Night, this is revealed by Elie when he says, From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me (Wiesel 109). As he is looking in the mirror, he looks at the void within himself. The empty space which God no longer occupies. Even though Elie abandons his faith completely, he still continues to use biblical allusions throughout this book. An example of this is when Elie and his father are being being marched towards the a pit in the concentration camp. Elie says, My heart was about to burst. There. I was face-to-face with the Angel of Death.. Even though he is speaking of the Nazi soldiers, his Angel of Death alludes to the angel Azrael in the Old Testament.

The evolution of Elie's faith is a very intricate and grave piece needed in order to fully understand his experience. Because Elie's faith took a drastic revolution from being fully devoted to his faith, to rebelling against God, and to coming to means with his broken faith.

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How Faith in God Came to Be?

A King named Dashrat ruled, north of the Ganges River, in the city of Ayodhya. He was astute and robust, but still childless. The gods in heaven were greatly agitated by Ravan, the demon King of Lanka. The King turned to Vishnu for aid. King Dasharatha begs to Vishnu, “Please my lord we need you to incarnate in order to defeat Ravana.” Lord Vishnu knowing the trouble that Ravan has caused, agreed, “I shall incarnate as one of your sons” Lord Vishnu is the third god to be created in Hinduism and is depicted as having dark blue skin and having four arms. King Dasharatha’s three wives bore four boys: Bharat, Lakshman, Shatrughn, and Ram (in whom Vishnu had incarnated himself). Ram the eldest, of the four princes, was his father’s favorite. Lakshman, since he was a child, was keenly dedicated to his elder brother. He was Ram’s second hand and accomplished all his desires even before they were told.

They were trained in all the special arts, as the four princes grew up, and Ram excelled at everything. Janak, one of the king’s advisors, the father of beautiful Sita, was thinking of whom Sita should marry. Janak had announced, “May the mightiest warrior who can lift this bow can marry my daughter Sita.” (Ram...Ram) Several princes and warriors had tried, almost inconceivably capable to even move it, but when Ram’s chance arrived, his constricted grip snapped the bow in two. Strikingly astonished he gave him his consent to marry his daughter. Dasharath was mind blown, and so the marriage of Ram and Sita was lavishly celebrated. (Ram...Ram) And so Ram lived blissfully with his beloved wife Sita in Ayodhya. Dasharath sensed old age inevitable, so he decided with his advisors to appoint his prized son Ram as King of Ayodhya. (Ram...Ram) When the crippled Queen Kaikeyi had heard of this, she thought to make her own son Bharat to the throne, in place of Ram.

The king had gifted her two wishes in the past, when she saved his life, which she had not used yet. Kaikeyi selfishly requests, “ I want Ram banished for seven years and appoint my son Bharat as the King of Ayodhya.” The King was tortured by grief and regret, but when Rama found out, he fragrantly accepted his banishment, so that his father won’t be seen as dishonest and cowardly. (Rama...Rama) In sorrows, his mother and Lakshman tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted, “It’s my highest duty to help my father to keep his word.” He informed Sita of his decision, telling her, “I need you to be kind to Bharat, to live piously and chastely in Ayodhya, and to serve his father and his mothers obediently.” (Ram...Ram) But Sita answered him in an ardent speech on the duties of a woman, enforcing that, “As a wife, nothing could prevent me from following my husband into exile in the wilderness.” And so, stripped of all the royalty, clothed only in orange silk, the three went off into the wilderness while all of Ayodhya mourned. (Ram...Ram) Bharat the new king, vigorously refuses, that the throne belongs by law to Ram.

He vowed that he will stay outside the kingdom stripped of royalty and will rule living in a hut outside the kingdom. Bharat is so devoted to Ram he will live in exile until Ram returns to his righteous position. (Ram...Ram) Meanwhile, Ram, camping in the Chitrakuta hills, is just describing, the beauties of the landscape to Sita. Lakshman spots King Bharat drawing near climbing down from the hill. He throws himself at Ram’s feet and the brothers greet each other. (Ram...Ram) Now Bharat, with tears streaming down his face, reports to Ram the death of his father, and begs him, “ We need you to return and begin your dynasty.” Ram sorely says, “I could not return to Ayodhya; but that which my father had commanded, I will never depart from my decision to spend seven years in exile.” (Ram...Ram) Ram embraces his weeping brother with an eloquent speech on the inevitability of death, which makes every weep seem unnecessary. (Ram...Ram) Ram gives him his sandals as a symbol of sovereignty, and Bharat returns to Ayodhya, where Rama’s sandals are solemnly placed on the throne as the representatives of the king. (Rama...Rama) The exiles had been living in the Dandaka Forest for two years now and the forest hermits living there asked Ram for protection against the demons. Ram promises this protection, and from that time is incessantly engaged in battles against these monsters.

The man-eating giant is the first to be killed. This hideous ogre falls in love with Ram and makes amorous proposals to him. Full of rage, she is about to swallow Sita, when Lakshman cuts off her ears and nose. She flees howling to her brother, marches against Rama with 1,000 demons. Ram slays them all with the help of Laksman. (Ram...Ram) The ogre flees to Lanka, a fabulous land beyond the ocean, and incites her frightful brother Ravan to avenge her. At the same time, she describes to him the beauty of Sita in exquisite terms and incites him to gain possession of her and to make her his wife. Propelled by lust and anger, Ravan races off through the air in his golden chariot, across the ocean to where Sita lives. Though Mareecha is a demon, he's trying to live a virtuous life. Ravan threatens Mareech, and Mareech agrees to help abduct Sita. Mareech turns himself into a golden deer and walks near Ram's residence. Sita sees the deer and asks Ram to capture it for her as a pet. Ram agrees and goes to chase the deer, leaving Lakshman to guard Sita. Ram chases the deer for miles before he realizes it's a trap. He shoots the deer, but with his dying breath, Mareech impersonates Rama and cries for help from Sita and Lakshana. Sita hears the cry and convinces Lakshman to go help Ram. When Lakshman is gone, Ravan disguises himself as a Brahmin and approaches Sita.

Eventually, Ravan is unable to maintain his disguise, and he transforms into his demonic form. Sita cries for help, but Ravan flies away with his golden chariot and carries Sita away. Jatayu, the wise raven, attempts to save Sita, but Ravan chops off his wing. (Ram...Ram) Ram and Lakshman find Jatayu and he relates to them what happened, but dies before he can tell them where Ravan was going with Sita. And the sun itself grew pale, its radiance dimmed, at the sight of Sita being carried away as if lamenting: “There is no more justice, no truth, no righteousness, no innocence if Ravan steals Sita, the wife of Ram.” (Ram...Ram) But Ravan carried her off across the ocean to Lanka, where he shut her in his harem. Then he conducts her round his palace, shows her all its splendors and describes to her the immeasurable riches and marvels over which the rules. With coaxing words he tried to persuade her to become his wife.

But Sita answered indignantly that she would never break faith with Ram by allowing him to embrace her. Enraged, Ravan warned that, if she does not yield herself to him within twelve months, he would enjoy her in another fashion: he would have her cut in pieces by his cooks and he would eat her for breakfast. Then he imprisoned her in a grotto and left her under the strict guard of the ogresses. (Ram...Ram) Meanwhile, Ram and Lakshman returned to find their hut empty. In vain they seek Sita in the forest. In horror, Ram raises a bitter lament, searching vainly in the forest for Sita. He questions the trees, the rivers, the hills, and the animals, but none can give him news of Sita.

At last, they find the flowers and ornaments that fell from Sita as she passed; then they come upon the ruins of Ravan’s chariot, his weapons, and the signs of a struggle. Rama fears that Sita has been killed, and in his delirium, he declares his intention of destroying the whole world: He will fill the air with his arrows, stay the wind in its course, annihilate the sun’s rays and envelop the earth in darkness, hurl down the summits of the mountains, dry up the lakes, destroy the ocean, uproot the trees, even destroy the gods themselves if they do not give him back his Sita. At last, Lakshman is able to calm his raving and to continue the search. (Ram...Ram) He hears the lightning rumble to seek help from Sugriv, the monkey. Through their travailing journey through the spring forests, they find Sugriv’s Kingdom. Sugriv is consecrated as king. Among the counselors of Sugriv, Hanuman, the son of the wind-god, and the wisest. Sugriv has the greatest confidence in him and commissions him to find Sita.

Accompanied by a army of monkeys, the resourceful Hanuman sets out toward the south. (Ram...Ram) After many adventures, they meet Sampati, a brother of the vulture Jatayu's, who tells them, “I had flown in a race with my brother, and had scorched my wings.” Since then, “I had been lying helpless in the Vindhya hills, but I have seen Ravan carrying Sita away to Lanka.” He described to them where the Lanka was located, and the monkeys set out for the coast. But when they saw the limitless, billowing sea before them, they despaired of getting across it. (Ram...Ram) After much discussion, it is decided that no one can jump so far as Hanuman can. He then climbs to the top of Mount Mahendra and prepares to leap across the ocean. With a mighty leap, which caused Mahendra Hill to tremble in its depths and terrified all the creatures living on its slopes, the monkey Hanuman rose into the air and flew across the ocean. After a flight of four days, he finally reached Lanka. From a hill, he surveyed the town, which seemed to him impenetrable.

He made himself as small as a mouse, and after sunset, crept into the town. He examined the whole city, the palace of Ravan, on which the demon-king used to glide through the air. He also penetrated into Ravan’s harem, where he saw the king reposing in the midst of his beautiful women. After a long search, he, at last, found Sita, wasted by grief, in a tree grove. He makes himself known as a friend and messenger of Ram. (Ram...Ram) She warned him that, “Ravan has threatened to devour her after two months, and that she will die if Ram does not rescue her before then.” Hanuman assures her that Ram will certainly save her. Then he returns to the hill, flies back across the ocean and recounts everything to the monkeys awaiting him there. Finally, he returns to Ram, bringing him the news and a message from his beloved. Ram praises Hanuman for his success and embraces him, but he despairs of getting across the ocean. Sugriv suggests constructing a bridge to Lanka.

Hanuman gives an exact description of Ravan’s palace and its fortification and declares that the best of the monkey-warriors would be able to take it. So Ram commands that the army shall be prepared for the march, and soon the vast army sets out southwards towards the coast. When the news of the approaching army of monkeys had reached Lanka, Ravan summoned his counselors, all great and powerful demons, to a council. Now while all the other relatives and counselors urged Ravan in boasting speeches to fight, Vibhishan, Ravan’s brother, points to unfavorable omens and advises him to return Sita. Ravan is much enraged at this, and accuses him of envy and ill-will; relatives, he says, “Are always the worst enemies of a king, and hero.” Feeling deeply offended by his brother, Vibhishan renounces him, flies across the ocean with four other demons and allies himself with Ram. On the advice of Vibhishan, Rama appeals to the Ocean-god himself to aid him in crossing the sea.

The latter calls the monkey Nala, the son of the divine master builder Vishvakarman, and instructs him to bridge the ocean. At Ram’s command, the monkeys bring rocks and trees. In a few days, a bridge is built over the ocean, and the whole of the great army passes over to Lanka. Now Ravan’s town is surrounded by the army of monkeys. Ravan gives the command for a general sortie. A battle takes place, also many cases of single combat between the chief heroes of the two fighting armies. Lakshman, Hanuman, and the bear-king Jambavan are the most prominent fellow combatants of Ram. While on Ravan’s side, his son Indrajit is the most conspicuous. The latter is versed in all magic arts and knows how to make himself invisible at moment. The battle horn blows and the war begins. Indrajit inflicts dangerous wounds on Ram and Lakshman. But in the night, on the advice of the bear-king Jambavan, the monkey Hanuman flies to Mount Kailasa, in order to fetch four particularly powerful healing herbs.

As these herbs are concealed, the monkey simply takes the whole mountain-peak with him and carries it to the battle-field, where, through the fragrance of the healing herbs, Ram, Lakshman and all the wounded are immediately healed. Then Hanuman puts the mountain back into its place. On another occasion, Indrajit, versed in magic, comes out of the city carrying, on his war-chariot a magically produced image of Sita, which he ill-treats and beheads before the eyes of Hanuman, Lakshman, and the monkeys. Horrified, Hanuman reports to Rama that Sita is killed; Rama falls into a swoon. Lakshman breaks into lamentations and utters a blasphemous speech with bitter complaints against a fate that has no regard to virtue but be is soon enlightened by Vibhishan that the whole affair is only a delusion produced by Indrajit. Finally, Indrajit is killed by Lakshmana after a violent duel. Furious at the death of his son, Ravan himself now appears on the field of battle. A dreadful duel between Ram and Ravan takes place, continuing day and night.

The gods themselves come to Ram’s aid, especially Indra with his chariot and his projectiles strikes aggressively. But every time Rama strikes off one of Ravana’s heads, a new head grows again. At last, Vibishan tells him Ravan’s weak spot, he succeeds in piercing Ravana’s belly button with a weapon created by the god Brahma himself. There is great rejoicing in the army of the monkeys, and wild flight of the demons. Vibhishana is installed as King of the Lanka by Rama. Only now does Rama send for Sita, and proclaim to her the joyous news of the victory — but then, in the presence of all the monkeys and gods, he rejects her. He doubts that Sita had grown over the years to love Ravan. Then Sita raises a bitter complaint against Ram’s unjust suspicions and asks Lakshman to erect a pyre: for now nothing remained for her but to enter the fire. Ram gives his consent, the pyre is erected and lighted, and Sita, invoking Agni, the fire god, as a witness of her innocence, rushes into the flames.

Then Agni arises out of the burning pyre with the uninjured Sita and delivers her to Ram, assuring him, in a solemn speech, that she has always kept her faith with him, and even in the palace of the demons remained pure and innocent. Thereupon Ram declares that he himself had never had any doubts concerning Sita’s innocence, but that it was necessary to prove it before the eyes of the people. Now Ram and his people, accompanied by Hanuman and the monkeys, return to Ayodhya, where they are received with open arms by Bharat, Shatrughna, and the mothers. They enter amidst the rejoicing of the populace. Rama is consecrated as king and rules contently and for the welfare of his subject for many years.

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How Faith in God Came to Be?. (2019, Mar 22). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
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Faith and Meaning of Life with Regard to Lev Tolstoy’s Beliefs

Why does philosophy exist? The answer is simple, yet complex at the same time for those whose minds aren't open to various interpretations of literature, ideals, but most importantly, questions. This is why philosophers dedicate virtually their entire lives to such questions and ideals that spark their interests. Philosophy can be defined as love of wisdom, and with such wisdom comes experience, knowledge, and good judgment. Such elements of wisdom invoke curiosity; thus, bringing us to the inevitable question pondered for countless centuries by some of the greatest minds in the history of philosophy: what is the meaning of life? or simply, why do we exist? This question has plagued the minds of intellectuals, mainly philosophers, and particular individuals have tried to answer this question, failing to do so throughout the span of their lifetime. However, I want to focus on one individual; someone who dedicated their entire life to answering this question. This person is thought to be one of the most influential Russian philosophers and writers of all time. He is, none other than, Leo Tolstoy. His search for the meaning of life brought him to numerous places, both mentally and spiritually.

Leo Tolstoy had been baptized and brought up in the Orthodox Church. As he progressed through his childhood and formative years, and eventually adulthood, he had already given up and abandoned his faith. Tolstoy also gave up on college when he was 18 years of age. He believed he was too educated to believe in such doctrines, and that there had to be an answer to the meaning of life, purely based on rationalism, science, and nothing to do with religion. Thus, his life was a complete and utter struggle, in which he dedicated to finding an answer to this seemingly unanswerable question. Through such hardship, Tolstoy, having searched all if not most aspects of science, realized that the answer and the ultimate truth to the meaning of life was indeed faith and religion, a preconception that he had once deemed false and irrelevant with regard to the meaning of life. I completely agree with Tolstoy's answer to the meaning of life. Faith, which I see as having a particular set of morals, allows us to follow certain principles that, in turn, dictates who we are as human beings, and what the purpose of our lives is. However, free will and moral responsibility, as we've talked emphatically about throughout the entirety of this semester, is a critical determinant to what faith you decide to live by. Believing in something gives you a sense of direction in life. Our actions, which resonates from our beliefs and faithful orientations, are what give us character, purpose, but most importantly, shows us who we are.

Why do people have faith? What does faith do for us? It is a common practice that's persisted for thousands of years. Even before the origin of Christianity, faith was a conception that's always existed regardless of time. Even looking as far back as ancient Athens, civilizations praised the Greek gods and lived their lives in accordance with faith and admiration of them. Why? Well, why do scientists believe in science? We believe in such things to give our lives meaning, truth, understanding, and to deviate from such purpose is to renounce your faith. Faith allows us to reach such purpose by instilling morals in us that helps us achieve successful and fulfilling lives; successful in a sense of becoming the best person you can possible be. Leo Tolstoy studied many faiths during the course of his life, such as Buddhism, Mohammidanism, and especially Christianity. Despite all that he'd gone through to search for the answer to the ultimate question, he says, I asked: What is the meaning of life, beyond time, cause and space?... With the result that, after long efforts of thought, the answer I reached was: None (36). Though he later went on to state in life, in which I concur, that faith is the one and only true answer to the meaning of life. Otherwise, one could literally drive themselves insane and even ponder suicide in an attempt to answer life's most common yet indubitably non-answerable questions. The reason as to why one might even go as far as to ponder suicide is because if the person cannot find what gives his/her life purpose, they'd begin to believe that their life is not even worth living; thus the suicidal thoughts.

One might ask: Why is faith the one true meaning of life? Why can't happiness in itself and bringing about mass happiness be the meaning of life? This question may very well be answered best by a utilitarian such as John Stuart Mill, though the answer is rather simple, and it all has to do with faith. Happiness and even morality are but mere constituents of faith itself. Happiness can be brought about by pleasures, and not all pleasures can be achieved from good intentions. However, faith brings out the best in a human being and determines what actions are the right actions; thus bringing about happiness as an end to such means. To illustrate, let me give you an example. A man robs a bank, having harmed numerous innocent people in the process. Is this man happy? Of course he is. This man is happy because of all the money he has acquired in the process of robbing the bank, though he is certainly not at all morally just due to his intentions. Happiness is indeed an important end. However, how you achieve that happiness in your life makes all the difference, in which I reiterate: faith leads to good choices, which leads to happiness and morally correct/acceptable behavior.

There are certainly normal people that live calm and relatively stable lives free from any sort of disconcerting mindsets, who do not acknowledge the existence of God, or some other divine entity. However, unfortunately, there are those who don't believe in God and are constantly struggling to find meaning to their life. A prime example being Leo Tolstoy himself. As mentioned, Tolstoy's entire life was a journey in search for the answer to the meaning of life without the need for the mentioning of God. Obtaining immense amounts of knowledge (e.g. science, mathematics, social sciences, literature, etc.) will not bring you anywhere near closer to answering the question of the meaning of life. People in such cases see life as a trap, and believe that death is the only relief from it. During his darkest years of malicious thought, Tolstoy states, and it was then that I, a man favored by fortune, hid a cord from myself lest I should hang myself from the cross piece of the partition in my room where I undressed alone every evening, and I ceased to go out shooting with a gun lest I should be tempted by so easy a way of ending my life (15).

Faith and religion can be a means of preventing such actions from occurring. For example, most religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islamism, Hinduism, just to name a few, deeply frown upon suicide and see it as a sin that can condemn a person to hell. When it all comes down to it, regardless of what kind of life you have, when all else is lost, such as even the desire to live, a person always has their hope and faith, which is something that can never be broken down and diminished. Faith alone has the ability to uplift a damaged soul, and it can be the difference between life and death.

Faith can be an expression of one's liveliness and willingness to prosper in life by taking into account the decisions one makes based on that faith. I think we can all agree that all, if not, most human beings long for a fulfilling life and aspire to be the best person they can possible be. Therefore, faith gives people a set of values and ethics by which to live by. Such values in itself does not completely dictate your life; rather, these ethics remind a person of what to take into consideration when they act. To put things into perspective, let me give you a simple example: A low socioeconomic status individual, who is a strong believer in his faith, notices a well-dressed businessman drop his wallet across the street. Does he keep the wallet or give it back? You know the answer as well as I do. The lower class individual acts in accordance with his faith and believes that the morally correct thing to do is give the wallet back, in spite of personal desire to keep the wallet.

Why then would this low class commoner decide to follow his faith if he's well aware that there would be no afflictions affiliated with keeping the wallet? No one would ever know he kept the wallet if he had made the opposite decision. To reiterate, these values that people's faiths (many different faiths) rely upon are some of the things that build character, and establishes a sense of pride and spiritual fulfillment that one so desires. I'm not saying that nonbelievers aren't capable of such goodness in their lives; on the contrary, they might even have the same personal values regardless of religious beliefs. What I am really trying to get at is the fact that such individuals who rely on faith seem more apt to do the right thing in comparison with others (e.g. Tolstoy during his years of fame, wealth, and malicious indulgence). Faith does not necessarily mean a person is obligated to do good in their life. It is simply a way of directing a person on the right path to a morally just life.

Although some people may see faith as paramount relative to other important constituents with the question of the meaning of life, logic and reasoning is also something that should be strongly considered. As Aristotle stated, man is a rational animal. Therefore, rationalism and logic are both important aspects in every, if not, most decisions that a person makes in their life. Tolstoy brilliantly states, All the concepts we use to compare the finite to the infinite, and to arrive at an understanding of life, of the concepts of God, freedom and goodness, are put to the test of logic. But they fail to stand up to the critique of reason. What Tolstoy means by this is that religion has a relationship in accordance with reason and knowledge; they complement each other, and help an individual make the right choices in life. Without reason, faith is all but relevant due to the fact that all decisions a human being makes should be rational and in accord with their faith; that is, a particular set of morals brought upon by a God or divine entity of some sort. He also states, furthermore, I said to myself, the essence of every faith consists in its giving life a meaning which death does not destroy (50).

I completely agree with Tolstoy in that faith, although irrational to some people, gives humanity a reply to the question of life. Every human being is entitled to their own faith due to freedom of choice. The most important thing is what you do with that faith, and how your actions shape who you become as a morally just and rational human being.

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Faith and Meaning of Life With Regard to Lev Tolstoy's Beliefs. (2019, Mar 22). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
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Technology and Faith in the Modern Era

Technology and Faith are two concepts that are ever present in our lives and in the modern era are seemingly placed in opposite corners of reality. Technology is being used to spread some of the knowledge and wisdom of Faith to all corners of the globe, while at the same time it is being used to spread the virus of hate to these same corners of the world. Why do we view these two ideals as opposing each other? What effect has Technology had on our minds when searching for answers? Has the promise of instant data led us to seemingly insurmountable mountain range of devolving rhetoric and fear/hatred of the Other? Has Technology opened our third-eye in this search and simply made us more doubtful of the answers that we are given?

From the creation of Facebook to the creation of the cloud, advances in technology are proceeding at a pace heretofore unseen. For all the impact of the Gutenberg printing method, the PC has created monumental changes in our lives and even with the way that our religions are practiced. Mobile devices have gotten the acclaim for provoking social change in various countries which rein from the Arab Spring in the Middle East, the growing impact of the #MeToo moment to the more hidden growth of the megachurch. These mobile devices are eliminating brick and mortar stores and that affect can be seen with the idea of the traditional church with it set hours of worship. Now, people can turn to the YouVersion Bible app and read the Bible from different interpretations at a moment's notice. This decline in church membership changes how the youth experience religion. Most do not understand that the religious experience was never just about the worship of a supreme being, but it was more about the communal effort of experiencing the here and now with a group of like-minded individuals.

The struggle in the next decade will be how to organize religion while achieving the social benefits that are found from real life interactions from attending a place of worship. Can we replicate this experience with a virtual session? Can we find peace within the confines of an app? The virtual space can be effective with people that have a solid foundation with their faith. The most recent technological marvel that attacked religion has been coopted in ways that no one predicted. The Television. The television was labeled with the same negative aspersions we discuss with our mobile devices. It dehumanized the family structure. It ruined attention spans. People would rather stay home rather than go out. All of these have been said about the Internet and Social Media and the same messages were said about TV. Can we even imagine Christianity without Jim Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham? The apathy that we find in the modern world has spread to many avenues of our modern life.

Young people expect to have any religious event to have some form of modern technology in use. Perhaps church leaders should merge their sermons with some of the modern apps to hold the attentions spans of the modern congregation. Multitasking is a part of their modern lives and many of them would love the idea of using this influx of data to blend in with the more serene procedures of the chapel. These even ties into the concepts of what religion is to a young person. Their entire lives have been spent with this a la carte methodology. Don't like someone's page? Block. Don't want to be bothered with those tweets? Mute. The idea of religion to the modern age is simple another deal. A smart contract in a sense. Religion says: God is real. He tells us to behave in certain ways. If you obey then you will get into heaven. If you behave in horrible ways, you'll go to Hell. This very concept appears to many people as an implicit contract with tangible benefits AFTER you've left the mortal plane. Everywhere that they look they see many people getting tangible benefits from choices than in the past. One could even say that religion has informed one of the more innovative technological breakthroughs of the last few years: the Blockchain Smart Contract. In the simplest example, Ethereum or Bitcoin users can send 10 ether/bitcoin to a friend on a certain date using a smart contract if certain terms have been upheld. This technology will continue to spread through the youth of America.

Science has become the religion of choice for many. Most people will accept it as fact any statement made by anyone associated with the scientific community. Why is this so? Because science is supposedly based on objective principles and verifiable data. The scientific method: form a hypothesis (a model), perform experimentation and gather data, and evaluate the model against the results. Again, we see the modern way prevailing upon our reality. The need for a RESULT. Modern people go from the Atkins diet to the Paleo diet on a whim from a scientist. They neglect to see that even these "clerics" are just spouting their truth. There is no ultimate truth that can come from our scientists. The fact that the scientists claim to have any sort of model that truly sorts fact from fiction is foolish at the least. To what extent can any model be proven to be a perfect representation of that which it seeks to describe? At best, the model may reasonably predict under certain conditions and based on a set of assumptions. Chaos theory tells us that most systems are too complex to be represented by such models.

There will always be unexpected agitations in the system that have no apparent cause. Weather forecasting is a good example of this. When we understand that what most people believe to be proven scientific theory is just accepted hypothesis. Faith is something that cannot be proven scientifically, however to dismiss outright without the understanding that believing in the Holy Trinity has just as much belief as believing in the Big Bang Theory. That's all that they are. Constantly tested hypotheses that are constantly being upgraded and disparaged based off acceptable doctrine from scientist and priests. The gap between a priest or clergyman is at once huge and tiny at the same time. As we become more and more isolated from each other and shuffle off into smaller and smaller clicks we simply are causing these fissures to widen that threaten to separate us once and for all.

How do we attempt to bridge these gaps? There are applications that can be used to present free online courses for fellow members of a certain religion. This would allow the church to have a wider online presence and would allow for the possible transition to a MMORPG function that could be used to bring in others. These MMORPGs that are tied to the online courses could give a visual representation for the lessons within the course. This will allow the instructor/clergy to tap into the addictive nature of games like Candy Crush. The premise should be to allow users to experience "accomplishments" that will allow for the release of the neurochemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a critical role in learning which allows for us to cement behavior in our daily lives. Advances in technology influences all aspects of our lives, from driving with its integration into our parking and driver assisted steering on the highway, to education with its opportunities for online learning such as Khan's Academy, Harvard and Stanford's MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) to Wikipedia with its open-sourced encyclopedia. People approach every single point of their lives to be impacted by technology and those institutions that fall behind suffer dramatically as opposed to the classes from yesteryear.

As I stated earlier relying on brick and mortar institutions simply isn't a valid instructional idea anymore. Churches and other religious institutions must use tools like Facebook groups to communicate together, while allowing groups to communicate collaboratively with shared documents such as Google Docs, where students can participate and change roles on a whim. Imagine a congregation using the hashtag inside of a social media group to respond to others that find similar interest during a sermon? Allowing that same congregation to drop news articles and files into a community Dropbox for discussion within the Wednesday night study group. This gives the pastor a real-time integration with his flock and to even crowdsource any projects that the Church may have by way of Kickstarter? Perhaps have the choir subsidized with a local Patreon account...which would allow the church leaders to spend less time speaking about fund-raising and more time on the serious questions that we all have. At the same time, we have coming paradigm shift of AI otherwise known as Artificial Intelligence.

The coming onslaught of creating devices that can think for themselves and shall bring a rather gigantic quandary of human limitations and the responsibility that the clergy of artificial intelligence design shall have on human affairs. More than 8,000 people, including Hawking, Noam Chomsky, and Elon Musk, have signed an open letter warning against potential pitfalls of AI development. Many of these people are considered amongst the smartest people in the world and are not voices that should be ignored. "If humans were to create free-willed beings, says Kelly, who was raised Catholic and identifies as a Christian, absolutely every single aspect of traditional theology would be challenged and have to be reinterpreted in some capacity. Where would this place human beings in the theological chain? Are we capable of creating souls? And if we can, are we following too closely in our Creator's footsteps? Are we about to become Icarus flying too close to the Sun? So how should one navigate this dilemma? We cannot choose to ignore the benefits of a digital world and live in a state of unawareness. Technology is a fantastic tool and can be used to impact people across the world. We've gone over how much more accessible the world has become in the last 25 years, all due to the utilization of concepts such as mobile phones, the internet and of course, social media.

Everyone should remember that life is all about balance. Does social media and the fast-paced ADD culture make it harder to focus on the religious experience? Yes. However, I believe that is because we have all hunkered down on this idea that Technology is against God. Was life easier before Technology? No. By every possible metric mankind's experience has been significantly improved by Technology. There are no concrete answers in our modern-day life, but what is certain is that God will meet you where you are regardless of your circumstances.

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Technology and Faith in the Modern Era. (2019, Mar 22). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/03/page/9/

Shattering of the Faith

The blood of the lamb, was shed for me on the cross at Golgotha. The choir continued to sing while the Bishop walked around the church,solemnly, pouring incense. Other than the choir singing, there was dead silence among the congregation. He died today, like he died so many years ago. For you! You sinners caused our dear Lord his life. Oh children! Why? Why couldn't you stay away from sin? Even as he died, you ungrateful sinners still live in sin, punishing our Master for what he believed he didn't do but still paid for it. The Bishop cried out in agony, in an effort to prick the conscience of his members. Oh come to him, come you sinners to the feet of he who hung on the cross for your sake. He added. Some members went out to kneel at the base of the altar. All crying as they begged for forgiveness. They confessed how they were sorry for partaking in murder by being the reason Christ died.

Oh yes, for his blood was shed. His innocent heart ripped by the swirling whip. Do you not know? Your sins killed him and hung him on the cross at Golgotha. The choir continued their special Easter song. The Bishop stood over the crying sinners begging to return home. He sprinkled Holy water and anointing oil on them as he prayed to God to forgive their sins because they had no idea of what they had done to his son, the Christ.Anna, an elderly woman whispered to the young lady sitting by her, Anna, go and beg for forgiveness. Go now as the Bishop is pacifying the wrath of God. Auntie, I will not go. Anna replied sharply. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be sitting among the people she believed to be liars from the pit of hell. Yaa! You want to burn in Hell? I told your father, don't let this child live in the world, but he wouldn't listen. Listen to yourself, you don't want to go and beg for forgiveness for the crime you committed. Yee! Auntie was clearly stimulated and looked as if she would drag the reluctant Anna to the altar herself. Auntie, God has seen my heart. If he says I have sin, then I will beg him. God please don't send her to Hell for killing your son.

She will come to her senses soon and beg you. Amen. Auntie said a quick prayer as Anna scoffed at her. Time is going. The blood is shed. Come and fall at his feet and confess. The Bishop kept speaking through the choirs' song. Anna Jacobs wasn't always apathetic towards religion or life. There was a time in her life when she walked the path of a true believer starting from the tender age of five,she had been actively involved in the choir, even getting to lead in worship services. Everyone loved the pretty little chocolate skinned girl with the wide innocent smile and eyes that shone with ecstatic enthusiasm. She was the second of the three children her parents had birthed, and now, the only one living child. The misfortune that had befallen the Ade-Jacobs was one that not even a seer could fathom. They went from being one happy and thankful family to being resentful and separated units. On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, Victor Ade-Jacobs Jnr, the eldest of the children had been scheduled to return home from his study over-sea and the entire family, especially the father was thrilled. His son meant the world to him because.

He was still one of those African men who believed that a family without a son is a lost cause. And now his son was coming home after a decade in a foreign land, he wanted to make it special. Being a middle-class worker, he had just enough to keep his family in a very comfortable lifestyle. Mr Ade-Jacobs requested that everyone be in their best wears as they all got ready to go to the airport and wait for the arrival of his flight. Hey! Daddy I think that's him! The youngest girl, Olivia said while tugging at her father's left arm and pointing in the direction of the person she had seen.You have the eyes of an eagle. Yes, that is your one and only brother, dear. Her father replied and gave her a pat on her head making her short afro hair look bumpy and uncombed. Turning towards the direction of the boy, he began smiling broadly and waving both hands in the air, he whistled out loud to signal him. Victor turned immediately to see his family standing about 500 fts from him when he heard that familiar bluebird's sound. He and his dad always announced each other's presence to the other with that particular whistling sound. In an excited attempt, he threw down his luggages and ran arms open wide to go meet his family and in a moment of ignorance, he did not notice the yellow "WET FLOOR" sign and he slipped, falling face-down.

A woman screamed in the crowd when she saw him hit the floor, others either made the cross sign or shook their heads and continued to their different destinations. He stood up, still smiling and made a calculated attempt to move away from the wet area. However, luck was not to favour him because he did not notice his shoelace had come undone and he fell once again, this time hitting the back of his head on the marble floor. His mother came running to him first before the others got to him, but he reassured them that he was okay. The airport security offered to call a doctor for him to check if he had a concussion or something but Mr. Ade-Jacob held out a hand to stop them.If my son says he is fine, then he is fine. He is a man and a man must fall down in his life once in a while.

He has proven that he can withstand any pressure life throws at him. He said to the securities while smiling at his son, he said, get up my son, your father is here. Won't you hug me?Are you sure you're okay? We can just go and check for clarification. You hit your head pretty hard. Linda, his mom asked him as she squatted on the floor beside her son, examining him for any physical injuries.Mrs, he said he is ok. He is my son, he is like his father, strong and capable of swimming through even the coldest of waters bare-chest. Anna, Olivia, why are you girls still standing there? Go give him a hug, let him feel the warmth that he has missed for the past 10 years! Victor was helped to his feet by his mom, he hugged her and then his sisters. He bowed his head in respect to his father as he touched his feet. Mr Ade patted his back then lifted him up to his full height and crushed him in a bear hug.

There was no describing the emotions that was shared between the family members. Anna, who was 13 years old at the time felt left out. It was normal for the middle child to always feel unloved from time to time, hence why she stood in the background. They all made their way to the car and then back home where they all changed their dresses and got ready to go for the surprise welcome party Mr Ade had arranged for his son. Every family members and friends of the family were present. Buffet was neatly arranged at the corner of the event hall and food was in exquisite abundance. The hall had floor to ceiling glass windows, the chandeliers were well polished and they shone brightly, casting ethereal figures on the wall. The father had clearly gone out of his way to make sure the party would be one to remember forever, and it sure was.

Towards the far end of the west wing, Auntie Grace stood with her plate of food on one hand and a champagne flute on the other, she was looking around for her brother, Mr Ade. her eyes fell on Victor and she went over to welcome him home.Look at you, you're no more the little boy your father called me to the hospital to witness his birth. Goodness! How time flies! You're now a grown man. She literally shouted as she dropped her plate and glass on the floor so she could engage Victor in a hug. I missed you so much. Thank God for a successful life journey. My dear, on sunday, make sure to give testimony in Church. That is the right thing to do, this party is beautiful but just out of line. Give thanks to him who thanks is due. She said and released him from the suffocating hug and left the same way she came to go look for her brother. Are you alright? Linda asked Victor when she saw him rubbing his temple with an excruciating look on his face.I don't know mom. My head is thumping really bad. It feels as if there's a construction work going on in there. Victor replied looking as if he was about to cry.I knew the idea of not going to see a doctor after such a fall may be a bad idea.

Come on, let me take you home to rest. I'll give you some pain relievers and by tomorrow morning, we'll go see the doctor. Linda replied, looking more worried than ever. Excuse me, she turned to a family friend, can you find my husband? Tell him that i am in the car with the children, Victor is not feeling too well, therefore i am taking him home. Thank you. On their way out of the call, she caught sight of the two girls and signalled them to follow her. While waiting in the car, Mr Ade came and met them looking rather displeased.What are you guys doing out here when the party inside has only just begun?Dear, Victor is sick. I am taking him home to get some rest. You can stay back till the party ends. Apologize to the people on behalf of Victor and I.Son are you okay? He asked but only got a mumbled reply, Okay then, I'll see you guys at home. He waved at them as they drove off.Back home, Linda helped her son change into comfortable clothes and handed him two tablets of pain relievers and a glass of water. After he swallowed it, she watched him go under the bed covers. She placed a warm towel on his head in an attempt to reduce the pressure.

It wasn't up to an hour when she heard him screaming for help, she and the girls ran to his room and found him rolling on the floor. He had gotten up to go to the bathroom but fell because he had been dizzy and could not see clearly. Everything appeared blurry and foggy, and his head hurt even more. She knelt by him, cradling his head to her bosom.Anna, go and call a taxi! Hurry up! She screamed instructions at the girls, Olivia, go get my purse from my room and also a shawl. Meet me outside. She tried to get coax her son to stand up and walk outside while she supported him. They got into the taxi and she directed the cabman to the Family Health Specialist Hospital. She dialed her husband's number on her cell but Auntie Grace picked the call, without wondering why someone else was with his cellphone, Linda told her to let Mr Ade know that they were on their way to the hospital.It's okay baby, we are almost at the hospital, she tried to coo her son into being calm, can you please step on the brake? She said to the driver. The ER was notified and they came out to meet them at the hospital entrance when they arrived. He was placed on a stretcher and then taken into the theater. Mr Ade came running into the hospital lobby with his sister, Auntie Grace, looking angry and disturbed.Where is my son, what did you do to him? He asked his wife, ignoring the two scared girls who came to him for comfort.He's in there with the doctors. They haven't told me anything yet. Linda answered the first question. Auntie Grace sat down on the steel lobby seats, saying nothing as she watched her brother pace back and forth, invisible steams came out of his nostrils and ears.

The doctors came out and asked for the parents of the boy, Linda and Ade indicated that they were the parents. I don't have good news. The MRI scans show that your son has intracranial hemorrhage. Has he had any head trauma recently? He asked none of them in particular.Well, he fell twice on the wet marbled airport floor earlier today, hitting the back of his head really hard the second time. And, he fell at home not too long ago because he was dizzy. He must have hit his head again, I didn't see that. Linda answered plaintively.Why didn't you have him checked out when he first fell? He wasn't happy at the information he was given. Well, we will see what we can do. We may likely have to operate on him. He said.Please, do whatever you can to make my son better. Mr Ade pleaded with the doctor. He nodded in affirmation and walked back to the ward where Victor was placed. Linda was in shock, she retreated her steps till she was leaning on the wall and her two girls stood by her, all silently crying.Auntie Grace stood up from where she was sitting and went to console her brother, she brought out her cell and sent a text to the pastor of the church where they attended, telling him what had transpired. The devil is trying to destroy this family, but his plans will not work. I have called Bishop Josef, he will be here soon. Don't get yourself overly worked up. She told her brother.

But he seemed okay after the fall at the airport. That was the reason I didn't bother about getting him checked out. Grace, he's my only son, I can't lose him. He sobbed as put his palms over his face.Everything will be alright. Just have faith. Auntie said to him while patting him on the shoulder. The doctor came out to them again and informed them that he had contacted a neurologist and the surgery would take place as soon as he got there in about an hour or two. He went back into his office as he gave a nurse in teal scrubs a prescription to ring up from the pharmacy.

As if on cue, Bishop Josef walked in wearing a purple cassock with a heavy wooden cross hanging from a chain on his neck. On his left arm, he was clutching a big leather-bound bible and a brown satchel dangled on his side. Auntie turned her head and their eyes collided, she grinned and said, Bishop Josef is here, everything will be alright now. Mr Ade turned to greet him but Linda stood where she was, unmoving, her girls by her side.Bless you all. Mr Ade, you didn't tell me that your son returned from overseas, Bishop said to them looking disappointed. It doesn't matter anymore, I am here, the God that I serve will see him through this ordeal. Amen?Amen. They answered in unison. Their hopes were uplifted, the girls even smiled in relieve. Anna prayed in her heart that God would use Bishop Josef to heal her brother, she didn't want to lose him.Can you take me to where he is? The Bishop asked no one in particular.Yeah sure. Right this way.

Linda opted to take him towards the room she had seen them wheel Victor into. Everyone else stayed back in the lobby. Linda spoke to a nurse and explained that the Bishop was there to pray for Victor. They were then allowed into the room where her son was laying. Inside the room, Victor laid on the bed with wires all around him attached to a beeping monitor. He had been placed on anesthetics in order to keep him in a stable mood. The Bishop moved towards him and placed a hand on his forehead, then prayed for a couple minutes. He then reached into his satchel and brought out Holy water, anointing oil and salt. He requested for a cup but Anna told him that the sign on the door said "DO NOT FEED PATIENT". He said, Child, I am not feeding him mere food.

These are but instruments to facilitate his healing. On that note, Linda asked Anna to bring him one of the disposable cups that was sitting by the fountain in the corridor. The water, oil and salt was mixed together, he then lifted the cup up and prayed over it. Victor, though barely awake was made to open his mouth and the mixture was forced down his throat while his mom pressed his nostril closed. This was to make him gasp for air and in the process swallow the drink.Oh yes, Father thank you because your son has been made well. Amen? He finished his prayer and the others answered "Amen". Grace, it was a good thing for you to have called me here. Anna and Olivia, cry no more okay? Wipe your tears for the God of zion never fails us. He laughed heartily as he spoke with them in the lobby. He bade them farewell and left the hospital. Everyone was looking relieved and hopeful. They all sat down on the steel chairs looking less worried. The neurologist walked in and the doctor introduced him to the family, after they gave them their word to do the best they could, they both walked away to go do what they knew how to do best.While waiting, the girls both laid on the cold chairs and slept off. Even Auntie was gradually dozing off. Linda sat beside her husband, both holding hands and praying in their heart.

His heart rate is becoming too rapid, nurse, check if his anesthetics is still active. The doctor said to his team members. The patient, Victor was becoming more unstable. The room was becoming increasingly fast paced, everyone was running around trying to see what they could do to steady the patient. The machines kept beeping incessantly. Victor began to retch and cough as well. However, because of the anesthetics, he was unable to consciously spit out the vomit and in the process he inhaled the it. The doctors saw this and became worried. Earlier, when he had been examined, he was not at risk for aspiration but now, the doctor was confused. He stepped out of the room to the lobby and found his parents. He asked them if they had fed him any liquid or food while they were all waiting for the surgery, they told him that the Bishop came and gave him some mixtures to help heal him. There was no phrase that could describe the emotions the doctor experiencing. But the sign clearly says "Do Not Feed"? Moreover, he was under sedation! He nearly yelled at them but had to comport himself. Doctor, a nurse that was also in the OR signalled to the doctor and he walked over to her, we lost him. He aspirated on something. She said to him and walked away to go perform post mortem care on him.

The doctor looked like he was about to cry, he looked at his wrist watch and the time was well past 2am. Anna and Olivia had woken up and were staring at their parents wide-eyed and a little dazed as to where they were. The doctor came up to them and shook his head, gave them his condolence and walked away. Linda screamed and shot daggers at both her husband and his sister who were quietly taking the information in. No, mummy no, Vic can't be dead,no!!! Olivia screamed and then ran outside. Anna ran after her to console her but she was not fast enough because Olivia ran straight into a backing ambulance vehicle and fell flat on the ground. Anna stopped in her tracks and pierced the night with her high pitched scream. She ran to her sister, just as her family came out to see what made her scream. As the paramedic nurse felt Olivia's carotid pulse, she shook her head, saying she was sorry. Linda went mad with rage. She began to tear at her clothes and hair and had to be chemically subdued. Mr Ade went numb with shock, he had not just lost two children but his legacy as well. He sat on the ground and wailed like a child whose candy had been taken from him. Auntie was torn between weeping and trying to console Anna and her brother.

It's been five years. Five long lonely years for Anna and the leftover of her family. She had to grow on her own because her mother had long been admitted into a support group home for psychologically disturbed people. It wasn't like the psychiatric hospitals. There, she could try and live a normal life, interacting with people who shared similar experiences with her while also getting therapeutic help. Anna and Auntie visited her during the weekends, even though she most of the times won't remember who they were. Mr Ade cared less for his life let alone the life of those around him. He was living on autopilot all he did was go to work and come home to drink till sleep overpowered his insatiety.

And now, she found herself sitting in the same environment she told herself she would never step her feet in. How she loathe the Bishop and his teachings and his supposed miracles. Her life had been ripped from her, even though she turned out quite okay. She was at the top of her class and was aspiring to be a civil rights activist lawyer. The pew became harder as she continued fuming inside her. Every word, every movement Pastor Josef said or did irritated her. Auntie, I am going. I can not bear to sit through any of this anymore. She finally said to her aunt. You can meet me at home. And she walked out of the church amidst the dozen pair of eyes staring in her direction.

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Shattering Of The Faith. (2019, Mar 22). Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/03/page/9/

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