Do Revolutions and Armed Conflicts Come or are They Made Essay

Do Revolutions and Armed Conflicts Come or are They Made - Essay Example Consequently, one group arises against the other with a common aim of redeeming itself. Conflicts are caused by different factors such as the struggle to control and access of natural resources such as water source, control of oil fields or a mining site. Harsh economic conditions lead to intra-state revolutions while oppressive political systems are prone to initiate a revolution. Moreover, ethnic diversity is also seen as a cause of armed conflicts since parties to conflicts may be described by their ethnic identities. Goodwin (2001, p. 8) argues revolution occur due to social and economic inequalities with the majority claiming that equality has been denied against them or the minority claiming superiority. Revolutions occur as a group seeks to profit itself, achieve honor or in an attempt to prevent dishonor. In the 1960s there were revolutions in New York by civil rights activists demanding for equal rights for the African -Americans who were opposed to social and economic exclu sion. This paper presents a discussion of various causes of conflicts to support the argument that armed conflicts and revolution are actually made and do not just come. ... 8), the political organization of any state can be categorized into three dimensions. These dimensions include the type of state organization that is, whether the nation is bureaucratic or patrimonial. Political organization also includes the type of political regime adopted in the state; that is whether the system is inclusive/liberal or exclusive/repressive. Moreover, the third political structure dimension is based on the infrastructural power in the country; is it strong or weak. Goodwin (2001, p. 30) argues that a political system which is repressive and infrastructurally weak works to incubate revolution in both a bureaucratic and patrimonial regime. In addition, he observes that revolutions are more likely to succeed against patrimonial regimes than in bureaucratic systems. Goodwin (2001, p. 30) notes that patrimonial states do not facilitate the implementation of initiatives that can successfully oppose a popular revolution. Goodwin (2001, p. 11-12) describes that in bureaucr atic structure appointments to positions are made based on achievement in a particular specialized training while in a patrimonial system; appointments are based on political loyalty, kinship or ethnicity. He observes that in contrast to bureaucratic regimes, patrimonial systems are inefficient. Furthermore, Goodwin (2001, p.50) asserts that patrimonial regimes strengthen revolutionary movement by weakening other counterrevolutionary elites who are viewed as their chief opponents. This supports the argument that revolutions are actually made by the political system. Goodwin lists various patrimonial regimes including; Diaz in Mexico, Ceausescu in Romania and the Shah in Iran. Goodwin (2001, p.123) supports the argument that political system incubate conflicts by presenting

Young Goodman Brown Essay Example for Free

Young Goodman Brown Essay The people living in the United States of America are some of the most liberated people in the world. The majority of the people living in this country are well aware of their religious freedom and human rights. It is therefore hard to imagine that more than 300 years ago, there was a group of people living in Massachusetts who could not tolerate others; especially those whose views are not in conformity to their own. The Puritans were both celebrated and reviled in history. But for Nathaniel Hawthorne the way they persecuted non-conformists made him loathe them. The only problem is that he is related to some of the most notorious figures of that era. He wrote a significant number of works to help him deal with his connection to this men and the Young Goodman Brown is one best example of how he tried to exorcise the demons of the past. The Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804. He was born in a place used to be called Salem, Massachusetts. His hometown was later renamed to Danvers, Massachusetts and probably for good reason. In 1692 there was a real witch hunt in this town. Suspected witches were hanged and burned. His ancestors were leading men of Salem. One of them was William Hathorne who settled in the colony in the early part of the 17th century and then went on to become one of Salem’s spiritual builders and made a significant contribution in creating a theocratic society (Meltzer, 10). William Hathorne held many offices including magistrate and as a military leader who forced the Indians out of their homeland. Later on Nathaniel Hawthorne will use some of his exploits and misdeeds as the background for his stories. In order to have some perspective, in the year that Nathaniel Hawthorne was born, it was also the same year that Thomas Jefferson was reelected president of the United States and about the same time when Lewis and Clark set out on an expedition to explore the West (Meltzer, 15). It means that when Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown America was still a relatively young country and thus the lessons of the past are still fresh in the memories of many most especially those who came from the primary settlements such as in Massachusetts. For Nathaniel Hawthorne his darkest secret lies in the fact that his ancestors â€Å"†¦earned the reputation of chasing down the wicked like a bloodhound† (Meltzer, 12). The following best describes the situation in the Salem witch trials: While the witch-hunt craze lasted, men and women, young and old, were jailed, their property confiscated and they were forced to invent testimony against innocent others. The court’s central aim was to get a confession out of the accused. About fifty people gave in to the intense pressure and some were executed (Meltzer, 11). It will become apparent later on that Nathaniel Hawthorne made a realization; that he could do something about the dishonorable actions of his ancestors by becoming a writer. But as mentioned earlier American in the mid-19th century was not exactly a highly industrialized nation. This is bad news for an aspiring writer like Hawthorne because this means that it is extremely difficult to earn a decent living writing short stories and novels. He had a rough start as a writer. But then he found his niche, he found his own unique style and the rest is history. The Story The Young Goodman Brown is one of the more important works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and it is about the religious experience of a young man named Young Goodman Brown. The main character was married to a young woman named Faith and one day decided to take on a strange journey deep into the woods right after sunset. It is a curious time to start traveling to another town or to any particular location. It turns out that Young Goodman Brown was invited to attend a clandestine meeting in the darkest part of the woods. The story took a sudden turn when the highly religious Young Goodman Brown was discovered to be meeting with the devil incarnate (McCabe, par. 1). Hawthorne made a cryptic introduction of the devil when he wrote the following: But the only thing about him that could be fixed upon as remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake. So curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wiggle itself, like a living serpent. This, of course, must have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light. Hawthorne did not elaborate why the pious young man consented to a meeting with the devil. This difficulty is exacerbated by the declaration of Young Goodman Brown who said: We are a people of prayer, and good works, to boot, and abide no such wickedness. The abovementioned excerpt may help answer that question – Young Goodman Brown was deceived and did not realize at first that he was talking to Satan. But that is not the most interesting part of the story. The tale became more complicated when Young Goodman Brown saw the most highly respected people in Salem village taking part in the said devious meeting. The young man could not believe his eyes when he saw Goody Cloyse, Deacon Gookin, and the old minister of Salem. The confusion was made more intense by the presence of known sinners including the hated sorcerers from the heathen tribes. The religious people of his village spoke against their kind and yet all are gathered under the trees, seeming to enjoy each other’s company. It was also revealed to Young Goodman Brown that the prim and proper ladies in Salem village are guilty of either murder or unbridled lust. He was shocked to find out about the hypocrisy and the deception. But his life was about to be destroyed by what he saw next. In the beginning of the story Hawthorne made it clear that aside from religion Young Goodman Brown’s purpose in life is to love and cherish his wife, Faith. He was not only madly in love with his young and beautiful wife but he considered her as his anchor and helps him keep focus. At the climax of the story however, Young Goodman Brown saw his wife in the meeting and willingly participated in the demonic rituals. Needless to say, the young man was crushed and he would never recover. He went on to live for a long time. At his funeral he was survived by an older looking Faith, by his children and grandchildren. But he died a broken man full of gloom that his family never bothered to inscribe anything in his tombstone. It seems that it is best for him to die rather than live. The Context As they say it is all about context. The story can be interpreted different ways but the correct interpretation will have to have an understanding of the context. One critic provided the initial foray into the study of context when he wrote, â€Å"Despite Hawthorne’s reputation as a romancer who preferred to create a ‘neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land’ †¦ he paid careful attention to historical settings for most of his literary works (Person, 16). Hawthorne based his story on historical facts but most importantly he based it on the actions of his ancestors. A deeper examination of his lineage will reveal that, â€Å"Puritanism and the history of early Massachusetts settlements – Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Salem – form one important context in which to understand Hawthorne’s writing† (Person, 16). It must be noted that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s great-great-great grandfather was William Hathorne. William Hawthorne was well known for ordering one Quaker woman – Ann Coleman – to be whipped while walking the streets of Salem. John Hathorne the son of William Hathorne was also made notorious by presiding in the equally infamous Salem witch trials in 1692. One should also note that the letter â€Å"w† is missing from the last names of the aforementioned ancestors. This could mean that the author was less than thrilled to be associated with these men. In fact, â€Å"†¦Hawthorne referred to each of these ancestors as a ‘bitter persecutor who possessed all the Puritanic traits both good and evil. Hawthorne felt haunted by these ancestors and took shame upon himself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Person, 17). It can be said that Nathaniel Hawthorne had to rectify what was done in the past through his stories and novels. The link to the Salem witch trials and the plot of Young Goodman Brown can be seen in how Hawthorne used details from the trial and incorporated it into the story. The most important aspect of the Salem witch trial that Hawthorn used was encapsulated in a concept called â€Å"specter evidence† (Person, 18). This is the belief that people could give Satan permission to mimic them in a supernatural way and then using that likeness, the devil could then move freely within the community to tempt others. In Young Goodman Brown the concept of â€Å"spectral evidence† was used to the hilt. Critics assert that the people that Young Goodman Brown encountered are the specters of everyone he knew (Person, 18). Unfortunately, the young man believed the specter to be the real thing and as a result his life was turned upside down. The sense of gloom felt by Young Goodman Brown is but a reflection of what Hawthorne felt because what his ancestors did he could not forget, â€Å"It was a family bloodstain Nathaniel Hawthorne could never rid himself, of even after more than a hundred years had passed since those ancestors died† (Meltzer, 14). But he tried his best. The Intentions of the Author Based on the preceding discussion and based on a careful analysis of Young Goodman Brown it would appear that Hawthorne had at least three intentions when he began to write this piece of literature and these are listed as follows: 1. Hawthorne wanted to show that it is counterproductive to have legalistic communities; 2. Hawthorne wanted to show that religious bigotry accomplishes nothing of long lasting significance; 3. Hawthorne wanted to show that some of the religious people in the past are guilty of hypocrisy and if truth be told they deserved to be hanged and burned just like the suspected witches in the Salem witch trials; and finally 4. Hawthorne tried to demonstrate that suspicion can lead to distrust and paranoia. Nathaniel Hawthorne was able to accomplish all of the above by creating a great work of fiction. In this work of fiction he used the aforementioned concept called â€Å"spectral evidence† to make Young Goodman Brown believed that the people he saw were indeed acting on their own free will. It was an improbable story but worked well to develop the ideas of Hawthorne. It was the contrasting subplots; the first one shows a group of pious people living in Salem village, the second one shows the same group of people living a double life by being true worshippers of the devil. In Hawthorne’s storyline he was able to criticize and make fun of the religious order of yesteryears. He also made no qualms in exposing the excesses of the Puritans. He was also able to show that if people isolate themselves by persecuting others – especially the nonconformists – and driving them out of the community then they will lack the necessary feedback mechanism that will tell them they are living in excess. The tragedy of Young Goodman Brown is the lack of communication and the inability to reach out to others as shown by the behavior of the main character. Conclusion In Young Goodman Brown the story can only be understood by examining the historical background of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s ancestors participated in the violent persecution of those who failed to conform to the standards set forth by the Puritans. This means that those who disagree can leave anytime but for those who wanted to stay, they must learn to live by the rules. Those who will not conform will have to suffer by flogging, hanging, and burning. For Nathaniel Hawthorne building a highly legalistic society can backfire and instead of creating a harmonious community the byproduct is hypocrisy and secret sins. But most importantly if people isolate themselves then they are impeding progress in their spiritual journey. By erecting a facade of religiosity or by not opening up and reaching out to others, people will become paranoid and die with an unresolved inner turmoil. In the case of Young Goodman Brown he made a mistake of judging the specters as real and so he decided not to be in communion with his own people. There could also be another interpretation, that what he encountered were not specters and that what really happened is that he fell asleep and dreamt that he was in a demonic meeting attended by religious leaders and his wife. Irregardless of which one is truth, Young Goodman Brown could have fixed everything if only he reached out to his wife, to his pastor, to the elders of the church and initiated dialogue. But unfortunately Young Goodman Brown took the easy path and it is to build a high wall made out of pride and the erroneous thinking that he alone knew the truth. Works Cited Alkana, Joseph. The Social Self: Hawthorne, Howells, William James, and Nineteenth-Century Psychology. KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1997. Demas, Corrine. Great American Short Stories. New York: Barnes Noble, Inc. , 2004. McCabe, Michael. Nathaniel Hawthorne: Young Goodman Brown. 27 July 1998 Florida Gulf Coast University. 26 October 2008 http://itech. fgcu. edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/Hawthorne. htm. Meltzer, Milton. Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography. MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2007.

The Dead Fish Society :: Personal Narrative Essays

The Dead Fish Society It was a dark and stormy day. It the first day of class and Bletchley Boys School - a school rich in tradition, and rich in the traditional sense. I will never forget my first year at that school, for I met a teacher who changed my life forever. His name was John Flounder. He taught poetry - a class that was not exactly the most macho class, but one that was required. I sat in the classroom of Poetry 101 wondering what I was doing there. I looked around at the 30 other pimply faced boys who sat wondering the same thing. We were rich, we would be successful, and nobody ever needed poetry while holding a board meeting. I would soon change my mind. He entered the classroom through the front door, whistling a song vaguely familiar - the theme to "The Andy Griffith Show." I would later learn that its real title was "The Fishing Hole." He strolled through the class and out the back door. As we sat in wonder, he popped his head back in and said "Well, come on, then." We followed him out into the hall. "Men, I want to read something to you, " he said. "I gaze upon the still waters, my hair ruffles in the quiet breeze, the worm in my fingers squirms to be free, he does not like the hook. O worm, how many of those like me, didst thou consume before today ? a long dead fisherman perhaps are you ? to help me with my task." Flounder looked up for a moment and then at us. "What does this mean to you men ?" he asked. After a moment of completely blank stares he continued, "the author is trying to give you a message - 'Carpe Piscus.' Do any of you know what that means ?" Ralph Finkel did. Ralph always knew. "It means 'Seize the Fish!'" "Yes! Seize the Fish! It means that life is too short to spend your time in school. Go fishing, my boy! Look at the faces in these pictures, " he said as he pointed to one of the many pictures in the display case. "these are young men just like you. Can you hear them calling out ? They are saying 'Carpe Piscus - Seize the Fish.

Early Childhood Educational Philosophy Essay

â€Å"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts †¦ it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and always to think for themselves. † Robert Hutchins. It is very clear to me that a successful early childhood program must provide a safe and nurturing environment that promotes social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Young children need a warm and inviting atmosphere to learn. Children must have their basic needs met before any learning can take place. Safety, nutrition, and shelter are a few needs which must be provided. Although early childhood centers may not directly provide these services outside the regular school day, administrators must connect with outside agencies in order to recommend and provide families with necessary services. Children need to be encouraged to express themselves though verbal communication, text/pictures, play, and through art. Children learn through manipulation of objects in their environment, creative play, and discovery of the world around them. It is through group play, role modeling, and through supportive teaching that children grow socially and emotionally. These group activities teach young children how to live, work and play together. Independent and guided problem solving and independent exploration help children gain greater independence. Children need both independent and teamwork skills to become a well rounded person Early childhood teachers need to understand that often they are the one person spending the majority of the time with the children they are teaching. Parents today are busy with work and trying to keep the household together. Released by the U. S. Census Bureau in November, 2009 there are approximately 13. 7 million single parent s in the United States today. These single parents are responsible for raising 21. 8 million children which is roughly 26% of children under 21 in the U. S. today. I strongly believe that early childhood teachers are responsible for forming a superior bond with each parent so they can work together to help each child grow as an individual, based on the child’s needs. A classroom is places where differences should be valued and children and their families are appreciated and respected. Each Classroom is diverse in many ways, including economically, and culturally. I believe each teacher, parent and administrator should be committed to promoting diversity in all its forms, including those related to racial and ethnic identity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, family structure, religion, national origin and ability. I believe as educators we should actively seek to teach children tolerance of all forms of difference, and just as actively seek to dissuade children from bias about norms and stereotypes. Throughout the classroom as well as the center there should be displays that show diversity as a celebration of people, of differences and of ways of living. I believe in early childhood education the best form of assessment is performance records. Performance records are any documentation regarding the child’s development and learning. These records help the child care provider to notice patterns in a child’s behavior as well as learning patterns. It is important to document at various times of the day as well as with a variety of teacher directed and child directed activities. I feel in early childhood children develop at differently, some children develop faster than others and therefore standardize testing is not an accurate account of the children’s abilities. At this age in a child’s life children should not be measured against their peers. I believe that each child should be measured on an individual basis. I feel that the best approach to curriculum is the integrated curriculum approach which involves picking one topic that can be explored across more than one academic discipline. I do feel that children are going to be more interested if they have some choice in the topics. With preschool children they are at an age where they can express what they want. I feel that a teacher should include them in some of the topics they explore. Children should participate independently, with the entire group and cooperatively in small groups. Each day should be a balance of free-choice time and planned structured activities in specific time blocks. Activities throughout the day are either child-initiated or teacher-directed. This variety promotes independence, provides opportunities for children to practice and acquire social skills and fosters the development of a positive self-image. It is important for every teacher and administrator to remember that â€Å"In early childhood you may lay the foundation of poverty or riches, industry of idleness, good or evil, by the habits to which you train your children. Teach them right habits then and their future life is safe. † Lydia Sigourney. I truly believe that each child that walks into our lives is there for us to nurture and help grow and we may be the only one that is laying the foundations. We have a chance to change the life of every child that walks in our center.

Are There Advantages to Home Schooling? Essay

â€Å"Many people turn their nose up at me and make a face of disproval when I tell them I home school my children. It really doesn’t bother me though. I feel there are a great number of advantages to home schooling my children.†Ã¢â‚¬â€œMargaret Schiner. Many parents have often pondered on which type of educational setting would be better for their children. The most common way for children to receive their basic K-12 education is by attending a public school. However, there is one very different option, home schooling. The advantages of home schooling are starting to be realized by more and more parents each year, evident by the growing number of children being home schooled. So, are there advantages to home schooling? With today’s society, this seems to be growing truer all the time. Of course, there are disadvantages to just about anything; home schooling is no different. Although, there seems to be many more advantages to teaching children from home, versus s ending them to a public school. The home schooling process seems to be much more efficient than that of public schools. Lawrence Hardy of American School Board Journal asked Yvonne Bunn, a home schooling mom, to comment on her thoughts of how home schooling matched up with that of a public school, academically. Ms. Bunn replied saying, â€Å"Academically, home schooling is like a tutorial, a one-on-one relationship. That is every teacher’s dream† (18). She went on to comment about how she thinks home schooling is â€Å"the quickest, most comprehensive way of covering a subject† (18). Home schooling seems to be the best way to speed up the learning  process because of the lack of other students. Ms. Bunn told of how one of her daughters was able to complete the entire kindergarten curriculum before Christmas, and this was in just two  hours of â€Å"school† a day. She described how this is possible by saying, â€Å"We accomplish the curriculum in two hours a day because we’re not lining up,  we’re not dealing with troublemakers in the classroom† (18). Many people feel as if the sheltered environment of learning in the home will often hurt a child when he or she decides to leave home to pursue a college education. However, this might not necessarily be true. Margaret Schiner has recently sent her home schooled son off to college, and he is now doing very well in the college setting. She said she believed that â€Å"he is at an advantage because he has learned to study independently and not rely on others so much, which is similar to how you learn in college.† Lawrence Hardy also discusses this issue. He indicates that they (home schooled children) â€Å"are naturals for post-secondary work because of their experience with the kind of independent study that college requires† (19). There is another advantage to home schooling; although, this is an advantage that is often debated for moral reasons. Since most parents who home school don’t keep their student’s grades, when asked by a college to assign a grade for such things as dual-enrollment college classes, the parents often assign the highest grade possible. Rebecca Talluto, dean of educational services at Brevard Community College discusses this topic. She tells how when a home schooled student wants to be part of dual-enrolled college classes, he or she do not go to a principal or guidance counselor to get the proper documents signed. â€Å"Instead they must submit a notarized affidavit that says they are at least sophomores. Their parent, in lieu of a high school guidance counselor and principal, sign a form from us stating that the student meets minimum  GPA requirements. And this is where the problem shows up: when we explain this form to the parents, they usually reply that they do not keep grades. Then they go ahead and sign the form, assigning their child a 4.0 GPA† (20). Unfair? Yes, but it’s definitely an advantage for home schooled students. Just about every critic of the home schooling process will use the â€Å"loss of socialization† point when debating why home schooling is a bad choice.  Yvonne Bunn was asked about whether she was worried about socialization. Ms. Bunn had a very interesting reply, almost flip-flopping the question. She stated, â€Å"We had better be concerned with socialization, because socialization is one of the best reasons to home school. Just look at society today† (18). She went on to say that â€Å"home schooled children have lots of opportunities for socialization–from church groups, scouting, 4-H, and community organizations, to name few† (18). Ms. Bunn feels like her children don’t necessarily need school in order to gain the basic, essential socialization skills needed for life. However, Bob Chase, President of the National Education Association, feels differently. He feels as if the socialization skills picked up from interaction with children of your own age while in public schooling is essential. He says, â€Å"Public education represents a slice of reality that goes beyond participation in 4-H activities, ballet classes, and church socials† (qtd. in Hardy 15). Many parents feel as if they should be more concerned about what kind of socialization their child is receiving, rather than how much. By knowing just what activities a child is involved in, for instance a church youth group, there is a better understanding of just who they are interacting with, as well as a little more control over whom they socialize with. In a public school setting there just isn’t this type of knowledge or control. Ms. Bunn agrees with  this type of philosophy stating, â€Å"Parents should be concerned about the quality of social contracts, rather than quantity † (qtd. in Hardy 18). Before really looking into the issue, most people turn their nose up at the idea of home schooling their children because of the negative remarks often made about this alternative to public schools and the common myths that have developed over time such as: the loss of socialization and poor success in post-secondary schooling. However, if one takes the time to really sit and evaluate which choice would be better for their children, receiving an education in a public school or at home, home schooling has a lot of strong advantages that cannot be ignored. A very small percentage of people who  home school their children give the practice up, and either start their children in a public school for the first time or send them back to the public schooling system. The education that home schooled children are receiving today is often better than that of a public education, and is now starting to show up in society more and more. Richard Hardy discusses this by saying, â€Å"It’s hard to argue with the advantages of one-on-one instruction, of extensive parent involvement, and of a curriculum tailored to every child’s needs. Home schooled children are winning spelling and geography bees and going on to top-notch colleges† (19). It’s obvious there are definite advantages to home schooling, just ask an experienced home school mom like Margaret Schiner. Works Cited Hardy, Lawrence. â€Å"Learning Without School.† American School Board Journal 188 (Aug. 2001): 14-19. Schiner, Margaret. Personal interview. 4 April 2004. Talluto, R. â€Å"Accountability for Home Schoolers.† American School Board Journal 188 (Aug. 001): 20-21.

Free Essays on Western Influence is Eroding Tradition Chinese Value

As China’s entry into the WTO since 2001, it seems gradually obvious that the concussion, the collision, the combination and development between Chinese traditional value and the importing western cultural value has become nationwide recognized. Confronted with the enormously coming western culture and product nowadays, my point is that, we Chinese are having a kind of attitude that combined with partially acceptance, partially refusal and partially development. Firstly, we are NOT taking the â€Å"whole-refusing† conception. China is an ancient country with a history of more than 5000 years. Because of some historical and geographical reason, as well as the long-standing fabulous substantial and spiritual property, China has a Confucian traditional cultural value system, based on the concept of the â€Å"Great Union†, which has down from dynasty to dynasty, from generation to generation for thousands of years. This kind of typical Confucian value has been largely vanished into by the end of Chinese emperor era, nevertheless, it’s still deeply rooted in our ideology and moral value system nowadays, in some extent, has a profound influence via the course of our accepting to the western culture. Hence, and secondly, we are enduring the erosion of the western cultural impact irresistibly. My point is that, we are to treat the vary impact from two aspects, the side of positive and negative, I mean. As the aspect of positive influence, as to the western Scientism and Rationalism, the Humanism and humanistic literature, the neoteric idea of Democracy and Nomocracy, the advanced Modernism, and the continuable-developmnet strategy and many more, we are to enormously accept and manage, with the great confidence and generosity of our unique particularity of our nation-owned. Studying while collision, sublimating while impacted, enhancing while syncretized, this is the right way to these advantages that we can accept. Additionally, we ... Free Essays on Western Influence is Eroding Tradition Chinese Value Free Essays on Western Influence is Eroding Tradition Chinese Value As China’s entry into the WTO since 2001, it seems gradually obvious that the concussion, the collision, the combination and development between Chinese traditional value and the importing western cultural value has become nationwide recognized. Confronted with the enormously coming western culture and product nowadays, my point is that, we Chinese are having a kind of attitude that combined with partially acceptance, partially refusal and partially development. Firstly, we are NOT taking the â€Å"whole-refusing† conception. China is an ancient country with a history of more than 5000 years. Because of some historical and geographical reason, as well as the long-standing fabulous substantial and spiritual property, China has a Confucian traditional cultural value system, based on the concept of the â€Å"Great Union†, which has down from dynasty to dynasty, from generation to generation for thousands of years. This kind of typical Confucian value has been largely vanished into by the end of Chinese emperor era, nevertheless, it’s still deeply rooted in our ideology and moral value system nowadays, in some extent, has a profound influence via the course of our accepting to the western culture. Hence, and secondly, we are enduring the erosion of the western cultural impact irresistibly. My point is that, we are to treat the vary impact from two aspects, the side of positive and negative, I mean. As the aspect of positive influence, as to the western Scientism and Rationalism, the Humanism and humanistic literature, the neoteric idea of Democracy and Nomocracy, the advanced Modernism, and the continuable-developmnet strategy and many more, we are to enormously accept and manage, with the great confidence and generosity of our unique particularity of our nation-owned. Studying while collision, sublimating while impacted, enhancing while syncretized, this is the right way to these advantages that we can accept. Additionally, we ...

Examination of the United States Position on the Kyoto Treaty essays

Examination of the United States Position on the Kyoto Treaty essays According to an article found in the journal, Harvard International Review, in 1997 one-hundred sixty nations from around the world met in Kyoto Japan to discuss global climate change and to implement a strategy for correcting the problem (Zepeda, 2004). As a result of this meeting the Kyoto Protocol was created. This protocol is actually a treaty that has since been successfully implemented (Zepeda, 2004). The treaty or protocol was designed to obligate the countries that sign the treaty to revert back to the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions standards of 1990 by the year 2012. In addition, the treaty required that 55 or more nations that compose 55% of worldwide GHG emissions to sign the treaty in order for the treaty to be effective (Zepeda, 2004). Schreurs (2002) asserts that at the time of the 1997 meeting there were great expectations for the development of an international treaty that would address the issue of global warning. The international community was also anticipating the support and participation of the United States. This anticipation existed because President Clinton and in particular Vice President Al Gore were known for their environmentally friendly beliefs and initiatives (Schreurs, 2000). Indeed at the time Gore was the greenest politician to be member of the White House in many years (Schreurs, 2000). In addition environmentalists had great expectations and there was also a great deal of fear among industry was also real (Schreurs, 2000). In addition there were indications that the Clinton administration would shift US positions on important global environmental issues. For instance, Clinton signed the Biodiversity Convention during his first Earth Day as president. In addition Clinton posited that the United States would voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000 even though the administration initially remained opposed to legally binding targets and timetables (Schreurs, 2...