Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Learning from Mother Teresa Essay -- Graduate College Admissions Essay

Learning from Mother Teresa       Mother Teresa is the most important peace hero of the 20th Century. Many have focused on bringing peace by political means, both violent and non-violent. Though these means may bring temporary relief, they treat only the symptoms of violence. Mother Teresa addressed the root of all violence which is in the human heart. She believed in an active peacemaking and taught that "works of love are works of peace." (Collopy 14) Her power came from three things: a radical understanding of peace, unwavering devotion to victims of all types of violence, and the beautiful example of her life.    Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Albania, in 1910 (Vardey xx). In 1928 she joined the Loretto order to work as a teacher in India. Her true calling came in 1946 when, according to Mother Teresa, "I was traveling to Darjeeling by train, when I heard the voice of God... The message was clear. I must leave the convent to help the poor by living among them" (Sebba 46). Mother Teresa left the confines of the Loretto order to begin her own ministry. In 1950 she received papal permission to found a new religious order, the Missionaries of Charity (Associated Press, Highlights). Through the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa brought true peace and hope to millions.    Love is the most fundamental peace. Peace that comes from love is not simply the absence of conflict, it is active, living, and engages our truest selves. It is this positive peace that was Mother Teresa's radical vision. For Mother Teresa, peace was so much more than political stability. Nations do not suffer, individuals do. Nations cannot be at peace unless individuals are at peace. Mother Theresa said, "The whole... ...h all you meet. Remember, Works of love are works of peace." (Collopy 14). By valuing every human being, by finding Jesus even in the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa was a hero because she gave peacemaking love to all she met, and taught others to do likewise by her example.    Works Cited    Associated Press. Mother Teresa in Her Own Words. 1997 http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/mother.teresa/quotes/index.html Highlights of Mother Teresa's Life. 1997 http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/mother.teresa/chronology/index.html CNN. "Saint of the Gutters". 1997 http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/mother.teresa/impact/index.html Collopy, Michael. Works of Love are Works of Peace. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1996. Sebba, Anne. Mother Teresa. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Vardey, Lucinda. Mother Teresa-A Simple Path. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay -- business trip, aristotle

The tragic tale Death of a Salesman fulfills Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy to a great degree. The play conforms to Aristotle’s definition seamlessly for the factors of plot, thought, diction, and spectacle, satisfying all of the key necessities for each section. Character, also, fits well with his definition, but there are a few deviations from Aristotle’s perfect tragedy that prevent a seamless fit. The use of a chorus is completely ignored in this play, but being one of the least important elements, it does not affect the overall worth of the play. When the individual parts of the play are examined, it satisfies Aristotle’s requirements for a perfect tragedy. In Aristotle’s definition of a perfect tragedy he delegates plot as the most important component of the play. According to Aristotle, plot can be defined as the cause-and-effect chain that presents the incidents to the audience. This chain must have rising action, a climax, and falling action, as well as being self-contained, complex, and contain a significant meaning (McManus). Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman satisfies all of these stipulations completely. The structure of Death of a Salesman has a beginning, middle, and end as required by Aristotle, however the order of these are not necessarily true to form. Some events that occur in the middle of the play should be at the beginning if examined as purely a cause and effect chain, and some events at the beginning should be at the middle. The inciting action when Biff discovers his father’s infidelity during one of Willy’s business trips. The climax of the play is the argument between Willy and Biff where Biff realizes that Willy is a cause of his short comings. Biff’s statement, â€Å"And I never got anywhere becau... ...financial situation in which they live, enticing pity from the audience. This limited use of spectacle would be applauded by Aristotle. Arthur Miller succeeds as playwright with Death of a Salesman, at least according to Aristotle. He successfully blends the elements of plot, character, thought, diction, and spectacle in to a tragic tale that Aristotle would deem perfect. He took all of Aristotle’s requirements and with a few deviations put forth a true tragic tale. All things considered, Aristotle would commend this as a perfect tragedy. Works Cited Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Dir. Volker Schlöndorff. By Arthur Miller. Perf. Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich. CBS Presents, 1985. DVD. McManus, Barbara F. "Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy." Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy. The College of New Rochelle, Nov. 1999. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Xyz Affair

From March of 1797 to 1800, a diplomatic scandal occurred where Americans were outraged by demands from the French for a bribe as a condition for negotiating with American diplomats that became known as the XYZ Affair. John Adams took presidency in 1797 and inherited several problems from George Washington’s administration, including hostilities between the United States and France that began to escalate in the 1790s. The signing of Jay’s Treaty, which violated of the Treaty of Paris yet averted the threat of war with England, induced angry reactions from both American and European politicians.Democratic-Republicans believed the treaty was a humiliating surrender to the British. French leaders, meanwhile, viewed it as a union with their enemy, and the violation of the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. In response to the John Jay’s agreement, the French used forces to plunder more than 300 American ships. To stop the attacks on American shipping and settle on an agr eement with France, Adams appointed three commissioners: Charles Pinckney, United States minister to France; John Marshall, a Virginia lawyer; and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts.Upon arriving in Paris in October 1797, the three men experienced a hostile environment. They requested a meeting with the French government. The envoys met three secret agents to relay Talleyrand’s terms of negotiations. The three agents were labeled as X, Y and Z, but later revealed as Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy, and Lucien Hauteval respectfully. The agents insisted that before any negotiate could begin, they demanded 50,000 pounds of sterling, a $12 million loan from America, a $250,000 personal bribe to the French minister, and a formal apology to the French minister for a comment made by President John Adams.Though bribery was extremely common in the eighteenth-century politics, Talleyrands demands were too high for merely a pledge to negotiate. Pinckney rejected the terms and told the French agents â€Å"no, no, not a sixpence. † The incident became known as â€Å"The XYZ Affair. † Once the commissioners’ report to Congress became public, citizens were furious about the French behavior. Even the most loyal Democratic-Republicans, who supported a strong relationship with France, felt a sense of betrayal and many joined a call for war.Pinckney’s response to the demands sparked a rallying that spread throughout the colonies: â€Å"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute. † Federalist politicians were eager for a fight and the war campaign gained more support. Adams refused to declare war but advocated the build-up of American armed forces and raised taxes. Adams also accepted new laws that tried to limit protests against the government and its actions. These laws were the Alien and Sedition Acts.They made it difficult for immigrants to become a United States citizen and people from certain countries, such as Fra nce, could not become a citizen at all. The laws also restricted free speech and freedom of the press. Many citizens saw the Alien and Sedition Acts as harsh and undemocratic laws. Congress stopped commercial trade with France, renounced the alliance of 1778, tripled the size of the army, and created a Navy Department with an order for the contraction of 40 warships.By the fall of 1798, American ships were waging an undeclared war against the French in the Caribbean waters, a conflict that is known as the Quasi-War. The French seized over 300 American ships. The United States retaliated by capturing 22 French ships off the American coast and in the West Indies. Hamilton led the Federalist charge for war, but Adams remained steadfast in his refusal to sign a formal declaration of war. He believed that war with France would divide the colonies and lead to a civil war.This could be Adams’ finest hour because his of his decision to put the interests of his nation ahead of those o f his party. 5 In 1799, Tallyrand, who did not want to deplete the French military with a fight outside of Europe, let it be known that he was willing to talk. Adams sent another delegation to negotiate a peaceful end to the quasi-war with France. But by the time the envoy arrived in Paris, Napolean Bonaparte was in power and looking to cut ties with America.The two sides finally produced an agreement called â€Å"The Convention of 1800,† that annulled the 1778 treaty of alliance and excused the French from damage claims of American shippers. Had Adams chosen war, it may have jeopardized the American purchase of Louisiana in 1803. The threat of war with France was eliminated. President Adams showed Europe that the new American nation was ready to defend itself and would not be bullied anymore. The naval program Adams helped to stimulate would also help the United States defeat the Barbay pirates in the First and Second Barbay war as well as aiding in the War of 1812.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Critical Analysis of Dramatic Irony in Hamlet

Critical Analysis of Dramatic Irony in Hamlet Ophelia loves Hamlet although we believe he doesn’t feel the same way towards her by the way he treats her at certain times in the play, but he truly in the end does show he loved Ophelia. This incident manipulates audience sympathies, develops character and develops the conflict of the play. It manipulates the audience sympathies because it’s showing something that the audience has probably seen in reality.When there’s an incident like this occurring in real life, people will feel sad because of the negative things that are happening to a person. In this incident, the audience knows that she’s been falling for Hamlet, and still the audience would prefer seeing the best outcome happen to Ophelia, though the audience knows the reason for it to not happen, therefore the audience sympathies become manipulated. This incident develops the character because by Hamlet not feeling the way she does towards him, it gives the audience an insight on how Hamlet feels about women.In this case, the audience can see that Hamlet’s disgust of his mother’s sudden marriage makes him become an antagonist towards women. He thinks they’re all alike, easy to persuade like his mother was persuaded by his uncle and in haste too. It develops the conflict of the play because throughout the play, a new negative feeling of Hamlet’s, always becomes expressed, and follows one after another. It builds on to the play, which makes Hamlet say later on, â€Å"to be or not to be. Each time Hamlet feels bad the more he doesn’t value his life and the more he feels like being dead. In conclusion, this is how the incident has an affect. It does so many things to the play, like how it brings out a character, how it reaches out to an audience, and how it builds on the conflict. This incident is one of important parts of the play because without it, we may not see Hamlet the way we see it now.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Censor Ship of a High School Newspaper

Censoreship of a High School Newspaper Students at Central High School have written an article called â€Å"Underage Drinking Rampant at Central High†. The article is in the High School newspaper called The Tiger’s Eye†. The article is about teenagers from the high school are underage drinking and it is out of control. The students want to distribute the news paper to the school. The School’s Administration is against the distribution of this article. The principal and superintendent believe the article should be censored from the school.But the students believe that distributing the article will inform younger teenagers about underage drinking, and will prevent them from drinking. Although the Administration believes that the newspaper should be surpressed, it should still be distributed. The first reason the article should be distributed is because it’s the law. The Constitution contains all the laws of the United States. The First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution guarantees the right of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. According to the First Amendment â€Å"Congress shall make no law†¦ abridging the freedom of speech or of the press†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (134).Freedom of speech means that the students can write and publish whatever they want. In addition, the editor of â€Å"The Tiger’s Eye† pointed out that the principal and super intendent â€Å"want a community in which everyone obeys the law. Everyone but them† (134). In other words, the administration should also obey the law. However, the law does apply in some circumstances. For example, the U. S. Supreme Court decided that High School Administrations have the right to censor or forbid topics that can be sensitive to students.The Administrators believe that underage drinking is a sensitive topic and that they should forbid the distribution of the article. But everyone knows about underage drinking, so it is not a sensitive topic. There fore, the right of freedom of the press should be respected. The second reason the article should be distributed is so the students learn about the what happens when you drink. The consequences that underage drinking can affect you are serious. Almost everyone at the high school kows about drinking. An anonymous person stated â€Å"First you drink a little. Then you dance a little. Then you find a quiet bedroom somewhere or go out ang nto your car. Everybody knows this. †(133). He or she clearly satets the a majority of the high school students knows what happens. Furthermore, Juanita C. says â€Å"Sure I drink. Not a lot. Everyone I know does. †(132). She has friends that drink and she stated that everyone she knows does. However, Trisha M. was one of the many people who said â€Å"I’m not ready to drink yet. Maybe when I get a lot older. †(133). She and the other teens that answered a similar way don’t really know what’s happening with the drinking. Nevertheless, informing people about the serious consequences can save lives.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

My Home Purchase Plan

Under this Plan, the Government will provide land for the HKHS (Hong Kong Housing Society) to build â€Å"no-frills† small and medium flats for lease to eligible applicants at prevailing market rent. The tenancy period will be up to five years, within which the rent will not be adjusted. Within a specified time frame, tenants of the Plan may purchase the flat they rent or another flat under the Plan at prevailing market price, or a flat in the private market. They will receive a subsidy equivalent to half of the net rental they have paid during the tenancy period, and use it for part of the down payment. The Government has already earmarked sites in Tsing Yi, Diamond Hill, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Tuen Mun and other areas for a total of some 5000 flats to be built under the Plan. The first project will provide about 1000 flats in Tsing Yi by 2014. In the point of view of the Government, they would like to wisely spending the money of helping the sandwich class with flexibility in their home purchase plan, including the choice of opting to purchase the flat they rent, another flat under the plan, or a flat in the private market; which also want to help on slowing down the raising on both rental and purchasing prices currently in the market. The Government thinks that the current price in the market has been raised too fast and too high which is not a health saturation and start forming up an â€Å"Economic Bomb†. As the â€Å"Property Market† is one of the main factors with Hong Kong’s economic environment, if the â€Å"Bomb† pops, Hong Kong’s economic will be affected badly. But in the other hand, the Government does not want to affect the growth of the real estate too much and too fast, therefore the Government implies with this soft plan in order to balance with the situations. For the tax payers, they are mainly separated in to 2 groups: the group which cannot enjoy with the plan and the qualified applicants. For those who do not have the right to enjoy with the benefits are mainly the people who are either already owning a flat, or those people who are not qualified due to higher incomes. These people might not feel happy with the Government’s actions. For those who have already owned their own place, when the Government supporting plan comes, that means there will be more people able to buy their own place. In the last few years, the economic situation of Hong Kong was not good and people were very careful on using their money, which made the banks dropped their interest rate of borrowing in order to attract people to borrow money either on buying flats or other usages. With the needs on mortgaging is rising due to this program, the interest rate will then have the potential on rising. This will affect to those people who already own their own place for living have to pay more on the mortgage pay back or need to extend the time of pay back as the raising of the interest. The Government has setup very tight rules on the incomes and assets on qualifying the applicants for the supporting program in order to make sure all the qualified applicants are the users of the properties. Those people who do not qualify for the program due to higher income might be the most unhappy group as they would think the Government does not take care of them. Since the property prices have been increased so much in the last 5 years, although they have higher incomes, they still cannot afford the down payment on purchasing a place. For the group of people who are the qualified applicants, of course they will be very concerned for this supporting program. However, they have to wait until the second half of 2014 for the building completion and there will be only 5000 units, which is really â€Å"Too Little Too Late! † Another problem is that, the Government now estimating that the price of a 500 feet unit is 3 million, which would only apply to those flats in the remote areas. The prices for the urban residents are already far outstripped with it. Who can predict and guarantee how would the real estate pricing will be after 7 years of time (The planned building will be completed after 4 years, the applicants have to rent and live there for 3 years before they can own)? In case of the property prices continue rising, those 300 thousand which is going to be rebate from the Government still not enough to pay for the down payment. If the property prices rapidly decline, those applicants will be falling into a dilemma situation. Overall, to solve the housing difficulties of Hong Kong there are many ways, how the â€Å"My Home Purchase Plan â€Å"may receive with the desired results really depends on the future development of the real estate market trends. However, the â€Å"My Home Purchase Plan† does not really may not really be able to help on the current unhealthy situation on the property market. In my opinion, I would suggested the Government should plan on some relaxation on the income limit for public housing and pay more attention on taking care of the middle and lower class families. In fact, the magnitude of increase in property prices and rents, is seriously out of the line with the general public’s income, which directly affecting the quality of life. The Government should pay more attention on how to plan on the public housing supply and how to make better use of resources balance.

Friday, September 13, 2019

The Role of Government in Economic Recession, Fiscal Policy Essay

The Role of Government in Economic Recession, Fiscal Policy - Essay Example Government spending in the 2nd quarter increased by 11% and this spending affected the car industry and the housing market. Inventory also declined in this quarter and this reduced the GDP by 1.39%, however when aggregate demand increases the inventory level is also expected to increase. According to the congress budget office the 3rd and 4th quarter level of GDP is expected to improve due to increased government spending and a 1.6% growth rate is expected. However the recovery process is expected to take longer given that those consumers are faced with high unemployment rate, high debt levels and restricted borrowing. (Alan Rapperport (2009)) The article highlights the role of government in a recession, a recession is characterized by high unemployment rate, declining GDP level and reduced aggregate demand, from the article expansionary fiscal policy has been used to aid the economy out of the recession. However this has resulted into budget deficits which are expected to reach 11.6% of GDP this year. Fiscal policies include government spending and taxation, in a recession an expansionary fiscal policies is used, this policy measure involves increased government spending that help increase aggregate demand. ... above diagram as the level of government spending is increased then the aggregate demand curve shifts upward from aggregate demand 1 to aggregate demand 2, this results into an increase in the level of GDP from Y1 to Y2. From the US economy case the government has increased the level of spending in order to increase the level of employment and GDP. This is evident where the level of GDP in the 3rd and 4th quarter is expected to increase and the decline in new unemployment benefits claims and the reduction of in the unemployment benefit individuals. (Alan Rapperport (2009)) Increased government spending results into high inflationary pressure in the economy, as a result monetary policies that aim at reducing the inflationary pressure are used, these policies include increasing interest rates and increasing reserve ratios. From the article it is evident that the monetary policy rule used is restricted borrowing which aids in reducing the inflationary pressure. (Phillip Hardwick (2002)) Conclusion: The above analysis shows the role of fiscal policies in a recession, it analysis the policy measures that the US government has undertaken and their impacts. It is evident that the level of government spending has increased and this has resulted into increased budget deficit. This measure has helped reduce the level of unemployment in the economy and also has stimulated aggregate demand. The recovery process is expected to take longer given that consumers are faced with restricted borrowing, increased debts and high unemployment. Reference: Alan Rapperport (2009) US GDP contracts by 1% in Second Quarter: published august 27th 2009 Phillip Hardwick (2002) Introduction to modern economics. Prentice Hall publishers: New Jersey. Article 2: This article