Lost Boy Essays (877 words) - Dave Pelzer, Pelzer, South Carolina

Lost Boy Could you imagine your own mother beating you, burning you, and treating the family dogs better then you? Quite unimaginable to me, but that is what David Pelzer had to go through. My book is the second of a three book series about the true story of David Pelzer. Ever since David was the age of 5 years old to maybe nine, his mother started to hurt him. She told him that he was a "bad boy" and deserved it all; it was some kind of game to her. At times she would curse at him, beat him vigorously, burn him, make him eat out of the trash, and starve him for days. The only time he really ate was at school during lunch because he would just steal food. When he got home from school he was givin a long load of chores. Sometimes he got the scraps from dinner, but often times on weekends he didn't eat the whole weekend because there was no school. At night, he would sleep on an old army cot with no blankets. Very rough and harsh living conditions for a little boy, but he thought he deserved it because she [his mother] always said he did, and he had no one to tell him that she was wrong. Every night he would hear his parents after he was in "bed." He heard them fighting about him. His father knew little of what was going on because he was often at work. He noticed the significant difference in the way his mother treated David versus his other two brothers. He often told her she was wrong and she would just talk about David as if he was some kind of animal, only referring to him as "It" or "the boy." When things came down to it, however, David's father would always defend his mother. One incident was at about seven to eight at night, and David's parents began to fight once again. Them both being alcoholics did not much help the situation. David heard his mom screaming about how she wanted David just to leave. David took this as a chance of a lifetime, but still kind of risky, walked right out the door. He expected to get about a block away and hear his mom coming after him in her car, but nothing happened. He ended up getting picked up by the police that night, and David's father just told the police a fake story and took him home. About two to three months later, some of the teachers and staff of David's school caught on to what was happening and reported it to The Services of Children and Family; they took him away to a foster home. It was a great relief to David because he would no longer be hurt. Even though his mother had hurt him so much, he felt like a traitor for exposing the "family secret." He was not sure what to think; he diden't even know if wanted to be away from his mother. Soon after he received a social worker, Ms.Gold, who to David was an angel. He told her everything about what went on in "the House", so that when they went to court that they could file it against his mother, but David still felt horrible inside. About a week before the trial came, he got to have a visit with his mother. She told him that no matter what she would get him back. This scared him greatly and his story quickly changed. About four days before the trial, Ms. Gold came to visit him and to talk about the case and what he was going to have to do. David immediately started to claim that he started all the household problems, that he had fallen down the stairs, ran into doorknobs, beaten himself up, stabbed himself, and then he started saying how his mom was a beautiful, kind woman. Things like that could seriously put him back with his mother. When the court case came along, David realized that he did not want to go back to "The House." The court granted him as a legal ward to the court, but his mother would not let it stay like that. No way would she let him embarrass her like that. Soon after, David moved into his first real foster home. Over the next four to five years, David moved from foster home to foster home. When David was about 15, his

Critique of Quentin Tarantino essays

Critique of Quentin Tarantino essays Pulp Fiction, a movie from the mid 90s made for the millennium. From the action packed mind of Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction takes two hit men, Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega through an excessively violent plot. Combining drugs and violence in a way that is unspeakable to a normal persons everyday life. With trouble around every corner, Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) must make quick work of almost everyone they come in contact with. Tarantino makes writing a dramatically intense script look easy. His genius into human behavior in this modern day world makes this movie and others undeniably classics. With intersecting storylines of gangsters and general low-lifes, Pulp Fiction grabs the attention of the viewer in the opening scene. Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, two petty thieves decide to rob an unsuspecting restaurant and get away with some quick cash. Once the two thieves start their rampage in the restaurant the opening credits begin to play. Then we are introduced to the two main characters, Jules and Vincent. This is where Tarantino really turns up the heat on the religious prospects of the movie. Jules and Vincent enter the boys apartment to receive a package for their boss Marcellus Wallace. When Jules starts in on one of the boys named Brett he recites the bible verse that he memorized in order to say some cold blooded shit to anybody he pointed a gun at (Pulp Fiction. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Miramax. 1994.). This opens up the eyes of the viewer and really puts the fear of God in them. Tarantino knew this and by putting this verse into the character of Jules Winnfield that it would show the thin line between good and evil, thus telling you not to play God. The package the hit-men are supposed to obtain is a black briefcase. There are many different point-of-views into the real meaning behind the well k...

How people do things that are not suppost to do Essay

How people do things that are not suppost to do - Essay Example Not only does the apparently unmotivated take on motive; perversely, we become visitors to a prison rather than readers of a philosophical discourse:† â€Å"The speaker denies his madness by calling himself a victim of the principle he has outlined. Yet his language hovers between calculation and illogic. The narrator explains "why I am here . . . wearing these fetters" by reference to a cause that is only a perverse absence of cause. From the standpoint of realistic representation, the perverse narrator betrays his deviance through linguistic peculiarities. â€Å" â€Å"†¦he assumes an understanding of what he has not yet explained. Both fictional speakers break accepted conventions by employing the definite article, where "the idea" and "the murder" have not been previously explicated. If we read these narrators as mimetic characters, their linguistic deviations may be signs of defective mental processes.† â€Å"A rhetorical moment takes the place of all ghosts, when "the imp of the perverse" drives the speaker to confess. "The rabble" would understand his behavior as a symptom of madness, but his perversity turns out to be a reflex inherent in words.† â€Å"The narrator is a man in crisis. His drinking has pushed him to the point where he is capable of violence, even against a wife who, although patient and long-suffering, is incapable of helping her husband. The two cats in this story remind him of better days, before the narrator’s alcoholism produced in his personality â€Å"a radical alteration for the worst† (598). But his substance abuse has provided him with at least one insight. He has learned that â€Å"the spirit of PERVERSENESS,† the self’s â€Å"unfathomable longing to vex itself—to offer violence to its own nature,† is a fundamental aspect of â€Å"the character of Man†Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The narrator’s alcoholism, his propensity for violent behavior, his acute isolation, and

Argument for Right for Gays to Adopt in Virginia Essay

Argument for Right for Gays to Adopt in Virginia - Essay Example In today’s society, there are more than 500,000 foster children waiting to be placed in stable, caring homes (Ruggeri, 29). There is a shortage of people who fit the broader social norm, this being the heterosexual individual or couple, to assist in the adopting process. Because of different political and social division that is present in society, many homosexuals are not given the opportunity to adopt these foster children or any other youths that have been put into the adoption system. Homosexuals, whether coupled or living in individual households, often face pressure from defiant ethical supporters and their social peers because of their lifestyles. When coupled with laws designed to prevent them from attaining equal status, offering themselves as potential parents for awaiting children becomes a significant uphill battle. The division that exists in society about the validity of homosexuals’ claims that they can be stable parents can be witnessed in the many different laws designed to prevent adoption by this social group. For example, a 2006 constitutional amendment banned same-sex marriage in Colorado with similar constraints in Indiana (Padgett, 51). In more progressive states, such as Connecticut and New Jersey, civil unions are allowed under law but are given considerable limitations compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Padgett). These laws, and many others which ban civil unions act as the foundation for why homosexuals are not considered qualified or capable parents for volumes of children looking for support and stability. In homosexual households consisting of two partners, it has been argued by many that extending same-sex marriage rights would tend to normalize the household for potential adopted children.  

Report on Various Funding Sources Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Report on Various Funding Sources - Dissertation Example The company has no debt and is equally divided in terms of ownership among five private individuals. Differing debt and equity funding opportunities present their own challenges, advantages, disadvantages, and sets of relationships, with equity financing offering greater flexibility on the surface and reduced impact to cash flows, but likewise compromised by its tendency to dilute control and to be of higher cost in the long term compared to debt financing. Debt financing, especially senior debt financing, offers the advantages of low costs in terms of lower interest rates, and of giving the borrowing company complete, unadulterated control of the company's destiny. On the other hand, debt financing impacts cash flow and hinders the company from using cash flow and profits to finance other projects. This is due to the payments that are required on a regular basis to service the debt. There is an opportunity for the firm to float shares in an initial public offering on markets outside of the UK, but this has to be explored in greater depth, given how any equity infusion dilutes ownership and control. On balance, and culling the insights from real-life companies employing differing modes of financing, senior debt financing is the best option for the company (FindLaw 2013; Advani 2006; National Federation of Independent Business 2013; Nolo 2007; Berman and Knight 2009; Terjesen n.d.; Ivashina and Kovner 2008; Kokemuller 2013; Peavler 2013; SimplyFinance 2007; DCA Partners n.d.; Doidge et al. 2011; Krantz 2013; Gan and Applegate 2013). II. Sourcing Funding for the Firm A. Funding Opportunities There are various camps and schools of thought advocating either debt or equity as the preferred mode of funding that yields the most benefits to firms. On the one hand are arguments for debt being cheaper sources of funding, and being sources of funding that does not dilute the ownership stake of current shareholders. This favors the interests of the owners of this firm, who have valid concerns about loss of control tied to funding options (Berman and Knight 2009). On the other hand, there are schools of thought that tout private equity as being of greater overall benefit to firms in comparison to debt financing, for various reasons as well Arguments are tied to the cost of either source of financing, with debt requiring, in some cases, lower returns on investment in comparison to equity infusions, where investors may require of the current owners higher returns, as well as voting rights and ownership rights commensurate to their investments. The rest of this report explores the different options and their implications for the company as well as the issues of interest discussed above (FindLaw 2013; Advani 2006; National Federation of Independent Business 2013; Nolo 2007; Berman and Knight 2009; Terjesen n.d.; Ivashina and Kovner 2008; Kokemuller 2013; Peavler 2013; SimplyFinance 2007; DCA Partners n.d.). The table below details the key points to consid er relating to using either debt or equity to finance the project at this company, as well as to source on-going funds moving forward (DCA Partners n.d.): Table Source: DCA Partners n.d., p. 4 The key differences relating to the concerns of the owners of this company are with regard to level of involvement, which is higher for equity financing options, as well as costs, which is lower for debt financing, together with the role of the providers of the capital in board-level

Child Labor in Lebanon

Child Labor in Lebanon Since many years, child labor has been a serious problem that a lot of organizations were trying to deal with. In fact Lebanon is one of the countries suffering from this issue, especially in poor surroundings of the main cities and in rural districts. According to Kofi Annan(1999), Child labor has serious consequences that stay with the individual and the society for far longer than the years of childhood. Young not only face dangerous work conditions. They face long term physical, intellectual and emotional stress. They face an adulthood of unemployment and illiteracy. Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely unnoticed For these purposes Im against child labor, and I think its the responsibility of the government to help working children. According to UNICEF response to child employment, Child labor is reported as one of the social problems in Lebanon. There are about 3163 children aged 10-13 years that work in Lebanon, while the number of those looking for work in this age group is 1947. These represent respectively 1.2% and 0.7% of the total population in that age group. On the other hand, there are 28786 working children aged 14-17 years and 9525 of that same age group looking for work, representing 10.9% and 3.6% respectively of children in that age group. The region of North Lebanon has the highest proportion of working children with respect to the two age groups 10-13 years and 14-17 years. It is followed by the region of Mount Lebanon, then Beirut, Beqaa and the South. Overall, the districts of Tripoli, Minyeh, Akkar, Baabda, Baalbeck, Zahleh, Saida and Tyre have about 80% of working children aged 10-13 years. In the North, working children are found mostly in the districts of Tripoli, Akkar and Minyeh (91-97% of working children in this region). In the region of Mount Lebanon, the districts of Baabda and Metn have the highest proportion of working children. More specifically, the poor urban neighborhoods of Bab Tebbaneh in Tripoli, Bourj Barajneh in Baabda and Bourj Hammoud in Metn are the worst affected areas in these districts.(UNICEF, 2008, p.1-2) Many children are working 6 days a week and more than 10 hours a day in hard fields especially like agriculture. According to ILO(International Labor Organization office in Beirut): Children are working hard for price of 7 dollars a week sometimes which is unfair. Employer s are interested in hiring teenagers and children under eighteen because they are cheaper especially when their profit are less than expected. Employer does not care about the feelings of the young youths they, keep mistreating them by giving them choirs they cannot handle. Walid a young child living in Tarik al jdideh (Beirut), is a ten year old boy working in a garage. Walid works from 8 am till 6 pm fixing cars and get paid 10 dollars per week. Walid is always complaining of the hard work he is supposed to handle, and from the maltreatment of his boss. Walid is one proof that working children are suffering in Lebanon. Most of these kids are boys, maltreated in several cities and villages in Lebanon whereas they are forced to carry heavy loads, handle chemicals, marble cutting, selling items on roads under bad circumstances and in farms where they are exposed to pesticides. Children laboring in gardening may also be constrained to assemble tobacco, sugar cane, and other crops where they will be subjected to equally harmful conditions. Moreover, kids are obliged to use dangerous machinery, handle toxic chemicals without protective gear; they are also confronting sexual abuse or slavery, especially girls that are sold from their parents to earn extra money. Most of these kids are working in very bad conditions affecting their health, living differently from a normal kid and risking their future. Racha is a good example of a teenager who was forced to depart from her house in the village to work as a housemaid in the industrialized Aley district. Rasha had been raped by the man in the house after several temptations made by him. Sexual abuse of working boys and girls is a crime that will proba bly destroy the life of the young youths. (Alami, 2007, p.1-2) Many children are dropping out from school and leaving their education in order to work and give money for their parents. The learning level of laboring kids is too small comparing to the learning level of the labor force in all areas in Lebanon. The percentage of uneducated worker in the labor force in Lebanon is about 49%, this percentage is 95% concerning children working aged between 10 and 13 years and 84% of those age between 14 and 17 years. (UNICEF, 2008). Yusuf a 12 years old guy who works now in agriculture, is a good example of many kids who left school early and started working. It is the right of the children to get education and go to school instead of that they are facing problems that pushes them to leave school and start working. Many young kids lose their ambitions in order to work and help their fathers. It is unfair for children to drop out from school as their future will be ruined, they will have to work the same work they are working today not having a bachelor degree they wont be able to go further in their lives. It is also unfair for them to miss all the joy of the school days. School days are the best days of a child life as he meets friends in school, develop relations, and learn how to interact with others. School is a basic time needed by the children before getting to the large world of work. (Alami, 2007, p. 2-3) Somehow child labor has a big influence on the society. When the number of working children increases the number of non educated adults will increase, children will be the future of the societies. A society of non educated society is a rural society where people have no respect for each other. You can see that these kinds of societies are the societies where more problems happen, where no one understand the other, and where the neighbor kill his neighbor. As we said before the number of working children is bigger in rural countries of Lebanon like Tripoli, and Bekaa, effectively these are two countries that are full of problems as we see on the news every day. Problems always happen in Tripoli between the people living there; in the Bekaa also car steeling and crimes are very often. Education pushes the society to a higher level, and since education is absent between young working kids their society will be on a lower level than others. Poor societies are societies where most kids st art working early. Such societies will always be poor as no one will get educated enough to get a suitable job. So a main problem of the poor societies in Lebanon is child labor. (Schmitz Traver Larson, 2004) The opposing point of view is the one of the parents of the children and the employers who hires children. Parents when in need oblige their kids to go and get a job in order to make money. Some parents think that their oldest son should leave everything and go to work to help his brothers and sisters. This is common in most Lebanese areas as we see in most families the older son suffers from lack of education. These parents also think that their children are born to serve them and to help them get money to live more comfortably. Some parents that they were also working in very early ages of their life would let their children work in purpose that they will be stronger and more experienced and might be able to easily go over hard situations they may face in the future. Other parents might sell their daughters by saying that they will get married sooner or later so why dont they sell them and earn high revenue of money. Employers also say that they are hiring children who came freely to get work and they are not doing something wrong so they can profit of the low salary these children get which make the cost of the products less and they will be in fewer prices in the market so all the people will also profit. We can see that most restaurants in Lebanon hire young boys for the delivery choirs for example and for serving clients etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Personally I think its very wrong for the parents to let their kids work at young age especially if they work under the supervision of abusing bosses. Kids are suffering in their work as they work in dangerous chemicals and pesticides. Kids have the rights to learn and live their childhood happily and safely. Some employers are criminals because they abuse children; such employers should be caught and arrested because of their actions against children who are so weak to say no or to protest against their parents and bosses. Finally Child labor is a wide problem that should be regulated especially in Lebanon. Children are suffering in their work, dropping out from school early, and infecting the whole society. I think government should work on reducing the number of working children, and to control the hours of work and the salaries. By fixing these issues working children will have better work situation, better opportunities by going to school, having normal life like every teenager should get. It is their right to learn so they can become successful persons in their societies.

Greek Theater Essay -- essays research papers

Ancient Greek Theater is the first historical record of â€Å"drama,† which is the Greek term meaning â€Å"to do† or â€Å"to act.† Beginning in the 5th century BC, Greek Theater developed into an art that is still used today. During the golden age of the Athenians plays were created, plays that are considered among the greatest works of world drama. Today there are thousands of well-known plays and films based on the re-make of ancient drama.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theater originated from the religious rites of ancient Greek tribes. Located in northern Greece, a cult was formed to worship the God of wine and fertility, Dionysus. The cult held religious celebrations which included large consumptions of alcohol, animal sacrifices, and sometimes massive orgies. Theater was thought as a ritual to release powerful emotions and create pure ecstasy. The cult spread south into Greece and by 500 BC annual festivals in honor of Dionysus were held every spring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A main part of Dionysus’ rites was the dithyramb. It means a â€Å"choric hymn† and it was completely religious describing Dionysus’ adventures. The performance would have a group of dancers, a chorus in costumes, an orchestra of drums, lyres, and flutes, and a leader/director. It all took place around an altar for Dionysus. Soon after the dithyramb became popular at Athenian festivals where poets would compete to create their own unique dithyramb. Soon the dithyramb ceased to be about Dionysus and his adventures. Famous poets chose subjects from several different periods of Greek mythology. Over time, the dithyrambs formed into stories to be performed thus creating drama.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the golden age of Greece, city-states were developed, the most prominent being Athens with a population of at least 150,000. Here is where the rites of Dionysus created what we now call theater. We have the leader, the chorus, the dancers, and the orchestra. So where did actors come from? Around 525 BC a man from Attica named Thespis, added an actor into the dithyramb to interact with the chorus. The actor was called the protagonist and means â€Å"the main character of a drama.† This addition turned the chorus into theater. Thespis went down in history and is where â€Å"thespians† got there name.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About 534 BC was when the Dionysian Festivals were changed to add dram... ...d of heroic epics involving Gods and legends. He died in 406 BC all alone, extremely cynical of human nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athenians not only produced tragedies in their culture, but created many lasting comedies. These comedies helped set the way for Romans and Elizabethans coming in later periods. Developed similar to tragedy, comedy was aimed at the common people and had less to do with religious beliefs. Satire was often used in comedies, especially ones written by Aristophanes and Menander. Characters in these plays ranged from celebrities to drunken audience members. Menander’s plays were the main basis of comedy that moved onto the Romans and Shakespeare and the Broadway.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the 200 years from Thespis’ first accomplishments to the death of Sophocles, Greek Theater thrived. However, all good things eventually come to an end. The golden age was ending as Athenian culture was overrun in 404 BC by the Spartans. Theater of course evolved over time and is now a school subject, hobby and profession. Today it wouldn’t hurt to look back over some historically recorded plays and appreciate what the ancient Greeks created for us†¦ drama.

Criminal Recidivism Essay

Prisons today are overcrowded and are a growing problem in today’s society. â€Å"In 2008, the Pew Center on the States reported that incarceration levels had risen to a point where one in 100 American adults was behind bars. A second Pew study, the following year, added another disturbing dimension to the picture, revealing that one in 31 adults in the United States was either incarcerated or on probation or parole† (Pew Center on the States, 2011). It is very costly for the states to maintain the prisoners behind bars. It has been estimated that the cost of state spending on corrections is 52 billion dollars. Recidivism is a term used by law enforcement agencies that describes the tendency to relapse into criminal behavior. It involves a person being re-incarcerated or re-offending. â€Å"Inmates returning to state prisons within three years of release has remained steady for more than a decade; this is a strong indicator that prison systems are failing to deter criminals from re-offending. Using data from 41 states for prisoners released, â€Å"a study done by the Pew Center on the States found that slightly more than 4 in 10 offenders return to prison within three years† (Johnson, 2011). What has caused this rise in recidivism can be due to more studies being done, tracking recidivism more closely, and failure of prison systems/probation programs to rehabilitate inmates. â€Å"Prisons serve multiple purposes, including exacting retribution for breaking the law, separating offenders from society so they cannot commit more crimes, deterring the general population from committing crimes and discouraging incarcerated offenders from committing new crimes once they are released† (Pew Center on the States, 2011). One priority of prisons is to deter criminal activity through incarceration and rehabilitation of its criminals. One way to track rehabilitation of the criminals is by tracking the recidivism rates. This study includes data of prisoners released in 1999 and prisoners released in 2004. Thirty-one states offered data for 1999 and 41 states offered data for 2004. â€Å"The Pew/ASCA survey found the three-year return-to-prison rate for inmates released in 1999 to be 45. 4 percent, and 43. percent for those released in 2004† (2011). This study began its study by sending out surveys to all 50 states. â€Å"A self-selected survey or voluntary response survey is one in which people decide for themselves whether to be included in the survey† (Bennett, Briggs, & Triola, 2009, p. 37). Each prison facility decided whether they would be included in the study and they submitted information to the Pew Center of the States. Qualitative data was used to put values on the measurements. The process of binning was used to categorize the prisoners into three groups, which consisted of first release, all releases, return for new convictions, and return for violation of probation. â€Å"The relative frequency of any category is the proportion or percentage of the data values that fall in that category† (Bennett, et. al. , 2009, p. 94). They set up relative frequency tables to determine how many times the prisoners fell under the categories or bins. They used mean, median, and mode to get averages of prisoners released and re-offending. There were some outliers in the studies. Outliers are defined as â€Å"a value that is much higher or much lower than almost all other values† (Bennett, et. al. , 2009, p. 149). â€Å"State departments of correction reported on people who returned to one of their facilities, which would not count a former offender who was incarcerated in another state or depending on proximity to high-crime areas in neighboring states or major interstate drug corridors† (Johnson, 2011). The Pew Center of the States analyzed the data and concluded that by 2002, more than 45% in the first wave of releases returned to prison and in 2007, about 43% of the second group returned† (Johnson, 2011). They came up with these percentiles by looking at the total number of inmates released from each prison for each state and how many were re-incarcerated for new crimes or violation of probation. â€Å"One can approximate the percentile of any data value with the following formula: percentile of data value =number of values less than this data value/total number of values in data set† (Bennet, t. al. , 2009, p. 170). â€Å"At least 95 percent of inmates in America ultimately will be released and returned to the community. Keeping them crime and drug-free is no easy assignment. Many offenders lacked education, work experience, family support and a stable living situation before they were incarcerated, and many suffer from mental illness or a history of addiction† (The Pews Center of the states, 2011). Many also have the stigma that comes with having a criminal record and are unable to find work, so they resort back to robbery or stealing. Many times the released prisoners go back to hanging out with their old friends and then it is not long before they fall back into their old habits. In addition, the probation/parole divisions that are supposed to supervise the former inmates are overworked, have large caseloads, and limited technology to keep up with the former inmates.

The Matrix, Plato and Descartes Essay Example

The Matrix, Plato and Descartes Essay Example The Matrix, Plato and Descartes Paper The Matrix, Plato and Descartes Paper The Matrix. There is a super computer that controls the reality of all humans. Neo, a character in the movie, realizes that the Matrix is not real. Morpheme helps him to come to this realization that his life was not real, that a super computer was programming his thoughts, and experiences. All the humans were In this huge machine with their brains connected to a bunch of wires, and their thoughts were being Inputted by the computer. In Plats Allegory of the Cave, there is a similar situation. In his description of the prisoners of the cave, the prisoners ere chained down, and only able to look a wall. There was a fire behind them and shadows from other walking by were played out on the wall for the prisoners to see. They believed the shadows to be real. When one of the prisoners were released, they perceived the real world in actuality, and the shadows they perceived to be real were not. Like in The Matrix, they believed only what they perceived. In Descanters Meditation I of the Things of Which May Doubt, he says he will doubt everything he believes unless he Is absolutely certain of the truth of the belief. He believes that our knees can deceive us on many levels. Descanters also says when we dream we can never be sure what Is real and what Is a dream. The salutary of Descanters with The Matrix and Allegory of the Cave Is the evil demon theory. He believes that he Is being deceived by an evil demon of all senses and knowledge (Foreman Dew, 2012). That the evil demon is allowing us to perceive what he wants us to perceive. How do we know the world we are experiencing is real? All we know has been taught to us by our senses and perception on how we sense these things. I believe by ouch, sight, smell, and all these things are real to me. I believe in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That Jesus died on the cross for our sins. This is the real world to me. I have faith in our Lord that what we are experiencing is real and not some dream or alternate reality. At the end of the Allegory of the Cave, Socrates explained that most men would want to escape the cave and see reality as It really Is. In The Matrix; however, In his betrayal of Morpheme, Cipher implies that it is better to live in the artificial world of the Matrix. Cipher believed that ignorance is bliss. For me, I would like to know what reality really is. Ignorance is bliss can be a nice thing, but something always happens to make you doubt what is really going on. When that happened you truly believe that you have been deceived and everything you thought to be true is not. Most of our knowledge is based on sense experience, and they are not always accurate. How can we be truly certain of our beliefs? Personally, I know about the senses not being accurate. I am legally blind, and hard of hearing. Much of my world is not truly how It Is perceived. I rely on what my family and friends tell me. What makes me certain of my beliefs Is my faith In our Lord. A few years ago, I might have questioned everything based on my senses not being accurate. How do I know that I am truly seeing or hearing whats in front of me. My faith in the Lord has leaded me through everything. References Foreman, Mark Dew, Jar. J. (2012) How Certain Can We Be? In, How Do You Know? A Short Introduction to the Issues of Epistemology. (p. 58). Downers Grove, IL: Intermarries Press. Wackiest, Andy, and Lana Wackiest. The Matrix. Directed by Andy Wackiest and Lana Wackiest. Los Angels: Warner Brow. Pictures, 1999.

goverment intervention essays

goverment intervention essays The U.S. economy is a dynamic, free-market system. The U.S. is often described as a mixed economy, which is that even thought the great majority of productive resources are privately owned, the federal government does play an important part in the marketplace. Although our economy has changed over the years, there have been certain issues that have remained since the early days. One is the continuing debate over what the right role of the government is in the marketplace. The economy is based on a free-market and is generally characterized by private ownership, with no government involvement. But government intervention has been used necessarily from time to time to ensure that, economic opportunities, are fair and accessible to all people, to prevent flagrant abuse, and to slow inflation and encourage growth. Ever since colonial times, the government has been involved in economic decisions. The New Deal programs of the 30s brought the greatest change in the governments role. Laws were passed to regulate economic activities form sales of stock to the right of worker to form unions. More importantly the government began to provide workers with economic security in their old age. The Social Security Program, enacted in 1935, still ensures that retired people have regular income each month. Both things have also been on the other hand, in the 70s and 80s with taxed rising and the economy stagnating, new national leaders began a drive to cut government spending and high taxation, and other thing to reduce government intervention, which oddly has saved the economy. Although based largely on free-enterprise, and organizing economic activity through open and competitive markets, the U.S. economy has a tradition of government intervention for specific purposes like eliminating monopolies, protecting the consumer, providing for the poor, handicapped and elderly, and pres ...

The Importance of Immanuel Kant's Works Research Paper

The Importance of Immanuel Kant's Works - Research Paper Example Kant has influenced many other great thinkers of modern times. It was because of the wholeness of Kant’s work that many people from different professional backgrounds identify with him. Kant wrote extensively on political philosophy, moral philosophy, perception, and categories of the faculty of understanding. In this paper we will attempt to outline the main ideas of Kant and then an analysis of his ideas will be followed. We will also discuss the strengths of Kant’s ideas briefly at the end of the paper. Kant wrote extensively on philosophy as he covered different branches of philosophy. He wrote on Metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. He was particularly interested in creating a bridge between the rationalist and empiricist philosophies. The major work of Kant is The Critique of Pure Reason. This book holds great value in the field of philosophy as it made important contributions to Metaphysics. In this great book Kant has attempted to solve the problems th at were not previously answered by Metaphysics and philosophy. Kant is known all over the world for these two books and they are also a compulsory read in any philosophy curriculum. In the other works of Immanuel Kant, his works on ethics, aesthetics, and political philosophy are included. Kant wrote Ground Work of the Metaphysics of Morals in which he outlined his moral philosophy. In other books like Critique of Practical Reason and Metaphysics of Morals, Kant has explained his view on ethics and morality. He believed that morals and ethical standards cannot be relative in nature and they should be absolute. He also stressed more on actions and behaviors than the consequences of actions and behaviors. The Categorical Imperative of Kant is a widely discussed and accepted ethical theory. The views o Kant on ethics will be discussed in detail later. Kant also wrote on aesthetics in detail in his books Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime and Critique of Judgment. On aesthetics Kant was of the opinion that our judgment of beauty is not cognitive in nature (Kant, 1). This means that we do not reason and then come to a conclusion about beauty rather it is aesthetical in nature. Such were Kant’s ideas about aesthetics. In the field of politics too Kant contributed heavily as he wrote Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch. The focus of Kant’s political philosophy is on law and on mixed form of government. He is not in favor of democracy as many of his contemporaries but at the same time he is also not in favor of extremely autocratic government. Kant’s political views were mainly aimed at finding ways to end ways and bring long term peace in the world. He was not in favor of wars at all and attempted to give a political philosophy that will end all kinds of war and bring about perpetual peace. Kant's Philosophy The philosophy of Immanuel Kant is complex and covers a wide range of topics. Kant has written on ethics, politics , and on reason and experience. In this section we will talk about each of these three areas in great detail. It is important to understand the social settings as well as the philosophical thought prevalent in the days of Kant in order to understand fully what he is trying to say. Kant was living at a time when enlightenment movement was in its full flow. Philosophers and thinkers had started to celebrate the power of reason and logic in the field of metaphysics and philosophy.  

Accomplishing Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accomplishing Life - Essay Example Most of the time all we had was each other and that is why I surprised my family when I told them that I was going to join the army. My brothers and I did not have any money to go to college when we graduated, plus I didn’t want to go to college right away. I graduated in 2005 and a year later I joined the United States Army. At the time I didn’t feel like I had accomplished anything so far even though i did ok in school. I played sports and was part of school activities but still had certain goals I wanted to reach and I knew I had to start somewhere. I wanted to get away from home and see what was out in the real world for me. Army was the way to go, and then maybe I could start accomplishing my life goals. The journey for my army accomplishment started in June 2006 when i was sent off to Fort Jackson, SC for basic training. It was 9 weeks of physical and mental training and a lot of people telling you what to do all the time. There were four platoons that consisted of 50-60 people. The four platoons made one company. I was in fourth platoon, which was one of the greatest platoons you wanted to be in. I started meeting a lot of great people and did a lot of team building. We ran miles and miles; ruck marched through woods and sand, which was hard when you carried 30lbs on your back- holding a weapon. We learned about many different weapons and how to shoot them.