Finally, Obama is President Essay Example for Free

Finally, Obama is President Essay The American people has sworn into office the most unlikely man of all – African-American, the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother, but possessed in himself the capacity to bind different sectors of American society in believing that Change can really happen, that a return to the old ways is not the path in the next few years of the proud and mighty American people. Today, on the 20th of January, 2009, Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America, the land of the free, and truly the land where perhaps anything is possible. In his speech, Barack Obama touched upon many ideas – of freedom, of the need to continue remembering the past as the guidepost of the future, of the need to expose false world leaders that cling to power through the silencing of dissent and corruption – but none perhaps would be most remembered than his attribution to our nation’s rich historic fabric, which is now shaping the current political discourse under the new Obama administration. Obama mentioned the American war struggles, to wit – For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Obama made reference to the great wars our people fought – Concord as one of the greatest battles during the American Revolution against the British Empire; Gettysburg as the site of the bloodiest civil war battle between the Union and Confederacy; Normandy as the landing site of American troops involved in the Western front of World War II; and Khe Sanh, as the venue of our soldiers’ valiant stand against Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam. Obama used these historic references of war to remind the people of the collective struggle of the American people in pursuit of democracy, not only its establishment in American soil, but to spread and extol its virtues around the world – defense of democracy against British colonialism, German fascism, Soviet-proxy communism, perhaps even against the racism and white supremacist tendencies of the Confederate states. As to the truth of the reference to the actual history, no one can deny the blood and sweat and lives which the American people sacrificed for our own democratic ideal. We have sent the best and brightest of our men and women into the different theaters of war in order that our way of life as a nation may be preserved, and contribute into the building of a democratic internationalism around the world, from the dismantling of fascism in the aftermath of World War II, to the discrediting and eventual collapsing of the Soviet Union in 1991. Had it not been for Normandy, together with other Allied powers including the Soviet Union fighting in both the Western and Eastern fronts, World War II would have all been lost under the might of the Third Reich. Had it not been for Concord and Lexington, American democracy as we know it might not have been ever established, where there exists co-equal three branches of government with check-and-balance powers, and individual freedoms such as the right to assembly and the right to petition government for redress of grievances might have never been codified. Had it not been for Vietnam, our people would never have known that not all wars are just and necessary, and some wars are in pursuit of an aggressive military agenda, serving no purpose save for being a proxy war with the Soviet Union. Had it not been for Gettysburg and the American Civil War, the struggle for the abolition of slavery may have waited a little longer, allowing perhaps the continuing treatment of African-Americans as mere chattel. Barack Obama’s use of these historic references serves to prove that his presidency is nothing short but historic, albeit a revolutionary administration that shall sweep the country off its feet, in the same manner as all these historic references had – in changing to the core the politics, economy, and culture of our country. In light of the deepening economic crisis we are facing today, it is true that Obama and the American people deserve nothing short but revolutionary changes in order for us to rise above the quagmire of recession. If Obama needs to sequester erring banks for mismanaging the funds of the people, he must do so to save the American economy. If he must further bail-out the different basic industries of the country such as the automotive industry in order for it to continue functioning as stable American brands, he must do so too. If he must leave the war in Iraq to concentrate on the real war in Afghanistan and the rising Al-Qaeda threat, he must be as resolute as the American soldiers who recovered the France town-after-town from the German Army. What is most important in his historical referencing to our own great wars and battles would be the role of the American people in all of these revolutionary changes, that he unflinchingly said, to wit – Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. In his speech, he always glorified the necessary role of the American people in changing American society. It was not through leaders like him, nor policymakers and generals of old, do we win our wars and battles, but through the collective resolve and action of our people. It is the American people that create their history, not great men. Referencing Today’s Recession With the Great Depression April 2, 2009 The past few days, leaders of the different states from all parts of the globe attended the G20 Summit in London to discuss the ways and means by which the world may find itself out of the current global financial meltdown straddling economic growth not only in the industrialized world but is not affecting much of the developing countries as well. Barack Obama, in his speech reminded the world to cease involving itself with greater protectionism that only through believing in the glory of free-but-now regulated market can the world find itself out of the economic mess it finds itself in. He even mentioned the Great Depression, to wit – Now, just keep in mind some historical context. Faced with similar global challenges in the past, the world was slow to act, and people paid an enormous price. That was true in the Great Depression, when nations prolonged and worsened the crisis by turning inward, waiting for more than a decade to meet the challenge together. Even as recently as the 1980s, the slow global response deepened and widened a debt crisis in Latin America that pushed millions into poverty. What is most interesting for our purposes today is the constant referencing of today’s crisis to the American Great Depression of the 1930s, where millions of Americans lost their jobs, banks closed and severe internal migration among Americans ensued. The Great Depression of the 1930s is being used as a reference to describe the gravity of the economic recession faced by the country and the world today. The news is replete of its effects at present – massive retrenchments and lay-offs, the closure of factory and once mighty businesses, the foreclosure of homes, the inability of parents and students to pay college tuition, the closure of banks and the general absence of confidence in our markets. Scenes of the Great Depression are repeated again and again, with pictures of the infamous Great Crash of 1929 played and replayed in cable news channels juxtaposed with references to the current state of economic affairs. If the question is whether, there exists a one-to-one correspondence with regard to the gravity of the circumstances of both the Great Depression and today’s recession, we cannot say yet at the moment, as we still stand at a point of historical equipoise, due to the continuing crisis ravaging the American economy. However, the historic reference with regard to describing almost the same economic situation of today and the Great Depression is correct, as the latter was also a global economic downturn, and completely showed how far the free market can fall, and what its effects on the people may be. Like the Great Depression, the present crisis is broad-ranging in scope, as it affected not only the stockbrokers, bankers, hedge fund managers, among other financial professionals and investors, but it also damaged the American lower- and middle-classes whose houses were foreclosed and their education loans sapped, due to many factors, such as fund mismanagement by creditors, eventual unemployment, among others. Even the economic remedies being proposed at this moment, such as the financial bail-out and the general trend towards greater government spending and regulation are hallmarks of the Great Depression, with Keynesianism becoming a relevant economic theory once again, signaling a clear break from the mainstream neo-liberal economic thought that demanded less government intervention in the economy to keep the market free. The Keynesian idea was simple, and is alarmingly true even today when viewed with the current economic policies set by the Obama administration to keep people fully employed, governments have to run deficits when the economy is slowing because the private sector will not invest enough to increase production and reverse the recession. At this moment, the Obama administration has a trillion-dollar spending plan to pump-prime the economy at a time when markets are most reluctant to part with their investment money. As to whether this shall trigger an eventual reverse from the downtrend, we will know soon enough. The use of the Great Depression in the contemporary moment serves a dual purpose – to state concretely the dire situation the American people faces today and warn the nation from being drowned in complacency and disbelief, and to serve as a reminder that there is no crisis that the American people failed to withstand, that at the end of these dark nights of recession, a New Deal shall soon be implemented and with all our help, we shall overcome as we have had in the past. Images of past crises have been powerful enough to rouse the people into meaningful action – the spectre of Nazi and Soviet invasion in American soil threatening our way of life was enough to convince much of American men to enlist in the fight against fascism in World War II and in the Korean and Vietnam wars during the Cold War era. The images of internal human migration, hunger, unemployment, destitute citizens with no bread on the table through the Great Depression, in like manner, serve its clear political objective – inform the people of the reality of the economic situation, but nonetheless challenge them to become patriots and contribute to the building of the nation amid the ravages of the present recession. The State of the Union Address February 25, 2009 On the 25th of February 2009, a little over a month since being inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama addressed the nation, its Congress and unleashed his economic reform agenda to combat the deepening economic recession. In answer to the growing cynicism that government must keep its hands off the economy and retain the old neoliberal economic model, President Obama stated clearly that government has a role to play in ‘laying the foundations of our common prosperity. ’ In furthering his point, he turned to historic policies that shaped the country as we weathered from crisis-to-crisis, to wit – For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world. In this excerpt, President Obama makes several historical references to different socio-economic milestones in American society that were achieved despite political and economic difficulties. Obama posits that in the middle of the military offensives between Union and Confederate forces, the foundations of the modern American railroad system were laid. He states that from the American public school system was born from the push-and-pull of the Industrial Revolution. He asserts that the GI Bill was responsible for educating war veterans who were fresh from our victories in Europe and the Pacific. He also says that amid the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the nation was able to establish the Interstate Highway System, send Neil Armstrong and company to the moon, and facilitate a growth in science and technology. These historical references were used to again highlight the greatness and resilience of the American people amid crisis situations like the economic recession we face today, creating images of hope that we shall all overcome soon enough. The references were also used to add historic weight to his new economic agenda, which included the one-trillion dollar stimulus package, a pump-priming plan different from the seven-hundred billion dollar bail-out plan of the Bush administration. The historic milestones were used to buttress the point that his own economic agenda shall be a milestone in itself, given the chance and support of Congress and the American people. As a general statement on the integrity of the historic reference, these were well researched assertions, somewhat intimating a causal relationship between crises and economic milestones. It is a fact that it was during the civil war when Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862, a statute that authorized the creation of a transcontinental railway. It is true that due to the onslaught of the Cold War, (1) Dwight Eisenhower envisioned the creation of an Interstate Highway System to help in the deployment of supplies to military troop in the event of an invasion, (2) the space race prompted NASA to fast-track research on space travel, and soon after laid the stimulus for greater technology research. He was also correct in his assertion that the GI Bill indeed provided college and vocational education to returning war veterans, notwithstanding other benefits. Again, as in the previous entries with regard to the historical references of the Obama Presidency, President Obama uses these historic references to draw attention to his own making of history, as the President of the US amid a recession, in the mold of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Roosevelt. On the other hand, the historical references again serve as a reminder to the American people that amid the global economic recession – they shall overcome, that despite the foreclosure of homes, the retrenchment of jobs, and the closure of banks, historic reforms shall soon be in place to ensure that the economic milestones of decades past shall not be reversed fully and that our people may continue enjoying the fruits of our democratic ideals. The historical references also show that we only have to turn to our own past and history as a nation to determine that a decisive remedy for our economic woes shall soon be in sight. It appeals to the patriotic nature of a great number of our fellow Americans, where nativist tendencies continue to linger, particularly in America’s heartland areas. Moreover, President Obama’s historical references are consistent with his unrelenting call for collective action and unity amid the crisis, because none of those achievements would have been possibly without the labor and support of the people themselves. None of those were ever achieved by the single stroke of a President’s pen nor the policymaker’s brief, but was perfected by the sacrifices of men and women in American history. Obama on the Use of Nuclear Weapons Prague, Czech Republic April 5, 2009 On the fifth of April, 2009, fresh from the G20 Summit on the global economic crisis, President Barack Obama delivered a speech on his policy on nuclear weapons. He acknowledged the dangers posed by the production, proliferation and use of nuclear weapons, and has pledged to ensure that international law measures shall be put in place in pursuit of preventing its production, spread and use among states, and more importantly, illegal trading among terrorists in the black market of secrets and even excess warheads from former Soviet satellites. He proposed a strengthening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an escalation of a US-Russia bilateral treaty on the reduction of dangerous weapons, protective measures against proliferation of materials for the production of weapons-grade uranium, among many other proposals that have roused the Czech public into countless applause. On the other hand, he acknowledge the right of Iran for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, subject to strict inspections but warned the Islamic Republic from forcibly pursuing nuclear and ballistic weapons, as it would only further its isolation from the rest of the community of nations. In view of this policy context, President Obama referred back to the origins of the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union to show the unjustness of the very existence of these weapons, to wit – The existence of thousands of nuclear weapons is the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War. No nuclear war was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, but generations lived with the knowledge that their world could be erased in a single flash of light. Cities like Prague that existed for centuries, that embodied the beauty and the talent of so much of humanity, would have ceased to exist. The historical reference here is the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, which started in the aftermath of World War II, when the world was fiercely divided between the camps espousing capitalist democracy as represented by the Americans, and the socialist camp as led by the Soviet Union. While no bullets were ever shot during the entire course of the War from the late 40s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, both states were engaged in proxy wars in different third world countries, such as Korea in the 1950s where the US sided with the South and the Soviets provided support to the North’s Kim Il Sung. More importantly, the entire period of the Cold War was also the venue for the arms and space race between the two great powers, in which both camps sought to produce the most powerful weapons and rockets, including those of the nuclear kind. In the course of the War, both camps produced an overwhelming array of nuclear weapons, in order to check on each other’s growing military might. The use of the historical reference was more to warn the world of the horrors of a prospective nuclear war, and that his government shall never be a party to such a war, notwithstanding taking concrete measures to ensure that the very fissile materials to be used in producing weapons-grade nuclear power shall never be placed in the wrong hands. Moreover, his references to the Cold War nuclear race were also done to buttress his position on the other uses of nuclear technology such as the production of electricity, which Iran, as a sovereign state, may fully do. President Obama was correct in his depiction of a nuclear war which may destroy entire cities and civilizations. Even prior to the nuclear proliferation of the Cold War, the world was already a witness to the horrors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, when American bomber planes dropped atomic bombs over these entire cities and vaporized a majority of its population. The paranoia of the world and the American people on threat of nuclear war was so great that different states sought the ratification of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to pressure nuclear-wielding states, either to abandon their nuclear program fully or decrease the number of stockpiled nuclear weapons. With regard to the meaning of the historical reference as per the contemporary moment, he posits that the Cold War proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the most dangerous consequences of the then bipolar world, in which all efforts must be done towards the reversal of such a situation, whether through consented desistance of nuclear-powered states, or through the creation of tougher and more engaging multi-lateral treaties dealing with the subject of nuclear weapons. Its meaning today is no different from the dangers that lurked in the use nuclear weapons in decades past, and President Obama is fully concerned that nuclear energy must remain in the hands of only those states that would harness its benefits peacefully and never in pursuit of aggressive military, even terrorist, objectives. References: 1. ___________. (2009). Transcript: Obamas G20 Press Conference. CBS News. Retrieved April 2, 2009 from http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2009/04/02/politics/100days/worldaffairs/main491 4735. shtml? source=RSSattr=Politics_4914735 2. Obama, B. (2009). Prague Speech on Nuclear Weapons. Huffington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2009 from http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2009/04/05/obama-prague-speech-on- nu_n_183219. html. 3. Obama, B. (2009). Obama Inaugural Address. The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from http://www. nytimes. com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text- obama. html? _r=1. 4. Obama, B. (2009). Remarks of President Barack Obama Address to Joint Session of Congress. The White House Briefing Room. Retrieved February 27, 2009 from http://www. whitehouse. gov/the_press_office/remarks-of-president-barack-obama- address-to-joint-session-of-congress/. 5.

Distinguish Between Sense Reference And Denotation Philosophy Essay

Distinguish Between Sense Reference And Denotation Philosophy Essay Individuals transfer their thoughts and ideas to each other via language. The speakers of a language have a common basic vocabulary, and share the knowledge of meaning of several words, in their mental lexicon. The meaning of an expression cannot be understood as the definitions found in a dictionary entry; consequently, linguists suggest alternative ways of defining meaning. K. Nelson (1985) proposed that meaning has three counterparts relating to: reference, denotation and sense. A reference is the association between an expression and the object it refers to (the referent). Expressions referring to a particular object or entity in the world are described as referring expressions J.I Saeed (2003). Therefore, girl is a referent in: That girl seems nice, which is a referring expression. Objects in the world Reference, partly depends on the sense of expressions. Sense shows a relationship between the expression and the object in the world, in relation to a mental representation. J.I Saeed (2003) describes a mental representation as a complex and abstract element relating an idea to the object in the world (the concept). The relationship between sense, the expression and the referent was outlined by C.K. Ogden and I.A Richards when they presented the first semiotic triangle in: The Meaning of Meaning (1923). In the meaning triangle an expression is thought to provide access to an underlying concept, which in turn refers to an object in the world (referent). This clarifies the existence of a relationship between a word, a sense and its referent. Denotes A distinction between reference and sense is made in: On Sense and Reference, G. Frege (1892), revealing their close correlation whilst it is also suggesting that the sense of a sign may change without altering the referent. In order to describe how expressions referring to the same object may differ in sense, Frege presents the expressions morning star and evening star. Both refer to the same object regardless of their different senses. (Morning star= Venus at dawn whilst Evening star= Venus at dusk). Frege describes the reference as the expression having an actual object corresponding to it and the sense of this expression as the concept of the expression. An expression is said to expand its ability to denote because it is associated to an object, in the speakers mind. Hence, reference and denotation are closely related. Referring is the action taken by the speaker in picking out objects in the world while denoting is a property possessed by the expression. A denotation is a constant relationship in a language which is independent of word use; it is not altered by time, unlike reference. Two major theories also clarify the terms reference and denotation, both theories highlight the relationship between a linguistic expression and a referent. The Denotational Theory describes a direct relationship between expressions and objects. The Representational Theory, on the other hand, states that the relationship between the words and objects in the world is mediated by our mental model. To conclude, language is seen as a means of recognizing objects in the world. Reference cannot be the sole idea of the theory of meaning but our semantic knowledge suggests that sense, reference and denotation are vital for our understanding. Speakers of the same language understand each other because they share a basic vocabulary whilst also making sense of what a particular expression is denoting and referring to. 4. Outline the main features of Prototype Theory and show how it differs from the classical view of concepts as necessary and sufficient conditions. Give examples to support your answer. Through the years, philosophers, scientists and linguists have thought about how language ties a word to a particular concept, whilst raising arguments about what makes a concept and what is the definition of meaning. One of the most remarkable theories presented in the 1970s was that of Eleanor Rosch and her colleagues. This theory is based on the idea of prototypes, viewing concepts as constructed with the intention of creating a more typical member of a category, but eventually deviating into a less typical and hazier idea. For example in the  Ã¢â‚¬ ºcolour Ã‚  concept; red is a more central representative, as opposed to fuchsia. E. Rosch and her co-workers sustained their theory by analysing trends seen in the evidence they obtained during their experiments; speakers settled for the more typical members of a category of concepts. This demonstrates how categories are structured; some members of a concept may be more prototypical than others, lacking a certain sense of boundary. So, if speakers are asked for an example of  Ã¢â‚¬ ºfruit Ã‚ , they are expected to come up with more obvious examples, such as apples, rather than plums. This happens since the more outlined ideas, are the first that come to the speakers mind, because the speaker is more used to these ideas, and feels they are the safer and more accurate. Categories are mostly based upon the speakers knowledge and experience of the real world. These categories are learned ideas, they are personal ideas (personal construct) and so they are biased. As a result the lexicon (and conceptual categories) will differ according to the individuals social background and culture. The Prototype Theory is sometimes described as a non-classical theory because, may contrast the principles of the classical view. The classical theory suggested that an object could be correctly referred to by a word only if it has the correct qualifications with regards to characteristics that signify the meaning of the expression or the word. For example, any type of bird is a bird only if it has feathers, has wings, flies etc. If the bird does not have wings, then the label bird in inadequate and does not apply to the concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºbird Ã‚ . Central Concept Considering, the concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºCat Ã‚ ; the first idea that comes to a speakers mind would be a small, meowing, four-legged, furry animal, with a tail. Merging out into the fuzzier members of this category, would give not only big cats like leopards, lions and tigers, but also Sphinx (furless cats) and Manx (tail less cats). If the classical theory was applicable to this category, a Sphinx would never be considered a cat because it is furless, a Manx wouldnt be considered a cat either because it has no tail, and even tigers, leopards and lions, they would be declined in the cat category for the reason that they do not meow, they roar. In spite of the fact that the classical theory was taken for granted as correct for a long period of time, the breakthrough brought about by the works of E. Rosch brought linguists, philosophers and scientists alike to a understand the complexity of the meaning of a concept, and how it does not only depend on the entity it is tied to but also to the individual way by which it is perceived, a true milestone in cognitive language. To what extent would you expect people who speak different languages to display fundamental differences in the way they think and perceive the world? Support your answer with examples from one particular domain, such as that of colour terms or number words. The question of whether thought differs by culture, due to language differences in cultures has been puzzling philosophers for a long period of time. Does the representation in human thought involve a linguistic element or does it comprise mental images, independent of language? No stable conclusion has ever been taken regarding this situation but philosophers and linguists alike have aimed their studies and observations towards finding a clearer explanation. The Universalist point of view suggests that thought is autonomous from language, whilst the Realist view suggests that language mirrors culture (relativism) and it influences the manner by which we think (determinism). The latter view suggests that cultural differences result in different ways of thinking. Humbolt (19th century philosopher) implies that; languages project different perspectives on the world. Two of the most prominent relativist theorists were Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. E. Sapir proposed that language made part of culture, and therefore is a factor that effects how a speaker thinks: We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. (Sapir, 1929). Whorf further suggested that culture not only ties itself to language but is also related to the way thought is created, paying attention to how grammar may create alternative lines of thought (Whorf, 1956). Speakers of different languages are expected to think differently, this is not only due to their cultural differences but also due to their different language and linguistic abilities. By no means does a simpler language make the speaker simple-minded, but not having words to describe a concept, may contrast that more complex language in terms of expressivity. For example, how can a person think that Christmas comes in December, without the words Christmas and December in his mental lexicon? The analysis for the further understanding of how language and thought relate can be done by analysing two speakers of different languages and comparing the way an object is perceived with regard to the vocabulary present within the language of each speaker. Taking the core concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºcolour Ã‚  and assuming that everyone has the same mental capacity to perceive concepts; if a language (L1) fails to provide a word for the colour yellow; language does indeed effect perception, only if speakers of L1 will be unable to perceive the concept  Ã¢â‚¬ ºyellow Ã‚ . Berlin and Kay (1969) studied this relation between thought, culture and language by tackling the core concept of colours; comparing languages whilst questioning whether there is a pattern for the understanding of core concepts to all cultures. For example: Dani (New Guinea) has two terms for describing colour, Tamil (India) has six terms for colour whilst Lebanese Arabic and English each have up to eleven terms. E. Rosch revised the Berlin and Kay theory by comparing speakers of Dani (having only a black/white system) and English speakers. Rosch studied whether speakers of Dani could still observe different colours and differentiate between them. Results of this stu dy showed that regardless of their linguistic contrasts; Dani and English speakers showed the same trends in colour understanding helping Rosch to conclude that colour concepts are universal. Language and thought may be related since certain concepts cannot be thought of unless the thinker or speaker has a language. Therefore, language and culture are seen to go hand in hand with thought.

The grief over a lost pet

The grief over a lost pet This grief may be so difficult that the person may feel more upset over a pet than a human loved one; there are many feelings, and stages that are involved in losing a pet. Five stages that are included in losing a pet are denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and resolution. Pam Brown once said, If there is a heaven, its certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them (Brown, n.d.). I awoke to a fresh spring breeze gusting through my window, the sounds of newly born birds chirping, and the smell of blooming flowers. Yet, for some reason something inside me begged and pleaded for me not get out of bed. Something shouted inside me, shouted inside this little twelve-year-old girl that this world was full of anger, hate, and unconscious drones moving around like people, people that were not living but just existing. Against my bodies, wishes and my horrible thoughts I heaved myself up and began to start my morning. I remember it was about 9:00 AM and I had a chiropractor appointment at about noon. I wandered around the house as if I had never been there before, feeling lost, in an unfamiliar body but with no reason for this feeling just pushed myself on. Assuming the feeling would go away eventually, I stumbled into the kitchen in my pajamas. Only to be greeted by the only thing in the world that filled the void inside me, my dog Shiloh. A flash of memory came to me and I lived in that memory standing in my kitchen remember the memory of the struggles it took me to convince my mom that getting a dog was the best possible therapy and telling her that it would heal everything. I began to chuckle to myself, I was not sure if I was laughing because she believed me and let me get him or because I had strung a line of BS to her in hopes of a yes answer and here it turned out that my BS was right. I got Shiloh from our local pet store. Every Saturday this pet store would have one cat and one dog up for adoption. Once I had convinced my mom this was the answer to everything, we got ready and went to look for my psychologist in a dogs body. The drive to the pet store was exhausting I could hardly contain myself. I remember watching the lines on the side of the road stream by the car; I thought that maybe if I concentrated on something, that it might put me in some sort of hypnosis and before I knew it that, we would be there. That did not work, actually it made me quite ill and when I looked up, we had driven maybe about a mile so much for that brilliant idea. I began to imagine what my dog would look like black, white, or spotted. Maybe with long hair and those enticing puppy eyes every dog owner knows. I thought up thousands of names, only stressing myself out more, what collar I would pick, would I get a boy or a girl dog. The most overplayed question in my head was if my lin e of BS was going to come true, would it fill that feeling of hatred, loneliness, and worthlessness. Then I found myself asking would he or she like me? That to me was one of the most apparent reason I needed help, I was worried if a dog was going to like me. We pulled into the parking lot of the pet store, the sounds of the tires rolling across the pavement and the screeching halt awoke me from my hypnosis. There was that last question ringing in my ear, would he or she like me? I realized we were there and felt this tension in my chest, hands, and me as a whole. This is what I had been waiting for and all of a sudden I felt scared what if I picked the wrong dog what if that feeling that everyone talks about, the feeling of knowing its the right choice is not there. I gathered my thoughts and pushed my stomach from my throat back to where it belonged and left what I hoped would be the last of those feelings in the car. As my hand grasped the handle and opened the door the sound of the one dog reverberated in my ear. At that moment nothing else mattered, I was for once in my life numb to those awful feelings. The nervousness, fear, and anxiety must have latched on to someone else that was in close range. There was a line in front of the two cages all of a sudden a thought came into my head what if someone in front of me adopts the dog first. I quickly tried to grab the thought and throw it away I did this so vividly that I thought perhaps I had acted it out in the middle of the store, luckily, I was not that crazy. That is when I heard the little boy in front of me say EW, mommy, I dont want this dog. A sense of relief flew threw me. As the people in front of me moved aside I saw him, sitting in the cage alone completely aware of his feeling of being unwanted not feeling good enough to go home with a little boy. His dark brown eyes glazed over almost like tears, his color almost like the grainy sand , and little spots almost like God had peppered him just on his feet before he sent him on his way. My attention focused on why in the world this little boy did not want him. That is when I noticed his back right leg was limp. The woman informed us that he did not utilize this leg he was born with it but had more want of love and loyalty then I had ever felt. I realized he was just like me but just did not have the capability to say it. I imagined him screaming out as I had done multiple times to my father I am here! Love me, want me, and give me the chance to show you how wonderful I am. I needed him, I wanted him, and there was without a doubt in my mind that I wanted to be that person to give him what I so longed for. In that instance, I looked at my mom and said, He is the only thing I want in life right now, and he is mine. We brought Shiloh home, the whole ride home I glared into his walnut eyes and noticed that that glaze was gone. In my eyes, I had given him what I longed for and for that moment, I felt peace of mind, a feeling that everything was going to be okay. That day he became my everything, my world. I signed on to a silent pact that day, a pact of friendship, loyalty and love that would be unmatched by anyone. A dog that loves unconditionally, without judging and does not need anything explained or asked he just knows. I loved him and he loved me, my question was answered he did love me. There was nothing in the world that would take him away from me, we were invincible together, or so I thought. A year had passed by and it was the best year of my life, he was perfect. He amazed me his leg never bothered him it was as if his hardest struggle in life had floated away. He ran on three legs and pounced around in the yard as if he were a gazelle roaming the plains of Africa. I recall thinking to myself that a person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life. I came back to my senses standing in my kitchen the morning of my chiropractic appointment wondering why this day is so different from any other day, Why I thought about all of this so in depth. I stared at those same walnut eyes thanking God for letting me own such a courageous, loyal dog. I went into the bathroom only to notice I still was not dressed, my hair was disheveled, pointing in all directions, much like roadways on a map. I decided that since it was only 9:00 in the morning that I had time to take Shiloh outside and play for awhile, knowing that he would not judge me on how I looked I stayed in my pajamas. Opening the door I felt the crisp breeze glide over my face, my bare feet on the sun bathed porch, noticing the great warmth under my toes. I stretched as far as I could reach, staring at the sun as if I were grasping it in my hands, Shiloh did the same. As I opened my eyes, I realized the cows across the street were intently focusing on us as if they wanted to engage i n a staring match. We sat in the front for awhile, just listening to the rustling leaves, the crackling of pine trees branches as if they were all stretching in unison enjoying the same things we were. I sat there, admiring how simple life could be when you had what you needed right by your side. The smell of freshly baled hay filled the air and the sound of the baby calves across the street calling to each other to play. A day like any other day, the smells and sounds of a normal day, but something was still lingering, something that was unknown, which I think, is why I was so sensitive to this incognito feeling. I walked through the dampened dew grass, reached down, grabbed the felt covered toy, and began to toss it around for Shiloh. My mom had woken up and come outside to look for me. She stood on the porch and told me that I should probably start to get ready for my appointment seeing as to how I was still in my pajamas and frankly a mess. My mom turned and went inside to get ready. Little did I know that the feeling I had been having all morning would soon show itself in true form. It was almost as if the next seven minutes were stuck in a time warp. As I turned around for Shiloh I noticed he had went across the road to the barn. Worried and frantic I did the first thing I thought of and last thing that he would consciously hear, I called his name, SHILOH come here! He then did what he did best, listened to me. Shiloh came running across the pavement of the road; I remember hearing his toenails clipping on the pavement. A sudden sense of relief came over me, followed by complete and utter trauma. I could smell the diesel, hear the sound of the roaring engine, I ran for my life and let out a horror-filled shrie k that took a part of me with it. I saw I was too late, I saw my everything, my world take the impact that I raced so hard to take for him. I fell to my knees, feeling the cold mud mush around my knees. I felt nothing, not a heartbeat. I heard nothing, no birds, no wind, the trees that were just stretching in the wind had stopped as if they knew the severity of the situation. A part of me died that day that I have never gotten back. My mom rushed outside, I had not moved, not blinked, not conscious. I came back to reality, and I came back with such anger, anger I had never experienced. I cursed every word that seeped through my body and directed it at the driver. As quick as the cursing began, it stopped I went into the house in silence and stared at my reflection telling myself it was a dream, to wake up damn it! I closed my eyes and counted to ten, nothing changed. This was reality. I sat in the house, in silence. My mom ran in the house told me she was going to the vet, I said nothing. My sister stayed with me while my mom did what I was not able to do, and I blame myself every day. I sat there for hours while my mom was gone and repeated please let him be okay God, please let him be okay. I received a phone call from my mom that he needed to be euthanized, and asked what I wanted to happen with his body. I said, He needs to come home, bring him back to me. A little while passed by and then I heard the crunching of the gravel, the squeaks of the brakes, and the car door shut. A sense of relief came over me he was home, but not home with me, home in heaven. I told myself I would not look at him. I found myself busting through the door like a horse on the racetrack. My baby, my Shiloh was in a sky blue bag tied shut, and alone. The day we got him came to my mind and I realized I could not save him from his loneliness again. The unbearable anger came over me, I briskly opened the bag as if maybe they made a mistake and he was alive or maybe if I opened it quickly enou gh he would breathe again, just for me. I ever so slightly touched his face, and quickly pulled back he was cold. I grabbed him from the bag and immediately cradled him, rocking him back and forth. I do not know how long I sat there holding him, but I do know that at twelve years old I learned what it felt like to lose a child. The sound of the shovel hitting the dirt was deafening. I wondered how I was going to be able to put him in this hole, my hand began to tighten around the bag like a vice grip. It dawned on me that someone was going to have to break both my hands before I would toss him away. The sick feeling came to me that if I could just keep him maybe it would not be so hard. The thought of letting go became harder to do than anything. I was angry at Mother Nature, the birds were still chirping, people laughing, cars zooming by. I expected the earth to stop turning and everyone to grieve with me. Shiloh was not just a dog he was my world, I wanted to die with him, lay next to him for eternity. The shovel stopped, it was time I had to let him go. As my fingers started to release from the bag the crackling of the bag unstuck itself from my hands as if Shiloh himself were clinging to me, begging me not to let him go. I sat in the cold dirt next to the hole, the grass creeping up my knees; I lowered my arms, hesitantly, not to let him go to quick in fear that I might hurt him. He was dead, he felt nothing, not the whistling wind, the warmth in my hands, or my pounding drum beat that my heart was letting out. So loud that the angels that were watching could hear it, perhaps it made some angelic sound that drew them to me. As I let go, I felt like I was letting go of everything I knew about myself, all the esteem, every fiber of my being was being buried in the hole with him. I stood there the guilt overwhelming me I should have went to the vets office with him, that cold sterile place, without his mom, how could I abandon him in his most precious time of need. If I could have been there maybe they would have saved him, maybe my need for him to live would have been enough if I had been there. That day will forever be a part of me. If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness (Garber, 2011). After the death of Shiloh I became extremely depressed and cried daily, I could not get over it. I waited for a year and hoped it would get better and now almost ten years later I have for the most part had resolution. It was not until I took the course Vet 123 that I learned why it was so difficult. There are different stages in what we call the grieving process. These stages are not linear, meaning that a grieving person can move in and out of stages in any order. These stages include: Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Depression, and resolution (Mccurnin, 2010). The denial stage is a defense mechanism that helps to ease the humans from any unbearable news or reality. This is shown in the way that the client will act; they will often want the veterinary staff to repeat diagnoses, prognoses, and treatment plans (Mccurnin, 2010). The stage of bargaining is when the grieving person acts out helpless attempts to control and change the reality of the situation. They will often try and find miracle cures or even attempt to treat it at home with home remedies. The client may also get second opinions and even replace a pet too soon. In hopes that this new dog will ease the pain and suffering they may get a dog that is the exact same breed, color, and even name the dog the same name (Mccurnin, 2010). The sad thing is that most will try this and then when the new dog does not fill that position, the owners will often become mad. The next stage is Anger. Anger is very difficult to work through and work with. This is when they will feel overwhelmingly guilty. Guilt is the hardest for people to relinquish. This stage is usually directed at the veterinary staff, they feel that perhaps it was the clinics fault that their pet did not survive. Once they are able to let go of the guilt and anger the process continues (Mccurnin, 2010). The Depression stage consists of feelings of extreme sadness, worthlessness, and the grieving person may not function normally. You become irritable, sleep depravated, and very restless. This stage must be worked through and should not be avoided (Mccurnin, 2010). The final stage of the grieving process is resolution or acceptance. Once the grieving person reaches this stage things balanced themselves out, they feel okay, and are able to function no rmally. The pet has not been forgotten and new attachments can be made without hesitation or guilt. (Mcurnin, 2010). Usually the grieving process is easier for children than it is for adults. There are some factors that change how a person grieves such as: multiple losses, a loss that was associated with a special person or event, traumatic death of a pet, loss on an important day, inability to be able to afford treatment, and guilt about the death (Mccurnin,2010). Many people deal with grief very differently, for a lot of people their pets are their children. 50% of people consider their relationship with their pets as extremely strong (Mcurnin, 2010). So in knowing this people may react and act in very odd or even absurd ways sometimes due to how they grieve. Some other instances that make the grief process more difficult is a disappearance of a pet, witness a violent and unnecessary death of a pet, sudden illness or trauma, and not being present when the pet dies or not being able to say goodbye. The loss of a pet is difficult for everyone involved, including the veterinary staff. Euthanasia of a pet is the number one cause for burnout in the clinic (Mccurnin, 2010). Some reasons that the death may be more difficult for the veterinary staff is that the pet could not fight the disease and died after much time and medical effort. The staff also becomes attached to these pets. Often in euthanasia the client may be present during the euthanasia which makes the situation more stressful. Due to problems arising during the procedure and the clients witness this (Mccurnin, 2010). It is never uncommon for a veterinary technician or any member of the staff to cry with the clients, this can often help in some situations. However over time in the practice you will acquire the skill to read situations and now how to respond (Mccurnin, 2010). Dogs dont know about beginnings, and they dont speculate on matters that occurred before their time. Dogs also dont know or at least dont accept the concept of death. With no concept of beginnings or endings dogs probably dont know that for people having a dog as a life companion provides a streak of light between two eternities of darkness .For those who love dogs, it would be the worst form of a lie to call any place where dogs were banned Paradise. Certainly no loving God would separate people from their canine friends for eternity (Coren, n.d.). In conclusion the death of a pet is one of the hardest things you could face. The feelings that you get when losing a pet can come in many forms, and may take a few weeks to months to years. It all depends on how you grieve. The day I lost Shiloh I remember wondering if I was ever to get over it or if I would ever be able to own another animal knowing the unavoidable reality in the end. I pondered if it was really worth it in the end worth the pain, unhappiness, and the worthlessness. The same things I had wished away with getting Shiloh in the first place. It was all worth it in the end for it is better to have loved and lost then to have never loved in the first place. I have learned so much from this tragedy, because I feel that that was a turning point in my life and that is one of the reasons I am where I am today. I want to help and save animals to the best of my ability to be able to send that dog back home to his or her little girl. Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains un awakened (France, n.d.).

N. Scott Momadays House Made of Dawn Essay -- Momaday House Made Dawn

N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn House Made of Dawn, the novel that began the AMERICAN INDIAN LITERARY RENAISSANCE, is Scott Momaday's masterpiece. He originally conceived the work as a series of poems, but under the tutelage of Wallace Stegner at Stanford, Momaday reconceived the work first as a set of stories, then as a novel. House is the story of Abel, an Indian from the Pueblo Momaday calls "Walatowa," a fictionalized version of Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico, where Momaday grew up. Abel returns from World War II a victim of what we would call today "post-traumatic stress syndrome." He is unable to speak, even to his grandfather, Francisco, who raised him. Abel, who is drunk when his grandfather picks him up on the return to the reservation, is based in part on a veteran that Momaday knew at Jemez, but also in part on Ira Hayes, the Pima Marine who raised the flag at Mt. Suribachi, and was memorialized in the statue that became the symbol of the Marine Corps. Hayes couldn't adjust to civilian life, and died drunk in a ditch on the reservation. The Indian veteran who is a hero in war but cannot find a niche in civilian life when he returns to America has become an archetype. Abel's name (Momaday only gives him one) suggests the biblical victim, and many readers assume the Cain who lays him low to be white society. But readers should remember that in the Bible Cain is Abel's brother, and the characters in House Made of Dative who cause Abel the most harm are indeed his fellow Indians. Furthermore, Abel's troubles begin even before his stint in the army. He is illegitimate, and as a result has always been an outsider at Walatowa. The war exacerbates his problems, but they started at his birth. Abel's first t... ...se of hendiadys, simple clauses linked with "and:" "The feasting had begun, and there was a lull on the town." Faulkner’s influence can be seen in the stream of consciousness passages and the use of the bear as a symbol of the wilderness. But Momaday's novel is distinctly Indian as well. Cherokee novelist and critic Louis OWENS says: "What has matured with Momaday is not merely an undeniable facility with the techniques and tropes of modernism, but more significantly the profound awareness of conflicting epistemologies [Euro-American and Indian]. . Momaday's novel represents more fully than any Native American novel before it the "assertion of a different perspective (92)." Works Cited Momaday, N. Scott. House Made of Dawn. New York: Harper, 1968. Owens, Lewis. Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel. Norman, OK: U Oklahoma P, 1994.

Capturing the Friedmans Essay -- Film Movies

Capturing the Friedmans In 2003, Andrew Jarecki released his documentary "Capturing the Friedmans", which explores a seemingly normal middle-class families struggle when the father and son are charged with sexual abuse and molestation in 1987. The Friedman's from the outside seem like a healthy family, abiding in a fairly exclusive Great Neck, Long Island community; the father Arnold is a Columbia Graduate and a school teacher, while the mother Elaine, a housewife. They have three sons David, Seth, and Jessie whom appear to be a happy, intelligent, and good-humored group of brothers. The power and prestige of this film comes not from its controversial and serious subject matter, but from the unbiased way in which the story is presented. Jarecki gives the audience an equal amount of facts that could be used to argue both sides of the equation, which leaves one realizing that perhaps what really transpired isn't the point he's aiming for in this film. The audience is left not knowing whether or not Arnold and his son Jesse committed the crimes, but instead they are left realizing truth is irrelevant, because we will never really know exact details, just the disintegration and tragic destruction of the Friedman Family. Regardless of the validity of the claims, there definitely seems to have been something unusual and tragic about the collapsing Friendman Family. The patriarchal/ matriarchal relationship was brok en, Arnold and Elaine didn't seem very much in love anymore, and the boundaries between the parents and the children became less pyramid like and more horizont... ...at because of the size of the children there would have been physical symptoms, no documented evidence of this sort was presented during the case. Out of 100 students no physical symptoms were ever recorded, and not one student said anything about abuse until four years later when the investigator was pursued (Silvergate, 2004) No parents ever filed complaints prior to police investigation. Because memories are malleable and children are even more vulnerable to authority, it is very probable that some children just complied to the leading questions due to fear, but is it possible that they all could? The influence of the investigators parallels to the influence of therapists in cases of sexually abused children's recovered memories. Works Cited 1)Silverglate, Harvey A; Takei, Carl:Mistrial- The Capturing The Friedman's DVD sheds new light on the case. Newsday

The ambiguity in “My Papa’s Waltz”

Theodore Roethk’s â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† is a poetry of the twentieth century. When discussed, the poem instigates again and again some very interesting and conflicting opinions. Often examination of this brief and seemingly accessible poem inspires animated debates on the possibility of messages of child abuse and alcoholism. â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz†, recounts the treasured childhood memories of the poet. The structure of the poem, the iambic trimetric quatrains has the rhythmic romp of the waltz. The poem should be read within the context of its time frame.This poem was authored in 1948, an era when readers would not have shared the same emotional response about these issues that are displayed by contemporary readers. The meaning of many phrases and words in the poem can be misinterpreted as an indication of child abuse. A close reading and analysis of the poem help us avoid such misconstruction. According to Karl Malkoff, Roethke had a deep almost religious respect for his father, Otto Roethke. He had admiration for his father’s ability and fear for his strength. Otto Roethke owned greenhouses and worked in them as well.Roethke saw his father with his labor helped the flowers grow. His love combined with his awe-inspired dependency that a son has for his father can be clearly seen in the poem. The poem consists of four iambic trimetric quatrains. The rhythmic style and the rime patter of the quatrains (‘breath’, ‘death’ and ‘easy’, ‘dizzy’,) make us feel the rhythm of the waltz. It shows the good time the boy is having with his father. As the readers of the last decade of 20th century, we are very much aware of the issues of child abuse and alcoholism.We are conditioned to think even the slightest hints of abuse and alcoholism as glaring sigs of problems. These subjects were not heard at the time when it was written. Moreover his use of the word ‘papa’ sh ows his affection towards his father. The first line of the first stanza, â€Å"The whisky on your breath†, does not necessary mean that his father is drunk. He may enjoy a drink before going to bed. He hung on to his father like death while dancing because it is a rowdy waltz. The use of the word ‘death’ can mean that he was enjoying the dance and he has a tight grip on his father so that he did not fall.In the next stanza we find that the dancing pair makes a mess of the cans in the kitchen and her mother frown at their behavior. Other than frowning, she does not take any actions to stop her father which can only mean that it is not a case of child abuse but a father spending some time his son before the child goes to bed. In the third stanza he says that his father’s hand was battered on one knuckle. The reason can be the hard labor his father put to maintain the greenhouses.If we imagine a situation in which the boy is standing on his father’s f eet while dancing, each time his father misses a step; his ear will come in contact with the buckle. This is what he means by â€Å"My ear scraped a buckle†. The first line of the last stanza, â€Å"You beat time on my head† may mean the father lovingly putting his hand on the boy’s head with the beat of the waltz. The last line â€Å"Still clinging to your shirt† reveals the boy’s wish to stay with his father and not go to bed. The analysis of the poem asserts that it is a recollection of the happy days of his childhood.The autobiographical elements, the structure, the poem in context of the era in which it was written and a close study of the poem show that is a reminiscence of the loving memories of author’s childhood which had shared with his father. Though the poem seems to be a positive memory, there are lines, ‘The whisky on your breath’ and ‘But I hung on to like death’, which shows the violence and underlin ing danger in such a dance. The activity is exhilarating, as often with children, they are impressed by things that scare and thrill them.

Racism and Prejudice

Racism and Prejudice It is undeniable that in deed race matters. The four selections in this chapter and the Linda Lin article, talk about different kinds of racism and prejudice, all of them true and all of them equally detrimental. I think this country is far from being perfect and from not having racism or prejudice problems. Nevertheless, is undeniable that it has come a long way (President Obama) since the time of slavery and more recently Jim Crowe laws and the harassment that was brought against blacks.Later, recognized as the solution needed to afford minorities’ equal opportunities both in work and in school, Affirmative Action, was hailed as the leveler of the field. There certainly is no doubt that in the 1960's at the epicenter of the civil rights movement, that the government had an obligation to pass legislation aimed at equalizing the races on at least a social level. The question now has become whether or not Affirmative Action has passed its time. Does this on ce very necessary legislation now in today's society do more harm than good?There is all kind of racism if you include prejudice too. It has been going on since beginning of time. Maybe it is sometimes a person's own insecurity that makes them think everything is attributed to race. The truth is that each group tends to be prejudiced against the other. Some are angry because some people lay around and collect government money and some are angry because they blame another class for what they cannot achieve, or for past mistakes made some hundreds of years ago.I think far too many of us speak of equality and hope, yet secretly rationalize hate, based on little more than stereotypes and stories of atrocities that happened generations ago. Sadly, this is still a racist culture. The question is not â€Å"Am I a racist? † The question is â€Å"To what degree am I a racist? † â€Å"To what degree am I aware of my racism? † The selection from Jana Noel made me think abo ut those questions.At first I thought I am not a prejudice person and I am not racist, then I thought of little things I have done and indeed I do engage in racist behaviors like I find myself at a higher level of alertness when I am outdoors at night in the vicinity of a man of African descent. Behaviors like that are considered â€Å"micro insults. † I am more mindful of them now. However, unfortunately I acknowledge that I still engage in these barely conscious behaviors. Reading Noel I can associate the way my prejudice was form with the social control theory.There is no other explanation why I would react like that. That is certainly not something that my parents taught me. Most White Americans will tell you, that they are not racist individuals. Nevertheless, if you could delve deeper into their minds, you would discover that many of them have reasons that they believe justifies racism. Among those reasons or excuses, we found the reverse discrimination of Affirmative A ction, ignorance of other races and cultures, and the belief in the need for retribution for past injustices.Whites in America should start by admit the reality and begin to work under the assumption that this is a racist society. As we read in McIntosh and Sleeter articles, the white people in the United States have benefited from the structure of racism, whether or not they have ever committed a racist act, uttered a racist word, or had a racist thought. The same way minorities suffer in a white society because they are Black, Hispanics, Asian, Jewish, etc, Whites benefit because they are White. These minorities have grown up with racism and prejudice.One of the most difficult tasks in life to accomplish is to overcome the core fundamental principles that you are taught as a child. A child who grows up witnessing racism, as a way of life, is likely to become a racist adult. The world, in which we all live, is the same society in which our children and our children's children will one day be. It is our duty as parents and teachers to see that future generations have the best opportunity at thriving in an equal world. Only through tolerance and understanding can we ensure equality for all in this country.