What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts Essay Example

What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts Paper Searle starts his explanation of social reality by outlining brute or observer independent facts. Searle is a realist and does not subscribe to the view that all of reality is somehow a human creation and that there are only facts dependant on the human mind. The foundation of Searles construction of social reality to use his metaphor of construction is that there is a reality totally independent of us. These facts, which act independently of us, are brute facts. Searles rough and ready approach is to ask whether these features would exist if there had never been human beings or sentient creatures. Would a hydrogen atom contain one electron? Yes. Would a rectangle of plastic with a magnetic strip be a form of exchanging wealth? No. Generally speaking the natural sciences deal with these features. In Searles theory the world is made up of particles in fields of force described by atomic theory and human beings have evolved from ape like creatures due to evolutionary biology. The brute features of an object are an intrinsic part of its existence and are not affected by attitudes towards it, and it is therefore described as observer independent. Searle clearly distinguishes between the features of a stone that are observer independent and observer relative by comparing two statements; that object is a stone and that object is a paperweight. A stone is a stone because of its atomic structure and physical constituents, however the statement that it is a paperweight is dependant on attitudes towards it. Another person may think of it as a weapon, or as a building material. We will write a custom essay sample on What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The difference between brute and observer dependant is reasonably simple when applied to a stone if the barrier of language is ignored, brute facts require the institution of language in order that we can state the facts, but the brute facts themselves exist quite independently of language or any other institutions. Searle uses the example of colours as a more complicated example of brute reality. If Searle had published his theory before the work of seventeenth century physicists he would have asserted that colour only had brute features, however due to advances in light physics colour is now seen as observer relative. Building on the foundation of a brute reality, which is not open to interpretation. Searle then arrives at social and institutional reality. His early example of sitting outside a cafe and ordering a drink in terms of social reality is extremely complex. Searle states that there are three essential components of social and institutional reality that explain the ordinary social relations that occurred in the cafe: collective intentionality, assignment of function and constitutive rules. The assignment of function can be seen as the first building block in Searles construction of social reality. Preceded by the idea that there are brute facts, which cannot be challenged by human thought or intentionality, the assignment of function is a product of thought and consciousness. There are no functions naturally occurring in brute reality. Both humans and animals assign function and uses to objects. There are examples of simplistic functions in the animal world such as an animal using a lake or pool to drink from. The chair I sit on has been assigned the use of me sitting on it because it is the right height off the ground, can support my weight and is comfortable. It is also the product of an industrial process, which has involved the assignment of function at every level of production from the raw materials used upwards. The chair has been constructed with the intention of me sitting but I can also assign different uses to it. Collective intentionality is the second step. Species of animals have a biologically innate collective intentionality, meaning that not only will they co-operate with each other on order to achieve a task, but that they share a collective intentionality. Searle states that we intentionality is irreducible to I- intentionality and that the crucial element is a sense of doing something together, from this we derive our own individuals intentionality from the collective intentionality we share. Searle states that any fact involving collective intentionality is a social fact. Collective intentionality and assignment of function are essential to the construction of social reality. A world of levers, screwdrivers and beauty all require thinking creatures to assign function and to behave with a collective will. Social facts do not require linguistic or cultural apparatus to exist. To use a log as a seat I do not have to possess the linguistic skills to identify the stone to another person through speech or to have seen someone else use it as a seat, it is simply the physical characteristics of the log that appeal to me. This leads on to institutional facts, a special sub class of social fact. Where social facts are created by collective conscious activity, institutional facts also require the institutions of language and culture to exist. Only linguistic creatures can create institutions. Institutional facts require the distinction to be made between regulative rules and constitutive rules. Regulative rules regulate the behaviour of those taking part in an activity. Constitutive rules bring behaviour into existence, the rules constituting that behaviour. A feature of institutional reality is that it can be created by performance utterances. Searle classes these speech acts as declarations, the utterance of this meeting is adjourned creates the fact. Searles explanation of constitutive rules forming an institutional fact is the example of money. His belief is that x counts as Y or that X counts as Y in context C. and this counts in the example of all institutional facts, institutional facts only existing within a system of these constitutive rules. Institutional facts require a set of systematic relations with other facts. Searle uses the example of money in that for money to function it requires other institutions, the institutions of exchange and ownership. Money requires the next step from collective consciousness and imposition of function. The function of money is not assigned because of its physical properties in the way that a branch can be used as a lever. The function of money only exists because of cooperation and acceptance. This is the next logical step required for something to be an institutional fact. To expand on this point Searle uses the example of a wall as an example of assignment of function, collective consciousness and finally institution. Firstly the wall is constructed due to its physical properties, the imposition of function is due to its scale. Searle then imagines that the wall crumbles and gradually evolves from being a physical barrier to a symbolic barrier. The people that have built the wall still think of it as a wall and boundary but it no longer possesses the physical attributes. The crumbling wall has been assigned a status. The example of a wall is central to Searles social reality and the idea of institutional facts, and reveals the continuous line from molecules and mountains to legislation and money, from basic assignment of function to the creation of hugely complex institutions like the stock market.

buy custom Racism and Anti-Semitism essay

buy custom Racism and Anti-Semitism essay Since pre-Independence time the United States of America has had challenges of racism and anti-Semitism affecting its people. American people have tried to mitigate the problem, but with limited impact due to peoples` attitude, culture, among other social economic issues. In operationalization of the terms, Dictionart.com (2005) defines racism as a doctrine or belief that intrinsically differentiates traits, behaviors, and lifestyles according to the human races. In modern times, racism signifies discrimination based on human race. Anti-Semitism, on the other hand, simply means discrimination or hatred towards Jews (ADL, 2001). It can also imply hatred to any group attributed to Jews or Jewish ethnicity and religion. Anti-Semitism started during Adolf Hitler regime in 1930s, where he spearheaded a campaign against Jews. It reached its Climax during the Second World War where Hitler killed six million Jews in Europe. Anti-Semitism since then has spread all over the world, including Am erica. On the other hand, racism became a big issue during the slave trade, where Arabs traded Africans as goods to the whites, hence African slave trade, was rampant in America (Herf, 2007). Racism and anti-Semitism are crimes against humanity, because they involve torture, discrimination and suffering of human beings (Herf, 2007). America is one of the countries, which face a big problem of presence racism among its races and anti-Semitism that results to a lot of suffering and injustice of the victims. Since colonial era, racism has been a major issue in the United States, as earlier stated. It has caused a heavy burden and suffering to the African American, Native Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans and all migrants from other countries. The Anglo Americans, commonly known as the European Americans, have more privileges and enjoy more rights than the other Americans. These privileges are seen in the following areas; literacy, education, employment, health care, and justice among other social economic benefits. Access to education undergoes racial influences since the minorities (African American, Native Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans) in the US who have lack of presence in American Universities. In 2003, the then president of the United States of America made an affirmation that racism is present in America (Taylor, 2003). In his speech, he said that racial prejudice was present in the American Colleges and Campuses. Here the president made the case of affirmation that there was poor presentation of some races in access of education. Racism in learning institutions is also present in the policies, rules, regulations and student enrollment. Currently, Bob Jones University an evangelical based university in Greenville, South Carolina, has an interracial dating policy that prohibits students from different races dating (The Associated Press, 2008). This policy mainly affects the minority in the university since they cannot interact freely with the others in fear of not to be accused of interracial relationship. This discriminative policy violates civil rights of people in having relationships. Such policies in learning institutions advocate for racism and as a result, other racial discriminations arise in these institutions. For instance, the authorities have accused the same university in 2008 of being racially hurtful, because it was enrolling few minority races students in the US (The Associated Press, 2008). Due to the schools racial policy, other racial issues emerge like the issue of enrolling students in Bob Jones University. This university is just one example of many leaning institution in the US, which have racism. They blame the employment sector that discriminates Black Americans. Analysts take employment racism to be the major contribution factor to rapid increasing poverty levels among the African Americans as compared to whites. Taylor (2003) asserted that the Blacks have low chances of being employed, when the economy is flourishing, consequently having high chances of losing their jobs, when the economy is going down. Taylor (2003) also says that during economic recession, job loses affect mostly the construction and the manufacturing industry, which employ mostly the Blacks. In 2001 during the economic recessing, unemployment among the blacks rose from 10% to 11%, while there was a negligible change in job loss and unemployment among the White Americans (Taylor, 2003). For instance, at Coca-Cola company in the US (with only 18% Black employees), during the economic recession of 1990, had 42% of the black employees lose their jobs. Also in Sears, which had 15.9% Black employees, more tha n 54% who lost their jobs were the Blacks (Taylor, 2003). This is a clear inappropriate distribution of employment opportunities in American companies based on race. Still on the same issue of racism in employment, there shocking finding by University of Chicago showing that job applicants with the names, which sound black are twice not likely to be shortlisted and be called for an interview. The same study also showed that the Whites with criminal records got more interview calls, than those who are black without criminal records (Tyehimba, 2003). It is evident that there are racial policies among American companies, which remain hidden at the individual institutional level with the Blacks being discriminated in the employment sector. The racismpandemic is present in the very basic right of access to health care. African Americans experience more problems in accessing health facilities and care than white Americans. From a report by ASPE (2011), it shows that 20% of African Americans in the US do not have health coverage. As a result the Blacks in US die six years younger than the other Americans and birth mortality rates among the Blacks are twice as those of Whites. This implies that the health care system of the US has a weakness, which allows unequal access to health care. Health care is a fundamental human right that supposed to be equal to all the U.S. citizens. The justice system in the US is another sector highly affected by racism. Currently the Blacks make up 13% of the total population in America and shockingly 50% of the nations prison population is comprised of blacks (Unlocking America, 2007). The first question one would ask is, do not the Whites in America commit crime like other Whites in white dominated countries? The answer to this question lies to only one thing, racism. In Maryland, Washington D.C. and Baltimore, more than 50% of African Americans males are under jurisdiction of criminal justice (Unlocking America, 2007). Forty percent of people sentenced to death are black, while the total proportion of the Blacks in the US is only 6% (Unlocking America, 2007). In addition, Unlocking America (2007) shows that the Latinos and Blacks are much more cruelly treated than white in the juvenile justice system. All the above statistical facts show the extent of racism in the justice system in America since Blacks are out rightly disc riminated. Anti-Semitism in America Despite the US setting up many systems to control anti-Semitism, there are current instances of anti-Semitism seen. Dinnerstein (2004) claimed anti-Semitism was increasing as from a research done in 2004. Dinnersteins predictions are true as confirmed by Benari (2011) that 15% of Americans are anti-Semitic. It was on March 3, 2003, when James P. Moran (a then Democratic Congress man from Virginia) blamed the Jews for the war in Iraq (Dinnerstein, 2004). Many people in the U.S.A. considered this as an anti-Semitic statement. It was an anti-Semitic statement, because Moran accused the Jews for problems in Iraq, which is not true, because Jews played a minor role in the war in Iraq, in fact, the US was the major influence for that war but not the Jews. This was a direct false accusation to the Jews community hence the statement qualifying to be an act of anti-Semitism. In 2002, the anti-Defamation League (ADL) found out that most George Washington University faculty members were against the Israel treatment to Palestine (Dinnerstein, 2004). Later in the same year, the president of the university made a calling to the American firms to withdraw their investments in Israel. By the end of the year, other universities made a similar call including MIT, the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard, the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin. The call of the major American universities for American investors to withdraw their investments in Israel was anti-Semitism, because any attack to the Israel government is an attack to the Jews. The universities were anti-Semitic by attributing the problems faced in Palestine, while not looking at other factors, which resulted to the problems in Palestine like corruption, dictatorial leadership, fanaticism and terrorism. Therefore, the skewed accusation to the Jews by the American Univers ities was an act of anti-Semitism. The other aspect that affects the Jews in the US is the hype with the media. Televisions, magazines, and newspapers help making anti-Semitic news by changing the true general picture of events to Jewish specified issue. In 2003 the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations has noted that there were a lot of misinformation on the Jews by the media (Dinnerstein, 2004). This kind of media hype may have a large effect since most of the citizens in America trust the media; therefore, if it gives inappropriate information on any issues, the citizens are likely to take it as true. Anti-Semitic statements made by the media can have a devastating effect to the nation since many will believe in the news. They spend their efforts and time to overcome anti-Semitism in the US, but there are still cases of the dreadful and it is rapidly spreading. Counter arguments on racism in America An article posted in the internet by Uroskie (2008), affirmed that there is no racism in America. In the article, the writer said that the word racist was misused and there were no racists in the US. In his argument, Uroskie (2008) said that, when someone claimed that a particular candidate is running for president, because is black, he was not a racist. He went ahead and said that people who made statements like; he is a nigger and calling a black woman, the cleaning lady were not racist. In his argument, he said that this people were racists only after making a mere statement without an actual racial did. Of course, critics like Uroskie will claim racism is not present in education, employment, health sector, and in the judiciary. In the edducation sector, the argue is continuing as for the Blacks who might be lazy and do not put efforts in studies like the Whites, as to qualify to the universities. Some critics like the scientist who claim Blacks are less intelligent than Whites would use that in defense on presence of racism in America. Critics would argue the same arguments of laziness and less intelligence among the Blacks on the issue of racism in employment, because the Whites are the majority that is why they have many jobs in the US. Others would say the access to health is not a racial issue since everyone is obliged to pay for health coverage and if one cannot afford health coverage, it is not a racial issue but an issue of poverty. This is to imply that access to health should to be not only a racial issue, but an economic issue as well. In the judiciary department, critics would say crime is a personal responsibility and not to be taken as a racial issue. They would say if a person commits a crime regardless of the race, should be prosecuted and the Blacks in jail are there, because they committed crime, but not because they are Black. This implies that the 50% Black population in prisons are criminals who deserve to be in jail. Counter arguments on anti-Semitism in America Some people believe that the new anti-Semitism overseen in the media is untrue. In their arguments, these critics claim anti-Semitism ended time ago in America, but other people want the world to believe anti-Semitism is still present in the US. One such critic is the founder (Michael Lerner) of Tikkun magazine, a magazine referred by many to as self-hating Jews magazine, who asserts that there is no anti-Semitism in America. Lerner (2007), claims that the new anti-Semitism is a propaganda created by the Jews to cover up Israels crimes against humanity to the Palestinians. He points out that the Israelites use this strategy to silence those who criticize their crimes. Learner (2007) believes that Israel policies are similar to apartheid systems. This implies that anti-Semitism accusations are untrue and are from Jews to cover up their crimes. In his article, Lerner (2007) protects the media, especially his magazine by saying that the media gives the information as it gets it and it d oes not make up stories on anti-Semitism. This is to imply that the media should be responsible for the anti-Semitism accusations in America. Response to racism in America counter-arguments Uroskie makes the most absurd argument on racism since his statements sent a racism picture. If such statements exist, they will lead to the whole society using them and claiming they are not racist. Just consider the effect such statements will have on our children. What kind of adults will they become with such philosophies like: the black woman is the cleaner? The future is wanting, if then such statements are not racial statements. The arguments made that the Blacks are lazy and less intelligent than the White is untrue. This is so, because there have been very intelligent Blacks, who have made greater contribution in science, politics, economy, sociology among the other fields. In addition, the current American President is Black and he is intelligent enough to lead such a super power country. Otherwise, it has not true scientifically that the Blacks are less intelligent than the Whites are. On the issue of health, critics are wrong in blaming poverty and poor economic status in inability of the Blacks to access health care. This is because the increasing poverty among the Blacks is a contribution of racism in America. Nonetheless, there was a proposal for universal health policy in the US, which was under criticism. This shows that their some Americans who do not want the poor to get sufficient health care. Yes, it is true that crime is a personal responsibility but not a racial issue. Do not the Whites in US commit crime like other whites in white dominated countries? Then what about the unfair treatment in the juvenile prisons of Black prisoners, is that also their responsibility? This questions drive to presence of racism in American judiciary system. Michael Lerner and other critics who think anti-Semitism is not present in America are very wrong. What Lerner is doing is defending his anti-Semitic statements and actions since the war of Palestine and Israel is an issue of land, but not race. Israel has a right to defend its land as well as any other country. Therefore, it does no wrong in doing so. Implicating that Israel has apartheid system of governance is an anti-Semitism statement since Israelites are Jews. In addition, Lerner uses his magazines to spread anti-Semitic messages, and if it is not true then why does his magazine refer to as self hating Jews magazine? Media like Lerners magazine is truly spreading anti-Semitism to Americans. From the arguments raised above, it is lucid that racism and anti-Semitism are present in America and it is time for the Americans to face the bull on its horns and deals with the racism and anti-Semitism before they affect the entire country. Buy custom Racism and Anti-Semitism essay

Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence: The Power of Articulation We feel safer with a madman who talks than with one who cannot open his mouth, stated the French philosopher E.M. Cioran. Though seemingly counterintuitive, this statement is undoubtedly true, begging us to question what it is about silence that is so powerful. Silence is, by definition, simply the absence of sound. How can an absence be so commanding? The answer lies in its ability to stifle, to overwhelm, and to control. Because it is undefined, silence invites the imagination to run its course, thereby making it profoundly intimidating and controlling. This fact has often been utilized as a means for control. This theory is clearly seen in both Toni Morrisons Beloved and Maxine Hong Kingstons The Woman Warrior, in which different cultures and individuals use silence as a means for power, control, and manipulation. However, though it is the less imposing of the two, language is by no means less powerful than silence. In response to the threat of silence, an urgent need for language and expression arises. As seen in both Beloved and The Woman Warrior, the power of language always prevails; whether through writing, telling stories, or simply allowing memories to present themselves, language always finds a way to break through the silence. In Beloved, silence is used by whites as a tool to suppress blacks both directly and indirectly. Morrison introduces this concept immediately with her dedication to the 60 million and more blacks that were killed in slavery. This is Morrisons way of honoring those people that were faced with the ultimate silence death and are consequently unable to tell their own story. Yet even the blacks who survived struggled against silence. They were denied the opportunity to learn how to write, and were given no say in their fates or the fates of their families. They were also stifled in a more symbolic way, through the brutal and senseless treatment they were made to endure. They were completely deprived of their humanity, made to believe they were worthless, and treated as less than animals. Not only did this dehumanization result in the loss of a personal voice, but it also did lasting damage to the slaves internal ability to find expression for their pain. In order for them to continue l iving as functional human beings even after slavery, they needed to silence their own memories and hide them from others and often from themselves. Sethe, for example, constantly struggles to silence her memories of the pain of slavery, often by working or distracting herself. When the occasional memory resurfaces, she finds herself unable to deal with the emotions that accompany it. In one such instance, she had to do something with her hands because she was remembering something she had forgotten she knew. Something privately shamefulhad seeped into a slit in her mind (Morrison 73). Not only does this display the paralyzing effects of their ill treatment, but it also shows the shame that supplements these horrible memories. To fight these emotions, Sethe forces them back into the recesses of her mind, often by distracting herself. Her motto is, nothing better than that to start the days serious work of beating back the past (ibid 86). In Paul Ds case, he keeps his memories in that tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be. Its lid rusted shut (ibid, 86). Even Denver, affected by the problems of slavery only through inheritance, experiences this suppression, this silencing of painful memories or thoughts. When she hears something about her familys past that she could not bear to hear (ibid, 122), she could not hearanything at all thereafter. For two years she walked in a silence too solid for penetration (ibid, 121). This is quite an extreme case, manifesting as it does in physical symptoms, but silence in any form throughout the novel is indicative of the horrible damage caused by slavery. Whether self-inflicted or not, this silence is not a solution; it only prolongs the pain. This suppression cannot last long, for confronting this silence is the only way the former slaves can move on with their lives. While ultimately beneficial, this is not an easy process. As Amy says, Its gonna hurt, nowanything dead coming back to life hurts (ibid, 42). The first problem, the dehumanization (the direct result of slaverys destruction), is a difficult, yet more approachable problem than the suppressed memories. Baby Suggs makes it her goal to tackle this first problem by holding gatherings that promote the expression of humanity, individualization, and love of oneself. She tells them, [the whites] aint in love with your mouthwhat you say out of it they will not heed. What you scream from it they do not hearYou got to love it (ibid, 104). In response, a huge emotional outburst ensues, with laughing children, dancing men, crying women and then it got mixed up (ibid, 103). The release of such pent-up hurt is powerful indeed. For Sethe, Paul D, and Denver, their release is catalyzed by the presence of Beloved, the human embodiment of suppressed memories that are now not only resurfacing, but assuming a physical presence in their lives. Her presence forces them to confront the past, each in a different way. For example, when Paul D is having sex with Beloved, he finds that the flakes of rustfell away from the seams of his tobacco tin. So when the lid gave he didnt know it (ibid, 137). For Denver, Beloved is a reason for her to tell stories. They sit together and Denver spoke, Beloved listened, and the two did the best they could to create what really happened (ibid, 92). This is therapeutic for Denver, who has had to grow up in a house of silence and repression, given only scraps of stories to which she desperately clings. For Sethe, Beloveds mere presence is enough to initiate the catharsis. For everyone, she is a reminder that memories cannot and should not be smothered forever. The silence in Woman Warrior is far less damaging, but is still a very difficult subject for those who are bound by its restrictions. Though with less malicious intentions as those seen in Beloved, this silence similarly tries to control the culture and traditions of a specific society. Efforts are aimed at children, women, and those who transgress all those who are threatening to the continuation of the traditional culture. By controlling what people say (or dont say), the Chinese are able to make sure that people continue to think, act, and feel the way that tradition dictates they should. Especially during a time when their culture is in danger of disintegrating (when faced with immigration to the United States), being selective about what is said allows only select messages to be passed on. This is exemplified in the story of the no name woman, an aunt who is rejected from the family and who later takes her own life (and the life of her newborn baby). The first thing Maxine is told about this woman is you must not tell anyonewe say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born (Kingston, 3). By not allowing anyone to speak her name or admit her presence, they suppress the parts of their memories that do not agree with the commons goal of the culture an exercise in selective memory carried way too far. Silence is especially valued in girls and children, as seen when Brave Orchid goes to the market to buy a slave girl as a nurse, and readers see that only the quiet girls are valued. Also, when Moon Orchid comes to live with Brave Orchid and family, she is astonished by how impolite [untraditional in Chinese] her children were (ibid, 121). The children do not know to speak only when spoken to, and to talk only at the correct volume, and so Moon Orchid considers them abominable. The children cannot learn these things, however, because no one vocalizes the rules or traditions; they are just expected to know them. The fact that the adults withhold this kind of communication from the children only worsens the anxiety the children have about not being able to fit in. They do not know how to fit into American culture, for no one tells them how. They do not know how to fit into Chinese culture, for no one tells them how. And they certainly cannot figure out how to be Chinese-American, for no one even knows how. The children are even lost when it comes to tradition. Maxine observes, even the good things are unspeakablewe kids had to infer the holidaysthe adults get mad, evasive, and shut you up if you ask (ibid, 185). Maxine even insists that her mother cut her tongue when she was a child to keep her silent. Though not for that reason, this did in fact happen she remained completely silent for three years. She did not really understand her silence or the reasons for it, but she could understand that the other Chinese girls did not talk either, so [she] knew the silence had to do with being a Chinese girl (ibid , 166). The childrens difficulty with language is one of many unfortunate by-products of their cultures control over what is said and what is not said. As Maxine observes, you cant entrust your voice to the Chinese, either; they want to capture your voice for their own use. They want to fix up your tongue to speak for them (ibid, 169). Though it is most clearly expressed in the children, both children and adults struggle to find a way to maintain their own voices in a culture that wants to capture them. As has been demonstrated, the suppression of memories is never complete, never permanent, and never a solution; language and expression always show themselves, either aggressively or subtly. In The Woman Warrior, readers find that the methods for this vary from story-telling (referred to as talk-stories) to projection onto others and consequent bullying. Brave Orchid, Moon Orchid, and eventually Maxine all take the first path by using these talk-stories as selective messages chosen to reflect specific things that they cannot explicitly say. White Tigers is a story of female strength, of finding a balance between a womans filial, societal duties and her personal goals. These things can never be outwardly conveyed from mother to daughter in Chinese society, but through elaborate stories Brave Orchid is able to pass this wisdom on to Maxine. Similarly, the story of Brave Orchids past as a well-respected doctor serves to subtly inspire hope in Maxine, all the while teaching her that whi le she has goals, she also has duties to fulfill (as seen in Brave Orchids choice to leave this life for a more unstable one in America, with her family). This is the womens disguised way of breaking the silence, of ensuring the psychological and emotional strength of the future female generations. Maxine does not observe this immediately, although she seems to have always been attracted to stories and storytelling. Instead, Maxines initial reaction to the oppressive silence is rather immature: she targets one girl in her class who never speaks at all (who is, consequently, the embodiment of this tradition of silence). She pinches her and screams, Why wont you talk?If you dont talk, you cant have a personalityyouve got to let people know you have a personality and a brain (ibid, 180). Maxine is clearly taking out her anger on this girl. She cant understand why the girl wont talk, just as Maxine cant understand the Chinese traditions, what is expected of her, and the silence that is seemingly forced upon her. Maxines second reaction is a healthier one: she decides to tell her mother all the things she had been afraid to say out loud. She thinks, maybe because I was the one with the tongue cut loose, I had grown inside me a list of over two hundred things that I had to tell my mother so that she would know the true things about me and to stop the pain in my throat (ibid, 197). This is a very proactive way of ending the silence that Maxine can no longer bear. Yet this effort is too bold, too incongruous with the culture, so she is rejected by her mother, who refuses to listen. She ignores the fact that her mother will not listen, and yells everything at her all at once all her fears, regrets, aspirations, and frustrations. Maxines final solution is the most effective she writes everything down in a book. Through writing, she can break the silence that has confused and stifled her for so long, and she can fill in the blanks with contextual (if often invented) re alities to explain everything that she has never been told. True, her disclosures might upset her family, but Maxine is breaking the silence of all those who were oppressed, using only a single tool: language. While language may hurt at times, it ultimately proves to be the only true end to the cycle of repression and manipulation that silence does its best to inflict. Through silence, the need for language only grows stronger and stronger. Therefore, language and expression are the necessary antidotes to silence, for a life of silence is confusing and repressive. It is only through language and expression that we can find our release, our freedom, and our individuality.

The Margaret Sanger Memorial Park Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Margaret Sanger Memorial Park - Essay Example This essay discusses that the monument will serve as a direct remembrance for women of how hard the fight for equality has been, and similarly, how much further we as Americans have to go. For the visitor, it will symbolize the strength not only of the need for everyone to have freedom but also that even one voice, if persistent, can have a huge impact on American society. Ms. Sanger is emblematic of American’s, using her freedom and voice to help and protect millions of others. A monument to her can only serve as a monument to every citizen and visitor who believes that one person can make a difference. To create this memorial, the author proposes a small park, of no more than one city block. The park shall be open on all sides, welcoming people to come and rest. There will be no vendors allowed in the park, to allow people to simply enjoy. In one corner of the park, a playground shall be built, commemorating Ms. Sanger’s love of children, and belief that children from a planned family will be happy and well cared for. In the center, a statue shall be erected with her image, and on the bottom, a quote â€Å"No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother†. While it will be simple, it is merely a celebration of her life and allows life to go on around it, much as Ms. Sanger would have wanted. She devoted her life to serving others, and there is no better monument than a place where people can relax and be happy, and to enjoy watching children run and play. Socially, this monument supports women and also those who believe that anyone can make a difference.

What Effects Does Age Have On Graduation Rates From Online Based Research Paper

What Effects Does Age Have On Graduation Rates From Online Based College - Research Paper Example Among these has been the introduction of online college programs that is meant to attract those students who would otherwise not have the time to attend classes on a regular basis. The education system of the United States has become so much eroded that it has now become necessary for students to go to college in order to attain the types of jobs that they would like. In earlier years, especially within the first half of the twentieth century, students who went through high school were equipped enough to attain jobs without having to go to college. However, the education standards came to be raised so much that it has now become necessary for students to spend more time in college in order to ensure that they achieve their academic goals. This has created a situation where individuals are barely able to cope with college education especially when it is considered that the students involved have more priorities other than their academics. It is a fact that many of the college students in the country also have to work in order to earn a living while others even have families and this only works towards increasing the pressure on them to be more productive. The latter situation makes it harder and harder for individual students to continue with their education and this has continued to be even worse as they grow older. This is because the older the students are, the more likely that they will develop other commitments in their lives and this may have an influence on the high dropout rates among them. This is perhaps the reason why the college education system needs to be reformed to such an extent that it stops being class based and instead be based on the internet since the latter is a much easier tool to access for many individuals. This will encourage...A review has also been included in this research which supports the above observations. This study is is substantial to meet the requirements of adult students who are less confortable with traditional college b ased education. The American system of education is considered to be the provider of one of the best quality education when compared to other education systems in the world. However, despite this fact, most of those high school graduates who enter college for the purpose of acquiring higher education unfortunately do not make it to graduation and end up becoming college drop-outs. This happens because of the shifting attitudes of the students regarding the courses which are included in their curriculums and their failure to understand the course outline.Study suggests that only 33% of the freshmen who made their entrance in the University of Massachusetts, were able to complete their education within the period of 6 years. Moreover, less than 44% of students from University of Mexico and 41% graduate from the University of Montana made it to their graduation in the required timeframe . One of the most influencial economists in the current era, Mark Schneider considers the high college dropout rate to be one of the reasons causing slow economic development in the country.

History and Evolution of Dogs Essay Example for Free

History and Evolution of Dogs Essay Domestic dogs inherited complex behaviors from their wolf ancestors, being pack hunters with complex body language. These sophisticated forms of social cognition and communication may account for their trainability, playfulness, and ability to fit into human households and social situations, and these attributes have given dogs a relationship with humans that has enabled them to become one of the most successful species on the planet today. Although experts largely disagree over the details of dog domestication, it is agreed that human interaction played a significant role in shaping the subspecies. Shortly after domestication, dogs became ubiquitous in human populations, and spread throughout the world. Emigrants from Siberia likely crossed the Bering Strait with dogs in their company, and some experts suggest the use of sled dogs may have been critical to the success of the waves that entered North America roughly 12,000 years ago, although the earliest archaeological evidence of dog-like canids in North America dates from about 9,000 years ago. Dogs were an important part of life for the Athabascan population in North America, and were their only domesticated animal. The divergence date of roughly 15,000 years ago is based in part on archaeological evidence that demonstrates the domestication of dogs occurred more than 15,000 years ago,and some genetic evidence indicates the domestication of dogs from their wolf ancestors began in the late Upper Paleolithic close to the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary, between 17,000 and 14,000 years ago. But there is a wide range of other, contradictory findings that make this issue controversial. Archaeological evidence suggests the latest dogs could have diverged from wolves was roughly 15,000 years ago, although it is possible they diverged much earlier. In 2008, a team of international scientists released findings from an excavation at Goyet Cave in Belgium declaring a large, toothy canine existed 31,700 years ago and ate a diet of horse, musk ox and reindeer. Prior to this Belgian discovery, the earliest dog fossils were two large skulls from Russia and a mandible from Germany dated from roughly 14,000 years ago. Remains of smaller dogs from Natufian cave deposits in the Middle East, including the earliest burial of a human being with a domestic dog, have been dated to around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. There is a great deal of archaeological evidence for dogs throughout Europe and Asia around this period and through the next two thousand years, with fossils uncovered in Germany, the French Alps, and Iraq, and cave paintings in Turkey The oldest remains of a domesticated dog in the Americas were found in Texas and have been dated to about 9,400 years ago.

Capital Punishment is Murder Essays -- Against Death Penalty Essays

American history is replete with examples of brutality and foolishness that will forever blot the American conscience. Early in this century, Sacco and Vanzetti were railroaded for a murder of which they were almost certainly innocent. The trial was a farce, and the verdict was a more a result of bias against Italians than of the evidence. Their lives were forfeit. Later in the century, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried for conspiracy to commit espionage. Despite questionable evidence and even more questionable conduct on the part of prosecuting attorneys and government agencies, they were convicted; the verdict was a statement of public hysteria and fear of Communism. They too met the executioner. Not yet ingrained in the annals of history, in the past months the state of Texas executed a man who even the state admitted had not pulled the trigger, but was only an accomplice. If the recent elections prove anything, it is that these examples of the state-sanctioned murders of inno cents have done nothing to change the American mind. Many Republicans ran and won on a "law and order" platform; in New York, Governor George Pataki defeated former Governor Mario Cuomo largely on the basis of Cuomo's opposition to capital punishment. This article is an appeal to readers' morality, to their consciences. It does attempt to show that the death penalty is costly and impractical (though it is), or that it is unconstitutional (which it may well be). The article is an appeal for mercy. Perhaps the greatest problem with the death penalty, as the cases of the Rosenbergs and of Sacco and Vanzetti point out, is the chance for error incurred in capital cases. A study conducted at Stanford University found that, since 1900, more than fifty pe... ...run by criminals unless the criminals are all destroyed: it is a war of us against them and we must use whatever means are necessary to fight against them. Even more moderate advocates of capital punishment tend to hold to a black-and-white morality that justifies the brutality of capital punishment as a necessary act of self- protection. However, before giving in to fear of crime and justifying the deaths of innocents that inevitably result from the institution of capital punishment, we should remember that one of the few things that distinguishes human from animal is the capacity for mercy. Even if we could be absolutely certain of a person's guilt, by killing him or her do we not make murderers of ourselves. Darrow reminds us exactly what it means for society to abandon its mercy: "I would hate to live in a state that I didn't think was better than a murderer."