Capital Punishment College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Capital Punishment College - Essay Example Finally, the Roman law of twelve tablets codified it in the fifth century BC (Death Penalty Information Center). As far as 437 BC, the usefulness of the capital punishment was questioned. By arguing its non-deterrent effect, Diodotus persuaded the Athenian assembly to reverse its decision to execute all adult males of the city of Mitylene. In the eighteenth century, various philosophers called for the abolition of the capital punishment. Montesquieu, for example, called for its restriction to murder, attempted murder, certain types of manslaughter and some offences against property. Beccaria, on the contrary, did not call for its limitation but rather for its complete abolition. The writings of Beccaria ended the distinction in the application of the capital punishment between poor and nobles, and his ideas led to the promulgation of a penal code in Tuscany that eliminated it entirely. The main debate surrounding the issue of capital punishment is its constitutionality. Capital punishment proponents believe that the capital punishment is an integral part of our criminal justice system and reserved for offenders who commit the most heinous of crimes, while death opponents believe in the sanctity of life for any reason. Capital punishment has been applied to both genders at all levels of competency. It has affected the lives of adults, juveniles and nearly all races of mankind. The continuation of the capital punishment raises several arguments. Capital punishment was a volatile issue in 20th century and continues to be a morally divisive topic in the 21st century. The underlying ideology of those who support capital punishment appears to be the notion of retribution and the concept of a safer society based on the theory of general deterrence. The following questions need to be examined when determining the validity of that premise: (a) is the capital punishment a general deterrence to future criminal activity, (b) is it morally acceptable to take a life in the name of justice, (c) is the capital punishment a form of cruel and unusual punishment And (d) should an offender with a mental deficiency be a candidate for execution The surveys conduced by the Pew Research (Robert, 2007) reveal that public now support the capital punishemnet more than ever before (see table 1 below) Source: Pew Research Although the arguments offered against the capital punishment have some weight and logic, it must be remembered that there is another party besides the murderer involved in every murder, and that is the victim. By the unjustified taking of another's life, the murderer has forfeited his own. Hence, we are not obligated to support murderers for the rest of their natural life. If one murderer is granted life in prison while another is executed, it is only because of the extraordinary degree of leniency that we have in our American system of jurisprudence, and not because of any intrinsic unfairness. It is also argued that there is no visible deterrence effect of capital punishment visible. This argument does not seem to be based on any factual grounds as it is impossible to prove the effect of something that didn't happen. On the other hand, it is a matter of common sense that some people would refrain from killing another person due to the fact that they fear death themselves. Similarly, many others refrain from murdering because they consider it socially reprehensible and they consider it

Educational Purpose Essay Example for Free

Educational Purpose Essay Since childhood, I have always wanted to be an educator. This is because I have always considered education as an essential need. It is certainly because education makes one civilized. It is also through education that the potential of one person is maximized. Significantly, it is the way by which one gains knowledge which is very useful in everyday life. Education is also the means which will make it possible for individuals to achieve his or her dreams. In addition, education is necessary in order to mould one to discern what is right from wrong. Hence, education is one of the most important factors for people to exist in a peaceful and civilized society. Additionally, as widely recognized, being a teacher is the noblest profession. It is not only because teachers educate but also because they are considered as the second parent of the students. Hence, it is not only the intellectual aspect that teacher develops but also the emotional and psychological aspect of the student. Teachers are necessary in forming better persons in the society. Notably, in all these endeavors, the teacher does not merely exert effort and time but also extends care, concern, and love to his or her students. It is for these zealous purposes that I longed to be an educator. In the educational system today, many problems can be observed. The most common and old probably is diversity or socio-cultural differences. Even in the older times, diversity has always been a barrier for most of students. I had my own share of difficulty when it comes to the issue of socio-cultural differences. I have experienced being avoided in debates whenever I attempted to join. Being a person having a different skin color and language makes it difficult to be accepted by the majority. However, being different among the majority has challenged me to break the barriers that impede me from achieving my goals. I know that there are thousands who had experienced and is experiencing what I have been through. As such, I am inspired to make ways on eliminating diversity that hinders other students from pursuing their dreams. Meanwhile, school is considered as the second home of students. Hence, schools should be made as a place for freedom regardless of race, culture, gender, age, and socio-economic status. Another problem that is plaguing the education system is commercialization. Education has been said to be a right of every individual. However, as educational fees continue to increase, the burden to the poor is becoming heavier because the value is making it difficult for the poor to afford. Hence, education is becoming a privilege for the rich. Furthermore, the continued commercialization of education is affecting the quality of education because of competition among schools. At the same time, commercialization deviate the labor market and creates labor shifting. This happens especially when schools offer short courses when the employment demands for graduate courses. Education, as such, is one of the necessities for us to be able to achieve our dreams. A student goes to school to be educated so that someday he will have the employment he has desired for. However, the real situation would merely disappoint the student. It is of no doubt that the technological innovation has affected the drastic change in labor demand. In addition, the nation is also highly industrialized. Hence, the labor offered are those related to technology and industry. This fact puts the students of social sciences in a disadvantaged position because they have a narrower chance of employment in a highly technical and industrialized society. It has been said that education is the window to a student’s dream. Thus, the curriculum should correspond to the need of the society and at the same time aid in the fulfillment of the student’s dream.

Toni Morrison And Recitatif English Literature Essay

Toni Morrison And Recitatif English Literature Essay It is the intention of this paper to look at Toni Morrison as a writer and how she expressed her political views through fiction. The short story by Ms. Morrison Recitatif, written in 1983, will be used as an example of her writing. This short was pulled for this paper from a collection of short stories found in the book Worlds of Fiction (2nd ed.) co-authored by Roberta Rubenstein and Charles R. Larson (2002, pp. 600-612). A biographical perspective will be implied in this paper but not formally addressed. First this paper will give a brief summary of Toni Morrisons biography, including literary awards. Second a summarization of Ms. Morrisons short story Recitatif. This paper will take a critical view of this story from a feminist, a racial, and a historical perspective. Toni Morrison born in 1931, her given name was Chloe Anthony Wofford. Ms. Morrison, the second oldest of four sibling was raised in a working-class black family, in Lorain, Ohio. Ms. Morrison attended Howard and Cornell Universities. She has taught at Texas Southern University, Howard University, and Yale. Since 1989, she holds a chair at Princeton University (Sture, 1997, para 1). Among the many awards for literature that have been bestowed on Ms. Morrison, are the National Critics Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Noble Prize for Literature. She was the first African American to ever receive a Noble Prize for Literature (Rubenstein and Larson, 2002, p 599). Ms. Morrison list of accomplishments is impressive by anyones standards. She has been a published author since 1970. Ms. Morrison has published seven novels, several children books, and academic texts. Recitatif is one of her few short stories ever published. In a quote from Toni Morrison about this story she stated, The best art is political and you ought to be able to make unquestionably politically and irrevocably beautiful at the same time (Rubenstein and Larson, 2002, p 599). She has become the voice for the Black American experience. The short story Recitatif is narrated in first person. My mother danced all night and Robertas was sick. (Morrison, 1983, p. 600) is the opening line of the story and sets the tone of the story. It is a tale of how two eight year old girls meet in an orphanage and why they became friends. Both girls struggle in school and have an unusual acceptance of their circumstances. It is the friendship between the two girls that makes living in the orphanage bearable. Throughout the beginning of the story Twyla, the narrator of the story, refers to all the things in life that make herself less than everyone else. Both Twyla and Roberta are one of the few children in the orphanage that actually have parents. They are not there because their parents have died, like the rest of children, but because their mothers cant take care of them. This is the glue that binds the two girls together. The narrator of the story recalls a particular day when the two girls are watching the older girls dance in the fields, but on this particular day one of the woman from the kitchen cuts through the field to catch the last bus home. She is physically disabled and mute; the older girls start to taunt the woman. They call her names and knock her to ground. The two young girls just stand and witness the injustice. The second significant thing the narrator recalls is the Easter Sunday when both of their mothers come to visit. She is so excited to introduce her mother to her best friend. When her mother finally arrives for church service she is embarrassed by the way her mother is dressed and by how loud she speaks. When she finally can introduce her mom to Robertas mom, Robertas mom grabs Robertas hand and she rushes away from her and her mom. The story fast forwards in time. Twyla is a young adult working as waitress. One day Roberta comes into the restaurant with two young men on her way to see a concert. This is the first time Twyla has seen Roberta since she left the orphanage. Twyla tries to talk with Roberta but is blown off. Twelve years later the two run into each other again at the store. This time Roberta wants to catch up with Twyla. Twyla is married with a son of her own in school. She finds out so is Roberta. Both of their sons are about the same age. The major difference at this time is Roberta is rich and Twyla is of the working class. Roberta accuses Twyla of having taken part in the incident with the kitchen worker (Maggie) twenty years before. This makes her question her reality. They part on a cold note. Several months later, the two women find themselves on opposite side of fence -on school integration. Twyla did not like how far her son was going to have to travel to go school but was okay with him attending a new high school. Roberta was absolutely appalled at the idea of her son being integrated into a school on the other side of town. Both mothers picketed each other and the school. The picketing last six weeks and then the children are sent back to school. After it all over the two women run into each other once again. Roberta confesses to Twyla that they never kicked the mute woman. The two women end with. Did I ever tell my mother never stopped dancing? And Roberta replied Yes. You told me. Mine, she never got well. Crying Roberta says, Whatever happened to Maggie. (Morrison, 1983, p612) This is still the glue that binds the two women together. The writer never actually gives any specific dates when the events in the story take place. She uses social clues to let us fill in the time period the events take place. During the visit of Twylas mother to orphanage, Twyla reflects how she was embarrassed her mother would wear pants to church (Morrison, 1983, p 601). In the nineteen fifties women began to wear pants instead of dresses and skirts all the time. It was still a social faux pa to wear slacks to church. This would lead to the embarrassment of Twyla over her mothers loud pants. Another time reference in the story is eight years later when Twyla is waitress in at Howard Johnson. When she tries to speak with Roberta, she is told they are on their way to see Jimmy Hendrix in concert. Jimmy Hendrix died of a drug overdose on September 17th 1970 (Morrison, 1983, p604). Therefore one could safely assume the meeting happened in the sixties. Two months after the girls meet 12yrs later they run into each other during a protest over busing students to integrate the school (Morrison, 1983, p608). It was in 1954, that the US Supreme court ruled that equal but separate was not constitutional. In 1965, US Supreme court ruled busing was a legal solution to desegregate public schools. During the 1970s and into the early eighties many schools adopted busing plans to integrate the public schools. This was time of great change and many mothers protested busing their children to a different neighborhood to attend school. This is the historical account that sets up the setting for Toni Morrisons Recitatif Recitatif is the story of two women one black and one white. From the very beginning of the story the reader can pick up on racial clues and come to this conclusion. The one thing omitted in this story is which one white and which one is black. This where the readers own racial prejudices may come in. On page 600, the seventh paragraph it states à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we looked like salt and pepperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and thats what the other kids called usà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Morrison, 1983) Although this is not the first clue this the most obvious clue to the race of the two girls. The author intentionally leaves out the racial identity of both girls. She is challenging the reader to follow her clues throughout the story. The readers own racial biases may influence which girl they perceive as being black or white. There are several references to the fact that Roberta is actually black. In the very being as Twyla is recalling their first encounter she mentions her mother warning her that, they never wash their hair and smell funny. Roberta sure did. Smell funny, I mean. (para 2) One of the things the author does to challenge the readers racial prejudices is Twyla is the insecure one of the two. She is the one who feels less than the other children. It is Twylas mother that is snubbed by Robertas mom. It is also Roberta, who does not want her child shipped across town to attend a different school than his friends. It is Twyla who becomes offended that Roberta would not want her son to attend a school that her son attended. It is through excluding their racial identity that the reader can see what preconceived ideas they brought into the story. From a feminist point of view the story is told only from a female perspective. All the characters of significance in the story are female. It was an all girls orphanage with all female staff. Neither Twyla nor Roberta has a father. Both women get married and have sons. Neither the husbands nor the sons are ever actually introduced in any significant way to the story. It is in this fashion that Toni Morrison can actually tell the story without gender bias. (Goldstein-Shirley, 1999, pp 99-101) Leaving out any conflict between men and women she is able to eliminate a gender bias allowing room only for racial prejudice brought to the story by the reader. David Goldstein-Shirley gathered information from 67 college students. The questionnaire reflected the readers ability to pick up racial cues and their personal views. 6 of the 67 students did not pick up on any of the racial clues in the story. These were the exception not the norm. The other 58 students were able to pick up on racial cues given in the story and add personal experience not written but implied to the story. The data provided that it was personal experiences that reader brought to the story and integrated into the story rather than an influences based on gender or demographics (1999, pp 106-107). The study showed the results that were intended by Ms. Morrison. Toni Morrison used her short story Recitatif to show an author could write a political statement and engage the reader at the same time to take a look at their own racial prejudices on the issue. Her experiment to remove racial identity from the characters of story and to remove gender bias was a great undertaking. The study by David Goldstein-Shirley was proof that Toni Morrison completed her task with great success. Recitatif was a perfect blend of in Ms. Morrisons own words unquestionably political and irrevocably beautiful at the same time (Rubenstein and Larson, 2002, p 599). Toni Morrison stayed true to the historical times of the setting, the racial times of the setting, and all from a completely feminist point of view. Annotated Bibliography Goldstein-Shirley, D. (1999), Chapter 7- Race/[Gender] Toni Morrisons Recitatif Women on the edge: ethnicity and gender in short stories by American women Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0CHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falselpg=PA97HYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseots=fSdm0pfKpXHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni m orrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falsedq=toni%20morrison%20recitatif%20themesHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falselr=HYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falsepg=PA98#v=onepageHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseq=toni%20morrison%20recitatif%20themesHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falseHYPERLINK http://books.google.com/books?id=6llWqBg0RG0Clpg=PA97ots=fSdm0pfKpXdq=toni morrison recitatif themeslr=pg=PA98#v=onepageq=toni morrison recitatif themesf=falsef=false Mr. Goldstein-Shirley poled 67 college students who had read the short story Recitatif. He documented the readers ability to pick up on the racial cues given by the author in the story. He broke this information down by gender and demographics. Morrison, T. (1983), Recitatif,    Worlds of Fiction (2nd ed. 2002).   Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Recitatif by Toni Morrison was pulled from this collection of short stories. This is short story written in first person about the relationship formed between two young girls and how it impacted the narrator of the story as an adult. This short story was examined in this paper from several different perspectives. Rubenstein, R. and Larson, C. (2002) Worlds of Fiction (2nd ed. 2002).   Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. This book is a compilation of fiction stories from around the world. Toni Morrisons short story Recitatif is included in this book to represent a North American writer, a perspective of class, a racial or cultural conflict, relationships of women, and youth maturation. The story was pulled from this book and the Biography written for this was used in writing the biographical summary for this paper. Sture, A (1997), Nobel Lectures, Literature 1991-1995, Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison- bio.html This site provided a bibliography of the author Toni Morrison. This information was compiled when Ms. Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 for her novel Beloved. This biography was used in the biographical summary for this paper.

Impacts of the Pornography Industry

Impacts of the Pornography Industry Critically assess the case that the products of the contemporary pornography industry are both a cause of violence and discrimination directed against women and also ‘intrinsically harmful’. It is not the purpose of this essay to defend the contemporary pornography industry which to this day remains a ‘dirty’ and -to a large extent- a male-dominated, exploitative business, but rather to understand the reasons behind this sad reality. Pornography made its first prominent appearance in feminist discourse in the late 70s, when feminist groups such as ‘Women Against Violence in Pornography and the Media’ (WAVPM) embarked upon their anti-pornography campaign in the San Francisco Bay area. The so-called ‘sex wars’ of the 1980s brought about an unprecedented division within the feminist movement. Anti-pornography writers, such as Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon -authors of the famous ‘Minneapolis and Indianapolis ordinances’ advocated the censorship of pornographic material, on account of its role as ‘a practice that is central to the subordination of women’. Other feminists put forth a liberal legal argum ent, invoking the First Amendment to the American Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. Two decades later, the pornography debate has retained its relevance in feminist discourse. There is still heated disagreement over three interrelated issues: what is the definition of pornography? Does pornography cause violence and discrimination against women? What is the best way to deal with pornography in the policy and legislation arenas? While critically assessing the anti-pornography thesis, I will argue in turn that most sexually explicit graphic material is not the cause but can mirror the misogyny and exploitation that characterizes modern societies; and that far from being ‘intrinsically harmful’ pornography can in fact be employed in the service of feminist ideas. A necessary starting point if we are to understand pornography would be an analytically helpful definition. But this is itself one of the main points of disagreement between feminists. The pro-censorship side has emulated traditional definitions of pornography and equated sexual explicitness with violence and female subordination. Dworkin understands pornography as the platform where sexist ideology thrives by exhibiting male supremacy,   discernible in seven interwoven strains: the power of the self, physical power, the power of terror, the power of naming, the power of owning, the power of money and the power of sex’. Contemporary porn depicts women as the helpless victims of men: bound, tortured, humiliated, battered, urinated upon or ‘merely taken and used’. Evoking the Greek etymology of the word, Dworkin (1990:24) defines pornography as the ‘graphic depiction of whores’, (‘porne’ being the Greek for a cheap prostitute or sex slave ). Thus pornography is conceived as something sexist, violent and exploitative by definition; in other words, as an intrinsically harmful phenomenon. Even at this early stage, pro-censorship analysis seems to rest on shaky methodological grounds. First it involves a clearly circular argument which condemns pornography without trying to understand it, almost like arguing that ‘pornography is bad, because it is bad’. Second, the cross-cultural analysis of Ancient Greece is dubious, if not completely a-historical, since ‘pornography’ is not an ancient but a Victorian neologism, invented in the 19th century, thus reflecting Victorian sensitivities rather than ancient realities. Third, the definition of porn as a field of violence and sexism logically entails a distinction from other, sexually explicit material that is not violent, demeaning and exploitative, but is based on sentiments of mutuality and reciprocity. Defining this emerging category, usually referred to as ‘Erotica’, is a highly subjective endeavor and obviously unhelpful for an academic or a judge. Equating sexual explicitness to vi olence, misogyny and other value-judgments is not only counter productive to the search for a descriptive definition of pornography; it is also untrue, since it is often the case that ‘soft porn’ or even altogether non-sexual material can contain much more disturbing scenes of violence and sexism than pornography itself. Fourth, most of the anti-porn literature has applied its definitions of pornography in a vague and inconsistent manner, jumping from the ‘graphic depiction of whores’ to the more mainstream concept of porn as cheaply produced ‘smut’ for instant consumption; and sometimes to a more inclusive definition containing phenomena as diverse as fashion, TV commercials, sex toys and sex education.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Methodological concerns aside, anti-porn definitions of pornography entail positions that appear to contradict the very essence of feminism. Anti-porn pronouncements on ‘good, sensitive Erotica’ vis-à  -vis ‘bad, abusive porn’ are essentially pronouncements about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sexuality. At the risk of caricature, this entails restrictions on sexuality of Orwellian dimensions, and is contrary to the fights of the feminist, gay and lesbian movements for sexual liberation and diversity. One anti-porn author opines that ‘erotica is rooted in eros, or passionate love, and thus in the idea of positive choice, free will, the yearning for a particular person, whereas in pornography the subject is not love at all, but domination and violence against women’. Statements like this one seem to imply an acceptance of old patriarchical stereotypes of the form ‘men are aggressive and polygamous by nature, while women are pas sive and monogamous’ and that women do not, cannot or should not enjoy sex in itself. Paradoxically, Dworkin’s (1990) synoptic treatment of the history of pornography exaggerates the passivity and helplessness of female victims and the violence of male domination to such an extent, that it unwittingly reinforces the very binary stereotypes that feminism has historically fought to uproot. Her presentation of women in pornography as ‘whores’, is at best patronizing, if not condescending and insulting towards female porn-workers, who often choose to follow that mode of subsistence. The choices of porn-workers deserve as much respect as those of women working in less stigmatized industries and, perhaps, even greater feminist solidarity.     Ã‚   Pro-censorship argumentation tends to revolve around two rhetorical devices. The first is the exaggeration of the amount and degree of violence contained in pornographic material, through the accumulation of undeniably disturbing images. The slide shows projected in WAVPM meetings and the material articulately described in Dworkin’s book have been handpicked for their shock-value and power to disturb. Drawn primarily from the underground cultures of Bizarre, Bestiality and SM, most of these images are largely unrepresentative of the mainstream market, which is both highly diversified and specialized. Specialization is a key-point because of the basic fact that different people have different ‘turn-ons’. Given that some people may find publicly disturbing, what others view as privately stimulating is no good reason to label porn in its entirety as intrinsically offensive. The second rhetorical device lies in the argument that pornography is not just a representatio n of imaginary violence but also a recorded reality or as put by MacKinnon, a ‘documentary of abuse’. Again this argument misleadingly conflates reality with representational fantasy. To claim that every woman -or man- that appears to be abused in a porn-movie is actually abused, is almost as naà ¯ve as claiming that every man shot-dead in, say, ‘the Terminator’, is actually dead. The anti-porn argument fails to take into consideration factors such as artifice, acting and role-playing. While genuine case of abuse are not absent from the porn industry, the vast majority of depictions of ‘violence’ occur in a role-playing context which carefully ensures the safety of the actors. My view is that understanding pornography requires a descriptive definition which, instead of passing judgments over the moral credentials and political consciousness of its participants, focuses on the realities of the porn industry. In this light, modern pornography, as we know it, is the graphic representation of sexually explicit material, mass-produced and mass-consumed with the purpose of sexual arousal. Although it is not ‘intrinsically evil’, this industry is morally no better than the society that produces it. The effect of sexually explicit material on its viewers and society at large is the second main component of the pornography debate. Anti-porn analysis has insisted on a theory of causality, whereby real rape, physical abuse and humiliation of women by men occur as a direct result of their exposure to the ‘hateful values’ of pornography. In Dworkin’s own words ‘at the heart of the female condition is pornography: it is the ideology that is the source of all the rest;’. By equating the representation of violence with injurious action, Dworkin evokes what neo-Aristotelian theorists of representation have termed as the ‘Mimesis-model’. Derived from the Greek word ‘mimesis’, meaning ‘imitation’ or ‘reproduction’, the model positions the real both before and after its representation. At a theoretical level the Mimesis-model can be sufficiently challenged by another Aristotelian concept, that of Catharsis. This would entail that far from reducing men to perpetrators of violence, exposure to the mock-violence of pornography -with all its artistic conventions and restrictions- would relieve them of the violent dispositions that lay ‘hidden’ in their psyche, in the same way that, say, a horror movie may give us pleasure without inciting violence and blood-thirst. The Catharsis-model fits particularly well to the very nature of pornography. Founded on a much-attested human desire for an occasional breach of taboo, porn tends to represent situations and feelings that may well be antisocial and very often remote from what the actual social practice is. Japan -a country with one of the lowest rape rates world-wide- sustains a huge pornographic industry that ‘specializes’ in violence and sexual domination. The anti-pornography perceptive fails to grasp this crucial distinction between social reality and harmless fantasy. In terms of empirical evidence, psychological experiments on the alleged correlation between exposure to porn and violent activity are, at best, inconclusive. Historical and cross-societal analysis is equally unpromising for the Mimesis-argument. Porn, in its modern sense, is a very recent creation. And yet, the exploitation of women by men had predated it by thousands of years. At the same time, political systems that adhered to the systematic suppression of pornographic representations, such as the Soviet Union or modern Islamic states, had not been less exploitative or violent. And yet, many anti-porn thinkers have insisted on censorship, despite the fact that this insistence has produced an awkward alliance with moral traditionalists from the Right. If passed, the 1984 Minneapolis ordinance would have reinvented ‘pornography’ as a criminal offence, distinct from ‘obscenity’. This would have allowed women to take civil action against anyone involved in the production, or distribution of pornography, on the grounds that they had been ‘harmed’ by its portrayal of women. In the passionate words of Andrea Dworkin (1990:224) ‘we will know that we are free when the pornography no longer exists. As long as it does exist, we must understand that we are the women in it: used by the same power, subject to the same valuation, as the vile whores who beg for more.’ If only, pornography was, indeed, the mother of all evil. Then sexism could be uprooted at one, simple, legislative stroke. But unfortunately, sexism, viole nce and exploitation are endemic to the economic structure of the modern society and pervasive of all our media. Pornography seems to have been singled out as a scapegoat for all forms of sexual prejudices in today’s world. The long-standing social stigma and visual honesty of the industry made it an easy target to right-wingers and left-wingers alike. Censorship has not worked in the past and there is no reason to believe that it will work in the future. I believe that the only viable solution to the pornography problem is the exact opposite of censorship, namely support for ‘the Politics of Representation. Women should try to ‘capture’ pornography, as producers, script-writers and directors, in a manner consistent with earlier feminist ventures into other male-dominated fields, such as literature, politics, media, religion, education and science. ‘Going legit’, would not only mean that society as a whole will take a less hypocritical stance to the realities of pornography   but also that regulation would guarantee better working conditions for female porn-workers (e.g. unionization, safe-sex, better security, health and cleanliness). Most importantly establishing a feminine perspective within the industry would counterbalance the male bias from which it now suffers. Following the example of ventu res such as ‘Femme Productions’ -launched by former porn-worker Candida Royalle and targeting a couple market- sexually explicit material written and produced by women can celebrate women’s right to pleasure without complying to sexism and exploitation. Pro-censorship feminists have been mistaken in defining pornography as problem. The explicit representation of sexual scenes is neither ‘intrinsically harmful’ nor a direct cause of violence. While men retain the reigns of an industry plagued with social stigma, porn will continue to be biased and exploitative. Yet, in the right hands, pornography can become an instrument for feminist action.   Ã‚  Ã‚   BIBLIOGRAPHY Barker, I. V. (2000): ‘Editing Pornography’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 643- 652 Butler, J. (2000): ‘The Force of Fantasy: Feminism, Mapplethorpe, and Discursive Excess’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 487-508 Carter, A. (2000): ‘Polemical Preface: Pornography in the Service of Women’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 527-539 Cornell, D. (2000): ‘Pornography’s Temptation’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 551-68 Dworkin, A. (1990): ‘Pornography: Men Possessing Women’, London: The Women’s Press Ltd C. A. MacKinnon (1988): ‘Pornography and Civil Rights: A New Day’, Minneapolis: Organizing Against Pornography Kilmer, M.F. (1997): ‘Painters and Pederasts: Ancient Art, Sexuality, and Social History’,in M. Golden and P. Toohey [eds] Inventing Ancient Culture: Historicism, Periodization, and the Ancient World, London, pp 36-49. MacKinnon, C. A. (1993): ‘Only Words’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 94-120 Rodgerson, G. E. Wilson [ed] (1991): ‘Pornography and Feminism: the Case Against Censorship’, Feminists Against Censorship, London: Lawrence Wishart Royalle, C. (2000): ‘Porn in the USA’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 540-550 Rubin, G. (1992): ‘Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong: an Analysis of Anti-pornography Politics’, in A. Assiter and A. Carol [ed], Bad Girls and Dirty Pictures: the Challenge to Reclaim Feminism, London: Pluto Press, pp 18-40 Russell, D. E. H. (2000): ‘Pornography and Rape: A Causal Model’, in D. Cornell [ed], Feminism and Pornography, Oxford Readings in Feminism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 48-93 Sutton, R.F., Jr. (1992): ‘Pornography and Persuasion on Attic Pottery’, in A. Richlin [ed], Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome, New York, pp 3-35.

A Walk to Remember - The Human Heart :: Walk to Remember Essays

A Walk to Remember - The Human Heart    A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks take you on a whirl wind journey into the depths of the human heart, and leads Landon, one of the main characters, to a decision so stunning it would lead him irrevocably on the   road to manhood. Landon the most popular boy in Beuford High and fall's > unexpectedly in love with Jamie, and unpopular, bible-bearing girl. It was   kismet that brought these two together, and an incurable disease that would   tear them apart. Landon had recently broken up with his girlfriend of 1-1/2   years and it was a twist of fate that make Jamie his date for the homecoming   dance. They went to the dance and did not speak to each other until they were both cast a the lead in the towns Christmas play. After the play was over   Landon found   himself wanting, and being with Jamie everyday, he was falling in love with her. Then came the shock of his life, Jamie revealed to him that she had Lucima. Landon was torn apart and had no idea what to do, so he   turned to the bible for guidance and help. He made the decision that he loved   Jamie too much to let her dreams slip away, so he asked her to marry him.   They were married on March 12,1959. She died shortly after that, but he never forgot her. Landon and Jamie are the too main characters in the book. Landon is the richest, most popular boy at Beuford High, and Jamie is poor,   unpopular and almost nonexistent at school. Jamie helps out at the orphanage, picks up hurt animals, and carries a bible with her every where. Whereas   Landon has never even thought of people without a home or money and he only opens a bible when he has to at church.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In my opinion Landon is a normal teenage boy, who's only concerns are: girls and cars. I think that Jamie helped him see how powerful the bible is and how it feels good to help people in need.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This book takes place in Beuford, a town in North Carolina.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There was a lot of foreshadowing in the book but the one that stands out the most is when Landon asked Jamie to the dance and she thinks for a

Integration and Animal Farm by Orwell :: Free Essay Writer

Integration and Animal Farm by Orwell Integration of Education in the United States Throughout history, education is recognized as one of the key components of any civilized society. It is a natural instinct for man to learn, and feel the need to pass on that knowledge to their young and to all those who come behind them. People have a passion for education, and will fight for the opportunity to gain the valuable knowledge that education provides. The importance of education in a society is illustrated in two aspects. The first being the actual events in American history regarding the desegregation of schools, and the second being the action of the animals in George Orwell's Animal Farm upon receiving their liberation on Manor Farm. In recent times we have witnessed a struggle in American society for the opportunity of minorities to realize the education that their white counterparts received. It began with slavery, when blacks were prohibited from obtaining even the basic skills to read and write. When blacks were finally allowed this liberty, we began our own makeshift schools, and were content with this opportunity. As time progressed, and more formal schools were established, minorities realized that they were not receiving the same quality education as those of the majority. This sparked a legal battle that lasted over fifty years. The first landmark was the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. It established the doctrine of "separate but equal." This concept stated that separate public facilities of equal quality do not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. This amendment says that no state may "abridge" the privileges of any citizen, nor may any stat e deprive any citizen of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. In 1954, fifty-eight years later, the Case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka finally settled the debate of whether or not blacks and whites can receive an education integrated with or separate from each other. This time the Supreme Court unanimously ruled to overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In his opinion, the Chief Justice wrote, "We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Brown case signaled the end of segregation of public places mandated by law.

Normative and Descriptive Approaches

Decision making can be very difficult when both choices are very appealing. We are faced with many decisions daily and have to make sure we choose the right one. Ethics play a major role in decision making. It allows moral philosophy to play its part. It gives you the freedom to choose right from wrong. In this paper you will be introduced to normal and descriptive ethics. You will be given a definition, a contrast, how the approaches may impact the criminal justice professional, how the approaches are similar and vary, and which approach you feel is best and why. Normative ethics is the branch of philosophical ethics that investigates the set of questions that arise when we think about the question â€Å"how ought one act, morally speaking? † Normative ethics can be divided into the sub-disciplines of moral theory and applied ethics. In recent years the boundaries between these sub-disciplines have increasingly been dissolving as moral theorists become more interested in appl ied problems and applied ethics is becoming more profoundly philosophically informed. Normative ethics is distinct from meta-ethics because it examines standards for the rightness and wrongness of actions, while meta-ethics studies the meaning of moral language and the metaphysics of moral facts. † (Wikipedia. org) This approach is similar to how religious people view their God. They say that God gives the individual the choice to choose what’s right and wrong. Christians also believe that Adam and Eve utilized the power of what’s right and wrong. They were given the descriptive approach by God and they chose otherwise. For any act, there are three things that might be thought to be morally interesting: first, there is the agent, the person performing the act; second, there is the act itself; third, there are the consequences of the act. There are three types of normative ethical theory–virtue, deontological, and consequentiality, each emphasizing one of these elements. †(moralphilosophy. info) â€Å"Descriptive ethics, also known as comparative ethics, is the study of people's beliefs about morality. Descriptive ethics is a form of empirical research into the attitudes of individuals or groups of people. Those working on descriptive ethics aim to uncover people's beliefs about such things as values, which actions are right and wrong, and which characteristics of moral agents are virtuous. Research into descriptive ethics may also investigate people's ethical ideals or what actions societies condemn or punish in law or politics. Because descriptive ethics involves empirical investigation, it is a field that is usually investigated by those working in the fields of evolutionary biology, psychology, sociology or anthropology. Information that comes from descriptive ethics is, however, also used in philosophical arguments. Normative ethics is also distinct from descriptive ethics, as the latter is an empirical investigation of people’s moral beliefs. To put it another way, descriptive ethics would be concerned with determining what proportion of people believe that killing is always wrong, while normative ethics is concerned with whether it is correct to hold such a belief. Hence, normative ethics is sometimes said to be prescriptive, rather than descriptive. However, on certain versions of the meta-ethical view called moral realism, moral facts are both descriptive and prescriptive at the same time. † (Wikipedia. org) â€Å"Descriptive ethics deal with what the population actually believes to be right and wrong, and holds up as ideals or condemns or punishes in law or politics, as contrasted to normative ethics which deals with what the population should believe to be right and wrong, and such concepts as sin and evil. Society is usually balancing the two in some way, and sociology and social psychology are often concerned with the balance, and more clinical assessments and instruments to determine ethical attitudes. † (knowledgerush. com) A criminal justice professional has morals they must abide by to make the right decision. They must know what’s right and wrong, and know how to distinguish the two. Normative ethics impacts criminal justice professionals by allow them to show the criminal to see that what they have done is wrong. It also allows the criminal justice professional to coach the criminal on the consequences of their actions and ways to prevent another offense. Descriptive ethics impacts criminal justice professionals by allowing them to do the norm against the population. They are trying to establish criminal justice when the population may see that all criminals should be punished. I feel that the normative approach to ethics is the best approach. This approach allows one to make his own decision and not follow what everyone is saying. Everyone should be able to make his or her own decision whether it is right or wrong. If you make the right decision, then you reap good things, and if you make the wrong decisions, you reap bad things. The approaches are similar because they stress the value of what’s right and wrong. It shows that a decision have to be made whether it’s right or wrong. They vary because one allows the individual to make the decision of right and wrong, and the other allows the population to dictate what’s right or wrong not giving the individual to make the ethical decision. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative_ethics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_ethics