Amendment 2 “The Right to Bear Arms”

This report provides background information about the Second Amendment. Also it offers a viewpoint on the magnitude and nature of the problem â€Å"right to keep and bear arms† and discusses the two competing interpretations that predominates the Second Amendment. Furthermore this report identifies political, cultural, administrative, and law enforcement realities that pose enormous obstructions to formulating, passing, implementing, as well as enforcing more gun controls. IntroductionRegardless of being the subject of huge popular and political controversy, until relatively recently the Second Amendment was one of the most neglected areas of constitutional scholarship. The regulation of arms is not just a technical problem. It is an extremely charged ideological and emotional issue that carries an incredible amount of symbolic baggage. For American society, the debate over gun control is more like the debates over abortion and school prayer than like a debate over automobile safety.Millions of Americans, together with a noteworthy percentage of the intellectual elite, think that guns are bad in themselves and that owning them is at best misguided and at worst pathological. For millions of American gun owners, the right to keep and bear arms is associated to freedom and democracy; it is an article of faith similar to the belief that other Americans have in the centrality of freedom of speech and religion.That several Americans dismiss the right to bear arms as a myth that has no legal or constitutional reality is a challenge to the believers' worldview and offend to their very status in American society. It is just a short step to considering the proponents of gun prohibition as â€Å"enemies† to be resisted and condemned. Two competing interpretations of the Second Amendment predominate, the â€Å"collective† or â€Å"states' rights† interpretation and the â€Å"individual rights† interpretation.In the collective rights model , American citizens have no individual right to bear arms; such a right, it is argued, belongs merely to those in the state militias since the purpose of the Amendment was to reassure the states that through the maintenance of â€Å"well regulated† militias they would be capable to protect themselves from any danger posed by the new national government's standing army.On the contrary, advocates of the individual rights interpretation contend that the Second Amendment protects the rights of all individuals to keep and bear arms (subject to certain conditions), not just those in the state militias; that it is the â€Å"right of the people. † This, it is argued, is in reference to how the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments are interpreted.While the terms â€Å"republican† and â€Å"liberal† have clear-cut meanings to historians, the use of these terms can be quite confusing to the uninitiated, since the â€Å"republican† school of Second Amend ment interpretation would doubtless find themselves at variance with many Republican politicians today, and the â€Å"liberal† school of Second Amendment analysis, with a few notable exceptions, would probably prefix the word â€Å"classical† before calling themselves liberals of any sort. (Clayton E. Cramer, 1994).The republican school asserts that the right to keep and bear arms was an outgrowth of republicanism, intended to protect the society from the related evils of a standing army and tyranny. While the arms might be broadly distributed, they would still be possessed by the population for the purpose of collective action against a foreign army, or a domestic tyrant. (Clayton E. Cramer, 1994). The liberal school asserts that the right was individual, a logical outgrowth of the right to self-defense. Such arms would be for the defense of the individual against private criminals; there was no need for a collective purpose or ownership.(Clayton E. Cramer, 1994). Whe n it comes to the question of identify the intellectual and historical antecedents of the Second Amendment, there is, again, broad agreement between the collective and individual rights theorists. Whether tracing its roots through the Florentine political tradition and Machiavelli or the radical English Whig tradition of James Harrington, John Trenchard, and Thomas Gordon, both sides accept that the Second Amendment has to be understood, at least in part, in terms of republicanism.Particularly, there is no argument that an armed citizenry was, as militia members contend, an essential component of eighteenth-century republican thought. The cause for this, in Gordon Wood's memorable phrase, is that republics were seen to be states of â€Å"fragile beauty† Which is to say, that due to man's continual craving for power it was believed that republics were in constant danger from both external enemies and internal corruption, and citizens' militias were regarded as very important i n resisting these dangers.(Gordon S. Wood, 1969) Certainly, the militia movement's engagement with republicanism assists to elucidate why it reacts to any attempt at gun control with horror. After all, it was a commonplace of eighteenth-century republicanism that merely tyrannical governments would attempt to disarm their people. Voicing such concerns-and linking them to the sacrifices made by America's Revolutionary generation-the U. S. Militia takes the view that even though â€Å"foreign governments may disarm their subjects, we will not go down that road.† â€Å"We will not disarm,† they declare. As militia members see it, the right to bear arms allows Americans â€Å"to back up our other Bill of Rights. † Lose this right, they compete, and, sooner or later, they will lose all their rights. Republican support of citizens' militias went beyond the often expressed concern that standing armies might turn out to be the pawns of corrupt governments, and issues of who eventually controlled the means of force in society, however. The ownership of arms was essential to the very idea of republican citizenship.Arms, it was argued, provided the means by which a citizen could both maintain his independence and-as with jury service-actively participate in his own governance. In classical and early modern republican thought, arms were the â€Å"ultimo ratio whereby the citizen pictures his life to the protection of the state and simultaneously makes sure that the choice to expose it cannot be taken without him. It was the possession of arms which made a man a full citizen, able to, and required to display, the multiple adaptability and self-development which is the crown of citizenship. Access to arms would not create a republican citizen in itself, though.The key to citizenship certainly the key to the successful functioning of republican society as a whole-was to be found in the concept of virtue. Wood describes virtue as the â€Å"willingness o f the individual to sacrifice his private interests for the good of the community† (Gordon S. Wood, 1969) that is, to serve the common good-and the ultimate sacrifice an individual could make, certainly, was to lay down his life in defense of the republic. This is mainly worth noting since it adds a republican dimension to the obvious readiness of militia members to sacrifice themselves in emulation of their Revolutionary forefathers.Considerably, militias were seen as institutions in which citizens could be trained in virtue-where virtue would not merely be inculcated and nurtured, however as well exercised in the act of resisting the republic's enemies. Modern militia members are well aware of these aspects of republicanism: that militias were intended to offer a means for citizens to vigorously participate in the republican polity and had a vital role in instilling virtue in those citizens. Pro– and anti–gun control proponents sharply disagree regarding whethe r the Second Amendment poses an impediment to gun controls.Gun control proponents argue that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with individual rights; it guarantees merely that states can maintain organized militia units. They point to an unbroken line of court decisions that reject Second Amendment challenges to federal, state, and local gun controls. Gun owners' rights supporters cite a large and impressive composition of mostly historical scholarship that reveals that the founding fathers and, subsequently, the authors and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment, intended the Second Amendment to protect the individual American's right to be armed.There is much to be said on both sides of the constitutional debate. The great majority of state constitutions have clauses protecting the right of gun ownership. The merely states whose constitutions do not hold a right to bear arms are Iowa, California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Minnesota. However, Iowa's, California's, an d New Jersey's constitutions openly protect the right to â€Å"self-defense. † Some state constitutions use the same language as the Second Amendment, however several openly protect the individual's right to keep and bear arms.Consider Vermont's constitution, enacted in 1777: â€Å"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State—and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power. † http://www. law. ucla. edu/faculty/volokh/beararms/statecon/htm Pennsylvania's constitutional right to bear arms is measured to be the precursor to the Second Amendment.Enacted in 1790, at the time that the Bill of Rights was being ratified, it states: â€Å"The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. † http://www. law. ucla. edu/faculty/vol okh/beararms/statecon/htm This language has always been interpreted by Pennsylvania courts to protect the right of all Pennsylvanians, not just militiamen, to possess firearms. Oklahoma's constitution, enacted in 1907, overtly protects the right to keep a gun at home, at the same time as subjecting the carrying of concealed weapons to regulation:â€Å"The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power, when thereunto legally summoned, shall never be prohibited; but nothing herein contained shall prevent the Legislature from regulating the carrying of weapons. † http://www. law. ucla. edu/faculty/volokh/beararms/statecon/htm In recent years, numerous states have added gun ownership rights to their constitutions. For instance, Wisconsin amended its constitution so thatâ€Å"The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose. † http://www . law. ucla. edu/faculty/volokh/beararms/statecon/htm These state constitutional provisions would not protect gun owners from federal gun controls; however they protect gun owners against some state and local gun controls. The Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution states: â€Å"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged.† http://www. law. ucla. edu/faculty/volokh/beararms/statecon/htm In U. S. v. Cruikshank, a nineteenth-century case, the U. S. Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment was merely a protection against federal infringements of a right to bear arms. Although this decision predated the Supreme Court's 20th century decisions incorporating various Bill of Rights guarantees into the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, with the outcome of guaranteeing those rights against violation by state and local governments, plus by the federal government.It is not a t all apparent that mid-nineteenth-century judges were unaware to any right to keep and bear arms. Consider this passage from the Supreme Court's infamous decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856), in which the Supreme Court held that slaves and their descendants could claim no rights of citizenship. What is interesting from our viewpoint is the Court's understanding of what are the rights of citizenship. The Supreme Court pointed out that the framers could not have intended that slaves or their descendants ever be citizens because thatâ€Å"would give to persons of the Negro race, who were recognized as citizens in any one State of the Union, the right to enter every other State whenever they pleased, singly or in companies, without pass or passport, and without obstruction, to sojourn there as long as they pleased, to go where they pleased at every hour of the day or night without molestation, unless they committed some violation of law for which a white man would be punished; an d it would give them the full liberty of speech in public and in private upon all subjects upon which its own citizens might speak; to hold public meetings upon political affairs, and to keep and carry arms wherever they went. And all this would be done in the face of the subject race of the same color, both free and slaves, and inevitably producing discontent and insubordination among them, and endangering the peace and safety of the State†. (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U. S.393 (1856)) Yale Law School professor Akhil Amar argues that the right of individuals to be armed was very much the intention of the drafters and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment. After the Civil War, the southern states quickly passed â€Å"black codes† that clearly denied the newly freed slaves the right to keep and bear arms. The debates in Congress in the 1860s over the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment were laced with comments regarding the need to assure that the freed slaves not be kept disarmed and thus submissive, and that they be capable to enjoy the same right to keep and bear arms as white citizens. (Akhil Amar, 1998).The Supreme Court has rendered merely one Second Amendment decision in the twentieth century. In U. S. v. Miller (1939), the Court held that, in making it a crime to own an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, the NFA did not violate the Second Amendment. Gun rights advocates say that the precedential value of the case is just that people are not guaranteed access to gangster weapons, like sawed-off shotguns, and that by negative inference they do have a right to arm themselves with traditional personal firearms. Gun controllers argue that the Second Amendment does not guarantee anybody anything and that Miller means that there is no personal right to possess firearms in the U. S. Constitution.Focusing on the amendment's first clause, they argue that the amendment means only that Congress could not abolish the state militia, now the Nation al Guard. Gun rights advocates believe that the Second Amendment guarantees every law-abiding American adult a right to keep and bear personal firearms. â€Å"Implicit in the Bill of Rights, as in the entire structure of the Constitution, are the twin hallmarks of traditional liberal thought: trust in the people; and distrust in government. † (David Hardy, 1979). Some proponents of this interpretation stress that the right to keep and bear arms was intended to guarantee protection against government tyranny.Liberal constitutional law theorist, William Van Alstyne, finds an individual rights view of the Second Amendment in a textual reading of the amendment. He argues that the amendment â€Å"Speaks to sources of security within a free state, within which†¦ ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. ’† He explains that this language guarantees the individual's right to have arms for self-defense and self-preservation. (Willi am Van Alstyne, 1994). Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Tribe, a person closely associated with liberal politics and the Democratic Party, as well concludes that â€Å"It is impossible to deny that some right to bear arms is among the rights of American citizens. † (Lawrence H. Tribe, 2000).Conceivably the Supreme Court will take a chance to interpret the Second Amendment in a recent Texas case. The U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas stated unconstitutional the federal law (18 U. S. C. sec. 922 [g][8]) which makes it a crime to own a firearm while under a restraining order for domestic violence as applied in a situation where the state divorce court, which issued the restraining order, had made no exclusive findings that the defendant posed a threat to his estranged wife. The district court held that the Second Amendment guarantees a personal right to keep and bear arms (U. S. v. Emerson, 46 F. Supp. 2d 598 [1999]). Two years later, the 5th Circuit C ourt of Appeals (Nov. 2001) affirmed, holding thatâ€Å"we find that the history of the Second Amendment reinforces the plain meaning of the text, namely that it protects individual Americans in their right to keep and bear arms whether or not they are members of a select militia or performing active military service or training. † Even though the U. S. Supreme Court eventually affirmed that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual right to keep and bear arms, which may never happen, the contrary belief is strongly rooted in U. S. and English history, in the constitutions of most U. S. states, as well as in a mountain of pro-gun scholarship. Many gun owners think that possession of firearms is a right of American citizenship and would not be persuaded otherwise, even by a U. S. Supreme Court decision to the contrary, just as death penalty opponents suppose that the Supreme Court was wrongheaded in declaring executions to be constitutionally permissible.Jeffrey Sn yder made the point aggressively in his 1993 Public Interest article, â€Å"A Nation of Cowards†: â€Å"The repeal of the Second Amendment would no more render the outlawing of firearms legitimate than the repeal of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment would authorize the government to imprison and kill people at will. A government that abrogates any of the Bills Of Rights, with or without majoritarian approval, forever votes illegitimately, becomes tyrannical, and loses the moral right to govern†. References: Akhil Amar (1998). The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction (New Haven: Yale University Press). Clayton E. Cramer (1994).For the Defense of Themselves and the State: The Original Intent and Judicial Interpretation of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms; Praeger Publishers, 1994 David Hardy (1979). â€Å"The Second Amendment as a Restraint on State and Federal Firearms Restrictions,† in Restricting Handguns, ed. Don Kates (Great Barrington, Mass . : North River) Gordon S. Wood (1969). The Creation of the American Republic; Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press http://www. law. ucla. edu/faculty/volokh/beararms/statecon/htm Jeffrey Snyder (1993). Nation of Cowards; Public Interest article Lawrence H. Tribe (2000). American Constitutional Law, 3rd ed. (New York: Foundation) William Van Alstyne (1994). â€Å"The Second Amendment and the Personal Right to Arms,† Duke Law Journal 43

Intel’s Site Selection Decision in Latin America Essay

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The Oregon Trail Essay Example for Free

The Oregon Trail Essay The West as an Ideal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the 19th century, people migrated from Missouri to Oregon or to the Pacific Northwest of what is now known as the United States of America. Originally, the route covering Missouri all the way to Oregon was determined in order to provide a more convenient route for the fur trade, especially for establishing an overland supply route post right at the edge of the Columbia River.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Oregon Trail, stretching at about 2,170 miles, essentially commenced through a rough system of rutted traces spanning the breadth of land from the Mississippi River that was utilized by roughly 400,000 individuals. In more recent times, the Oregon Trail has been known as symbolic of the differences which separate American Indians from the whites who settled in the land. Back in 1840, only three states were recognized to exist at the western side of the Mississippi River inasmuch as Canadas boundary with Maine remained undefined during those days.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Nations boundary in the west was approximately situated in the Continental Divide, and within a decade Great Britain and the United States have created a boundary that spanned from the Pacific up to the Atlantic. After four decades, masses and masses of emigrants entirely diminished the concept of frontier which radically altered the lifestyle of the American Indians. It also threatened and ravaged numerous species of wild animals along the way, not to mention the buffalo herds. While barbed wires as well a plows dominated the prairies, long stretches of distances were eventually cut shorter by the transcontinental railroads.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During 1837 and 1841, both businessmen and farmers have grown frustration over the economic depressions which affected and sunk their livelihood. As the fur trade became increasingly troubled after the trade collapsed back in 1839, thoughts of the British dominating the Northwest Territory heightened. During those times, the American Indians in Oregon were seen by eastern churches as potential candidates for the thoughts of European civilization. Heading for Oregon as missionaries in 1836, Henry and Eliza Spalding as well as Marcus Whitman and his new wife gave an increasing publicity for Oregon in terms of its advantages and promising opportunities through the letters which they wrote and sent home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eventually, more and more people became increasingly interested in Oregon for a wide variety of reasons. In 1841, the very first group of people began to leave the Missouri River banks and proceeded west with the serious intention of emigrating. Almost two years after, almost a thousand emigrants completed the travel which signaled the many others who followed in the years to come. Hardships Faced   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like any other long distance journey, those who traversed the Oregon Trail would have to face challenges and hardships along the course of their path. Every part of the trail uniquely had its difficulties to be dealt with by the travelers. For the most part, the emigrants would have to face the challenge of loading and unloading their livestock so as to maintain the durability of their wagons. This they would have to do countless times until the trail is over. More importantly, the emigrants would have to spend some time fetching water and food for the animals they brought along with them. Otherwise, the animals would starve and probably die long before they reach the destination which will also affect the food supply determined by livestock and other animals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, the emigrants would also have to adjust in terms of the way they deal with their fellow emigrants in order to maintain harmony throughout the journey and prevent disorder. They would have to determine and set rules that they have to abide along the journey as well as to arrange and break camp each morning and evening. They would have to take turns in terms of positioning in several columns so that lesser dust is raised and a minimal number of the travelers will choke from the air created.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowing that the most difficult part of the journey would be near the journeys end where crossing mountains prior to winter snows was a necessary imperative. Hence, the emigrants would have to set the journey and their pace in such a way that the time they travel will be during the time when grass was present almost everywhere along the trail so that the animals they brought would have sufficient food to feed on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Health hazards to the emigrants were a large hindrance during the journey. Cholera was one of the feared ailments that the emigrants would have to face, caused perhaps by the contaminated water they might have used. Since the 19th century was the time when medical advancements were yet to be discovered, cholera remained one of the most dangerous health hazards the emigrants feared. Small pox also claimed a number of the lives of those who journeyed the Oregon Trail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In financial terms, the emigrants would have to be financially ready to shoulder the tolls situated at ferries as well as bridges, including the prices for food and other supplies bought along the trading posts or from other travelling emigrants. The payments required for repairing the wagons and other vital tools also shared a considerable fraction of the emigrants finances during the travel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, the prices for the food and water relatively vary than in contrast to ordinary circumstances. Since the supply for water is scarce and the demand considerably high during the journey, emigrants would have no choice but to purchase water at costs they are able to pay for, whether low or high, just to survive the travel. Perhaps the only times when the emigrants are able to purchase water at lower prices are whenever they reach a small town and whenever they found a source of potable water along the way. Reasons for Leaving   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thousands have already traveled across the trail and settled in Oregon by 1846. But why were these individuals willing to leave their homes and land, travel across thousands of miles with barely minimal food to eat and water to drink to a place where they have not been to yet? The answer to this question can be answered in three simple terms: these people were drawn towards the west because of the cheaper value of land where they can purchase and own more, the sense of patriotism, or perhaps the attractive promise of a more fulfilling life in Oregon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Because Oregon was a region where very few people lived, the value of land was comparatively cheaper than in places were civilization is on the rise. People would take the journey just acquire more areas of land and start life anew. It was one of the risks they were willing to take all for the name of acquiring a better life and securing as well as sustaining the wealth of their families. As the civilization in Oregon sprawled and as transcontinental railroads were established, travelling became easier as the time covered for traveling was dramatically reduced. Access to Oregon became easier and the value of land eventually increased. The need to travel to Oregon because of cheaper land eventually diminished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The relatively lower price of land back in the days essentially corresponded to a better life for the emigrants. Since Oregon was a newly formed state, acquiring land in the area was almost equivalent to acquiring a better life as compared to their former settlements. Given a larger land area to manipulate, emigrants who settled in Oregon and who were able to acquire land were given the opportunity to raise a higher number of livestock and other animals and cultivate a larger piece of land.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The promise of a more fulfilling life in Oregon manifested itself in terms of the higher chance to raise animals and cultivate the land with plants which resulted to an increase in ownership and income. Trade and commerce in Oregon reached heights and settlers found themselves amidst an area fertile for purposes of trade and commerce. Eventually, news of this spread and people became more and more interested in leaving their homes and transferring to Oregon. What Awaited the Emigrants?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although there was no assurance of whatever it is that awaited the emigrants at the end of the journey, it became increasingly known that flocks of individuals were heading towards the west. This fever created a deeper sense of awe and increased the longing of individuals to obtain a better life even at a distant land more than 2,000 miles away. As the number of emigrants grew larger, people began to think of things becoming better that awaited them at the end of the trail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In effect, Oregon grew in many different ways. The population count boomed in less than a couple of decades more than the normal annual rate. As settlers continuously increased and poured into Oregon, the small towns in the new state were nearing the verge of transforming into cities. Log cabins were slowly replaced by frame houses as the land became more and more civilized in the years that went by. The great migration, in the end, only heightened the urge of the people to travel far and wide towards Oregon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As Oregon grew at a rapid pace, news easily spread across neighboring areas giving the new state an increasing sense of popularity and presence in the minds of individuals. In the coming years, what awaited the emigrants has become less and less of what they expected. For the most part of the years to follow, new emigrants who settled in Oregon found themselves in the midst of a growing population where finding a place to settle in the heart of civilization in the new state was becoming scarce almost every year. The prospect of finding a place to stay at the center of commerce was diminishing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nevertheless, it has been rare for settlers in the new state to return to their original homes once they were able to find a suitable place to stay in Oregon. With a few exceptions such as the case of Ezra Meeker, the settlers have very little reason to retrace the Oregon Trail and return home. The harsh conditions they may have encountered along the journey and the things they have fulfilled in Oregon might have discouraged them to gamble on traveling back to where they originated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In essence, the Oregon Trail used to be one of the most treacherous yet mostly taken the path by people gathering near the mouth of the Mississippi River. The prospect of a better life mostly fueled this desire to leave home and travel thousands of miles amidst hardships and hazards to their health and property. The reasons for leaving mostly centered on the promise of acquiring cheaper land where they can begin their lives anew and attain prosperity. References Fanselow, J. (2001). Traveling the Oregon Trail (Second ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Falcon. Faragher, J. M. (2001). The Oregon Trail: A review. The Journal of American History, 88(2), 15. Parkman, F. (2002). The Oregon Trail (Dover Value ed.). Toronto, Canada: Dover Publications. Roberts, J. M. (1954). A Review On the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuarts Journey of Discovery by Kenneth A. Spaulding. American Anthropologist: New Series, 56(6), 2. Willingham, W. F. (1994). Review: Interpreting the Oregon Trail: Three New Perspectives. The Public Historian, 16(1), 3.

A Scary Place in Louisiana Woods Essay Example for Free

A Scary Place in Louisiana Woods Essay More than five years ago, I went with a batch of friends to one of the villages in Louisiana.   Being born from the far-end south of the state of [your state], it was the first time I had a great view of the vast, green meadows of the plain.   It was springtime, and we were having fun going around the brooks and the woods that are really prevalent in those areas.   We were eight friends all in all, and we were to stay there for almost a week. It was fun and everyone just brought food and drinks and all that we can bring along to have a really wonderful time.   The place looked gorgeous†¦ except that we had no idea—or ‘I’ had no idea—that the woods would not really be that gorgeous at all.   I was somebody born to the city, and to go to places that are certainly silent did not bring anything to my mind but the thought that it would be the best spring I could have ever imagined!   I was wrong.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first three days in the cottage were really pleasant.   Our group went to and fro the green oaks there, and I got tired counting all the oak trees that were positioned so neatly along the roadside.   The pines were more difficult to count, I thought.   It was one of the many times I walked to the winding path amid the grass and the trees.   I didn’t know why but I just loved the feeling nature has brought in to me; yet it was not so hot because trees usually blocked the sunlight, and there was a sway of some wind, as proven by the branches. To my left was a swooping valley of green grass, and to my right there was nothing I saw but three things: trees, trees, and trees!   I enjoyed the feeling of not being alone but then wondered, was I alone?   I felt that I was not.   I called out to my friends: no response.   God forbid but I left my cellphone on the chair just before I went out for a walk.   I thought Billy was with me but now I can’t see or hear anyone, and I guess I’ve been walking for more than an hour already.   I stopped walking.   If I’d been walking for, let’s say, two hours, then it could be nearly six o’clock, which is why the woods have, indeed, become dimmer and a bit misty. Well, where was I?   I can see the brook northward, the pine valley far eastward, big oak trees westward, and just piles of grass southward.   I heard something moving between the branches somewhere in the far-side end of the brook.   Looking at the big oak tree stapled like a tower behind the brook, what did not enter clearly to my head entered clearly to my eyes: the picture of a handful of fire glaring fiercely red and floating mysteriously in the air just in front of that oak!   And it was moving so slowly to my direction, making me step back relentlessly to thump with a sudden jump southward to where I just came from. A big black dog greeted me at my back, and what was really terrifying was that it had the eyes of man—the expression, the look†¦ was that of a man.   I whispered a silent prayer and ran as fast as I can.   Never would I roam around an unfamiliar site of woods with no one but me to rely on in facing my adversary and my fear.   I felt angry that my friends have left me alone when they knew I was new to this place.   Thank God that black dog did not run after me but just stared at me right at my face.   I could’ve fainted if it had run after me to my grave†¦ What the incident taught me about fear is that, at a time of fear, there really is no one to stand for me or with me but myself.   I perceived fear when I realized that I was alone in an unknown place, with no one to hear me even if I shouted for help.   I perceived fear when I saw things (i.e., floating fire) that are not the usual things I saw in my everyday life: things that are truly mysterious, strange, and unexplainable. I perceived fear when I imagined things that could have happened, such as what I imagined the black dog could have done.   Fear sprouts at times when we encounter strange things that stir strange sensation amid a strange environment.   I feared that the perceived fear would enkindle worse things and events that I remembered only seeing in the television.   I feared that what I perceived as fear would turn into something more than mere fear.   I perceived fear†¦ and it was right to my own eyes!

Terrorism And Globalization

Terrorism And Globalization Defining terrorism The terrorist phenomenon has a long and varied history, punctuated by lively debates over the meaning of the term. The term itself has always been a difficult one to define. This is partly because the term has evolved over the years and in part because it is associated with an activity that is designed to be subjective. Generally speaking, the targets of the terrorists are not the victims who are killed or injured in the attack. The terrorists hope to engender a reaction such as fear, repulsion, intimidation, overreaction, or radicalization. Terrorism is intended to be a matter of perception and is thus seen differently by different observers. The problem of defining terrorism has hindered analysis since the inception of studies of terrorism in the early 1970s. One set of problems is due to the fact that the concept of terrorism is deeply contested. The use of the term is often polemical and rhetorical. Even if the term is used objectively as an analytical tool, it is still difficult to arrive at a satisfactory definition that distinguishes terrorism from other violent phenomena. Generally speaking, terrorism is deliberate and systematic violence performed by small numbers of people, whereas communal violence is spontaneous, sporadic, and requires mass participation. The purpose of terrorism is to intimidate a watching popular audience by harming only a few, whereas genocide is the elimination of entire communities. Terrorism is meant to hurt. Terrorism is preeminently political and symbolic, where as guerrilla warfare is a military activity. Repressive terror from above is the action of those in power, whereas terrorism i s resistance to authority. Yet in practice, events cannot always be precisely categorized. A few generalizations can be made about terrorism that differentiates it from the states use of force. First, terrorism always has a political nature. It requires the occurrence of outrageous acts that will lead to political change. Second, it is the nonstate character of terrorism that differentiates it from the many other uses of violence that are inherently political such as war among states-even when terrorists receive military, political, economic, and other means of support from state sources. States obviously employ force for political ends: When state force is used internationally, it is considered an act of war; when it is used domestically, it is called various things, including law enforcement, state terror, oppression, or civil war. Although states can terrorize, they are not defined as terrorists. Third, it is generally the innocent that become the target of terrorism. This also distinguishes it from state. In any given example, the latter may or may not be seen as justified but this use of force is different from terrorism. Finally, state use of force is subject to international norms and conventions that may be invoked or at least consulted. Terrorists, on the other hand, do not abide by international laws or norms. In fact, in order to maximize the psychological effect of an attack, the terrorist activities have a deliberately unpredictable quality. Thus, generally speaking, terrorism can be said to have the following characteristics: a fundamentally political nature, the surprise element (use of violence against seemingly random targets), and the targeting of the innocent by nonstate actors. Even within the terms of these general characteristics, the practice of terrorism is highly diverse. The conceptual category of terrorism encompasses a wide variety of phenomena, ranging from kidnappings of individuals (in order to pressure governments to agree to specific political demands) to indiscriminate mass-casualty bombings of high-profile symbolic targets. Terrorism occurs in widely different cultural settings. Origins Terrorism is as old as human history. Modern terrorism, however, is generally considered to have originated with the French Revolution. The term terror was first employed in 1795, when it was coined to refer to a policy systemically used to protect the French republic government against counterrevolutionaries. Modern terrorism is a dynamic concept, from the outset dependent to some degree on the political and historical context within which it has been employed. Although individual terrorist groups have unique characteristics and arise in specific local contexts, an examination of broad historical patterns reveals that the international system within which such groups are born does influence their nature and motivations. A distinguishing feature of modern terrorism has been the connection between political or ideological concepts and increasing levels of terrorist activity internationally. The broad political aim has been against (1) empires, (2) colonial powers, and (3) the U.S.- led international system marked by globalization. Thus it is important to understand the general history of modern terrorism and where the current threat is within an international context. David Rapoport has described modern terrorism as part of a religiously inspired fourth wave. This wave, according to him, follows three earlier historical phases in which terrorism emerged in relation to the breakup of empires, decolonization, and leftist anti-Westernism. Rapoport argues that terrorism occurs in consecutive if somewhat overlapping waves. The argument here, however, is that modern terrorism has been a power struggle along various scales: central power versus local power, big power versus small power, modern power versus traditional power. The key variable is a widespread perception of opportunity, combined with a shift in a particular political or ideological paradigm. Thus, even though the newest international terrorist threat, emanating largely from Muslim countries, has more of religious inspiration, it is more accurate to see it as part of a larger phenomenon of anti-globalization and tension between the have and have-not nations, as well as between the elite and underprivileged within those nations. In the nineteenth century, the emergence of concepts such as universal suffrage and popular empowerment raised the hopes of people throughout the western world, indirectly resulting in the first phase of modern terrorism. In Russia, for example, it was stimulated not by state repression but by the efforts of the czars to placate demands for economic and political reforms, and the inevitable disappointment of popular expectations that were raised as a result. The goal of terrorists was to engage in attacks on symbolic targets to get the attention of the common people and thus provoke a popular response that would ultimately overturn the prevailing political order. This type of modern terrorism was reflected in the activities of groups such as the Russian Narodnaya Volya (Peoples Will) and later in the development of a series of movements in the United States and Europe, especially in territories of the former Ottoman Empire. The dissolution of empires and the search for a new distribution of political power provided an opportunity for terrorism in the nineteenth and twentieth century. It climaxed in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, an event that catalyzed the major powers into taking violent action. World War I, the result of the assassination can be said to have ended the first era of modern terrorism. But terrorism tied to popular movements seeking greater democratic representation and political power from coercive empires had not ceased. For example, the Balkans, after the downfall of the former state of Yugoslavia. A second, related phase of modern terrorism is associated with the concept of national self-determination. It can be said to have developed its greatest predominance after World War I. It also continues to the present day. These struggles for power are another facet of terrorism against larger political powers and are specifically designed to win political independence or autonomy. Terrorism achieved an international character during the 1970s and 1980s, evolving in part as a result of technological advances and partly in reaction to the dramatic explosion of international media influence. International links were not new, but their centrality was. Individual, scattered national causes began to develop into international organizations with links and activities increasingly across borders and among differing causes. The 1970s and 1980s represented the height of state-sponsored terrorism. Sometimes the lowest common denominator among the groups was the concept against which they were reacting-for example, Western imperialism- rather than the specific goals they sought. The most important innovation, however, was the increasing commonality of international connections among the groups. After the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of eleven Israeli athletes, for example, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and its associated groups captured the imaginations of young radicals around the world. AN EARLIER WAVE OF TERRORISM While globalization is for many a causal variable generating backlash and resistance, there also have been earlier waves of globalization. If terrorism and globalization appear together today, it is possible that terrorism and globalization co-appeared during an earlier period that ran from the 1880s to 1914. Associated with the idea of propaganda by deed, Russian, Italian, Spanish, French, American, Serbian, and Macedonian terrorists were involved in a period of assassination and bomb throwing from the Russian and Ottoman Empires to the east through the Austrian Empire and Western Europe to the United States in the west. In Serbia, there was the Black Hand; in Russia, Narodnaya Volya, or Peoples Will; among Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs, the Young Bosnians and the Narodna Obrana, or the Peoples Defense. Terrorists from one country also killed people from another. While the contemporary period is known as one of international terrorism, there are clear grounds for considering the anarc hist period as one that also had international or global aspects. Some scholars have made comparisons between figures like bin Laden and late 19th-century Russian terrorists. Similarities in the political religion of their ideologies, the diasporic-or transnational-nature of both sets of terrorists who often resided and planned attacks abroad, and the similarity of global political economic conditions at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries have been noted. If al-Qaeda is a reaction to American empire, as few scholars argue, then one could see earlier terrorist resistance in the form of pre-1914 terrorist groups attacking the empires of their day (the Serbian Black Hand versus the Austrian Empire; Inner Macedonian Revolutionary Organization versus the Ottoman Empire; and the terrorists of Narodnaya Volya versus the Tsarist Russian Empire). In the case of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism, a comparison with the Sudanese revolt of the Mahdi in the 1880s against the British Empire and bin Laden against the United States has been made. Some note a sim ilarity between the hatred of London as the financial center of world capitalism at the end of the 19th century and the hatred by fanatical Muslims today of the dominance of Wall Street and the Pentagon. Since the September 11 attacks, the world has witnessed the maturation of a new phase of terrorist activity, the jihad era, spawned by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as well as the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan shortly thereafter. The powerful attraction of religious and spiritual movements has overshadowed the nationalist or leftist revolutionary ethos of earlier terrorist phases (though many of those struggles continue), and it has become the central characteristic of a growing international trend. Religious terrorism is not new; rather it is a continuation of an ongoing modern power struggle between those with power and those without it. What is different about this phase is the urgent requirement for solutions that deal both with the religious fanatics who are the terrorists and the far more politically motivated states, entities, and people who would support them because they feel powerless and left behind in a globalizing world. Thus if there is a trend in terrorism, it is the existence of a two-level challenge: the hyper religious motivation of small groups of terrorists and the much broader enabling environment of bad governance, nonexistent social services, and poverty that punctuates much of the developing world. Al-Qaeda, a band driven by religious extremism, is able to do so much harm because of the secondary support and sanctuary it receives in vast areas that have not experienced the political and economic benefits of globalization. There are four types of terrorist organizations that can said to be currently operating around the world, categorized mainly by their source of motivation: left-wing terrorists, right-wing terrorists, ethno nationalist/separatist terrorists, and religious or sacred terrorists. All four types have enjoyed periods of relative prominence in the modern era, with left-wing terrorism intertwined with the Communist movement, right-wing terrorism drawing its inspiration from Fascism, and the bulk of ethno nationalist/separatist terrorism accompanying the wave of decolonization especially in the immediate post-World War II years. Currently, sacred terrorism is becoming more significant. Although groups in all categories continue to exist today, left-wing and right-wing terrorist groups were more numerous in earlier decades. Of course, these categories are not perfect, as many groups have a mix of motivating ideologies-some ethno nationalist groups, for example, have religious characteristics or agendas-but usually one ideology or motivation dominates. NEW TERRORISM Following incidents such as the bombing of the WTC in 1993, U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, and the attacks on the Pentagon and WTC in 2001, the conventional belief of researchers and commentators on terrorism was that the world had entered a new phase since the 1990s that departed dramatically from what had gone before. It variously was called the new terrorism or spoken of as involving new types of post-cold war terrorists or a new breed of terrorist or new generation of terrorists; or terror in the mind of God or a clash of fundamentalisms or simply a new wave of terrorism. In these analyses terrorism seemed to be changing in some of the following ways. Several recent works focus on a new terrorism that is motivated by religious belief and is more fanatical, deadly, and pervasive than the older and more instrumental forms of terrorism the world had grown accustomed to. This emerging new terrorism is thought to differ from the old terrorism in terms of goals, methods, and organization. The comparison goes roughly as follows. Whereas the old terrorists sought short-term political power through revolution, national liberation, or secession, the new terrorists seek to transform the world. Motivated by religious imperatives, they are thought to lack an earthly constituency and thus to feel accountable only to a deity or to some transcendental or mystical idea. Conventional left-right ideological distinctions are not applicable. Because they do not want popular support, they are unlikely to claim public credit for their actions. Also, new terrorists are thought to be more inclined to use highly lethal methods in order to destroy an impure world and bring about the apocalypse. The strategies of the old terrorists were discriminating; terrorism was a form of communicating a specific message to an audience. In the new terrorism, unlimited ends lead to unlimited means. Thus the new terrorists seek to cause high numbers of casualties and are willing to commit suicide or use weapons of mass destruction in order to do so. Finally, whereas traditional militants were linked in tight, centralized, structured conspiracies, the organization of the new terrorists is decentralized and diffuse. Adherents are united by common experience or inspiration rather than by direct personal interaction with other members of the group and its leaders. Institutions and organizations are less important than beliefs. An earlier and more violent historical antecedent of the conception of a new terrorism is anti-Western terrorism originating in the Middle East that is linked to radical or fundamentalist Islam. This concern dates from the 1980s and terrorism attributed to the Shiite Hezbollah action in Lebanon. Alarm over the emergence of radical Islam (which is a small minority of the Muslim world) was heightened by a combination of factors: the resort to suicide bombings in Lebanon and Israel, a general willingness to inflict mass civilian casualties, and anti-Americana and anti-Western targeting patterns. The bombing of th e World Trade Center in 1993 as well as the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 further increased the American sense of vulnerability. Trends in Modern Terrorism By the late 1990s, four trends in modern terrorism were becoming apparent: an increase in the incidence of religiously motivated attacks, a decrease in the overall number of attacks, an increase in the lethality per attack, and the growing targeting of Americans. Statistics show that, even before the September 11 attacks, religiously motivated terrorist organizations were becoming more common. The acceleration of this trend has been dramatic: According to the RAND-St. Andrews University Chronology of International Terrorism, in 1968 none of the identified international terrorist organizations could be classified as religious; in 1980, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, there were 2 (out of 64), and that number had expanded to 25 (out of 58) by 1995. Another important trend relates to terrorist attacks involving U.S. targets. The number of such attacks increased in the 1990s, from a low of 66 in 1994 to a high of 200 in the year 2000. This is a long-established problem: U.S. nationals consistently have been the most targeted since 1968. But the percentage of international attacks against U.S. targets or U.S. citizens rose dramatically over the 1990s, from about 20 percent in 1993-95 to almost 50 percent in 2000. In addition to the evolving motivation and character of terrorist attacks, there has been a notable dispersal in the geography of terrorist acts-a trend that is likely to continue. Although the Middle East continues to be the locus of most terrorist activity, Central and South Asia, the Balkans, and the Transcaucasus have been growing in significance over the past decade. International connections themselves are not new: International terrorist organizations inspired by common revolutionary principles date to the early nineteenth century and complex mazes of funding, arms, and other state support for international terrorist organizations were in place especially in the 1970s and 1980s. Terrorism Becoming Global Newer terrorist organizations seemed to have moved away from the earlier model of professionally trained terrorists operating within a hierarchical organization with a central command chain and toward a more loosely coupled form of organization with a less clear organizational structure. Similarly, whereas from the 1960s through the 1980s groups more clearly were bound nationally (German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Palestinian, and so forth), more recent organizations like al-Qaeda have members from multiple nationalities and organizational sites outside the leaderships country of origin. The identities of terrorist organizations have become more difficult to identify. Terrorist organizations also seem to identify themselves or to claim responsibility for specific acts less often, such as the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa or the events of September 11, which while purportedly organized by bin Laden and al-Qaeda, never clearly were claimed by that organization. This is in contrast with earlier terrorist organizations, which were much clearer in taking responsibility for their actions and defining who they were, often with elaborate radical political ideologies. Terrorist ideologies have become more religious. What has been called the new religious terrorism or holy terrorism reflects the increasing prevalence of religion in the ideology of terrorist organizations, with the most notable being Islamic fundamentalism, or political Islam, and also including Christian fundamentalism or the religious sect Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese terrorist group that released poisonous gas in a Tokyo subway in 1995. There also seems to be an increase in groups with more vague and religious ideologies than earlier radical groups such as the German Red Army Faction, the Italian Red Brigades, or the Japanese Red Army. Terrorist violence becomes more indiscriminate. Along with a geographical dispersion of targets, there seems to be a move away from specific targets, for instance as when hundreds of civilian Kenyan and Tanzanian embassy employees and passersby were killed to achieve the objective of bombing the U.S. embassy. The 1993 and 2001 attacks of the WTC were also examples of more indiscriminate targets, as opposed to earlier skyjacking of a national airlines plane in order to attain specific demands or the kidnapping a particular politician. On reflecting upon these changes, many of them suggest the process of globalization raising the question of whether terrorism, like other economic, cultural, and political aspects of life also is globalizing. Arguments about a growing dispersion and indiscriminateness of terrorist violence also express a disregard for national boundaries and, as such, a growing global, as opposed to national, character of terrorism. GLOBALIZATION AND TERRORISM Some scholars interpret the link between globalization and terrorism in a causal fashion: globalization generates a backlash or resistance that can take the form of terrorist attacks on national powers in the forefront of the globalization processes. In this regard, some see terrorism as a defensive, reactionary, movement against global forces of cultural and economic change. Industrialization then and globalization now involve integration into a larger web of economic transactions that threatens local authority and sense of place. The result is defensive, reactionary mobilization, manifested in European food riots then and Middle Eastern terrorism now. In their article, International Terrorism and the World System, Albert J. Bergesen and Omar Lizardo have formulated a number of theories and bring forth the links between globalization and terrorism. World-System Theory While world-system theorists normally are concerned with questions of development and underdevelopment, they have advanced similar ideas regarding globalization and terrorism. Chase-Dunn and. Boswell in Transnational Social Movements and Democratic Socialist Parties in the Semiperiphery speak of the reactionary force of international terrorism as an anti-systemic element or globalization backlash; M,Jurgensmeyer in Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence links the disruption of globalization with defensive reactions that often take a religious character, and when that reaction is terrorism, it can take the form of fundamentalist Arab-Islamic terrorist organizations. World-Society/Polity Theory While world-society theorists have not addressed the issue of international terrorism directly, they have documented the continued expansion of Western originated cultural models of rationalized action and universal standards during the same period that a rise in international terrorism has been observed. To the extent that there is a possible causal relationship, world-society theorys top-down model of the intrusion of the world-politys global standards, expectations, norms, and definitions of reality also might generate defensive backlash that might, under some circumstances, take the form of international terrorism. It would seem that the growth in world society provides a generalized empowerment for international action on the basis that social existence is global existence and that social problems are global problems. The expansion of global society should empower action across the globe as a distinctly glob logical effect, which means that individuals in Latin America suffering from the side effects of economic globalization should feel just as globally empowered to engage in international backlash terrorism as those of the Arab-Islamic Middle East. But this does not seem to be the case; there is not as much international terrorism emanating from Latin America as from the Middle East, yet both are or should be globally empowered (world-society effect) and angry (globalization creates resistance effect). But the anger seems to be turned inward in Latin America and outward in the Middle East. What accounts for differences of response? Relative openness, democracy, representational institutions, and levels of functioning intermediary social organization may absorb, channel, or somehow provide outlets for the tensions and anger set off by globalization. Their anger is channeled into electoral politics, demonstrations, social move-mints, and domestic terrorism; in the more autocratic Arab-Islamic regimes, dissent is suppressed more often, and there are fewer o pportunities for its expression within the institutionalized political opportunity structures of those states. As a result, given the same level of global empowerment, the anger is turned outward to take the form of international terrorism more often than in Latin America. There is also no doubt something of a curvilinear effect with linkages to world-society. They empower and, given grievances, would have a positive effect upon contentious acts like international terrorism. But continued linkage into world-society also would seem to have an integrative effect and thereby would dampen terrorism rates, yielding an overall curvilinear relationship between linkages to world-society and rates of international terrorism Blowback Theory M.Crenshaw in Why America? The Globalization of Civil War argues that terrorism should be seen as a strategic reaction to American power, an idea associated with Johnsons blowback thesis. In this view, the presence of empires-both at the end of the last century and today-and the analogous unipolar military position of the United States today provoke resistance in the form of terrorism. Johnson notes that the Russian, Ottoman, and Habsburg Empires-which controlled multiple ethnic, religious, and national peoples-led to a backlash, or blowback, by Serb, Macedonian, and Bosnian terrorist organizations . By analogy the powerful global position of the United States, particularly in its role of propping up repressive undemocratic regimes, constitutes something of a similar condition with Arab-Islamic terrorism as a result. The Center for Strategic International Studies (2002) attempts to precisely define globalization, calling it a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. Some aspects of globalization facilitate terrorism. At its basest meaning, globalization means internationalization. Something is taken from a national setting and projected across the world. Certain nations adopt this, others reject it. When most nations do accept it and adopt it, globalization is taking place. A K Cronin in Behind the Curve suggests that terrorism cemented itself as an international phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s, evolving in partà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in reaction to the dramatic explosion of international media influence. At this point in time, news media was truly becoming international in scope. Many broadcasting companies maintained correspondents or sister stations in other nations, sharing information back and forth. This would lead to the first visions of terrorism for many peoples who had never seen it. Presently, the media can be responsible for perpetuating the climate of international terror. Another aspect to this concept is that the media can be used by terrorists for their purposes. Osama bin Laden released his now-infamous recorded statements using instruments of globalization. Many have seen video of bin Laden on American media outlets even though it was originally released to regional network Al-Jazeera. International media certainly is not the main byproduct that facilitates terror. Perhaps the main facilitator stemming from globalization is communications technologies. There are many devices taken for granted in Western society that changed the way terrorists operate, especially digital communications device. Clansmen fighting Americans in Somalia in the early 1990s used digital phones that could not be tapped. The internet, mobile phones, and instant messaging have given many terrorist groups a truly global reach. Leading up to the September 11 attacks, al-Qaeda operatives used Yahoo e-mail, while the presumed leader made reservations online and other members researched topics such as using crop dusters to release chemical agents Perhaps even more troubling is that these technologies can be used to disperse terrorists to different locations yet stay connected. Cells can stay in touch through internet communications while websites spread ideologies. It is estimated that al-Qaeda op erates in over sixty countries now as a result of using technologies inspired by globalization Globalization makes CBNR weapons increasingly available to terrorist groups. Information needed to build these weapons has become ubiquitous, especially through the internet. Among the groups interested in acquiring CBNR (besides al-Qaeda) are the PLO, the Red Army Faction, Hezbollah, the Kurdistan Workers Party, German neo-Nazis, and the Chechens. Globalization has enabled terrorist organizations to reach across international borders, in the same way (and often through the same channels) that commerce and business interests are linked. The dropping of barriers through the North American Free Trade Area and the European Union, for instance, has facilitated the smooth flow of many things among countries. This has allowed terrorist organizations as diverse as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the Egyptian al-Gamaat al-Islamiyya to move about freely and establish cells around the world. Movements across borders can obviously en-able terrorists to carry out attacks and potentially evade capture, but it also complicates prosecution if they are apprehended, with a complex maze of extradition laws varying greatly from state to state. The increased permeability of the international system has also enhanced the ability of nonstate terrorist organizations to collect intelligence. States are not the only actors interested in collecting, disseminat ing, and/or acting on such information. In a sense, then, terrorism is in many ways becoming like any other international enterprise. Terrorist organizations are broadening their reach in gathering financial resources to fund their operations.. The list of groups with global financing networks is long and includes most of the groups identified by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. Sources of financing include legal enterprises such as nonprofit organizations and legitimate companies that divert profits to illegal activities and illegal enterprises such as drug smuggling and production. Websites are also important vehicles for raising funds. Although no comprehensive data are publicly available on how lucrative this avenue is, the proliferation of terrorist websites with links or addresses for

Society Effects On Gender Roles In Malawi Essay examples --

Society Effects On Gender Roles In Malawi Ivy Tech Vocational Collage The seventeenth and eighteenth century was a time of many struggles with many nations. Slave traders, immigrants and Christian missionaries where some of the troubles brought on by changes happening. While it was a time of change the Malawi people came together and formed this alliance of the Nyau . Mostly to form a resistance. Nyau appealed to the people because it brought their culture together instead of the quilted nature of the other cultures. Through the Nayu the Gule Wamkulu was founded they are a society of men . Chinamwali is a female society . In the early twentieth century the Presbyterians and Catholics condemned the Nyau and the Chinamwali as heinous. Asking the native people to denounce both. People in charge of the ceremonies where uncertain of the future. Missionaries where questioning the ritual ceromines and the children not being in school. Giving the opinion that these children are coerced to join these groups a roadblock to their learning keeping them out of school. The government was asked to step in however , decided not to interfere in this matter . Writing on the Nyau subject reports that the researcher Woods (1991/1992) for example ‘illustrates how lineage elders to establish a new hegemony that enabled them to control the lineage when other indigenous forms of authority nearly collapsed during the colonial era. â€Å" Informing the reader that the Nyau was a strong force not easily broken or infiltrated. Through the course of time the Nyau had less of a need . Times had changed slavery was not as prevalent the immigration had elevated, however the missionaries remained , leaving them with... ...art . Often this is done so that the other wives can make money harvesting crops . The husband can take care of the finances. Having many wives can make for having more children which is a status symbol. His wife may become unbecoming so he may aquire another wife. Sometimes a husband will take a luphatho in the form of a basket of maize flour and one chicken which is taken by the wife herself to her parents to ask for the sister’s hand in marriage. If the parents accept the luphatho the formal processes of paying for the bride price is instituted and finally the young sister joins her sister as a second wife. Women are not allowed to marry more than one man. Works Cited Groves, Z. (2012). Urban Migrants and Religious Networks: Malawians in Colonial Salisbury, 1920 to 1970. Journal Of Southern African Studies, 38(3), 491-511. doi:10.1080/03057070.2012.707507

Andrew Carnegie :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5162000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the last hundred years many great people have come and gone. Only a few of these people have etched a legacy in history that puts them in a category of being influential through out the entire century. To achieve this state of supreme centennial importance ones impact must benefit not only the people living in the present but must also positively affect the men and women of the near and distant future. Anyone who accomplishes this task should be named the most influential person of the Twentieth Century. Because of Andrew Carnegie’s stand against harsh labor, expansion of the steel industry, and extreme generosity with ongoing philanthropic work, history will record him as the most influential person of the Twentieth Century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carnegie is most widely known for his monopolization of the steel industry. He developed numerous companies to support the need for steel in the developing United States. He foresaw that following the Civil War steel was going to be an important part of American life. He decided that it would be a smart idea to invest in the developing industry and that decision paid off enormously. (Amer. Exp.) He worked to modernize the United States through the building of bridges, railroads, and other vital roadways, which in turn brought the country together. By 1900, Carnegie Steel Juggernaut produced more steel, than all of Great Britain. In the early part of the Twentieth century large monopolies ruled the industrial world bringing about long hours, low wages, and harsh working conditions. This was also the time when the thought or the attempt to unionize was completely out of the question as far as most leaders of industry were concerned. Andrew Carnegie was the one of the so-called robber barons that took a stand against the unfair working conditions. Carnegie preached the rights of laborers and felt they should unionize to protect their jobs. (Amer Exp 2) As a result of Carnegie’s strong reputation his stand for unionization sent a message to the world that unions can and should be allowed. He persevered to shorten the average workday, and saw industry as a corporation between the worker and the employer. Carnegie felt that work and money were a means to an end. His goal in industry wasn’t to become the richest man but instead to improve himself to benefit the greater good of mankind. He felt that the best way to accomplish this goal was through communication.

Ending School Shootings

Justin Bizarro Mrs. Nye English 1301 14 November 2012 Stopping the Tragedy of School Shootings Every single day, millions of kids across the country wake up, get ready for the day, and head to school. The parents of these children trust the school with many things; a safe bus ride, a productive environment, and most importantly, keeping their kids safe throughout the day. School districts take pride in this, and on a normal basis, things will go smoothly. Despite all of their efforts, though, one of the most serious and saddening problems that affects schools today is the occurrence of school shootings.Since 1980, there have been over 50 deadly shootings in the United States that occurred on school campuses. There have been many actions taken to prevent these terrible acts, but because they are so unpredictable, shootings still occur. There are many more things we can do to prevent school shootings, horrible events that do not need to occur, and to help those who suffer from thoughts of violence. Shootings have been a problem for hundreds of years. Beginning in 1927, individuals have been driven to intense measures and have taken it out on classmates, teachers, or even random victims.Unfortunately, almost every single incident involving school shootings could have been avoided if people would have taken precautions and said something. Dr. Fred Bemak, a professor at George Mason University, feels that situations can be dodged if we just talk to one another. â€Å"This is a very individualistic society, and we need to work more toward becoming a collective one. We need to work in groups to help foster tolerance and acceptance for others† (Orr 92). One of the most saddening things is the fact that often times, the attacker is a victim driven to these extremes.There are many different things that can be pointed to as the cause of school shootings, including mental disorders and family trouble, but perhaps the largest contributor is bullying. â€Å"One-third of U. S. students have experienced bullying, either as a target or the perpetrator, and 8 percent of those reported bullying or being bullied at least once a week† (Orr 25). We constantly hear the media telling us about how serious of a problem bullying in schools is, but even the news underestimates how bad it is.According to a study produced by Secret Service after the Columbine shooting, one of the most famous deadly school shootings ever, bullying is a leading cause in driving someone to a breaking point. â€Å"Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack† (Threat Assessment). Bullying is something that will never entirely go away, but there is not nearly enough being done to put an end to it. If this problem were taken out of the equation, hundreds of lives could have been saved.More programs need to be put into place that make people aware of this impending problem, and schools need to be more firm about putting their foot dow n against bullying when it occurs. In turn, the chances of a victim lashing out will be hugely diminished. In this day and age, firearms are much too easy to acquire. There are laws that say you must be a certain age to purchase a gun, and laws that make the punishments clear for supplying a minor with a weapon, but kids across the country find ways to get them illegally with ease. In the eyes of gun-control advocates, the correlation between violence and a growing supply of guns is clear: the greater availability of guns leads to more gun-related deaths† (Gun Control). Guns are a great thing for many reasons, and in the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, every American has the right to possess a gun, but in the wrong hands they can have deadly consequences. They also become all the more dangerous when someone driven to the breaking point owns one, and lashes out. Shootings can be entirely spontaneous and throwing a deadly weapon into the picture makes them all the scarier. Gu n-control advocates add that the mere existence of a gun in a home raises a family's risk of harm significantly. A 1993 study by criminologist Arthur Kellerman, for example, concluded that the presence of a gun in the home actually triples the risk that someone in the home will be killed† (Gun Control). By reducing the access to firearms, the school shootings will be directly effected in a positive way. Students aren’t the only people who start school shootings. There are countless stories of former students and adults coming onto school campuses and shooting them up.One of the leading questions is how did they get on to the campuses so easily? â€Å"Backers stress that the chief reason for imposing mandatory-ID policies is to improve the safety of students in school buildings and around campus. By requiring students to carry IDs, trespassers can be detected more easily, they say† (Student ID Cards). Generally, when someone wants to enter a school campus during t he school day, they have a specific purpose for going there. Assuming someone wanting to access a school is up to no good would be wrong, but it goes back to the old saying, â€Å"better safe than sorry†.ID’ing people coming and going from schools would definitely not be a hindrance to anyone, and if it could prevent deadly attacks from happening, what would the harm be? â€Å"More than three-quarters of school shooters had a history of suicidal thoughts, threats, gestures, or attempts. Most of these students were known to have been severely depressed or desperate at some point before their attacks† (Threat Assessment). Approximately 1 in 4 people in the United States suffer or have suffered from depression at some point in their lives. To really comprehend this, an understanding of the meaning depression is crucial.Dictionary. com defines depression as â€Å"a mental disorder characterized by extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy, and inability to concentrateà ¢â‚¬ . Depression is a serious mental-health issue, and it takes a strong toll on its victims. Thankfully, modern medicine is advanced enough that we can now treat people with this truly awful condition, helping their personal lives along with preventing possible dangerous situations stemming from this disorder. By beginning to identify these individuals, we can help them by getting them medical attention and counseling to assist them in their troubles.Many victims think that there is no hope for them, or anyone else they know, so they take drastic measures. No situation needs to ever be escalated to the point of violence, and if these victims can be helped soon enough, we could prevent shootings everywhere. After a school shooting occurs, there is often a common feeling of sorrow, a tense atmosphere, and a sense of confusion, and rightfully so, considering that people have been hurt or killed. The way that the school and teachers cope with the aftermath is a crucial step in healin g. Beyond just dealing with the physical injuries and/or deaths, there will be students who are emotionally or mentally traumatized by the entire incident† (Orr 150). These students have just seen things that no one should ever have see, and people that they knew on a daily basis were either involved or affected. At this stage, teachers have a right to take action, and there is more that can be done. Counseling is a very good solution for these students. Talking about how they are feeling is proven to help the healing process, and it can help spot students who may be having the same thoughts as the shooter, but have hidden them. Schools may decide to have prepared crisis teams on hand to help students with their various reactions, which may include anything from suicide to paralyzing grief to insomnia to paranoia† (Orr 150). This is just another way that future violent events can be prevented, and a difference can be made in schools across America. School shootings have been a problem in our country for too long. As we continue to grow as a nation, we must remember all of those victims of shootings- not just those people who have passed away, but the families of those people as well.The easy thing to do is to condescendingly look at all of the hurt and pain, destruction and havoc caused by school shootings, but instead of turning into pessimists. We should be optimistic about the good things going on to defend against these attacks. A wise man once pointed out, â€Å"Rome wasn’t built in a day†. While we learn in our knowledge of techniques for ending this problem, we need to be patient and realize that when tragedies do occur, we can turn them into valuable learning experiences.By putting a stop to bullying, being more careful with gun laws, and helping those who suffer from depression, we can prevent school shootings. Let’s band together, take a stand, and act to save lives across the country. Works Cited â€Å"Key Findings from the ‘Threat Assessment' Guide for Schools. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. Orr, Tamra. â€Å"Violence In Our Schools: Halls of Hope, Halls of Fear. † Danbury: Scholastic, 2003. Print. â€Å"School Safety. Issues & Controversies On File: Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 15 Feb. 2005. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. â€Å"School Safety: Statistical Update. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Student ID Cards. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 17 Dec. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Update: Gun Control. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 29 May 1998. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. Ending School Shootings Justin Bizarro Mrs. Nye English 1301 14 November 2012 Stopping the Tragedy of School Shootings Every single day, millions of kids across the country wake up, get ready for the day, and head to school. The parents of these children trust the school with many things; a safe bus ride, a productive environment, and most importantly, keeping their kids safe throughout the day. School districts take pride in this, and on a normal basis, things will go smoothly. Despite all of their efforts, though, one of the most serious and saddening problems that affects schools today is the occurrence of school shootings.Since 1980, there have been over 50 deadly shootings in the United States that occurred on school campuses. There have been many actions taken to prevent these terrible acts, but because they are so unpredictable, shootings still occur. There are many more things we can do to prevent school shootings, horrible events that do not need to occur, and to help those who suffer from thoughts of violence. Shootings have been a problem for hundreds of years. Beginning in 1927, individuals have been driven to intense measures and have taken it out on classmates, teachers, or even random victims.Unfortunately, almost every single incident involving school shootings could have been avoided if people would have taken precautions and said something. Dr. Fred Bemak, a professor at George Mason University, feels that situations can be dodged if we just talk to one another. â€Å"This is a very individualistic society, and we need to work more toward becoming a collective one. We need to work in groups to help foster tolerance and acceptance for others† (Orr 92). One of the most saddening things is the fact that often times, the attacker is a victim driven to these extremes.There are many different things that can be pointed to as the cause of school shootings, including mental disorders and family trouble, but perhaps the largest contributor is bullying. â€Å"One-third of U. S. students have experienced bullying, either as a target or the perpetrator, and 8 percent of those reported bullying or being bullied at least once a week† (Orr 25). We constantly hear the media telling us about how serious of a problem bullying in schools is, but even the news underestimates how bad it is.According to a study produced by Secret Service after the Columbine shooting, one of the most famous deadly school shootings ever, bullying is a leading cause in driving someone to a breaking point. â€Å"Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack† (Threat Assessment). Bullying is something that will never entirely go away, but there is not nearly enough being done to put an end to it. If this problem were taken out of the equation, hundreds of lives could have been saved.More programs need to be put into place that make people aware of this impending problem, and schools need to be more firm about putting their foot dow n against bullying when it occurs. In turn, the chances of a victim lashing out will be hugely diminished. In this day and age, firearms are much too easy to acquire. There are laws that say you must be a certain age to purchase a gun, and laws that make the punishments clear for supplying a minor with a weapon, but kids across the country find ways to get them illegally with ease. In the eyes of gun-control advocates, the correlation between violence and a growing supply of guns is clear: the greater availability of guns leads to more gun-related deaths† (Gun Control). Guns are a great thing for many reasons, and in the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, every American has the right to possess a gun, but in the wrong hands they can have deadly consequences. They also become all the more dangerous when someone driven to the breaking point owns one, and lashes out. Shootings can be entirely spontaneous and throwing a deadly weapon into the picture makes them all the scarier. Gu n-control advocates add that the mere existence of a gun in a home raises a family's risk of harm significantly. A 1993 study by criminologist Arthur Kellerman, for example, concluded that the presence of a gun in the home actually triples the risk that someone in the home will be killed† (Gun Control). By reducing the access to firearms, the school shootings will be directly effected in a positive way. Students aren’t the only people who start school shootings. There are countless stories of former students and adults coming onto school campuses and shooting them up.One of the leading questions is how did they get on to the campuses so easily? â€Å"Backers stress that the chief reason for imposing mandatory-ID policies is to improve the safety of students in school buildings and around campus. By requiring students to carry IDs, trespassers can be detected more easily, they say† (Student ID Cards). Generally, when someone wants to enter a school campus during t he school day, they have a specific purpose for going there. Assuming someone wanting to access a school is up to no good would be wrong, but it goes back to the old saying, â€Å"better safe than sorry†.ID’ing people coming and going from schools would definitely not be a hindrance to anyone, and if it could prevent deadly attacks from happening, what would the harm be? â€Å"More than three-quarters of school shooters had a history of suicidal thoughts, threats, gestures, or attempts. Most of these students were known to have been severely depressed or desperate at some point before their attacks† (Threat Assessment). Approximately 1 in 4 people in the United States suffer or have suffered from depression at some point in their lives. To really comprehend this, an understanding of the meaning depression is crucial.Dictionary. com defines depression as â€Å"a mental disorder characterized by extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy, and inability to concentrateà ¢â‚¬ . Depression is a serious mental-health issue, and it takes a strong toll on its victims. Thankfully, modern medicine is advanced enough that we can now treat people with this truly awful condition, helping their personal lives along with preventing possible dangerous situations stemming from this disorder. By beginning to identify these individuals, we can help them by getting them medical attention and counseling to assist them in their troubles.Many victims think that there is no hope for them, or anyone else they know, so they take drastic measures. No situation needs to ever be escalated to the point of violence, and if these victims can be helped soon enough, we could prevent shootings everywhere. After a school shooting occurs, there is often a common feeling of sorrow, a tense atmosphere, and a sense of confusion, and rightfully so, considering that people have been hurt or killed. The way that the school and teachers cope with the aftermath is a crucial step in healin g. Beyond just dealing with the physical injuries and/or deaths, there will be students who are emotionally or mentally traumatized by the entire incident† (Orr 150). These students have just seen things that no one should ever have see, and people that they knew on a daily basis were either involved or affected. At this stage, teachers have a right to take action, and there is more that can be done. Counseling is a very good solution for these students. Talking about how they are feeling is proven to help the healing process, and it can help spot students who may be having the same thoughts as the shooter, but have hidden them. Schools may decide to have prepared crisis teams on hand to help students with their various reactions, which may include anything from suicide to paralyzing grief to insomnia to paranoia† (Orr 150). This is just another way that future violent events can be prevented, and a difference can be made in schools across America. School shootings have been a problem in our country for too long. As we continue to grow as a nation, we must remember all of those victims of shootings- not just those people who have passed away, but the families of those people as well.The easy thing to do is to condescendingly look at all of the hurt and pain, destruction and havoc caused by school shootings, but instead of turning into pessimists. We should be optimistic about the good things going on to defend against these attacks. A wise man once pointed out, â€Å"Rome wasn’t built in a day†. While we learn in our knowledge of techniques for ending this problem, we need to be patient and realize that when tragedies do occur, we can turn them into valuable learning experiences.By putting a stop to bullying, being more careful with gun laws, and helping those who suffer from depression, we can prevent school shootings. Let’s band together, take a stand, and act to save lives across the country. Works Cited â€Å"Key Findings from the ‘Threat Assessment' Guide for Schools. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. Orr, Tamra. â€Å"Violence In Our Schools: Halls of Hope, Halls of Fear. † Danbury: Scholastic, 2003. Print. â€Å"School Safety. Issues & Controversies On File: Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 15 Feb. 2005. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. â€Å"School Safety: Statistical Update. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 2 Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Student ID Cards. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 17 Dec. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Update: Gun Control. † Issues ; Controversies On File: Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 29 May 1998. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.