Thoreau and Cultural Change of the Sixties free essay sample

This paper discusses the works of Henry David Thoreau and the debate whether his writings were truly an influence on the 1960s cultural revolution, or if his works were misconstrued by society. This paper examines the influence of Thoreau?s writings on the 1960?s Cultural Revolution. It looks at the cultural change that took place during the 60s and how his writings laid the foundation for the social system, which prevails in America today. The author also discusses the argument that Thoreau?s views were not in conformity with the cultural change of 60s, rather different generations formed own their views and presented contorted interpretations of Thoreau?s beliefs. In order to gain a better understanding of Thoreaus writings, it is important to discuss the movement and philosophy, which had a major impact on his work. Thoreau was an unknown and unpublished writer when Ralph Waldo Emerson published Nature, an essay which articulates the philosophical underpinnings of the Transcendentalist movement. We will write a custom essay sample on Thoreau and Cultural Change of the Sixties or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This religious and social philosophy aimed at encouraging independent spiritual thinking. Most of the proponents of this movement were Unitarian ministers who dismissed the rationalist and conservative view of life. Thoreau later became an influential part of this movements and along with Emerson, he also came to be regarded as the one the greatest American thinkers and philosophers. The writings of Emerson had been an inspiration for Thoreau and his writings often illustrate the same philosophical depth. In his famous essay Nature, Emerson wrote, The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe Why should not we have poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?

Television Censorship essays

Television Censorship essays Television is one of the most watched things. Everyone watches television. Adults watch it at most times while children watch it sometimes. It is a great necessity in today's society. Since it is watched by both children and adults all the content should be suitable. What people watch on t.v. are violence, offensive language, and bad things overall. Censorship should be a very important part of t.v. It would limit the things that are allowed to be shown and said. Children learn every thing they hear and watch. Adults get some ideas from T.V. that are bad most of the times. Television has a great deal of effect on all of society for this reason it should be censored to the fullest. Because of the First Amendment and the FCC to the Constitution stations have decreased the amount of violence exhibited on television. Censoring television is very important. It is a topic which is sometimes overlooked.. Little kids pick up everything they watch and listen. Television affects children in a negative way. They are listening to profanity and watching violent things. It should be censored to the fullest. Everything should have a rating in which it says whether it is suitable for children or not. All the bad things should be played late at night. These children are the future of the world. What are we teaching them? Censorship on movies and television should be used in the fullest way possible. It should not allow some of the things that it does allow. Part of the problem of crime is related to T.V. Most of the stuff on is about killing, stealing and all sorts of bad things. These movies give people ideas. If someone is watching a certain person that they like or something they did they might end up doing it. I read a piece by Mark Gerzon in which he wrote something interesting . He was talking about a man who shot and almost killed president Regan. The asked him why he did it ...

Objectives against Marxism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Objectives against Marxism - Essay Example Marxism is an economic worldview that is based on the assumption that a few people control all the means of production and that they reap all the benefits at the expense of those who work for them. According to Marxists, the workers, or the proletariat, will at one time in the future come to overthrow the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production. The majority of those who claim to believe in this philosophy have yet to prove that it can actually work. The Marxist philosophy has come to be applied in many fields including politics, and in the latter, it has been manifested through communism and socialism. For several decades in the twentieth century, Marxism was a powerful force on the world scene but because of its unsustainable nature, it has come to be relegated to the background in the recent years. While there are powerful arguments for the Marxist philosophy, there are also more potent arguments against it and most of the latter arguments are because it is unsustainable. Mar xism became a powerful force in the early twentieth century because its philosophy came to attract those people who had long been oppressed by their rulers. The early Marxists were men who had been raised in poverty and when they found this new philosophy, they felt that they could use it to improve their lot in life (Evans 762). What these people failed to realize is that Marxism is an utopian, which cannot be realistically implemented. This can be seen through the utter failure of the political systems based on Marxism that have so far failed to survive. Marxist governments, for example, have made the life of their people far worse than they were previously. A current case to note is the ongoing one in North Korea where despite the fact that the government still officially declares itself to be communist; the behavior of its ruling elite is a far cry from the Marxist philosophy upon which it was founded. While the people of this country continue to suffer, the elite live a life of luxury that the former can only dream of. In fact, it can be said that the North Korean elite has turned its back on the ordinary people, many of whom not only live in poverty, but are also suffer from malnutrition. This is an absolute failure of Marxism in the modern world and perhaps this country and its people would do much better if it had a government that had a free market philosophy as well as being democratic. An obvious example is South Korea, which took an opposite direction compared to its northern neighbor and is now one of the most respected economies in the world. The failure of Marxism as a political philosophy can be said to have been revealed during the Cold War when the Soviet Union had to work far harder than the United States in order to be able to compete with the latter. The communist system of government practiced in the Soviet Union was based on Marxist philosophy, where the state controlled every aspect of its economy (Skousen 500). The people who worked in the Soviet economy were given very little incentive to be more productive. Everybody was given a quota to meet and once that was done, then no more was required of them. Workers were treated more like machinery than as people who were essential for the development of the economy. There were certain instances where people did not even bother to work because they had no incentive to do so. They were not given any opportunity to be innovative in their work places, and even though they worked extraordinarily hard, under extreme conditions, they were given very little pay. The soviet economy therefore, did not have enough opportunity to ensure that it was diversified enough to stay competitive on the global scene.

The Battle of Midway - A Naval Analysis Research Paper

The Battle of Midway - A Naval Analysis - Research Paper Example In essence, this combat was at Midway atoll which was a mid-pacific naval base because of the high water tower visible in the area. In the past, Japan portrayed prowess over the US navy hence making them strike any where that they chose to without seeking consent from the US navy. However, The Battle of Midway created an equal platter for the two naval entities to take deemed offensiveness on one another. With these shallow facts presented, this essay will investigate the Battle of Midway and the significance it had on the historic past of the United States. Background information Primarily, Japan had strong convictions about eliminating US control over the greater Pacific region as a way of allowing themselves to create a larger Asian sphere for prosperity. For them, taking war to the Americans meant that Japan had demoralized them through defeat as a way of gaining upper recognition in the Pacific war. As part of their plan, Japan intended to lure US aircraft fleets into a trap tha t would allow them to be occupants of Midway on US soil. This action drew influence from the Doolittle Raid that made Japan cautious that facilitated the expansion of their perimeter defense area. However, the operation failed miserably because the US navy broke Japanese naval codes that provided information on the time and location of their deliberated attack 1. In essence, Japan intended to use Midway as a potential combat location that would have furthered attacks n Islands like Fiji and Samoa. In this regard, the forewarning enabled assisted the US in their setting up of a successful ambush of four out of six aircraft carriers as a vengeance plot for their own carriers attacked by Japan. Japanese battle plan As history would present it, the attack mission was under the able leadership of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku that focused on winning the US over as they had done to Malaya, Phillipines, and Indonesia. However, there resulted internal wrangles between the Imperial Army and the N avy that led to delayed plans for the attack. In due time, the conflict achieved solutions as Yamamoto threatened to resign citing no cooperation from their counterparts. Finally, the two war agencies adopted his hatched plan to the latter. Essentially, Yamamoto was for the idea of destroying US aircraft forces as the country served as the primary hurdle to conquering the pacific. Moreover, the heightening of this concern drew influence from the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942 where US targets bombed Japanese cities. From this attack, the Japanese viewed American carriers as merciless threats as they were able to penetrate their territory with ease that tormented the Japanese psychologically. In his attack plan, Yamamoto intended to knock down defenses that existed in Midway and then establish a Japanese owned airbase there. The plan included an assault attack led by Deputy Admiral Nagumo Chuichi and his aircraft carrier from the North West. This would have weakened the forces of d efense in Midway to facilitate a strike on US warships. Next in the battle aircraft line would be a battleship with Admiral Yamamoto on-board who was to be the heavy Ferrier of gun powder essential for the war. Additionally, vice admiral Kondo Nobutake was to come from the southwestern and the western side whose role in the battle of Midway was to secure the area

Psychological Perspectives in Health and Social Care

Psychological Perspectives in Health and Social Care Behaviourist theories might say Katya has turned out the way she has due to the way she has been treated by her father. Katya did not get the love or attention she needed as a child, and because of this when her father sexually abused her, she saw it as a reward by showing her love. Her father also had a drug problem, and as a reward could have possibly given them to her, and is why she deals class A drugs. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist came up with the classical conditioning theory. This involves putting an unconditioned response with a conditioned stimulus, which is the new learnt behaviour from putting the response and stimulus together. As Katya has been sexually abused at such a young age, she thinks that being sexually active is a normal thing to do at her age. This possibly has lead her to become a prostitute, which is extremely dangerous fro a girl of her age, due to catching STDs and not knowing the people she is sleeping with. Katya has never gone past the psychosexual stage of the 3-5 year olds. This is when children start to realise about sex. During peoples life stages, there are different psychosexual stages they go through. If they dont go through those stages, problems will occur in a change in personality. Sigmund Freud came up with this theory. He believed the mind can be divided into 2 main parts; the conscious mind, which is everything we are aware of, and memory is a part of this as we can retrieve information once it is made aware of again. This is also known as the preconscious mind is unpleasant, such as feelings, thoughts, urges. Most of the unconscious mind is unpleasant, such as feeling of pai n, conflict, anxiety. It influences behaviour even though we are unaware of it. Erik Erikson agreed with Freuds theory, but Erikson also believed that we move through a series of psychosocial crises with a different social focus at each stage, e.g. between the age of 0-1 the life crisis concerns developing thrust or mistrust in self or others. The social focus in this stage is the mother. The biological approach can make us understand how Katya has developed due to the environment she has been brought up in, (nurture) and her genes/behaviour (nature). Nature may have made Katya the way she is from the genes that have been passed on to her. Therefore, Katya may have got her fathers tendencies towards drinking and drug taking. Arnold Gesell (1880-1961) believed children went through development norms, which meant at a certain age they should be able to learn and understand certain things. Nurture could have influenced the way Katya behaves, as she does not really understand about certain things in life from not being told by role models, e.g. father, and does not know what her boundaries are. She also has not had any proper love, so that has leaded her to do other things, and from seeing what her father does, influences her to do things she should not. Task 2 The Social Learning Theory was developed by an American psychologist called Albert Bandura. He recognised that we learn things by observing people, also known as observational learning. Katyas assessment will be based on the impact in has on her life. Katyas emotional development has been because of seeing what her father has done to her as a child. Her father has been violent, and has locked her in the bathroom, so has not had good visible care, and does not understand how important it is and reacts against what people see. This is because she has seen her father act in this way and has copied him, as she sees him as a role model. For Katyas care plan, it would involve looking at different role models, as it can affect behaviour, as shown by Katya. In health and social care provisions, in order to promote anti-discrimination practices and behaviour, messages must be put forward which maximise attention. This can be done by using positive images, for example, people we admire like celebrities with messages which help promote anti discriminatory behaviour, so we copy what they do. The humanistic approach focuses on the idea of free will and the belief that we are capable of making choices. The 2 psychologists that approached this theory were Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Abraham Maslow believed that every human being require certain basic needs before they can approach the next level. This can be shown on the hierarchy of needs. Firstly, basic physical needs have to be met before progressing further, for example, food and water, well housed, and once those have been met, we then focus on our emotional needs. These are things such as feeling loved, high self-esteem and feeling or belong. Once all the needs are met, we strive to self actualise, which means reaching full potential in life. Carl Rogers was more interested in the concept of self. This is how we view ourselves. If children get praised, encouraged to succeed, and told they are valued, their self-concept will be positive and see themselves as someone who is worthwhile and competent. If they are told they are naughty or no good, it will have a negative affect and will affect part of their self-concept aspects. For Kaytas assessment, the humanistic approach can be applied on how it affects her life. Katya got treated badly as a child, making her feel not wanted by her father and un-loved. He would often shout violently at her, and if she cried or complained, and once Katyas father calmed down he would sexually abuse them. This will affect her self-concept as she has not been valued enough, and also it has affected her self-esteem as she has not had the love from others and does not know how to look after her appearance due to not being taught. On Maslows hierarchy of needs, Katya has not been able to progress further from the basic physical needs. This is because she has not been cared from properly, and is unable to move to the safety and security needs due to her father not being there for her. The humanistic approach can be applied for to health and social care provisions to help the problem. Unconditioned positive regard refers to a totally judgemental way of being with or viewing a client. The therapist supports clients feelings, beliefs and emotions un-conditioning. This means without judging whether their emotions are good or bad. Empathy is also used in helping others. It requires care workers to listen to clients, and respect them for whom they are and any emotions they have had to deal with. Jean Piaget came up with the cognitive theory, saying that cognition develops through a series of stages building on the previous stage, and so on. He believed we can only achieve certain things in certain stages in life, for example, a baby is only able to experience the world through sense perceptions (smell, touch, sight) and motor activity. This will then develop into the next stage which involves language, memory and thought and so on. For Katyas assessment, this theory has an impact on her life as she grew up to fast. This means that she has to cope with things at a certain age which her brain could not deal with. Am example of this would be her fathers behaviour towards Katya, not allowed to have any creative play by making things or decorating a dolls face and playing with its hair. In health and social care provisions, keeping a diary or record of negative thoughts and feelings can help to identify why they are feeling like the way they are. By identifying why they are feeling like that, care workers can help support the individuals through their problem. Task 3 The psychological perspectives I have chosen to analyse are the behavioural theory, biological theory and social learning theory. I have chosen these theories because they apply more for the way Katya is behaving. Psychological Perspectives Katyas Challenging Behaviour Behaviourist Theory Ivan Pavlov-reward good behaviour Ignore her bad behaviour that she shows. Is used to being rewarded for bad behaviour so when shouts and screams walk away. Make sticker reward chart, so when Katya shows good behaviour gets a sticker and when completes chart gets a reward, e.g. money. Biological Theory Arnold Gesell Nature/Nurture Katya may possibly be more sensitive to drugs because if her mum took drugs whilst she was pregnant with Katya, she may have been born a crack baby Could put Katya into rehab to get her weaned of the drugs and alcohol. Social Learning Theory Albert Bandura Observational Learning Remove or separate Katya away from those who are a bad influence towards her, e.g. father. This is the responsibility of a social worker. Arrange for Katya to see/meet a person who experienced and went through the same issues as her, and speak to her about how they have dealt with it and how they have turned out today- can be seen as a role model for Katya to help her deal with the problem she went through Health and Social care organisations can help Katyas behaviour through different types of therapies. The therapies that will help Katya come under the Psychodynamic theory (child psychotherapist), humanistic theory (child therapist), and cognitive theory (CBT-cognitive behavioural therapy). Psychological Therapies How it will help Katya Psychodynamic theory Child psychotherapist Help her to manage her difficulties with behaviour Help Katya develop new skills Help resolve her issue that she has dealt with Boost communication skills Lets her play and do activities and then once comfortable help her problems Humanistic theory Child Therapist Form strong relationships with the therapist- mode of communication and type of relationship facilitates change and growth in children experiencing emotional distress http://www.bapt.info/playtherapycareers.htm Cognitive Theory CBT Helps Katya make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts Focuses on the cause of her distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve her state of mind now. Identify Katyas individual patterns of thoughts, emotions, bodily feelings and actions and keep a diary record Help Katya to work out how to change her unhelpful thoughts and behaviours Helps Katya to replace unhappy thoughts with positive thoughts

Back to School Speech by Obama Essay

This essay is about President Barack Obama’s speech â€Å" Back to school â€Å" which he held September 8th 2009 at the Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. The overall message in the speech is whether young people are taking school serious and understand the importance of hard work. Not only for themselves but also for the future of the country. â€Å"Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia.† I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous.† Obama is starting out by addressing his audience like a father figure, trying to reach all realities in the audience by mentioning all the grades. He is making himself real to the audience, presenting himself as a guy who is down to earth. â€Å"Some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning† And already in line 10 â€Å"I know that feeling†. He is referring to his own life. He is explaining how he had to get up 4.30 every morning to study with his mom, and how he wasn’t too happy getting up that early. Here he is making himself real to the audience, explaining something from his childhood that they will understand. So here he is using pathos appealing to the feelings. From line 20, it’s like he is changing from being the friend of the audience to his role as the president of the United States again.â€Å" But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you.† From line 25, 30 and 35 he is revealing the essence of his speech. His message is that it is ones own commitment and hard work that will make one succeed in life. â€Å"You can have the most dedicated teachers and supportive parents, but unless you individually takes responsibility nothing of this is very helpful.† In line 40 and 50 he is more friendly againâ€Å" Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. † He is motivating the audience by saying that every person has something that they’re good at, that everyone has a important role In the American society. Obama is also very good at mentioning things many people can relate to in his speech. â€Å"Maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone. â€Å" Here he is mentioning the iphone that most children can relate to. From line 50 to 75 he talks more about morals again. He is very seriously talking about how everyone needs to have an education to get a job, and how it takes hard work. More important in Obama’s speech is that your education not only decides ones own future, but ones country’s future. Obama is really good to alternate between being judgmental and understanding through the speech, for example in the line â€Å" Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer.† He is very understanding and encouraging to the people, before he with this sentences; â€Å" If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. Is being very judgmental. From line 75 to 85 Obama is again being more understanding. Obama explains his personal difficulties from his own childhood, and that he understands school isn’t always easy. Obama explains how his father left the family when he was 2 years old, and that he was raised by a single mother without much money. â€Å"There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.† Obama then talks about how he through hard work was fortunate to go to college and follow his dream, to attempt law school. In this part of the speech Obama is using ethos. He is trying to be trustworthy. From line 95 Obama again set himself up as the country father. He explains that there is no excuse for having a bad attitude and also no excuse for not trying hard and giving your best towards education. From line 100â€Å" Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you.† Obama is referring to the American dream. Mentioning personal freedom and responsibility for ones own destiny. He explains that with hard work you can accomplish everything you want, no matter background or social rank. From the line 105 – 110 – 115 Obama is stressing his statement by giving some concrete examples about how real people with all sorts of difficulties, made it through hard work and determination. This is an example of logos, because he is giving concrete examples that are supportive to the message of the speech. From line 170 he is again referring to the American dream. â€Å"The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. â€Å" At the end of the speech from line 175 to 185 Obama is talking about America as a culture surviving through many decades.â€Å" It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation â€Å" Obama ask the audiences what they will do to pass on the American culture, and what people in about 50 years will remember from this time. And so he puts some positive pressure on the kids, hoping to get them to understand their responsibility to secure the American dream and culture in the future.

Katrina Possisble Solutions

Possible Solutions to prevent another Hurricane Katrina Sea gates are another option that have proven very affective in other areas of the world such as Holland, Britain, and Venice, which is also below sea level and has a large number of canals. Sea gates are simply giant air-filled walls that cut off water flow. These gates would most likely be placed on Lake Pontchartrain’s two narrow outlets and would be only be closed if a storm was approaching.Such structures have been considered since the 1960’s, but the idea was crushed in the late 1970’s because people feared the gates would disrupt marine life and sediment transportation. However this should not be an issue since the gates are open the majority of the time. The main hurdle is cost, ranging from $500 million to 1 billion Closing or covering certain canals is an option that would help prevent storm surges from reaching so far inland. Currently canals and channels can give storm surge direct access to inla nd neighborhoods.The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet [MRGO] is one of the canals that has caused major problems in the past. Where MRGO meets the Intracoastal Waterway there is a major area of funneling. The two fronts met at a narrowing point that forms the Industrial Canal and the water height is amplified 20-40%, putting intense pressure on floodwalls causing them to burst. After Hurricane Katrina hit the narrow strip of wetlands between MRGO and Lake Borgne got even smaller, bringing to reality the fear that the two waters might merge into one.MRGO has less than five ships navigating its channel per day; often times only one ship uses the outlet. MRGO has also amplified the wetland loss in the area, allowing salt water to intrude and kill off native vegetation. By keeping only heavily used channels open and turning the rest into trails or parks, flood damage could be reduced. Adding a subterranean drainage system to the city is another idea that engineers have come up with. This w ould include turning some canals into culverts (covering them with trails and parks) and then having heavy duty pumps (located on high ground) to pump the water fully out of the city.The culverts would help channel the water and get it out quickly in times of flood. This is a simple technology, but it is costly running about $1 million per mile of canal. Moving the pumping stations is a relatively simple way to help prevent New Orleans from being overwhelmed. Installing heavy-duty pumping stations on high ground or in areas where they can act as damn-like buffers would allow water to be pumped out even when the city is overwhelmed.During Hurricane Katrina, once the pumping stations were flooded the low areas just continued to rise in water level. Wetland rehabilitation is another plan that could help protect New Orleans from storm surge. Wetlands act as natural barriers against wind-driven waters, but wetlands are being destroyed by saltwater intrusion everyday. Hand planting is ver y costly and time consuming, making it hard to implement. Source: http://www. uwec. edu/jolhm/eh3/group7/futureneworleans. htm