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“Free Speech Can Be Messy, But We Need It’

By Lee Rowland, ACLU attorney

Edited version of a speech delivered on February 13, 2018

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“Free Speech Can Be Messy, But We Need It’

By Lee Rowland, ACLU attorney

Edited version of a speech delivered on February 13, 2018

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The year 2017 was a hell of a year for the First Amendment. Nowhere was more central to this culture war than the campuses of universities across America — including right here at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Two students found themselves embroiled in the biggest free speech controversies of recent years. Peter Cytanovic became the face of white nationalism when a picture of him snarling, holding a tiki torch at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville went viral. On the opposite end of the political spectrum, graduate Colin Kaepernick went on to the NFL and used his position to highlight police brutality and racial injustice by taking a knee during the national anthem. Both men became incredibly controversial for their speech. There were calls and campaigns for them to be expelled for their opinions.

But regardless of whether you agree with one of them, both of them, or neither, the First Amendment protects both of those men and their opinions from censorship and retaliation by the government.

That’s a good thing. Let me tell you why.

It’s becoming more common to call for lower legal protections for speech — specifically, that we should criminalize “hate speech.” I hear this from the left a lot. I think many on the left would love a world where Mr. Kaepernick could take a knee without any worry the government would force the NFL to fire him, but where a government school would still have the power to expel Mr. Cytanovic. This is a dangerous proposition.

I’m a progressive. It’s not hard for meto choose between white nationalism and racial justice. The first is abhorrent and racist. The other is a demand for equal rights. But what if we gave the government the power to decide which of those men was too hateful to speak? Look at our current president — he called Charlottesville marchers “very fine people,” while reserving his ire for Black NFL players, whom he called “sons of bitches.” Your idea of “hate speech” may not be the government’s idea of “hate speech.” I know mine isn’t. But even if you agree with Trump — are you sure our next president will agree with your worldview? You shouldn’t be.

That’s why I’m a true believer in the First Amendment. I am an anti-authoritarian. And I know that the government has historically wielded its raw power to silence those who speak truth to power. And because I want students everywhere to be able to take a knee without fear of government censorship, I know we have to cherish our robust First Amendment — even for speech that is hateful.

But even though I’m a free speech attorney, I find many of the common tropes and myths about free speech unsatisfying. I’m going to explain why I’m a true believer by debunking three of these common myths, and, in the process, hopefully reveal three practical tips for exercising your free speech rights powerfully and strategically.

Let’s start with one myth we all learned in kindergarten:

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Does anyone as an adult actually believe this? It’s manifestly untrue. I’m a free speech attorney precisely because I believe that words matter. We cannot protect free speech by denying its power.

So why on earth do we teach this obvious lie to kids? Because humans can be vicious. And when kids are at the receiving end of taunts, we want them empowered, not diminished, in the face of that injustice.

In February, notorious troll Milo Yiannopoulos had a planned speech at the University of California, Berkeley. Students and others in the community went nuts. There were protests. There were riots. Things were set on fire. The administration canceled his talk.

In April, there was a repeat — except this time it was Ann Coulter. She was going to speak, school officials said there would be riots, and they canceled her talk. Both of these individuals then spent 2017 identifying as victims of liberal censorship. And my god the media ate it up — they got more attention for being silenced than they did for trying to peddle actual substantive views.

A goal of professional provocateurs is to provoke the campus community into trying to silence them. Think of campus trolls as schoolyard bullies. Oh, their words definitely hurt. But the real question is: How do we respond to that hurt? A troll wants you to censor them. It feeds into their power and gives them something to sell. You don’t have to play that role.

Yes, there is power in hateful words. But there is also power in sass — in unwillingness to be goaded into a fight or to play the role of censor.

But not all words wound in the same way. That brings us to our second myth:

Hate speech isn’t protected by the First Amendment.

I often hear younger people say that hate speech isn’t protected by the First Amendment. But that’s untrue. As President Trump’s views of Mr. Kaepernick should make plain, “hate speech” is a flexible concept. Just this week, the Spanish government arrested and charged a man with “hate speech” for calling cops “slackers” on Facebook. That’s what criticizing the government looks like without a First Amendment. “Hate speech” can easily be redefined as speech that threatens the state.

But we shouldn’t only protect speech out of paranoia — there’s an upshot here, too. Our history shows the same First Amendment that protects hateful, racist speech can be and has been used by civil rights advocates to protect historically vulnerable communities.

Charles Brandenburg was an avowed racist convicted of “incitement to violence” for holding an Ohio Ku Klux Klan rally in the late 1960s. The KKK’s lawyers took it all the way up to the Supreme Court, arguing his hateful ideas were protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed with Brandenburg that his vicious, genocidal talk about Jews and Black people was constitutionally protected because it only fantasized about future violence. The court decided that before the government can punish speech, there has to be an immediate and specific riskof actual violence to a real person.

In a vacuum, that result might upset you. But at around the same time, NAACP leader and civil rights icon Charles Evers gave a passionate speech advocating a boycott of racist, white-owned businesses. He promised that he’d “break the damn neck” of any activist who broke the boycott. White business owners sued Evers and the NAACP for — you guessed it — “incitement,” arguing that his violent language had led to riots. But the NAACP looked to that Brandenberg case. Those civil rights leaders appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, to be sure that Mr. Evers benefitted from the same rights as a KKK member. And they succeeded.

The court boiled it down to this question: Are we talking about theoretical future violence, or is there an immediate risk of harm to a real person? And while there is nothing equivalent about the KKK and the NAACP, from that point of view, these cases looked the same.

There is reason to be skeptical that the rights extended to a KKK member will actually trickle down to someone like an NAACP leader. The hard truth is that every right in our society first gets distributed to the privileged and powerful. Americans did not get the right to vote at the same time regardless of sex or race. Today, your rights during an arrest — or your right to carry a gun — do not look the same for all races.

But would you say the answer to that uneven distribution of rights is to eliminate the very constitutional protections that enable us to fight the government when it violates them? No. Distributing our constitutional rights equally is a process. The First Amendment is no different.

It’s our job to ensure that everyone benefits from the same level of constitutional protection, that our free speech rights are truly “indivisible.” Our First Amendment is necessary to ensure that those who challenge the government are not silenced — but that’s not sufficient to ensure justice. We have to do the rest of the work.

So, are today’s students up for it? That brings us to our third and final myth:

Students today are snowflakes.

Public schools and universities are governed by the First Amendment. That means they can’t just keep hateful people off campus because of their views. That means Black and Jewish students have had to face white supremacists on campus; immigrant students have been demonized; women have had to endure campus speakers calling feminism a cancer. I guarantee you that most adults don’t have to pass by a group of people calling for their extermination on their walk into work. I don’t think students are snowflakes. I think you’re badasses.

When I tell you trying to silence or censor political enemies is wrong, it’s not because I think it’s weak. It’s because I think it’s unstrategic and strengthens the force of your opponents. But if silencing hateful speech isn’t an option, what does it look like to be empowered in the face of hate?

Learn more about Students’ Free Speech Rights

Sometimes the answer will be in your numbers. In August 2017, a group of alt-right protesters planned a gathering at Boston Common, labelling it the “Free Speech Rally.” Only dozens of the permit holders showed up. But ringing the Common were 40,000 people standing strong against racism. That huge counter-protest sent a powerful message of resistance: a blizzard of snowflakes. And it made clear the foolishness of one group trying to own the brand of “free speech.”

Sometimes all it takes is a single person to make a powerful statement. A few years ago, a musician, appalled by a KKK rally in his hometown of Charleston, didn’t bother to try to refute the racist ideas — he just followed them around with a sousaphone, loudly oompah-oompahing along. His message of protest was clear — without a single word.The marchers disbanded in short order when forced to peddle their message of hate over a goofy tuba line.

I believe in the First Amendment because it is our most powerful tool to keep the government from regulating the conversations that spark change in the world. If you want to keep having conversations that can change the world, you should embrace the First Amendment too — messiness and all.

I hope unpacking these myths has helped reveal some truths about how we can strategically exercise our powerful First Amendment rights:

Know your history. Know that the same high-water mark that hasprotected the most vile and hateful speakers has also protected civil rights and anti-war advocates.

Don’t silence your way out of a debate. Remember that a provocateur wants you to play censor. If you know that a speaker you disagree with — or one you believe is dangerous — is coming to your campus, remember how counterproductive silencing tactics can be.

Dance to your own tune. You can decide when to counter-protest, when to stage an alternative event, and when to ignore ideas unworthy of debate. The very choices you make for confronting — or ignoring — speech you abhor can become benchmarks for how you handle conflict throughout your life.

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“American Progressivism in the Wider Atlantic World”

“American Progressivism in the Wider Atlantic World” is an article by Daniel T. Rodgers is an article that focuses on a political movement in America that paid attention to ideas, compulsions, and issues that arose from the modernization of its Society. The author begins by referencing Ray Stannard Baker, and his ignorance of the effects nations had on each other (Rodgers 156). The paper’s argument begins with the idea that forces beyond its borders affect every nation, no matter how isolated. For a nation like America that was initially an imperial project, the complicity in world-historical forces significantly influenced it.

The author acknowledges that studies in progressive and New Deal politics are complex without an apparent end. Rodgers states that the United States during the 18th and 19th Centuries was a key outpost for European trade and a lure for European resources, which means it would be difficult to understand the nation without comprehending the North Atlantic trade. Therefore, the article focuses on capital policies and activities of major European economies during the said period. He concludes that the reconstruction of America was tied to movements of politics and ideas throughout this trade and capitalism.

The article continues to discuss the show of might between European nations in terms of economic and military power with Germany and France tied in fierce economic propaganda (157). It goes on to discuss the changes that happened to the Atlantic economy that was refurbished to inspire a new Atlantic-Wide politics that included America, a nation far away from centers where policies for this system were made. Progressive politics was an English denominator that came to America after the New Atlantic economy shook popular political parties. New politicians enjoyed this novel issues and benefited from them as they were propelled to power and popularity. Such figures in America were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson (160). Rodgers calls this new set of politicians Advanced progressives.

According to Rodgers, American Progressives relied heavily on Europe and benchmarked their experience and ideas. From the article, one realizes that advanced progressives during the 18th Century had ambitions borrowed from Europe with cities not controlled by entrepreneurs, contractors, grafters, or franchises but with people aware of their own administration and in control of their fate. The advanced progressive compared their progress against cities like Glasgow and admired how different sides of a political divide were in harness and focused on details.

Works Cited

Rodgers, D. T. (1998). Atlantic crossings. Harvard University Press.

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“Just Clean Your Hands” Case Study

How would you feel if your negligence leads to the death of your most valued family member, friend, or relative? Accordingly, every individual must strive to embrace ethical behaviours and duly execute their roles and responsibilities to encourage the wellbeing of other people in the community.

Unfortunately, humans tend to learn from mistakes which could attract detrimental consequences. For example, in the 19th century, many women in Europe succumbed to childbed fever during delivery periods (Case Study 19). Luckily, an appropriate intervention by a brilliant doctor called Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis led to a drastic reduction in the number of deaths. Precisely, Semmelweis commanded every medical staff and student to wash their hands before attending to women in labour. As a result, the mortality rate among delivering women dropped to under one percent (Case Study 20). Therefore, several lives perished before healthcare management discovered the cause and solution to the rampant deaths among mothers. Hence, healthcare management must remain vigilant and proactive in identifying and preventing potential risks.

Although hand-washing proves to be one of the most effective ways through which humans can prevent communicable diseases, some individuals and institutions do not exhibit a hundred percent compliance to practice (Case Study 22). As a result, healthcare-associated infections (HAI) have been common in various parts of the globe. For instance, Canada experienced more than 250, 000 cases of HAI with over 8,000 deaths per year from the infections. Consequently, Canada spent millions of money in handling the HAI (Case Study 20). Hence, healthcare facilities should endeavour to ensure a hundred percent compliance with the hand-washing policy that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims to prevent the spread of diseases effectively. Canada, and probably other nations, could not have encountered many cases of HAI, related deaths and expenditure of huge amounts of money on treating the sick had it adopted the policy.

Unluckily, manly healthcare providers tend not to comply with the hand-washing policy even after learning on the importance of the practice and vigorous campaigns. In 2009, only 39 percent of doctors and 65 percent of nurses embraced hand-washing practice. (……Image……( https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.smh.com.au%2F2009%2F10%2F18%2F797040%2Fwashingcomplaince-graphic-420×0.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tapatalk.com%2Fgroups%2Foneworldtalk%2Faussie-doctors-don-t-wash-hands-often-risk-of-infe-t2879.html&tbnid=Ilw7duK3qk1Q0M&vet=10CIABEDMoogFqFwoTCKj9tsuFg-gCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAC..i&docid=oqPZFvb5oWAtLM&w=420&h=319&q=images%20for%20infections%20from%20not%20washing%20hands&ved=0CIABEDMoogFqFwoTCKj9tsuFg-gCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAC)) ( intext citation: Wallace). Therefore, it is ethically wrong for a nation and its healthcare facilities to allow the spread of infections by not embracing particular strategies that have been tested and proven to be effective in handling contagious infections.

Furthermore, disease-causing microorganisms that are linked with HAI are highly-challenging and difficult to be contained. First, such pathogens exhibit high-resistance to antibiotics. Consequently, the pathogens could lead to more deaths as well as massive costs of research, treatment and care for patients. Besides, some of the microorganisms can survive in harsh environments for more extended periods of up to sixty minutes. Subsequently, there are high chances that pathogens come in contact with more people. As a result, more infections could overwhelm healthcare facilities. Thus, concerned authorities should endeavour to prevent the spread of the diseases to gain better reputations and trust from the public and remain highly-effective and efficient in treating patients suffering from ailments they contracted outside their facilities.

Also, it is hurting and demoralizing to learn that an individual could contract new diseases by visiting healthcare facilities. Instead of treating patients as usual, healthcare facilities would turn out to be the origin of further infections by not embracing hand-washing practices. Besides, healthy people, including healthcare providers, medical students, managers and persons visiting the sick at hospitals could become victims of HAI when hand-washing is not practised. Healthcare staff inevitably come in contact with patients because they could be physically examining them or administering drugs (Case Study 20). Subsequently, the healthcare staff could transmit more deadly pathogens to patients who were initially suffering from acute infections. Although healthcare providers could be unaware of the pathogens, they would be held accountable for the consequences of their actions.

On the contrary, healthcare providers could contract infections from patients. Subsequently, sick healthcare staff would remain less effective and inefficient while delivering relevant services. As part of the management team, therefore, the Board of Governors should strive to ensure a healthy and safe work environment for its employees, patients and visitors to promote better service provision.

As responsible parties, local authorities, especially the Board of Governors for healthcare facilities, should strive to ensure a hundred percent compliance with the policy of hand-washing to prevent HAI. In the long-run, healthcare facilities, local authorities and governments would save lots of money that could otherwise be used to treat new infections, contact further research with regards to the development of antibiotics and establishment of more healthcare facilities. Moreover, the interested parties would not incur substantial expenses in the short-term since the practice of hand-washing demand relatively limited and less-costly resources such as sterilizers, antiseptics and disinfectants. However, additional efforts should be employed to ensure that every healthcare staff, medical student, visitors and other relevant persons wash their hands before coming in contact with patients and their environments. Specifically, more punitive measures should be developed and implemented against individual who breaches the policy. Therefore, the Board of Governors should adequately exercise their mandate and responsibilities of ensuring orderly and operating healthcare facilities where applicable rules and regulations are strictly adhered to by all the concerned parties.

Overall, hand-washing serves as an effective way through which healthcare facilities would discourage the spread of contagious diseases. Unfortunately, a hundred percent compliance of the policy is yet to be achieved. Therefore, concerned authorities, including the Board of Governors, should invest reasonably in ensuring that adequate resources for hand-washing practices are available. Besides, additional efforts should be employed to ensure strict adherence to the policy. Since it is relatively cheap and highly-beneficial for healthcare facilities to implement the strategy, the Board of Governors should use their powers and authority to ensure a hundred percent compliance.

Works Cited

Case Study

Wallace, Natasha. “In The Wash-Up, Doctors Forget About Hygiene”. The Sydney Morning Herald, 2009, https://www.smh.com.au/national/in-the-washup-doctors-forget-about-hygiene-20091018-h303.html.

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How I became a ballerina

I used to watch it in movies, cartoons and wondered if it were real and whether one day I could be able to practice and become a ballerina. A ballerina is a person that trains in dancing on the art of classical ballet. My mum told me I was dancing in her womb any time would hear music. When I became 2years I would dance around the house and when she would put aerobics discs on the television, I would watch her and do the moves with her. She saw it being odd that I could pick up a choreography. I went to Chisholm Trail Elementary School that encouraged children on working on their talents. This was the only school that was putting on a school wide production to emphasize diversity. I trained in school only on club days and got more interested to do ballet at my free time at home.

By the time I attained 10 years I had already enrolled to ballet class which happened on a daily basis including the weekends. I practiced ballet, jazz and modern dance. I also trained at school to complement my ballet training. I knew I wanted to be a ballerina from as early as I can remember. It has been pretty cool to have the same drive and passion for all this years. Being a ballerina did not choose one‘s gender but one had a hierarchy and strict gender roles. It required great extensive training and appropriate techniques to become a professional ballerina.

When I was 10, my coach, Vanessa Pidel realized I had a passion to become a dancer. She was the organizer of the Ballet Royale Institute of Chicago. She was so impressed and she asked me if I wanted to become a professional ballerina. I nod my head though I knew I would only do this as a part time task. She took charge of training me since I was 11 until I became a professional dancer at age 15. My dream to become a ballerina has been characterized by hard work and never-ending desire to prosper in ballet dancing. I would not have achieved what I am today without my role model Johnny Pidel and adequate practice. Through training and continued efforts of practicing, I have enhanced my balance as well as continuing with my academics.

My parents have always wanted me to perform academically and become a great person in life. I went to a national high school, and I was always dedicated to my academics. In our home every one puts education as the first priority before any other career. Hence, there was no excuse for evading school, even with a busy schedule. My mother is a lecturer at Howard University and my dad holds a PhD in Doctorate.

I would get up early to practice work outs in the morning on my own then go to school from 7:00 a.m. until 2 p.m. From 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. I would train in private lessons. I never had social life since all holiday breaks I spent on training, however I loved my dream and never felt like I missed out on anything. I made friends who were dancers too and we encouraged each other’s as we flirted to one another on having great skill.

I started attending competitions programs and I remember I spent all my summers in New York City attending to dancing competition programs. I joined a national youth club called MYSA in Chicago which went all around the world helping and encouraging young people to join productive associations. The youths need to engage in positive programs to prevent them from having pressure on drugs intake and other destructions. I took the SATs, but I was hoping to get a contract for youth’s empowerment. I would train small children how to become ballerinas and help them on their balance. As a ballerina, one has to start when he/she is very young. By the time one is 21years, she should be well on the way to one’s career.

During my last year in high school, my private teachers invited me to New York City in order to take a class with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Instead of being in a formal audition, ballet companies prefer to hold open classes that people tend to take when invited. This helps the person performing to be noticed. Hence the teachers would invite me and I would do my best in the performance. One day they invited me day for class and the founder Arthur Mitchell was present. He is one of the biggest dancing icons, so I was thrilled just imagining am in the same room with him. After classes, he took me aside and corrected me and invited me in the junior company. He said, “Hey you are pretty cool in your moves, could you come and perform in our summer academy, in case they like your performance they will pick you up”. I got my first trophy for being the best ballerina from my county.

All I wanted is to start working as a ballerina trainer since I had trained almost all my life. Hence I wasn’t so interested but I said its okay. After some weeks I had attended Dance Theatre of Harlem and surprising enough Mr. Arthur was a master class teacher here. He saw me and we had a chat. He asked for my contact and he left. The next day he called me and offered me a position in the company like an apprentice which was an entry level job for a professional dancer.

I was only 16 and this was the beginning of my senior year of high school. I moved to New York City for the job as well as finished my classes through correspondence with the Professional Children’s School. My uncle lived there, so I had a family there, which made it easier for me transit. I lived with my uncle and cousins for three months, then moved-in into a housing facility near Columbia University offered by the college. When I was 17 I moved in with a roommate into an apartment. Being an apprentice dancer, it was the most bottom offer and most people see it as a peanut paying job. Despite all that I promised myself to do my best to honor and perform my job. This was a very fortunate time for work when there were new upcoming choreographers in Dance Theatre of Harlem.

This was magic to me since I had a chance to be noticed. Whenever a choreographer likes you, they would take you regardless of your ranking in your company. I worked as an apprentice for 6months and got promoted as a core member. This brought up more opportunities for bigger positions and I got more money. I changed all my academic classes to be part time so as to work since the hours were contradicting. For a dancer’s the work schedule is a little different, I would start my day. For a two-hour company class at 10 a.m., this focused on conditioning, technique and strength. I would arrive by 9 a.m. to do stretches, yoga, study videos, and do physical therapy. Then I would attend rehearsals from afternoon till 6p.m and finally I would attend my academic classes from 7p.m to 9p.m.

The physicality of the job together with travel and injuries is hard to endure at times. I’ve had a lot of injuries through my career. I find it a blessing and a curse. I have a very flexible body, which is wonderful for dance, but it makes my body more unstable and susceptible to injury. i had one foot surgery at one point made me differ my classes and job for a year. I had swelling in my foot from time to time, however this does not kill my passion to work as a ballerina. I was 18years after being recognized within the dance world. I got amazing reviews in New York Times, and people recognized me all around.

Coming to my academics, I love to read and I know am a decent writer. In school I had an internship in the marketing department. I started branding and advertising, and got a sponsorship and philanthropic giving. Most of the firms that I worked with gave a lot to arts organizations and arts education. They sponsored me to all my remaining academic sessions. In 2012 I prolonged a full-time offer upon graduation, and I accepted it.

I’m now doing this course and I have learned to truly convey an interest in learning and teaching ballerina to my classmates. I would wish to help my classmates discover their talents and those who don’t have some teach them ballerina. It has been 3years since I went ballerina classes but I still love dancing. I attend dancing clubs during my free time. I still have my ballerina skills on, though currently I have put all my efforts on education. When you really love something, it stays in your heart as ballerina will always be.

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Rape

At one time in a human’s life, one can undergo a very traumatizing experience that can end up having an irreversible effect on the person. The traumatizing experience can be as result of the death of a very close friend or relative. Seeing a horrible accident scene, or surviving a ghastly accident but ending up losing a limb in the process. Many people undergo traumatizing experiences in their line of duty almost on a daily basis. Doctors at times watch some of their patients die right in front of them. Although these cases are traumatizing, they are used to them because they have been trained to handle such situations. As a young girl, I endured a rape ordeal that marked the turning point in my life. My painful experience and the appreciation that people have a lot going on in their lives inspired me to join and enjoy volunteering work.

In the early 1980s, a fierce famine was experienced in Ethiopia. Thousands of people were dying because of the lack of food. A journalist managed to take of a photo of a child being trailed by a vulture waiting for the child to drop dead so that it could feast on him. The photo motivated the whole world to give whatever they could to help the people in Ethiopia, Unfortunately, the journalist who took the photo later committed suicide owing to the psychological torment he endured in Africa. This is incident is a good illustration of my drive to volunteering work.

There is nothing more traumatizing for a woman or a little girl than being raped. Most women never recover from such an experience, but are haunted them for the rest of their lives. When I was 16 years old, I was raped! For a girl of that age, it had both emotional and physical effects. Instead of running to my parents, I chose to handle the experience alone. The reason why I did that was to beat the notion that whoever raped satisfied his ego by destroying my spirit. I was stronger than he thought! For four years, I kept the issue to myself and made a resolve to make the best of the situation, instead of feeling sorry for myself.

Men who rape women want the woman to feel inferior or awful. I decided not to stoop that low and made a resolution to become a much stronger, industrious and compassionate person. Instead of waiting to be helped I set out to help others who are in desperate need of rescue. The experience helped me realize that some people undergo much traumatizing situations than mine, but they still pick up the pieces and move on.

With each passing year, I become a stronger and better person. I realized that no matter how hard I cried, the situation would not change. I saw it fit not to let the experience drag me behind and that is when I chose to volunteer at a hospital to help others go through their experiences in the best way possible. I was able to focus on the goals that I had set in life and made a personal promise achieve them no matter what challenges may arise. Eventually, after four long years, I managed to tell people about my rape ordeal, not that I wanted people to feel sorry for me but to learn from my experience.

Conclusion

An experience can make a person either miserable or stronger; however, the most important thing is how one reacts to the situation or the experience. I chose not to let the experience of being raped hinder me from achieving the goals that I had set in life. I knew that if one resolves to make the best out of a situation, it can be done. On the contrary, people decide to feel miserable, the experiences will affect them for the rest of their lives.

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‘Salvation’ by Hughes

In the narrative ‘Salvation,’ Hughes starts crying at the end of the story because he felt guilty for telling a lie. His aunt beloved that he cried because the holy ghost had come to his life and that he had seen Jesus. The narrator says that he had lied in church and he could not bear to tell his aunt of the deception that he had not seen Jesus and that he no longer believed in him since he never came to his aid. Therefore, Hughes felt the guilt and resulted in crying.

Hughes was not ready to be saved and this is evident in the first paragraph “Then just before the revival ended, they held a special meeting for children, “to bring the young lambs to the fold.” My aunt spoke of it for days ahead. That night I was escorted to the front row and placed on the mourners’ bench with all the other young sinners, who had not yet been brought to Jesus.” In this excerpt, Hughes clearly explains that he was forced to surrender his life to Jesus just like it happened to other young kids. He uses a negative language that indicates he wasn’t interested but forced as he says that he was escorted and placed on the mourners’ bench with other young sinners.

Hughes’ aunt described to him that when he was saved, he would see the light that symbolized Jesus and that something was going to happen to him on the inside. Besides, Jesus is going to come into his life and that God will be with him from that moment of being saved. She further continues to say that Hughes could see, hear and feel Jesus in his soul, something to which Hughes took it literally waiting for Jesus to come into his life.

Freedom choice is an important part of a person’s life, and therefore a person should not be forced to make decisions especially for matters that directly affect their lives. In the short story ‘Salvation’ the author is trying to say that an individual cannot be forced into believing or feeling something into which they are not willing to, but they should be allowed to choose for themselves according to what they perceive to be the right reasons. In the story, Hughes is forced by her aunt forces her to get saved but it was against his will. Hughes says that he was escorted into the bench of mourners along with other young sinners and this implies that he was forced into being saved.

Being forced to accept something that is not of your choice does not work as Hughes lied to the church that he had seen Jesus. “I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, and I hadn’t seen Jesus, and now I didn’t believe that there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me” The author is able to achieve his purpose as he uses a story based from his life providing an insight of how forced choices ends. Another thing is that children should not be forced into things merely because adults are involved in it. The decisions by the adults may not always be right, and children should be consulted and provided with the freedom of choosing what they like. Forcing a child to accept certain beliefs is more of coercion and against the rights of children. Besides, it should be known that forcing a person into accepting choices affects their emotions. From the story, Hughes was placed in the same situation, and it is evident that he lost faith in Jesus in that he doesn’t believe in him anymore. The author’s point is to allow people to choose without coercion.

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. Salvation. Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2002.

Schindler’s List

Name: Amanda Verdial

Course: American History

Date: 03/03/2019

‘Schindler’s List’ is a 1993 movie directed by renowned filmmaker, Steven Spielberg. It is based on the novel ‘Schindler’s Ark’ written by written by Thomas Keneally. The film is set in Krakow, a Polish city during World war II and the Holocaust during which the Nazis sought to destroy all Jews. Spielberg directed the film to depict the horror that the Jews suffered and the effort of one man to save the lives of many. The main protagonist in the story is Oskar Schindler; a German businessman who saved the lives of thousands of Jews.

Schindler was a businessman from Germany who had come to Krakow seeking to make a fortune from a business. He paid hefty bribes to German forces to acquire a factory in which he planned to set up an enamelware factory. Itzhak Stern was his administrator who handled the matters of financing the factory for Schindler. Because of the excellent relationship that Schindler had with the Nazis, he keeps his workers from being sent away to concentration camps. Most of these workers were Jews as they were paid the lowest wages.

Amon Goth led one of the concentration camps in Krakow and was tasked with ensuring that the ghetto is emptied of the Jews occupying it. What ensued was a bloody massacre that turned Schindler from a Nazi supporter to being sympathetic to the plight of the Jews who faced certain death under the Nazis. The color red is symbolic in the scene in which Schindler witnesses a young girl in a red coat dead after seeing her on the street before.

Many Jews were sent to the concentration camp, but Schindler bribed Goth into letting him build a sub-camp where his workers would stay. Finally, all Jews were to be transferred to Auschwitz, but Schindler planned to move his workers to a new factory in Brinnlitz. Their train is mistakenly sent to Auschwitz, but Schindler secured their release by bribery. All the hefty bribes that Schindler gave finally rendered him poor in 1945 when the war ended. He was to be captured by the Red Army due to his affiliation with the Nazi Party. Before he fled, he asked the German guards not to kill his Jewish workers. His workers gave him a signed letter to tell of how he had protected their lives.

Some of the major themes in the movie include violence, the value of human life and the selflessness of one man to make a difference in the lives of others. The theme of violence is evidenced in the shooting and killing of Jews during the efforts to liquidate the ghettoes in which they lived in Krakow. Schindler despite being one man was able to make a difference in the lives of many Jews. Himself being a Nazi Party, he should have been part of those seeking to eliminate the Jews but instead went to great lengths to save his workers. As a result, he ran out of money and risked arrest. He was selfless.

Power and corruption are also themes in the movie. The Nazis wielded their power over the Jews whom they viewed to be inferior people and thus dehumanized them. Corruption is evidenced by the fact that the German officers such as Goth took bribes from Schindler who sought to keep his workers safe.

The film itself has black and white effects because Spielberg wanted to give a sense of timelessness to the film and it paid off. Watching the movie, the audience is convinced that the events are depicted as they happened. The characters in the movie did a splendid job of becoming the characters they portray. The quality of production is also impressive, and the film is enthralling throughout its duration. Some forms of symbolism include the girl in the red coat which stands out as the rest of the film is in black and white. Red might be taken to show the bloodshed of the Jews. The black and white effects also depict death, Spielberg explained that color to him symbolizes life. The film appeals to peoples from all walks of life as it is a significant part of history.

The film has several strengths as well as weaknesses. Some of the strengths include the cast of the play. Under Spielberg, they manage to reenact the events of the dark time such that they appear very real. A second strength is the music by John Williams that creates the mood in the film. The third strength is the use of the black and white film to show timelessness in the film. Some weaknesses include the violence and nudity in the movie, which makes it unsuitable for young viewers such as children. The film also gives the perspective of Schindler; hence the Jews are merely supporting cast to be killed at the whim of the Nazis. The audience fails to accurately get the Jews’ perspective as a result. The third weakness is that it mostly dwells on those that survived rather than those who were killed. The audience fails to get the magnitude of the senseless murder of the Jews.

The film is generally very realistic and succeeds in educating the masses on the events that transpired during the Holocaust. Many people are not aware of what happened, and the film gives insight into this. It is quite educational, and the audience is left in awe at the story itself and the spectacular manner in which it is told.

Bibliography

Chen, Xiaolin. “The Use of Symbols in Schindler’s List.” In 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018.

Gambaccini, P., and T. Miller. “Schindler’s List.” (2017).

Loshitzky, Yosefa, ed. Spielberg’s Holocaust: critical perspectives on Schindler’s list. Indiana University Press, 1997.

Spielberg, Steven, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle, Embeth Davidtz, Michael Kahn, and Thomas Keneally. Schindler’s list. Universal Studios, 1993.

Yang, Hongsi. “Appreciation on Theme Music of Schindler’s List.” In 2016 5th International Conference on Social Science, Education and Humanities Research. Atlantis Press, 2016.

How far has the Modern Conservative Party departed from the Thatcherite agenda? Comparing Margaret Thatcher’s “There is No Such Thing as Society” versus Cameron’s “Big Society”

Executive summary

This essay argues that Modern Conservative Party, particularly its new Prime Minister, David Cameron has not totally departed from its predecessor, Margaret Thatcher. Though Cameron explained that his “Big Society” to be totally different from Thatcher’s “there is no such thing as society” as it acknowledges the societal ties that makes society interdependent, this paper is in the opinion that such political pronouncement was just to parry the criticism associated with Thatcher’s “New Right”. The departure of Cameron’s “Big Society” from Thatcher’s “New Right” is more on the semantics because many of the principles of its predecessor remain the same.

First, Thatcher’s “there is no such thing as society” did not mean the dissolution of social ties that composed society. She herself clarified that the original intent of the statement was distorted beyond recognition. What she meant by “there is no such thing as society” is to diminish dependency on welfare and to encourage individual members of society to help themselves. In effect, it lessens the burden on public expenditures which contributed to the inflation that beset UK’s economy. Thatcher may have just put it in the wrong way but the intent and purpose of her statement was to strengthen industry by enabling society’s individual members. In effect, Cameron’s “Big Society” is just the same with Thatcherism when it intends cut back public expenditures (though explaining that he is just returning it to 2007 level). It only differs in a way that it encouraged public engagement and volunteerism and by putting up a Big Society fund of £200M to enhance societal capability (Channel4.com 2011).

With regard to the economy, Cameron also adopts the free market system which is precisely what Thatcher asserted despite public criticism during her time. Cameron’s economic policy pronouncements also do not subscribe to Keynesian inflationary measure of pump priming the economy through increased public expenditure. It is only his method that differs from Thatcher because he intends to cut public expenditure which Thatcher was opulent during her term.

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Genetic Engineering

Genetic, Molecular and Biological factors all have a role to play as the rate of prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases increases. Examples of chronic diseases are those known as neurodegenerative diseases, and they affect a human beings Central Nervous system. In turn, people suffer from chronic conditions such as dementia. This means that there is a lot of research being conducted, in order to find out why the aging population is being affected. The research, which has been done, has found out that the degenerative diseases, which are chronic, are caused by molecular changes. Moreover, the changes take place in the nerve cells and can lead to death or even dysfunction of the nerves. Furthermore, genetics has a role to play in this vital matter on neurodegenerative diseases. The various gene expressions are responsible for changes in the gene structure of human beings (Last, 2000.45).

Another chronic condition is asthma, and its development has been attributed to biological and genetic factors. The disease normally occurs when human are subjected to conditions, which are hypersensitive. During previous years, it was known to have been caused by genetic factors and that has changed. Current research has found out that asthma is caused by environmental, molecular and genetic factors. An infectious disease such as AIDS is spreading fast among people and thus, it leads to high death rates. Biological technology is used in research and study of genetic factors (Last, 2000.45). Furthermore, genetic factors make it possible to find out if people are prone to acquiring infectious and chronic diseases as compared to others. Information regarding genetic, molecular and biological diseases makes it possible to learn about diseases. It makes it easy to learn how to treat and cure infectious and chronic diseases.

Currently, research concerning matters on genetic, molecular and biological factors is available. They can be found in the World Health Organization website and publications. The latter provides information regarding infectious as well chronic diseases and the factors related to them. The Journal of Inflammation has research about the genetics involved in asthma Moreover; it shows the research through the perspective of a molecular biologist. Other research publications include; Medscape Reference, Journal of Neuroscience and American Journal of Epidemiology.

A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) exists when genes are transferred from a species to another. The process, which is used, is known as laboratory, and it leads to formations of GMO’s. The process is meant to obtain desirable characteristics and Traits from certain genes. This is the reason why the organisms are known to be transgenic. Genetic Modification and Genetic Engineering are used to describe the laboratory process. There is a difference, which exists between GMO’s and Non GMO’s. The former are produced through conventional methods, and its risks are extremely unique. GMO’s have the ability of overcoming barriers concerning species. It means that it is possible to engage in genetic engineering and come up with unique species. For example, it is possible for tomatoes to be injected with fish genes. The tomatoes will then have traits similar to that of a fish. The latter is not possible when producing Non Genetically Modified Organisms (Center for Environmental Risk Assessment, 2011.1).

An example of a Genetically Modified Food is Soy, and it accounts for 88 % of the total world soya production. When soybean is implanted with a blasted gene, it leads to the formation of GM Soy. The result is that the latter is resistant to glyphosate, which has cytotoxic impacts. Soy is used for various functions for both animals and human beings. Animals are usually fed with feed that contains soy, and human consume it from the animals by products. Human beings consume Genetically Modified Soya from eating meat, eggs and drinking milk of such animals. The GM soy is obtained and processed into flour and it is used in making baby food, bread, among other food stuffs. An example of a company, which makes efficient use of GM soy, is Nestle in the production of baby food. Currently, there have been some criticisms that the use of GM Soy in baby food is harmful to a baby’s health. Rabbits, which have been fed GM Soy, have been known to have increased metabolic activity and liver dysfunctions. The conclusion was arrived at, after conducting a study on the matter and GM Soy found to be the cause. According to Michael Antoniou, a molecular geneticist, the study carried out on the rabbit is true. This means that human beings might be affected in the same manner as the rabbits. This means that it must be ensured that GM food is safe (Center for Environmental Risk Assessment, 2011.1).

Lastly, the government of the United States has come up with tight and effective measures concerning unsafe food. It seeks to ensure that all citizens are protected, so that they do not consume food, which is unhealthy. Some organizations, which have the mandate of ensuring food safety, include the FDA and USDA. For example, they control the food that is imported into the United States. They have guidelines, which have to be met by people who seek to import food to America. Unfortunately, the methods used are not scientific something needs to be done urgently concerning this matter. Consumers should have the proper information regarding the food that they eat (König Et Al, 2010.1087).

Work Cited

Last, J. A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.Print.

König A. et al. “Assessment of the safety of foods derived from genetically modified (GM) crops”. Food Chemical Toxicology. 42, 7, (2010): 1047–1088.

Center for Environmental Risk Assessment. HYPERLINK “http://cera-gmc.org/index.php?evidcode=&hstIDXCode=11&gType=&AbbrCode=&atCode=&stCode=&coIDCode=&action=gm_crop_database&mode=Submit” “GM Crop Database:Tomato”. International Life Sciences Institute. HYPERLINK “http://ceragmc.org/index.php?evidcode=&hstIDXCode=11&gType=&AbbrCode=&atCode=&stCode=&coIDCode=&action=gm_crop_database&mode=Submit” http://ceragmc.org/index.php?evidcode=&hstIDXCode=11&gType=&AbbrCode=&atCode=&stCode=&coIDCode=&action=gm_crop_database&mode=Submit. Retrieved December 13, 2011.

‘THE FLASH’ EFFECT

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‘The Flash’ effect

Entertainment plays a significant role in the lives of each individual. Every person has their kind of entertainment which appeals to them and which means a lot to them. It is therefore in regards to this that different people choose different types of entertainment ranging from music, TV programs, movies among others. For this assignment, I have chosen a film- Netflix’s ‘The Flash’ (McMillan, 2019).

Several people have written about the effect of the flash on young people and anyone who watches this Netflix series. Many individuals and researchers consider this form of entertainment to be very addictive. Due to its length, researchers argue that it is not healthy for a person to watch the show for a very long time since it may bring in medical complications. However, on the other side, the series is a superhero series, and therefore anyone who watches the series has a 70% chance of developing some positive regards and view about life. Therefore this means a person who watches the series is likely to change and find good and positive ways to do good for humanity just as the flash does even though he faces many challenges (Bartsch, & Viehoff, 2010).

We can hypothesize that watching the flash for long periods is unhealthy for a person. However, watching the series enables a person to develop good characters and behaviors towards other people and the world.

The methodology used to study how people’s behavior change combined qualitative and quantitative research to determine what a person goes through for them to be gratified or for a specific entertainment and, in this case, a movie series to affect them. The use of questionnaires and interviews for this research is of great importance as the target is those who have watched this series and its effect (Sharma, 2016). The age groupings is that 60% of those interviewed were between 18 years to 35 years while the teenagers accounted for 20% of the research and the rest 20% fell to those above 35 years of age. This is because those between 18 and 35 years are most likely to watch this kind of series (Bartsch & Viehoff, 2010).

The results were that different people have different feelings and conclusions about the series. However, most people have positive feedback that the series has helped them re-develop their humanity in so many different ways (McMillan, 2019). Most of the people state the willingness of the flash to bring out positivity towards the lives of people around him without having to kill those who do wrong is a courageous thing to do since he has the option of killing them but does not kill them because that is a vice and killing makes him a wrong person. Therefore the series, to a very great extent, talks to the people and reminds them of their moral base and compass to follow (Sharma, 2016).

References

Bartsch, A., & Viehoff, R. (2010). The use of media entertainment and emotional gratification. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 2247-2255.

McMillan, D. R. (2019). Superhero TV–Analyzing the Narrative Techniques of the CW’s The Flash (2014-Present) & the Netflix Original Program Daredevil (2015-2018).

Sharma, R. A. (2016). The Netflix effect: Impacts of the streaming model on television storytelling.