The End of Western Roman Empire Essay Example for Free

The End of Western Roman Empire Essay The Roman Empire, perhaps the strongest, most evolved and most consistently fascinating empire has been the subject of historical research and discourse than any other empires that the history of the world has seen. Its birth and its rise was a complex process involving a multitude of factors that came together to create a super-power the world had never seen; its decline – more complex still. It is difficult for historians and researchers to pin down the exact chief reason of its decline and highlight the one major cause that led to the downfall of the giant. From foreign invasions to incompetent emperors, from internal strife to crippled economy – all have been cited time and time again as the real culprits. The views are vast and varied and invariably historically supported by facts from the annals of history. However, the causes of Roman decline still remain debatable. Wickham (184) and Goffart (1981) have grappled with the issue of Roman decline in their own separate ways. While the former has recounted the changing economy of the Empire as a chief cause among many, the latter has listed foreign invasions as a major culprit. Wickham, in his article ‘The Other Transition: From the Ancient World to Feudalism’ has delineated the slow but sure changes in the economic fabric of the Roman society as it neared its downfall and the impact these changes had on the social, political, national and ideological front. The Roman Empire’s shift from an empire that thrived on taxes, to an empire that became dependent on the feudal system of governance for its sustenance, is the prime focus. Wickham has analyzed the underlying economic currents that shaped the Roman governance, and ultimately the Roman society, and concentrated solely on the economic process of change and its implications. The mode of production of the Roman Empire was perhaps one of the most important aspects in its economy and its shift from the slave traditions to serfdom and tenancy had deep ramifications. The writer has referred to a valid point once raised by Bloch who discussed how the number of slaves in the Roman Empire did undeniably increase during the great wars of the fifth to sixth centuries A. D but the increase in the number of slaves did not necessarily lead towards increased number of slave plantations. These slaves were primarily forced to participate in wars instead and the view that growing slavery in fifth and sixth century must naturally point towards a strengthening of the slavery structure is essentially flawed. In the early stages of development, Rome had become an exploitative state by nature where the government wealth came to be collected from tributes and taxes from cities, neighbouring states and the general public. This gradually developed into what Wickham calls ‘a wholesale taxation network’ coupled with slave plantations. By the end of the third century however, slave plantations had disappeared and the agrarian production depended more on tenants and the feudal mode of production. However, the Roman Empire, with its mind-boggling vastness, still depended on taxes for its support rather than land rents or serfdom. ‘The dominant source of surplus extraction in the late empire was not rent, but tax. ’ Taxation commanded the economy and was the economic foundation for the Roman State. By the fifth century however, things began to take a slow but decisive turn. The landed gentry, and even the general public for that matter, came under increased pressure as heavy taxes were imposed to not just take care of wartime expenses resulting from skirmishes with the Barbarians, but also to fill the pockets of the urban governments. The private land owners realized that the Roman patronage was too expensive as armies, bound to offer protection against the Barbarians, began to lose ground and military expenses bloated. Peasants too began to adopt rent-paying to powerful land-owners as opposed to paying taxes directly to the State. Wickham writes, ‘Benefits from the state had never justified the weight of taxes in the eyes of peasants, and nor did they any longer for landlords. ’ Hence, both the peasantry and the aristocrats sought refuge in a system that saved them from the back-breaking weight of taxes. When the aristocracy lost interest in the state and developed their own preoccupations, maintaining a feudal system on their lands, the state suffered enormously and when not supported by the peasantry – a group equally wary of taxation systems, the Roman Empire felt the reverberations. Walter Goffart (1981), on the other hand, focuses on an entirely different aspect of Roman decline in his work ‘Rome, Constantinople, and the Barbarians. ’ He admits, and sufficiently cites respected historians to strengthen his case, that the rise of Christianity and the Barbarians had undeniable, deep impact on the last few centuries of the great Rome and elects to focus on only one aspect out of the two. In Goffart’s opinion, the Barbarians put Rome in a complex quandary, yet it was the Romans who shaped the relationship and dictated the terms on which the mutual encounters were formulated. For Goffart, it is crucial to understand the dynamics of the Roman-Barbarian relationship by viewing it from the Roman side of the border. It is important to keep in mind, points Goffart, that the Barbarians were never ill-equipped to handle the Roman Empire and had continuously and with single-minded determination inflicted heavy damages to the vastly superior Roman army, yet it was the Roman Empire itself that gave them numerous openings to inflict losses. Gaining advantages from the internal strife and the preoccupation of the Emperors with politics and inner problems, the Barbarians shrewdly targeted an army that though well-equipped and colossal, was still insufficient to safeguard the vast borders. In addition, the mounting expenses of the armies made emperors reluctant to unleash brutal force on the war-mongering Barbarians as they realized that the tax-payers might be unable or unwilling to pay for wars on the frontier. In addition, as internal strife and rebellion increased, Barbarians were promptly employed by either the Emperor or the usurper to fight the wars on their behalf as Goffart comments, ‘Political competitors invariably occupied a higher place on the agenda than alien enemies; barbarians were the natural allies of emperors and usurpers alike in their fratricidal struggles for power. ’ Interestingly Goffart claims that the ability of the barbarians to assert themselves ‘hinged far less upon their strength and wishes than upon the response that the Roman government could make to them in the short and long run. ’ Even though addressing the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire is a common concern for both historians, it is the approach taken by them that differs. Where on the one hand Wickham believes that the shift in the economic setup of the Roman Empire from revenue-based governance to feudal form of governance brought about major changes and somehow contributed to the decline, Goffart, on the other hand insists that the long winding, never ceasing strife with the barbarians chipped away at the roots of the powerful empire. Admittedly, both agree that the causes delineated by them individually are not the sole ones but chief reasons among countless others. Both writers insist that the decline of the great empire was a slow process and was brought about gradually rather than suddenly. For them, destruction of an empire as vast as the Roman Empire could not have possibly been a sudden incident brought about by calamities or foreign aggression. Both have laid stress on the importance of social, cultural, geopolitical and economic changes brought about by changing internal or external realities to be the real culprit. For the historians, the system of governance and the mindsets of the ruling elite had a lot to do with the decline and waning of glory. For instance, discounting the importance of increasingly aggressive neighbours, internal strife, palace conspiracies or agrarian instability as sole causes, the writers hold that the last nail was hammered down by the supreme powers and their critically strategic mistakes, as in the words of Goffart, ‘The critical element, however, was neither Gothic strength nor deficient Roman means; it was a scale of imperial priorities in which the repose of the many had an absolute preference over the safety of a few. ’ Where on the one hand, both the historians have relied on famous classical historians such as Polybius, Cassius Dio, Herodian, Tacitus etc. , they have on the other hand cited extensively respected contemporary scholarship on the Roman history. Historians such as Piganoil, Haverfield, Haller and Dannenbauer, Hindess and Hirst, Perry Anderson and Finley etc. all are generously cited to support the theses. It is interesting to note that the reasoning employed by both historians is uniquely independent as they have drawn their own conclusions and at times chosen to take entirely differing views from previously accepted notions. For instance, Goffart claims that the common perception that the barbarians migrated towards the Mediterranean as a means of escaping the unfriendly Baltic regions is a flawed perception based solely on misguided views and shaky historical claims. The writer has also stressed on the need for objective analysis and has expressed open approbation of Sulpicius Severus, a much less noted historian, over the more widely respected Polybius, as a more dependent source. Both writers have shed light on issues hitherto neglected and taken a decidedly different stand on issues. Negating the widely held belief that the barbarians were in a way responsible for Roman downfall, Goffart insisted and proved by means of historical evidence that it was in fact the weakness and procrastination of the Emperors, who chose to first give precedence to warring with usurpers and rebels and employed the same barbarians in their internal strife instead of taking a stronger stand and not settling with cutting off portions of the territory in lieu of shaky peace. It was not the barbarian aggression, as is widely believed, that the Romans could not stand but their own errors that weakened them. Accounting the shift from the tax system to the feudal system, Wickham has demonstrated a fresher insight into the long-held and cemented perceptions regarding the economic realities of Rome between the third till the sixth century. Pointing out how the peasants began to avoid state taxes and sought refuge in the feudal system, Wickham has demonstrated the break that happened between the state and the aristocracy, as they now adopted the feudal system as undoubtedly profitable for them. References Goffart, W 1981, ‘Rome, Constantinople, and the Barbarians Author,’ The American Historical Review Vol. 86, No. 2, pp. 275-306. Wickham, C 1984, ‘The Other Transition: From the Ancient World to Feudalism Author,’ Past and Present, No. 103, pp. 3-36.

Chupacabra Animal Blood

Chupacabra Animal Blood Chupacabra The horror it has created this unidentify creature Chupacabra is a cryptid rumored to lived in parts of the Americas or the world. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknow animal in Puerto Rico (where these sightings were first reported), Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latters Latin America towns farms and communities. The name comes from the animals reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. Physicals descriptions of the creature vary. Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1990 in Puerto Rico. It is supposedly as a big creature. Most biologists and wild management officials view the Chupacabra as an urban legend. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra) â€Å"There are come theories one of them is that some authorities have ventured that chupacabras may actually be a large vampire bat. The worlds three species of blood-sucking bats live predominantly in the warm climates of Latin America where most of the attacks have occurred. But vampire bats do not directly kill their victims; they stealthily creep up on their sleeping prey, make painless incisions, and lap up the dripping blood. Another theory is that the Chupacabra is the result of secret government experiments in genetics. There is another one called the â€Å"Alien Theory†: Disinformation and debunking campaigns appeared organised through UFO groups stating Chupacabras belong to a voracious reptilian race of creatures, alien in origin, who have started devouring the populace.† (http://cryptozoo.monstrous.com/theories_chupacabra.htm) Since 1990 farmers have found corpses of sheep, goats, cows, turkeys, cats, chickens, with specific penetrating injuries, around their necks and bodies totally, without blood. Some farmers say that the aggressor is an animal half dog, half wolf and, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base 0of the tail . The same versions assure that the animal is capable to be stopped being supported in its hind legs and to swim quickly -like ducks-.The animal jumps as kangaroo, measures 1,2 mts of high, has a great snout with eyeteeth and so scarce and fine fur, that it could be told that lacks hair. One thing that it suppose to be true is that the Chupacabra doesnt need to drink blood every nigth, they say that one night each month he got all the necessary to survive the whole month. But in only one night he could eat an incredible numbers of goats or chikens or turkeys or rabbit, etc. (www.chupacabra.com) â€Å"The goatsucker or chupacabra has affected Latin America by sucking blood or eating internal organs of animals like goats, cows, chikens, ducks, cats, dogs, turkeys, rabbits and other small animals in farms, and living less domestic animals. The goatsucker or chupacabra affected the most in Puerto Rico. There have being many cases of dead animals by the characteristic of a goatsucker eating. Since 1975.  ¨Their first known attacks were in March of 1975 in Puerto Rico. Eight sheep were discovered dead, each completely drained of blood. Investigators found three strange puncture wounds in the chests of the animals.† (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra) â€Å"In July 2004, a rancher near San Antonio, Texas, killed a hairless, dog-like creature named JoAnne, which was attacking his livestock. This creature is now known as the Elmendorf Creature. It was later determined to be an unknown canine of some sort, similar to a coyote with demodectic mange. In October 2004, two animals which closely resemble the Elmendorf Creature were observed in the same area. The first was dead, and a local zoologist who was called to identify the animal noticed the second while she was traveling to the location where the first was found. Specimens of the dead animal were studied by biologists in Texas, who found that the creatures were some sort of canines of an undetermined species.† (http://www.chupacabrasonline.com/link.two.htm , Raggie Lagow) â€Å" In April of 2006, MosNews reported that the chupacabra was spotted in Russia for the first time. Reports from Central Russia beginning in March 2005 tell of a beast that kills animals and sucks out their blood. Thirty-two turkeys were killed and drained overnight. Reports later came from neighboring villages when 30 sheep were killed and had their blood drained. Finally eyewitnesses were able to describe the chupacabra. In May of 2006, experts were determined to track the animal down. In mid-August 2006 Michelle ODonnell, described an evil looking rodent-like creature with fangs that had been found dead alongside a road. The mystery beast was apparently struck by a car, and was otherwise unidentifiable. Photographs were taken and several witness reports seem to be in relative agreement that the creature was canine in appearance, but unlike any dog or wolf in the area.† (http://www.chupacabrasonline.com/link.two.htm, Michelle ODonnell) â€Å"In December 2006, a local farmer in Peru claimed to have seen a creature resembling a Chupacabra attacking a wild boar on his farm. The man, who referred to the creature as Zahir, later told the authorities that he feared for his life when he saw the creature devour the boar within minutes. The creature then ran faster than any animal the farmer had ever seen. Shocked at the sight of the creature, the farmer stated that he is haunted by the evil in the Zahirs eyes. The most recent, undocumented sighting of the Chupacabra was in Hawaii on the island of Maui. Witnesses who apparently saw the beast outside of the Kuia Leia Airport described the creature as half dog half human. (February 16, 2007) One week after Chiles Armed Forces released photos and videos of UFO activity around the country, Chiles mainstream media has once again gone extraterrestrial with various Chupacabra sightings reported throughout the country. Chupacabra literally translated as goat sucker is the name f or a mythical creature known for sucking the blood out of farm animals throughout Latin America and the southern United States. Many enthusiasts speculate that Chupacabras are aliens or escaped alien pets as evidence of the creature is frequently reported in tandem with nearby UFO sightings. While UFO activity is typically reserved for Chiles tabloid press, Chupacabra sightings make big news in Chile, and the countries principle newspaper, El Mercurio, reported Wednesday that Chupacabras are once again causing a stir in the southern cone country. According to the daily, a Chupacabra attacked a henhouse in San Antonio Tuesday evening, leaving every chicken dead, without blood, and with a mysterious orifice on their spines. Flor Và ¡squez, 73, told police that she could not believe what she saw when she entered her henhouse. â€Å"All the chickens were dead and were sucked completely dry of blood,† she said. â€Å"But the animal that did it did not eat a single on of my bir ds.† (El Mercurio, www.chupacabrasonlina.com ) My conclusion is that the chupacabra exist, you can say that this is a case like the one of the loch ness monster but is different because in this case we have evidence like photos, remains, victims, etc. The Chupacabra or goatsucker has beencalled by a lot of names one of them is phenomenoum it can be because it seem to dont be an animal, but another chance is that it can be a creation on a laboratory of some scientifics and it scaped but im not sure about this because it seem to dont be only one. This is another question i couldnt answer, how does it reproduct? Is not only one. How many could they be, but how?. I guees it still a mystery but not any more a legend. Bibliography http://www.chupacabrasonline.com/link.two.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra http://cryptozoo.monstrous.com/theories_chupacabra.htm http://tinwiki.org/wiki/El_Chupacabra

Similarities And Differences Between African And Native Americans History Essay

Similarities And Differences Between African And Native Americans History Essay Both the African American and Native American communities in the United States suffered great hardships since the dawn of the Republic. Southern plantation owners held the black community in enslavement while greedy American settlers stole the Indians land. After the Civil War, however, conditions radically changed for both: the slaves were freed at last, and the remaining free tribes were being herded onto reservations. In these years immediately following the war, blacks, due to a strong Republican influence in the federal and state governments, were far better off economically, politically, and socially than their Native American counterparts. While the Indians lost their land because of the ever-moving drive westward, blacks gained suffrage and equality under the law. However, as time went on, the African American community was robbed of its rights due to a coalition between white supremacists eager to keep freed blacks at the bottom of society and Democrats eager to gain a South ern power-base. Blacks began suffering the same hardships that their Indian cousins suffered. But, after World War I, the plight of the Native Americans was somewhat relieved because of pity for their wretched reservation life and attempts were made to give them both reparations for lost lands and representation in American politics. The African American community, conversely, was still being discriminated against by racist elements in both the North and South; blacks had to wait until the mid-1950s before their condition was alleviated and they were brought to the level Native Americans occupied. African American The years immediately following the Civil War were a time of hope for African Americans on all levels: politically, economically, and socially. The ratification of the 13th Amendment freed them, for the first time ever, from the hands of their Southern masters. Blacks gained control of their own destiny and had chance to rise above their squalid condition. The Congress, dominated by anti-slavery Republicans, was determined to ram through sweeping civil rights legislation equalizing blacks and whites. Republicans passed through the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 over Democratic President Andrew Johnsons veto. This legislation granted citizenship to blacks, an immeasurably important prerequisite for gaining other important rights, such as suffrage. Under the Bill, discrimination because of race was made illegal. The Fourteenth Amendment, added to the Constitution two years later, ensured that the rights gained by blacks under the Bill would be protected from repeal by later Democratic Congr esses. In a final blow to Southern Democrats, Republicans also legally guaranteed black male suffrage in the 15th Amendment, bypassing Democratic obstructions in Southern state legislatures. These sweeping pieces of legislation paved the way for blacks to live as equals with whites, making them citizens and supposedly protecting their citizenship against discrimination (The Civil Rights Bill Should not be Enacted 64-5), (Corbin 36). Unfortunately, the amendments that supposedly gave blacks political power and social protection proved easier to write than to enforce. From the beginning, Southerners despised Northern attempts to reconstruct a new, more tolerant South. White supremacists, former slave-owners yearning for a return to Dixieland, and Democrats hoping to gain a Southern power-base all worked against the reforms enacted by the Radical Republicans. In an attempt to keep blacks down, organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camelia conspired to generate an environment of fear and oppression against the black community. They armed themselves and, with the tacit complicity of their Democrats in the Southern state governments, whipped upstart blacks, lynched civil rights campaigners, and obstructed black voters. The fear that these groups created socially stigmatized the black community and made blacks endure willing to endure legalized discrimination for fear of their lives (The K u Klux Klan is a Terrorist Organization 122-3). The Southern Democratic push to keep blacks in their rightful place in society, namely at the bottom with the Indians, also pushed back recent gains. Empowered by Supreme Court decisions in United States v. Cruickshank and Williams v. Mississippi, Democrats established the poll tax and literacy requirements in order to vote. Because these requirements were applied to all races, they were declared constitutional and allowed to go forward. Nonetheless, poll taxes and literacy standards had the effect of disenfranchising the lower classes and, because most blacks received neither money nor education from their former masters and could not pay the taxes or read, they were effectively removed from the political scene. Other Supreme Court decisions, especially Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which declared segregation constitutional as long as the facilities given to blacks were on par to the facilities afforded whites, led to the complete social separation of blacks from whites. The African A merican community was now forbidden to even use the same restrooms as the Caucasian community. Segregated schools left many blacks bereft of a good education and thus, like their Indian cousins, unable to find a good job and move up the social ladder. A mindset began to develop as a result of these actions, which allowed white supremacists to convince ordinary white citizens that blacks deserved to be at the bottom, thus retarding further civil rights progress and reversing important gains (Corbin 42-4). The tide began to turn for the black community in the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education. Reversing many years of previous precedent, a more tolerant court declared that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Besides the immediate social and economic ramifications that this decision brought, it also opened the way for the end to all segregation and the beginnings of equality. After all, if segregation in schools was unconstitutional, then why should segregation on buses still be legal? In 1954, the pendulum began to swing back again, opening up new possibilities for the black American (Corbin 49-50). Native American In contrast, the fall of the American Indian occurred just when the African American was gaining essential freedoms for the first time. Indians were not even considered American citizens at the time of Reconstruction; the 14th Amendment that gave blacks their citizenship specifically excluded Native Americans. Without this most basic acknowledgement, it was impossible for Indians to gain any of the freedoms or rights granted to blacks (Bernardo 5). Post-bellum America was also the setting for the final defeat of the Indians at the hands of expansionist American policy. With the threat of dis-Union posed by the Confederacy removed by Robert E. Lees surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, the United States was once again able to continue its inexorable march to the Pacific Ocean. Standing in the way of total American domination were several thousands Indians living in the Great Plains, the only members of a once-proud race still free from the reservations. However, the Army crushed resistance to expansion on December 29, 1890 in the Battle of Wounded Knee, and the last free Indians were herded like sheep onto the reservations (Nardo 113-4). Indians, with their sprawling ancestral lands occupied by American settlers, had to make due with cramped and dirty reservations. Some tribes, such as the Great Plains Indians, lost their only means of sustenance when white settlers hunted the buffalo herds to near extinction. Others, forbidden to leave the reservations, were forced to abandon their nomadic lifestyles. In one sweeping blow, the reservations destroyed the only means of survival for many Indians and completely shattered Native American society while white settlers filled in the vacuum created by civilizing Indians and encouraging them to adopt white lifestyles, further contributing to the social and cultural decay of this once-proud people (Nardo 116). As if the complete destruction of Indian culture, social structure, and economy was not enough, Congress, with the General Allotment Act, began taking even the reservations away from them. The Act, passed in 1887, broke up the 285 federal reservations and allotted 160-acre pieces of them to heads of Indian families, making it easier for white developers to purchase and use the land (Nardo 116). By 1932, almost 65% of Indian land had been bought by American businessmen and settlers. Because of allotment, Indians were forced to live in more and more cramped conditions, posing a further strain on already taxed social structures and almost nonexistent health services. Furthermore, Indians now had even less land with which to build a future and a stable economic environment (Bernardo 6). The turning point of American Indian life in the United States came after World War I. Feeling grateful to the large amount of able-bodied Indian men who volunteered to fight with Americans in battle, Congress passed two important bills. The first one, the Snyder Act, redefined the Bureau of Indian Affairs, no longer would it attempt to assimilate Indians into American society. Instead, the Bureau was now to teach Indians new irrigation and farming methods, giving Indians the possibility of economic self-sufficiency, and work to improve the living conditions on the reservations, addressing long-standing problems of under-education and inadequate healthcare which also plagued blacks. The second bill, the Indian Citizenship Act, granted to Indians what had been given to freed slaves after the Civil War by granting citizenship to all Indians born in America. With this important right, Indians were granted suffrage in most states and allowed for the first time free travel in America. Ind ians could now leave the reservations in search of jobs and a better life, something that had been granted even to the blacks (Nardo 118), (Bernardo 7). Economic conditions for Native Americans improved under the Roosevelt Administration with the signing of the Indian Reorganization Act, reversing the policy set forth by the Indian Allotment Act. Under this new bill, reservation land was returned to tribal ownership and some white-owned land was returned to Indians, giving Indians protection from land-hungry businessmen. The bill also provided money for Indian education and encouraged the creation of tribal corporations to help manage Indian land for the Indian population (Nardo 119). Finally, in 1948 Congress created the Indian Claims Commission in response to a large Indian outcry. The Commissions mission was to settle disputes over lost Indian land and hundreds of treaties broken by the United States with regard to the Indians; it has awarded large sums of money to aggrieved Indians in an attempt to redress past wrongs (Bernardo 7). Conclusion African American and Native American life from post-bellum America to the mid-20th Century have followed different patterns. Though both were subjected to unimaginable cruelty at the hands of civilized Americans, the conditions of blacks began improving immediately after the Civil War, with African Americans being granted citizenship, protection from discrimination, and male suffrage. However, these gains turned out to be more fictional than fact, white supremacists wishing for a return to Dixieland, Southern Democrats thirsting for power, and a prejudiced Supreme Court made many of these victories hollow by legally disenfranchising most blacks and segregating the group to a second-class status. Despite these challenges and reversals, the African American did reap substantial gains at the hands of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which began to turn back the tide of segregation and hate. In contrast to this pattern, the Native American condition declined sharply in post-bellum America. Eager for land and free of the threat posed by the Confederacy and dis-Union, settlers aided by the United States Army herded the last great tribes onto federal reservations. Reservation life brought with it horrible living conditions and a breakdown of Indian social and economic life. Attempts by the government to Americanize the group only succeeded in further tearing its social fabric. However, with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, which granted citizenship to Indians almost 60 years after it had been granted to blacks, the Indian condition began improving more rapidly than the black one. Congress, moved with pity, instituted important reforms to save Indian life and restore economic viability. Though both African American and Native Americans shared the bottom of the American social ladder and suffered from prejudice and discrimination, their lives were somewhat d ifferent. Both suffered at the hands of whites, but Native Americans suffered more with the almost total destruction of their society. On the other hand, it took much longer to begin improving the African American condition than it did for the Native American one. One thing is certain, however, America must always remember the hardships it forced these groups to endure for no other reasons than the greed, hatred, ignorance, and racism that allow discrimination to flourish.

Religion and Science in the Parable of the Unjust Steward :: Christianity Religious Scientific Essays

ABSTRACT: The Parable of the Unjust Steward should be interpreted allegorically, its literal interpretation shown to be impossible. Certain facts make this parable unique: a lord as the Lord; divine possessions; the symbolism of the house interpreted as a human being; the material principles of the world understood as the governor of a human being; the Lord’s debtors as spiritual teachers of various kinds; theological doctrines with their own theogonic and cosmogonic views, all claiming to know the truth in its wholeness. Their debts consist of their misunderstandings and errors which have caused the difference between them and truth. Examples of the part of the material principles of the world in correcting theological doctrines are adduced. Two different kinds of debt are considered. I conclude that ‘make to yourselves friends of the riches of unrighteousness’ means that the material reasons of the world, the wisdom of this age, must be used for the good of spir itual teachings. The subject I am going to approach may at first glance seem not to belong at all to the subject of the current session. However we shall see that the subsequent material has the most immediate connection to the theme of philosophy of religion. The question is of the Parable of the Unjust Steward. Before I begin the interpretation itself, let me remark that this parable is a text unique with respect to its isolation from the rest of the texts of the Bible. For in all of Scripture there is not even the slightest reference to this parable. And the Parable of the Unjust Steward has remained in the darkness of misunderstanding not only after the first glance, but even after the thousandth one. No exegete has ever been able to give an interpretation which is free of internal and other contradictions. This fact also makes this parable unique. So much for the rule declaring that closer an interpreter to the time of Scripture better is his chance to penetrate into the mystery of it, which lies at the base of the habit of magnifying the opinions of the Church Fathers. It will not be out of place here to recall the words of Maimonides: "a story which is repugnant to both reason and common sense ... contains a profound allegory ... and the greater absurdity of the letter, the deeper the wisdom of the spirit." We have just such a case.

A Content Analysis of Organizational Dissent as Portrayed on Primetime

Introduction There has been much research done on organizational dissent, but there is a dearth of research dedicated to how television shows portray dissent over the airwaves. In Deviating From the Script: A Content Analysis of Organizational Dissent as Portrayed on Primetime Television by Johny T. Garner, Emily S. Kinsky, Andrei C. Duta, and Julia Danker, the authors attempted to combine these two theories for their study. Using the data collected by the authors and their research team, the authors resolved to measure how effective the dissent was in creating change. Organizational dissent is important in nonfictional workplaces for a variety of reasons, and these results indicate one potential influence on organizational members that may depict dissent as futile (Garner et al., 2012, p. 620). The authors set about trying to quantify organizational dissent on network television in the primetime hours. The authors also argued that organizational dissent was the challenge of status quo and the be nefits of this challenge was of value to both the dissenter and the organization as well. This review will provide a critical analysis of the article as well offer some insights into where the authors’ research could go further. Hypotheses and Philosophical Perspectives Garner et al. provided three hypotheses for their content analysis of primetime programming. First, the authors hypothesized that dissent would be portrayed as ineffective. In this hypothesis, effectiveness was defined in terms of receiving emotional support and/or achieving instrumental change. The second hypothesis was centered on to whom the dissent would be expressed. The authors used four potential dissent audiences: supervisors, subordinates, coworkers and people ... .... doi: 10.1080/01463373.2012.725001 Gerbner, G. (1990). Epilogue: Advancing on the path of righteousness (maybe). In N. Signorielli & M. Morgan (Eds.), Cultivation analysis: New directions in media effects research (pp. 249–262). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Morgan, M. (2000). On George Gerbner’s contributions to communication theory, research, and social action. In M. Morgan (Ed.), Against the mainstream: The selected works of George Gerbner (pp. 1–20). New York: Peter Lang. Shapiro,M., & Lang, A. (1991).Making television reality: Unconscious processes in the construction of social reality. Communication Research, 18, 685–705. doi: 10.1177=009365091018005007 Shrum, L. J. (1997). The role of source confusion in cultivation effects may depend on processing strategy: A comment on Mares. Human Communication Research, 24, 349–358. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.1997.tb00418.x

Debut Albums and Pure Adrenaline Rush

Keagan Neveling 14/09/2011 Grade 10PEnglish Essay Pure adrenaline rush! Pure energy! It was now or never! This was the opportunity I had been waiting for! It was time for action. It was a cold day. The wind was blowing, the trees swaying from side to side. It was time for me to conquer my fears. Although I did not know it, I was about to begin an adventure that would push my companions and I to our limits. The day had just begun. My alarm clock was ringing and the birds were chirping. It seemed like it was going to be a fantastic day.The sun was out; there was not a breath of wind. I fled from my bed so I would not miss a moment of the beautiful day Mother Nature had been kind enough to share. I devoured my breakfast like it was my last and turned on the television. It was a magnificent day but little did I know that on this day I would take part in an event that would push me to my limits. And that’s when I noticed the branches of the trees starting to sway rhythm with the wi nd. I thought to myself, surely this cannot be. In an instant there were clouds on the horizon. I did not believe my eyes.The weather had changed instantaneously changed. It was now a cold, miserable and windy day. Then I saw her standing in the distance. She told me she was going to take me to a place of adventure, somewhere where I could overcome my fears and attempt something that only few had dared. She took me to this place. It was not scary, not intimidating. In fact it was extremely inviting. There were people eating foods at the gorgeous restaurants. While admiring this concrete jungle known as the Moses Madibha Stadium I realised I was no longer afraid. I was wrong.I was going to be going to be going face to face with my greatest fear. I was going to be jumping off this jungle. Papers were signed, my harness firmly secured around my waist. It was time to begin my voyage. The only thing that would be keeping me apart from the ground was an ordinary rope. I convinced myself I was ready. The voyage to the top of the jungle had begun. It was no longer unintimidating. The gigantic white structure surrounded me. It was as if I was on a pathway to happiness. After what seemed like an eternity I had arrived at my destination.It was my time to shine. The spotlight was firmly placed on me. Pure adrenaline rush! Pure energy! It was now or never! This was the opportunity I had been waiting for! It was time for action. Then it happened. I jumped. I felt my stomach disappear my toes went numb, the wind was rushing through. I then opened my eyes. To my delight it was all over. My heart was pounding, my blood gushing through my veins. There I was dangling in mid-air. I had conquered my fear. I felt like I was in a scene in a movie. All I could think was that it had been an amazing day. Word count: 511

A Cultural Comparison of English and Chinese Family Names

Abstract The family names of humans are formed and used in the long process of the course of history and the development of society. Family names, being a part of culture, are closely related to history and culture. English and Chinese names are different in their origins and name orders, which is certain to be reflected in their perspective culture.Therefore an exploration of their reflections in the cultural aspects of historical development, feudal history, historical tradition, historical influence and current social situation will be beneficial for the deepening of English study and the mutual understanding and communication of the East and the West. Keywords: Cultural comparison, English family names, Chinese family names, Origin, Name order The word â€Å"culture† comes from the Latin root â€Å"colere† (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor).In general, it refers to human activity; different definitions of culture reflect different theories for understanding, or criteria for valuing, human activity. Culture is traditionally the oldest human character, its significant traces separating Homo from australopithecines, and Man from the Animals, though new discoveries are blurring these edges in our day. Sir Edward B. Tylor wrote in 1871 that â€Å"culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of ociety† while a 2002 document from the United Nations agency UNESCO states that culture is the â€Å"set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs†. [UNESCO, 2002].It is generally accepted that language is part of culture. It carries culture, thus be influenced by culture. Names includin g family names, which is a part of language, are sure to reflect the distinct culture of the people using it.This paper intends to start from the English and Chinese family names from the perspectives of the origin and order so as to reveal their reflections on their own culture. A family name (in Western contexts often referred to as a last name or surname) is part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. A family name is the most fundamental and most significant symbols showing the identification of the members of a society. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world, which means family names are part of culture.As far as English and Chinese names are concerned, their cultural differences can be shown in the origins of their family names and the different orders of their names so as to make us learn about the development history of a society or a nation and some other aspects of its culture, which is the purpose of this paper in tending to make an analysis between English and Chinese family names from their cultures reflected. 1. Cultural reflections of the origins of family names If we trace back into the origins of Chinese family names, we can see that Chinese family names are closely related to the development history of the Chinese nation.According to legend, family names started with Emperor Fu Xi in 2852 BC. His administration standardized the naming system in order to facilitate census-taking, and the use of census information. For scientific documentation that matrilineal surnames existed in China before the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) and that â€Å"by the time of the Shang Dynasty they (Chinese surnames) had become patrilinea. † Therefore, what we can learn first is that the ancestors of the Chinese nation came from primitive society.When the Chinese nation went into class society, the emperors had the supreme powers in their hands in awarding lands and fields to those ministers who perfor med meritorious service to their reigns, establishing official positions. Their supreme power was best exemplified in granting a surname to a person when he was alive or after his death. In addition, in feudal societies, the emperors’ names was a taboo on every occasions. The origins of family names also showed that Chinese nation actually is combination of multiple nationalities, which is the same case for the British and American people.As for English family names, 226 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 6, No. 11; November 2010 they have a relatively short history. Documents indicate that surnames were first adopted among the feudal nobility and gentry, and only slowly spread to the other parts of society. In Britain, hereditary surnames were adopted in the 13th and 14th centuries, initially by the aristocracy but eventually by everyone. By 1400, most English and Scottish people had acquired surnames, but many Scottish and Welsh people did not adopt surnames until the 17th century, or even later.Henry VIII (1491–1547) ordered that marital births be recorded under the surname of the father. The whole process lasted for 500 years. However, English family names differ from Chinese family names in their civilians consciousness, which can be shown in the casual choice of their family names for even a nickname, childhood name like Fox, Stout, Armstrong, Longfellow can be a person's family name. The origins of English family names can show their love for nature, respect for and sentimental attachment to everything in it. English family names like Bird, Lion, Swan, Wood, Wolf, Bush, Flower, Rose and Apple are such examples.Their family names also indicated that English people are characterised by the pursuit for novelty and oddness without an exception of their family names. According to a survey made in 1974, there were as many as 1,280,000 family names in America, among which more than 1/3 were those that had never been used before, which was obviously a result of Americans' unconventional and original personality. 2. Cultural reflections of the order of family names 2. 1 Reflection of perspective feudal history The nations with a name order of family names preceding given names usually have a long feudal history.The Han nationality have a feudal history of more than 2,500 years, which started from the Western Zhou (1066 – 771 BC)or Eastern Zhou (770 – 256 BC) Chinese society to the Opium War in1839. However, the feudal history of those nations with a name order whose given names precede family names is relatively short. Great Britain is a case in point. It only had a short feudal history of several hundred years. From the 9th century to the 11th century, Britain was still on its way to feudalization and there exited a large number of free farmers.It was only after the Norman Conquest of 1066, the feudal system was widely established in Britain. However, only several hu ndred years later, in the 14th century, its feudal system was disintegrated. When it came to the 16th century, the capitalism was widely developed, which directly led to the British Bourgeois Revolution in the 17th century. To sum up, the feudal history of Britain is very short with no more than 500 years, but its capitalism was developed quite early. 2. 2 Reflection of perspective historical traditionThe nations with a name order of family names preceding given names usually have a long feudal history, in which there wasn’t any democratic tradition and everything was determined by the will of the supreme emperors. Therefore, in those nations, given names which represent a person himself can only be put behind family names which stand for home ownership. In China, from the very beginning of family names, they were put before given names and the tradition lasted for more than 2,500 years. In these nations, although the choice of a person’s given names has always been ch anging with the era, the order of names has always been stable.On the contrary, the British and American people had their democratic tradition even in the feudal reign, which made these nations strengthened more on individual roles. Therefore, their given name which stands for the individual himself was always put before their family name which is a representation of their family. 2. 3 Reflection of their historical influence Chinese name order has a direct influence on that of its neighbouring countries like Korea, Vietnam and Japan because of its 5,000 year history of civilization. China's naming system came into being as early as the reign of Emperor Fu Xi.Its neighbouring countries like Korea, Vietnam and Japan either had long been its dependent country or using Chinese characters as their own language. They were greatly influenced by its culture. Similarly, these countries all had a long feudal history, had no democratic tradition, bordered China, used Chinese characters. There fore it was no wonder that they were sure to be influenced Chinese cultures including naming system. However, the English name order was influenced by Roman Republic in its early time. Rome became a republic in about B. C. 510.From then on, the civilians had constant fights against nobility for their rights, which was the origin of their democratic tradition. Because at that time, ancient Rome was the number one civilized country in Europe and in the course of its development it constantly expanded its territories and formed its hegemony in the Mediterranean in the 2nd century B. C. , therefore, its democratic tradition had a great influence on the formation of the national psychology of the whole Europe. Ancient Romans' name was spelled in Latin, and freeman’s name was formed by given name plus tribe or clan name, which was actually their family name.Take the famous Great Emperor Caesar of ancient Rome for example, his name was formed by three parts, that is Caius, Julius Pu blished by Canadian Center of Science and Education 227 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 6, No. 11; November 2010 and Caesar. With the development of history, the middle name which was one's clan name disappeared with the diminishing power of clan. The Roman name order which strengthened individual role was widely accepted in the Miderterranean with its expansion in this area.The Latin language which was spoken by ancient Romans first replaced other languages in this area but then split into Italian, French, Portugese and Spanish with the fall of the Roman Empire. Because these languages all have Latin origin, it's natural that the name order of the Latin language permeated into their languages. 3. Reflection of current social situation Family names are not only used for addressing people, they also reflect social realities at that time. In China’s ancient Zhou Dynasty, having or not having a family name showed the contradictory relation between the ruling clas s and the working class.Before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Chinese women followed their husband’s family name by abandoning their original family name, which showed the feudal prejudice against and bondage upon them. After the establishment of the P. R. C. , the social status of Chinese women has been greatly improved and been considered â€Å"half sky†, they can keep their own family name when they get married. However, in England and cultures derived from there, there has long been a tradition for a woman to change her surname upon marriage from her birth name to her husband's last name.From the first known US instance of a woman keeping her birth name, Lucy Stone in 1855, there has been a general increase in the rate of women keeping their original name. This has gone through periods of flux, however, and the 1990s saw a decline in the percentage of name retention among women. As of 2004, roughly 90% of American women automatically assumed t heir husband's surname upon getting married. Even in families where the wife has kept her birth name, parents traditionally choose to give their children their father's family name.Although in America, there was a great change for married women traditionally known as Mrs [Husband's full name] into a modern Mrs [Husband's last name], the incompleteness of women's liberation can still be shown from this. To sum up, family names are not only a sign for a person but reflect culture from different aspects. And a comparison of English and Chinese family names can make us learn about the cultural differences shown from the origins and name orders, which is good for the deepening of the study of English as well as helps to promote the mutual understanding and communication of the East and the West.