Can Terrorism be defeated by Military Means Only Essay

Can Terrorism be defeated by Military Means Only - Essay Example Can Terrorism be defeated by Military Means Only? A few examples of better ideas are the promises of peaceful change, social reforms and economic equity. Terrorism is a form of â€Å"asymmetrical warfare† in military parlance. This terminology defines it as a type of warfare in which one of the combatants (the weaker) chooses when and where to engage and fight the other side (the stronger enemy). The term asymmetry derives from the unequal status in terms of strength of the combatants in which a lightly-equipped force attacks the much-stronger enemy by using unorthodox means of hitting its enemy through weak points. By necessity, terrorists use ideas to gain access into people's minds and hearts to win them over to their cause. Terrorism is the dominant form of conflict in most of today’s hot spots. Anti-terrorism experts are agreed on its layman’s definition which is an act or a series of acts designed to sow terror or extreme fear. Police investigative techniques and military solutions are good only for the sh ort term but not really effective for the long haul. Discussion The aim of terrorists is intimidate and threaten people so they will act in a certain manner that is favourable or desired by the terrorists. This is but a simple form of coercion backed by threats of violence. Just as the saying that history is written by victors of a war, terrorism can be viewed from different perspectives, depending on who is using terror to achieve its aims. Individuals, groups and even governments use terror to help them achieve their objectives. Terrorism does not make any distinctions on the persons using terror but focuses on the means of terror. It means marginal groups can be labelled as terrorists as well as existing governments which employ the same techniques and methods. Agents who killed British soldiers in Palestine before Israel was given its independence were terrorists by the above definition and so were the Spanish secret agents under a previous administration during 1982 to 1986. Th e Guardia Civil (Spanish police) had formed their own terrorist units called as the Grupo Antiterrorista de Liberacion or GAL (www.onwar.com, n.d., p. 1) to counter threats posed by the growing ETA movement (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) of the Basque region which initially had targeted members of the police and military. As can be gleaned from this initial discussion, terrorism can be viewed from different perspectives and as such could also be justified depending on who is using terrorism as a tool. In other words, terrorism is not a sole domain of disaffected individuals and marginal groups but also of duly-elected governments which find it convenient to use terrorism as state policy. Most terrorists today belong to organisations which are basically stateless. This state of being stateless is one other characteristic of asymmetrical warfare and is what makes the terror groups quite difficult to hunt down and defeat. Their structure is not hierarchical but rather more of a network which has redundant functions performed by several terror cells. In aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s reported death, many ordinary people expected terrorism threats to vanish away but anti-terrorism experts believe otherwise because the motivation is still there within the organisation of al-Qaida. The goals and the willingness to use terror have not changed a bit and many affiliated terror cells can still strike any time (Clarke, 2011, p. 1). In the thinking of most military

Right to Die persuasuve speech for Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Right to Die persuasuve speech for - Essay Example Imagine April dying in less than a year in a most horrible way, on a hospital bed while her baby is crying to be held by her and only her. Maybe she won’t even die. Maybe she will be living on life support. Imagine the trouble her husband will have in moving on if she’s just there and just how critical it will be, at a time like this, to move on, for the baby’s sake. I’d like to talk about the reasonable acceptability of ‘rational suicide’, ‘euthanasia’, ‘mercy killing’ or ‘dying with dignity’. Each of these gives every person the right to die with dignity and gives them the authority to choose the time of their death and how and with whose help it should happen (Sokol, 2007). My main points throughout this debate will be focused around two major arguments – â€Å"Those two arguments are the mercy argument -- the notion of sparing someone unnecessary suffering -- and the self-determination argument, the right to determine ones own fate or level of care while dying.† (Newman, 1992). First of all, many patients on respirators or life support systems are not conscious and so do not have the power to decide whether they want to live or die (Fisher, 2006). In such cases, families or doctors have to decide and do their best to relieve the patients and family members of pain. In such cases, mercy killing seems to be a great option for the patients, and a decision that they themselves must probably have made. Even when some patients are made aware of their life expectancy, they should be allowed to choose death as right of self-determination and choosing one’s own fate. Secondly, there is a risk in everything but when the benefits outweigh these risks, a counter approach which is risky is still taken. For example, every time we travel in our cars, we risk the threat of accidents or being killed on the road. Despite the many deaths that take place because of road accidents, this risk is ignored, keeping in mind the

Henry David Thoreau Essay Example for Free

Henry David Thoreau Essay Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) was an American writer and philosopher famous for his naturalistic and anarchical ideas as well as his adherence to the movement of transcendentalism. Thoreau was a vegetarian, actively stood against slavery and war, and was one of the first who supported Darwin’s theory of evolution. Among his many works, the best known are his essay, Civil Disobedience, a proclamation against injustice and an urge for individual opposition to civil government, and the book ‘Walden’, where Thoreau’s reflects his personal experience of living simple life in natural environment. Although these works, like many others of Thoreau, are considered ‘transcendental’ and had been published ages ago, the ideas and concepts they contain may still at some point be related to the issues we may face while living in the 21st century. In general, the core of transcendental beliefs is a faith into a perfect spiritual state of mind that transcends both empirical and physical. It can only be realized through the person’s intuition, not through the doctrines of any existing religions. Therefore, it is rather a philosophy then a religion. The transcendentalism was grounded on principles that are ‘transcendental’, i. e.  based not upon sensual experiences but upon inner feelings and empirical, spiritual essence of a human. (En. wikipedia. org) American transcendentalism was mainly dominating in the first half of the 19th century, encouraging to abandon our mundane world, establish close relationship between human and nature, and to concentrate on ideal existence through spiritual abundance and self-reliance. Henry David Thoreau was admitted as a co-founder of this movement not only for his great thoughts on transcendentalism, but also for his empirical ideas and personal practice of his beliefs, which was greatly illustrated in his most famous book, ‘Walden’. The book firstly released as ‘Walden, or Life in the Woods’ (1854) was later widely recognized as one of the best non-fictional works of American authors. Living amidst woodland that belonged to R. W. Emerson, his friend and another founder of transcendentalism, near Concord, Massachusetts, in the small unpretentious self-built cabin, Thoreau mainly aimed to isolation from society for its better, more objective understanding. He stayed there alone for almost two years but kept receiving and returning visits. For example, he often went to Emerson’s hÐ ¾use for meÐ °l and conversÐ °tion. Moreover, as he indicates in the book, the cabin was located ‘at the edge of town’, not in the wilderness, even not far away from his family home. Therefore, he focuses reader’s attention on the importance of human’s closeness to the nature, self-reliance and meditation. The book combines Thoreau’s autobiography with a criticism of society, namely American consumerism, materialism, and nature destruction, the issues still common in our century as well. Such experiment of cut-off living was made by Thoreau for special purposes. First, he tried to escape the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution through keeping agrarian lifestyle. Interesting fact, the experiment was of a temporary character, and in the book Thoreau strongly advises his readers to avoid repeating it. Thus, anyone who studies Thoreau’s works has to keep in mind that at some degree they should be approached philosophically rather than understood literally. Second, the writer wanted to practically experience the main transcendental belief that every individual can transcend from normal to divine by means of nature itself. Like other members of the movement, in the ‘Walden’ Thoreau, for example, speaks about Vedic concepts to illustrate his vision of the nature. â€Å"I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and lo! There I meet the servant of Brahmin, priest of Brahma, and Vishnu, and Indra, who still sits in his temple of the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water-jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well. The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges. (Thoreau 221) At some point, Thoreau’s attempts to promote the ideals of transcendentalism may seem to be impractical and rather inapplicable. In fact, after an in-depth analysis, Thoreau’s ideals may even look infeasible, namely his appeals to ascetic way of living and refusal of common human needs. In the scope of critical thinking, impossibility to follow the idea of living without any blessings of civilization is rather obvious. The average American who lives in the 21st century can hardly imagine him- or herself without Internet connection, using cell-phones, driving cars, or going to supermarkets. Nevertheless, it is possible at certain degree. Moreover, due to global ecology problems, it even may become necessary for each of us to refuse some advantages of our daily welfare for the great purpose of saving the world from environmental catastrophe. For this reason ‘Walden’, as well as many other Thoreau’s works, is frequently quoted by specialists who work in various fields and are concerned with the environmental problems of the Earth in general and in the USA in particular. While the whole issue of bad ecology becomes more and more crucial, Thoreau’s idea of simple life in the forest turns out to be not as unsuitable as it seemed at first glance. It is important to mention that Thoreau’s works on natural history is a great anticipation of findings and methods in the fields of ecology and the history of environment, which later became main sources of nowadays movement of environmentalism. In the book ‘Earth Rising: American Environmentalism in the 21st Century’ we read that â€Å"some 150 years ago, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, sitting in his tiny cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, was already mourning the loss of the wilderness and the debilitating effect of industrialism on the human spirit†. (Shabecoff 16) Thoreau significant influence onto the entire concept of nature preservation and conservation is unquestionable. â€Å"In the United States†¦ the movement expanded in the 1800s, out of concerns for protecting the natural resources of the West, with individuals such as John Muir and Henry David Thoreau making key philosophical contributions. Thoreau was interested in people’s relationship with nature and studied this by living close to nature in a simple life. He published his experiences in the book ‘Walden’, which argues that people should become intimately close with nature. The conservationist principles as well as the belief in an inherent right of nature were to become the bedrock of modern environmentalism†. The conservation movement is a political, social and scientific movement that aims to protect natural resources, including plant and animal species as well as their habitat for the future. Chiefly in the United States, conservation is seen as differing from environmentalism in that it seeks to preserve natural resources expressly for their continued sustainable use by humans. In other parts of the world conservation is used more broadly to include the setting aside of natural areas and the active protection of wildlife for their inherent value. (En. wikipedia. org) Because of Thoreau and his associates humanity became truly concerned about the nature, the world we live in. He can definitely be called a pioneer ecologist. Numerous contemporary movements and organizations prove the actuality of environment problem and therefore significance of all Thoreau’s works related to nature preservation. For example, his vision of the environmental issues in the 19th century became a ground for the book ‘From Walden to Wall Street: Frontiers of Conservation Finance’ written in the current times. â€Å"Why do we invest in conservation? Why do human beings invest their time, energy and financial resources in protection of land, plants, and animals? We invest in conservation because it is an expression of our faith in the future. Conservation investment is an expression of our faith in the future of natural systems that are essential to life on Earth. It is an expression of our faith in the future of deeply loved natural wonders. And it is an expression of faith in the future of our families and communities whose lives will be immeasurably enriched by the living world that we are striving to sustain†. (Levitt 3) Here is one more evidence on how outstanding were the Thoreau’s works and what a great impact they made and still do. In ‘Walden’ he included a famous aphorism that â€Å"in wilderness is the preservation of the world†. Thoreau kindled the Wilderness Religion that found fertile ground in America and provided a spiritual basis for conservation. In ‘The Main Woods’ (1864) Thoreau called for the establishment of national forest preserves, helping to set the stage for the National Park movement. (Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature 6) Despite of the fact that Walden is considered by some critics a failed experiment, the issues raised in the book are still of current importance. As 21st-century people, for instance, we suffer of consumerism and globalization, with their negative ethical aspects. Thoreau’s prophetic awareness of them is amazing, they are as relevant now, as they used to be in his century. He rejects consumerism, its adverse effect on society with its status stratification, and still teaches us lessons vital for our survival and progress. Another kind of ideas Thoreau often promoted in his works are related to anarchism and civil disobedience. Thus, let us shift our attention to this theme of Thoreau’s writings and discuss how those fit in the American viewpoint of the 21st century. In his disobedience to the American low of his times he was as prominent as in his attempts to bring humanity closer to the nature. He certainly was a key figure in the American radicalism. Disobedience was the main point in his endeavors to justifÃ'Æ' morÐ °l anÐ °rchism and to encourage each individual to act on the basis of their personal judgments, their personal opinion about the very justice rather than civil regulations. Unfortunately, Thoreau offers nothing instead and relies of his personal sÐ µnse of justice, which is univÐ µrsal. Here is the historical background of the essay. â€Å"’Civil Disobedience’ is an analysis of the individual’s relationship to the state that focuses on why men obey governmental law even when they believe it to be unjust. But ‘Civil Disobedience’ is not an essay of abstract theory. It is Thoreau’s extremely personal response to being imprisoned for breaking the law. † Because he opposed slavery and because tax revenues contributed to the support of it, Thoreau decided to become a tax rebel. He was arrested and imprisoned. It was short as a one night but has had enduring effect through the writing of ‘Civil Disobedience’ which has exerted its powerful force over time. (McElroy 2) In accordance with Thoreau’s ideals, the government of his days was far from perfection due to Mexican-American war and slavery expanded in the US. Therefore, the essay was written as anti-slavery and anti-war protest soon after the war’s beginning. Thoreau later wrote about governmental justice. â€Å"If it is of such a nature that requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop he machine†¦ Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also prison†. (Thoreau 259) In the essay the author urges American citizens to show their disagreement to government by passive disobedience without acts of violence. Such form of protest was later used by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King who initiated movements for social changes. Thoreau was emphasizing the importance of acting upon the person’s ethical and moral beliefs. According to Thoreau, â€Å"unjust law exists: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? † This urge to disobedience is in tune with the message of ‘Walden’. Those who are not satisfied with the society should not obey its norms, and neither wait until the norms are changed, nor until the majority joins them, but live according to their own believes. Personal values should be compared to the ones of the contemporary society, and unless they comply, stick the voice of conscience. Thoreau also said that â€Å"it costs me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the state, than it would to obey. I should feel as if I were worth less in that case. † (Thoreau 258) In fact, many of the issues pinpointed by Thoreau 150 years ago have not yet been overcome by the American society, and that strikes the most. He hated its slavish materialism as well as commercialism and believed that â€Å"the state should never rank above the individual conscience or the business of living. But if the state demands a person’s first allegiance by asking him to violate his conscience and participate in an injustice, the person should disobey – not through violence but by removing his cooperation. † (McElroy 3) Thoreau foresaw many issues typical to the modern American society. Over 150 years ago he predicted the crisis, spiritual and moral, that now corrodes it. The writer still begs us to slow down our hectic lives, to review our values, and to live in harmony with our consciences. He repeatedly talks about the possibility to establish a society where the justice is appreciated and the beauty of the nature is preserved.

Structure of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia

Structure of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational structure of a company and how it can be applied or beneficial to the company that have chosen. Supporting research and statements are clearly explained throughout this report. Here, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia has been chosen as the main subject of this study. Introduction Carlsberg Group was founded by J.C. Jacobsen in 1847. Since then, it has made its prestigious position to the worlds fourth largest brewery group. The headquarters of the Carlsberg Group is at Copenhagen, Denmark. Carlsberg Group extended their business to others market areas. Currently, there are more than 50 Carlsberg breweries around the world, and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia is one of it. Carlsberg Malaysia has incorporated in December 1969. Its expanded brand portfolio includes Jolly Shandy Lemon, SKOL Super beer, Carlsberg Green Label as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Due to the high quality of beer products, Carlsberg Malaysia has led the Malaysia Sales Market and left an effective impact on the economic growth. Organization structure is important to deal with in the organizations development. And yet, a clear and an effective organization structure is the major factor and force to lead Carlsberg Malaysia in their businesss development and growth. Designing Organizational Structure Management is the major issue in operating a business, it involves four functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling whereas organizing is an indispensable step to lead a business to grow. Organizing is an important process for the managers to design a formal organizations structure. As stated by Schermerhorn, Jr. (2011), the way in which the various parts of an organization are formally arranged is usually referred to as the organization structure. Organization structure identifies roles, responsibilities and tasks of each job position and the relationships among these positions. It must be coordinated and grouped in a logical manner in order to achieve the organizations objectives. Organization structure can be shown visually in an organizational chart. Drawing an organization chart is beneficial to the top layer management of Carlsberg Malaysia. When drawing it, those managers are forced to analyze the relationships between each job position and this may help them to make improvements. When managers design or create their organization structure, they must engaged in six key elements: work specialization, departmentalization, span of control, chain of command, centralization and decentralization, and formalization. Work Specialization The term work specialization, is to describe the process of dividing work activities in an organization into separate job tasks. Its also known as division of labor. Managers of Carlsberg Malaysia have put so much efforts on this step to design the effective organization structure. In order to increase the work output, they specialize each employee in doing a particular task rather than entire task. Moreover, there are some tasks that require highly-developed skills whereas some tasks only require lower skills, the managers use work specialization to make efficient use of the difference of skills that the employees or workers own. This approach is obviously beneficial in the manufacturing department of Carlsberg Malaysia. There are various types of brands manufactured under the organization. With this approach, every worker only participate in a single task or aspect of the production. For instance, one worker participates in the production of the SKOL Super Beer, another works for the Carlsberg Green Label, and so forth. Each worker could increase productivity and perform the maximize efficiency because they concentrate on their job task. Departmentalization After job tasks have been separated through work specialization, they are grouped together so that common or related work activities can be done in an integrated way. The basis of how jobs are grouped back together is called Departmentalization. Some of the standard and common forms of departmentalization used include functional, geographical, product, process, customer and etcetera. The way that Carlsberg Malaysia utilized to group activities is by functions and it can be evidently seen in the organization chart. The chart shows the functional structure of the organization, with top management followed by the functions of business development, marketing, human resources, financial and so on. In Carlsberg Malaysia, people with similar skills or performing the similar job tasks are grouped into work units. Each department will have the experts and the experts will be given the authority to make decisions within their areas of expertise. Following are the benefits of functional structure towards the organization: High level of efficiency and productivity performed by the employees because they experienced the same job tasks. Employees are easier to train because they only concentrate on specific and narrow areas. Job tasks tend to be done consistently because common knowledge share within the experts and specialists. Chain of command The organization chart that declared before in the report shows the well-structured chain of command, which identifies the relationship between the superior and subordinate. Robbins Coulter (2012) commented that chain of command is the line of authority extending from upper organizational levels to lower levels, which clarifies who reports to whom. When the organization grow in size, the chain of command tend to become taller and there will be more layers of management. Suppose an employee from Sales Department had a problem. He or she may come up with the question like: Who would help him or her to resolve the issues? This question can be solved by the following principle. Chain of command has underlying principle, which is the unity of command. The principle of chain of command states that an employee should report to only one manager. Working in Carlsberg Malaysia, each employee understand whom to report or responsible to. They are assigned to the respective managers. For example, salesperson only will report to the head of the Sales Department. Span of control Span of control can be defined as the number of subordinates that report directly to and effectively manage by a manager. It is an important consideration in how efficient Carlsberg Malaysia will be. The appropriate span must be concerned in management because it affects coordination. Tall organization structure has narrow span of control, while flat organization structure has wide span of control. Management of Carlsberg Malaysia classified as narrow span of control. Each manager has fewer subordinates to supervise. The managers are able to administer and control the subordinates closely, thus they will have more time to train their underling. However, narrow spans have certain drawbacks such as vertical communication will be become more complex and hence the decision making will be slow down, higher costs due to high level of management hierarchy, and others. Centralization and Decentralization Should most decision be made at the top levels of an organization, or should they be dispersed by extensive delegation throughout all levels of management? (Schermerhorn, Jr. , 2011, p.251) Centralization refers to the degree of authority for decision making at the upper levels of an organization, decentralization is the distribution of authority for decision making to the lower-level employees. Generally, small firms or company that started off in the hands of a founding family often use centralized organizational structure. Each conception offers pros and cons for the organization. Carlsberg Malaysia is a decentralized organization. The top management offers the employees authority to make decision as they are closer to the problem and they have more detailed knowledge and experiences about it so that they can act more quickly to give solution to the problem. For example, Carlsberg Malaysia offers their sales department adequate authority on choosing what method to promote the new product rather than enforce them to promote in traditional ways. Decentralized structure takes some burden of day-to-day non-important problem solving off the top management, so they are left free to put more effort on their strategic planning, higher-level decision making and important financial decisions. Moreover, decentralization provides low-level employee with crucial experience in making decision. With this experience, they would be well prepared to act decisively after they are promoted into higher-level positions. Formalization Nowadays, employees are expected to deal with the same input in exactly the same way and provide a consistent output. This is a highly formalized organizations expectation. As indicated by Robbins Coulter (2012), formalization refers to how standardized an organizations jobs are and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures. When formalization is high, the organization offers specific job descriptions, many organizational rules, and clear work processes. Conversely, in a low formalized organization, the employee will have more freedom in how they do their work. To make a more flexible working environment, Carlsberg Malaysia tends to become low formalized organization although formalization is needed for consistent control. Rules may be too restrictive in some situations. Thus, they give the employees sufficient independence to make decisions that they feel the best under the circumstances and would not affect the organizations reputation. However, it does not mean the employees do not need to obey the organizational rules and regulations since there will be some important staff policies such as not to use company computer to view social network like Facebook. Employee satisfaction will be increase by working in this freedom and positive working environment and employee turnovers rate will be reduced. Conclusion A well-organized internal structure is important for every organization to operate and run their business. Additionally, the size of the organization indicate the degree of work specialization, departmentalization, span of control, chain of command, centralization and decentralization and formalization required. Therefore, the management of Carlsberg Malaysia need to determine which structure will be the most effective for them.

Canadian Sport And Class Inequality :: essays research papers

Canadian sport is divided amongst its classes. Not all people engage in the same sports or do the same things to stay physically active. In following pages, I have critically examined explanations on how to tell there are differences within classes, and what these differences mean to sport and physical activity in Canada.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After examining some reasons why there is division within classes in Canadian sport, I will discuss what steps or measures would be necessary to take in order to achieve equality among the classes. I will suggest some things we can do to mesh all classes together in a unified plan. I will show how Canadian sport would be different if we lived in a ‘utopia’ of equality among classes – essentially having no classes. Class equality may not be what is best for sport in Canada. I will also weigh whether or not it would be best for Canada to be without classes in its sporting system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I will conclude with my recommendations on what steps must be taken for the future of Canadian sport to ensure the most efficient and equal program is in place for everyone. Class is very closely related to money and income. The more money you have or the more money your household brings in, the higher status you have. Power is also related to class and may not always belong to the coaches. In formally organized sports it may be who has the knowledge or resources desired to play the game that has the most significant amount of power. â€Å"Formally organized sports could not be developed, scheduled or maintained without material resources.†4 This certainly implies that some people hold a significant amount of power over others and remain in a class above others in sports. It should also be noted that formally organized sports are not democratic. The idea of class division is fully entertained when defining, â€Å"Rich and powerful people tend to be defined as worthy winners, while the poor and powerless tend to be defined as lazy losers.† To say there is a division of classes within sport without clearly defining each specific class, we must take a class logic mindset. Class logic can be interpreted as â€Å"economic success (winning) becomes proof of individual ability, worth, and character.† I must also mention the class logic comes to emphasize achievement through individual competition and domination over others.3 As we enter a new millennium, it is easy to draw conclusions on some things that have happened in the last.

Should We Really Give Children the Vote? :: Exploratory Essays

Should We Really Give Children the Vote? Sixteen year old Vita Wallace is an activist for children’s rights. In her argument, â€Å"Give children the vote,† she attempts to show that an injustice has been made to citizens of the United States. Wallace’s major claim, or thesis (McFadden, 2003), is that citizens under the age of 18 shouldn’t be denied the right to vote on account of age. Rather, she argues, children should be allowed to vote at whatever age suits them individually. By saying individually, she is using a qualifier, words and phrases used to limit and modify the overgeneralization of claims (McFadden). It is important that Wallace uses the term individually, because she recognizes that an age limit would be inappropriate for some children. After this point, most of the essay is dedicated to her opinion on why it is important for children to vote. Wallace’s uses appeal to the reader’s values, also known as warrants (McFadden). The emotional pleas may cause the audi ence to stop and consider her logic, but lack of facts and evidence leaves the argument unconvincing. With her jumpy writing and scattered thoughts the argument is hard to read, and even harder to believe. Therefore, I found the essay to be unsuccessful in persuading my opinion. The logic and evidence used to support her major claim, known as grounds (McFadden) is hard to find. The strongest evidence in the whole essay is statistics of eligible adult voters. With this information, she points out that only 36-40 percent of eligible adults actually vote. However, 25 percent of the population is under the age of 18, leading to Wallace’s statement that â€Å"Although elected representatives are responsible for all of us, they are responsible to only a few of us† (Wallace, 1998, p. 146). This statement would be effective but Wallace loses her credibility at the end of the paragraph when she calls politicians and voters selfish. By doing this she is using a fallacy, statements based on poor logic and mistaken belief (Clark, p. 81). By saying they are selfish she is using an Ad Hominem argument, which is an attack on the person rather than the issue (Clark, 1998, p. 83). Throughout the essay Wallace develops many minor claims, which are secondary statements supporting the major claim (McFadden). Right away she discusses â€Å"Discriminatory laws† which prevent high school drop-outs from getting their driver’s licenses.

Children of the World †Romero Britto Essay

The art of Romero Britto gathers symbiotic elements of popular culture from Pernambuco – a state in Brazil -with sophisticated graphic composition, in the presence of the hybridism of the postmodern art and the â€Å"glocalization† (global and local) culture of the Contemporary. Romero started drawing very young, copying the works of other artists he saw in books. He used to articulate compositions in a way that was simplified and naive, but always in bright colors. When he was about twenty-five years old he had the opportunity to go to Europe and then he moved to Miami, in the United States. There, he was painting walls and selling his paintings through the streets to survive. His amazing compositions with cheerful colors were pleasing to the public of this city. In 1989, Michel Roux, American importer of Absolut Vodka, saw his work and hired him to do the advertising campaign of the drink. The three works created by the artist were broadcast in over 60 international publications, promoting the drink quickly on the world stage. From this event on he has not stopped. He was satisfying to universal desires to live happily. In 1995 he did the campaign for Pepsi and had his designs printed on 1. million cans of soft drinks. In 1997 he was hired to portray the stars of Disney within the context of his art. He has also developed projects for IBM and Apple. His works have been printed on various products from packaging to cars and even fabrics and accessories for the fashion industry. Romero Britto settled in Miami, married an American, and built the first gallery of his various galleries in Brazil, Europe and USA. In the United States the artist seems to have turned the country idol of Pop Art, with collectors and admirers in high places in Hollywood and American government. For example: Eillen Guggenheim, a descendant of the founders of the Guggenheim Museum, considers him as a Pop artist at the same level of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein. The themes depicted in his works are daily, with simple lines and colors that give the artist an aspect of fun and humor to the figures portrayed. The character of his works publicity and array of colors, shades, and lines put him in the pop art scene and some call it neo pop. The painting explored in this work, called â€Å"Children of the World†, was created in 2006, in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15). It was in exhibition in the Governor’s Gallery by Miami Beach artist Romero Britto. This exhibition was part of a statewide celebration initiated by Governor Jeb Bush to commemorate five centuries of Hispanic history, culture, and prosperity in Florida. The Colors The painting contains numerous colors. It is hard to define the predominant one, so a bunch of them will be defined to try to explain better the message of this painting. We can see the pink in different tonalities. Pink is the color of universal love. Also, pink is a quiet color and brings calm feelings, acceptance, contentment, relaxation, and neutralized disorder. This is one of the colors most evident in the painting, and those meanings define the purpose which is the celebration of a foreign culture (the Hispanic one) in the USA, in harmony with the American one. It wouldn’t be possible without the disorder neutralized, the acceptance of the differences, and mainly, love. Another color in evidence is the purple. According to Crystalcure. com, â€Å"Purple is the color of good judgment. Purple has been used to symbolize magic and mystery, as well as royalty. † Also, most children love this color. I believe that Britto used this color because it is well accepted by children, and they are one of the focuses in the painting. This color is also used because of the good judgment necessary to deal with the differences when you have opposite cultures. The yellow is also another evident color in the art. Yellow symbolizes wisdom, joy and happiness. This is the message that Romero Britto wants to show in all his paintings – the celebration of a happy life. We can observe a little bit of blue on the globe that the children are holding, which represents the ocean, but also we can observe it on the children’s body, with another meaning. The dark blue is the color of truth and moderation. The turquoise, found on the hair of the boy is the symbol of youth, and also the color of communication. It contains the growth quality of green with the blue quality of communication. Finally, the aqua is the color of high ideals. Brown and green are other colors found in the art. Combined, they represent wholesomeness and earthiness. They can signify growth and represent the simplicity, friendliness, dependability, renewal, and environment. The Shapes and Lines Talking about the lines, we can observe that the picture contains curves, parallel lines, and diagonal lines. Analyzing the shapes, we can find circles and organic shapes (for example, the flowers). Circles represent the eternal whole and in every culture are the form that represents the sun, the earth, the moon, and the universe. They have free movement, are warm, comforting and give a sense of sensuality and love. Their movement suggests energy and power. Their completeness suggests the infinite, unity, and harmony. Finally, they offer safety and connection. Circles suggest community, integrity, and perfection. The Organic shapes are irregular. They have more curves and are uneven. They tend to be pleasing, comforting and lovely. They are free and asymmetrical form and bring feelings of spontaneity. Organic shapes add interest and reinforce themes. In this case, the flowers reinforce the theme of purity, since children are one of the focuses in the art. Another organic shape found is the wing around the globe, which represents the freedom for people in the earth. The curved lines are softer than straight lines. They can be calm or dynamic depending on how much they curve. The less active the curve is the calmer is the feeling. In this art the lines are less active and represents calmer feelings and peace. The parallel lines are combined with the diagonal lines. Parallel lines of uniform width and spacing create a static and orderly effect. The diagonal lines are unbalanced though. They are filled with restless and uncontrolled energy. They can appear to be either rising or falling and convey action and motion. Diagonal lines are more dramatic than either horizontal or vertical lines. Light and Space The feeling of space in a drawing or painting is always an illusion. The artists combine the use of light and dark value with other techniques. One of these found in the art is the simple overlapping, with the globe on the children’s hand. This simple overlapping partially hides an object that’s supposed to be behind it. The globe and its wings are covering part of the hair of the children and their hand as well, so that makes it look like is closer to us. Also, the asymmetrical balance is used, so that means the patterns are placed an unbalanced way in the composition. It promotes feelings of stress, energy and excitement. The light reveals shape, texture, and color. A flat light attempt to eliminate all shadows of the image, and it’s what we can observe in the art. Romero Britto hardly uses Chiaroscuro’s lighting (this one creates strong shadows and is typically associated with emotion or suspense). His works are known mainly because of the brightness and live colors, which make his arts more happy and alive. Conclusion  This art was created by Britto to celebrate the National Hispanic Heritage Month. He decided to have two children as his focus, who were happy and in harmony despite their different culture (we can see by their eyes that one is oriental and the other one is not. The name of the art also brings this notion that they are from different parts of the world. ). The children are holding a globe, which has white wings. This action represents the world is moving toward peace and freedom, and the children can be the agents for that. The colors used combined bring harmony to the art. The pink represents the love, calm feelings, acceptance and contentment. If combined with the purple, good judgment becomes easier, which is the main meaning of this color. The happiness created by the yellow join with the youth and communication created by the blue, make the world a better place to live. The friendliness and the renewal represented by the green and the brown express the power that children have to have good relationships with everybody and make the next generation more harmonious. The circles represent the connection between people in the world, and the power that we have as well. We can find this shape everywhere in the art, so Britto wants to reinforce the idea of the integrity and community. That is the purpose of this art for this event in which it was exposed. The lines bring a contradiction though. At the same time that the parallel lines bring the order, the fact that they are in diagonal show restless and uncontrolled energy. That is exactly how the world looks. Right now it is not balanced and there are different forces coming from every direction. So, at the same time those children represent the next generation, the old one is still present and causing disorder. The soft curves balance the art bringing the peace and calm feelings to this conflicted world. The message passed by The Children Of The World went further than just a celebration of a month. It went further than a celebration of Hispanics living health in the USA. The message is that actually this new generation filled with love, energy, good feelings and friendliness has the power to change the future, and maybe one day all the world will be able to live in harmony and peace, not only this Hispanic community in the USA.