War is Peace Essay Example for Free

War is Peace Essay As the Night set in over Afghanistan on October 7th 2001, the night was suddenly ablaze with display of light and sound. Ironically it was a Black Sunday for the people of Afghanistan. The U. S conducted air raids on Afghanistan. Afghanistan was already in rubble. Were these attacks justified? These raids were telecast on TV channels. Many innocent children witnessed these intense episodes of blood shed. For every terrorist killed, many innocent lives were wiped out. These killings created more terrorists. What is this war and violence all about? This is about space, not a war of good over evil or culture. Living without space can prove to be claustrophobic and so it blew up into a war. These raids totally pulverized Afghanistan further. All the arterial roads were closed and with winter setting in, it was difficult for people to get food. Though food packets were air dropped, people were in constant fear of being blown up by land mines. In the past twenty years wars between Soviet Union and America have given rise to a group of maimed and disfigured people mostly in their forties. Young orphans stripped of their innocence strutted around with guns in their hands. These were young hands that never held teddies. Young men beat and raped women without any feelings of guilt. Now North alliance – Taliban’s enemy is trying to gain supremacy over Kabul and faced with complete defeat and soldiers were switching sides. Are these acts of communal violence justified? There is no excuse. These acts cannot be justified even if it is in retribution. The international coalition against terror is a group of rich countries that hold weapons of mass destruction – Chemical, Biological and Nuclear. Most wars have been fought by these countries. They have upheld violence and war. They have supported dictators. Arundhathi Roy is an intense writer. Her detailed descriptions of war makes you sit up and think. She speaks of these acts of violence from a social and cultural perspective. What is this war all about? Is it about establishing peace? Peace at what cost? Can peace be achieved with more violence and fighting? It only leads to communal violence and hatred. This communal violence is a result of misinterpretation of Religion and the real issue gets sidelined. Can’t these terrorist attacks be detected before it happens? With all the high tech gadgets and the intelligence on the job it is impossible to track each and every email, every phone call, letter or plan. During wars; fear, suspicion and rumors terrify people. News of death and violence create panic; leading to more acts of violence. Ultimately it leads to monoculture and dictatorship. Use of religion to gain power is dangerous. The US air dropped food like rice which could not be cooked without fire. Was The US Government attempting to use this misery to boost its image? The author wonders. According to the book, there seems to be some underlying causes than what it appears to be. What is the root cause of all this blood shed and terrorism? The author wonders if it was power and oil. Or was it good over evil? Or was it all about religion? At the end of the book War is Peace, the author Arundathi Roy questions â€Å"how long can we be mute spectators? † Is it not time for us to voice our opinions she wonders. Is the beauty and joy of nature lost? She wonders†¦.

Personal Privacy and Companies Essay -- Essays Papers

Personal Privacy and Companies It is certainly a different world nowadays. You can no longer go on the internet and surf without the potential threat of your privacy being compromised and invaded. When the internet first became big you didn’t hear a lot about the issue of privacy and computers. Maybe it was because the public was naà ¯ve, but that is not the case anymore. This issue is fast becoming the heart of heated debates about how to save your privacy. Privacy is a term that is dfifficult to define, it’s different to everyone with about a zillion interpretations of the words exact meaning. So let’s take the time and gain a better understanding of it’s meaning. According to the Webster’s dictionary, privacy is seclusion or isolation from others – secrecy. On the surface this doesn’t seem like it would pertain to information systems, but think again. Everything we do on the Internet has the risk of being watched or observed. It may be from other c ompanies or scary enough the government. This issue is fast becoming the number one concern from users of the web. How can these people keep tabs on me? Technology has been a definite blessing, it’s also has the potential to be dangerous. A good example exists right here on campus. We use our social security numbers for virtually everything, from registration to purchasing books at the bookstore. If this number fell into the wrong hands it could prove disastrous to the person of that number. They would then have full access to any and all information they chose to use. They could access your banking files, your credit report and credit card numbers. They could ruin your lives in a short period of time. So in this respect privacy means a lot more than just i... ... other from access the customer’s information without consent. They will be able to choose the level of privacy they wish to have. While some analysts feel that they don’t see a trend toward software geared the consumer for at home protection, there is a definite surge toward the protection of clientele information. While most companies make a profit off of their customer information databases by selling them to third party companies, some companies like Earthlink have developed a competitive priority not to sell the information. They feel that the information they have on their customer is a privilege to possess and that the customer trust us by giving Earthlink their loyal business and we do not want to violate that. As technology grows so grows the need for companies to listen to their customers and implement a solid privacy policy that the people can trust.

Spheres in Scarlet Letter

It was once said that â€Å"the only living societies are those which are animated by inequality and injustice. † A man named Paul Claudel wrote this in his work, Conversations dans le Loir-et-Cher, and he criticizes the ability to have a functional society. Societies are meant to organize the values of people into a system with uniform laws and expectations; however, societies can never fully achieve this. Claudel only sees societies with dysfunctional characteristics like inequality and injustice. There are always exceptions to the social order because all people are individuals with different life experiences that help define who they are. Nathaniel Hawthorne also criticizes the Utopian ideals that societies often hold in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester goes astray from the rules of her Puritan town and must wear a scarlet letter on her chest to declare her sin. The scarlet letter isolates Hester from the pressures to conform to society, giving her the opportunity to find her individualistic moral perspective in life and she shares this revelation with Dimmesdale. Hawthorne conveys this concept of individualism through the motif of spheres. Initially, Hawthorne conveys Hester’s isolation from society which is brought on by the scarlet letter, by putting her in her own sphere. The most noticeable feature of Hester as she exits the prison is the elaborate scarlet letter that is embroidered on her chest. Immediately, Hawthorne mentions that the letter â€Å"[takes Hester] out of the ordinary relations with humanity and [encloses] her in a sphere by herself† (46). The language here shows the isolation brought on by the letter because Hester no longer has the same relations with humanity, which in this case signifies the uniform Puritan society. Her interactions with others are altered now that she is by herself. The letter puts Hester in a different world, away from that of society and causes her to be alone. Even people that do not understand the reason for Hester’s isolation participate in it. The children of the town only understand that Hester is â€Å"shut out from the sphere of human charities,† but they do not know why and yet when they see â€Å"the scarlet letter on her breast, [they] scamper off with a strange contagious fear† (72). This furthers the idea that Hester is completely ostracized from society because even those that are naive of the letter’s meaning will not accept her. Hawthorne illustrates the isolation Hester experiences, as a result of wearing the scarlet letter, with the symbol of the sphere. Along with the negative aspects of isolation, Hester realizes that being in her own sphere takes away many societal pressures to conform to a set of beliefs. When Hester starts to come back in contact with society, she still feels as if she does not belong. Hester feels that all contact she has with others demonstrates that she is â€Å"as much alone as if she inhabit[s] another sphere† (74). Even though she is physically in contact with others, Hester is still alone. She no longer has to conform to the beliefs of her Puritan town because she â€Å"communicate[s] with the common nature† in different ways than â€Å"the rest of human kind† (74). Because she is isolated, Hester â€Å"[stands] apart from [society’s] moral interests, yet close beside them,† meaning she can take a step back to look at the views of the majority, but she has the option to make her own choices (74). Even though she feels separated from society, Hester can still feel the influence of its beliefs. This idea is also illustrated with the location of Hester’s cottage. The cottage is on the outskirts of the town, yet still within its limits and this parallels the influence that society has on Hester. The remoteness of the cottage â€Å"put it out of the sphere of social activity,† yet Hester still had to go into town to sustain herself with supplies. Therefore, just as the cottage keeps Hester at a distance from the town, the letter takes her away from many pressures to conform to the values of society. Hester sees that the accepted beliefs and morals of society are not the only options as a result of being isolated from the sphere of their influence, due to the scarlet letter she wears. Hester’s isolation and realization that she does not have to follow society, give her a new perspective on the beliefs of individuals and she shares this with Dimmesdale. Hawthorne conveys this through their temporary coexistence in the same sphere. Through her isolation, Hester realizes that individuals can have their own belief systems away from those of society and uses this to find peace with her sin. Dimmesdale however, never experiences public shame or isolation and struggles to find peace with his sin. He does not see leaving the town as an option like Hester does because he feels that â€Å"Providence hath placed† him in a specific â€Å"sphere† where he needs to live out his â€Å"earthly existence† and he has no choice in the matter (180). Dimmesdale does not see that there are other options besides those of society, but Hester exposes him to this idea. While they are in the forest together, she gives him a new perspective to consider; that the ways of society do not always work for everyone. At the time when both Hester and Dimmesdale can see things from this perspective, â€Å"they [feel] themselves, [†¦] inhabitants of the same sphere† (173). They are in the sphere together because even though they may not possess the same moral values in the end, at this time they both understand that they have options apart from societal beliefs. Even though they both have the same perspective they have to pursue their separate spheres in distinct ways. As Dimmesdale walks home â€Å"his inner man [gives] him [†¦] evidences of a revolution in the sphere of thought and feeling,† indicating the changes already taking place from what Hester instilled in him (198). The revolution in Dimmesdale’s thoughts and feelings takes place because Hester enlightens him to the idea of individual belief systems. He sees things in a whole new way with many more possibilities now that he can choose for himself what he wants to believe. He clearly undergoes a â€Å"total change of dynasty and moral code† due to the ideas Hester exposes to him in the forest. Both Hester and Dimmesdale see new possibilities in individual beliefs due to Hester’s isolation and realization that society’s beliefs are not perfect. Although both Hester and Dimmesdale learn that individuals can have their own belief systems through Hester’s isolation and relief from the pressures of society, they must ultimately find their own individual spheres. After being exposed to a new perspective by Hester, Dimmesdale has time to think and realizes that he is not the same as her. Dimmesdale knows that they can not reside in the same sphere and Hester, too, realizes this at the procession. As Dimmesdale walks by, Hester understands that he is â€Å"remote from her own sphere, and utterly beyond her reach† (218). Hester hoped that her influence over Dimmesdale when she enlightened him would continue on in his decisions and they would reside in a sphere together, but this was not the case. Just as Hester needed to find her place apart from the influence of others, Dimmesdale did as well. In order to find peace, Dimmesdale needed to find his own moral code and sphere and when he did, he reached â€Å"an epoch of life more brilliant and full of triumph than any previous one, or than any which could hereafter be† (227). This great success that comes from finding his own sphere shows how strongly Hawthorne believes in the individual and the pathway to get to individualism. Dimmesdale can not be any more at peace with his life than he is when he discovers his individualized moral system. Hawthorne also shows his support for individualism when he breaks the forth wall and speaks directly to the reader. He says the only thing to be learned from the minister’s experience is to â€Å"be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world if not your worst, yet some trait whereby your worst may be inferred† (236). With this, Hawthorne wants people to find peace within themselves and says they need to expose themselves fully to the world to do so. In the novel, Hester experiences public shame and shows it freely to the world whereas Dimmesdale keeps his sin hidden. That is why Hester is able to be at a better peace with herself and her sin whereas Dimmesdale’s fate is to only be peaceful in death. There can be no set sphere for all of society because of different life experiences. Hester and Dimmesdale both find separate, individualized belief systems, apart from those of society, due to the public shame and isolation Hester experiences wearing the scarlet letter. Hawthorne uses the motif of spheres to convey the message that society can not meet the needs of all individuals. The spheres in the novel never function properly when they attempt to envelop the moral perspectives of more than one person. Society tries to only have one uniform set of beliefs for all, but this is unsuccessful because everyone has their own thoughts and feelings based upon experience. Just as Claudel said, the only way societies can exist is with flaws; Utopian and Puritan ideals are unattainable. Hawthorne values individualism and the differences between all people.

The Story of a Shipwreck by Bronislow Malinowski - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 693 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2018/12/17 Category Travel Essay Type Research paper Level High school Did you like this example? Introduction Sailing in the South Seas was a very dangerous affair for the Trobriand sailors, they had to face insurmountable dangers just to go and get fish for their families. Who are The Mulukwausi The Mulukwausi are frightful beings which met people on sailing expeditions also known as Yoyova, the flying witches. The name Yoyova meant a woman who had these spiritual powers but in the form of flying disembodied being they were called Mulukwausi, and this is what sailors had to be on the lookout for (Malinowski, 238). They were dreaded and were known to be most unpleasant. It was believed that in case there was a shipwreck or a mistake at sea, it was these dreaded women who would send evil to befall the crew. They were so fierce that nobody dared say their name and they were spoken of using the euphemism Vivila. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Story of a Shipwreck by Bronislow Malinowski" essay for you Create order How the Trobriand Sailors Avoided Getting Lost In the Sea A new Canoe painted and decorated is beautiful and a source of pride for its owners. The sailors know their way around the sea and rarely encounter any dangers except encounters with the Mulukwausi who are believed to hear when a canoe is shipwrecked and is sinking (Malinowski, 240). The main way of avoiding these dangers lies in the power of mist otherwise known as Kaygau which along with Kula magic is the indispensable magical equipment of a sailor. The Kaygau is considered to have the power to protect a man who knows it well. Mulukwausi is extremely dangerous around corpses, but a sailor who knows his Kaygau can carry a corpse of a dead sailor and bring it back to the village without fear of an attack from the Mulukwausi (Malinowski, 242). These spells must be recited during the day because when recited at night, the Mulukwausi could see and hear the man and make his magic inefficient. The main belief was that the Kaygau produces some sort of mist which blinds the Mulukwausi and t he sharks who follow the canoe. Technology Used By the Trobriand Sailors to Navigate The sea in which the Trobriand sailors pass through is dangerous with reefs, sandbanks and coral rocks. When the weather is bad, canoes can really be helpless. Despite this fact, the native sailors still sail although in clearly defined routes. The sailors use straight lines across the sea; they also have to navigate between fixed points on the land, they never leave sight of the land so that if there is mist or rain, they can be able to take sufficient bearings which would enable them to make the nearest island (Malinowski, 256). Constant winds blowing in the same direction also ensure that the canoes do not deviate from their course. Additionally, if a canoe goes ashore, it has to drift into a friendly neighbor territory otherwise they may face the same fate as if they met the Mulukwausi (Malinowski, 258). Moreover the trobriand sailors know precisely how to make the masts and sails so that the canoes cannot deviate from the route they must follow. Just like a ship follows radar s o that it can follow the correct course so do the Trobriand sailors who make sure they identify a straight line in which their canoes will follow. Function of Trobriand Magic in the Society The Trobriand sailors believe in so much magic that from the onset of building a canoe to when they start sailing. All these processes involve magic and powerful spells which are meant to keep them safe through their journey and also on their way back. These spells also make sure that their expedition is successful. The Canoes, as well as the sailors, are protected by powerful magic. Conclusion It is believed that when an owl makes cries in a particular village, an inhabitant of that particular village will die, so villagers quickly chase the owl away and cover its droppings in the soil to avoid any deaths. This shows that people would go to any height to prevent calamities from happening. Works Cited Malinowski, Bronislaw. Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea, Enhanced Edition. (2013).