Plaths Suicide: Considering Lazarus

Plaths Suicide: Considering Lazarus Born on October 27, 1932, in Boston, Sylvia Plath mainly wrote confessional poetry. Plaths life was marked by periods of severe depression and multiple suicide attempts. The death of her father and betrayal of her husband forced her into a state of paranoia and motivated her to write poems about her sufferings. In the poem, Lady Lazarus, Plath employs the character of Lady Lazarus to echo the poets self as a way of expressing her mania towards death and suicide. The character of Lady Lazarus attempts to commit suicide every decade. However, each time Herr Doctor revives her and portrays her like the biblical Lazarus and a walking miracle. Through out the poem Lady Lazarus struggles to regain control over her proclaimed art of dying and becomes stronger as the poem progresses. Plath uses figurative language, most specifically allusions to both the bible and to the holocaust, as well as metaphors of her mental illness and instability to illustrate her growing obsession with death and f oreshadow her third attempt at suicide. Ever since her first attempt at suicide in 1953, Plath has displayed a â€Å"long standing† interest in the biblical story of Lazarus. In this poem, Plath uses allusion to the biblical story of Johns Lazarus of Bethany to juxtapose the character of Lady Lazarus with the biblical Lazarus and character of Herr Doktor with Jesus. In the story of Lazarus of Bethany, Jesus astonishingly raises Lazarus from the dead. Similarly, Lady Lazarus is revived by Herr Doktor from each subsequent suicide attempt. However, when Jesus raised Lazarus from dead, not only was it to advertise Gods power but it was also beneficial to both Lazarus and the spectators who were given hope of immortal life. In contrast, when Herr Doktor revives Lady Lazarus he is interfering with Lady Lazaruss proclaimed art of dying. Herr Doktor is actually establishing dominance over her which she must fight to regain control over her life. He is creating power struggle between them which leads to Lady Lazaruss obsessi on with death and suicide. As Theresa Collins points out, Lady Lazarus can be interpreted as a struggle for control [. . .] a dominion prevented by her torturer, Herr Doktor. In addition, Herr Doktor revives Lady Lazarus in front of a crowd and portrays her as â€Å"A sort of walking miracle†¦Ã¢â‚¬  because similar to Jesus he is longing for admiration and acknowledgement from the people whom Plath refers to as â€Å"The peanut-crunching crowd.† Plath uses irony throughout the poem but her most obvious irony is in her proclaimed art of dying. Plath mentions, â€Å"Dying Is an art, like everything else, I do it exceptionally well.† This quote is ironic because even though Plath brags about being talented at committing suicide she always survives. Every ten years she attempts to commit suicide but each time she is revived by the doctors. Plath is thwarted on each attempt by her torturer, Herr Doktor. It is ironic to see that Plath actually does not want to die on her first time because she states that â€Å"I am only thirty. And like the cat I have nine times to die†. On one hand Plath is struggling to regain control over her art and on the other hand she accepts the fact that she will not be able to regain control until her ninth suicide attempt and has actually stopped trying. Plath feels that she is only living to entertain the crowd by miraculously surviving each time. 1 para about the tone of the poem. 3 paras about holocaust 3 paras about life mental disorder and reference Geopolitics of Food | Article Analysis Geopolitics of Food | Article Analysis Hans Goder In a world, which constantly needs more and more food and facing also some ecologic issues, a change in our way of producing and managing the outputs is needed to face the future challenges (population of 2050). As it is a global challenge, it is the role of the international bodies such as the WTO or the FAO to find and implement those changes. But the question is, are those bodies still have the means to response to this challenge. 2. Primary Sources This academic article written by Bezuneh, Mesfin, Yiheyis and Zelealem for the University of Atlanta, published in the Journal of Economic Development in 2014and supported by many other studies related to the same subject, try to see if trades liberalization has a positive effect on the food security in developing country. As 98% of the undernourished persons of the world are in the developing countries where the average of undernourished is around 15% (FAO, 2014), the present article wants to understand the possible correlation (which can be either positive or negative) between food security in countries which are opening their trades (through regulations and agreements) and introducing themselves in the global market. According to this article, food security is not just the amount of food present in the country. It is reach when the population at all-time have the physical, economic and social access to sufficient, nontoxic and nutritious nutriment which encounters their dietary needs for a healthy and proper life (Bezuneh, Mesfin, Yiheyis and Zelealem, 2014) Methodology used: The methodology used in this article is clear and can be compared to the scientific way of studying a subject. The authors chose 37 different developing countries in different regions of the world. Those countries at the time were encountering the opening of their trades to the world. Then, they compared the figures of the food security (based on the per capita daily energy supply (DES)) before and after the trades opening hoping that a clear pattern and correlation would be seen amongst the results. Also, the authors used some other characteristics to see and understand which of the different factors have the most important effect on food security. Those characteristic were for instance, the political stability of the country and time’s evolution. Then they put those characteristics into figures and ratios, in a mathematical and statistical function to compare each characteristics and its effect on the food safety compared to the trades liberalization factor. Then the result and the patterns were represented into chart and table to improve the understanding of the results. As stated, the overall methodology used in this article was the scientific one following the hypothesis, research, study and finally result pattern. Results: The effects of the opening of the market were not as strong as expected. In fact, those effects were slightly positive but not as relevant as we thought. According to the authors, those positive outcomes could have been done by other thing than the trading policies which were not in the study, once those factors were controlled, the outcome came to be, in some cases, even negatives. Again, according to the authors, this result is to be considerate with caution as the factors and so on are difficult to put into figures at this wide range. But at the end of the day, this study sort out that the relationship between food safety and trades liberalization (which is the main objectives of organization such as the world trade organization) could be considerate as weak, which follows the results of previous studies (Stiglitz and Charlton, 2005). Moreover, still according to the study the relationship between the political stability and food security is even stronger. To conclude thi s study shows that the trades’ liberalization is an important factor to help those countries (through economic growth) but it is not to be used on its own. It needs to be completed by other actions and strategies in order to see a real positive outcome at the end. According to another study led by Stiglitz and Charlton in 2005 – 2006 entitle Aid for Trade, the authors, through a structured analysis admit that developed countries, when on the global market war field, benefit from advantages against the developing country. For them, in order for poor county to benefit from the opening of their market they have to benefit from advantages or ‘’aid’’ to counterbalance the equilibrium of positive outcomes for both sides. For the authors, increasing aid is vital for the poor countries if they are to grasp the opportunities provided through trade and meet transition cost (Stiglitz and Charlton, 2006). Moreover, the authors sort out that the adjustment effort in summit such as the Doha round would be too costly for the poor country due to the loss of the preferences that they are benefiting from. Again, as a conclusion, this article state that trade and aid won’t be the great solution for food and development security. It is just one of the multiple factor that can enhance the development of those countries. Both of the articles tend to state that liberalization of trades, which is encouraged by non-governmental bodies to reduce hunger in the world, might not be the solution. Counting just on this factors could arm those economies on a long run basis and worsen the issues. 2. Secondary Sources The article entitled ‘’Trade and Transnational Corporations: the Solution to World Hunger or a Major Part of the Problem?’’ , written by Peter O’Driscoll, expert in the field of developing markets, speaks about the effect of NGO’s such as the World Trade organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on food insecurity in developing countries. The organizations have as main weapon against this plague of food insecurity the liberalization of trades through opening regulations and the insertion of those countries in the global market. According to this article, effectively, during the liberalization era, the amount of international agricultural trade has increased by 800 million tons per year. Through the article, the authors state that this increase has benefited mostly to the developed country and, in the contrary, destroyed and dislocated developing countries’ agricultural industries. Moreover, the article sort out another critical point, the number of hungry persons in the world between 90 ( pre-liberalized era) and 2002 (post liberalization) has increase by a huge amount around 18 million people. In addition, subsidiaries and economic dependence have worsened the situation. While country such as India use those subsidiaries to feed its population by decreasing prices, it affect the world worldwide as other farmers around the world need to decrease their price in order to be competitive. This reduces their turnover, which can at term led to a huge crisis. De Schutter,O in his study ‘Droit à   l’alimentation : une question de qualità ©, non de quantità ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ speaks about the food fundamental right and state that the base of the problem could come from an inequality in the food distribution between the developed countries and the developing countries. To improve this situation, the author doesn’t put the liberalization of trades as the solution. In the contrary De Schutter state that the solution would be to change between a quantitative focused industries to a qualitative based one where the food question will be put as first priority and the economic aspect as the second. For him, doing that won’t reduce the turnover of organization; contrarily it will open new market and provide new opportunities for agriculture based organizations. Moreover, the writer also states that it would be more effective to concentrate resources into improving their own agriculture sector instead of increasing their dependence to the global market. According to Chris Arsenault in his article ‘’Global dependency on food imports makes countries vulnerable’’, the global prices are at their lowest level in five years. But still according to the author, due to population increment and also standards of living improvements, those low prices won’t last long. When those prices will start to go up, the developing countries which are vulnerable and dependent to the global economy will have to face a disastrous crisis. To prevent this, the authors state that government in those countries should be smart and protect their arable earth and try to reduce their dependence on food import. Finally, according to this article, the market has an important role to play but it shouldnt be the final arbiter of who gets food and where it comes from (Arsenault, 2015). The report entitled The State of Food Insecurity in the World of the FAO in 2010 shows us that some part of the non-governmental organization has already understood the importance of the qualitative point of view. In fact, the improvement of the support to livelihoods within the country could be a better solution than trades itself but an re-architecture should be apply for it to be more effective and obtain some long term benefits. This would increase the strength of the country, it development, it stability and so one but a better understanding is required. Moreover, this article do state that doing that would be benefic for the developed country, as those stable country would become interesting markets full of opportunities on the long run. 3. Etat de l’art Those works and articles present in the previous parts of this state of the art represent a brief surrounding of all the ideas and studies present nowadays in this field of study. To sum up, they all tend to say and prove in different way and through different methodology and approach, which can be scientific or not, that trades liberalization and by extension globalization couldn’t and can’t be a good response to food insecurity in poor and developing countries around the world on its own. According to some of those articles, in some cases this facilitation and liberalization could be armful for those weak and dependent economies. As we already know, the fight against food insecurity is led by some non-governmental organization such as the World Trade Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation or the World Bank. Those organization, first have their headquarters in developed country such as the United States, where trades, profits and wealth are the priorities. Secondly, they might have a wrong strategy to win this plague. Indeed, those NGOs, since the beginning of this combat, want to answer it through an economic and trade based point of view, which, for De Schutter could be qualified as the quantitatives optics (De Schutter O. 2013) through summit such as the Doha cycle and the Bali one. Concretely, they try in most of the cases to make the developing countries open its barriers and incorporate the global market. In addition, they help those countries to develop their own organization in order, at the end, to make them trade on this global market. But the problem is that, according to many studies, this strategy tends to be more profitable for the developed country (O’Driscoll P, 2014) as they are provide with new markets where competition is easy to handle. For the developing countries, the findings are more mitigated. When they try to enter this huge market, where competition is much bigger and hard, they are obliged to compete by reducing the prices and by doing that they can’t really develop themselves. Moreover, after this opening, those weak countries become highly dependent and vulnerable to the international market. Through that, when some distortions happened within the global economy through the market rules, it strikes even more those countries as their populations are more sensible to price fluctuation and also as their economy is weaker than the developed ones. For example, between 2006 and 2009 the number of undernourished people has increase due to price fluctuations (FAO, 2010) These statements should be taken with precautions. In fact, according to some other articles, the correlation between food insecurity and trades opening is not really clear and strong but this factor stays a key factor for life quality and improvement through economic growth (Stiglitz and Charlton, 2005). Moreover, trades facilitation might be a short-run solution but not a long-run one. What we have to understand is that we can’t just rely of this only factor to be able to reach the objective of 2050 which is to feed 9 billion people. Taking and understanding all those ideas we will use and go further in those study by using and applying them to the core NGOs, and see through a quantitative and qualitative research method if whether or not the existing non-governmental organization are still able to provide effective strategies and solutions to the upcoming challenges through their present point of view or if a rethinking of their entire goals and approaches is needed to provide long terms solutions. To do so, we will structure our thoughts in a specific way. Initially, we will have a deeper look at diverse other information related to the same field and problematic stated earlier to gatherer some crucial inputs. Then, we are going to have a close look to the different bodies present in the world according to the angle chosen and their different actions and outcomes. Finally, founded on the previous assumptions, we will try to sort out the opportunities of the situation and give also, if case is, some concrete solutions and strategies that might improve the present situation. References De Schutter, O. (2013). Droit à   l’alimentation : une question de qualità ©, non de quantità ©. [online] Opinion-internationale.com. Available at: http://www.opinion-internationale.com/2013/11/28/droit-a-lalimentation-une-question-de-qualite-non-de-quantite_20844.html [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014]. Arsenault, C. (2015). Global dependence on food imports leaves countries vulnerable. [online] Reuters. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/us-food-trade-idUSKBN0M92CG20150313 [Accessed 1 May 2015]. ODriscoll, P. (2014). World Hunger Notes Trade and Transnational Corporations: the Solution to World Hunger or a Major Part of the Problem? Peter ODriscoll. [online] Worldhunger.org. Available at: http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/05/global/odriscoll.htm [Accessed 1 May 2015]. Stiglitz, J. and Charlton, A. (2006). Aid for Trade. 1st ed. Commonwealth Secretariat. FAO, (2015). The State of Food Insecurity in the World. 1st ed. FAO. Shah, A. (2015). Foreign Aid for Development Assistance — Global Issues. [online] Globalissues.org. Available at: http://www.globalissues.org/article/35/foreign-aid-development-assistance [Accessed 1 May 2015]. Kumar, R. and Nair, S. (2009). INDIA: STRATEGIES AT THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA- JULY AND BEYOND. Geneva, p.4. lOMC, (2013). OMC | Nouvelles 2013 Jours 3, 4 et 5: Un â€Å"Paquet de Bali† voit le jour à   l’issue de consultations-marathon. [online] Wto.org. Available at: https://www.wto.org/french/news_f/news13_f/mc9sum_07dec13_f.htm [Accessed 4 Mar. 2015]. Cho, S. (2006). The WTO Doha Round Negotiation: Suspended Indefinitely | ASIL. [online] Asil.org. Available at: http://www.asil.org/insights/volume/10/issue/22/wto-doha-round-negotiation-suspended-indefinitely [Accessed 2 Mar. 2015]. FAO, (2009). FAO Nouvelles: 2050: 2,3 millliards de bouches de plus à   nourrir. [online] Fao.org. Available at: http://www.fao.org/news/story/fr/item/35656/icode/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2015].

Theories on Conflict

Theories on Conflict Introduction Conflicts today abound which demand explanation. Understanding the roots of conflict is especially true now given the rise of populism which catapulted controversial leaders like President Donald Trump of the United States and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, each of their own right riding onto the wave of either anti-immigration or anti-crime sentiment. Trump has sparked numerous protests due to his contentious Muslim travel ban (Thrush, 2017) while Duterte has earned international condemnation for the spate of extrajudicial killings arising from his all-out war on drugs and criminality (Al Jazeera, 2017). Each of these leaders claim to be resolving root causes of conflict in their respective countries Trump, restricting immigration in order to address the imminent security threat that the liberal immigration policies of erstwhile US administrations have posed, while Duterte, clamping down on the drug trade which he considers to be a top cause of underdevelopment and n ational degeneration. The theories on conflict discussed and learned over the course of three weeks helped me frame a deeper understanding as to why both Trump and Dutertes analysis may be critically attacked and in what instances, they are either correct or fall short. A school of theories under the systems theory consider how the roots of violence are all interconnected and are products of social, political and economic interactions. New emerging theories such as the human needs theory consider the deprivation of basic human needs to be a direct cause of conflict and suggest that addressing the same would eradicate conflict. Lastly, various social theories from Karl Marx to Franz Fanon provide me with lenses to be used in studying social disruption for these theories really enunciate what causes societal fractures and what can be done about it. This paper is a critical reflection of the following body of conflicts theories. Discussion of Conflict and Social Theories Systems Theory Simply stated, the systems theory considers conflict to be the whole of many problematic parts of society which are inextricably linked. Conflict therefore arises not due to individual or micro-level differences and contradictions but of a general system. Systems theories seek to understand conflict by looking at how several elements located in a social system interact with one another. Violence, according to systems theorists, should be viewed from the level of (1) individuals (2) dyads; (3) subsystems (family, community, religious groups and general society). Subsystems are organized in a manner which could either encourage or deter or regulate violence. Direct efforts at changing elements of the system will not prosper since the system will immediately provide a replacement for the missing element. Hence, ending violence, which is a systematic problem requires a coordinated and comprehensive approach. The general systems theory is useful in uncovering relationships and interaction s which contribute to violence from different levels. However, its weakness lies in the fact that it is a value-free theory which requires theoretical directions. Structural violence Structural violence, according to John Galtung, pertains to a form of violence arising from a social structure or institution which harms people by deliberately depriving them of capacity to satisfy their immediate human needs. This kind of violence does not take a physical form or image but consists of avoidable impairment of fundamental human needs (Galtung,ÂÂ   1969, p. 32). The notion of structural violence impels one to look for inequalities within social structures may it be inequalities in wealth, power, privilege, access and opportunity which breed injustice. In the same light, structural violence also compels one to look at the connections between what might be falsely considered as mutually exclusive worlds. In essence, the theory of structural violence as a way of addressing conflict encourages people to proceed with moral outrage and critical participation where previously our reflexive response would be passive acceptance of these inequalities. Institutionalized ra cism, classism and sexism are forms of structural violence which are usually considered as inherent characteristics of society. Galtung however encourages to look beyond these inequalities and to find connections in order to dismantle structures which permit these injustices. In my view, structural violence is a timely method of deconstructing conflict in todays world. For instance, the notion of viewing refugees as a potential source of conflict is a worldview tacitly accepted in global policy. Acceptance of refugees is viewed to potentially open the floodgates for terrorism, crime, and other degenerate activities that threaten national security. However, when viewed from perspective of structural violence, we can proceed to view the refugee crisis more critically and conclude that instead of treating refugees as potential threats, they should instead be viewed as people who deserve to be treated with dignity. Relative Deprivation Theory This theory assumes that social conflict arises due to peoples perceptions of inequality. When people perceive that there exists a disparity from what they deserve to enjoy from what they currently enjoy, they became discontented with their situation (Walker Pettigrew, 1984). The relative deprivation theory hypothesizes that conflict arises when the gap between two groups within a particular population is too wide, the possibility of rebellion becomes more likely. The assumption is that people are bound to perceive that they enjoy certain entitlements from society and when they are deprived of this while a number of other people belonging to the same population enjoy the same, dissent comes into being. Relative deprivation theory focuses on value expectations which need to be met within a certain society. Thus, when a society has a relatively high rate of economic inequality, the more likely it is that people will rebel. While the origin of the deprivation is economic, a state of po verty does not necessarily translate to violence. However, when individual expectations of poor people become transformed as a group identity, they become a political force that will not hesitate to use violence in order to combat their perceived discrimination. In other words, relative deprivation theory considers that violence stems from a persons judgment of his or her economic circumstances in the community. To a certain extent, an individuals subjective evaluation of his or her community status is essential to their conduct. Theory of cooperation The theory of cooperation proceeds from the notion that conflicts are generally characterized by cooperation and cooperation as twin motives. Deutsch (1949, 1985) formulated this theory in order to comprehend the conflict process better and how to come up with more effective conflict resolution methods. Deutschs primary thesis is that in order to resolve conflict, it is a key step to understand the nature of interdependence of both parties in conflict. Interdependence could be negative or positive. When the goals of both parties are negatively interdependent, a partys success automatically means the others failure. Upon the other hand, when the goals of both parties are positively interdependent, one partys success is correlated with the other partys success while one partys failure is also correlated with the other party failure. In the latter form of interdependence, cooperative relationships can be had in order to secure a win-win outcome for both parties to a conflict. Cooperative relationships are considered to demonstrate several positive features such as effective communication, openness, a friendly atmosphere and commitment to mutuality. In contrast, competitive relationships bring about the opposite results such as closed communication, lack of coordinated activities, an atmosphere of suspicion and a sense of domination. Based on Deutschs research, constructive conflict resolution is more linked to cooperative processes rather than competitive processes which he considered destructive. In order to foster cooperative relationships towards constructive conflict resolution, Deutsch likened it to friendly social relations. This is marked by empowering gestures and a reframing of attitudes. Thus, he recommends that both parties agree to commit to adherence to norms in the conduct of talks and negotiations. Among these norms include respect, honesty, responsiveness, forgiveness, and acknowledgment of responsibility. These values, due to their universal value and acceptance, can pose as common grounds for both parties to stand on. Emerging Conflict Theories: Human Needs Theory An emerging trend in conflict theory shifts the focus from the political economy to basic human needs. This perspective is anchored on the fact that human beings need to acquire essentials in order to live with dignity. Human needs theorists place the cause of conflict to unmet human needs. In this light, they argue that violence happens when certain groups or individuals are deprived of basic human needs (Burton, 1979). Theorists however have disagreed on what human needs means. In Burtons (1979) view, human needs that need to be addressed in the context of conflict go beyond the basic biological or subsistence needs. Instead, unmet needs related to social conflict include identifiy, recognition, security and development. As Burtons human needs theory progressed, he highlighted how existing state systems have miserably failed to provide a sense of identity thereby fueling ethno-linguistic separatist movements. If certain ethnic groups are deprived of their freedom to express their own national identities within the status quo, they will tend to establish parallel revolutionary systems in order to achieve the same. Burton provides as concrete examples the ethnic nationalist struggle in Kosovo in 1989 as well as various gang subcultures. Burton opined that human need theory can help explain conflict and pave the way for better conflict resolution because Rubenstein (2010) considers the human needs theory as providing a better explanation to social conflict compared to theories which focus only on the errors of a few manipulative leaders or institutions, as embodied in Samuel Huntingtons clash of civilizations theory. Echoing Burtons view, Rubenstein views the human needs theory to provide the study of conflict with a more objective basis which goes beyond local or cultural differences. The needs-based approach to understanding social conflict defies traditional notions of conflict and instead uses unsatisfied human needs as the independent variable to explain why elite dominance or cultural differences lead to conflict. However, Park (2010) critiqued Burtons positivist framework of needs theory and encouraged a more critical definition of needs to mean that there are needs that do not directly bear upon material sustenance like recognition and freedom from coercion that must also not be obstructed lest there be undesirable consequences (p. 1). Park took issue with Burtons reliance on the biological explanation for Needs Theory to support protection of rights and universal freedoms. Instead, she advocates for a psychoanalytic view to suggest that not needs are not universal. According to her, needs are essentially socially constructed. The needs which people pursue are socially engineered and they may even pursue false pleasures. In sum, Park considers with caution the use of the black box that is human needs. The definition of human needs is not simple but very complex and difficult to understand. Conflict from the Lens of Social Theory Equally relevant to the study of conflict is the development of social theory arising from social disruption. In Charles Lemerts (2016) book, multiple social theorists and their viewpoints on conflict are critically discussed. From the classical Great White Men theories arose alternative views on social relationships and social conflict which can be applied to the contemporary context. Among the most notable of these social theorists include of course, Karl Marx, publicly voted as the worlds greatest philosopher (BBC News, 2015). Marx wrote Das Kapital as well as the Manifesto together with Friedrich Engels at a time of extreme economic discontent. Marx focused on his critique of political economy which obscures the internal relationships of labor and capital and discussed a pivotal feature which is the workers alienation and estrangement. What is the most striking and palpable among these types of alienation is what fuels labor unrest: that of labor commodification and the reduction of the worker to a mere object. Simply stated, the more a worker produces out of his labour power, the cheaper he or she becomes as a commodity. Because the worker is paid at a fixed rate, more and more profit is being gained by the capitalist due to his work but unfortunately the worker does not earn additional wages for it. Marxist thought has gained traction especially with the cris is of global capitalism, environmental destruction, and global poverty. Until, his theory of class as the root cause of contradiction in society remains very relevant. However, many theorists developed a more expansive construction of his view on social classes. Max Weber, another classical theorist, came up with an alternative approach to the study of classes. For Marx, ones class is defined and determined by ones ownership of the means of production. Thus, Marx considered historical class antagonisms and identified these two groups in contemporary capitalist society as the proletariat and bourgeoisie. The contradictory relationship that the classes have pushes social development forward. Weber considers social groups and classes as determined through the distribution of power. Social stratification then, occurs through overlapping means and not only through economic differentiation. Other social theorists also focus on micro-level analysis to understand conflict. Sigmund Freud uses psychoanalytic theory to understand inner conflict among human beings. Freuds treatise laid down the anatomy of the self as made up of the interaction between three components dynamically interacting: the id, ego, and superego. All of these components of the self develop with socialization hence constructing the social self. Biology interacting with socialization shapes a human beings personality. When one of the three elements is allowed to dominate the other two, social problems may arise. Also developing Marxs theory of alienation, Horkheimer and Adorno criticized the use of cultural goods in order to project false consciousness. Cultural goods are appropriated into transforming humans as passive and docile objects of a system which was actually oppressing them. Aside from creating a false consciousness, they also suggested that popular culture is geared at creating false needs in order to engineer human beings into consuming in a massive scale. This cultural appropriation in turn heightens humans alienation and creates possible sources of conflict. The readings also tell us that social theories do not stay static. Even among key capitalist thinkers, there have been different approaches to address economic problems. For instance, John Maynard Keynes challenged the neoclassical economic paradigm advanced by Adam Smith and disciples which advocated for minimal to no government interference in favor of full-out control of the invisible hand of the market to attain equilibrium.ÂÂ   Instead, Keynes suggested implementing government regulation and intervention in order to arrest the economic recession. Social theories also help us understand racial conflict. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for an end to racial discrimination which he considered a ghastly reality America must face as a nation. In describing the horrendous social conditions which African Americans and other colored peoples are subjected to, King claimed that America had manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination which breed chronic poverty and injustice for certain segments of the population. Franz Fanon provides a stirring account of decolonization as a form of liberation. His work remains relevant especially in light of the fact that many of todays underdeveloped countries are former colonies of imperialist nations which have not completely been unshackled from their former masters economically, politically and culturally. It is only through liberation, which is necessarily violent that the colonized thing becomes fully a man. C. Wright Mills teaches the student to develop the sociological imagination which is a way of looking at themselves as the result of both biology and history and in always looking at the world through fresh eyes. One is challenged to go beyond looking at ones self as well and instead consider ones development as product of several processes occurring within a system. Conclusion Given the reality of global conflict today, conflict theories and social theories enable one to look at the phenomenon with renewed understanding and critical outlook. There are classical and alternative approaches of looking at conflict and conflict resolution processes. There are also classical and alternative ways of interpreting social conflict throughout history. Having a steady grasp of these theories assist the student thoroughly by providing him with several lenses to look at the problem and identify solutions. References Al Jazeera (2017). Thousands march against Dutertes war on drugs. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/thousands-march-duterte-war-drugs-170218034827033.html Deutsch, M. (1985). Distributive justice: A social psychological perspective. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, Peace, and Peace Research. Journal of Peace Research, 6 (3), 167-191. Lemert, C. (2016). Social Theory: The Multicultural, Global and Classic Readings (6th ed.) Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Park, L. (2010). Opening the black box: reconsidering needs theory through psychoanalysis and critical theory. International Journal of Peace Studies. Retrieved from https://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol15_1/PARK15n1-IJPS.pdf Rubenstein, R. E. (2010). Basic Human Needs: The Next Steps in Theory Development. The International Journal of Peace Studies, 6 (1), 51-58. Thrush, G. (2017). Trumps travel ban blocks migrant from six nations, sparing Iraq. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/travel-ban-muslim-trump.html?_r=0Deutsch, M. (1949). A theory of cooperation and competition. Human Relations, 2, 129-151.

Violence :: essays research papers

Violence General Purpose: To persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that violence is on the increase. Central Idea: Violence should be viewed as a social problem for everyone in our society. Introduction I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Violence has increased in our schools. Within the last four years, thirty or more teachers and students have been killed. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17) killed one teacher and twelve students and wounded twenty- three other individuals. Thomas Solomon (15) wounded six students in his high school. On March 24, 1998 Andrew Holden (11) and Mitchell Hogson (13) killed a total of five people and wounded ten in Westside Middle School. This information is all from Time Magazine’s May 31, 1999’s issue. There are many problems that cause violence. Drugs, gangs, guns, and television programs are all problems the students have that are linked to violence. Transition: lets us now view the problems with drugs. Body I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Substance abuse has been a probable cause of violence. A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drug related incidents have increased in schools causing students to act violently toward each other. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Students are competing with each other trying to make more money by selling drugs. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If someone takes away someone’s customer, dealers will tend to fight against each other. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Students are also coming to school under the influence. Five percent of students in school attend counseling because they were caught under the influence during school hours. Transition: gangs also affect our students II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Membership in a gang causes violence. A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today, gangs exist in large urban and small suburban, public and private schools. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gangs encourage and reward violent acts. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gangs are powerful and violence occurs over issues of status, reputation, and turf. They also offer guns to their members. Kids have access to hand guns in school, streets, and in their parents homes. Transition: television programs also cause violence. III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All children see violent acts committed on television programs, films, rock videos, news broadcasts, and cartoons. A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many children imitate the violent they see on television. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A child who watches â€Å"The Power Rangers† will act violently since the characters are always fighting. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand, a child who watches â€Å"Barney and Friends† will not act violently since there is no fighting involved in the cartoon. D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children that view characters on television using violence acts to solve problems will use similar violent acts to solve their problems. Transition: in conclusion Conclusion I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Violence is viewed as a social problem for the law enforcement and court system. It should also be viewed as a social problem for teacher, parents, principals, counselors, coaches, and everyone else in our society.

Social Context of The Fire Next Time :: The Fire Next Time

Social Context of The Fire Next Time The Fire Next Time was published in a time of great chaos. A civil rights revolution was sweeping the country. Many of the institutions of American life were being challenged, including religion. Author James Baldwin saw power as a key to African-American success in the civil rights movement. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the Negro section of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr. Martin Luther King transformed a racial protest into a massive resistance movement in the late 1950s. In the early 1960s, the sit-in tactic was launched in Greensboro, North Carolina, when black college students insisted on service at a local lunch counter. "Freedom Riders" were sent to the South in 1961 by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to test and break down segregation laws. In a few years, there would be a sexual revolution, as well as a trend toward peace and love. For the time being, however, hatred and misunderstanding were widespread. Baldwin realized the importance of these events and movements and answered them with The Fire Next Time. As Baldwin became a teenager in Harlem, he began to realize the presence of temptations such as sex and drugs. In order to fight these evils, he fled to the church. Eventually Baldwin realized that the church didn't preach love to everyone, but only to the ones who believed as they did. Despite this bad experience in the church, Baldwin never forgot the positive elements of religion. According to Kenneth Kinnamon, Baldwin realized that Christians had kept blacks down through history, but he still understood the need for religion. "However much he may revile the historical role of Christianity in the enslavement of black people, The Fire Next Time attests that [Baldwin] has never forgotten the compensatory values of his [adolescent] religious experience," he writes (3). After a meeting with Elijah Muhammad, Baldwin realized that Christianity wasn't the only flawed religion. Baldwin saw that both Islam and Christianity needed to compromise their strong beliefs for a unified black movement to have any real power. Baldwin knew the acquisition of power would have to play a key role if blacks were to achieve full civil rights. Baldwin writes, "The only thing white people have that black people need, or should want, is power--and no one holds power forever" (96). He recognizes that whites would be reluctant to relinquish the power they had over blacks.

Father-Daughter Relationships in Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Ar

Father-Daughter Relationships in Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, and Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice Justification for the subjugation of females to males during the sixteenth century came from a variety of sources. Ranging from the view that God gave Adam authority over Eve as penalty for the fall, to a belief in the superiority of a husbands’ physical strength over that of his wife, attempts at rationalization of the restricted freedom of women came from every direction.1 Puritan reformers also believed that Eve was God’s gift, given to Adam ‘to consummate and make up his happinesse.’[1] From this perspective, we can easily make the mental adjustment necessary to embrace the view of women as property that could be ‘given in marriage, taken in battle, exchanged for favours, set as tribute, traded, bought, and sold.’[2] With this viewpoint in mind, it is interesting to move into a consideration of the father-daughter relationships presented in Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, and Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice to analyse how this viewpoint limited the freedoms of daughters. To begin our exploration of father-daughter relationships in the context of patriarchal control, we must first examine how males viewed and represented daughters within the texts. In The Old Arcadia, Pyrocles as Cleophila not only ‘praises’ Philoclea in fragmented body parts (as opposed to a whole person), but also compares these parts to military instruments of war. ‘Her loose hair be the shot, the breasts the pikes be / Scouts each motion is, the hands the horsemen’ and ‘her cannons be her eyes.’[3] Although this comparison situates Philoclea in the degra... ...53-7. [10] Oxford English Dictionary Online [11] Singh, 153. [12] The Merchant of Venice, III.ii.83-96. [13] D. Lucking, ‘Standing for Sacrifice: The Casket and Trial Scenes in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ University of Toronto Quarterly (Spring 1989):355-75, quoted by J.G. Singh, in A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare, ed. Dympna Callaghan (Malden and Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2000), 150. [14] The Jew of Malta, II.iii.52-3. [15] II.iii.289. [16] The Old Arcadia, 101. [17] The Old Arcadia, 102. [18] The Old Arcadia, 5. [19] The Jew of Malta, II.iii.228-232. [20] The Jew of Malta, II.iii.304-6. [21] The Merchant of Venice, I.ii.22-5. [22] II.v.56-7. [23] The Jew of Malta, III.iii.39-42. [24] The Jew of Malta, II.iv.1-4. [25] The Merchant of Venice, III.i.31-33. [26] The Old Arcadia, 360. [27] Dusinberre, 124.

Ethiopian Culture and History

Ethiopia – The Oldest Civilization The Great Blacks in Wax Museum The culture I decided to experience was the ancient culture of Ethiopia. The Great Blacks in Wax Museum introduced me to this most ancient but formally organized culture that still influences governing systems today. An intriguing fact about Ethiopia is that it is world’s oldest civilization and the founder of Egypt another old and great civilization. Ethiopian, also originally known as Sheba, history begins its existence around 10th century B. C. y Solomon’s first son, Melenik I, who the Queen of Sheba was the supposed to have mothered. Its documented history begins in the ancient city of Askum in about 2nd century AD, thus making it one of oldest independent African nations and one of the most ancient cultures in the entire world. The exhibit provided an excellent array of facts about Ethiopian life, history, culture, tradition and government. The display also showed a number of ancient Ethiopian artifacts as well as lifelike wax figures of some of Ethiopian rulers and leaders.The Ethiopian exhibit at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum displayed how this country and its culture is the world’s oldest civilization and it is responsible for many systems and values that are still continued throughout the world today. The artifacts in this exhibit were interesting and varied greatly in purpose and practical use. There were no artist or artisans noted in the exhibit. All the artifacts date back to the age of the history of the Ethiopians around 10th century B. C. Understanding the ancient history helps explained some of the artifacts in the exhibit.The spear was shown in many different areas of the display. The spear was an essential part of the history from the earliest historical days especially since there were many tribal wars within and from external opposition. It was used for a variety of uses including as a weapon in wartime as well as a tool to kill animals for consum ption. It was individually handcrafted of a two-part tool/weapon with a spear head (arrow-like from sharpen rock) and a shaft kept together with a sturdy vine to hold the parts together. It often had etchings, paint from berry dyes, or adornment of some kind.The spear is often shown and was used by the males in the villages and was proudly displayed in rituals including war dance, tribal dances to denote power and virility. It was a daily part of the Ethiopian life. Another artifact that was prevalent in the display was masks of a variety of materials, expressions, and sizes. The mask was an important part of the Ethiopian traditional and cultural rites and rituals. The masks were often used during celebrations including religious ones and part of medical rituals. The masks were handcrafted from fine wood and painted with paints made from dyes of berries and fruits.The masks were also used in wartime in confrontation with enemy warriors. The masks were used to celebrate joyous event s also. The masks is still crafted and used in traditional celebrations in Ethiopia today. There were many ancient instruments displayed in the exhibit. The instruments include an ancient guitar like instrument made form handcrafted wood, animal with vines for strumming. There were many different types of drums and bongo type instruments. These drums were made from handcrafted fine wood with animal skins pulled across the open wood tube and tied with vine or rope.These drums were used for a variety of uses included celebratory traditions, communicating across distance of danger, need, or information. Music and ceremonial dance were an everyday part of ancient Ethiopian and this musical tradition is still greatly part of Ethiopian culture. The Ethiopian cultures appreciation for intricate color, design and hand-dyed fabrics is prevalent in their ancient culture and their instruments were decorated and adorned as well. The original cultural attire today differ not much from their anci ent ancestors and may still be seen in Ethiopia’s heritage rich attire today.The Ethiopian exhibit provided an eye-opening insight into how its ancient systems, values, traditions, rituals and dress have shaped the current Ethiopia and many other world cultures. Egypt was a city founded by Askum (ancient Ethiopia). These ancient and great civilizations laid the cornerstone of many other past and current governments. The ancient Kemet, now Egypt was ruled by the Queen of Sheba. Her prosperity and governing were the foundation of the Greek, Roman, Hebrew, Phoenician and Indian civilization.One of Ethiopia’s most important contributions was that it had a systematic form of government and rule. Another famous woman ruler of the culture was Egypt’s Cleopatra. Though there was a period of Roman history were few women ruled with any true power, the strong Ethiopian women rulers help to set a pattern of women in government that has return to culture today. Ethiopian cul ture was responsible for many advancements in communication, commercial and architectural contributions that have affected all cultures throughout history.They were responsible for communication achievements such as being credited with the first alphabet system, the first use of chronology and history recording, and a development of a language that was more widely used than the Semitic and Aryan languages of ancient times. The ancient Ethiopians were commerce and industry masters in the art of navigation, the world’s first and most vast commercial trading system that did business with India, Persia, Arabia and Chaldea. It has been evidenced that Ethiopians sailors explores the Americas 2,000 years before Columbus. There artisans and developers of textile trade and smelting iron.They were early miners of silver, copper, gold and other raw minerals. The architectural achievements are legendary which include expert use of sandstone, limestone and granite in building construction . They are credited with the method of carving buildings and pyramids out of solid rock. They forged extensions over mountains and made the first arches, aqueducts and bridges long before the founding and rise of Rome or Greece. A wax figure of Imhotep, ca 2980 B. C. , a revolutionary architect, was the noted designer of the great step pyramid of Egypt was part of this exhibit.The advancements of this society in these areas are very much still part of Ethiopia’s history and culture but even more astounding critical to the development of multi-cultures and cross-cultures all over the world throughout mankind’s history and development. The ancient Ethiopian culture made some significant values and ideas in the area of philosophy and religion. The ancient Ethiopian culture was one of the foremost cultures that worshipped a Supreme being. They were mentioned in the Bible because they provided a place of refuge for Moses and Jesus Christ.Ethiopian (Askum) was one of the fir st African nations to adopt the then new religion of Christianity. This adoption of Christianity was significant in Christianity’s early history and a source of war confrontations with neighboring Islamic nations. In its history, Ethiopia is also noted for their protection of Christianity during the African invasion of Islamic Arabia. The wide spread popularity and acceptance of Christianity crosses multi-cultural lines and significantly affects the religious belief and lifestyle of millions of Christians even today.The Ethiopian exhibit at the Great Blacks in Wax museum was just a starting point of a long continuing rich and thriving history of African culture. The other exhibits were a direct link to this most ancient of civilizations. By observing the history of African and Black American culture and history, I reviewed many other cultures as well. Reviewing Ethiopia’s history and observing its artifacts made the rest of the museum experience more understandable. Th e ties of the Ethiopian culture – life, traditions, costumes, dress, government, architecture, commerce and industry are seen in most cultures history and present day life.The museum went on to show exhibits in the following areas of African-American and Black History: †¢ SlaveryEmancipationSlave Revolts †¢ The Underground RailroadJourney to freedomSharecropping Life †¢ Western FrontierCivil War ContributionsAbolition & Women’s Rights †¢ Black ReconstructionEducators, ScientistArtic Exploration †¢ Black Labor MovementMilitary LeadersFather of Black Nationalism †¢ Black Renaissance ManAfrican Freedom FightersRastafarians †¢ Modern Civil Rights Jim Crow EraSegregation LynchingBlack Women LegendsAthletes †¢ Space ExplorationBlvd. of Broken DreamsWriters and Poets Having observed all the exhibits the affects of the ancient Ethiopian value system, traditions were very evident in the development of multi-cultures especially in Africa, European and American history. The exhibits often made my heart heavy and even bought tears to my eyes, but I noted, that though struggle has always been part of Ethiopian and its ancestral history and urrent minority life and all cultural life; there is always hope and significant contributions throughout every culture. Through the exhibits, I observed that though much of man’s culture and history is hard to view and acknowledge, that there is a determination and drive to survive from that most ancient civilization that has carried through to this today in every culture.Struggle brings about significant change and adaptation in all cultures. It showed me that every culture is co-linked through history and shares many significant cultural anthropologic relationships despite what appears to be insurmountable differences when it is all said and done we are all the same and want what is good and right for our survival just as ancient Ethiopia wanted. ———â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [pic] Page 2 Page 3

Non violent movement

There is a wide-spread conception in the theory of nation-building that violence is an ultimate way to express disagreement and overcome injustice as well as fight a dictatorship. But the last century has proven the fallaciousness of this conception. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama and many others have shown that nonviolence can be more powerful force in defeating oppressive rulers and laws.Their lives and actions are examples how oppressors or unjust legislation may be defied by the force of word and soul rather than by the force of weapons. Gene Sharp summarizes the effectiveness of nonviolent actions with such words: â€Å"nonviolent action is possible, and is capable of wielding great power even against ruthless rulers and military regimes, because it attacks the most vulnerable characteristic of all hierarchical institutions and governments: dependence on the governed† (p. 18).Nonviolent action is an application of a very simple tr uth: people do not always do what they are told to do, and sometimes they do that which has been forbidden. When people refuse their cooperation, withhold their help, and persist in their disobedience and defiance, they do this to deny their opponents the basic human assistance and cooperation which any government or hierarchical system requires. If they do this collectively through their established independent social institutions or newly improvised groupings for a sufficient period of time, the power of that government will weaken and potentially dissolve.The world history has witnessed the cases when nonviolent means have been chosen over violence for religious or ethical reasons. In some cases, even when pragmatic political considerations were dominant in the choice of nonviolent struggle, the movement has taken on certain religious or ethical overtones. This was the case in the campaigns of the Indian National Congress for independence from Britain in the 1920s, 1930s, and 194 0s. Those struggles, often under Gandhi’s leadership, and also the civil rights campaigns in the 1950s and 1960s in the Deep South of the United States, under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., are very important.Mohandas Karamchand  Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi, is the first name that comes to mind when one speaks of nonviolence in the 20th century. His charisma and his action not only had a profound effect on India’s modern history, but also provided firm basis for all future nonviolent struggles in the world. Gandhi’s political philosophy revolved around three key concepts: satyagraha (non-violence), sawaraj (home rule), and sarvodaya (welfare of all). Whereas satyagraha was essentially a tactic of achieving political ends by non-violent means, sawaraj and sarvodaya sought to encourage ideas of individual and collective improvement and regeneration. Such regeneration, Gandhi insisted, was necessary if India was to rediscover her enduring h istorical and religious self and throw off British rule. (Andrews, 1949)Perhaps Gandhi’s best-known act of civil disobedience, known as the second satyagraha (‘hold fast to the truth’) was Salt March that was taking place in 1930 from  12 March to 6 April. It expressed increasing frustration by Congress at its own impotence and, specifically, the British refusal to grant Dominion status to India. Gandhi chose the hated salt tax as the object of his campaign. At the time, the Indian government maintained a monopoly over the manufacture of salt, an essential basic commodity which was thus heavily taxed. Those using their own salt, e.g. if they were living close to the sea, were subject to heavy punishment.The 61-year-old Mahatma started the 240-mile-long march from Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi together with seventy-eight of his followers. He was joined by thousands along the way, in a march that received vast international and national attention. When t he protesters marched on to a government salt depot, he was arrested, as were between 60,000 and 90,000 other Indians in subsequent months, as well as the entire Congress leadership. Gandhi was released and called off the campaign in March 1931 following the Gandhi–Irwin Pact, which allowed Gandhi to participate in the second Round Table Conference, and symbolically permitted the production of salt for domestic consumption.From the 1920s to early 1940s, he led a series of passive resistance campaigns in pursuit of Swaraj, which redefined the character of Indian nationalism. He sought tolerance between Hindus and Muslims and the eradication of caste untouchability. In January 1948 he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic for his pro-Muslim sympathies. Gandhi’s insistence that means were more important than the ends distinguished him from other great political leaders of the twentieth century.Since his death Gandhi has become the source of inspiration for non-violent polit ical movements such as the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. Desmond Tutu in the article A Force More Powerful a Century of Nonviolent Conflict rightfully points out: â€Å"The leaders who opted for nonviolent weapons often learned from resistance movements of the past. Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi was inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1905. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other African American leaders traveled to India to study Gandhi’s tactics.† (Tutu, 2000) Non-cooperation was a major tactic employed by Gandhi when he felt the state had become immoral or unjust.In the King movement, such action was called boycott, the most effective nonviolent tactic employed in the movement to abolish discrimination in public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. The justification for such action lies in the fact that rejection is as much of an action as acceptance. Thus, King, like Gandhi, while emphasizing the necessity of courage, utilized the boycott to achieve rejection of unjust laws regulating public transportation and public lunch counters.The net effect of the various expressions of the nonviolent protest, especially the boycott, strike, demonstration and jail, was to draw one’s opponent off balance, hoping thereby to change his mind. (Smith, p.58) Nonviolence, therefore, was not a sign of weakness or of a lack of courage. Quite the contrary, King believed that only the strong and courageous person could be nonviolent. He advised persons not to get involved in the civil rights struggle unless they had the strength and the courage to stand before people full of hate and to break the cycle of violence by refusing to retaliate.King just as Gandhi emphasized the need to prepare for action. The Civil Rights Movement initiated by Martin Luther King, Jr. succeeded in mobilizing massive nonviolent direct action. Innovative tactics included economic boycotts, beginning with the yearlong boycott of a bus company in Montgomery, Al abama, begun in December 1955 and led by Martin Luther King, Jr.; sit-in demonstrations; and mass marches, including a massive mobilization of whites and blacks in the August 1963 March on Washington, which culminated in King’s â€Å"I have a dream† speech, and protest marches led by King that met with police violence in Selma, Alabama, in January 1965.The goal of these protests was to overthrow the entire system of racial segregation and to empower African Americans by seizing the franchise. Participants of the Civil Rights Movement were often beaten and brutalized by southern law enforcement officials, and thousands were arrested and jailed for their protest activities. Some leaders and participants were killed.Nevertheless, an endless stream of highly visible confrontations in the streets, which contrasted the brutality and the inhumanity of the white segregationists with the dignity and resolve of black protesters, made the cause of black civil rights the major iss ue in the United States for over a decade during the 1950s and 1960s. The nation and its leaders were forced to decide publicly whether to grant African Americans their citizenship rights or to side with white segregationists who advocated racial superiority and the undemocratic subjugation of black people.In conclusion it would be relevant to provide a brief revision of the similarity and differences the detection of which was purpose of this analysis. The parallels between Gandhi and Martin Luther King are self-evident. This preliminary look at Gandhi and King’s activity gives us the understanding that nonviolent movement cannot be limited by time frames or specific location. It rather needs a leader with strong character, resilience and ability to persuade people. The two leaders preferred nonviolence at a time when their people were being oppressed. Both struggled against the yoke of white oppression. Like Gandhi, King valued the power of nonviolent political action in ke eping with the spirit of Gandhi’s satyagraha. King’s role in organizing the Montgomery bus boycott enabled him to emerge as the creator of a strategy of civil disobedience that earned for the civil-rights movement in the United States unprecedented media coverage, new forms of public recognition, and greater access to political power.Though both agreed that nonviolence is successful tactics on condition that every individual is committed to truth and justice, Gandhi tended to lay stress upon the necessity of personal suffering when participating in nonviolent movement, an attitude that to some extent was less aggressive than King’s emphasis on self-sacrifice. Moreover, Gandhi claimed that to achieve the goals through nonviolence one needs patience and non-cooperation and King believed that it is a certain degree of confrontation that is necessary to accomplish change. One more difference between Gandhi and King lies in the paradigm of their activity.While Gandhi was concerned about social injustice suffered by Indian people, King’s concerns bore upon racial discrimination of African Americans in the USA. And probably the most striking difference is the result of their struggle. While Martin Luther King’s ideas after his death were followed through by his followers and found an echo in common American’s heart, Gandhi was criticized that his tactics unnecessarily delayed the departure of the British, precipitated the partition of India, and led to the Hinduization of Congress because of his over-emphasis on religion. Few of Gandhi’s ideas were put into practice by independent India.While both of them deserve respect and admiration, it is possible to recognize that their approaches to the practice of nonviolence later grew strong one as opposition, the other as protest. Gandhi and King help us to believe that peaceful resolution of a conflict will live up to its promise.References:Andrews, C. F. Mahatma Gandhi†™s Ideas.   London: Allen & Unwin, 1949McCarthy, R. and Sharp, G., eds., Nonviolent Action: A Research Guide. New York, 1997Sharp, G. The Role of Power in Nonviolent Struggle. Monograph Series, No. 3. The Albert Einstein Institution, 1990Smith, Kenneth and Zepp, Ira. Search for the Beloved Community: The Thinking of Martin Luther King. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1974.Tutu, Desmond. â€Å"A Force More Powerful a Century of Nonviolent Conflict†. Social Education. (64):5, 2000