Monasticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Monasticism - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that Monastery lifestyle aids the monks to subdue their bodily passions that may hinder one from having complete dedication to God. This is via fasting, enduring harsh circumstances with people of the similar motive living together as a family. Primarily, this entails fervent fasting, praying and persevering trials for the sake of the church while making constant intercession for humankind. These trials and sufferings monks render in union with those of the Christ while in Gethsemane. Here, Christ was pleading for assistance and accompaniment in the journey of human salvation, which entailed the Holy Trinity’s intervention.This study highlights that  seclusion gives monks the detachment they require meant for external stillness or quietness, which is essential in aiding one to get in touch with oneself. Hence, monks meticulously know themselves better, so that they are capable to fight their passions and embrace a life worth of God beholding. The exercise aims at fulfilling the monastic golden vows summed up as The Benedictine Rule, which acts as a guide all through the partakers’ lives. They comprise total obedience, stability and transformation in the way of life, which will aid in subduing passions and desires of this materialistic world, thus devote to the will of God.  Monastic life calls for the monks not only for fervent prayers and be in confinements of the monastery, but also aid in situations where pastoral work is in demand.

Canada, America, and the Post Industrial Society Essay Example for Free

Canada, America, and the Post Industrial Society Essay The United States of America is one of the global powers. On the other hand, Canada, which is close to America, is also a large country that has a big economy. There are similarities and differences between the two countries. Some of the similarities are language spoken, religion, literacy, GDP growth per decade, and land area. Major languages spoken in both countries are mainly English, Spanish, and French. Major religions in both countries are Protestant and Catholic. Both countries also have the same literacy rate of 99% and the same gross domestic product or GDP growth rate per decade of 10%. Also, the land area of the two countries does not differ that much. Nevertheless, in terms of total area, Canada is bigger than the U. S. Canada has a total area of 9,984,670 square kilometers or 3,855,103 square miles while America has a total area of 9,826,630 square kilometers or 3,794,083 square miles. Canada is bigger than America by 1. 6% of its total area or about 158,040 square kilometers or 61,020 square miles (United North America). On the other hand, some of these differences include total area, population, GDP, unemployment rate, and life expectancy. With a population of 301,139,947 which is 9 times the population of Canada, America has a great advantage over Canada with a population of only 33,390,141. Another difference between both countries is GDP. The GDP of America is relatively higher than that of Canada. The GDP of America is US$ 13. 458 trillion, which is 11 times the GDP of Canada, compared to US$ 1. 287 trillion GDP of Canada. There is also a disparity in the unemployment rate of both countries. The unemployment rate in America is 5. 1%, which is lower compared to 6. 8% of Canada. Life expectancy in the U. S. is also lower compared to Canada. Americans can live up to 78 years while Canadians can live up to 80 years (United North America). The Features of Post Industrial Society Knowledge is a very important factor in our society today. In a post industrial society, everyone relies on information. Hence, exchange of information is highly regarded in a post industrial society. Information is gathered with the use of various data processors, record keeping, market research, etc. As to its economic sectors, the post industrial society is dominated by the tertiary sector, otherwise known as the services sector. Thus, the job opportunities mostly include jobs that offer services. Examples of these jobs are train services and computer services, among others. In a post industrial society, productivity can be seen through the primary sector and the secondary sector because of the contributions of the tertiary sector due to the transition from goods production to provision of services, one of this society’s most important features (Gershuny 1-10). Another significant feature of the post industrial era is that the importance of â€Å"blue collar† comes to dominate the economic world.Knowledge as said earlier is also an important aspect of this society. especially theoretical knowledge (Ritzer 9). Works Cited Gershuny, J. â€Å"What do we do in Post-industrial Society? † University of California, Los Angeles. April 2004. 04 November 2008 http://international. ucla. edu/media/files/LAwhatdo. pdf. Ritzer, G. The Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists. Maldem, Mass. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. United North America. Similarities Differences Between Canada United States. 1 January 2007. 04 November 2008 http://www. u

Why Was the Batista Regime in Cuba Easily Overthrown?

Why Was the Batista Regime in Cuba Easily Overthrown? Why was the Batista regime in Cuba overthrown with such apparent ease? Fulgencio Batista was born in 1901 and during his life was twice to seize power in Cuba as well as once being cleanly elected before eventually fleeing Cuba in 1959 and dying in exile. This essay will explore some of the reasons why the Batista regime was overthrown with such apparent ease. The Cuban Revolution and overthrow of Batista must be seen in the context of Cuban history and it is with the rise and fall of the Machado regime that we will begin, before looking at political opposition to Batista and the rise of Castro. Following his popular election in 1924, it was thought that under the presidency of Gerardo Machado Cuban politics would be cleaned up (Williamson 1992, 441). However, unrest caused by falling sugar prices through the 1920s led to an increasingly repressive regime that fuelled terrorism and violence amongst students and middle-class intellectuals as well as opposition from labour unions. The ABC movement, formed in 1931, engaged in assassinations and shoot-outs with Machado’s police. In 1933 Machado went into exile but the government put in place by the army and the US ambassador was quickly ousted in September 1933 in the so-called Sergeant’s Revolt. Dr Ramon Grau San Martin of Havana University became president but after a four-month spell in office, Sergeant Fulgencio Batista overthrew his government in a coup (Williamson 1992, 442). Despite having the support of the US and Cuban business interests, Batista was a populist who sought the support of the unions, passed social welfare, provided housing for workers and promoted fuller employment through public works programmes (Williamson 1992, 442). The unpopular Platt Amendment, allowing US intervention in Cuban internal affairs, was annulled in 1934. In the late 1930s there were assembly elections and in 1940 a new constitution was passed, providing for universal suffrage, pensions, social welfare, a minimum wage and an eight hour day (Williamson 1992, 443). In 1940 Batista held free elections, in which he won power. However, in 1944, perhaps overconfident, he lost the election and retired to the US. Elected to the presidency in 1944 was none other than Dr Grau, of the Autentico Party, which was formed after the 1933 revolution and had led political opposition to Batista through the 1930s (Ameringa 1985, 328). It was hoped that the political atmosphere would become healthier and that further reforms would be enacted. After all, there had been US aid and an improved economic situation during the war and a sugar boom at its end. These hopes ‘were drowned in an orgy of corruption and violence by venal revolutionary gangs, which Grau looked upon with complaisance’ (Williamson 1992, 443). In fact violence and terrorism had never fully disappeared after 1933. It is in this context that the relief at the return of Batista, through a coup in 1952, must be seen. Continuing with a similar programme of public works and economic diversification Cuba’s situation seemed to improve with increased literacy, health and welfare (Williamson 1992, 444). On the other hand there remained significant seasonal unemployment amongst the rural majority due to the continued predominance of sugar as well as dependence on the US market and its quotas and the fluctuating world sugar price. The second Batista period had not been greeted with universal joy. Varona, of the Autenticos denounced him as a ‘usurper’ (Ameringa 1985, 328). Batista declared himself chief of state and suspended the 1940 constitution, dissolving all political parties. He cancelled the elections in 1952, detaining members of the opposition and suspending civil guarantees, and cancelled elections again in 1953 and won the election in 1954 while Varona, who had been detained in 1952 and 1953 denounced his regime and election victory as fraudulent (Ameringa 1985, 330-39). Fol lowing his election, Batista attempted some conciliation in a policy of amnesty (Ameringa 1985, 340). Despite this, there was an increased climate of violence in 1955-56 marked by the killing of Villasana, a crackdown on student demonstrations and a purge of the military (Ameringa 1985, 340, 342, 344). Fidel Castro had already appeared on the scene from Havans University in the early 1950s. Under his leadership 160 young people had attacked the Moncada barracks in Santiago, part of their plan to depose Batista (Williamson 1992, 444). Most were shot or arrested and treatment at the hands of the soldiers was brutal. Indeed the public outcry at this was what saved Castro from torture and murder, although the attack did provoke a further tightening of the regime. Following his release from prison in 1955 he went to Mexico, falling in with other exiles and Guevara. Returning to Cuba on the Granma, Castro with 82 men landed in Oriente but were given away to Batista’s men by locals and only 12 men survived the enounter. Fleeing into the Sierra Maestra, a guerrilla force began to take shape and to win small victories against Batista’s troops. There was also urban resistance led by Pais, the students’ Directorio Revolucionario, which almost managed to assassinate Batist a and the Communist Party, which mobilised labour against Batista (Williamson 1992, 445-46). An unsuccessful revolt of naval officers also took place at Cienfuegos in 1957. The failure of the general strike in 1958, according to Williamson, made Castro realise that it was military action that would decide the fate of Cuba (Williamson 1992, 446). Batista failed to defeat the guerrillas in his May 1958 offensive in Sierra Maestra and in August Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfugos’s forces took Las Villas, cutting Cuba in two and isolating much of Batista’s army in the east. On the 1st of January 1959, with the Rebel Army approaching Havana and having already lost the military aid of the US in 1958, Batista fled to the Dominican Republic, conceding defeat (Williamson 1992, 4446-47). Castro was immediately recognised by the US as the new Cuban prime minister. Vellinga comments that ‘From the abundant literature available on the Cuban revolution, it is difficult to arrive at a consensus on the question of whether or not the Rebel Army brought about the ultimate defeat of the Batista regime, and to determine exactly which segments of the population (and in what proportion) played a major part in the struggle on Fidel Castro’s side’ (Vellinga 1976, 246). Indeed, while the official line, that the Rebel Army was a peasant army conforming to theories of revolutionary warfare, that the Batista regime was defeated by a coalition of the workers, peasants and students and that the regime was defeated by successful applications of the doctrine of guerrilla warfare, we can see that the tradition of political change in Cuba is one in which dictators could, when forced to face up to their unpopularity and the impossibility of their situation, retire, rather than fight to the death (Vellinga 1976, 246). This had been the case with Ma chado as well as with Batista, at the end of his first regime. Batista’s position, facing opposition from all sides and without US backing was quite simply untenable. Furthermore, the US CIA had been trying to persuade Batista to step down voluntarily, in favour of others that he might designate, and had tried to engineer a situation in which Castro might be contained within a US friendly coalition in Havana (Morley 1982, 168). The post-1959 attempts by the US to shape events in Cuba were unsuccessful due to the ‘mobilized working-class constituency’ that was able to remake the social and political institutions of Cuba (Morley 1982, 169). This would seem to demonstrate the truth in the notion that the revolution did have a basis in the community at large and explain the apparent ease of the overthrow of Batista. However, the military success of the revolution needs to be seen in terms of the wider context of the constant political opposition of the Varona and the Autenticos from 1952-57, who in a spirit of abstentionism retained democratic ideals and the principle of the rule of law and consistently denied the legitimacy of the Batista regime, emphasising its violations and avoiding violence and collaboration. ‘They fostered the attitude that the Batista regime was abnormal, an aberration that would pass’ (Ameringer 1985, 350). In conclusion, we can see that the apparent ease with which Batista was overthrown owes itself to a variety of factors brought out by the discussion above. Firstly, in Cuba there was a tradition in which dictators could step down and flee from untenable positions, for example, Batista’s original financially beneficial retirement to the US. There also seems to be truth in the widespread involvement amongst the different social classes of Cuba in the revolution against Batista. The lack of continued support from the US probably played a major role in Batista’s decision to flee, not least following his military defeats at the hands of the Rebel Army and the withdrawal of military aid by the US. Finally, there was constant and consistent political opposition that maintained the illegitimacy of Batista’s regime and kept alive the possibility that something better could exist. Bibliography Ameringa, C.D. 1985. The Autentico Party and the Political Opposition in Cuba, 1952-57. The Hispanic American Historical Review Vol.65 No.2 (May): 327-51. Morley, M.H. 1982. The US Imperial State in Cuba 1952-1958: Policymaking and Capitalist Interests. Journal of Latin American Studies Vol.14 No.1 (May): 143-70. Vellinga, M.L. 1976. The Military and the Dynamics of the Cuban Revolutionary Process. Comparative Politics Vol.8 No.2 (Jan.): 245-71. Williamson, E. 1992. The Penguin History of Latin America. London: Penguin.

Global Warming Essay -- Greenhouse Effect Climate Change

Global Warming This essay has problems with format. Global Warming is a result of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect occurs when gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and CFCs trap heat in the atmosphere by acting as a pane of glass in a car.  ³The glass ² lets the sun light in to make heat but when the heat tries to get out the gases absorb the heat. Holding this heat in causes heat waves, droughts and climate changes which could alter our way of living. The main gases that cause the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane which comes mainly from animal manure. Other gases like nitrogen oxide and man made gases called chloroflurocarbons get caught in the atmosphere as well. The decay of animals and respiration are two main but natural sources of carbon dioxide. In my opinion we people of the whole world should try and slow down the emmission of greenhouse gases and/or find ways to balance the gases so the climate doesn't change so rapidly. If it did we would be forced to adap t to the new climate that we brought upon our selves. If we had a international cooperation to put a damper on the production of chloroflurocarbons and slowed down the use of fossil fuels it would dramatically slow down the process of "global warming." Over the last 100 years the global temperatures have been increasing slowly but steadily. Since 1980 the temperature has risen 0.2 degrees C (0.4 degrees F ) each decade. Scientists predict that if we continue putting the same amount of gas into the atmosphere by the year 2030 the temperature will be rising as much as 0.5 degrees C (0.9 degrees F ) or more per decade. Over all the global temperature could rise anywhere from 5 to 9 degrees over the next ... ...mosphere. Every country will contribute by donating money. Each country would be required to give 0.01 of their GNP to this committee. If they refuse they will be boycotted and nothing will be sold to them by the participating countries. Global warming is a big threat to our nation and the world. If we do not act now, it may be too late. Of course, there is no sure way of telling if there actually is a greenhouse effect, but let ¹s not take any chances. Look at what is happening to this world, and you will see that there is a pollution problem. There are steps being taken at this moment to reduce the gases put into the air but it still isn't enough. We need to cut back more by taking a few easy steps. Plant a tree, or take a bus to work instead of driving your own car. Those things may not seem like a lot, but if more and more people do it, it will make a difference.

Times Oldest Debate :: essays research papers fc

Time's Oldest Debate Raffikki Period 2 According to recent studies, planet earth formed approximately four and a half billion years ago. Since then, the earth has undergone many evolutionary changes. Earth began as a swirling gas which condensed to create an immense land mass. The ancient earth was basically the same as today's earth except for the environment. The atmosphere of the ancient earth was quite different, containing more carbon and nitrogen gases than oxygen. The former atmosphere is where much of present day organic molecules such as proteins, lipids, and enzymes were created in abundance. By chance or simply because of the laws of nature, those life producing compounds bonded together to create the oldest known life form on earth -- a bacterium. Other life forms evolved from the bacterium through natural selection. These microscopic organisms formed symbiotic relationships with each other and produced larger, multicellular organisms, such as man. It may seem like a gigantic leap, bacterium to man, but given billions of years, it is certainly possible. It is true that The Bible holds certain truths which would imply a reliable source of information; however, some parts of The Bible are not true at all. According to science, life evolved in the following order: bacterium to fish, fish to various land animals, and animals to man. Coincidentally or divinely, The Bible states that God said, "Let the waters teem with fish and other life...let the earth bring forth every kind of animal...Let us make man" (Genesis 1:20-26). The Bible accurately depicts the order in which life was established. But how could the primitive people who wrote The Bible know the order of which life was created without science to aid them? This evidence would stand to prove that The Bible truly is the word of God Himself. However, evolutionists would prefer to believe that the writer of The Bible was an incredible guesser. That is because many parts of The Bible seem to be written based on conjectures of what people of the time thought was correct. An example of this would be from Genesis, "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the greater light is the sun and the lesser light is the moon; however, the moon is not a light, it is a planet that reflects light. The people who wrote The Bible did not know that the moon was a planet; nor did they know that other planets even existed. So, they described the moon as a source of light just as the sun is a source of light.

Morrisons Bluest Eye Essay: Conformity -- Bluest Eye Essays

The Bluest Eye: Conformity The basic theme of the novel, The Bluest Eye revolves around African Americans' conformity to white standards. Although beauty is the larger theme of the novel, Morrison scrutinizes the dominant white culture's influence on class levels. Morrison sets the foundation of the novel on issues of beauty in an attempt to make African Americans aware that they do not have to conform to white standards on any level. Morrison's main character, Pecola Breedlove, unquestioningly accepts the ideology that white features correlate with beauty. Yet Morrison wrote this novel at the height of the "Black Is Beautiful" era during which African Americans were being reconditioned to believe that their looks are synonymous with beauty. The novel is a retrospective story told by Claudia, one of Pecola's childhood friends. Claudia's account allows the reader to sympathize with Pecola's self-hatred. As an adult, Claudia best articulates how Pecola's victimization is caused by her environment. Telling the story almost three decades later, during the sixties, Claudia reflects on the pain of wanting to be something you can never become. According to an interview entitled "Toni Morrison's Black Magic" in Newsweek, Morrison states that Pecola's character was formed based on the fact that "Black is beautiful was in the air. . . .So I wrote about a child who was ugly-Pecola is the perfect defeated victim-only she was beautiful" (Strouse 56). Morrison's depiction of a victimized Pecola addresses how the dominance of white consumer society can effect the psyche of a young African American girl. Morrison writes the novel as a coming of age story about three elementary s... ...n life, being exposed to nicer lifestyles made them want more for themselves. The Breedloves all believe they would have attained a higher level of success, if they were born beautiful. Morrison implies that they believe success correlates with beauty. She states "As long as she [Pecola] looked the way she did, as long as she was ugly, she would have to stay with those people" (39). Do white standards of beauty put beautiful people in a higher class status? According to Morrison, the Breedloves attribute their storefront residence to the fact that "they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly" (34). The Breedloves' mentality is instilled in them by their surroundings. Moving from the south to the north, African Americans' moral values changed from valuing the community and family to fetishizing material possessions.

‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling Analysis

The poem ‘If’ is directed to Kipling’s son, and is a message to him on his route to manhood. This is seen in the very last line of the poem, when Kipling writes: â€Å"And- which is more- you’ll be a Man, my son! † The poem is about setting goals, taking risks, being a leader and self-belief, but all in moderation. An example in the text is: â€Å"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you. But make allowance for their doubting too†. Kipling tells his son to believe in himself, but to never be over-confident. Throughout the poem, Kipling writes what it takes to be a man, and what his son should aspire to be.The purpose of the poem is to both inspire and warn the reader. An example in the text is â€Å"If you can dream- and not make dreams your master;†. This phrase inspires readers to dream and set goals in their life, through hardships and failures. However, it also warns readers to never let these dreams consume them, and to be able to detach from these dreams when they need to. This phrase sends a message to keep a balance. You can work towards a dream, but it should not be all you work towards, and you should not be a slave to that dream. Throughout the poem ‘If’, emotion is expressed.At the start of the poem (stanza 1) the emotion is generally quite sad and more depressing then the rest of the poem. This is shown in the second line â€Å"Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;†. However, as the poem progresses the emotion of the poem becomes happier and more inspirational. This is shown in the line â€Å"Or walk with Kings- not lose the common touch†. The poem seeks to make the reader reflect on their own life and to compare the attitudes and feelings to the ones described in the poem. Kipling uses many writing techniques in his poem to help get his message across.A few of these include personal pronouns, repetition and personification. An example of personification in the te xt is: â€Å"Except the Will which says to them†, where Kipling personifies a will. Kipling uses personal pronouns such as â€Å"you† to make the reader feel as if the poem is directed to them, and therefore make it more personalised. This use of personal pronouns could inspire readers, as the feel they are being directly spoken to. Kipling uses repetition to emphasise certain points, an example of this in the text is â€Å"if you can†.This phrase is also repeated to inspire, as readers may think, â€Å"If I can do something, I’ll be able to get this†. The poem is made up of four octaves. Every other line of the poem rhymes with each other (e. g. ABAB rhyming structure). The first line of the poem has eleven syllables and the second has ten syllables this pattern continuous throughout the poem, with every other line having 11 syllables. Throughout the poem there are only two main sentences, from stanza one to three, and the last stanza is its own s entence. In the poem a semi-colon or colon splits the main phrases up.The lack of punctuation throughout the poem makes the poem easier to read, as it is almost one collective thought. Kipling could possibly be showing the confusion in a boy’s head when entering manhood. The poem is almost constructed as an instructional manual, as the language of the poem is quite descriptive and somewhat instructional, yet mainly simple words are used throughout the poem. This is shown in the first two lines, where Kipling writes: â€Å"If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you†.This type of language is quite appropriate as it is supposed to be directed to his son (so simple words are used), and is a guide towards how his son should act (so the instructions in the poem are clear). Using this type of language the instructions are easy to understand. Kipling uses various techniques to get different images in the reader’s head; commonly used techniques include metaphors and personification. An example of personification in the text is â€Å"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same.†Where Kipling personifies Triumph and Disasters as two people who have betrayed someone. An example of a metaphor in the poem is â€Å"If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run†, where he uses running as a metaphor for life. In this metaphor Kipling says you must try you’re hardest all the time, even if it leaves you exhausted, which is what running does. These different forms of imagery could have been written in order to make the reader imagine and dream. Therefore, they can get a better understanding of what message the writer may be trying to convey.The poem ‘If’ has a regular rhythm following the pattern of an iambic pentameter. An example in the poem is (where the capitalised words are stressed syllables): â€Å"i f YOU can KEEP your HEAD†. The regular rhythm of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is quite calming and reassuring. The poem flows very well and it is almost written like a song. This steady rhythm allows readers to be inspired, as they are reassured by the calmness of the poem. Kipling uses alliteration throughout his poem to emphasise key points.An example in the text is when Kipling writes â€Å"Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools†. In this sentence a hard ‘t’ sound starts three different words. The hard ‘t’ sounds could be said to reinforce negativity in the sentence. The last two words of the line have a ‘f’ sound at the start which could be said to reinforce the ‘fools’ sound. The last word of every other line in the poem rhyme with each other (e. g. ABAB) rhyming structure. For example â€Å"not make dreams your master†¦ Meet with Triumph and Disaster†. This structure coul d be implemented to make the poem more interesting.I feel like this poem was written very well as through the use of many techniques it does achieve the poet’s purpose, which is to inspire. The poem is written in a very easy way to understand, as the language is relatively simple, the rhythm is regular, great imagery is used and the poem is structured well. The poem teaches one to be a leader, to have a strong work ethic and to be self-righteous, yet always be able to detach from these things when necessary. Due to the strong message the poem conveys and great craftsmanship, I really enjoyed this poem.