Old Goriot - SuccessLove, Money, Power Essays -

Old Goriot - Success:Love, Money, Power Old Goriot Success: Love, Money, Power ?Isn't it a fine game to play, after all, to be alone against mankind and to have luck on your side? (p. 125) states Vautrin. Honore de Balzac, in his novel Old Goriot, places us, the readers in Eugene de Rastignac's mind. The position in which Balzac prepares the readers to learn about Paris and Parisian life is set up brilliantly. What better way to teach the readers that to have them experience the main character's experiences. The lesson Honore de Balzac shares with us and his Eugene de Rastignac is that in Paris, Parisian success is solely a ruthless game of love, money and power. Throughout Old Goriot the prominent theme is success. All Balzac's characters have their own tales of triumph and adversity, as well as choosing which path leads to success, and this leads the readers to the opening of the novel. There are four characters whom of which Balzac puts great emphasis on their lives. These characters are Old Goriot, Vautrin, Madame la Viscomtesse de Beauseant, and Eugene de Rastignac. Two of Balzac's creations, Vautrin and Madame de Beauseant, have their theories of how to gain success through means of love, money and power. Old Goriot and Eugene de Rastignac serve as players in the game of Parisian life. In Paris and the Parisian life, Balzac bestows us, the readers and Eugene three ways of life to choose from. All three lead to some type of success- no one person can correctly define the meaning of ?success?- and all lead to death. The three options are obedience, struggle, or revolt. In the social strata of Parisian life, Old Goriot rests at the bottom. This is because he chose obedience and his family as his pathway to success. In all reality Old Goriot did reach his goal of being successful because he once was a great vermicelli maker. But because of his love for his daughters, he blindly sacrificed his love, money and power for their lives. Old Goriot says ?'Work forty years of my life, carry sacks on my back, lard the earth with my sweat, and pench and save my whole life long for you, my darlings, who pp.2 made all work easy for me and every burden light, only to see my fortune, my life, so up in smoke! If that were so I should go raving made, and die'? (p. 247). As stated earlier each path to success results in an inevitable death. Therefore, the quotation by Old Goriot proves to be true, because the conclusion of the novel ends with his burial. Mystery fills both the readers and Eugene when it comes to the character of Vautrin. In Old Goriot Vautrin - ?'As sure as my name is Cheat'? he says (Vautrin, p. 124) - is the villain, and is Eugene de Rastignac's enemy, granted Monsieur Rastignac is the hero. Vautrin, who's alias is Jacques Collin, has chosen the path to success through revolt and danger. Vautrin makes a very important offer to Eugene, where Monsieur Rastignac is forced to make a decision between struggle and revolt, for he has already done away with obedience by taking leave from his family to concatenate the aristocrats. Vautrin says to Rastignac, ?' Fifty thousand young men at this very moment are in your position and are racking their brains to find a quick road to success...You may judge of the efforts you must make and the bitterness of the struggle. You must devour each other like spiders in a pot, seeing there are not fifty thousand good positions for you. Do you know how a man makes his way here? By the bri lliance of genius or the cunning use of corruption. You must cut a path through this mass of mean like a cannon-ball, or creep among them lie a pestilence. Honesty is of no avail'? (p. 129). From that quote Vautrin has just proven that he has no heart for love and will ?'fight against envy, slander, mediocrity, against the whole world'? (Vautrin, p 131) to succeed in money and power. But, because in Parisian society, you cannot have one without the other, and Vautrin wants only money and power.

Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Discrimination essayEssay Writing Service

Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Discrimination essayEssay Writing Service Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Discrimination essay Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Discrimination essayThe regulation of individuals’ social behavior is carried out through the system of individual attitudes. The forms of attitudes, stable and closed from the influence of new experience, are presented by stereotypes and prejudices. Their cognitive component contains distorted, irrational, absurd knowledge about objects that do not meet the changing reality. With respect to inanimate objects this refers, for example, to all sorts of superstitions, but in the social sphere, stereotypes and prejudices widely serve as the justification of racial, ethnic, class and economic differences. The significance of prejudices and stereotypes as an illusory, fantastic explanation of reality consists in the fact that they indirectly contribute to the preservation of social inequality and inhibit progressive change.  Prejudice and stereotypes as illusionStereotypes mean extremely stable and limited understanding of a social object or situation b y which people are guided in their behavior without a second thought (Myers, 2012; Feenstra, 2013). A major role in the structure of a stereotype belongs to its emotional charge, which clearly indicates to what is acceptable and unacceptable in relation to any object. Thus, if an object of a stereotype is another person, the major features are often one’s gender, nationality, or profession, while other differences may be unduly ignored. According to Inzlicht and Schmader (2011), the specificity of this approach lies in the unconscious division of people into â€Å"us† and â€Å"them† with ingroup experiences perceived as idealized and endowed with pculiarities in a positive way (autostereotype), while outgroups are endowed with negative assessments (heterostereotype). As a result, stereotypes form a simplified and highly superficial understanding of the social reality phenomena.In its turn, the concept of prejudice includes irrational components of social and in dividual consciousness, based on the inaccurate, distorted, stereotypized knowledge that was accepted uncritically, with the negative emotional manifestations becoming intense (Myers, 2012; Feenstra, 2013). A person with a prejudice may not like those who are different and discriminate against them by one’s actions. Thus, while prejudice is a negative attitude, discrimination is a negative behavior. In general, basing on Myers (2012) and Inzlicht and Schmader (2011) studies, negative assessments as a measure of prejudice may be linked to the emotional associations, need to justify one’s discriminatory behavior or stable negative beliefs, i.e. stereotypes.Prejudices and stereotypes have several sources as they perform several functions. In particular, they can express a sense of one’s Self and the desire to seek affectation from the society; defend self-concept from anxiety caused by uncertainty about one’s own safety or internal conflict; as well as suppo rt group interests, values, and social status. Given the latter, in our opinion, one of the most important origins of prejudice and stereotypes is social inequality. It is difficult, for example, to disagree with Inzlicht and Schmader (2011) that stereotypical views about African Americans and women help to justify the lower social status of these groups. Indeed, prejudices basically help justify the economic and social superiority of those with wealth and power. Meanwhile, attitudes can easily match the social hierarchy not only because they justify it, but also because occurring discrimination affects those who become its victims, and so the social beliefs can turn into self-fulfilling prophecies, as Myers (2012) and Feenstra (2013) argue.In addition, identifying ourselves with certain groups, we include social identification into the personal one (i.e. a sense of personal qualities and attitudes). As Myers (2012) marks, categorizing people into groups, we thus contrast our group to other groups (â€Å"they†) with a clear predisposition and manifestation of favoritism for our own groups. As a result, a sense of belonging (â€Å"we†-feeling) increases our self-concept and helps to achieve inner peace. We are looking for not only self-esteem, but also opportunities to be proud of our group. Moreover, the fact that we perceive our groups as different in the better way from the others contributes to the situation where we also tend to see ourselves in a more attractive light (Myers, 2012; Feenstra, 2013). On this basis, stereotypes successfully fix in the public mind, and conformism here plays an important role. Indeed, the shaped prejudices are kept up mainly by inertia, as Feenstra (2013) reasonably notes. If a prejudice is accepted by the society, the majority will prefer to take the path of least and will promote stereotypes not so much because of the need to hate someone as because of the desire to be accepted and valued by this society.In its essence, the underlying cause of stereotypes’ adoption is a non-developed cognitive component (Myers, 2012; Inzlicht Schmader, 2011). In particular, explaining the actions of others, an individual often makes a fundamental attribution error: being inclined to attribute the behavior of people to their internal dispositions, one does not consider important situational forces (Feenstra, 2013). In addition, as Myers (2012) puts this, it is an attribution error that makes an individual biased in the interpretation of one’s own group members’ behavior as positive, whereas positive actions committed by the members of an out-group are usually not taken into account. In general, we sometimes make judgments or start communicating with someone having nothing but a stereotype at hand. In such cases, stereotypes and prejudice are able to fully deprive of objectivity and distort the interpretation and memories of people and environment.  ConclusionThe modern view of preju dice arising due to the recent studies leads us to an idea of how stereotypical thinking becomes a byproduct of information processing – a method individuals apply to simplify the perception of the world. However, the emergence of illusive relationships between the belonging to a certain social group and one’s behavior has both cognitive sources and cognitive consequences. Directing our interpretation and our memories, stereotypical thinking results in the fact that we find evidence in its favor, even where such evidence is not present at all. Therefore, stereotypes are resilient and difficult to modify. And yet, there are some reserve methods that can weaken them. Thus, if status inequality creates prejudice, the society should strive to create relationships where cooperation and social equality will dominate. In particular, if we know that some type of discrimination is based on prejudice, we need to get rid of discrimination, but depriving it of any institutional su pport. Generally, it is believed that the psychological and social health of a person is based on awareness of both one’s own individuality and uniqueness and group identity, as well as one’s belonging to all humanity.

Biography of Carl Sandburg

Biography of Carl Sandburg Carl Sandburg was an American poet who became widely known to the public not only for his poetry but for his multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. As a literary celebrity, Sandburg was familiar to millions. He appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1938, with the accompanying photo essay focused on his sideline as a collector and singer of American folk songs. After Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, he remarked that he would have been most happy had Carl Sandburg gotten the award. Fast Facts: Carl Sandburg Known For: Poet, literary celebrity, biographer of Abraham Lincoln, and collector and singer of American folk songsBorn: January 6, 1878 in Galesburg, IllinoisDied: July 22, 1967 in Flat Rock, North CarolinaParents: Clara Mathilda Anderson and August SandbergSpouse: Lillian SteichenEducation: Lombard CollegeAwards: Three Pulitzer prizes, two for poetry (1919 and 1951) and one for history (1940) Early Life and Poetry Carl Sandburg was born January 6, 1878, in Galesburg, Illinois. He was educated in local schools, which he quit in his early teens to work as a laborer. He became a traveling worker, moving throughout the Midwest and developing a great appreciation for the region and its people. After joining the Army during the Spanish-American War, Sandburg returned to his education, enrolling in a college at Galesburg. During that period he wrote his first poetry. He worked as a journalist and as the secretary for the socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. He then moved to Chicago and took a job as an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. While working in journalism and politics he began writing poetry seriously, contributing to magazines. He published his first book, Chicago Poems, in 1916. Two years later he published another volume, Cornhuskers, which was followed after another two years by Smoke and Steel. A fourth volume, Slabs of the Sunburnt West, was published in 1922. Cornhuskers was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1919. He would later be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1951, for his Complete Poems. The cover of Life magazine features a close-up of American poet Carl August Sandburg (1878 - 1967), February 21, 1938. The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images His early poems have been called subliterary, as they tend to use common language and slang of the common people. With his early books he became known for his free verse that was rooted in the industrial Midwest. His plain manner of speaking and writing endeared him to the reading public and helped make him a celebrity. His poem Fog, was known to millions of Americans, and appeared often in schoolbooks. He had married Lillian Steichen, the sister of photographer Edward Steichen, in 1908. The couple had three daughters. The Lincoln Biography In 1926, Sandburg published the first volumes of what would become his massive biography of Abraham Lincoln. The project, which was originally conceived to be the story of Lincoln in Illinois, was influenced not only by Sandburgs own fascination with the Midwest, but with a circumstance of timing. Sandburg had known Civil War veterans and other local people who retained vivid memories of Lincoln. The college Sandburg attended had been the site of one of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. As a student, Sandburg came to know people who recalled attending the debate five decades earlier. Sandburg engaged in countless hours of research, seeking out Lincoln scholars and collectors. He assembled the mountain of material into artful prose that brought Lincoln to life on the page. The Lincoln biography eventually stretched into six volumes. After writing the two volumes of The Prairie Years, Sandburg felt compelled to continue, writing four volumes of The War Years. In 1940 Sandburgs Abraham Lincoln: The War Years was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History. He eventually published an abridged edition of the Lincoln biography, and also shorter books on Lincoln for young readers. For many Americans of the mid-20th century, Carl Sandburg and Lincoln were somewhat inseparable. Sandburgs depiction of Lincoln was how countless Americans came to view the 16th president. Carl Sandburg eulogizing Lincoln at a joint session of Congress. Getty Images   Public Acclaim Sandburg put himself in front of the public, at times going on tour playing his guitar and singing folk songs. In the 1930s and 1940s he would appear on the radio, reading poems or essays hed written on American life. During World War II he wrote a regular column about life on the American home front which was carried in a number of newspapers. He continued to write and publish poetry throughout his life, but it was always his association with Lincoln that gained him the greatest respect from the public. On Lincolns 150th birthday, February 12, 1959, Sandburg enjoyed the very rare honor of addressing a joint session of Congress. From the podium in the chamber of the House of Representatives he spoke eloquently of Lincolns struggles during the Civil War and what Lincolns legacy meant to America. Carl Sandburg visiting President Kennedy in the Oval Office. Getty Images In October 1961, Sandburg visited Washington, D.C., from his farm in North Carolina, to help open an exhibit of Civil War artifacts. He stopped by the White House to visit President John F. Kennedy, and the two men spoke of history and, of course, Lincoln. Carl Sandburg died on July 22, 1967, at Flat Rock, North Carolina. His death was front-page news across America, and he was mourned by millions who felt as if they had known the unpretentious poet from the Midwest. Sources: Sandburg, Carl. Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature, vol. 4, Gale, 2009, pp. 1430-1433. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Allen, Gay Wilson. Sandburg, Carl 1878-1967. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, edited by Leonard Unger, vol. 3: Archibald MacLeish to George Santayana, Charles Scribners Sons, 1974, pp. 575-598. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Carl Sandburg. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 13, Gale, 2004, pp. 461-462. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Women An object of Sex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women An object of Sex - Essay Example The equality between men and women is near to non-existent. Generally, it is believed that this world is a man’s world. Even the English language does not support gender equality. According to transforming a rape culture, page 125, there are almost 220 words for sexual promiscuous women and around 20 such words for men. This language of rape culture has surrounded our daily lives and we have become ignorant to the inequality. We regularly ignore the degrading images and stereotypes of women created and reinforced by media. In the current world scenario, where males dominate, glamor is restricted to the people who are classified above middle class. Females are treated as sub-ordinates, emotional support seekers and a sex object. Media helps create and reinforce a gender duality based on traditional views of men and women. Often, females and males are shown in advertisements according to the roles they play in patriarchal structure i.e. males as dominating creatures and women as helpless ones. Media shows women as giving advices on how to please men, how to cook, and how to look attractive by loss of weight. These stereotypes, however, have become a part of our daily lives and are hardly escapable from the advertising industry. An average person is exposed to over 2000 ads a day. These ads sell a lot more than just the product. They promote values, images, love, success, popularity and worth. Unfortunately, these ads show images of female body to promote the product. Women sell everything from food to cars to deodorants. All leading models are shown as slim, tall, long-legged, white, and young. Now the question is why are all standards of beauty being imposed solely on females? B.Earl Puckett quoted in Stephen Donadio that the task of media is to make women feel dissatisfied and unhappy with their natural looks. A woman will, then, opt for beauty products, cosmetics, diet plans, and other such services. The messages from these advertisements indicate that a woman has only her body to offer. Women are considered as an object of sex and violence which can increase the sales of the products . It’s their body which can enable them to get whatever they want. They feel dissatisfied with their looks and body appearance and try to improve their appearance by using cosmetics, and going on diet. The images of young, thin, beautiful female models create a desire, a strong desire, in males to feel the body warmth. Such degrading images show women as just a sex object. Ads like those made for cigarettes and deodorants (AXE, etc.) show women half naked, craving for the sexual pleasure. If one believes in these images, then to some extent one actualizes them. These submissive, sex object roles have dehumanized women and give the power to men. These ads indicate that men are to rule, control females whereas females only seek to please males. The TV commercials for an age controlling cream, Pond’s age miracle by Lever Brothers (Unilever), depict men only love women who stay white, spotless, and young. These ads use women as an object of sex. Certain ads also portrayed that to gain one’s husband’s love and attention wife has to look young and fair. A TVC by pond’s – telecasted in 2009 on all media channels in South Asia – showed a wife using the pond’s age miracle cream. The husband expressed his love and feelings to the wife because she looked young and beautiful. The tag line for this ad was â€Å"see the change of your husband in just 7 days.† (Pond's, Pond's Age Miracle) Another ad telecasted in Thailand showed a girl who uses Pond’s age miracle. The concept of ad is that a girl will look beautiful and attractive only with fair color, spotless skin, and less wrinkles. The cream claims that within 7 days a girl can look beautiful and control the aging signs. Again the typical stereotype has been reinforced that a girl can only be attractive if she has fair complexion, spotless skin, and a younger looking skin. (Pond's, Pond's A

Q8Na Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Q8Na - Essay Example Workers participation and empowerment is apparent whereby they are more involved in decision making process, can set own goals and solve problems through action learning (Dunton, 2008). Communication is open to all in the organization hence more commitment to planned programs and a basis for learning organization culture (Salem, 2008). Functional teams are emerging unlike in the past where individual work was encouraged. The top management sets the vision, mission and objectives and the whole organizational is involved in ensuring they are met. Training and development of employees is also evident. Organizations are transforming into learning organizations. A culture of learning through mistakes is also encouraged as opposed to punishing employees for making mistakes hence hindering learning. Total quality management techniques are also emerging and use of internal and external consultants to help the management through change process. Appreciative inquiry method of management is bei ng embraced in organizations to support positive culture (Faure, 2006). The economy is becoming more globalized, workforce more dynamic and educated and environmental responsibility is on the rise. In future organizational development therefore will be more technologically enabled. Organizations will be involved in more networking and e-commerce and have greater productivity. For example, the organization will be able to serve more customers and employees can work from anywhere through use of technology. There will be more innovations and learning and client base will be diverse due to development in information and technology. Organizational development practitioners will require more competence to deal with diverse clients and cross-cultural teams. Transformational leadership will be required to deal with the emerging issues. Change is inevitable in

Effect of Health Workers on Policy Makers

Effect of Health Workers on Policy Makers POLITICS, LAWS AND BUDGETS The political system of a country plays a critical role with the affairs surrounding health. It is important to examine the relationship of how health problems affects policy making and how health professionals can participate in the legislative process. Not all health professionals know how policies, that influenced their practice, are made. Some of the decisions that affects healthcare professionals and their customers are made by the government or state or appointed politicians that have limited knowledge with health and who have various field of expertise resulting into some ineffective health policies. This results into increased pressure on health workers and agencies to participate in policy making. People working in the medical field have been long complaisant in just providing research results to the legislative body. However, health professionals must also play an active role in developing health policies. Health Workers and Policy Making The government’s treasury provides advice to the political leaders on the budget distribution for the different government sectors including health. These advice ranges from purchase and regulation of health services to health strategies and policies. In distributing the funds, it is vital to know which health policy should be prioritize for the benefit of the majority. The effectiveness of a health policy can be greatly influenced by staffing the legislative body with people possessing vast knowledge, skills and experience in the field of human health. In order to achieve an effective policy, health professionals must combined their scientific knowledge with actual work and strategies in policy making. This is a big responsibility for healthcare professionals as this means that they also have to developed more their skills and expertise in leadership role to be an effective policy maker. An article written by Roper (1992), states that the recently created Public Health Leader ship Institute offered by Center for Disease Control in US, is designed to enhance the leadership skills of health officers to have a wide understanding on the emerging public health issues. An example of a model for making health policies can be observed in China. Decentralisation of the national government gives the local government the power to make decisions on local affairs. This means that local government can make policies and adapt it to a higher level government. From the gathered information or data from local government the central government will have a basis for making a central policy.It also means that health sectors are involved in the policy making. Areas of Advocacy For Health Workers Advocacy is one of the most powerful tool for health workers to achieve their goals. By advocating, health workers influences the priorities and action of those people in the position or those who are in power. There are areas in which where health workers can be an advocate. Workplace Health personnels should act rather than wait for a crisis to erupt. Health workers serves as the first line of defense in terms of protecting the health of the population. And because of this, they should take part in making a policy that will benefit all and something that would lasts. Kingdon (1992) coined the term â€Å"policy entrepreneurs† to describe public health professionals. In the workplace, one of the most important attributes of a health leader is having an excellent interpersonal skill. As a healthcare leader, they can coordinate all communication/issues between health workers and policy makers. Having a good flow of communication in the workplace will help the leader to decide what information should be provided to the policy maker. Organized communication ensures that the organization speaks in one voice and the legislation have a central point of contact inside the workplace. Staff members within the company should have an understanding on the legislative process for them to know the implications of a proposal and it’s possible results in the future. An example of this is, chain of communication can also be observed inside a specific company. Those workers who belongs to the bottom level in the organisational chart are given the chance to be heard by voicing out their suggestions/concerns with regards to the existing policies and management. The gathered information from these workers, will be reported by the manager to the policy maker or those authorities concerns. In the workplace, health workers may be ask to decide more in an operational way. This involves decision with regards to the daily operation of the organisation. A series of good operational decision can lead an organisation in achieving their long term goal. Government Law (n.d.) defined government as the regulating, restraining, supervising or controlling body of society. They have the political power to exercised these rights upon the individual member of an organised society, for the good and welfare of the majority. The New Zealand government follows the Westminster model wherein it is composed of a constitutional monarchy, a sovereign parliament and the three vital branches of government. These three entities are Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. The most important duty of the legislative body is to make laws. They are the one responsible for assessing if bill can be turned into laws. The head of the executive branch is the President or the Prime Minister. The head of the executive approves and carry out the law passed by the legislative branch. The judiciary exercise the power to interpret and apply the law through the court system. Health workers can impact the way policies are made from the local government to the national government. The role of health workers is vital in sustaining and achieving progress in health sector. To fully understand how health workers can influence policy making, let us take a look on what happen in Tanzania: Cokelet (2009), detailed how a person became an advocate in decreasing the case of violence against women in Tanzania despite of the obstacles. The high rate of violence in this country is directly related to their culture which seems to view this practice as an acceptable issue. Kivulini of Women’s Rights Organization aimed in reducing gender-based violence by mobilising the community to change the norms and the policy in their society. Before starting her advocacy, she needed to have first an understanding about the obstacles addressing the issue of violence by consulting a study done by the World Health Organisation, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She used the result of the study to serves as a basis of collecting more specific and realistic information. They collect information from women about how well they know the available resources or the policies by the local government to help them with their situation. They found out that local leaders lack the kno wledge, training and resources to help those abused women. By the result of the study Kivulini developed a model of training and care and now advocating this model with the Prime Minister of Tanzania and local government officials. Kivulini started the advocacy in the community/local government and their model also affects the national level. Tanzania increased the funds for the training and increasing resources to tackle the issue of violence. Professionals Organizations Health workers must be involved in policy process that will affect them in personal and professional level. This involves having knowledge on the existing laws and regulations that regulates their profession. References Cokelet, E. (2009). Advocacy to Improve Global Health: Strategies and Stories from the Field. PATH p.2 Kingdon, J.W. (1992): Agendas, alternatives and public policy. Little Brown and Company, Boston. Law,(n.d.):What is government? Retrieved from hhtp://thelawdictionary.org Roper, W.L. (1992): Strengthening the public health system. Public Health Reports 107: 609-615.

Peace Cultures in Action Today Essay

In â€Å"Peace Cultures in Action Today†, the author argues that some small isolated societies manage to create a culture of peace that often ends or is severely modified when they begin interacting with outside cultures. The argument then is that the greater society of the world is less peaceful than these small isolated societies. This theory warrants further study, especially in the area of how these societies react when confronted with societies that do not have the same values. For example, when the Zuni and Inuit are confronted by the larger populace of the United States, do they become more competitive? The interesting question here then is, â€Å"Is competititiveness and aggression a learned behavior? † In the piece, â€Å"To Construct Peace† , Elise and Kenneth Boulding too argue that peaceable existence is a learned behavior and that it can be taught. Elise was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for this theory, but it does not seem particularly sound. Even their own pacifist leanings led to conflict. Though the conflict was in the court systems over the right to become a citizen without an oath to bear arms for the country and a battle over their refusal to sign anti-Communist statements during the McCarthy era, it was still a conflict based on their moral standing. Therefore, it is safe to believe that even in people who believe in and are taught to live in peace, conflict may be inevitable when dealing with the real world. Later the same peace cites Thomas Merton and his poetry and meditations against war and his disappointment that the church could support a â€Å"just war† theory. This again is an interesting position that requires more exploration. Should society allow tragic events to continue because of a belief in peace or should war become a tool of peace? The moral and social ambiguities are clear. If a person is being oppressed and his pacificits nature is being used to subjugate or eradicate him, isn’t there some point at which man must fight for his own survival? This is the point that all of the essayists seem to miss. Peace for peace’s sake is a good thing and being taught to attempt peaceful coexistence before immediately turning to aggressive behaviors may be appropriate. However, if the species is to survive, at some point base instincts overcome learning and the fight for survival becomes more powerful that the desire for peace.