Evaluate the role of violence in the US counter-culture Essay

Evaluate the role of violence in the US counter-culture - Essay Example Jobs were plentiful and the advances in technology that were rapidly filling all the dreams of a consumerist society filled homes with products that were making life easier and creating a world in which survival was no longer the primary concern. As the ‘utopian’ nature of the new technologically advanced world began to move forward, however, many people needed to find new challenges outside of the needs of survival in order to motivate achievement. Some of those challenges included revolutionizing the culture and in the 1960’s, movements that worked towards emancipating the culture from oppressions that were suppressing the rights of women and those of minority races began to rise. In addition, the Vietnam conflict was providing a resource from which to galvanize many people towards looking at the government with a more critical eye. The war provided fuel for those who believed that the motivations of the government in the use of its people no longer represented the best interests of the nation. The time period of the 1960’s was framed by a society that was trying to find a way in which to best situate the culture in order to provide for the most enlightened version of the American ideals. Emancipating women, African Americans, Hispanics, the military, and even attitudes about sex seemed to be the way toward creating a society that no longer impressed upon some of its people oppression that prevented them from reaching their goals within the context of the ‘American dream’. What had seemed so perfect in the 1950’s was revealed for a facade that was hiding a plethora of social problems that could now be revealed as the freedoms that technology and the rise of the media presented an open door through which causes could stake their claims and make social revolutions out of injustices that were occurring. The media arts, such as literature and film, began to reflect the desires of those who were firmly situated in the counterculture revolutions of the period, expressing anger through violence. The expressions of violence created a sensationalized point of view, however, often galvanizing people in a direction that did not promote improvement of society but that incited anarchy. The connection between social revolution and violence in film and literature is defined by the shifts that can be observed in the cultural attitudes of the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Specific changes, especially and readily available in the example of film, provide a frame for understanding how society changed from a glossy representation of idealized values to a peeled back, raw version of social construction in which the flaws of the culture were finally exposed. In exposing those flaws, however, the artful representations became increasingly violent having an effect on the way in which some people would view the causes, some who were against those causes and others who were part of the movement. 2. Charles St arkweather In 1958 Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caril Anne Fugate, both teenagers with the girl being only fourteen, went on a murderous spree that shook the image of security that people of the United States had about their relationships with law, safety, and with the control that they felt that they had over their society. The late 1950’s represented a time in penal history where reforms were being considered as the nature of the criminal mind was discussed in terms of society’s responsibility in forming individuals who were inclined

Impact Of Globalization And Challenges Faced By It Economics Essay

Impact Of Globalization And Challenges Faced By It Economics Essay As a term globalisation is defined as the merging of the economies and societies all over the world. Out of the few hundred definitions we are going to see some of the definition concerned with the global economy and business perspective. It can be defined as is the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and people across borders (Joseph Stiglitz, 2003, pg :22). Expanding, developing, and speeding up of global interconnectedness is meant as globalisation (Held, 1999). Globalisation is a fashionable word to describe trends perceived to be dramatically and relentlessly increasing connections and communications among people regardless of nationality and geography (Tobin, 1999). Globalisation trend in the past golden years First thing that strikes us about globalisation is the sharp expansion of the financial and trade market and the government declining in its power in the past two decades. But globalisation has undergone a series of different stages in the early eras. There are several stages of globalisation according to Alex MacGillivray (2006) which we are going to see in detail in this section. Iberian Carve up (1490-1815): During this period the Spain and the Portugal with the support of the Pope started the colonial competition around the world with the long distance trade. Britannic meridian (1815- 1914): During this period the British Empire leaded the imperial power which enforced the global gold standard and it created round the world shipping. Sputnik World (1914-68): This was period in this decolonization took place which lead the USA and Soviet Union to struggle for the influence in the world. There was a rapid economic growth along this period. Global Supply Chain (1968-2001): This was the real golden period of globalisation where the entire world was interconnected by supply-chains, internet and the mobile phones. The global free market was growing rapidly and effectively in this period of globalisation stage. Thermo Globalisation (2001- till date): This is the current situation where the countries are united and struggling to prove their best in the competitive global market with the other countries. The global communication system and development in the global trade and commerce is blooming at very rapid rate. The recent tends of the effects of the Globalisation in the world. World GDP real growth rate (%) Table1: World GDP rate, (CIA 2010). Figure 1: World Inflation rate, from 2000 to 2009 (CIA 2010). The GDP growth of world was increasing from the year 2002 to 2008 due to increase in the globalisation trend. Due to out sourcing of jobs and increasing the choice in the product in the global market the GDP rate of the each country increases. Even though the GDP growth increases overall but when we come to the GDP growth in regards to each and every country the developed countries is higher than the developing countries. The wages paid for the out sourced jobs are less compared to that paid in their own countries. World Inflation rate (%) Table2: World Inflation rate, (CIA 2010). Figure 2: World Inflation rate, from 2000 to 2009 (CIA 2010). Due to the increase in the globalisation the inflation rate is decreased drastically and now it is maintained due to increasing global market. The employment rate is increasing due to globalisation are certain parts of the world and they even decrease the employment rates especially in developed countries. All these are described in detail in the further sections of the paper. CHAPTER 2 Is Globalisation a Good Thing? There is a heated debate about the true effects of globalisation and if it really is such a good thing. Good or bad, though, there isnt much argument as to whether or not it is happening. Lets look at the positives and negatives of globalisation, and you can decide for yourself whether or not it is the best thing for our world. Positive impact of Globalisation Globalisation has sea of positive aspects in the development and the improvement of the countrys GDP growth, employment rate and the world market. The paper is going to discuss about the positive factors of globalisation. The global economic resources are circulated all over the world which increases the economic linkage. The commodity, services, capital and human resources has a free flow between the national boundaries. The free trade between countries are increased. Due to this there is an increase in demand which in turn increases the production sectors. Since there is always a competition in the world market the possibly of inflation is reasonably less and the innovative ideas will increase to meet the competition. The communication among the countries is increases this develops the understanding between nations and we have a cultural interchanges among countries (Burande 2006). There is a greater access to foreign culture in the form of movies, music, food, clothing, and more due to this the global village dream becomes more realistic. We dont have a single power ruling the world after the increase in globalisation so the focus is segregated among all the countries in the world. The standard of living in the developing countries will increase due to the increase in the flow of money. The developing countries are able use the current technologies without problems associated with the development of the technology. The war between the developed countries is decreases due to equality in power. The developed countries can increase the investment on the developing countries due to increase in the liquidity of capital (Poux 2007). The environmental conditions in developed countries are increased. The countries tend to move towards democratic policies. International trade and tourism increases due to increase in globalisation. Due to free circulation of people from different countries is increased this in turn leads to social benefits. Global environmental problems like cross-boundary pollution, over fishing in oceans, climate changes are solved by discussions. International criminal courts and International justice movements are launched to control the crime. The standards applie d globally like the patents, copyright laws and the world trade agreements are increased and standardised. The local consumer products are exported in the global market which in turn increases the GDP growth of the countries. The subsidies for the local businesses are decreased. Free trade zones are formed which has less or no tariff rates. Challenges faced due to Globalisation Globalisation has lots of challenges to be faced in the both developed and developing countries. It creates inequality in income and lots of other issues which the paper discusses in this section. The benefits of globalisation are not universal. The rich are getting richer and the poor are becoming poorer. Due to globalisation the major issue is the outsourcing, which provides jobs population in one country and takes away jibs from other countries which lead many without opportunities.   Europeans lose their jobs as the work is being outsourced to the Asian countries. The cost of labour in the Asian countries is low as compared to other countries. The high rate of profit for the companies, in Asia, has resulted in a pressure on the employed Europeans, who are always under the threat of the business being outsourced. This in turn has led to exploitation of labour. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods. Earlier people had stable, permanent jobs. Now people live in constant dread of losing their jobs to competition (Lovekar n.d.). Increased job competition has led to reduction in wages and conseq uently lower standards of living. Local industries are being taken over by foreign multinationals. The increase in prices has reduced the governments ability to sustain social welfare schemes in developed countries. There is increase in human trafficking. Multinational Companies and corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions. Large Western-driven organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank make it easy for a developing country to obtain a loan. However, a Western-focus is often applied to a non-Western situation, resulting in failed progress. Companies are as opening their counterparts in other countries (Fischer, 2003). This results in transferring the quality of their product to other countries, thereby increasing the chances of depreciation in terms of quality. The threat that the corporate would rule the world is on high, as there is a lot of money  invested by them. It is often argued that poor countries are exploited by the richer countries where the work force is taken advantage of and low wages are implemented. Although different cultures from around the world are able to interact, they begin to meld, and the contours and individuality of each begin to fade. Bad aspects of foreign cultures are affecting the local cultures through TV and the Internet. There are experts who believe that Globalisation is the cause for the invasion of communicable diseases and social degeneration in countries. There may be invasive species that could prove devastating in non-native ecosystems. There is little international regulation, an unfortunate fact that could have dire consequences for the safety of people and the environment. Companies have set up industries causing pollution in countries with poor regulation of pollution. Terrorists have access to sophisticated weapons enhancing their ability to inflict damage. Terrorists use the Internet for communicating am ong themselves. Comparison between Benefits and Challenges No. Benefits of Globalisation Challenges of Globalisation 1 Economies of countries  that engage well with the international economy have consistently  grown much faster  than those countries that try to protect themselves. Well managed open economies have grown at rates that are on average 2  ½ percentage points higher than the rate of growth in economies closed to the forces of globalisation. There are  social and economic costs  to globalisation. Trade liberalisation rewards competitive industries and penalises uncompetitive ones, and it requires participating countries to undertake economic restructuring and reform. While this will bring benefits in the long term, there are dislocation costs to grapple with in the immediate term, and the social costs for those affected are high. 2 Countries which have had faster economic growth have then been able to  improve living standards and reduce poverty. India has cut its poverty rate in half in the past two decades. China has reduced the number of rural poor from 250 million in 1978 to 34 million in 1999. Cheaper imports also make a wider range of products accessible to more people and, through competition, can help promote efficiency and productivity. Some countries have been unable to take advantage of globalisation and their  standards of living are dropping further behind the richest countries. The gap in incomes between the 20% of the richest and the poorest countries has grown from 30 to 1 in 1960 to 82 to 1 in 1995. 3 Improved wealth through the economic gains of globalisation has led to improved access to health care and clean water which has increased life expectancy. More than 85 percent of the worlds population can expect to live for at least sixty years (thats twice as long as the average life expectancy 100 years ago!) Increased trade and travel have  facilitated the spread of human, animal and plant diseases, like HIV/AIDS, SARS and bird flu, across borders. The AIDS crisis has reduced life expectancy in some parts of Africa to less than 33 years and delays in addressing the problems, caused by economic pressures, have exacerbated the situation. Globalisation has also enabled the  introduction of  cigarettes and tobacco  to developing countries, with  major adverse health and financial costs  associated with that. 4 Increased global income and reduced investment barriers have led to an increase in foreign direct investment which has accelerated growth in many countries. In 1975, total foreign direct investment amounted to US$23 billion while in 2003 it totalled US$575 billion. The increasing interdependence of countries in a globalised world makes them  more vulnerable to economic problems like the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. 5 Improved environmental awareness and accountability has contributed to  positive environmental outcomes  by encouraging the use of more efficient, less-polluting technologies and facilitating economies imports of renewable substitutes for use in place of scarce domestic natural resources. The  environment has been harmed  as agricultural, forest, mining and fishing industries exploit inadequate environmental codes and corrupt behaviour in developing countries. Agricultural seed companies are destroying the biodiversity of the planet, and depriving subsistence farmers of their livelihood. 6 Increasing interdependence and global institutions like WTO and World Bank, that manage the settlement of government-to-government disputes, have  enabled international political and economic tensions to be resolved  on a rules based approach, rather than which country has the greatest economic or political power. Importantly it has  bolstered peace  as countries are unlikely to enter conflict with trading partners and poverty reduction helps reduce the breeding ground for terrorism. The major economic powers have a major influence in the institutions of globalisation, like the WTO, and this can  work against the interests of the developing world. The level of agricultural protection by rich countries has also been estimated to be around five times what they provide in aid to poor countries 7 Improved technology  has  dramatically  reduced costs and prices  changing the way the world communicates, learns, does business and treats illnesses. Between 1990 and 1999, adult illiteracy rates in developing countries fell from 35 per cent to 29 per cent. Trade liberalisation and  technological improvements change the economy of a country,  destroying traditional agricultural communities  and allowing cheap imports of manufactured goods. This can lead to unemployment if not carefully managed, as work in the traditional sectors of the economy becomes scarce and people may not have the appropriate skills for the jobs which may be created. 8 Modern communications  and the global spread of information have contributed to the toppling of undemocratic regimes and a growth in liberal democracies  around the world. Modern communications  have spread an awareness of the differences between countries, and  increased  the  demand for migration  to richer countries. Richer countries have tightened the barriers against migrant workers, xenophobic fears have increased and people smugglers have exploited vulnerable people. 9 The voluntary adoption by global companies of  workplace standards  for their internationalised production facilities in developing countries has made an important contribution to respect for international labour standards. Wages paid by multinationals in middle- and low-income countries are on average 1.8 to 2.0 times the average wages in those countries. Globalised competition can force a race to the bottom in wage rates and labour standards. It can also foster a  brain drain of skilled workers, where highly educated and qualified professionals, such as doctors, engineers and IT specialists, migrate to developed countries to benefit from the higher wages and greater career and lifestyle prospects. This creates severe skilled labour shortages in developing countries. 10 International migration has led to greater recognition of diversity and  respect for cultural identities  which is improving democracy and access to human rights. Indigenous and national culture and languages  can be eroded  by the modern globalised culture. Sources Source: Aus AID, 2004,  http://www.ausaid.gov.au/ Source: The World Bank, 2004,  http://www.worldbank.org/ CHAPTER 3 Impact on developed countries Advantages in Developed Countries: Diversification: The get diversified into the hi-tech industries due to the Globalisation and improvement in the global market. Production: The productivity improves due to more demand all over the world in the world market. The need for the product increases which in turn increases the productivity. Benefits: They become very beneficial since most of their needs are met by the foreign markets which might cost more in the local market. Disadvantages in Developed Countries: Losing of Jobs: The jobs are transferred to the poorer countries so that the companies need not pay high wages for the jobs done. This in turn reduces the jobs opportunities in developed countries. Reduction in taxes: The taxes paid on their products are reduced due to increase the sales in the world market which decreases their welfare benefits. Difference in rich and poor: The rich becomes higher in their standard of living and the poor remains the same or they might even get down in their standard of living. Impact on developing countries Advantages in Developing Countries: GDP Increase: If the statistics are any indication, GDP of the developing countries have increased twice as much as before. Per capita Income Increase: The wealth has had a trickling effect on the poor. The average income has increased to thrice as much. Unemployment is Reduced: This fact is quite evident when you look at countries like India and China. Education has Increased: Globalisation has been a catalyst to the jobs that require higher skill set. This demand allowed people to gain higher education. Competition on Even Platform: The companies all around the world are competing on a single global platform. This allows better options to consumers. Disadvantages in Developing Countries: Uneven Distribution of Wealth: Wealth is still concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and a common man in a developing country is yet to see any major benefits of Globalisation. Income Gap between Developed and Developing Countries: Wealth of developed countries continues to grow twice as much as the developing world. Different Wage Standards for Developing Countries: A technology worker may get more value for his work in a developed country than a worker in a developing country. Reversal of Globalisation: In future, factors such as war may demand the reversal of the Globalisation (as evident in inter world war years), current process of Globalisation may just be impossible to reverse. Conclusion Globalisation has both positive and negative impact on all the countries in the world market. Globalisation has lots of positive impact on developing countries like the increase in the GDP growth, increase in employment rate, diversification of products and services and lots more. On developed countries also it has positive impact like the increase in standard of living, purchase of foreign goods at cheaper rates compare to local market and many more. Even though it has lots of positive impact on each and every economy it has a greater amount of negative impact on the economies. The individualistic cultural and behavioural aspects of the economy are badly getting affected. The best goods produced in a country are exported, for making the maximum profit which in turn gives the local market the next grade or the lower grade products. The employment rates in the developed countries decreases due to outsourcing of the jobs. Even though globalisation is very important and a necessary fact or in everyday life the negative impact of it affects certain parts of our own nation. The benefits of it are not equally spread all over the world and within the nations. When it is researched more the challenges caused due to globalisation is more than the benefits of it. But at the same time globalisation is necessary for certain period of each ones life. So Globalisation is even more effective and more beneficial if all the sectors of the world are considered as one. So this paper can be concluded by saying that globalisation has to overcome all its challenges to make it beneficial and best for the world. Case Study Emergence of Globalization in India History In early 1990s Indian economy was in major crisis. It faced major problems such as fiscal deficit was increasing; inflation was high at 17%; foreign currency reserves decreased to $1 billion; NRIs did not invest in India. When Shri P.V.Narasimha Rao became prime minister of India in 1992, he took measures to make the Indian economy one of the fastest growing economies in the world and implemented the new economic model known as Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization in India (LPG). Steps taken in LPG Model to Globalize Indian Economy Some of the steps taken in LPG Model to develop Indian economy were: Firstly, Indian currency was devaluated by 18 to 19% to solve the balance of payment problem. Secondly, to make the LPG model work smooth many of the public sectors were sold to the private sector to increase government cash reserves. Thirdly, allowing FDI in a wide range of sectors such as Insurance (26%), defence industries (26%) etc. Fourthly, quantitative restrictions on imports were removed. Fifthly, the peak customs tariff was reduced from 300% to 30%. Finally, facilities available for foreign investors were open to NRIs. Merits of Globalization in Indian Economy Globalization led to the following developments. They are: Firstly, increase in FDI investments helped in economic reconstruction. Secondly, faster exchange of information, partnering with other nations for joint ventures and cultural interaction helped India to globalise faster. Thirdly, changes in technological development improved Indian Economy. Fourthly, outsourcing jobs to India increased employment opportunities. Finally, opening of international market created more opportunities. Demerits of Globalization in Indian Economy Few disadvantages during globalization were: firstly, threat of multinational corporations with immense power ruling the globe. Secondly, colonization for smaller developing nations while undergoing changes. Finally, it can lead to threat of cultural imbalance and spread of communicable diseases. Contribution of Indian Industries for Development of Indian Economy The strength of Indian companies is seen in recent times when Indian companys started expanding their territories and acquisitions globally. Phenomenal growth of information technology provided employment opportunities and drastically changed living standards. Lately realised by most multinational companies that India has immense potential has increased industrial developments in India (Malik, 2009). For, continuous growth India should pay immediate attention to ensure rapid development in education, health, agriculture and mainly infrastructure so that rural economic developments and industrial developments happen much faster. India still has the problem of poverty. The welfare of a country does not percolate from the top, but should be built upon development from the bottom. Conclusion India gained highly from the LPG model as its GDP increased to 8.8% 2010 (Trading Economics, 2010). In respect of market capitalization, India ranks fourth in the world. But even after globalization, condition of agriculture has not improved. The share of agriculture in the GDP is only 17%. The number of landless families has increased and farmers are still committing suicide. But seeing the positive effects of globalization, it can be said that very soon India will overcome these hurdles too and march strongly on its path of development.

Instant Essay -- Creative Writing Essays

Instant I'll always remember Instant. That was the nickname the men had tacked onto the muscled giant that wielded the M60 in my unit. "Instant" was short for "Instant Death." And I'll always remember the first time I saw Instant in action. I was a new Lieutenant assigned to Vietnam. Back then, the Army didn't try to develop any "team spirit" within the corps; men were rotated frequently before any friendships developed. Consequently, my men were a group of strangers united only by the need to survive. They were eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds with the eyes of old men. My first real assignment was to check a tiny hamlet, Dien Hoa. Army Intelligence believed the Viet Cong were operating from Dien Hoa. Our job was to determine if that was correct. We rode in an olive-drab chopper. The whooping blades of the helicopter give us a little relief from the relentless heat of 'Nam; the blades cut the thick, humid air and pushed a breeze downward over the passenger compartment. Soon, we circled the landing zone. The LZ looked cold. There's only one way to find out if it is really cold, I thought as I double checked my M16. If no one zapped us when we entered, it was cold. If they did, it wasn't. "Lock and load," I yelled. The helicopter circled low and slowed down until it almost hovered four feet from the ground. The door gunner mashed the spade grips on his .30 caliber M60 machine gun. The gun spewed bullets over the field below us. It was time to jump off the skids while we skimmed above the surface of the lush, green valley. My stomach felt like it was turning wrong-side-out. We dropped into the grass, stumbling under heavy packs and the weight of ammo and weapons. I wondered about snakes and hoped the groan I mad when I hit the ground was drowned by the noise of the helicopters. Though the helicopter gunner continued firing into the heavy growth to the north of them, there was no return fire. We were safe for the moment. "OK," I yelled signaling with my hands the way you're not supposed to. Hand signals are a good way to mark yourself as the leader. It's just the thing enemy snipers watch for. But few of my twenty-seven men could hear me over the roar and firing of the helicopters. I had no choice. "Move out. On the double," I ordered. The choppers lifted. We were on our own. The soldiers started with the usual complaining b... ...prized buck. We made careful, deliberate shots. One after another, the black, running forms crumpled. With a final flurry of shooting, only a lone Charlie managed to escape into the grove of trees below. The bodies of the VC dotted the open hillside. Sporadic last shots ended the lives of the few wounded who continued to stir below us. Complete silence reigned for a few moments, then Blake yelled an obscenity at the last Cong who had eluded us. Silence. "We did it," I simply said, my words falling flat. A weak cheer went down the line; one man dropped to his knees and cried. Even though we'd all felt as good as dead, we realized we had won. Afterward, waiting with the wounded and dead for dustoff, I thought about the firefight. Instants selfless deed had saved our skins. It was little wonder the men had so much respect for the soldier. I studied him for a moment. He sat by himself beneath a tree, carefully cleaning his M60 like a mother washing a baby. He wore a bandage over his right eye and a second on his arm; except for those minor wounds, he had managed to come through the fight uninjured. And he'd shown a green lieutenant and his men what true bravery was.

The Fashoda Incident and the Berlin Conference

The Fashoda Incident The Fashoda Incident, also known as Fashoda Crisis, was the climax of a dispute between France and Britain, who were vying for territory in Africa, and both claimed control over a Sudanese outpost. At the end of the nineteenth century, the European powers were competing for control of Africa, hoping to extend their territory into the Sudan and the Great Lakes region. As the French extended eastward from the Congo, the British expanded south from Egypt.The disputes arose from the common desire of each country to link up its disparate colonial possessions in Africa. Great Britain’s aim was to link Uganda to Egypt via a railway from the Cape of Good Hope to Cairo, while France, by pushing eastward from the west coast, hoped to extend its dominion across Central Africa and the Sudan. In July 1898, a French expedition arrived at the Sudanese outpost of Fashoda on the Nile. After British General Herbert Kitchener's victory at Omdurman, he proceeded to Fashoda on orders from the British prime minister.Kitchener claimed the entire Nile valley for Great Britain, and, after several days, both parties withdrew peacefully. The solution to the conflicting claims was later worked out by diplomats in Britain and France, and it reflected the fact that Britain had an army in Khartoum, while France had no appreciable forces in the vicinity. France renounced all rights to the Nile basin and the Sudan in return for a guarantee of its position in West Africa. The Fashoda incident is seen as the high point of Anglo–French tension in Africa. Berlin conferenceA conference held in Berlin, Germany in 1884 to 1885 in order to regulate the trade and European colonialism in Africa during the New Imperialism period. The conference was held following a request by Portugal and organized by Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of the German Empire. During the 70s and 80s of the 19th century, the European powers were interested in Africa to get trades right s and access to the valuable resources, such as gold, timber, land markers and labor powers. The major competition was between the British, Portuguese, French and Belgians.The participant countries at the Conference were: Germany, Austria – Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden – Norway and The Ottoman Empire. They wanted to work out policy for the division of Africa. The US was against the Berlin Conference because it didn’t want to be considered as a colonial power. The main points achieved were: – To end slavery and the slave trades. – The Congo Free States came under King Leopold’s control (Belgium). – All the European powers were given trade rights in the Congo Basin and other territories. The Niger River and Congo River were to be free for ship traffic. – If any of the participants claimed a part of the African coast, they had to notify the other participant. -The princ iple of Effectivity was one of the outcomes of the Berlin Conference. According to this principle each colonial power had to : – have treaties with the local leader – fly their flag – establish an administration -create a police force As a consequences of the Berlin Conference â€Å"The scramble for Africa† speeded up.

Intimations of the American Character: Five American Writers

America’s only 230 years old, give or take, therefore to ask after the American character is much the same as asking after the character of a two-year old – not impossible, but hardly definitive. There’s a an anecdote of general reportage that on Nixon’s first trip to China Kissinger asked Mao what he thought of the French Revolution. Mao answered that it was too soon to tell.Perhaps it is too soon to tell what the American character is as can be determined in the literature of the 17th – 19th Centuries, but one cannot mistake that in the various works of its first significant authors (writers who felt themselves sufficiently invested in this democratic experiment spread over some six million square miles of beautiful and infinitely resourceful land) the first intimations if not indications of who and what we are (as opposed to where we came from – the old countries) make themselves known.Harold Bloom, Professor, author, reader, man of extrao rdinary powers of memorization, idiosyncratic, self-proclaimed Falstaffian, wrote, ironically enough, a work entitled â€Å"The Anxiety of Influence. † With reference only to the title, which implies so much, especially for any would–be artist who seeks place his/her own unique stamp on his/her work, one encounters the first problem for the truly creative: We are not born without context. Mozarts aside, we must school ourselves, absorb, learn, model, mimic and copy before we write, paint, sing, play music, dance, in a wholly new and original way.The struggle to achieve what is original implies its own anxiety. Like Michelangelo’s slaves f marble, will we ever break free? Has American broken free of its overwhelming British influences? And if we have broken free, if we have achieved a unique and American voice, to whom do we owe the credit for the great break with our bi-continental past? The important word here is context. No source is tapped in a vacuum. We are the progeny of forebears; we are the ancestors of those to come.Time being what it is we can only look back. First, review the grim declamations of Jonathan Edwards and feel the anxiety of that faith which rested in an angry God, full of spit, fire and fury, an unhappy parent disappointed in his children, a God in a nominally Christian world, who’s narrowed the avenue of salvation to inches of rock-ledge that can be traversed by so few that a minister’s left with little to do but warn his congregation about how bad it’s going to be when they’re dropped like spiders into the eternal flame.Of course, no God is ever as awful as his followers and Edwards’ admonitions are the high point of that drive towards â€Å"purity† which drove the puritans from the corrupt Anglicanism of Elizabeth and James (not to mention Henry VIII who had his own take mercy and forgiveness). If one were to read too much of Jonathan Edwards, one might conclude that the American character is a dour, determined and fatalistic, the unfortunate result of Augustine’s fear dripped through Calvin’s Swiss rectitude by way of Anglo-Saxon provincialism played out in the hands and minds of truly brave pilgrims determined to reform themselves almost out of existence.In short the first expression of America’s self, its character, was a reaction to the wavering, the wiggle-room, and the corruption in late Elizabethan, Jamesian-Protestantism. It is the expression of what one people might attribute to a god who’s angry with the failure of his children. But Edwards’s declamations are not the word of god so much as their expression of man angry with man.Ironically, the supposed anger of this god, by way of Edwards, will move Puritan congregation to embrace a work ethic (Protestant, New England, rural, elemental, purifying) which will stand in opposition to the source of the Reformation, itself – Luther’s reading of R omans which asserts salvation by grace and not by good works. But time passed and America, with its depth and breadth of resourcefulness, its brave and entrepreneurial people who made the move, took the chance, crossed the ocean in search of a better life, and would not be held captive in the ornate chains of those ministers well-schooled in the endless dark night of the soul.Brave people, entrepreneurs, the â€Å"can-do† sort of people who cross oceans are not the type of people to succumb to anxieties. And they are not without humor. Indeed they require humor, because humor is the step-sister of practicality. The ironic point of view, the wit, the clever turn of phrase, the creativity and intelligence of the comedic mode, are often the best means to drive home points and conclusions and directives that might otherwise be lost in the didactic drone of dogma.Ben Franklin gave voice to humor and common sense and practicality in his writings. We look upon him now, perhaps unfor tunately, as a cartoon figure of Disney’s imagination, or that precious gent employed each early summer to dress up in velvet, lace and granny glasses, to walk the streets of Philadelphia and scare children with the stilted language of the poor mimic. But to do so would be our loss. Franklin was a genius.He was a polymath, self educated and like most early Americans, born (as if dropped whole) into a new land affording infinite potential without the â€Å"floors or ceilings† of given classes, gifted with the curiosity and intelligence to make sense out of the new, original American experience, and to express the process for others. He was an inventor, a newspaper man, a man of letters, a political in-fighter, a political theorist schooled in the writings of the Enlightenment.He was a humanist who, unlike his ascetic Puritans ancestors of Boston and environs, believed that humans were of value, body, mind and spirit. Franklin dared to believe, in the most general sense of the lesser-dogmatic theists that man was deserving of something better than Edwards’s angry white bearded, sententious, demanding, unpredictable, inconsistent and contrary God.Through Franklin the American character first developed the genius of common sense, leavened with humor. In the settlement of New York by the inveterate, humanistic Dutch and Philadelphia by the easy, peaceful, sometimes silent Quakers, Franklin, the man who traveled south, denied the anxiety driven, forbidding world view (so often fostered in too-cold climates) that sought to prepare man for eternity while denying the value of the here and now.Through Franklin we learn that man is capable of creativity, here and now, that man can better his station in life, that life is worth living and that process, ritual, form and style (Franklin’s writing can not but reflect some of the 18th Century politesse) are meant to follow function and that substance, rather than appearance, is the determinative va lue.Throughout a review of Franklin’s writings, one is struck by that wave of humanism and democratic values that asserted themselves in the wake of decadent royalties and courts and found their most eloquent expression in the preamble to America’s Declaration of Independence, penned by Jefferson (edited, polished, affirmed, if not ghost written by Franklin. ) Emerson, the sage of Concord, virtually unknown in cocktail conversation today, but for the notion of some salty rigid circumspect New England self reliance, is the American writer with whom all American writers must contend.Like America, itself, full of contradictions and principles that outran its very self, Emerson was an iconoclast, who looked about the beauty of Concord and saw that although the world was good, man made institutions, were, over time, necessarily corruptible and, instead of assisting the individual in his walk through life, ultimately hindered the individual from clear sight, a post-Christian pantheism, a transcendent vision of God’s grandeur and all that can be deduced, derived from that.In a way analogous to the solitary loneliness of the dark night of the soul, Emerson encouraged the brave entrepreneurial American, optimistic, human, and sufficiently wise not only to appreciate the comedic mode of life (i. e. , life is ultimately and always salvageable), but to travel past the thickets of dogma, to apply his gifted and most importantly his co-creative mind to an understanding of the world about him. Yes, the America might be the New Jerusalem, a new place of unbounded physical grace, but the kingdom must be experienced within as well.Emerson’s transcendent view is best appreciated when one posits the pure permeability of the divine through nature and then through the very self. Humanism need not stand in opposition to Edwards’s angry god, but need only accommodate God, affording Him the place he’s had forever, within and without ourselves. Thoreau lived a mile from Emerson. They were friends to the degree that that they could offer and receive friendship.Both were complex, but Thoreau gave voice and body to complexities, contradictions that flowed from Emerson’s first indications of a uniquely American voice. (All men are created equal, and yet Americans buy and sell slaves. ) Thoreau is a photographic negative to much of what Emerson implies. Tough they both lived in this grand new country, Thoreau, the prophet, also recognized problems which would and still occur to this day in a country so bountiful it invited a work ethic as boundless as its resources, size and frontiers.Work is a balm to the anxious and energetic soul. Perhaps it’s too much to say that all work is busy work (though a walk down Park Avenue on a Monday in September might make one wonder), but work and the American’s over-praise of the over-valued activity is a defense to work’s essential nature – a distraction fr om the anxiety of being. Americans praise those Americans who work hard, keep their heads down, work hard, never look up, never question, and might ask after function but never purpose.And these are the workers, the people, the men and women, who live the lives of quiet desperation. Thoreau is a radical in that he goes to the very source of an idea cloaked in so many assumptions and â€Å"givens† that the questioning itself renders him an iconoclast, an eccentric of the first order. Living alone by a pond is nothing compared to asking those questions which might upset the underpinnings of a society too busy to ask anything. Thoreau loafs with the intensity of a Kant.He questions not only the American way of life with its work ethic, but also the proposition that life’s primary value lies in work and that through work (only work) man will find his identity, ultimately his purpose and after this life perhaps his salvation. Thoreau is a â€Å"loafer† like Whitman, but Thoreau does not loaf to escape work, he â€Å"loafs† to escape meaningless work and to question the assumptions of New England in the early 19th centuryThere’s a cliche in the work-a-day world, devoted to the corporate mind and group think that sublimates the individual to the will and survival and perhaps betterment of the group. It is this: Nobody’s indispensable. Thoreau either heard or intuited this dismissal of the human and his efforts (Willy Loman 100 years on), and said: Why do we engage in a system which demands our lives, makes false promises and considers us utterly dispensable? The American work ethic makes promises and offers the appearance of payback to justify itself. Indeed, such a charade is one under-pinning of the capitalist system.We’re promised ticky-tacky houses, country clubs, swimming pools, unlimited credit at usurious rates, nice clothes, the right schools for above-average kids, and of course the magical totem , the icon, t he car, the uber-van, the humvee, the mode of transportation that will â€Å"tell them who we are. † Thoreau anticipated all of this – the uneasy contract by which Americans remain trapped in the first and second levels of the hierarchy of needs while our demi-gods of celebrity and power achieve a self-actualization denied everybody else. Not surprisingly we are then bought off with television, sports, bread and circuses.One of the contradictions in Thoreau is that the assertion of the individual is Romantic, but the means employed is ascetic and classical. To live deliberately is not to live with frippery or Boucher’s swings or the ease of decadent courts. To live deliberately is a radical undertaking, directing the speedy to slow down to take time to loaf and view the smallest, finest things, those effects of creation which in their brief majesty put to shame all the useless memos, briefs, papers, efforts and transactions set down in the 19th Century’s ethos of success and wealth as the outward sign of grace.Thoreau stands in opposition to the America’s madness for work. Walden has changed lives. People have been seen reading it during their rush commutes. Whitman turns within and explodes without. He does not so much challenge the hustle and bustle of the great democratic experiment as he seeks to encompass it, to swallow it, to take it in, because the genius of the poet – this new American poet – is begin enough, grand enough, to express the vastness of it all. Indeed every part of every part is a part of every part.To turn within is to look without, to subsume the All. Whitman breaks the line open. Even a grade student looking at a poem by Whitman and a poem by Philip Freneau can’t help but see the difference in form. The old and tired expresses itself in neat stanzas, century old rules. But Whitman’s lines span the page. They scan and pose propositions only to complete the circle with their o pposition stated like closing a door on a completed whole. The compliment forms the greater proposition.This is a poet not so much of contradictions (though he admits as much), but a poet, like a demi-god, who can reconcile the apparent and real contradictions of life. Does America contradict itself (Slavery – All men are created equal)? Yes. Can America reconcile its contradictions? Perhaps. One war says we have; other wars say we have not. Perhaps it’s too facile to remark that whereas the country was split north and south, Samuel Clemens, born in Missouri, a border state, obtained his unique voice traveling north and south along a river which in its own way sought to hold the warring halves together.In Huckleberry Finn Twain reconciles the optimism and humor of Franklin, the adventuresome self-reliance of Emerson, Thoreau’s marginal iconoclast and Whitman’s reconciled over-soul. And yet, Mark Twain, the humorist, the colloquial voice of wisdom, the woo ly relative we place at the head of the table, soon encountered, as America encountered the cracks and flaws of life, its random terribleness, its self-inflicted wounds.At the very heart of the American character is the mater of slavery, the ludicrous contradiction of eloquence scripted to blow trumpets of gold and light bonfires of freedom that would out-enlighten the enlightenment. And still the ships came from the west coast of Africa. Slaves – bought and sold. These contradictions are essential. They are indicators of life itself and neither America, its character nor its poets and writers are immune.Though we can look fondly on America’s optimism, humor, practicality, favor of substance over form, the acknowledgment that form follows substance, that in America merit counts – we must also look upon the all too common type, born of the all too common fatigue evident in a country that offers just enough in a zero-sum game to keep the citizen alive one more day , for one more effort, for one more expenditure: We know the desperate worker, who expends enormous amounts of energy, convincing himself, fooling himself that what he does has meaning and purpose, that he’s paid enough (as all those bleeding-heart liberal programs for all those minorities don’t get in the way) and that someday, maybe when he retires with a weak heart and a spent spirit, he and his wife will travel the length and breadth of this great country and call to mind something of what that old gay poet wrote – something about atoms and bed-fellows and lilacs This too is the American character – desperate, tired, vain, prejudiced, spent, rigid, utterly human and, for all of it, ultimately forgivable.