Amin Maaloufs Idea Essay Example for Free

Amin Maaloufs Idea Essay My understanding of Amin Maalouf’s concept on identity is that human identity is based on an individual’s environment. He defines identity into two categories. One that is inherited through our elders and cultural beliefs â€Å"vertical†, and another that exist according to our generational influence, â€Å"horizontal†. The two categories create our identity as a human and is the source of our behavior. My experience with the vertical heritage is my belief in Christianity. My ancestors and the community I was raised in have traditionally taught me to celebrate religious holidays like Christmas and Easter. I also grew up in a small neighborhood with Christian peers. They have influenced the way I behave and interact by helping to shape my morals. My experience with the â€Å"horizontal† is the communities I have been introduced to, such as, the public and private school environments. They have broadened my personality with their social aspects. One example of what Maalouf is saying is my switch from public to private school. My personality was much different in public school than it was in private. In my public school the social standard for academic progress was average. The fact that there was no assigned dress code distracted me because I would attempt to impress others with my appearance. This influenced my train of thought, behavior and ultimately my identity, until I was placed into a different setting. When I made the switch to private school the distraction of looking different was taken away, and expectations were higher. My surrounding influenced me again and I became more focused on things that mattered and more questionable of my beliefs. What I gained from both these settings was my horizontal inheritance. For example, the music that I listen to and the hobbies I enjoy. Maalouf’s point is that no matter your vertical, your horizontal has a bigger affect on your identity, and since the horizontal is based on contemporaries, you are based on the subjects around you. He points out that there is a gap between what we think we are and what we actually are in reality. We may know we are different but what we don’t realize is in reality we are only becoming identical through arguing are differences. I believe this is a magnificent insight on identity. Mankind changes the world around us and if we all do the same, we end up in each other’s world. We are becoming more and more identical to each other through compromise from arguing our differences because we learn to live with each other. When we accept differences they soon become norms, and once they are norms, they become a standard. I agree with Amin Maaloufs concept on identity.

The Importance of the Missile Defense Program :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Importance of the Missile Defense Program The government still didn't think of missile defense as a serious subject until October 4, 1957, when the Soviets launched their first satellite (Sputnik) into space on the top of a multi-stage missile. This was a big deal because the Soviets showed they had the technology to launch large objects into space. So what would have stopped them from launching a rocket at the United States? A few weeks after the Sputnik launch the U.S. attempted their very own satellite launch with the Vanguard rocket, which ended in disaster blowing up on the launch pad. In January 1958 the Pentagon lifted the ban on Army missile launches, which helped the U.S. send Explorer I satellite into space. Within a few weeks long-range missile development became both a threat and a weapon. Missile defense systems really started to come about during World War II. When the Nazi's developed long-range rockets and ballistic missiles. The Nazi's long-range rockets were called V-1's and could be launched from 180 miles away. The Nazi's ballistic missile was called the A-4, later renamed the V-2. The Allied forces were able to stop the V-1 because of its noisy engine and slow speed. The Allied forces were at a loss when it came to defending the V-2 because this type of missile was never before studied and we had no idea how to stop something that fast. The Nazi's could have had a huge advantage over the U.S. because they were able to launch a missile from over 180 miles away. Leaving our troops unprotected and having no way to protect themselves. As the war was starting to come to an end, the enemy started building bigger and faster ballistic missiles. They were focusing all their time and resources on developing a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs) that would be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. They felt if the U.S. ever decided to stick our nose in anyone else's business they would teach us a lesson by launching missiles at us. In other words they were trying to build a weapon of mass destruction that could crush the U.S. if we didn't obey what they wanted. Instead we decided to put a treaty on building ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads and come up with a defensive missile system. We needed a way to protect ourselves and keep our citizens safe.

Modern Technology Essay

Information technology is playing an increasingly important role in the work and personal lives of citizens. Computers, communications, digital information, software – the constituents of the information age – are everywhere. There is though, a considerable number of people that are really concerned about the changes that modern technology implies, stating that it embodies potential risks to social values, freedoms, and relationships and this is what Sherri Turkle also states in her Forbes magazine article ‘Can You Hear Me Now? . I must agree with Turkle’s point of view that technology, along with all the positive aspects it brought into people’s lives, it also brought loneliness and sameness of lifestyle because of this abusive way people got to use technology nowadays. But as opposed to Turkle’s and millions of other people’s fearful thinking that mankind is developing too intimate relationships with machinery; I would say that this can be absolutely controllable. While it is true that the future of technology is only limited by our imagination, people have to learn that no matter how developed technology might get, the basics of a better life are self-esteem, respect for the others and willingness to self-educate and build up a strong character. According to Dictionnary. com,’ technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science’. Commonly, technology can be defined as the science applied to practical purposes. It can be argued that modern technology makes life easier and more dignified for most of people. The first and the major advantage is that medical science is very progressive and vastly available. Without the needed technology a lot of people would struggle with their health. In addition it saves many innocent lives. The point is to spread it and reach with medicine help to the poor nations of the Third World. Secondly, the advanced technology improves industry by making it more effective and, what is vital today, safer for environment. Moreover when we look at TV, personal computer, mobile phone or internet for instance, it is quite obvious that all these inventions have been made in the last 20 years. Thus the speed of improvement is huge and unpredictable. We can get the fastest ways of communication through modern technology which ties humanity together like a nervous system ties the parts of an organism together. Today we are connected with every other human being on the planet in a way people never have been before this leading to globalization through diversity, a very powerful current which is really to consider nowadays. On the minus side there is weaponry which is the inseparable issue of the new technologies. Hence the main problem is the proper use of this knowledge. Nevertheless, weapon engineering propels and provides a huge advance. Also, the industry despite highly developed machinery pollutes the globe. On the other hand while many people live in horrible conditions and famine governments spend a lot of money on developing weapon industry. Is it the right way? Modern technology should prevent social disproportions and not add up even more. Technology entered our lives over a relatively brief period of time with little warning and essentially no preparation. Many who currently use information technology have only a limited understanding of the tools they use and a probably correct belief that they are underutilizing them. This is why most of the people pay more attention first to their interlocutors coming through the modern gadgetry considered a more elevated audience; the ‘real’ ones have come to fill just a second position. This is where Turkle’s fair point comes when she describes these people’s feelings – ‘Being put on pause’ this is the impression we get when the one we are engaged with in a conversation answers his cell phone or replies to an e-mail or a text message. Another example of the modern technology taking over the unprepared people is the virtual lives they build and end up becoming addicted on that up to a certain point where it can even become dangerous for themselves and the ones close to them. Millions become someone else every day, lying about their age, gender, occupation or appearance. If you can be anything, you might as well be who you wish you were rather than what limits you in the real life. So if someone decides they like their online persona better, and decides to spend as much time in that persona as possible, living virtually – are they crazy? These games are addictive by design, and a lot of people get sucked into a virtual world existence, at the expense of their real life happiness. And surely a large part of the attraction is this ability to live an alternate, and in many ways, happier existence. But this can get really dangerous when it comes to children and adolescents as they may discover ‘world in the Second Life’ as Turkle puts it in might be much easier and funnier and they can develop serious issues n forming their character and personalities. And the negative effects technology can have on children are numerous: less physical movement, lack of attraction towards reading, no sense of responsibility. With parents buying their children cell phones and expecting them to call as often as possible showing them actually how little they trust them, this only adds up to children’s developing a lack of responsibility and a sense of dependence, as Turkle puts in and I agree. The time of self-reflection at adolescence is taken over by ‘quickly communicating a state over the cell phone or through an instant message and emoticons’ (Turkle) leading to a new dependence in their early emotional lives. Another point that Turkle makes is that technology leaves less or no time at all to sit and reflect of ourselves uninterrupted and I agree with that. Unless we are really strong as to put away or turn off all the technology around us we cannot get a moment with ourselves as all this machinery can be very distracting. Nowadays, when the rapidness of development and research is so impressive, it is easy to think about the advantages of modern technology. It is obvious that we are close on an era where technology is limited only by our imagination. Therefore the most frequently asked question is: Does technology go the right way and will it save or ruin our civilization? I believe that we can just let ourselves carried along with it or we could impose on ourselves in being more aware of the disadvantages also and try to control it.

Reasons Of World War 1 - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 766 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/05/13 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: War Essay World War 1 Essay Did you like this example? In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was murdered in cold-blood by a Serbian patriot. Tensions rose in Europe, alliances were reinforced, and the militaries of European nations such as Russia and Germany were mobilized and ready to fight. Soon after, World War 1 began. World War 1 started due to competitive imperialism, existing rival alliances, and threatening growth of militarism. European competition for imperialistic power grew tensions between nations and eventually led to the outbreak of World War 1. The race for control of land has lasted for centuries, and in the 20th century England was the biggest of the world leaders in land domination. Document E demonizes England by illustrating their government as power hungry and aggressive. The political cartoon shows them reaching out and grabbing land all over the world, and a lot of other countries saw this as wrong and therefore disliked England. Their frequent acquisitions of new land angered those nations that thought it was wrong and so it influenced the outbreak of the war. According to Document F, England had the highest colonial land area and population. This imperialistic power posed a threat to smaller empires such as Germany. England was only growing, and since they had so much more land than everyone else they could profit greatly and grow more quickly than others. The only way to stop this growth would be war in an effort to weaken this great empire. So the competitiveness in imperialism grew tensions because nations felt threatened and angered by others and sought to fight and weaken stronger countries. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Reasons Of World War 1" essay for you Create order Strong alliances in European existed before the war that forced more nations to become belligerent and ready to fight with the result that the war broke out. As seen in Document A, most of the countries in Europe belonged to either the Central Powers or Allied Powers. With there only being two alliances, each respectively significant, in Europe, one could assume there would be a rivalry between each of them, and at least some camaraderie within their own alliances. After the the killing of the Archduke, this camaraderie came to action. Document B illustrates how countries made threats against each other in defense of the countries they are aligned with. In Document B, Serbia is in the front of the picture because they were blamed for the murder of the Archduke. After Serbia comes Austria, who was greatly angered by the attack, and next was Russia, who came to defend their ally of Serbia. Similar events of defending allies repeated in a chain reaction until all of these rival nations in Europe were on the verge of war. Therefore, the strong alliances forced countries to defend some and threaten others which created strong resentment and anger that would force the continent into war. Finally, the militaristic growth of nations became too big of a threat that war, in return, became imminent and began. Document C shows a graph that gives crucial data about the growth of the militaries of the warring nations prior to the war. From the years 1890 to 1914, most of the European nations nearly tripled their original military spending from 1890. This increase in military shows a competitive race to be the strongest country militarily. Growth resembles that governments believe military power is extremely important and they want to keep up with each other. Competition like this leads to resentment and eventually a test of power, war. In Document D, the speech given explains the growth of England, Russia, and France and how Germany needs to work to stay on top. The speech explains the importance of military power in order to defend themselves. The point of view in this speech is from Germanys congress, which is important because it reveals how Germany felt threatened and felt they needed to grow stronger. The metaphor at the end of the speech means that Germany will either hit a nation, or be hit, which was said due to the high competition of military power growth. The metaphor therefore confirms that war was inevitable and going to start due to that same high competition. So, in conclusion, military growth made nations feel threatened and made them prepare themselves for war which in turn helped to start the war. The Great War erupted after years of competition in imperialism, alliances and rivalries building up in Europe, and a race for military power. The nations who had the biggest empires and the most military spending eventually became victorious in World War 1. Germany was indeed correct to feel threatened by those nations, such as France and Britain, and they were defeated in the Great War.