Essay --

Sanjiv Prabhunandan English 10 H/3rd Period Democracy vs. Absolutist Rule The esteemed neurologist Sigmond Freud once said that â€Å"civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a stone†. Though these words ring true, they are often interpreted differently by those in power, and it is they who ultimately shape what kind of society will take shape during the times of formation. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack’s contrasting personalities are displayed in their leadership styles. Ralph, the more passive and reasonable of the two, adopts a democratic style of leadership while the latter adopts a more ruthless and absolutist one. While the democratic rule is more sensible and fair approach to take, the lack of any authority brings out the savage nature of the boys and Jack’s monarchy becomes not only the favored leadership style of the group but also the most effective. The crux of democratic thinking is the idea that everybody’s thoughts are equally valued and that everybody has an equal responsibility for the actions that take place. This is a concept that was developed by the greatest thinking minds of the day and was promoted by Classical philosophers and thinkers who dreamed of a utopian society of equality and freedom for all. In fact, Pericles writes that â€Å"we are called a democracy, for the administration of justice is in the hands of many and not of the few†. But power comes with responsibility, and for a democracy to be successful, the concept has to be wholeheartedly accepted by its citizens. And often times, that means that citizens have to give up some of their individual in order to reap the benefit that â€Å"The Fascist Decalogue† states that â€Å"the nation serves even as a senti... ...or worse, Jack followed the same steps that great absolutist leaders (Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis XIV, Joseph Stalin) in history have used: he swayed public opinion to his side, deposed of the current leadership, and used propaganda and other methods to make the public think that he is a god-like presence. The fact that all this happens naturally instead of it being forced like Ralph proves that the absolutist form of ruling is the best option for the island. In a perfect world, giving the greatest power to the common man makes the most sense, but often times, situations arise where one person must take control and declare himself leader. Discerning which type of government is best for certain an environment is up for the people to decide. Though force and oppression can temporarily suppress the voice of the people, ultimately they get to choose who stays and goes.

Boer Guerrilla Fighters Essay

I agree that the way the British soldiers treated the Boer fighters and civilians was in fact brutal. With the use of the ‘refugee camps’ and the scorched earth policy it made them seem that much more brutal. Sources P, Q and R all offer different insights into how brutally British soldier dealt with the Boer guerrilla fighters during the Second Boer war in 1899, with evidence to support the brutality of it all. Source R strongly agrees that the British treated the Boers badly, particularly the women and children, with this being said the source also has elements of disagreements. At a first glance source Q seems to disagree but that disagreement is later challenged within the source. Source P takes an agreeing approach to the statement. From the sources it appears that the way the British dealt with the Boers was brutally, but how brutal were they when trying to defeat the Boers guerrilla fighters is debatable. There is evidence in source Q and elements of source R would support the fact that the British soldier didn’t treat the Boers brutally. Source Q explains that ‘The English did burn down farm houses, but never shot the people within them’ and ‘Of course, brutal treatment did occur, but mostly the Boer prisoners were treated with respect.’ This links in with a certain part of source R where it ways ‘The high death rate was the result of incompetence and lack of foresight on the part of the British military authorities.’ The scorched earth policy was brought in by Kitchener, it involved British soldiers going into the Boer farm houses, evacuating them and then burning them down. By burning the houses down Boer men couldn’t use their farm houses as a way of hiding from the British and the women couldn’t resupply their men during the guerrilla warfare. The policy itself isn’t considered to be a brutal tactic as it wasnâ₠¬â„¢t killing or harming anyone; if killings were taking place then this would have made it brutal. The none-brutality of this tactic suggests the British were not brutal when dealing with the Boers and they ‘treated (them) with respect’. The women and children were then transferred into the British refugee camps. Originally the concentration camps had been set up by the British army as â€Å"refugee camps† to provide refuge for civilian families, mainly woman and children, who had been forced to abandon their homes primarily due to the scorched earth policy. These concentration camps started as refugee camps, and then turned into outside prisons until finally things got out of hand and became concentration camps. The quote from source R shows that the progression of refugee to concentration camps wasn’t the original plan of action for the British but due to disorganisation and ‘incompetence’ the standards and quality of the refugee camps fell. Both sources give sufficient evidence to support the fact the British soldiers weren’t Bruta l with their dealings with the Boers as one of the tactics weren’t brutal and the concentration camps weren’t intentional. Sources P and R both show evidence to support the idea that the British were brutal with their treatment of the Boar population. Source P says ‘Some of our work was unpleasant. If we found any arms or ammunition concealed on a farm we had to burn down the place.’ Source R really highlights the brutality and reality of warfare. ‘The treatment of the Boer population in the camps was brutal’ and ‘Over 20,000 Boer women and children died in 40 camps, about one in four of the inmates.’ It was the soldiers who had to do the process of the scorched earth policy, they were ordered to destruct the farms and the homes of civilians in order to prevent the still-fighting Boers from obtaining food and supplies. The intention of the British government was the complete eradication of the Boer nations. From 1899 – 1901, the British destroyed 40 towns and burned crops. The impact of the British scorched earth policy during the war killed both half of the Boer Nations. During January 1901 Emily Hobhouse arrived at a camp in Bloemfontein where she found diseases such as measles, bronchitis, pneumonia, dysentery and typhoid had invaded the camp with fatal results. The very few tents were not enough to house the one or more sick persons, most of them children. When she requested soap for the people, she was told that soap is an article of luxury. She later succeeded, after a struggle, to have it listed as a necessity, together with straw, more tents and more kettles in which to boil the drinking water. She distributed clothes and supplied pregnant women, who had to sleep on the ground, with mattresses. Among the many dying people there was a child called Lizzie von Zyl, Hobhouse used her death as an example of the hardships the Boer women and children faced in the British concentration camps during the war. Both of the sources show the difficulties the Boer population had to face during the Second Boer War as a result of the brutality from the British. Without the scorched earth policy the concentration camps may not have risen to the extent and disaster which was witnessed by Emily Hobhouse on her journey to Bloemfontein.

Should Smoking Be Banned or Taxed - 843 Words

Smoking has always been associated with being cool. Years ago, there were commercials advertising cigarettes, always with famous people or people that the average person would want to be or look up to. But what is really â€Å"cool† about smoking? Is it the way you appear while smoking, the way the smoke dances in the wind at night, or how about the coughing fits, yellow teeth, thousands of dollars spent on cigarettes each year and long term effects? As normal people, we all want to fit in and be cool, but are the long term effects of smoking worth being cool? For most people, yes; Smoking is one of the top contributors for health problems, yet no one does anything about it because of the appearance it gives you and the money it brings in,†¦show more content†¦Every day, there is $23 million in sales, and $8.4 billion a year. Perhaps if it were taxed, two good things could come out of it; our economy could rise because of the people who need their cigarettes and are w illing to spend the extra money, or people would cut down because they realize they don’t have the money and lives could be saved. Most people don’t have a problem spending $8.50 on a pack of cigarettes, but have a problem spending $8.25 on a large popcorn at the movies. More and more people start smoking each day. About 3,000 people start smoking a day, not knowing the consequences of it. What most people don’t know either, is the rewards of quitting smoking. After 20 minutes of quitting, the heart rate and blood pressure go back to normal. After 12 hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood return to normal. After 2 weeks, circulation and lung function improve. After 9 weeks, noticeable things in your body return to normal, like less coughing and shortness of breath, because the cilia works normally again. After a year, coronary heart disease chances get cut in half. After 5-10 years, the chances of getting any kind of cancer caused by cancer is cut in half, a nd after 15 years of being clean, the chances of heart disease is the same as a non smoker. Clearly, there is a difference in what smoking can do to you. Smoking gradually kills your body and infects it. There are more than 7,000 toxicShow MoreRelatedShould Smoking Be Banned?895 Words   |  4 PagesPeople smoke all over the world. Smoking has been around for many decades. Controlling the usage of smoking depends on the smoker. Believe it or not, the government has a huge part on this. In some countries, smoking in public or enclosed areas is banned. In the United States, the owner of any public place has the right to put a â€Å"No Smoking Area† sign. 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