|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Argumentative Topics
Free Online Custom Essays, Research Papers, Admission Essays, Thesis, College Papers, English Papers, Analyzed Essays, Essay Papers, Non-Plagiarized Essays, Term Papers, Coursework Essays, Custom Papers
|
|
| |
|  Antisemitism in History |
|
| The perception of Jews as forces of darkness in the most fearsome and tangible sense was especially conducive to the expulsions and brutalities that mark late medieval Jewish history, but the belief that Jewish alienness transcends religious differences was important in another context as well. When Jews converted to Christianity singly or in tiny groups, it was relatively easy to accept them unreservedly with the full measure of Christian love. In fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Spain, however, Christians had to deal with the new phenomenon of mass conversion. This, of course, created economic tensions that are not generated by individual conversions, but it must also have produced a psychological dilemma: It is extraordinarily difficult for a society to transform its attitude toward an entire group virtually overnight. There were, it is true, plausible arguments that the religious sincerity of these new Christians left something to be desired; nevertheless, the reluctance to accord them a full welcome into the Christian fold went beyond such considerations. Despite the absence of a prominent demonic motif, the Marranos faced at least an embryonic manifestation of racial antisemitism, which served as a refuge for a hostile impulse that could no longer point to palpable distinctions. |
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Creation and Science |
|
| The reappearance of evolution in biology courses proved to be a stimulus for creationists, and their voices and activities increased. At first, only a few creationists were actively involved outside their community, but they proved to be skillful, determined, and effective. For example, the efforts largely of one couple in Texas were sufficient to make the adoption of biology books that discussed evolution extremely difficult in that state. The major voices for creationism were those of ten men with advanced university degrees who in 1963 formed the Creation Research Society and later, in 1972, founded the Institute for Creation Research, an educational institution with faculty, students, and research programs. . . |
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Cultural Globalization |
|
| Does globalization make people around the world more alike or more different? This is the question most frequently raised in discussions on the subject of cultural globalization. A group of commentators we might call ‘pessimistic hyperglobalizers’ argue in favour of the former. They suggest that we are not moving towards a cultural rainbow that reflects the diversity of the world's existing cultures. Rather, we are witnessing the rise of an increasingly homogenized popular culture underwritten by a Western ‘culture industry’ based in New York, Hollywood, London, and Milan. As evidence for their interpretation, these commentators point to Amazonian Indians wearing Nike training shoes, denizens of the Southern Sahara purchasing Texaco baseball caps, and Palestinian youths proudly displaying their Chicago Bulls sweatshirts in downtown Ramallah. Referring to the diffusion of Anglo-American values and consumer goods as the ‘Americanization of the world’, the proponents of this cultural homogenization thesis argue that Western norms and lifestyles are overwhelming more vulnerable cultures. Although there have been serious attempts by some countries to resist these forces of ‘cultural imperialism’ – for example, a ban on satellite dishes in Iran, and the French imposition of tariffs and quotas on imported film and television – the spread of American popular culture seems to be unstoppable. |
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Hate Speech in American History |
|
| The names are all too familiar -- "nigger," "kike," "wop," "mick," "spic" -- words that carry the baggage of centuries of racism and empty it out in hate. These words are often aimed at people like bullets. They foretell danger and evoke the shame of the past: slavery, riots, massacres, the Holocaust.
If these words are so hateful and hurtful, why not outlaw them? Why not punish anyone who uses them in public to deliberately insult another person? Other forms of harm are punished; why not punish this one? The function of criminal law, after all, is to define the standards of civilized society and prescribe penalties for behavior that violates those standards.
These questions introduce the subject of this book: hate speech. The issue before us is whether offensive words, about or directed toward historically victimized groups, should be subject to criminal penalties. Should it be illegal to call people names based on their race or religion? Should it be illegal to publish defamatory materials -- such as the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion -- that incite prejudice against a racial or religious group? |
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Drugs Legalization Debate |
|
| The arguments posed by the supporters of legalization might be summarized as follows: (1) The drug laws have created evils far worse than the drugs themselves have--corruption, violence, street crime, and disrespect for the law. (2) Legislation passed to control drugs has failed to reduce demand. (3) You cannot have illegal that which a significant segment of the population in any society is committed to doing. You simply cannot arrest, prosecute, and punish such large numbers of people, particularly in a democracy. And specifically in this behalf, in a liberal democracy the government must not interfere with personal behavior if liberty is to be maintained. (4) If marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs were legalized, a number of very positive things would happen: Drug prices would fail. . . |
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
| |
| The Right to Die Movement |
|
| For as long as people have been dying, societies have held opinions as to the value of their deaths: whether they are noble and transformational, or cowardly and sinful, even treasonous. Over the centuries, these judgments have shifted along with the ethical values of the age. No kind of death has elicited such dramatically changing convictions as death by suicide and assisted suicide.
The first evidence of a tolerance for suicide and voluntary euthanasia comes from ancient Greece. This era held some taboos about taking life: Aristotle said, "To kill oneself to escape from love or poverty or anything else that is distressing is not courageous" ( The Ethics of Aristotle). But for the Greeks, there was nothing blameworthy about choosing to stop suffering at the end of life; sometimes, they believed, it was a worthy and sensible choice. The writer Plutarch said that in Sparta, infanticide was practiced on children who lacked "health and vigor." And Soc rates, according to Plato, announced that painful disease and suffering were perfectly acceptable reasons to choose to end one's life: "Eu" (good) and "thanatos" (death)--the words that have given us "euthanasia"--was the desired end to a life well lived.
|
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Whistleblowers |
|
| Whistle-blowers are a historically new group. Since the founding of the United States, there have been those who have demanded public attention to social injustice. Either acting individually or in organized efforts, they have dedicated themselves to political activity -- speaking, writing, and protesting issues of unfair taxes, slavery, exploitation of workers, prostitution, war, and a myriad of other problems that have arisen in the rapidly growing, industrial society. |
|
| full text » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Copyright © CustomTermPapers.org, 2004-2009. All rights reserved |
| Our keywords: custom essay, buy essay, custom essays, essay papers, custom term papers, paper writing services, custom book reports, research papers, research papers, essay writing help, buy term paper |
|
|
