OK, so this is where you can find all of what I have to say about things. Right now, there isn't much here. That's not because I don't have opinions, only that they're not on my computer or written down anywhere. Hope you can stay open minded while reading. Enjoy.
"Kissing" Research Paper
I wrote this paper in my freshman year. Its over 10 single spaced pages in length and took me about half the semester to compose. I feel the topic of kissing, in all its varieties, has been extremely neglected in today's psychology courses. Hence, I set out to answer some questions.
My opinion on the Death Penalty
A Collection of facts I have gathered supporting my opposition to capital punishment. Someday, I will write an essay.... someday.
September 11th 2001
I brief commentary I wrote in trying to understand my initial reactions to that day.
War: A Pluralist Perspective
A short essay I wrote in my freshman year about the necessity of war, even though in mine eyes it is incorrect.
"Chinese Philosophy and Religion" Research Paper
This is a collection of short essays on numerous components of Chinese Philosophy and Religion including the following. 1. Human Nature as Defined by Mencius and Kao Tzu. 2. The Four Beginnings Dictated by Mencius. 3. Confucius the Democrat? 4. Human Beings and Heaven & 5. Xunzi's Theory on Human Nature. Chinese thought and religion is very interesting. I recommend you look at the Analects of Confucius for more depth.
Chinese Philosophical Traditions
Another collection of short essays on Chinese Philosophy. 1. Chinese World views vs. Western World views 2. Confucianism and Humanism 3. The One Thread 4. Uprightness (Chih) 5. Humanity (Ren) and Propriety (Li)
Democracy in the Czech Republic
This is a detailed analysis of the federal government of the Czech Republic and the level and state that the country experiences modeled from political scientist Arend Lijphart's book "Patterns of Democracy".
Filial Piety and World Cultures
Confucius taught that in order for one to become a superior man he must attain Ren, humanity. Humanity can be achieved through a base of filial piety, respecting one’s parents and extending this respect towards all members of the elderly. Confucianism states that filial piety is the priority in the path to becoming the superior man. Much of Confucian ideology can be linked into today’s Judo-Christian religions and cultures. This applies essentially to the concept of family and elderly respect. However, unlike Confucianism, which was widely employed by Chinese, Judo-Christians differ widely in their official religious doctrine and what they actually practice in their culture. Although religiously Judo-Christians practice similar teachings to those found in the four great books of Confucianism. However, if we examine what is actually practiced in Judo-Christian culture we will find a world that is hypocritical to the teachings of the Torah and the Bible.
Leadership's effect on Democratic developments in France and Great Britain
Present day Britain and France share similar democratic development that includes a creation of trust in the regime fueled by excellence in leadership. Although these countries are similar in appearance today, they both got to their present day states through two very different histories. Britain follows a gradual and eventual exchange from monarchy to democracy while France experienced a chaotic history of varying governments. In the time that the US has had its single democracy, France has had twelve regimes, including the current 5th Republic created in the mid 20th century. This paper analyzes the formation of these two republics.
Globalization
The end of the Cold War brought with it the end of independent economy and the emergence of a world economy where every state and nation is interconnected. Many countries have joined this bandwagon approach and many believe it is destined to become the new economic order for much of the world. I speak of globalization, the increasing economic force that drives world markets and forces everyone to rely on everyone else. Within globalization, success is awarded to those who make the effort and have the skills and resources while failure and decreased wealth are the results of those who lack the resources or technology. The latter group may be a part of the system, but they do not play a rewarding role. Contrary to popular belief, I believe that globalization is a sound economic force; it promotes growth, both the growth of economy and population, and the spread of goods and services, while creating interdependent markets and closing economic gaps between countries. However, despite all the positive aspects, globalization has a drastic downside. It may close gaps between countries economically by reducing travel fares and tariffs, but it greatly increases the gap between the rich and the poor. Those who live under a modernized capitalist economy will likely have a higher standard of living than those who live under socialist or conventional capitalist economies. Regardless of the inequality of wealth, I believe that globalization provides a better world environment and contributes to a single ‘world culture’ by allowing countries to share economic goals while integrating their individual cultures.
Gorbachev and Yeltsin: A Devious Democratic Duo
In the traditional sense of democratic values, which include the first amendment rights of the US Constitution, representation on the government level through elected leaders and a legislative body, and in holding true such core concepts as sovereignty and regional autonomy, both Gorbachev and Yeltsin are considered to have pursued measures of democracy during their respected tenures. However, a closer inspection reveals that both these men had either a limited democratic vision or ulterior motives in pursuing the path of democracy in the USSR and Russia, respectively.
Interdependence in International Relations
We as a nation, and on the broader sense as a world, are bound to international thought - that there are many nations with many cultures and we must all live together on one Earth. It is this thought that leads us to realize the importance of cooperation and interdependency among nations. Today’s world experiences many conflicts and difficulties, specifically although not limited to environmental concerns. It has been demonstrated throughout history that cooperation and mutual assistance are key components to the survival and perseverance of countries. In this paper I will present and analyze such historical data and discuss its importance and place in explaining interdependency in international relations, specifically in environmental concerns. It is this fact I argue, the fact that through cooperation, determination and interdependency we can enter into a new era, one where we have achieved mutual world goals and conquered conflicts that currently plague our time.
What Lies Beneath: Brewing Democracy in Third World Nations
By adopting democracy, these nations can raise themselves out of the problems globalization plays by building a strong infrastructure and extending it outwards. For two of these countries, South Africa and Iraq, this process of adopting democracy has and is proving to be extremely difficult. In South Africa we see how ethnic strife, poverty and AIDS has played a role in keeping the country in the third world. But by adapting democracy and upholding to its principles many of South Africa’s problems are being addressed. In Iraq we can only look to the past and to the unquestionably oppressive rule of Saddam Hussein. Today, the water is murky and we are unclear as to what will happen in Iraq. But if we assume that democracy will eventually be installed we must look to how we (US/Coalition Forces) will foster a win/win outcome with the Iraqi people. Government and regime changes as seen with Great Britain and France, often take centuries to take full effect.
Israel and Palestine: The Middle East situation under the George Bush Administration
The George Walker Bush administration has had its share of international fiascoes to deal with under Bush’s current four year tenure as President of the United States. Terrorists’ attacks on world democracy finally struck a chord with the citizens of the United States on September 11th 2001 when four hijacked aircraft, commandeered by members of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization al-Qaeda, took 3,000+ civilian lives and destroyed the twin symbols of American capitalism. These attacks fostered a new interest in world affairs and international policies in the eyes of all citizens of democracy. Struggle for peace has become the hot topic of today’s world with terrorism being the number one antagonist against this lofty goal. The United States’ War on Terrorism has brought much disruption to peoples of the Middle East, especially after Bush and nation declared war against Saddam Hussein and Iraq on March 20th, 2003. Bush and his team of foreign policy experts must work hard to quell the uprisings and fight to keep peace not only in Iraq but in neighboring regions, most importantly Israel.
Minor Parties and Campaign Finance
Increased support for minor parties and the reasons behind revised campaign finance laws.
Responsible Parties and Campaigns
Responsible Parties. The concept of responsible parties has been around since the birth of political parties. It includes the aspects of parties that make them different from mere candidates, a party platform and pledged policies.
Campaigns. Incumbents have a number of advantages over their challengers that all stem from the fact that the incumbent has spent the last four or six years in office and the challenger hasn’t. An incumbent has name recognition, can legitimatize his reelection, and has certain powers as an office holder that allows him to portray him character in a good light. Also having more money is an advantage too.
Survival of the CCP
Deng Xiaoping once made a remark about government, “Black cat, white cat, what does it matter as long as the cat catches mice?” Democracy, communism, what does it matter as long as the government works? It matters when the world we live in has become so completely unified that it has all melted into one dark color. Globalization has brought many cultures together so that a ‘white cat’ would easily stand out on a ‘black’ background. In today’s connected world, the vital participants share two main characteristics: democracy and capitalism. China, although showcasing a heavy market economy, is still run by the China Communist Party (CCP). Because democracy is an unrelenting force in globalization, China will have to take some kind of action against rising dissident citizens who increasingly protest for greater political freedom. Observable evidence from history illustrates that China can take one of three roads to democracy. The country will: [A] become more repressive and place greater restrictions on its citizens, [B] more receptive and rapidly open its government to democracy, or [C] take on a strategy of gradualism whereby democracy slowly and effectively takes root and eventually replaces the outdated Communist Regime. It is this third strategy that I believe will be most effective and yield the greatest benefits for China’s citizens, its government and the global community.
Terrorism and Radicalism Theory
In the new millennium, with our advanced societies and cultures and improving technologies, the world is becoming smaller. Globalization is occurring at a rapid rate, hence non-dominant groups can be heard easier and achieves their goals with greater execution. The evolution of war and terrorism is not countered by detailed theoretical analysis. However, if I were to use one theory to explain terrorism, it would be the radical approach. Economic gain and loss have been the motivations and results of much of history’s events. Economics is the core of many states and internationally it is growing steadfastly. Capitalism, in particular, is under close scrutiny by global nations in recent times. There are those who oppose this type of economy and some of them form militant non-state affiliated groups and are called terrorists.
Two Party Systems in the US and Party Strength
Two Party System. In discussing the origins of the party system in the United States we are exposed to a plethora of factors that have been influential in its development. There are, however, several that stand out as carrying the most influence and include (in descending order of importance): US Election Systems, Power of the Executive, Divisions on Socio-Economic Factors, and Direct Primaries.
Strength of Parties. Political parties have focused on one main resource to increase their power: raising funds and spending them wisely. As recent as the 1970s local parties began to increase their power by attaining new sources of funding then expanding their political activities. In the 1980s local parties focused their efforts in five main areas: 1) Distributing literature, 2) Arranging Campaign Events, 3) Raising funds, 4) Publicizing candidates and 5) Registering voters. The attainment of funds allowed local parties to pursue greater interests in the 1990s. The essential equation to remember when discussing strength of political parties is: {More Money = More Activity = Stronger Parties}. In the ‘90s, local parties continued their efforts to reach out to the voter pool by organizing registration drives, transporting voters to the polls, running campaign events, telephoning voters and distributing literature and yard sign propaganda.
War and Pluralist Theory
War is a necessity. It is a part of life that cannot be avoided. It solves disputes between nations when all other avenues have become dead-ends. Granted, there are times throughout history when confusion and misinterpretation have caused war when one could have been avoided. However, it is my belief that war can be a unique, operative tool in international relations if harnessed correctly. By this I mean war must be used only when all misinterpretations and mistakes on judgment are corrected, exposing the real issue. This concept is known as Pluralist War Theory. To understand it, we must look at a main cause of war, a few examples in which wars were and weren’t necessary, and the role of the theory in each.
Weapons to China
Since its emergence as a democracy in the early 1990s Russia has traditionally pursued foreign policies that have diminished its economy and strength of the ruble. Russia’s overall decline in the world market and international political community accompanied by China’s twenty year economic growth have resulted in increased Russia’s arms exports to China under President Vladimir Putin. Increased advanced weaponry sales to China (and India) are also attributed to Russia’s dilapidated domestic situation; one where an economy is struggling and corruption reigns in the White House and CEO chairs of major privately owned companies. In order to compensate for lacking funds, build international relations with its neighbors in the east, and attempt to diversify its economy from a dependency on oil and gas products and materials Russia has directed its arms exports to the People’s Republic of China. The long term interest of these bargains is not beneficial to Russia seeing as current trends predict China’s growth to exceed Russia in the next half century to the point where China is the dominant force in Asia.
Never fear, more opinions are on their way...
