Tuesday, January 28, 2020

he cost associated with running Essay Example for Free

he cost associated with running Essay Candidates should be limited on the amount of money they can spend during a campaign. The cost associated with running for public office is expensive, especially in the case of large national scale elections, but also in smaller local ones. The money factor discourages regular middle class individuals from running for office, often leaving the ballot seriously one sided. If spending limits were placed on campaigns, our government could represent the views and issues of the majority of Americans, rather than only those of the wealthy. Further, if candidates are given a spending limit, they are less likely to take money from supporters who will benefit or profit from a particular view. Candidates then are more likely to make choices based on the good of the community, state, or country, rather than what will bring in the most money. Although mandatory voting could produce both positive and negative outcomes, voting should be a requirement of all Americans. On one hand, forcing people who do not support any of the candidates on the ballot might lead to careless voting. Those citizens who have no knowledge of the people who are running or no interest in voting at all will most likely cast their votes simply to uphold the law. On the other hand however, if all people are required to vote, and they do so in an educated manner, the government could represent all people of our country, rather than only those who choose to vote. Additionally, if Americans are forced to vote, candidates will spend less money campaigning. The months leading up to election become a time of voicing views rather than persuading people to vote in the first place. The decreased spending will, once again, ease the chances of a candidate taking a particular stance on an issue due to the influence of those who donate to their campaign. Texas should not hold partisan elections whereby candidates run as a member of a given political party. In these elections, voters are more likely to vote based upon the party that they support in substitution to the views held by the candidate. In a state that is populated by a majority of Republicans such as Texas, a partisan election would limit the amount of Democratic candidates elected to office, resulting in a severely unbalanced government. Suddenly every public office would be held by a Republican. The only real race in a partisan election would be which Republican to vote for. Furthermore, a non partisan election calls attention to the views of the candidate on an individual level, rather than on the views of the political party to which they belong. Those who do not join parties, or who take a stance that is not supported by any party, are more likely to run for office in a non partisan election. These non partisan elections make holding an office more accessible to a wide variety of candidates, instead of only people who share similar views of Republicans or Democrats.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Magua, the Byronic Hero of The Last of the Mohicans Essay -- Last of t

Magua, the Byronic Hero of The Last of the Mohicans      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Traditionally, heroes represented the ideal member of society, reflecting the moral compass of a culture. The "last great heroic tradition in our literature," the Byronic hero, rebels against society, questioning morality (Thorslev 185). The modern hero, or anti-hero, internalizes the struggle for reconciliation. Traditional heroes represent social order, Byronic heroes represent social rebellion, and modern heroes represent social upheaval. The melancholic, brooding, isolated Byronic hero thrives on rebellion, the traditional hero flourishes on optimistic goodness, and the modern hero grasps for purpose. Samuel Taylor Coleridge criticizes the "savage grandeur" of the rebellious Byronic hero (400). Magua, of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, presents fierce rebellion and indeed rises to "savage grandeur." The feared and scorned Magua represents an American version of the Byronic hero, seemingly presenting antithetical qualities of a traditional hero, exemplified in the Anglo-Saxon epic hero, Beowulf.    Representing the best their societies have to offer, traditional heroes possess characteristics of honor, bravery, loyalty, and steadfastness. They personify communal values and offer a reason to believe in the possibility of a meaningful life in an ordered, harmonious society. The epic hero journeys on a quest, experiencing difficulties along the way, and triumphantly returns to society. An example of a traditional hero, Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic hero, relies on his courage, intelligence, and superhuman strength as he slays the destructive forces that threatens the community. He accepts and embraces the social values, never questioning or ... ...York: Doubleday, 1977. Coleridge. Samuel Taylor. "The Statesmanà ¢s Manual." 1816. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th ed. Vol.2. New York: Norton, 1993. 398-400. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Penguin, 1986. Gross, Theodore L. The Heroic Ideal in American Literature. New York: Free Press, 1971. Lieber, Todd. Endless Experiments: Essays on the Heroic Experience in American Romanticism. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 1973. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th ed. Vol.2. New York: Norton, 1993. 480. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Ed. Margaret Drabble. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1985. Thorslev, Peter L. Jr. The Byronic Hero. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1962. Wilson, James D. The Romantic Heroic Ideal. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1982   

Sunday, January 12, 2020

College Costs How Much Essay

Growing up, students were taught to get a higher education in order to make a comfortable living for them and their families. Now, those college graduates are crippled with large amounts of debilitating student loans and are unable to start a family of their own. According to the credit bureau TransUnion, the average student loan debt carried by each borrower has risen 30% to $23,829 in the past five years. These graduates should be stimulating the economy by buying cars and houses, but instead they are sending their paychecks to the bank to pay back their enormous loans. The aggregated amount of student debt has soared over the past several years due to so many people deciding to go back to college after being laid off from their jobs, a rapid rise in college tuition, and schools that give out worthless degrees. The New York Times states that in the 1970s, the median wage was 40% higher for college graduates than for those with just a high school diploma; today, the wage premium has risen to about 80%. Although there are options to get a degree quickly, it is not always the best idea. It is concerning that some schools promise a degree in less time, yet charge the same amount as a four year university. The Art Institute is one of the biggest offenders. They offer a three year culinary program that costs close to $100,000 while the graduates only average about $12 per hour after graduation. It is impossible to pay back those types of loans with basically a minimum wage job. Also, possible employers would much rather hire someone who has been studying the subject for four to six years rather than just a few months, so it can be very challenging for those students to find a job. The fact that our country’s student loan debt is currently valued at $1 trillion dollars, while the cost of tuition is rapidly increasing, is the most concerning effect of this crisis. Today, about half of college graduates are either underemployed or do not have a job at all. The tide is not going to turn until the job market improves. One of the problems in the job market is that jobs are not opening up as quickly as they should because people are pushing back retirement to help pay for their children’s loans. Students fresh out of college are putting off getting married and starting families because they do not have the secure job future they were promised would come with their college degree. Families have also decreased in size because parents are not able to afford as many children. Public schools are overflowing with students because the alternative private schools are just too expensive. This debilitating debt could cause the millennials, people aged 18 to 34, to be one of the first generations in America to not make a better living than their parents did. It is not ethical to force such a large amount of debt on an 18-year-old who has never even had a credit card before. Too many schools use students as pawns to make thousands of dollars than actually helping them succeed and become a member of a functioning society. The student loan debt problem is going to continue to rise dramatically unless we stop the problem where it started- the greedy universities and â€Å"for-profit† schools. Our government needs to make laws and restrictions based on how much a school can charge for tuition. Because filing for bankruptcy with student loans is impossible, the schools continue to raise the cost of tuition knowing that they will most likely get their money in the end. Now, we have schools charging ridiculous amounts for a mediocre degree while the average graduate makes about $12 an hour. There is no way in the world that graduate would be able to pay off those gargantuan student loans without having more than one job. Tuition should be a percentage of the average income of an employer with that degree so that it is possible to pay back in a reasonable amount of time. If schools went back to offering a great education for an affordable price our country would have a much easier time fixing our limping economy.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Who Is Ultimately Responsible for the Tragedy of Mackbeth

Who is ultimately responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth? It could be said that Macbeth ´s strive for power affects every aspect of his life, and this motivation eventually leads to his demise. Many different factors play a pivotal role in deciding his ill-fated future. With his wife ´s cajoling, and the three witches ´ foretelling of his future, Macbeth, will stop at nothing to gain position as King of Scotland. It could be said that Lady Macbeth is responsible. She bullies him, emotionally blackmails him and knows he is morally sensitive so he must be pushed. She mocks his bravery and knows he is a warrior and will be insulted. When Macbeth is having doubts she says: When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more†¦show more content†¦In Shakespeare s time however, the audience would have been really afraid. Could such characters of really been responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth. Shakespeare prompts the audience to ponder whether the witches are crazed hags who are excluded from society whom only speak what they know or are they manipulative. It comes apparent that they can tell the future when one of the witches says Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are; Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsaine Hill Shall come against him. Act IV, Scene I This of course being a prediction of the attack from England. This was misleading information because they tell Macbeth that the only threat he has is if Great Burnam Wood comes to Dunsaine Hill, which doesn t sound possible. However, the witches warn Macbeth of his dimise by warning him: Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the thane of Fife! Dismiss me. Enough. Act IV, Scene I The witches also trick Macbeth into believing he is immortal by saying none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. This, as the reader finds out in the end of the play, really means that no one conventionally born of woman shall kill