Blog Feed

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie a great person in many ways, known mostly for her acting. Yet the way she carries herself and the way she works with herself and her family and the media in her life; she is doing great! She is a person that is admired in many ways for she has great standards and tells things to people the way it is, she uses her platform to advocate for others. She is a great feminist and believes that women should have a strong sense of self for they can do anything and should be treated in that way also; meaning equally. She also pushes back on beauty standards and thinks that women are not needed to be a certain way in order to a women; she thinks all women are beautiful the way they are and there should not be certain standards. She is also a great fan of individuality. She takes her own accomplishments and reflects, telling others that they can be who they are no matter how different you are, for different is good. In a way she seems like a feminist genius for the thoughts and ideas in her are great and full of meaning.

An actress, UN diplomat, and  philanthropist. Angelina Jolie has proved herself to be a great person to the public and her family many times. “According to a poll conducted by YouGov, Jolie topped the list of 25,000 people in 23 countries. Many familiar names popped up on the list, and under Jolie, such as Malala Yousafzai, Hillary Clinton, The Queen, Michelle Obama, Celine Dion, Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Angela Merkel” says Bustle.com.  Angelina Jolie has a character in which many do not have. She has the heart and soul in order to be honored greatly by many. Inspiring many to be who they are today and do certain actions. Many women have been inspired by her for the great health stance she has brought upon many. Jolie revealed how the health decision empowered her as a women while encouraging others. She empowered women to come forward with their own breast cancer stories and to take better care of their health. Jolie chose to share her double-mastectomy story while most would not have, changing the face of breast cancer awareness in many ways.   

While many women and men have come together in many different ways in order to improve and give a positive impact towards gender equality. Many that are similar ways and many different. Jolie creates a positive impact in gender equality for she tells women that they can be free to be who they are. Jolie has many strong cores that she tries to show people in order to create equality. While her strongest and passion to show to women is for women to take control of their health and for no one to make them feel less like a women. Her second most strongest stance is to show women of all ages to not feel like they have to follow society's footsteps but that they can be different. For women to be who they strive to be. “I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.” A quote that comes from Jolie, she wrote a piece about women and cancer titled “My Medical Choice” which then was published on ‘New York Times.’ Jolie has given women a new hope that shines through to get the right needed medical information they need in order to be healthy. While most women at first did not go through their health problems so much for it made them seem like womanly to others, at least that is how society has put it. Yet Jolie has taught that you must take care of yourself and nothing is wrong with that.

Jolie does not have one cause towards improving and help equality and women but she has many. One that is she strong about is female refugee. “Alongside Foreign secretary William Hague, last year Jolie held a global Summit which welcomed over 100 countries and 900 experts which aimed to help find an end to sexual violence in conflict. As well as visiting women affected by sex crimes in war torn countries and listening to their experiences, Jolie recently opened a centre to fight warzone violence against women – the first of its type in Europe.” A quote taken from In Style.co.uk a news blog from the UK. While her endless campaigning to help female refuges in many places, she tries her best to tell girls and women of all types and ages to do their best and not to worry about the society. To do what they feel is right and to get to the goals they want. Jolie has a mission to share with women all over that they deserve equality and justice. She inspires women to stand up for what they need and want, including health needs. For women to do what they need, and not to feel less like a woman, and Jolie shows how women should not live up to a standard but to just be who she wants to be.

Sites Used:

• http://www.bustle.com/articles/62003-4-feminist-angelina-jolie-quotes-that-show-why-shes-the-most-admired-woman-in-the-world

• http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/opinion/my-medical-choice.html?_r=0&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Opinion&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article

• http://www.instyle.co.uk/celebrity/news/why-angelina-jolie-is-the-ultimate-millennial-feminist

Structure is the arrangement and relations of parts of something complex. Laws are made to keep order and get people to work together efficiently. People will follow the rules if they benefit, otherwise they would not see the need to follow the rules. Breaking laws would influence others to break them in order to achieve what they want. This kind of system is almost impossible to control, as it doesn’t benefit the larger population.

In the first chapter of ‘Lord of The Flies’ by William Golding, Ralph finds a conch shell, and uses it to call attract all of the boys together. This was how the conch became a symbol of power. Whoever had the conch during a meeting could speak aloud. The main antagonist Jack didn’t see the appeal to this system. That is shown in this scene between him and Piggy, ’Jack was up too, unaccountably angry. “Who cares what you believe-Fatty!” “I got the conch!” There was the sound of a brief tussle and the conch moved to and fro.’ (p. 90) Jack was given power to abate his anger of not being the leader. But here he is trying to take control over more that what he was given. The conch halted Jack’s intentions to take control, as it let others share their opinions. He wanted what was best for him, and used the other boys to follow him, not caring what happens to them. Jack did not care for anybody but himself, causing others to stray away from him and being fearful. Hoping that Jack would not get rid of them when he was done with using them for his benefit.

People have rules to keep society running. These systems may differ, but mainly benefit a one group over another. The people who are benefited less, will be more likely to break laws to survive. Other times people just want the benefits without having to qualify. An example of this is how two Rhode Island men lied about their regular income to receive food stamps. These types of people usually feel cheated by their disadvantages, and attempt to get what they believe they deserve. This ties into people wanting power to do what they want. But them taking food stamps from those in need, not caring what will happen to others, makes a character like Jack from Lord Of The Flies. Selfish people who want to be in control only for their own benefit.

The government's point of view of this outrageous case, is quite interesting. They are the ones who make sure people follow laws, and decide punishments if broken. They believe that this scandal was an impure action that could influence more people to steal food stamps. If this happens, people who really need the food stamps will not be available to them. Thus, creating a problem for more people who are starving, and people who have money for food are get away with this.  The government wants to charge these criminals to show that everyone has to follow rules in order to help those in need. The poor who need food stamps, will now have food stamps. And the government will prove to society that they are in power to keep order and peace, by not letting others do what they want.

Ralph and Piggy benefited from the rules the boys first created. Throughout the book Piggy shown to cling to the idea of the conchshell. The opportunity of speech it provided him was something he could not find in Jack’s. “I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach." (Pg. 45)  Ralph and Piggy, who represent the Government in this situation, are trying to stick by the rules and show the other boys the benefits. The inexperience in the boys made them choose Jack’s world of no work, and constant hunting. They ended up regretting this decision as it led to death and destruction. In these situations, some choose to stick to the rules and suffer silently, while others blaze through the laws that are made to benefit the society.

In conclusion, the one who did not see the benefit, Jack, was feared and hated. He tried to forge the path that suited him, and did not look for the bigger picture. Those men that lied about the food stamps are hated and will never be trusted again. It is sometimes better to listen to those in charge rather than be persecuted.

Works Cited

1. Golding, William. Lord Of The Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 2003.

2. "Examples of General Fraud Investigations - Fiscal Year 2014." Examples of General Fraud Investigations - Fiscal Year 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

3. "Has America Become a Nation of Squatters? | TIME.com." Business Money Has America Become a Nation of Squatters Comments. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Bonnie Thornton Dill

By: Nyla

Bonnie Thornton Dill is the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, professor of Women’s Studies, and a scholar who studied and continues to study race, class, and gender intersectionality in the U.S with a focus on African American women, families, and work. Along with her other amazing qualities, she is also an author who has written numerous articles and books.

As a young girl, Bonnie was raised by her mother, an English teacher, father, a pharmacist in Englewood, Chicago. She attended University of Chicago Laboratory School where she called the experience,  “I lived in two worlds—a white intellectual world and a black social world.” For college, she attended the University of Rochester where she was among the first African Americans to live in one of their residence halls. Her stay at the university was in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement. She put her leadership skills in action and organized a chapter called Friends of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which helped to expand voting rights in the south. She ultimately switched her major from pre-med to English where she traveled to England to further her studies.

After she graduated from college, she moved to New York and worked for the Office of Economic Opportunity, an agency that is in charge of programs that work with President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. She said the experience helped her start thinking about the role of social class in America. Her research on domestic workers was completed in 1979 and was published in 1994. The groundbreaking book was entitled”Across the Boundaries of Race and Class: An Exploration of Work and Family Among Black Female Domestic Servants”.  It was one of the first books that studied black female household labor that was based on interviews of workers themselves.

Since her book, she has made many other life accomplishments and is now the dean of the University of Maryland’s department College of Arts and Humanities.

Bonnie Thornton Hill Timeline:

1965 - B.A. from New York University

1970 - M.A.

1979 - Ph.D and wrote first book

1994 - “Across the Boundaries of Race and Class: An Exploration of Work and Family Among Black Female Domestic Servants” was published

2009 - Appointed Stanley Kelley, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Department of Sociology at Princeton University Award

2010-2012 - President of National Women’s Studies Association

Present - dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and professor of Women’s Studies.

These other events do not have a specific date but they are very important points in her life

1. Chairwoman for Women Studies Department at University of Maryland for 8 years

2. Created two intersectionality research centers

3. Founding Director for Center of Research on Women at University of Memphis and Founding Director of the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland.

4. Vice President of the American Sociological Association

5. Chair of the Advisory Board of Scholars for Ms. Magazine

Creative Piece: http://prezi.com/smhdxltirhdr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

   Elton John is an openly gay singer who is legendary in the music industry. He has sold hundreds of millions of albums, and has recently released an album. He has influenced music greatly, and has albums on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums list. But there was definitely more that he has done to help people. He entertained people, but he did, and still does, much more then that. He is a music legend, but we cannot forgot that he is an LGBT and Humanitarian legend as well.

     Elton John used to be with a woman. His first lover was a woman, but he ended up coming out as bisexual in the 1970s. That was such a strong move for that time period because homosexuality was not really accepted back during that time, and same sex marriage was definitelnot legalized. In fact, a gay governor named Milk was killed due to being gay. This was not normal for artists to do at all. So, he did that. Later, he even took it a step further. In the 1980s, after divorcing his wife, he came out as being openlyb gay. He said he liked being gay, and that’s how he wanted to live. That was so brave for the time. Homosexuality was not viewed positively, and others were blaming gays for AIDS. It was not the most loving time for LGBT rights, yet Elton John still came out and lived openly gay.

       Elton John also supported the rights of gays and lesbians throughout his career, and not just by being gay, but the actions he took as well. After being with his husband David for 12 years, Elton John had a civil union with him, and was the first to do it in his country, which is the UK. It was a historical moment. Elton John always stayed true to the gay community. When he did not support marriages, he supported civil unions. Then, he eventually said he was for gay marriage, and then actually got married. He has called for the boycott of 2 gay men’s fashion line after they said that gays should not be adopting kids. He is really down for the cause. He also wants to talk to Vladimir Putin about his anti-lgbt laws.

         In the 80s, AIDS was a huge deal and very rampant. Elton John slept around a lot at that time, and he felt lucky to not have gotten AIDS. So what he did was create an organization to stop AIDS. He has raised millions upon millions trying to cure this disease. Elton John is clearly a champion for LGBT and human rights.

MLA Sources

John, Elton. "Elton John: The Historic Fight for Equality Must Go On. Let's Get on and Legalise Same-sex Marriage." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 8 Oct. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/elton-john-the-historic-fight-for-equality-must-go-on-lets-get-on-and-legalise-same-sex-marriage-8202686.html>.\

Kealey, Helena. "Sir Elton John's Wedding: 11 Things You Might Have Missed." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 22 Dec. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11309195/Sir-Elton-Johns-wedding-11-things-you-might-have-missed.html>.

Seib, Christine, and Tania Bryer. "I'll Press Queen and Putin on Anti-gay Laws: Elton John." CNBC. 04 Nov. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/04/elton-john-aids-foundation-sets-up-pepfar-fund-focused-on-africa.html>.

Johnson, Ben. "Elton John Urges Boycott after Gay Designers Dolce and Gabbana Come out against Gay ‘marriage,’ Adoption." LifeSiteNews. 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/fashion-article>.

Timeline

Elton John Tiimeline

March 25, 1947- Elton John was born

Late 60s to 2016- Makes multiple successful albums and songs, becomes legendary, and get’s millions of album sales

1976- Elton John comes out as bisexual to Rolling Stone. He faced some horrific treatement due to this

1988- Elton John has announced that he is openly gay to rolling stone. He said that he was “more comfortable” living as a homosexual.

1990- Elton John goes to rehab to end his drug use. He has since helped many other artists get sober, such as Lady Gaga, Eminem, and Ed Sheeran.

1992- Elton John starts an orginization to help out AIDS victims

1993- Elton John had met David Furnish, and they became a couple

         Elton John hosted an event at the academy awards, and raised more then $200 million for        his charity

1994- Elton John is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

1995- Wins 3 academy awards for his lion king songs

2005- Elton John and David Furnish were one of the very first UK couples to have a civil union

2008- Elton John speaks in favor of gay couples having Civil Unions

2012- Elton John has become pro same-sex marriage.

2013- Elton John called for the boycott of 2 gay fashion designers who said that gays should not be adopting children

2014- Elton and David get married

2015- Elton John plans to go to Russia in order to discuss the anti-gay laws there

Creative Piece: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fvZe3M2C9lBvO545PTQTo0ZI0-pwD_eYkdd2TKYi5X8/edit#slide=id.g12397ed715_0_19

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 at the age of 49, Bowie was most widely known for his strange yet talented performances and highly grossing career as a singer, songwriter, and overall famous musician, that being said he was so much more than that. Throughout the earliest years of his musical career he was seen in outrageous and complex costumes both in photoshoots, album covers, and live shows. Given as this was in 1969 when “American morals and values” were the most important facet of day to day life there was a huge culture shock surrounding the man in tights and a full face of makeup.

David Bowie was definitely the pioneer for outwardly queer men and the concept of androgyny in American culture. Given as he would go out into the world appearing to be stereotypically feminine or just not masculine donning his alien alter ego and stage persona Ziggy Stardust, during a time when gender roles and stereotypes were a huge deal. Now thankfully for timing women were at this time around the early 70’s starting to fight for equality and the concept of not being straight and not fitting into the heteronormative boxes laid out at birth based off sex was easy to run with.

“Bowie meant so much to so many, but for a number of people who have fought to subvert gender binaries and resist labels in a world that demands them, he made self-acceptance fashionable.” After the original culture shock of his appearance and persona Bowie’s very presence influenced many people to be comfortable in their skin, regardless of how you express yourself and whatever you decided to wear. Arguably paving the way for modern style icons like Jeffree Star, a makeup and style icon who gained popularity on the internet, openly gay and proud of his androgyny, openly praised Bowie in a tribute, for allowing people to be fearless and be themselves, “...thinking of how many doors this one man had opened for people like me. THANK YOU David Bowie for being the definition of "fearless" and making it OK for people like me to express themselves, and be happy”.

Sources:

Biography.com Editors. "David Bowie." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

http://www.biography.com/people/david-bowie-9222045

Segal, Corrine. "David Bowie Made Androgyny Cool, and It Was about Time." PBS. PBS, 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/david-bowie-made-androgyny-cool-and-it-was-about-time/

Jeffree, Star. "David Bowie “ZIGGY STARDUST" Makeup Tutorial." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsYgeXaqWKI

Timeline of David Bowie’s Life Events

• Jan. 8, 1947 Birth. Originally named David Robert Hayward-Jones

• 1962 David Robert Hayward-Jones starts his musical carrer with his first band, the Konrads.

• 1966 David Robert Hayward-Jones officially and legally changes his name to David Bowie.

• June 1967 Bowie releases his first album. Self titled, David Bowie.

• July 1969 Space Oddity Is released, soon to reach the top 5 most played in the United Kingdom.  

• March 1970, Bowie marries actress and model Angela Barnett, his first wife.

• November 1970, The Man Who Sold the World is released, Bowie’s first fully realized album. Also, begin the first appearances of his Androgynous pop/rock persona Ziggy Stardust.

• May 30 1971, Bowie’s son Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones is born.

• June 1972 The Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is released. This album was known as being a full concept album, leaning more towards a glam rock sound and image (Ziggy Stardust).

• May 1974 Release of Diamond Dogs, another concept album based off a George Orwell novel.

• March 1975 Young Americans, an album featuring John Lennon on the single, Fame. This single would soon be his first number 1 single in the United States.

• May 1976 Bowie stars in a sci-fi movie, The Man who fell to Earth and releases his album Station to Station.

• November 1975 Guest star appearance on the television show, Soul Train.

• September 1980 Bowie moves into the Broadway scene, working on the production of The Elephant Man.

• 1981 Bowie collaborates with Freddy Mercury and accompanying band Queen to produce the single, Under Pressure soon to be recognized as number one in the U.K (Bowie’s third recognition on the top charts of the United Kingdom.)

• 1984, David Bowie receives his first ever Grammy for his short film Jazzin for Blue Jean, which is actually a music video, not a film.

• June 1986 Bowie stars in a leading role in the movie Labyrinth.

• 1996 Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

• February 2006, Awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

• January 8 2013, The release of Bowie’s first studio decade in years, The Next Day.

• January 8 2016, Bowie releases Blackstar, his 25th album.

• January 10 2016, Death.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2016/01/11/timeline-david-bowie-career-highlights/78617968/

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03550/bowie1_3550765b.jpg

http://img.cdandlp.com/2013/03/imgL/115908378.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81GaOhfPyFL._SL1300_.jpg

http://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2016/01/12/da0d14be-b560-4f2a-acea-7a9b3d3795b3/resize/620x465/b8abc2cc12af3f10d2e72130fc3d3753/ap9205030126.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/610V%2B0qBQrL.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/08/article-1205175-05E5BD2C000005DC-672_468x308.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/ZiggyStardust.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1f/Diamond_dogs.jpg

http://beforeitsnews.com/contributor/upload/30080/images/famedavid.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71AMEK3oV1L._SL1500_.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OehLJcjFrAk/maxresdefault.jpg

http://static.gofugyourself.com/uploads/2016/01/RIP-david-bowie-4.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/David_Bowie_-_The_Next_Day.png

https://bumshaketherum.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/blackstar.jpg

Informational Article

The person I will be observing during this project is Mary Church Terrell. She was a charter member of the NAACP and an early advocate for civil rights and the suffrage movement. Born on September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee, Mary was the daughter of small-business owners who were former slaves. Terrell was a suffragist and the first president of the National Association of Colored Women. Terrell and her brother were raised and taught to be hardworking and ambitious. In 1884, she became one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree from Oberlin College in Ohio. She earned her master’s degree in education four years later, which was very rare during this time period. In 1891, Mary married Robert Heberton Terrell who would eventually become Washington D.C’s first black municipal judge.

With Terrell having a new life in D.C., she was very involved in different movements, but the women’s rights movement in particular caught the majority of her attention. Her main focus, though, was the right to vote. Although the goal was to have equal rights and opportunities for all women, African-American women were often excluded from different plans that were executed. So, this lead to the creation of, with the help of fellow activist, The National Association of Colored Women in 1896. She was instantly named the organization's first president, and used this position to advance educational reform. Years later, she became a charter member of the NAACP, and combined her women’s right activism with her civil rights activism. Mary died on July 24, 1954.

Timeline

The person, activists I’ve choose that made an impact of gender equity is Beyonce.  Many people may share different views, but I personally think she is the perfect spokesperson for gender equality. For those who don’t know Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter is a singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, mom and a wife. She hole many titles as you can see. She was born in raised in Houston, Texas and worked her way up to the top of the charts.  

As a young girl Beyonce experienced depression. After all the struggles of switching companies and her parents getting a divorce. Her breaking point was when a friend and also member of the group, LeToya Luckett decided to leave the group because she was unhappy. Beyonce was devastated and fell into depression which led to her boyfriends leaving her. She stayed for days at a time. Beyonce spoke that it was her mother that helped her through it. Having a strong figure, especially that figure being your mother can make someone be an even better woman and mother. She saw woman as strong creatures and wanted to let them know that.

She addressed gender inequality by calling herself a “modern day feminist”. Many people threw salt on her for that saying she shouldn’t call herself that when she exposes her body in her performances and in her videos. How can one say that when she creates song that are for girl empowerment. She literally have a song titles “Run the World.” It’s sending a message about females that have their own life. That are independent and how we should be more confident in ourselves. Now it wasn’t to put males down or make them feel less about their self. It’s just that people are always coming at females. I know males that also love the song.

Beyonce know the true meaning of being a feminist. And it means believing in equal rights for men and woman. She understands that telling your daughter to be vulnerable and not your son is problem. She understand that a woman making 75 cents to a dollar is a problem.  

TIMELINE

2015 Beyonce and Michelle Obama calls for Gender Equality

2015 The conversation is popular – and yes, mostly thanks to Beyonce.

2014 From dancing in front of bright “FEMINIST” lights at the Superbowl (reaching an audience of approximately 140 million), to featuring the very definition of feminism read by novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie smack in the middle of a hit single, Beyonce has put her starpower to use for gender equality.

Now, popularizing the conversation doesn’t mean that feminism itself is popular. We certainly have a ways to go on that front. But I am encouraged by the frequency with which the topic appears in the mainstream media and everyday conversation.

Men and women are uniting behind gender equality

Speaking at Georgetown University’s Own It Summit this past weekend, I couldn’t help but notice the men who had been involved in not only attending the summit, but actually organizing and staffing it.

Women are supporting women

Tearing down other women in the workplace is about as en vogue as shoulder pads. In today’s socially-networked workplace especially, we recognize that the success of our fellow ladies is only good for us.

Intersectionality is everything

As the conversation around gender equality becomes more popular, so too have voices fighting for equality along racial, social, sexual, and economic lines as well. We still have a long ways to go in solving feminism’s white woman problem, but I see more feminists working together across what used to be boundaries.

It’s no longer acceptable to have a conversation about gender inequality without discussing other forms of discrimination as well. And that’s damn encouraging.

Corporate America has bought in

Love her or hate her, the 1%-er perspective of Sheryl Sandberg was exactly what the 1%-er leaders across corporate America needed to hear to get on board with gender equality. Lean In absolutely made the business case for unleashing women’s full potential in the workplace, and since then we’ve seen many of the largest American companies – led by Facebook – instituting policies designed to attract, retain, and develop women leaders.

For all these reasons and more I’m optimistic about the direction we’re heading, though it’s clear huge challenges remain. For starters, it’s time for our government institutions to catch up with these new realities and provide for sane parental leave policies that help women (and men!) lead full lives at home and work.

2014 Beyonce and Hillary “Race is everybody's issue”

2014 Gender Equality is a myth

2014 Flawless song release

2011 Run the World song release

2009 Single Ladies song release

2008 Diva release

1998 She found her real power when she became her own songwriter and she became successful even after her own company didn’t believe in her.

1996 Overcame depression

When discussing the arts and where they stand in the world, one cannot deny how much of an impact they have made throughout the history of humanity. It can has helped to bring about the change that needs to happen in the world. There are many figures that stand out in this field of work. One of them being the late poet and activist Maya Angelou. She has become one of the most famous women of this time period. Maya Angelou obtained about over 50 honorary doctorate degrees. She was also respected as an memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, and filmmaker, actually becoming one of the first African American female directors. Her beautiful, elegant pieces of work, and her views on fighting for the rights of equality for all races, and gender has touched the hearts of so many, and she  has become an inspirational icon for the world, and still is today.

Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Johnson April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She would later be raised in a small in Arkansas called Stamp along with her brother by their grandmother, Annie Henderson, after their parents split. Maya was born during the time period where the rights of African Americans were not given, and Jim Crow was very much alive. So, throughout her time in Stamp, Maya faced many forms of discrimination, and racial prejudice. However, despite these challenges, Maya still grew up in a family that nurtured her with the strong values that would later inform her through her life as well as her career later on.

Maya struggles would continue however, throughout her childhood, where it was during that time she became a victim of rape at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend. After her uncle murdered him for doing this to her, Maya thought that it was her words that caused his death. As a result, she became silent for about 5 years.  When she was around 13 years old, Maya started to speak again. Her love for words, and language by then had only grown. She had started to read books from very well known black authors like Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as classical works from Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allen Poe. Mrs. Flowers, an intellectual African American woman who was also responsible for helping Maya to start speaking again, had been one of the most influential figures in Maya’s life that taught her how vital education was, and was one of the reason Maya came to truly love poetry.

Maya and her brother would go to San Francisco to go and live their mother. There, she attended high school where she also received a scholarship to study dance and drama. Maya would later drop out of high school and would become the first African American female car conductor for San Francisco. She would later go back and finish, and give birth to her son Guy. She later on married a Greek sailor named Tosh Angelos, in 1950, but they would later separate. She would continue her work as a performer by touring Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess in 1954 and 1955. Maya also decided to study modern dance with Martha Graham, she then started dancing with Alvin Ailey on television variety shows, and recorded her first record album, Calypso Lady in 1957.

Maya Angelou then started singing in the West Coast and Hawaiian nightclubs during the late 1950s. After that, Angelou would go to New York to continue her stage career. It was also during this time that Maya joined the Harlem Writer’s Guild while under the guidance of her close friend James Baldwin. Here, Maya had the opportunity to hear Martin Luther King speak which prompted her to join the civil rights movement. From there, She was then offered a position to be the northern coordinator for Dr. King's SCLC. After that, Maya would then move to Cairo with her son, and, later on, to Ghana in West Africa in 1962. She pursued the career of  a freelance writer and had even become a  feature editor at the African Review. During the mid-60s Maya had returned to the U.S. She was then pushed by her friend James Baldwin, as well as Robert Loomis, to write her own autobiography. Although she had declined multiple times at first, it was in 1970 where Maya angelou published her critically acclaimed novel I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, was one of the six autobiographies produced by Angelou. It became an immediate success, and was nominated for the a National Book award. Her later works included  Gather Together in My Name (1974),  The Heart of a Woman (1981),  All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986), and her final volume, A Song Flung up to Heaven (2002). Which took about 15 years to make. She also became a very well known poet as well. In the early 1990s, President Bill Clinton invited her to write and read the first ever inaugural poem. Americans all across the country listened to her speak and call for peace, racial and religious harmony, and social justice for people of different origins, incomes, genders, and sexual orientations.

It was in 2013, that Maya Angelou was given the Literarian Award, which is an honorary National Book Award given to people who make contributions to the literary community. She later died in 2014 at the age of 86. But her teachings, and words still reside with us to this day

Maya Angelou Timeline:

Sources:

06." Caged Bird Legacy. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

"Maya Angelou." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

"Maya Angelou Biography." -- Academy of Achievement. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Marie Curie was born in 1867 as Maria Salomea Sklodowska, in a Russian-controlled Warsaw. After her mother’s death, she went to a boarding school, and then left the boarding school for a prestigious, selective school, where she graduated as a top student. As there was no higher education for girls in Poland and no money in Curie’s family, Curie worked as a tutor and attended illegal, underground university lectures until she could afford schooling in Paris. She had to learn French very quickly in order to keep up with the classes at the Sorbonne, which was Paris’ top school. Eventually, she graduated top of her class in master's degree physics. After receiving research funding, she got a second master’s degree, this time in chemistry. When she tried to become a teacher in Poland, she learned that there were still no spaces for women at universities there, and so she returned to Paris. She married another famous scientist in her field, Pierre Curie, and her initial scientific discoveries were all completed with him.

In her work, she discovered that rays of energy cast from uranium allow air to conduct electricity, and that compounds like pitchblende, which make the air even more conductive than uranium, does must contain an element that was, at this point, undiscovered. Through this, she discovered Polonium and Radium. Through observations of the elements she had unearthed, she also discovered radioactivity, the reasons that these elements gave off heat. For the discovery of radioactivity, she shared a Nobel Prize in Physics with her partners, one of which was her husband. This made her the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize, and she won it only six months after acquiring her Ph.D, in 1903.

When her husband was later killed in a vehicular accident, she was promoted to fill his position, as their Chair of Physics. Naturally, she was the first woman to fill this role. When she finally managed to isolate a sample of radium, she was awarded her second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry. In total, she became:

• The first woman to be a professor at the University of Paris

• The first woman to win a Nobel Prize

• The first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Physics

• The first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry

• One of six people/organizations to have won multiple Nobel Prizes

• The only person to have a Nobel Prize for both Chemistry and Physics

Her death, by aplastic anemia, in 1934, was almost certainly caused by the radioactivity she had exposed herself to in her studies. She was not only impressive for doing all this while being a woman, she is impressive because her scientific achievements have been bested by none. Because she was able to do this in an era where science was hardly open to women only accentuates her greatness. She opened the door for female scientists in the global community and remains one of the most recognized scientists in the world.

Listen to my music-thing, "Marie Curie," at https://www.soundtrap.com/play/3mjLmOfrRQuppItOf3eEig/marie-curie/.

Sources:

"Marie Curie." Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 8 Sep. 2014. Web. 4/11/2016
<http://www.famousscientists.org/marie-curie/>.

"Marie Curie." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 11 Apr. 2016 ,http://www.biography.com/people/marie-curie-9263538>.

What is a leader?  Well this question can be answered many different ways.  Leadership can change with whatever situation a person finds themself in.  Leaders can differ from an explorer leading his/her men/women through the jungle, or the captain of a sports team leading their teammates to a championship.  Every leader has a vision and it is that leader’s job to inspire people to make them see that vision as well so they can gain followers.  People expect and rely on certain leaders to take charge and accept success and failure personally.  

In the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding there seems to be a battle of who is going to become head honcho between the characters Ralph and Jack.  When another character named Piggy finds a conch shell on the island they were stranded on, Ralph blows into the shell and the sound attracts other kids on the island.  “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.”(22)  In this scene of the novel, the conch is giving Ralph power and authority.  It also develops a the thought that the best thing for them right now to have is a leader.  In the boys’ heads the conch is setting Ralph apart from everyone else, and this is the reason why Ralph becomes the leader over Jack.  

This same kind of situation can relate to any sports team in a way.  On sports teams there can be one one leader, or several leaders that play different parts on the team.  The role of a locker room leader would be to get everybody pumped and hyped to play the game and make sure everybody is ready.  Where a performance leader would take control during the game and most of the the they want the game to be in their hands.  Or there could just be one leader.  This role brings the most pressure and all depends on how you deal with it.    

In the novel, situations start to come up that test Ralph’s leadership.  A dead pilot has fallen from the sky and as the boys see the body but don’t know what it is.  The minds of the paranoid kids disguise the body to be “the beast.”  The tension of what it could be was eating away at the group, so they all decided to go hunt the so called beast.  The boys were hunting the beast and they decided to stop and reevaluate their decision.  But Ralph took the responsibility of being a leader and told the group that he would go after the beast himself.  When Ralph made the decision to go himself, that really stuck with the group and it showed them that he was being a true leader and taking on that responsibility that comes with taking charge.   

The same concept applies to sports.  No matter what sport it is no matter if it is basketball, baseball, soccer, etc the star player or captain of the team wants to be in the win or lose situation.  They are willing to go into either success or failure situations head on and deal with the outcome no matter what it is.

Geena Davis was born on January 21, 1956, in Wareham, Massachusetts. She had worked as a model before becoming an actress, starting out with a small role in 1982 film Tootsie. She had also won an oscar and was a well known actress for what she starred in. Overtime Geena realized that movies can have huge impact on people after fans coming up to her stating things such as, “That movie changed my life. My friend and I call each other Thelma and Louise now.”

It was not long until her acting career was slowly gone. In, 2004, Geena Davis founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. It started off as doing research that then turned into extensive research into how women are portrayed in family films. A discovery was made that on average, there is only one female to every 2 male characters. Due to this discovery, Geena Davis and the organization are working on creating a balance in the content for children.

Geena Davis address this matter of women’s right or gender inequality from what she realize of what it’s like for women in films, and how films can affect people’s perspective on things. One of the thing being what women are like in the society. Even for someone famous, this gender inequality still follows that lives on in the society. Geena Davis is still acting in roles, but still continues to work on behalf of the institute’s belief and speaking out on the issue of how women are depicted in the media, and what are the ways or key concept in reducing that.

In today's society, people are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development `known as civilization. In an organized civilization, leaders are chosen in order to install stability within a society. In most cases though, the best leader isn’t always the one chosen. When picking leaders people don’t always weigh all of the factors they should , they usually just consider who is the most popular. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the novel demonstrates how people feel towards leadership, usually basing their decision on popularity rather than what's best for them.

In the novel, the boys had to chose who the group leader or “chief” would be. It came down to a running between Ralph and Jack. Ralph was not the best option to become leader, but he displayed usefully human qualities when working towards the betterment of the boys society, and demonstrated a better understanding of people than Jack. This earned him popularity with the rest of the boys. In one passage in the novel the boys and the choir were about to vote for chief between Ralph and Jack. the boys looked up to Ralph and gave him a respect that they didn't give Jack, even though Jack was the stronger and better option between the two. The passage reads, “but there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” The kids go on to vote for Ralph, not because he is the better leader, but because he is someone very popular amongst them and someone they look up to. He has done this through his understanding of the boys ways. This entire example shows that people choose candidates and leaders based off of popularity. Neither Jack nor Ralph were the best options out of everyone, Piggy was arguably the best option to become chief and lead the boys. Piggy was a practical option and had ideas that would make the group of boys thrive. But again Piggy wasn't even considered because of his general appearance and the way he carried himself

Recently it was in the media that Kanye West announced that he would be running for president in the year 2020 during the 2015 VMA’s, some looked at it as a joke or a popularity stunt until he got serious about his running and then everybody realized that it was a serious claim. Some professionals have even conversed about this as a possibility and several have been baffled by the fact that there is even a chance that he might be elected. In all actuality Kanye only has a chance to become a delegate because of his popularity throughout the world and his vast appearances in the media. This is a problem because clearly Kanye West would not be the best option for the wellbeing of the country, but again Kanye has so much popularity and enough fans that would be willing to vote for him. this makes him not only a serious option but also a serious threat to anyone else running.

Returning to Lord of the Flies, there are several cases after a leader is picked where one or more of the boys has an idea or statement, and it is overlooked because they are looked at as insignificant or as if their ideas are meaningless. A prime example of this is in chapter two of Lord of the Flies, Piggy makes several points and comments on the boys work ethic and their proficiency at getting tasks done. His points would prove to be very valuable if they had been listened to but again all of Piggy’s comments and/or ideas were all deemed unimportant or overlooked. This again proves the point that they boys on this island and almost all of society only pay attention to what they find important no matter how helpful other things could be. This reference also proves that the boys small society already has segregation and discrimination not necessarily to races but it could be compared to social classes. If an idea or statement is presented to a society but its origins are unknown or coming from an unimportant area then that suggestion is most likely to go unrecognized no matter how much it could benefit the society.

This specific theme although it is broad is still very prominent throughout most societies now. There are several examples of this all through the media nowadays, but the most recent and still ongoing example is the current presidential election involving Donald Trump. Donald Trump is currently leading the republican party for delegate votes. One of the reasons he is leading is because he became a household name during the airing of his multiple television shows. He is also known across America for his extensive amount of wealth and knowledge revolving the business world. That is mostly what people know about him fully. Most of his supporters do not know about his full economic preference and how he will treat americas funds, or how he has publicly kept changing his opinions on multiple different subjects mostly just appealing to the current audience he is speaking to such as his thoughts on gun control, abortion, and immigration. Donald Trump also does not have any prior political experience except for him previously running for president. Clearly Trump is not the best option to become president for the wellbeing of the country and to try to improve it as a whole. But again trump is in the lead of his party mostly because he is the most widely known, and he has kept himself in the press for an extensive amount of time, not because he is the proper candidate to become president, and if society doesn't realize that trump will lead this country the wrong way because he does not have the experience or credentials to do so, and he is certainly not qualified then this society is practically sealing its own fate.

The people Chosen to lead are the people that form a society. The people that lead are the ones who the rest of the society is forced to follow. So whether it be a group leader or a presidential candidate all options should be considered, and decisions need to be made based off of well being not based off of favorites and predetermined judgements.

Works cited

• Abramowitz, Alan I., Ronald Rapoport, and Walter Stone. "Why Donald Trump Is Winning and Why His Nomination Could Shatter the Republican Party." Larry J Sabatos Crystal Ball RSS. March 10, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/why-donald-trump-is-winning-and-why-his-nomination-could-shatter-the-republican-party/.

• Bankoff, Caroline. "Could Trump Actually Win a Third-Party Nomination?" Daily Intelligencer. April 10, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/could-trump-win-a-third-party-nomination.html.

• Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 2003.

• Collinson, Stephen. "Donald Trump Has Almost Won the Nomination. Now He Has to Win the GOP." CNN. March 03, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/politics/donald-trump-republican-establishment-fight/.

• Mellen, Ruby. "Kanye West Will ‘Definitely’ Run For President, Thinks Ben Carson Is ‘Brilliant’." Huffington Post. September 24, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kanye-west-2020-carson_us_56043542e4b0fde8b0d1a0f7.

• Lyles, Travis. "Kanye West Says He Definitely Plans on Running for President in 2020." Business Insider. September 24, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-is-definitely-running-for-president-in-2020-2015-9.

• Dinan, Stephen. "Trump Quickly Recants New Stance on Immigrant Guest-workersStephen." Washington times. March 04, 2016. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/4/donald-trump-quickly-recants-new-stance-immigrant-/.

My goal in writing this Advanced Essay was to ultimately "wake" the reader up to a lense of America typically avoided and that there is little to no progress made on. The event that I keep referencing(where 6 people died) was really like an eye opener for me, personally, specifically when it happened, as soon as Spring was beginning to open, and made me sad to hear about. I do think it is a shame that this is the point that our culture has come to, but I am also not surprised, which I also hoped to express in essay as well. The writing process was admittedly awkward, to say the least, due to a combination of me approaching an analytically themed writing style that I don't often reach for, along with the nature of the subject, being one that I only ever mostly discussed in a broad sense, not considering how people died and whatnot and fitting it all into an essay that was reasonably sized. Nonetheless, I still think it's a good read, and still should serve its purpose fairly.

A lot of people died the other day. Six of them actually. There had already been over 40 in the city by the 3rd month this year, and I have become confused as about to which point the violence was supposed to become unacceptable. On the night of March 8th, 2016, Philadelphia had become a sort of war zone. Separate occasions across the city put Philadelphia back on the map and helped, once again, further define what it truly means to be American, that is, what it truly means to be violent. Even under our evident war torn history, our violently inclined present, and the inevitably destructive future that lies ahead of us, we still seem to be crazed with war. Even in the past year’s violence in American lifestyle becoming a norm,, intensity of gun violence debates and police brutality, still, a lot of people died yesterday and the question that remains is how.

This was premeditated. “In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the U.S. gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over,” said Dan Hodges in response to the recent gun controversy surrounding the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, North Carolina. On June 17th, 2015 a man by the name Dylann Roof killed nine people in their church after a session of bible study. The church invited him with open arms into their service, and to his own personal ill, I guess it was ok niggas died. This is not even to mention the other near 13,000 who died to gun violence just last year alone. 36 People die everyday, on average, but still I take offense that six of them died last Tuesday.

Of course this in turn means that some lucky child had the opportunity to witness at least one murder a day on his local news channel that year, and perhaps one could see the irony that those same news channel would turn up studies of how violence in video games may be the cause of a violent youth. We use our weapons to protect ourselves, and 756 children were killed in 2015, they are understandably very dangerous, and it is ok. We like turn to terrorism for the blame. Between 2005 and 2015, 71 Americans were killed in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, and their deaths were not in vain; in the same time period, over 301,000 Americans died, to each other.

Our culture seems to have grown to romanticize the features of death. We must like the way it looks. It is on our T.V. screens, it is in our books, and the flavors of it, you can even taste in our heroes. As a community, our lust for blood has even grown so wicked, that you can practically smell it in the hearts of our youth, it wreaks from them, so badly so that it would probably take you by surprise if our future generations could manage to resolve a conflict without violence.    

Dr. Bruce D Perry, in his analysis “Why Does Violence Happen?” identifies that one of the biggest sources of violence is due to our detachment from others or one another. He states that “When we become more detached from each other and from common unifying beliefs, violence increases,”  he continues “ ..when we hateful ideologies to make groups or classes of people to be viewed as different, bad or even less than human, violence increases.” This would speak to a part of the reason why it is believed that, today, black men are disproportionately affected by gun violence in America; last year, 50% of the gun deaths were deaths of African American men, who make up only 6% of the American population. The ideologies that Dr.Perry presents are scary simply by their nature. It is an outlook that is especially hard for America to uphold and try to make more synonymous with its lifestyle, being that America’s entire history was built around the concept of otherness. In the 1700s we fled from Great Britain in refuge from a difference of vision with King George III, we enslaved dependant on melanin, we sought to take control of any country who did not share our values, we had been America since day one, and we made it explicitly known.

The last Winter had been a long one, but things were finally starting to look for the kids of the ghetto. The essence of Spring was so beautiful, I remember, you could practically smell it’s eloquent breezes as you stepped outside. I remember the crew had been anticipating the arrival for days now, below 20 degree conditions and being snowed in can not compare with 70 degree days outside and flowers we were promised. But last Tuesday, once again America had made sure its vision was explicitly seen. Why am I surprised to wake to hearing the words “a lot of people died yesterday in Philadelphia,” from the local news this morning. Six of them actually.

Chang, David. "6 Die During Violent Day in the City." NBC 10 Philadelphia. NBC 10, 8 Mar. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Philadelphia-Double-Shooting-Fatal-Injury-Gunman--371463021.html>.

Perry, Perry D. "Why Does Violence Happen?" Why Does Violence Happen? Scholastic, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/why_violence.htm>.

Mascia, Jennifer. "15 Statistics That Tell the Story of Gun Violence This Year." The Trace 15 Statistics That Tell the Story of Gun Violence This Year Comments. The Trace, 23 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.thetrace.org/2015/12/gun-violence-stats-2015/>.

Smead, Howard. "Why Americans Are so Violent?" Howardsmead. Howard Smead, n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.howardsmead.com%2Fwhy_we_americans_are_so_violent.htm>.

If we’re still doing the whole real world lesson in quarter four this will be my final assignments for Senior year art. These assignments really pushed me outside of my comfort zone and I really enjoyed it. It actually made me think about making something that I wouldn’t normally do (adding real details, and using colors, using oil pastels) and something that’s not simple. I got so into the art I actually finished the main assignments early and did little ones on the side. . It was a really good chill, relax class where you could be open about who you are what type of artist you are. It was fun walking into class and just going straight to work not worrying about anything else. I’m going to miss senior art a lot, there’s never going to be a class like this and I'm always going to remember the memories I made in it.

My favorite assignments was the mosaic and all the water colors. One I love working with water colors, especially because they’re easy to blend with and make bolder better colors. You can use salt and cement and tape to make texture and clouds and it’s just fun to work with. The mosaic was a challenge because you had to cut smaller pieces to make your bigger piece. In the end it was worth the sticky fingers and the little paper cuts, my coffe cups came out real nice and it was really worth it. The hardest assignment had to be making a wire sculpture out of paper clips. It was the worst, I cut myself a couple of times and the little paper clips weren’t cutting it. It was a new experience for me and I learned and grew as a person from it. I made a crown out of the paper clips because it was girly enough like me and every princess needs a crown.

In the end I’m really proud of all the assignments I turned in the last three quarters and it was worth the time and energy I spent. Senior art has really taught me to be creative and think outside the box. I am really looking forward to the last quarter where Ms.Hull will be teaching us about the real world and what happens when you leave the comforts of high school. ‘Ve been waiting for lessons like this since the beginning, I think there should be mandatory classes in highschool that teach you how to pay bills and write checks, and be independent. Since we’re leaving for college soon it’s going to be a good learning experience for all of us.

Philosopher,  Albert Camus, said "Peace is [a] battle worth waging." Peace has always been one of the priorities for the world. So the problem does not lie with whether or not the people want peace, of course people want peace, the issue is how people want to go about it, and what is stopping us from achieving this goal. So to figure this out, the root of the problem must be found, and then addressed. Only then, can the possibility of a peaceful society happen in the near future, and when it comes down to it, the only thing that is keeping this world from having a peaceful society is the lack of effective communication, understanding, and fear.

When it comes to almost any problem there is always a peaceful approach, as well as a violent approach. Both can definitely get the point across, and solve the problem. However, when it comes to the violent approach, a lot of lives are lost in senseless violence. Now, if it is true that the peaceful approach can still solve the same problems that the violent approach can, then it seem more logical to go with that option. However, when it comes to the peaceful approach, it relies heavily on a characteristic that many nations tend to lack, which is effective communication. With this, it’s a lot harder to deal with. When coming to a compromise, depending upon your motive, there will be times where negotiation is not something that is really desired. There is also the fact that nations might seem weak for doing this, and no one wants that type of image. Tim O’brien stated in “The things They Carried”, “It was my view then, and still is, that you don't make war without knowing why. Knowledge of course, is always imperfect, but it seemed to me that when a nation goes to war it must have reasonable confidence in the justice and imperative of its cause. You can't fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you can't make them undead.”(41). He has a point though. When it comes to war, it’s less complicated, even though it is deadlier, but at least you stand a with getting most of what you want with little to no compromise at all. In the novel “The Sorrow of War”, Bao Ninh said it best when he stated that “The ones who loved war were not the young men but the others like the politicians, middle-aged men with fat bellies and short legs. Not the ordinary people" (75).

Another difficulty the comes with the path of peace is that it forces people to try and understand one another. That is one of the hardest things to do sometimes, especially if one believes that they are just dealing with an evil group or individual. In this society, when someone or some group is considered evil, nobody real cares to try and understand them. They’re bad people, they have done harm to others, so it doesn't make sense to show them any sympathy or give them any excuse for their actions. In Philip Zimbardo’s Ted Talk: The Psychology of Evil, he brings up a good point by saying "Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing more difficult than understanding him," Dostoevsky. Understanding is not excusing. Psychology is not excuse-ology.”  What is so important about this quote, is that it shows people that getting to see where these types of people are coming from, gives us an insight into human nature. It also shows us that evil is more complex, it is something that is within us all. Philip later quotes in his talk that  “Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn says, "The line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being." That means that line is not out there. That's a decision that you have to make, a personal thing.” Once we start to think of it that way, then the process of understanding one another is not only clearer, but it becomes a necessity.  Once there is understanding, better communication is what follows, and the peaceful approach becomes more realistic.

Now, lack of communication, and understanding are issues that keep us from having a peaceful society, but there lies another problem that is not really talked about, but is also a major problem that is stopping us from having a peaceful society is. Fear. When it comes to maintaining a peaceful society, there has to be a level of trust involved where both side do not expect the other to take advantage or betray them. But, that is so hard. For instance, Martin Luther King brought an example with his vietnam speech stating that ““We have destroyed their two most cherished institutions: the family and the village. We have destroyed their land and their crops. We have cooperated in the crushing of the nation’s only noncommunist revolutionary political force, the unified Buddhist Church….After 1954 they watched us conspire with Diem to prevent elections which could have surely brought Ho Chi Minh to power over a unified Vietnam, and they realized they had been betrayed again. When we ask why they do not leap to negotiate, these things must be considered.” We live in a society that promotes self gain and power above anything else, so it’s scary to have that kind of trust when you grew up believing everyone's looking out for themselves most of the time.

There is a lot of improvement that needs to be done in order for a peaceful to be established in the near future. One way we can start, though, is by staring each other stories with one another. Again, Dr. King says "Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?....I think of them, too, because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution there until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries.” Telling your story or some else’s, gives power to understanding and empathy. People have a chance to see what life has put you through. Bao Ninh said in “ The Sorrows of War” that “ It was necessary to write about the war, to touch readers’ hearts, to move them with words of love and sorrow, to bring to life the electric movements, to let them, in the reading and the telling, feel they were there, in the past, with the author” (56). Having a peaceful society is possible for us, but it’s not something we force. It’s something we comprehend together.

Bibliography

Ninh, Bảo, and Frank Palmos. The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam. New York: Pantheon, 1995. Print.

Tim O'Brien. The Things They Carried. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. Print.

Philip Zimbardo.The psychology of evil. Sep 2008

King, Jr., Martin Luther. "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam." Church Sermon. Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. 30 Apr. 1967.Youtube. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.