Civil Disobedience Martin Luther King David Thoreau LA...

Civil Disobedience On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the quot;not guiltyquot; verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, â€Å"estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structures were burned, and about 10,000 people were arrested.†(Khalifah 89) The 1992 riots in the City of Los Angeles were arguably the most devastating civil disturbance in the history of the United States. Anyone can say that a law is unfair and†¦show more content†¦Thoreau also peacefully served his time. Both men knew the consequences for their actions yet went along and committed the crime. Their crimes were not vengeful or harmful against a living soul. While LA Riot often been characterized as a race riot, involving mass law-breaking, including looting and arson. â€Å"The riot was as much about empty bellies and broken hearts as it was about police batons and Rodney King.†(97 Davis) However, their crimes were statements stating that the government cannot make anyone goes against his or her beliefs. Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau both believed that one should stand up for what he believes in, as wells as accepting the consequences for his actions. Even though they also had different views about what makes law just or unjust. First of all, â€Å"Martin Luther King believed that a law that is just should be square with the moral law or the law of God.†(____) This basically means a law should pertain to the Ten Commandments according to the bible. He also thought â€Å"an unjust law was one that was inflicted on to a minority who did not even have the right to vote for this law in the first place.†(____) Thoreau is basically rallying for the absence of government in the lives of the citizens. He believed that everyone should govern himself. He also believed that â€Å"no one should have to ride on the shoulders of the government, but inste ad rely on himself.†(____) He thought people should treat other people the way theyShow MoreRelatedCivil Disobedience Martin Luther King David Thoreau La Riot1146 Words   |  5 PagesCivil Disobedience On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the not guilty verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structures were

Essay Example on Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita and the Problem of Evil Introduction Bhagavad Gita is the holy scripture in Hinduism and it is considered to be one of the most important work pieces in this religion. This book is believed to contain the advice given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battle of Kurukshetra. Lord Krishna is one of the incarnations of Vishnu, a supreme deity in Hinduism and he is known to have helped the Pandavas or the good people win over the Kauravas or the bad people in the Battle of Kurukshetra. During this battle, one of the Pandava brothers, Arjuna, is confused about his role and why he should fight the battle at all. This is why Lord Krishna advises him about the good winning over the evil and the role that Arjuna should play in the same. The Bhagavad Gita is a compilation of several pieces of advice given by the Lord. It comprises of many aspects that include how one should live a perfect life, what is the meaning of God, what is good and evil, why is there good and ad in this world and what will prevail, what is the purpose of birth and how can one reach God. Out of these several aspects enshrined in Bhagavad Gita, this paper will focus on the problem of evil. It will specifically dwell on whether evil was condemned at all in the Gita and if so how. Background Dharma is the starting point of Bhagavad Gita and it simply means righteousness in every action. During the incarnation of Vishnu as Lord Krishna, the Bharatha dynasty in India, the largest and the most prominent one, was having problems with its successors. There were two brothers, Dhrutharashtra and Pandu. The former was blind and had 100 sons called Kauravas while the latter died early with five sons. In the Hindu tradition, the eldest son was the throne successor which meant the eldest son of Pandu was the heir to the throne. Dhrutharashtras oldest son Duryodhana was the jealous and evil and conspired against his cousins to get to the throne. To solve this problem, Pandavas and Kauravas went to war (Hridyananda dasa, 2013). Evil in Bhagavad Gita At the beginning of the battle, Arjuna argues that he cannot fight with others as this amounts to injustice to the others. He contends that the men standing to fight have families and children and it is wrong for him to kill these men. To appease Arjuna and to motivate him to fight, Lord Krishna delivers his sermon. Killing Another Human Being Interestingly, Lord Krishna does not justify Arjunas claim at all. He does not think that it is wrong to kill another person even after knowing that the death of that soldier would have a negative impact on his family. In those days, women were not allowed to work and therefore, by killing the breadwinner, the entire family is disrupted. Lord Krishnas argument that the Kauravas are evil are also unfounded. Every person is created by God which means there is no person who deserves to be punished because he is evil. Through his sermon, the Lord justifies punishing the evil when on the contrary, he should be taking steps to protect them. In Chapter 9, Verse 18, He says that He is the master, refuge, guardian and well-wisher. If this is the case, then how can it be justified to harm or even kill those who commit mistakes. On the contrary, should the Lord not take steps to protect His every child from harm? For this, the Lord has responded in the fourth chapter that talks about He appears in the world when the amount of evil (adharma) begins to overtake the good (Dharma). He explained that every act and thought comes from Him and everything in the world happens for a reason. He gave four reasons why Arjuna should fight in the war. He said that the â€Å"embodied self is immortal and it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed (12-25), what is born must die again and what dies must be born again (26-9), it is the duty of the princely (kshatriya) class to fight in a just war (31-3) and Arjuna would lose face in backing out of the battle at the last moment and would be accused of cowardice (34-7)† (Zaehner, 1973, p.121). Lord Krishna also said that evil cannot be avoided and in a war, it is both tragic and honorable for the warrior, therefore Arjuna should fight (Easwaran, no date). He also contended that He is everything and everywhere. Like an efficient government that creates laws and implements them, it is also the Lords duty to implement His rules of righteousness on Earth. When the obedience to this law wanes, He has to come down to protect and uphold it for the benefit of humanity and their future sustenance. The Lord further said that the reason for the existence of such evil people and their eventual death goes to show to the rest of the world as well as for posterity that humans should abide by certain philosophical and ethical laws. Otherwise, they will perish too. For this reason, he contended that He brings evil into this world and makes them get killed by the good. Heaven or Hell The Hindu religion believes in life after death. The followers of this religion believe that the actions they commit during their lifetime will decide if they will go to heaven or hell. After their karma is exhausted, they are born on earth again. Their actions in the past life will determine to a large extent their next life. In others, the good or bad karma committed during one lifetime will carry on to others as well until all the bad karma is exhausted. When this happens, the soul ultimately reaches the Lord. In this light of this belief, how is it possible that Duryodhana, the oldest and the most evil of the Kauravas went to heaven and not hell. How is it possible that such an evil person who was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of thousands of men went to heaven? Should he not be punished for his evil acts by going to hell? Also, by sending him to heaven, was not the Lord sending the wrong message to the world? People will tend to assume that it is right to commit evil and they still have a chance to go to heaven just like Duryodhana. This is against all the established principles of righteousness. To counter these questions, Lord Krishna said that duty comes above everything else and anyone who fulfills his or her duty can enter the heaven. Accordingly, Duryodhana completed his duty as a warrior because he fought valiantly in the war. He did not shy away from the enemy and did not run away. For a person born in the warrior clan, the ultimate duty is to defend the country even if it means getting killed. In this regard, Duryodhana finished his duty with dignity and this earned him a place in heaven (Palshikar, 2013). Further, the Lord said that there is hope for anyone who commits evil provided he accepts his mistake and surrenders to Him. In Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 9, verse 30-31), He says that even if a man has misbehaved grossly, he has refuge provided he worships Me and is devoted to Me. When he does so, he attains the mind of a sage and gets everlasting peace in his mind. After this enlightenment, he will only commit good deeds and will eventually reach me. In other words, even the most evil person in the world can convert to a righteous person provided he is devoted to the Lord. Therefore, Duryodhana went to heaven because he fulfilled his duties and at the time of his death, he realized his folly. He surrendered himself to Lord Krishna and as a result, he went to heaven and not hell. From both these arguments, it is clear that Bhagavad Gita talks about how good will ultimately triumph the evil even though it might look like evil is having an upper hand. Relevance in Todays World The Bhagavad Gita opens with evil in the first stanza. It says that man has to discern between the good and the evil in everyday life and at the time of sleeping in the night, every person should ask whether this battle between good and bad was won. This saying is relevant in everyday life as well because human beings have to constantly discern between good and bad. There is an everlasting struggle between good and evil at the physical, emotional, psychological and philosophical levels. There is faith and doubt, pride and humility, spiritual and material desires, bravery and cowardice, truth and lies, happiness and sorrow and good and bad habits (Yogananda, 2013). Every person makes a conscious choice between the good and the bad aspects, depending on their respective circumstance, ability, need and upbringing. When they choose good over the evil, their life will e peaceful and this choice will take them one step closer to God. Conclusion Evil is one of the central themes of Bhagavad Gita because it was written as a result of the fight between the good Pandavas and the evil Kauravas. In this scripture, there are many aspects that look like evil was upheld, but in reality, it is only truth and good that won the battle. A deep analysis of the Bhagavad Gita reveals that the Lord is everywhere and conceives everything. He is the one who puts mankind in a particular situation to help people to learn something new. In this sense, He was the one who created good and bad people and made them fight because he wanted to uphold dharma or righteousness. The eventual goal is to teach humans for generations spanning through thousands of years that choosing the right way of life is the only way to have a good life. To teach this, the Lord descended as Krishna and abolished evil from this world. References Zaehner, Charles. The Bhagavad-Gita. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 1973. Hridayananda dasa Goswami. Dharma in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna.com. 2013. Yogananda, Paramahamsa. The Bhagavad Gita. Yogananda.com. 2013. Palshikar, Sanjay. Bhagavad Gita, Evil and the Practice of Finitude. New York: Taylor Francis Group. 2013. Yogiraj, Sriyukteshwar. Srimad Bhagavad Gita. California:iUniverse. 2004. Easwaran, Eknath. The Bhagavad Gita. Ooty: Nilgiri Press. No date. Mookherjee, Braja Dulal. The Essence of Bhagavad Gita. New Delhi: Academic Publishers. 2004.

Declining Fish Stock over-Fishing the World’s Oceans Free Essays

The world’s oceanic large fish populations are disappearing at an alarming rate and extinction is a growing concern. An estimated 90% are already gone and the situation will continue to get worse if drastic measures are not taken (University of Phoenix, 2007). Even though the fishing industry will suffer, conservation methods should be developed and enforced soon because large fish populations are endangered and their habitats are being destroyed. We will write a custom essay sample on Declining Fish Stock: over-Fishing the World’s Oceans or any similar topic only for you Order Now Various netting techniques not only deplete fish populations, but also destroy habitats for many of the ocean’s species including plants and animals. Growing world populations and commercial fishing have placed an overwhelming demand on the oceans. Drastic steps should be taken soon to allow fish populations to regenerate and to sustain the numbers necessary to maintain the oceans’ natural balance, and to feed the world’s growing human population. Steps should include conservation methods enforced by the United States (U. S. ) government, development of massive fish farms, and cooperation from other countries world-wide. Implementation of such measures will require active efforts from several organizations. According to Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the damage to the ocean is almost complete but can be reversed (Wiley, 2000-2009). In an effort to bring this issue to the forefront and gain support, a plan must be devised and presented to key groups. In developing the plan, certain action items must be developed and completed prior to presentation to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The NOAA and EPA are strong influences on governmental policy and the public. Action Item One Within nine months, research regarding the effects of over-fishing large fish populations in the world’s oceans will be conducted. Endangered species and habitats will be identified. Research facts and concerns regarding the current impact on the environment and effects of the continuation of practices will be documented. Commercial fishing techniques and their impact on fish populations and habitats will be outlined, along with other statists related to marketplace demands and commercial fishing industry economics. Research will also include conservation and sustainment statistics and other information to support new and innovative ideas regarding fish farming. Environmental issues related to fish farming will also be identified and addressed. Locations for fish farms and the resources needed will be detailed along with funding issues. Fishing industries and human populations that will be most impacted by the plan will also be identified. Action Item Two Within three months following the completion of the research portion of the plan, a presentation will be developed. The presentation will include the purpose of the presentation and the urgent need for action will be explained. The purpose of the presentation is to urge the NOAA and EPA to develop and implement the Healthy Oceans Act to improve and sustain the oceans. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, â€Å"A Healthy Oceans Act would provide a national vision for protecting, maintaining and restoring oceans while encouraging the development and implementation of local ocean plans†, (para. 10, n. d. ). Continuation of current practices and the lack of conservation efforts will result in devastating consequences. Industry changes will be addressed along with a plan for displaced workers. As part of the plan for fish farming, fisherman can be educated and relocated to areas where fish farms are developed and maintained. Fish farms will aid in marine repopulation efforts, provide jobs for displaced fishermen, and provide an alternative food source. Arnold (2009) states, â€Å"Some scientists say the answer is a massive growth of fish farming — a so-called â€Å"blue revolution† to help feed the planet† (para 2). Action Item Three In tandem with action item two, this action item will also be conducted due to the length of time it will take to pull together the target audience for viewing of the presentation and will be ongoing up to the scheduled date. The target audience includes key individuals from the NOAA, EPA, and various other environmental organizations in the U. S. These organizations are influential in Oceanic environmental issues, have much influence in local and global policies, and have far-reaching educational programs already in place. Action Item Four In month nine or when the date is set with NOAA and the EPA, informational packets and invitations will be created and distributed to key environmentalists to persuade them to attend. Names of key environmentalists will be identified and invitations sent through month 12. The addition of key individuals will serve two purposes. The first purpose is that they will bring to the meeting their experiences with local issues, financial concerns, and objections. The second reason is that they will be able to contribute their own ideas of how the implement the plan and what will work best in their areas. Action Item Five Prior to the meeting date, attendance and the location of the meeting will be confirmed. Reminders will be sent to all attendees along with pertinent information. Equipment will be assessed and the presentation completed. Objections to the plan will be anticipated and addressed in a question and answer session. Perception of the Plan and Effects The plan will include specific recommendations for placing at least 40% of the oceans off limits for the next 15 years (Natural Resources Defense Council, n. d. ). After 15 years the off limits zones will decrease to 30% and be maintained indefinitely. Environmentalists will see the necessity of the plan based upon the decreasing fish populations and degradation of habitats for other marine plants and animals. They will also be concerned about pollution generated by fish farms. Innovative ideas regarding the reduction of pollution will be presented. Commercial fishermen will be hurt the most and objections from industry fishermen will be strong. Fishermen have spent their lives fishing and with that in mind, opportunities for training, funding, and employment will be made available. Other Problems Caused by Commercial Fishing Commercial fisherman cause other problems to the marine populations by the way they catch fish. They catch many other animals unintentionally in their nets called â€Å"bycatch† (University of Phoenix, 2007). Additionally, they destroy many habitats by net-dragging and contribute to water pollution during their processes. Laws should be developed and enforced regarding bycatch and what should be done with the unintentional catch before they are destroyed in the process. Community Effects The creation of underwater parks or fish farms will create more jobs in coastal communities and for displaced fishermen. Lifestyles changes will affect fishermen the most and perhaps they will realize a financial loss on expensive equipment. Additionally, many of the areas where their fishing has been successful will be made off limits which will also cause financial losses.? University of Phoenix. (2007). Declining Fish Stock VLR. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Week Six, SCI/275 – Water Resource Plan. John Wiley ; Sons, Inc. (2000-2009). Visualizing Environmental Science, Chapter 11. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Week Six, SCI/275 – Water Resource Plan. Arnold, Chris. (2009). Feeding the World with Deep-Sea Fish Farms. NPR. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=5291579 Natural Resources Defense Council. (n. d. ). Reviving Our Oceans. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://www. nrdc. org/water/oceans/policy. asp How to cite Declining Fish Stock: over-Fishing the World’s Oceans, Papers

Nature vs. Culture in Odyssey Essay Example For Students

Nature vs. Culture in Odyssey Essay The imagination of nature and civilization connects every scene from Book 9 to Book 12 in Odyssey. On the land of Cyclopes. Odysseus’s brush with the one-eyed barbarian giant unveils Odysseus’s inventiveness as a civilised human being ; Nevertheless. Odysseus finally fails to get the better of the defect of human characteristic. as he tells Polyphemus about his existent mortal individuality when he is sailing off. which finally brings Poseidon’s retaliation to Achaeans. At one point human civilisation Teachs Odysseus the accomplishment of utilizing wooden staff and vino to contend with Polyphemus’s strength. but the nature of world power can easy excel human beings’ wisdom. When Circe in Book 11 turns Odysseus’s work forces into hogs. when the blind prophesier Tiresias foretells Odysseus’s destiny. and when Zeus punishes Odysseus with another storm. Odysseus and his work forces are powerless but accept their fate. The struggle between nature and civilization connects humans’ universe with gods’ universe. therefore makes every narrative interesting to follow as barbarian animals possess human features and civilised human existences possess â€Å"limited† world power. For illustration. in book 10. when Circe turns Odysseus’s work forces into hog. Odysseus can merely overmaster Circe by following Hermes’ direction: â€Å"Take this herb. which is one of great virtuousness. and maintain it about you when you go to Circe’s house. it will be a amulet to you against every sort of mischief† ( Book X. 54 ) . When Odysseus â€Å"rushed at her with blade drawn† . Odysseus is in a place where he is even able to get the better of the power of an immortal animal. Both Polyphemus and Circe represent the power of nature. as their universe does non hold any jurisprudence or morality. while odysseus’s journey represents the power of civilization. as the adult male of civilization lickings powerful immortal animals through inventiveness and temperateness.