moralant Free Antigone Essays: Do the Right Thing :: Antigone essays

Antigone: Do the Right Thing Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon's strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her brother become consumed by vultures' talons and dogs. Creon finds out that somebody buried Polynices' body and sent people out to get the person who preformed the burial. Antigone is guilty and although she is to be wed to Creon's son, Haemon. He sentences her to be put in a cave with food and water and let the gods decide what to do with her. He was warned by a blind profit not to do this, but he chooses to anyway, leaving him with a dead son, a dead wife, and self-imposed exile. Antigone had good reasons for her actions. She did obey the rules of her gods, which were that any dead body must be given a proper burial, with libatations. This would prevent the soul from being lost between worlds forever, along with wine as an offering to the gods (page 518- side note). Nor could Antigone let Creon's edicts go against her morals (lines 392-394). She chooses to share her love, not her hate (line 443). She couldn't bare to see one family member be chosen over the other because of what a king had decided was right, which she contravened. Why condemn somebody who stood up for what they believed in and is now dead for it anyway? Bringing homage to the family was very important to Antigone (line 422-423). The gods' laws come before mortal laws in Antigone's point-of-view, which is how I believe also. In death, you will answer to your god and no man will have control of your fate in the world that lies hereafter. Therefore by obeying the gods, hopefully, will result in a happy afterlife, which are what most people strive for in ancient times and now. If man does not honor you for noble efforts, your gods' will. Antigone's act was honorable. She stood up to the highest of powers so she could honor her brother, knowing the consequence would be death. Most likely she figured there is only a certain amount man can do to you, so she might as well stand up for not only her family and beliefs, but her gods as well (lines 377-389).

Differences and Similarities in the Arguments for Legalizing Marijuana Essay

Differences and Similarities in the Arguments for Legalizing Marijuana The legalization of marijuana has become a mainstream issue that the nation has become highly concerned about in recent years. Lately more and more conservative opposers have begun to change their minds, realizing the benefits of marijuana. Debate followers go as far as saying that it is no longer a question of if marijuana will be legalized, but when. The shift in viewpoints is due to the increasing awareness of some of the positive effects legalizing marijuana could have on the country. Pro-legalization advocates argue that the benefits of legalizing marijuana greatly outnumber the benefits of keeping it illegal. There are several, very different arguments for the pro-pot stance advocates have taken. They claim legalization would be beneficial by causing a significant reduction in crime (which would empty prisons and save millions of dollars in tax money), creating a new industry that can be taxed and regulated, boosting the economy, and a new, effective, and low-dependency medicine. These benefits seem to be universally desired by the pro-pot party and are often mentioned in literature advocating marijuana legalization. Another similarity in arguments usually revolves around the issue of medical marijuana. Some advocates call for marijuana to be completely legalized, including use for recreational purposes, but this is opposed in most cases. Some advocates only want marijuana legalization if there will be strict regulations and restrictions on who can use it. In the article â€Å"Weed All About It,† Gary Cartwright gives ample evidence and quotations from experts that form his pro legalization argument: â€Å"In 1988 the Drug Enforcement Administration’s chief law judge declared that ‘marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest  therapeutically active substances known to man’† (87). Cartwright goes into specific ways that legalization of marijuana could benefit the country,  including the economical and societal impacts, and medicinal use. He also addresses questions most advocates ten to shy away from because of the lack of certainty in the answer (like, â€Å"Would marijuana use increase if it was legalized?†). One similarity of Cartwright’s stance and other articles is the the claim that prohibiting the use of marijuana is unconstitutionally, and making the government seem like the bad guy. In â€Å"Medical Marijuana 2010: It’s Time to Fix the Regulatory Vacuum,† Peter Cohen claims that restricting doctors from recommending marijuana to alleviate symptoms is a violation of free speech and that â€Å"science, not ideology, should be dispositive† (3). Cohen continues to set up the government as the villain by describing two seemingly non-coincidental events in which fullyfunded teams of qualified scientists were  denied access o marijuana by the DEA, while simultaneously being supported by a long list of research organizations An argument in the article, â€Å"Obama, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Drug War,† by Martin D. Carcie uses the Constitution as the backbone in justifying its position. According to Carcie, marijuana prohibition directly violates our Fourteenth Amendment, â€Å"under the Fourteenth Amendment, bodily autonomy– i.e., the control over the borders and contents of one’s body burdened by laws like marijuana prohibition–is a fundamental right† (308). Cartwright does not explicitly mention the Constitution in his article, but makes the same claim that Cohen and Carcie make; â€Å"Some people will use drugs no matter what the consequences, but†¦the user primarily harms himself. When he harms others, we do something about it, just as  we arrest those who drink and drive† (Cartwright 88). Cartwright also builds the government up to be the villain, claiming that, â€Å"Over time, law enforcement officials have repeatedly misled the public and t he media about the so=called scourge of drugs† (Cartwright 88). Both authors do this to give the reader the ability to look at the article with a blank slate. They know their audience is anti-legalization, so they want to make sure that the readers know, before they choose a stance, they’ve been lied to. This makes  the authors seem like more trustworthy and rational choice. By using the Constitution to back up their arguments, there is no real way to justify anti-legalization. Assumptions will be made that you’re anti-Constitution, and in turn, anti-American. Another similarity between Cartwright’s stance and other arguments for marijuana legalization is the huge emphasis on the effects it will have on the economy. In the article â€Å"Up In Smoke,† Kelley Beaucar Vlahos describes the economic benefits of legalization, while giving real number estimates of how much revenue could be brought in or saved. She writes, â€Å"Proponents of Prop 19 claimed taxes on legalized cannabis could bring upwards of $1.4 billion in to beleaguered state coffers† (Vlahos 18). Cartwright does this in his article as well, stating that â€Å"In America, we spend nearly $8 billion trying to enforce the laws prohibiting the use and possesson of marijuana† (Cartwright 86). Cartwright further supports this argument by providing more proof of the waste of taxpayers’ dollars, stating that â€Å"in Texas, 97 percent of all marijuana arrests are for simple possession–an ounce or less–at a cost to taxpayers of $480 million a year† (86). Cartwright chooses to provide the reader with these statistics for deliberate reasons: it provides a shock factor that he utilizes to sway the reader’s opinions. Vlahos also uses this same technique by including several statistics. This is much more effective than giving ambiguous amounts, like â€Å"a lot or â€Å"millions† because giving an exact estimate shows that there has been a significant amount of research about the economic benefits of marijuana, making the reader more likely to trust the numbers. By using the phrase â€Å"simple possession,† Cartwright builds up the worth of the money spent by making it seem like possession is harmless, forcing the reader to feel indignant. The authors also choose to talk about the economy because it is the highest concern of the counrty right now, and they present marijuana as an instant solution. The argument for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in Cohen’s article is consisten with Cartwright’s article as well. Cohen’s article is mainly about the benefits of marijuana as a medicine. In the article, he disproves the government’s claim that marijuana has no therapeutic value and describes specific symptoms marijuana could help with, â€Å"Several studies published†¦have demonstrated that the drug is sage and  effective in controlling nausea and other adverse effects of chemotherapy, relieving multiple sclerosis-induced spasticity, easing certain types of pain, and ameliorating weight loss accompanying AIDS† (Cohen 657). Cartwright does the same thing using more of an emotional technique by describing a group of people in wheelchairs that use marijuana for relief from pain. Both articles advocate for medical marijuana, but the way they go about making their arguments differ. Cohen approaches the topic of medical marijuana more scientifically than Cartwright does, using several studies and scientific evidence as his argument’s support. Cohen is also much more specific in the particular ways marijuana can be used, and provides suggestions on how to regulate the drug. The reader automatically feels sympathy for the people in wheelchairs and they become victims in the reader’s mind. Cartwright also gives a second example of a quadriplegic man that was thrown into jail for possession without regard for his medical needs, further establishing a feeling of empathy from his audience. Cohen uses such an ample amount of hard evidence it’s impossible not to trust him. By doing this, Cohen reaches out to his specific audience, the American Medical Association, in a much more effective way. The topic of marijuana legalization is very complex. The multiple points of views, though sharing the same goal, differ regarding how to succeed at accomplishing those goals and for what purpose. Through the different means that each of these authors use to convey their message, they all, in the end, support their individual arguments effectively.

The Boer War and its Effects on the South African People...

Nations constantly get put through tests and challenges. They can be as small and unaffecting, or they can be enormous and have physical and emotional injuries on the nation’s citizens. However, no matter the size, problems have consequences. The Boer War, a trifling affair that spans over a course of twenty-two years, 1880-1902, also known as the Transvaal War and the South African War, has good and bad everlasting effects on the people of South Africa by the deterioration of the Boers and Afrikaners and the forcefully implied English rule. The starting spark of the Boer War was lit over disputes of Great Britain trying to claim and unify all the South African States as their own, but the two Dutch republics, Transvaal and the Orange†¦show more content†¦This triumph temporarily insures their independence. However, British forces returned in 1900 using the western railway line to make their advances. Boer forces began to flee leaving some major cities unprotected. This time period is known as the mobile war, according to the Anglo-Boer Museum. After the mobile war, the Boers grew weak and worried. In their final attempts to have their republics remain in power, they used guerilla warfare, unplanned attacks, to try and weaken England, but eventually, they surrendered by a vote from Boer representatives. With the Peace Treaty of Vereeniging, prisoners of war were released, and amnesty was given to the nations as well as relief funds. South Africa was now unified and united under English rule. Its people now must honor Edward VII as their ruler. Concentration camps always come with immediate and long term consequences for the both the victims and aggressors; therefore, the same reasoning is harshly exemplified in the Boer War camps. These concentration camps were more prominent in the guerilla war of the South African War than the Transvaal War (The Guerilla War). 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