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In 1770 Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Today I use my own reiteration of his claim to produce work. I say that evil succeeds when good people say nothing. As an inhabitant of this planet, and a conscious citizen of the United States, I have dire concerns for perceived follies embedded into contemporary American culture and society. I see levels of madness and imprudent policy in action, that need attention. I have interest in making work about politics, environment, and social justice issues. Problems such as the negative impacts that the racist “War on Drugs” has had on global well-being, pressing global warming catastrophes, and lenient rape-charges are what motivate …show more content…
Unfortunately, despite the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade there are still impending threats to women’s ownership of our own bodies in the United States. Personhood is of special importance, considering the histories of this country. With a prescribed ideology of ‘every man for himself’ that we see in nearly all aspects of American society, it is both perplexing and disturbing that the fight for women’s autonomy must continue. The Declaration of Independence is demonstrative of eighteenth-century consideration for the interests of the individual, making the rights and potential of the individual the cornerstone of American values. Grasping beyond doubt “self evident” the notion that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the fact that these lines are among the most quoted testifies to the power and resonance of this commitment to individual freedom in American culture. While the writers of our nation's foundation may not have truly believed that all men were created equal, they did not make specific indications, and we have been able to fight for the equal rights of women and men of all skin-tones as a result. It is still true, and still unfortunate that though our national ideology is born from The …show more content…
A balanced look at the arts and popular culture will quickly reveal that they are also sites of domination and oppression where citizens are misled and their interests distorted; where various undemocratic ends are pursued, often successfully; where the possibility of resistance is systematically erased; and where the notion of authenticity is hopelessly obfuscated. The arts and popular culture represent a terrain in which new spaces can be opened for political action. By cultivating the imagination, citizens can increase their capacity to understand that they share the world with others who are different from
Since the beginning of the 17th-century and earlier, there has always been different perspectives on women 's rights. Men and women all over the world have voiced their opinion and position in regard to the rights of women. This holds especially true in the United States during the 18th and 19th century. As women campaigned for equality, there were some who opposed this idea. There was, and always will be a series of arguments on behalf of women 's rights. Anti-women 's rights activists such as Dr. John Todd and Pro-women 's rights activist Gail Hamilton argued intelligently and tactfully on the topic. There were many key arguments made against women’s rights by Dr. John Todd, and Gail Hamilton 's rebuttal was graceful and on par with her male counterpart. Let 's examine some of Dr. John 's arguments against women 's equality.
In her essay “A Feminist Defense of Abortion” Sally Markowitz addresses the Autonomy defense as not being feminist in nature. She comes to this conclusion by recognizing that the right to bodily autonomy is not just a female right but a right that is innate for every person, male or female. Markowitz then asserts that the human right to bodily autonomy in regard to abortion should not be a gender neutral defense. Many feminists have come to the conclusion that the Autonomy Defense works against women in the courts as it shifts the focus away from gender inequality. Feminists have adopted the belief that sometimes gender should be relevant in claiming rights. To fail to claim a right on the basis of gender in the situation of abortion would obscure the relationship between reproductive practices and their oppression.
In her essay “Abortion, Intimacy, and the Duty to Gestate,” Margaret Olivia Little examines whether it should be permissible for the state to force the intimacy of gestation on a woman against her consent. Little concludes that “mandating gestation against a woman’s consent is itself a harm - a liberty harm” (p. 303). She reaches this conclusion after examining the deficiencies in the current methods used to examine and evaluate the issues of abortion. Their focus on the definition of a “person” and the point in time when the fetus becomes a distinct person entitled to the benefits and protections of the law fails to capture “the subtleties and ambivalences that suffuse the issue” (p. 295). Public debate on the right to life and the right to choose has largely ignored the nature of the relationship between the mother and the fetus through the gestational period and a woman’s right to either accept or decline participation in this relationship.
Through the progression of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and the article, “Are Humans Good or Evil” by Clancy Martin and Alan Strudler, a multitude of undeniable evidence is provided to prove that humans are in fact inherently wicked. In Lord of the Flies, a human being’s savage nature and primal instincts are effectively portrayed through the development of Jack, the lead hunter in a group that gets meat for the boys. Little Jack Merridew, who seems to be nothing but a naive and obnoxious chorister, becomes one of the most malicious and violent boys on the island. Jack's wilder side shows itself the most when he goes hunting. Making one his first kills brought such exhilaration, satisfaction, and pure bloodlust, that it drove him to insane limits,
Internationally, issues revolving around the female body and reproduction are extremely controversial. For a woman, her body is a very private matter. At the same time, however, a woman's body and her reproduction rights are the center of attention in many public debates. Several questions regarding women's reproductive rights remain unanswered. How much control do women have over their bodies? What kind of rules can be morally imposed upon women? And who controls the bodies of women? Although the public continues to debate these topics, certain conclusions can been made concerning women and their reproductive rights. An undeniable fact is that government has a large degree of control over female reproductive organs. All around the world, time and time again, several national governments have implemented policies, enacted laws, and denied women control over their reproductive organs. Several governments have crossed the border between intimate and public matters concerning women's reproductive organs, by making laws about contraceptives, abortion, and family planning programs.
Even to this day, women have not reached maximum equality, but the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade has helped the women’s equality movement drastically take a step in the right direction. Prior to the case, women had their rights very limited and restricted. Everyone was and still is entitled to their basic rights, however pregnant women were not. Their first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment rights were violated and were not addressed until Jane Roe testified in court. The decision made by the court still has a lasting impact even to this day. The landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was not just a win for Jane Roe, but a win for all women as it helped break the barrier that surrounded women’s equality.
Controversy and arguments that were setbacks in the ongoing battle for women’s rights, specifically the right to an abortion, were put to slight a rest with the landmark verdict of Roe v. Wade. The revolution in reproductive rights caused by Roe v. Wade evolved from a spark in the hearts of women everywhere. When women claimed their rights as humans, that was when the face of women’s equality in all aspects started to change. The case of Roe v. Wade was the official legalization of a woman’s constitutional right to get an abortion in the United States, but the aftermath of any case is what makes or breaks the future laws and regulations. Through all of the restrictions, regulations, and loopholes, Roe v. Wade’s verdict stuck and continued to
The debate of abortion continues to be a controversial problem in society and has been around for many decades. According to Jone Lewis, “In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820’s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy” (1). This indicates that the abortion controversy has been debated far back into American history. Beginning in the 1900’s, legalized abortion became a major controversy. In 1965, all fifty states in the United States banned abortion; however, that was only the beginning of the controversy that still rages today (Lewis 1). After abortion was officially banned in the United States, groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League worked hard on a plan to once again legalize abortion in the United States (Lewis 1). It wasn’t until 1970 when the case of Roe (for abortion) v. Wade (against abortion) was brought...
The Declaration of Independence of 1776 promised “unalienable rights.” However, these rights were targeted towards men. In the eighteenth century, the men who were provided with “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were white males. Although liberty was fundamental to the establishment of the declaration, minorities were disregarded. Women were citizens but did not have a voice in politics. In both Vindication of the Rights of Woman and “Declaration of Sentiments,” females argue for their rights to be freed from a man’s oppression. Inequality of white males was conveyed in Cannibals All! In addition, emancipation and the voice of African Americans was argued in the “Corner Stone” Speech and “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Abortion is a controversial topic in today’s society as many opinions from different social groups on whether it should be legal or not create the big question: should the government be able to take away a woman’s reproductive right if it is to protect a fetus? In the United States particularly, much of the debate since the 1970s has focused on the Supreme Court case Roe v Wade, in which the court proclaimed women's’ rights to abortion but declared that the states could limit and regulate the procedure. That means that currently, the state of California allows abortions, but many groups against abortion, mostly called “pro-lifers,” still try to fight against it and want it banned. Women have a right to their own body and should
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
For the protection of the mother’s health the State may regulate abortion. The woman comes first and then the unborn child. Those who are against abortion feel that the State has a responsi...
Wright, Alexandra. "Women's Rights in Present-Day America | EHow." EHow. Demand Media, 24 Sept. 2009. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
Over the duration of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with consideration to her reproductive rights. The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
Bertolt Brecht asserted, “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Art, encompassing all popular culture artifacts, both reflects the society that creates it and is itself an agent capable of changing social reality. Popular culture artifacts, like the Harry Potter series discussed in Nexon and Neumann’s work, Harry Potter and International Relations, exert agency, or causal power over the meaning and interpretation of cultural elements, by influencing the way ideas and values are constructed in everyday life. This paper will demonstrate that popular culture artifacts construct meanings and influence interpretations of reality.