Imagine yourself in a world where you are constantly having to fear not being able to ever be free from this cage that you've been wanting to get out of for so long. Now imagine that suddenly just being your real life and not just a world that was just imagined, it’s almost too unbearable to think about but this happens. The book “Before We Were Free is a good example of that. The books takes place in the Dominican Republic in the 20th century, when the Dictator at the time was Rafael Trujillo, or in other words El Jefe. Dictators are a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained power by force. Till this day there are countries that are still ruled by dictators, for example, North Korea However, having a dictator
An example would be in North Korea, the current leader Kim Jong-Un is the successor of the previous dictator, Kim Jong-Il. Kim Jong-Il ruled North Korea during the 20th century. During his rule there was decrease in trading because their main trading partner, the Soviet Union, had just collapsed. Not only that but there were also a numerous amount of floods and droughts occurred too. This left North Korea in famine, since there was only a certain amount of farming land, this left Kim Jong-Il to worry about his power. With the remaining amount of farming land he instead decided to use those resources for the military instead of the citizens experiencing famine at the time. After this incident, in 2003, it was found out that North Korea was producing nuclear weapons, but Kim Jong-Il said it was only for security reasons. Meetings were held with North Korea and the U.S. would always demand that North Korea remove those nuclear weapons, but every time they would decline. Kim Jong-Il’s health started to descend and that left him to give his power to his son, Kim Jong-Un. After his father’s death in 2011, Kim Jong-Un continued doing nuclear tests even if that meant that North Korea wouldn’t be accepted into the international community. In addition, North Korea has suffered in economically and faced poverty because of famine and food shortages that occured
The quote not only showed how conflicts work in literature but it also showed how conflicts are in the real world. Trujillo was the bad guy and luckily he isn’t in power anymore till this day. However, not everyone has the luxury to say that. Like what’s happening in North Korea, with Kim Jong Il’s successor, Kim Jong-Un. Not only does this happen in North Korea but it also occurs all around the world till this day. That just means that there are still many people that are trapped in cages and aren’t being allowed to be
“The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.” In America, Americans are blessed to have the right to freedom. Unlike other unfortunate countries, their freedom is limited. In many Latin American countries, the government’s leader has all power of the Country. Citizens have no rights to freedom, they are trapped in a cruel country where innocent people are killed each day. Civilians fear to speak out to the regime of leader; However, there were a few courageous citizens enough to speak out against the government. For example, “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela and the historical fictionalized account, “In The Time Of The Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez reveal individual 's role in overcoming oppression.
All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly.
At the hands of Trujillo’s secret police and cabinet members, the Dominican people faced oppression and fear in the midst of his tyranny. Opposition to Trujillo's
Soyinka, Wole. “Every Dictator’s Nightmare.” The Arlington Reader: Contexts and Connections. 2nd ed. Ed. Lynn Z. Bloom and Louise Z. Smith. Boston: Bedford, 2008. 475-80. Print.
Throughout an individual’s life-time, he/she has a vision as o what his/her should be. But when things do not go as planned and the unexpected occurs, does that person face it, or run away? In “An Act of Vengeance” by Isabel Allende, running away is not an option at well. Through the usage of plot, character and irony, Allende illustrates the cost of war.
Trujillo use of violence and challenge of political authority demonstrated that from the very beginning he created an insurgency regime within his military ranks that oppressed his country. Which 30 years later, his own military generals and freedom fighters will be the very ones to end his reign. To this very day, some of the Dominican people whether living in the United States or Dominican Republic are hesitate to talk about it, but are glad that it is in the past and
people decide that they want a dictatorship. If I was a ruler during the period of the
... dictators have been exiled or even executed as a result of the widespread use of these technologies. Dobson also writes that the biggest problem that dictators and authoritarians face is their own people (9). These factors drive dictators to learn their mistakes and their fellow dictators’ mistakes, causing the nature of dictatorship to change over the years. Particularly, Russia and China are still going strong as dictatorial regimes even though they do not appear to be so. Additionally, the involvements of non-state actors such as the CANVAS, have also affected the dictatorial regime power. With these non-state organizations have grown stronger and more powerful over time, the power of dictatorial regime has become more vulnerable to attack. In fact, these non-state actors can easily overthrow some less powerful dictator and might forget their democratic identity.
A totalitarian government is place that no person should ever be forced to live in because this type of government controls almost every aspect of its citizens’ lives. The dictators controlling these kinds of government’s take away people’s basic human rights, brainwash kids into showing no loyalty towards their families, and imprison or execute all who might be a remote threat to their party. The government then controls the remaining population with the fear of being arrested by secret state police regardless if they have committed, or planned to commit, a crime. The leaders of these societies have no regard for the wellbeing of anybody but themselves, and once they come to power, it is usually too late to stop what happens next.
China is the perfect example of what happens when one leader is given to much
History has known far more authoritarian regimes than any other form of government. Authoritarianism is a form of non-democratic rule defined by state power being centralized in a single person or a small group of people. Unlike democracies, these individuals in power are not dependent on the people for power. Thus, under authoritarianism, state leaders have little accountability to the public and there is little individual freedom. Additionally, authoritarian regimes are not bound by a constitution that might limit their power. Such democratic liberties such as the right to assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are highly controlled or non-existent. State policies are designed to maintain the power status quo in favor of the ruling group and perceived threats are marginalized or, in some cases, extinguished.
Through thoughts, emotions, and actions and Any Rand’s Anthem shows that dictators must control every part of a man to ultimately defeat him. It is nothing but laws, leaders, and society that destroy the man. The laws are established to support the destruction, the leaders enforce it, and the society allows it. How can we allow the enslavement of an individual? How can we allow the obliteration of a mind and body?
As seen in many parts of the world, there are dictatorships. One also sees a dictatorship in the book “Anthem” by Ayn Rand. People must abide equally and never say the word “I”. If one considers themselves as an individual, then it is told to be a crime. No one knows who their families are because they were separated at birth. Leaders feel it is best to be apart from one’s family because it keeps everyone in the same category. These people are not supposed to have a figure above them that can be an influence besides the government. Dictatorial leaders separate children from their parents because this sets boundaries at an early age that cannot be passed.
At first dictators can just be simple leaders but when power gets to them they want more and more and soon become dictators and they often tell lies to keep that power or in some cases people want dictators because it seems right at the moment but in the long run it isn’t always the right choice. George Orwell, the author of the famous book Animal Farm shows us in great detail the consequences of having a dictator through Napoleon the evil pig who murders anyone that gets in his way to gain control. By causing terror, committing violence, and telling lies Napoleon shows us what it could be like having a dictator for a leader.
Authoritarian style governments come in different forms and apply varying amounts of violence when enforcing their rule. People who live in democratic style governments often do not understand why people accept living in an authoritarian state, forgetting that in fact the authoritarian form of government is the oldest form of government on earth. A dictatorship government is one type of authoritarian government that gains world attention most notably by the extreme violence used to control their citizens. This paper will review authoritarianism; why humans put up with it; traits of paranoid, narcissistic, and charismatic personalities; and highlight Idi Amin Dada as a case in point.