Death Is Just The End - 1276 Words

â€Å"What is the meaning of life?† This a question that we hear quite often. Many people search their entire lives looking for the answer. It is a question that has stumped philosophers, humbled the wise, and opened the imagination of our youth. On the contrary, a question that we don’t hear as often would be, â€Å"what is the meaning of death?†. In order to answer this, we have to notice the fact that life and death are two separate things that work cohesively in two ways. The first is that one’s life is what will make their death so meaningful. We also see the opposite of this, where one’s death is what makes their life so meaningful. This is seen when looking at Jesus’ life and death in the book of Mark. Contrary to the believe that death is†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Just after breathing his last breath on the cross a centurion man stated â€Å"Truly, this man was God’s son!’† (Harper Collins, 1756-57). Th is man was the first person of many to become a believer because of Jesus’ death. We see this trend continued three days later Jesus was resurrected as promised and people realized who he really was. After resurrecting he appears to the disciples and says â€Å"Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.† (Harper Collins, 1758). Without dying and resurrecting his life wouldn’t be seen as any more significant than anyone else’s. He wouldn’t have given the disciples any reason to spread the good news and therefore wouldn’t have had a lasting effect on people even to this day. An example that shows the relationship between life and death in the opposite direction is Vivian Bearing in the movie Wit. This movie is about a woman named Vivian Bearing who has stage four ovarian cancer. As part of her treatment she agrees to be a part of a testing treatment that is new and has very low chance of being successful. Throughou t the movie we learn that she was extremely intelligent especially when it came to literature and had a passion for learning and teaching. Although she was very strict on her students, she wanted them to reach their fullest potential when it came to academics and demanded a

New Hampshire Republican Primary Election - 937 Words

On September 9, 2014, three individuals voted in the New Hampshire Republican primary election. Leon Rideout, a candidate for the New Hampshire House of Representatives, proudly photographed his ballot, indicating that he had voted for himself, and posted it to twitter. Brandon Ross, another candidate for a place in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, also took a picture of his marked ballot, a memento he would post as a challenge to Attorney General’s Office. Finally, Andrew Langlois, a New Hampshire voter, posted a picture of his vote, in which he demonstrated his distaste for the Republican field by writing in the name of his deceased dog. Each individual was promptly informed that he was being investigated for posting a picture of his ballot on social media, a violation of New Hampshire’s recent amendment to section 359:35, I of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes, â€Å"prohibition shall include taking a digital image or photograph of his or her marked ballot and distributing or sharing the image via social media or by any other means† (RSN  § 359:35, I). Violating the statute could result in a fine of up to $1,000 (Hannon). As a result, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state of New Hampshire on behalf of the three plaintiffs described above. New Hampshire claims that the new law helps to maintain voter integrity by preventing vote buying or voter coercion. The ACLU, however, looks upon the new legislation as a clear restriction onShow MoreRelated The Problem with Presidential Primaries1566 Words   |  7 PagesThe Problem with Presidential Primaries Ever since the election season of 1972, presidential primaries have become â€Å"the dominant means of selecting the two major party candidates.†i[i] The primary system is one in which the eligible voters of each state do one of the following: 1) Vote for a presidential candidate to run for their party in the general election. 2) Vote for a delegate pledged to vote for a certain candidate at the party’s national convention. As intended, this process wouldRead MoreThe New Day For America1389 Words   |  6 Pagesspree in January† (2016). Unlike some other candidates, Kasich only has one Super PAC, The New Day for America, which has managed to raise $6.7 million (Center for Responsive Politics 2016). Since first exploring a bid for president last spring, Kasich has said his fundraising would skyrocket if he could pull off a win or a strong showing in New Hampshire by attracting money and votes as mainstream Republicans seek to defeat Trump and Cruz (Fugleberg an d Thompson 2016). However, there have not beenRead MoreSenate Election Essay795 Words   |  4 Pages For the 2016 Senate race for the state of New Hampshire there were two women running from the two major parties(Republican and Democrat) as candidates. For the Democratic party, then governor Maggie Hassan sought to win a seat against the incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Ann Ayotte. Maggie Hassan won the seat against the incumbent which was really surprising as the Ayotte won the primaries by a huge margin. Hassan received 47.97% of the vote while Ayotte received 47.84% showing that the marginRead MoreInfluence Of Money On Electoral Process And Congress1279 Words   |  6 Pagesthe outcome of elections. The input and strategies put forward by different forces determine the organizational scheme and the ability to grab most of the seats. Although money has been linked to corrupt deals in many countries, with leaders amassing power through corrupt and underhand methods, especially in Africa, this is not the case of the same monetary influence witnessed in America. The conventions of the U.S.A raise a lot of money in preparation for campaigns and elections to constitute aRead MoreThe Presidential Election Of 20161653 Words   |  7 Pages The Presidential Election of 2016 is not until November, but both parties are beginning to narrow their fields down and begin their preparation for an election that is expected to be highly contested. With previous election seasons, the current primary season has already seen some notable in-fighting within the two major political parties, with potential candidates attacking each other in an attempt to get their party nominated. What is very interesting is how fluctuating the support for a candidateRead MoreThe Presidential Election Of 20161541 Words   |  7 PagesThe Election The Presidential Election of 2016 is not until November, but both parties are beginning to narrow their fields down and begin their preparation for an election that is expected to be highly contested. With previous election seasons, the current primary season has already seen some notable in-fighting within the two major political parties, with potential candidates attacking each other in an attempt to get their party nominated. What is very interesting is how fluctuating the supportRead MoreEssay On Shaton727 Words   |  3 Pagesmedia coverage, and future campaign contributions. That being said, in New Hampshire, the current legislator who reflects the greatest amount of success in these areas is Senator Jeanne Shaheen. In regards to the issues that are important to the people of New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen acts in ways that reflects the opinions of her constituents. One of the issue of diplomacy and/or military strength, 60% of New Hampshire adults believe that the best way to peace is through diplomacy (Smith).Read MoreAnalysis Of Donald Trump s Presidential Election1242 Words   |  5 PagesOnce a candidate becomes a party’s official nominee the general election race begins. However, if there is a presumptive nominee before their convention they will usually begin their general campaign. Becoming an official nominee is a very big process and takes months, even years. For example, Donald Trump’s process to becoming the Republican nominee began about twenty months before the election. It began in March 2015 when he formed an exploratory committee. Then, in June 2015, Trump announced hisRead MoreMost Campaigns Are Too Complicated3126 Words   |  13 PagesPresident campaign is to generate â€Å"a campaign for content† -- a strategic combination of tactics and messaging to maintain our narrative of â€Å"Reigniting the Promise of America† and â€Å"Uniting ‘Courageous Conservatives.’† The only way Ted Cruz becomes the Republican nominee and the President of the United States is by creating a following. This momentum and following will come if he successfully puts his candidacy into the context of a larger generational need, national interest or other impending moral needsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book How Obama Won 1424 Words   |  6 PagesRiots in Ferguson, Baltimore, New York, and LA; deaths of many including Police officers who would be gunned down for doing nothing but sitting in their car. We live in a society today dominated by a â€Å"theory† and fear of racism from the police force. The fact that we had elected an African American president is outstanding and such step forward towards a society of accepta nce like we had been in. In the book ‘How Barack Obama Won’ Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser give us a guide on how Obama achieved

Communism in Chinese Education Free Essays

China has a long and rich cultural tradition in which education has played a major role. In 124 BC the first university was established for training prospective bureaucrats in Confucian learning and the Chinese classics. Only members of the upper class could attend school. We will write a custom essay sample on Communism in Chinese Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now Peasants and factory workers did not have the time to attend school; therefore as of 1949 only 20% of China was literate. The Communists who controlled China considered illiteracy a major stumbling block in their promotion of political programs. They then combined political propaganda with educational development. During the first few years (1949-51) of this push on education, over 60 million peasants enrolled in winter schools, or sessions, established to take advantage of the slack season for agricultural workers. Mao, the Communist leader of China, felt that the ultimate goal of education was to eliminate class distinction. After Mao†s death in 1976 a review of government policies concerning education was started. Out of this review came standardized testing and the reinstitution of entrance exams to get into schools and these exams were also used to get in the civil service. Chinese children entered school at age six and stayed for six years. They would study the Chinese language, math and other basic subjects. After going to an elementary school children would enter a middle school. The subjects the Chinese taught were particularly important for the advancement of the country. During the Ming dynasty Chinese novels became very popular. There were many poems and collections of short stories. The Ming also established free schools for the public hoping to expand education in china. Gifted students were selected for studying abroad especially in the United States. As these students finished their education and returned to China some of them teaching at Chinese Universities a major political unrest began to place. The recently educated youth of China challenged the Communist policies of their country. Many protest and rallies took place led by university students. This protest was because students did not want the government to have total power. Many of these protestors were killed or jailed and still are in jail today. The more educated the Chinese people became they realized that their present way of life was not as good as it should be. How to cite Communism in Chinese Education, Papers

Comic spirit and Bringing Down the House Essay Example For Students

Comic spirit and Bringing Down the House Essay Comic spirit and Bringing Down the HouseComedy has existed with the human spirit as far back as humans began writing the first plays and stories. Comedy and laughing at other peoples situations has always been a very good way to tell an entertaining story. Yet, at the same time, it can be an effective way to share lessons about life and the human condition. The comic spirit takes many forms throughout human civilization and several classic examples can be seen in Roman and Greek comedies. Greek comedies often create humor from the conflicts created by stereotypes and imbalances. For example, the play Lisistrata has a main character who is a woman who tries to stop the Peloponnesian War by convincing all the women of Athens to stop having sex with their husbands. Taking place during a period when women did not have power in society (compared to men), this Greek comedy used the imbalances of women to create a funny story while at the same time as making a statement against war. A more modern comedy that uses imbalances and stereotypes to create humor is the movie Bringing Down the House starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. The humor in this movie is created by the use of multiple stereotypes, imbalances and ultimate role reversals of a white, wealthy male and a black, ex-convict female who first meet each other in an Internet chat room. There are also contrasts between young and old people. Although the imbalances and stereotypes throughout the movie create funny situations, it may have a negative side effect because it takes advantage of racial, gender and age stereotypes, which may be insulting or hurtful to some people, just to get a laugh. The story begins with Steve Martins character, Peter Sanderson, chatting online with someone who he thinks is a pretty, blonde lawyer. When he finally arranges to meet her for a first date, he is shocked to find out that the blonde lawyer turns out to be a black ex-convict named Charlene (played by Queen Latifah) who wants Peter to help prove her innocence from being set up in a bank robbery that sent her to prison for four years. The movie uses several elements of imbalance and stereotypes to create humorous situations in the story. For example, there is contrast between Peter and Charlene. On the surface in the beginning of the movie Peter seems to be a regular a white male with a successful, upper middle class lifestyle. He lives in a nice home in a nice neighborhood, drives a new Mercedes and has two normal looking kids. Charlene, on the other hand, is still wearing her prison outfit when she first meets Peter. We dont know if she is telling the truth about her innocence or if sh e is trying to take advantage of Peter. The humor in the early part of the movie is around Charlenes interference in Peters life and his attempts to hide her true identity from people he knows. For example, Charlene invites her friends to Peters home for a big house party. When Peter finds out after coming back from work, he kicks everyone out just in time before his neighbor, played by Betty White, wonders if she heard some kind of disturbance in the neighborhood. Peter has to lie and pretend nothing happened. Later, Peter goes to work and tries to win the business of a new client, an elderly, wealthy lady named Mrs. Arness (played by Joan Plowright). Charlene shows up in his workplace and Peter has to explain to Mrs. Arness who Charlene is. He makes up a story by saying that Charlene is a nanny and is taking care of his son and daughter. Charlene promises to help Peter and pretend to be the nanny if he promises to help her prove her innocence. This concept of hiding a persons iden tity or trying to prevent others from seeing the reality is a very common technique in humor. It creates funny situations where the main character tries very hard to hide the truth. .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc , .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .postImageUrl , .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc , .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:hover , .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:visited , .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:active { border:0!important; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:active , .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud1b20146a5203671b727a22f51886fdc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Biotechnology in human medicine EssayAs the story continues, we see that Peters life is not as successful as it seems on the surface. Although he appears to be successful in his career, he is less successful in his relationships with his family members. This is why he is divorced and he does not have a strong relationship with his two children, Sarah and Georgey (at least in the beginning of the movie). He does not even know, for example, that his daughter sneaks out of the house at night to go partying with friends. He drives by his old home and seems to miss his wife and his old life before he got divorced. In contrast, Charlene becomes more of the caring parent figure a s the movie moves forward. For example, when Peters daughter, Sarah, is at a party and calls for help, Charlene is the one who goes to the party and beats up the boyfriend who made Sarah cry and makes him apologize to her. Charlene also teaches Georgey, Peters son, how to read. Finally, Charlene shows Peter that his kids need a father to be there for them and in a few funny scenes teaches him how to dance, loosen up, and even how to flirt with a woman. These scenes create a type of role reversal because we see Peter start to loosen up more and while Charlene becomes more of a regular family member. The use of role imbalance to create humor is also seen in several other side characters. For example, Peters ex-wife is dating a very young man in fact Peters former caddy. Her sister, Ashley, on the other hand, always dates very old men because she is after their money. In one silly scene, Ashley is spoon feeding her new companion, a very old man in a wheel chair. In many funny scenes, Peters co-worker at the law firm, Howie (played by Eugene Levy), is a white man attracted to Charlene who uses black, urban slang and other phrases in a very non-black accent. Although the use of imbalance and stereotypes creates a few funny scenes in the movie, there are other uses of stereotypes that create a negative effect. The move tries to create humor by making fun of race, gender, age and social class differences. These areas have become sensitive issues in our society today because people try to encourage equality and not discriminate. Some of the humor might be offensive. For example, Betty Whites character is Peters nosy neighbor. She makes some rude comments hearing negro when Charlene throws the house party in Peters home. She also says she is concerned about minorities moving into her neighborhood by saying that the only Hispanics that she wants to see in the area are those who carry leaf blowers. This seems to be a very racist and insensitive remark about immigrant laborers such as workers from Mexico who make a living as lawn maintenance and landscaping workers. Additionally, the scene where Mrs. Arness invites herself to Peters home for di nner, talks about how Charlenes cooking reminds her of her childhood and their black servant and then sings an old slavery song about being sold to the master is a little uncomfortable to watch. The way the movie portrays other blacks is generally negative. Many of the scenes with blacks involve gang members and drug use. We originally see Charlene as an ex-convict who is blamed for bank robbery. Charlenes ex-boyfriend, Widow, is a gang leader who threatens Peters life and is responsible for framing Charlene. He hangs out at a club with other gang member figures and drug users. Older people are also used to create humor through stereotypes and role reversals. But the humor may also be offensive to some people. Older characters like Mrs. Arness and Peters neighbor are treated like arrogant and insensitive people who dont have a connection with young people or with minorities. But when Peter forces Mrs. Arness to come with him the club to make an offer to settle things with her ex-boyfriend, there are some funny scenes of Mrs. Arness, a rich, elderly lady, getting high on marijuana (offered by two men at the bar) and dancing on the table because she is drunk. Several times we see humor created when there is a role reversal or when characters talk, act or behave in a way that is different than what you would expect. Even Peters character makes this change when he dresses up in urban, hip-hop clothes that he buys from a guy on the street and starts talking in a version of hip-hop language just to get into Widows nightclub and blend in. Also, as mentioned earlier, the character Howie uses hip-hop jive to express his attraction towards Charlene and at the very end of the movie, she converts his hair into dreadlocks. These racial, age and social class stereotypes are meant to create humor (for example, seeing a white guy dress up and talk like a black person or an old lady act hip, and youthful). The humor is somewhat effective, but is reduced by the lack of sensitivity to viewers who may be offended and insulted by the racial and other types of stereotyping. The movie perpetuates stereotypes that some people may find surprising that it is still allowed to be used in this modern age. Older white characters all seem to be racist and young black people seem to be criminals. On a higher level, the story talks about change and acceptance. There is a change that Peter goes through in realizing that he is missing out on being a father and taking care of his children. He also realizes that he still loves his wife and wants to try building the relationship again. Also, he changes his impressions about Charlene and realizes that she is not a criminal. The story could have been a more effective if the type of change that the characters go through were a bit more real, not just on the surface and something that everyone can relate to. The movie seems to say that in order to be accepted by black people, white people have to dress up and talk like African-Americans. This is a simplistic view of acceptance and doesnt seem realistic. In the real world, it is difficult for people to change and accept others who are not like them. It takes an understand ing of how other people think and what they believe in. This requires spending a lot of time talking and learning about each other. To simply act and dress up like someone else will not really help people understand each other. There are other funny movies, such as Trading Places, Freaky Friday and Six Degrees of Separation, that do a better job of showing characters dealing with differences in race, age and social class, but in a very funny way while at the same time teaching something about human life. In summary, Brining Down the House tries to use the concepts of imbalance and role reversals to generate its humor. These imbalances occur on several levels between the main characters and other characters in the film to include differences between white and black people, gender, age and social class. Although there are times when this imbalance creates humor, there are many other times when the stereotyping can be seen as offensive and racist. Furthermore, there seems to be a misse d opportunity to teach the audience lessons about change and acceptance of others when the story is based on characters that go through unrealistic changes.