The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement witnessed in recent months is one of the most significant socio-political events to have taken place in the history of the United States of America. Measuring merely by the weight of popular support and enthusiastic participation evinced by the movement, it could be equated with the Civil Rights movement…
Category: Politics
All the articles that come under politics domain.
The celebration of the virtues of the social underclass in Bret Harte’s stories
Bret Harte is a writer whose works are full of human empathy and insight. He is also exceptional in terms of attention to detail and gifted in coming up with beautiful turns of phrase. In the three short stories of the author chosen for this essay, we see ample examples of remarkable literary and humane…
The misapplication of the myth of Hercules to the injustices of imperialism – based on illustrations by John Smith and Richard Frethorne
The imperialists’ adoption of the myth of Hercules and the many headed Hydra to their cause is problematic and flawed. Firstly, there is nothing Herculean about the imperialist agenda of expansion and economic exploitation. Secondly, far from being the devilish and much maligned mythic creature that is the Hydra, those represented by it are mostly…
Speech Analysis: President Obama on student financial aid in the Democratic National Convention (2012)
President Obama has often included issues related to financial aid to educational institutions in his political rhetoric. Although his reference to the ailing education system is articulated with a sympathetic tone there is also ambivalence and equivocation. In the Democratic National Convention of 2012, where he formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination of him as…
Successes of the United States Marine Corps Combined Action Program in South Vietnam
Explain the role of US Marines in the CAP. What was their unit organization and daily life like? Cite a specific patrol as an example of how CAP worked with indigenous force personnel. Identify three key strengths of the CAP and demonstrate three examples and their overall effectiveness in the war in South Vietnam. Give…
What was the prime motive in American intervention in Vietnam in the 1960s?
The U.S. involvement in Vietnam is a cause of embarrassment and regret to all those involved. When John F. Kennedy started the war the fear of communism via the ‘domino effect’ was the rationale given to public. But such fears were far from real and soon the general public got to understand the basic facts…
Propaganda and Mass Media: A Theoretical Analysis
The dependency between government and media is a contentious issue in contemporary times. The media, once termed the Fourth Estate due to the unique role it plays in society, is supposed to be the conscience of the First Estate, namely the government. Yet, a simple analysis of the functioning of media organizations makes obvious that…
Personal Perception of the American Revolution
The American Revolution is a cornerstone geo-political event not just for the New World but for the entire globe. In retrospect, it is obvious that this mutiny against trans-Atlantic British dictates of the late eighteenth century is pivotal in shaping and altering power equations in coming decades and centuries. Although I started the course with…
Is Social Policy primarily determined by the needs of the economy?
There is much truth to the statement that social policy is a product of economic imperatives. This is not in the true spirit of social democratic principles espoused in the legislatures, but has nonetheless become inevitable under the heavy influence of private capital (both domestic and international) in the era of neo-liberalism. Britain was for…
Censorship of Slaughterhouse Five
Written by Kurt Vonnegut and released in 1969, Slaughterhouse Five is a modern literary masterpiece. It is a novel rich in plot, characterization and theme that it is difficult to pin it down within one genre. For example, the novel has elements of science fiction and dark satirical comedy embedded in the drama of war. …