Public opinion is divided on the issue of whether or not American schools should adopt year long curriculums. But conventionally, schools across the country have adhered to schedules that would give pupils a break of three months followed by nine months of study. In recent years, some journalists and commentators have suggested that year long…
Apostles of Hatred Find it Easy to Spread Their Message by Leonard Pitts, Jr. – A Personal Reflection
Reading through the essay titled ‘Apostles of Hatred Find It Easy To Spread Their Message’ was a moving experience for me. As I completed reading it, I was left with mixed feelings of pity, anger and a sense of helplessness. I agree with most of what the author had to say in the essay. The…
Should we regard political obligation as a ‘natural duty’?
The concept of political obligation and related notions of fairness, justice and natural duty is a fascinating field of inquiry that lends itself to new and ever more complex perspectives on the world of politics. It is now studied under political science, but was previously dealt with by institutions and academies of law, ethics and…
The relationship between rising affluence and reduction in waste emissions
Rising affluence has been associated with a reduction in the production of waste emissions within the UK. However, the waste emissions associated with the total consumption in the UK have risen. Can both these statements can be true? There is little doubt that contemporary industrial society is increasingly becoming more consumerist. The story of the…
Cash for Clunkers
The Cash for Clunkers program, officially termed the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), is the first notable achievement of the Barack Obama administration. When the president took oath of office, the country was facing a steep economic decline, the likes of which was not seen since the Great Depression of 1929. As part of the…
Comparison between Aldrich’s Unguarded Gates and Whitman’s A Broadway Pageant
Both Walt Whitman and Thomas Bailey Aldrich are important poets in the American literary canon. While Whitman continues to influence and contextualize contemporary American poetry, the popularity and reference to Aldrich have greatly diminished. One can see why this disparity has come about from the two poems dealt with in this essay. Whitman’s poem titled…
Bernard Madoff: Scapegoat of an Economic Crisis
Throughout human history punishments have been meted out to people who are not guilty or only partially guilty. Actions that can invoke punitive action from the authorities include treason, fraud, crime, breach of trust, etc. Famous examples from recent centuries include Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell, etc, who were ostracized and punished for expressing…
The Silence of the Lambs Psychological Profiles: Hannibal Lector and Buffalo Bill
Hannibal Lecter is a recurring central character in many of Thomas Harris’ novels. Starting from the novel Red Dragon, the character appears in all four sequels including The Silence of the Lambs. In the author’s own words, Lecter is a masterful psychiatrist and a cannibalistic serial killer. Given that Lecter is a fictional character, the…
The issue of Illegal Aliens in the United States
The issue of immigration has taken renewed significance in American political discourse over the last ten years. This was largely prompted by the flood of illegal immigrants crossing over from Mexico and other central American countries. Considering that Hispanic Americans already comprise 13 percent of the population and have the highest birth rates among all…
The advantages and challenges of European integration for business in the 21st century
Introduction: With Europe being the epicentre of the two Great Wars of the last century, a robust arrangement of cooperation and mutual benefit was made imperative. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, an opportunity was created for the erstwhile divided Europe to once again unite under a democratic framework. On the broader geo-political scale,…