Military Down Sizing: The Possible Fall of a Great Nation
America is one the most powerful nations in the world. Being a strong nation includes having a strong military as well as economy. As one can observe, the U. S. economy is growing by leaps and bounds. However, the military is being down sized, and if we do not do something about it, it will continue to be down sized until we have an armed force that will no longer be capable of protecting this great nation. Not only will this down sizing affect our ability to protect ourselves, it will also cause a substantial loss in economic strength and power abroad. Because military down sizing lessens our power abroad, opens the United States up to a possible invasion, and hurts our economy, the military must be maintained in order to ensure a strong, healthy nation both abroad and on the home front for many centuries to come.
Military down sizing is increasing at a rapid rate. This down sizing is primarily due to budget cuts. Since the peak of Korean war spending in 1953, military spending has declined in twenty-five of the last thirty-seven years. The build up for Vietnam was short and followed by an equivalent build down. The Carter-Reagan buildup was longer but smaller than the one for Vietnam, and is currently being succeeded by a new build down (Brauer 299). If history keeps repeating itself, the United States military will continue to build up and then hinder this build up with an even greater build down. As a result the U.S. sustains a weaker more vulnerable armed force.
The military's inability to provide its men and women with sufficient transportation is also a problem caused by budget cuts. Many military trucks represent technolo...
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...must always be ready for the least expected.
Works Cited
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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, is a novel which explores the theme of challenging racial prejudice. Within this novel, Lee has portrayed unintentional racial prejudice through the characters Atticus Finch, Link Deas and Scout Finch. With these characters, and their roles in exploring the theme of racial prejudice, Harper Lee has set unintentional boundaries for readers, as result, racial prejudicial thinking from contemporary perspective, in comparison to historical views, is challenged to a small extent.
Atticus’ statement on prejudice and racism characterises his moral integrity and his empathetic nature. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch is depicted as the complete opposite of what people would perceive to be a stereotypical southern man living in the Deep South during the 1930s. Contrary to the majority of his fellow townspeople of Maycomb, Atticus is a man of great virtue and moral strength. He in not bigoted or racist and is egalitarian in his approach to all people This sort of moral integrity is what he tries to instil in his two young children, Jem and Scout, despite the bigotry and inequality surrounding them. Atticus Finch stands as a moral beacon of the town, a label which causes much friction between himself and other members of the Maycomb community. A clearer idea of Atticus’ principles can be gained by comparing and contrasting them to three other characters in the Novel, Calpurnia, Bob Ewell and Aunt Alexandra.
To Kill The Mockingbird was about a black guy named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a young women by the name of Mayella Ewell. In the court, significant evidence was presented to the juror's that would prove that Tom Robinson was innocent. The evidence showed that a left handed male must have beat Mayella because the bruises were on the right side of her and Tom Robinsons left arm was disabled. Robinson could not have beat Ms. Ewell. Tom Robinson was still convicted and later on was shot at a prison fence while he was trying to run away. The juror's discriminated Mr. Robinson and was prejudice towards him because all though evidence was presented to them that would prove Tom innocent they ignored it because the guy was black and in the 30's discriminating blacks were heavily favored.
The theme of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird is the existence of racism and prejudice in the 1930 – 40's. Harper Lee succeeds in presenting the topic in a manner that is not overly simplistic and thus achieves the task of allowing the reader to fully appreciate the complex nature of unjust discrimination. Harper Lee's inclusion of characters such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and many others, aid the reader to grasp the concept of racism and its central role in the town of Maycomb.
The changes in the Radley house were dramatic from the beginning to the end because the book was constantly changing and new things would pop up or change in the story. One thing To notice about the Radley house is that the doors are only closed when it is cold or Boo is ill. Another thing that makes the place superstitious is that the shutters and doors on the house were always and only closed on Sunday. This maybe people believ that it was alien or that the house had a superstitious figure living in it and people thought that Boo didn't exist. The only one that didn't believe it was Scout because he was unsure of Boo's existence. Boo also carried the name of being the "malevolent phantom" of Maycomb. The house had changed before for instance the one time someone asked Atticus if the house ever had screen doors and it was before even Atticus was born.
In all its years of fighting the US military has never looked so lean. The fat boy of the world’s militaries is being forced, by congress, on a diet plane not even Jenny Craig would suggest. Congress has told the US military simply, with looming budget cuts, to Charmin up because less simply has to do more. The US military is experiencing an unprecedented troop reduction due to lack of funding. Consequently, as newton stated so accurately so many years ago, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. As our military shrinks and generals are being told to do more with less, many are reacting by turning to advanced weapon technology to fill the void where boots once stood.
The United States of America's military is currently involved in two major wars with U.S. opposition in Afghanistan and Iraq. All though both of these efforts can be said to be in the clean-up stages, many more soldiers will be needed to stabilize the regions, to provide police work, and to fight the insurgencies that have risen in opposition to the invasion of U.S. troops into foreign lands. The current presidential administration states that to adequately deal with the problems of post-war Iraq and unstable Afghanistan the United States needs to increase the number of active-duty soldiers serving over-seas. Top officials in the administration have said that a reorganization of the military is already in progress, and it will create more combat regiments, but the quoted additional 25,000 new military participants needed per year can hardly be met through these minor reorganizations. In addition, recruiting numbers are at their lowest in over ten years (?All Things Considered?, NPR News Source.) Many feel that the reenactment of the military service draft is inevitable because it is the only way to come up with the astounding number of new troops needed to finish the jobs started in the Middle-East by George W. Bush and his Republican administration. If increasing the size of the military is inevitable, then the draft is the wrong way to go. Aside from the moral objections that many Americans have to a draft, there are major logical fallacies in the reasoning that a draft would benefit the military, America, or its interests abroad; therefore, the draft should not be reenacted to increase the number of the United States? combat troops.
Lall, Betty G., and John Tepper. Marlin. Building a Peace Economy: Opportunities and Problems of Post-cold War Defense Cuts. Boulder: Westview, 1992. Print.
Many students believe that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays social issues in early America. In this time standing against common customs was unacceptable, a violation of society. People believe that today courage has overcome adversity that was displayed in early America. Courage is the common subject of To Kill a Mockingbird, which allows Lee’s novel to defy the changing times of humanity. These morals are bound to the “impartiality” and “fairness” taught to people as children, but become unavoidably invisible though selfish actions. The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird express audacity along with resilience in the face of cowardice.
Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance to the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essential essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is an ideal father, who sets a great example for his kids. A picture of Atticus is important to Scout because Atticus teaches Scout many important life lessons about life. Firstly, as Atticus talks to Scout about Miss. Stephanie, he states “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee,30). Scout realizes that one can never feel someone’s pain, happiness, or glory until she looks at their point of view of things; she learns to consider other people’s situation and feelings. She also understands that she will never know what goes in other people’s lives, and therefore she cannot judge anyone. Scout matures as she learns to apply Atticus’ wise advice to understand Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley, who are individuals that are misunderstood by the community. Furthermore, as Miss Maudie talks to Scout, she states “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee, 46). Miss Maudie knows about Atticus’ personality quite well. Miss Maudie explains to Scout Atticus is a man with moral principles, he does what he believes is right even if others are not there to praise him. Through Atticus’ exemplary role, Scout understands the importance of integrity, and strong moral values. Finally, when Scout questions her father about the possible outcome of the trial, Atticus states “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us to try to win” (Lee, 76). Atticus teaches Scout toleration, determination and moral courage. He already knows he is going to los...
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Alabama in the 1930s, and concerns itself primarily with the interrelated themes of prejudice and empathy. These themes are explored as the story follows Scout Finch as she learns lessons in empathy, ultimately rejecting prejudice. While all characters in Lee’s novel learn from their experiences, not all are able to grow in the same manner as Scout. The idea of a positive role model, typified by the character of Atticus Finch, and the ramifications of its absence, is a concept that Lee places much emphasis on. The isolated setting is also pivotal in the development of characters. Lee uses the contrast between characters that learn lessons in empathy and compassion, and characters that cling to the ideals of a small town, to explore factors that nurture or diminish prejudice.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself as well.
National defense is a sensitive topic to most because we need it to live in our country as safe as we do, but it is a big problem in our national debt. The Washington Post showed that the United States spends 20% of its budget on defense and it has increased dramatically since the tragedy of 9/11 (“America’s Staggering Defense Budget”, Plumer). America spends more on its military than the next 13 nations combined, which...
“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...