The Nature of Boston Peace Groups
Like many other Brookline residents, Amy Hendrickson spends every Saturday at Coolidge Corner. But unlike most Coolidge Corner visitors, she’s not catching a movie at the historic Coolidge Corner Theatre or grabbing a latte at Starbucks. Every Saturday at noon for the past two years, Amy Hendrickson has held a peace vigil for soldiers who have died in Iraq. Hendrickson is the founder of Brookline Peaceworks, a community peace activist group and offshoot of United for Justice with Peace.
"It’s amazing what you can do from Brookline,” says Hendrickson, a self-employed computer consultant who admits she probably spends more time on Brookline Peaceworks than on her job. Every Saturday Hendrickson and other Brookline Peaceworks members hand out flyers, and speak with passers-by about the war in Iraq. On March 23, 2005, Hendrickson handed out flyers detailing the costs to taxpayers for the war, including the specific cost for Brookline residents.
And she’s not stopping there.
“Brookline Peaceworks is initiating a town-wide canvass to raise awareness about the impact of the Iraq War. We will be going door to door to ask Brookline citizens to sign a petition to remove U.S. troops from Iraq as quickly as possible, and to reassess the use of Massachusetts National Guard in international conflicts,” wrote Hendrickson in the Guest Commentary section of the Brookline Tab, on March 24, 2005.
Hendrickson was a member of United for Justice with Peace (UJP), an association of almost 60 peace groups in the Greater Boston area. In 2002 it came to her attention that Brookline was lacking a community peace group. After some hesitation, Hendrickson decided to found Brookline Peaceworks with the encouragement of other UJP members.
Since then, Brookline Peaceworks has made front page news in the Boston Globe by organizing a demonstration in Boston that was concurrent with demonstrations in other U.S. cities, such as New York and San Francisco; organizing “teach-ins” at schools such as Northeastern University and Brookline High School; and campaigning for Randall Forsberg as a write-in candidate for Senate, in defiance of John Kerry’s support of the war powers act. This last effort resulted in 25,000 write in votes for Forsberg, according to Brookline Peaceworks.
The group has worked many hours in an effort to end the war with Iraq. Groups such as Boston Peaceworks aim to educate Boston residents, but to many they seem useless, ineffective, and to some, downright annoying.
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are increasingly becoming a major problem of Public Health around the World. The impact of resources and material deprivation among people and populations has resulted in an increase in mortality rate on a planetary scale. Social determinants of health are defined as the personal, social, economic and the environmental conditions which determines the health status of an individual or population (Gardner, 2013). Today’s society is characterized by inequalities in health, education, income and many other factors which as a result is becoming a burden for Public Health around the world. Research studies have shown that the conditions in which people live and work strongly influenced their health. Individuals with high levels of education and fall within the high income bracket turn to have stable jobs, live in the best neighborhood and have access to quality health care system than individuals who have low education and fall with the low income bracket. This paper is to explain different social determinants of health and how they play ...
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines massacre as “the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty” or “a cruel or wanton murder” (m-w.com). Essentially a massacre results in either the death of many people or death by cruel means. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, in Boston, Massachusetts and involved American colonists and British troops. The colonists, upset by recent laws enacted by the British, taunted a smaller group of British soldiers by throwing snowballs at them (Boston Massacre Historical Society). In response, the soldiers fired upon the unarmed colonists leaving five people dead and six wounded (Phelan, 131). Even though the event in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which blood was shed, and called the Boston Massacre, the actions which took place on that day did not constitute a massacre. Since only five people were killed and six wounded and there was no evidence of cruelty, the name Boston Massacre was likely a propaganda ploy by Samuel Adams to rally the colonists against the British instead of a true massacre.
Denise Grady’s (2006) article sound a strong wake up call for the American government and for the American public to re-evaluate their guiding principles towards war in Iraq and the continued presence of the American soldiers in the Iraqi soil. Grady delineated the enormous damages the war had costs in not only monetary terms but also the future of thousands of promising young and talented men and women sent in the Iraq War; that had no clear benefits to them or the American people.
There are many things to take into consideration when characterizing a person as a hero. Heros are typically seen as people who accomplish brave deeds and fulfill noble tasks for the greater good of things. In the epic poem Beowulf by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet a hero is revealed. What makes Beowulf a hero is his unbelievable strength and power. He does not get discouraged or let anything stear him away from what he feels needs to be done for the safety of others. In his battles with the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon Beowulf exhibits his strength and will to fight. Beowulf, is loyal to his people and his king. What I feel is the most important quality of Beowulf, though, is his willingness to risk his life for the good
The family’s fortune started in a German village called Waldorf by John Jacob Astor, the first Millionaire, whom opened the Astor House and charged patrons to stay in private rooms. In time the family feud started with the two grandsons of John Jacob Astor, John Jacob Astor III and William Backhouse Astor Jr., Whom wanted to rise to the heights of wealth and fame even if it meant competing with one another. In turn, the Brothers latter passed the feud onto each of their offspring. Their sons were John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor, cousins, whom broke the family feud and established the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in 1897. In fact, The Waldorf-Astoria hotel was actually two hotels connected together with the ability to cut access between the two if the treaty failed.
...he dragon, which meant he knew he was leaving his nation weak and vulnerable to attacks from their many enemies. Was this selfish of Beowulf or did he really fight his final fight because he knew no one else could? The interpretation as to whether Beowulf is a hero or not will always be debated and it is truly just a matter of personal opinion.
According to the definition, a hero is one who embodies the values of their society. In the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, written by an anonymous author, the character Beowulf is used to convey the value that Anglo-Saxons placed on courage, strength, and loyalty.
Beowulf’s fight against the dragon shows Beowulf as a hero. Although Beowulf had previously defeated two other foes, he stands fast and fights his most formidable foe yet, the dragon. Dragons were notoriously difficult to kill, and the poem states that it was a great man, who could kill a dragon, even if it meant losing one's life. While others cower away Beowulf fights the dragon. Beowulf defeats the dragon but loses his life in the same instance. Like the classical hero Beowulf loses his special status in death. Beowulf sought no compensation for his services; the mere satisfaction of helping others was pay enough. Like his two previous battles Beowulf fights for those who could not fight for themselves.
It is the interrelationships among these factors that determine individual and population health. Because of these, interventions that target multiple determinants of health are most likely to be effective. Determinants of health reach beyond the boundaries of traditional health care and public health sectors; sectors such as education, housing, transportation, agriculture, and environment can be important allies in improving population health. Policies at the local, state, and federal level affect individual and population health. .Some policies affect entire populations over extended periods of time while simultaneously helping to change individual
The social determinants of health, as described by Julia F. Costich, include social/economic environment and, occasionally, physical environment as a result of one’s social/economic status. These determinants are social as they are not biological factors, such as genes, but rather are influenced by social aspects in one’s life, such as class, race, and gender. These social determinants are related to inequality and oppression as, generally, an oppressed group has lower access to health care, proper nutrition, and other biological factors and, as a result, lower health in general.
Health and wellness can be affected by many factors. The lack of sufficient health care needs to be addressed; to give Americans, rich or poor, a chance of a healthier lifestyle. The definition of health may never be universally accepted, but every culture deserves equal opportunity to better healthcare. Environments will always have an affect on health, but with proper education, people can be taught more effective ways to live in an environment that can’t sustain a healthy lifestyle. As Americans, it is our responsibility to protect our own, and we should begin with our health care system.
There has only been one hero in Anglo-Saxon history, only one man can meet every requirement one needs to be classified as hero. Only one man's honor, loyalty, courage, generosity, and wisdom, fits the true definition of a hero. That man is Beowulf. With these leading traits, Beowulf's rise to heroism was not just by chance. He filled each of the five characteristics perfectly, as if it was his destiny to be admired.
There are many different determinants of health and wellbeing as previously discussed. However, these determinants do not act alone but, they all intersect. These means multiple factors determine an individual’s health. I will now explain how age, gender, social status and communities can all affect health but, there are also other factors, such as race and ethnicity, that intersect to determine a person’s health.
There are different issues that affect the health of people. Whether they become healthy is dependent on their situation and where they live. Factors including where we live, education, level of income, genetics, access to health care services and much more has a significant influence on our health. The determinants of health are factors which influence a person’s state of health.
..., J. (2003, March 10). The wages of war. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/03/10/030310ta_talk_surowiecki