McViolence in McAmerica
The United States was born in a spirit of freedom and democracy, yet also with a strong belief in the use of individual and group violence. The Revolutionary War lasted seven years and succeeded in its goal of a new and independent nation. It also began our two-century-long love affair with the gun, as four hundred thousand victorious citizen-soldiers helped proclaim the right to bear arms (Goldstein 480).
America was born with a gun in hand and the desire to use it. But where did the violence begin and what can Americans do to stop it? These are the questions American's repeat every time they encounter violence in our fair country. Arnold Goldstein's "Violence in America" and The Violence Policy Center's "Teddy Bears", conclude that America is a violent nation.
What caused America to be so violent? It seems that America's fascination with violence began during the civil war. It continues to claim importance in the minds of Americans even to this day. Throughout the centuries following the war, America's fascination with violence has been fueled by particular circumstances. It's written that during the eighteenth century, during the migration to the western United States, "Self-reliance, independence, and impatience with the poorly developed laws and law enforcement of the day were also part of this mentality (Goldstein 481)." Because of this save yourself mentality, people began to take the law into their owns hands and dole out local justice. People wanted to be the rugged law enforcer that saved the day. That particular myth seemed to be the most well know, but the leas...
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...es more immune to it, The Violence Policy Center writes warning posters about it, and Arnold Goldstein can write an essay about how the violence in America started. So even though the Revolutionary War gave our country freedom, it also began a losing battle with violence that ceases to release America from its cold steel hands.
Works Cited
Goldstien, Arnold P. "How Did We Get Here?" Violence In America. Creating America: Reading and Writing Arguments. Eds. Joyce Moser and Ann Watters. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002 (480-482).
Violence Policy Center. "Teddy Bears." Creating America: Reading and Writing Arguments. Eds. Joyce Moser and Ann Watters. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002 (491-492).
¬¬¬Though most American people claim to seek peace, the United States remains entwined with both love and hate for violence. Regardless of background or personal beliefs, the vast majority of Americans enjoy at least one activity that promotes violence whether it be professional fighting or simply playing gory video games. Everything is all well and good until this obsession with violence causes increased frequency of real world crimes. In the article, “Is American Nonviolence Possible” Todd May proposes a less standard, more ethical, fix to the problem at hand. The majority of the arguments brought up make an appeal to the pathos of the reader with a very philosophical overall tone.
been worrying for a king to have no son to carry on the throne. But
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
From elementary to high school, the American Revolutionary War, is a topic that is repeated in the classroom, but to my surprise there were a lot of details that I was never taught. John Shy explored the many different angles of the Revolution in his essay, “The American Revolution: The Military Conflict Considered as a Revolutionary War.” He provides analysis on the American Revolutionary War and breaks it down into three categories, military, social, political, as well as where they overlap. This essay caught my attention because of Shy’s explanation on the Revolution and its effects. He tried to explain questions that have been around for many years such as how did one of the greatest military powers in the world could have been defeated
The Revolutionary war, sparked by the colonist’s anger towards taxation without representation, was a conflict between the United States and its mother country Great Britain. This event had been considered the most significant event in the American history. It separated the thirteen colonies from the tyrannical ruling of King George. The revolutionary war was not a big war, “The military conflict was, by the standards of later wars, a relatively modest one. Battle deaths on the American side totaled fewer than 5,000”1. However, the war proved that the thirteen colonies were capable of defeating the powerful Great Britain. Over the years there were many Hollywood films made based on the revolutionary war, 1776, Revolution, Johnny Tremain, and The Patriot. But, no movie has stirred up as much controversy as the Mel Gibbson movie The Patriot. The patriot is very entertaining but it is historically inaccurate. Too much Hollywood “spices” was added to the movie for viewing pleasures.
Gun Violence Opposing View Points. Ed. James D. Torr. Greenhaven Presss.Inc., San Diego, California: Daniel Leone, 2002, Print
As an American observes the life around him, noting the many advancements made in merely the last century, he must wonder how America climbed to such a level. The 21st century technology, the military and political power, education and ethics, all came from such meager beginnings, solidified by the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War proved to be a significant turning point in the history of our country, but what caused America to win? What were some of the most significant factors in the victory of these American patriots? By examining these three particular factors, America’s military assets, it’s aid from other countries, and its own spirit of independence, one’s understanding of the Revolutionary War, an essential root of this nation, is truly increased.
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“Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare is the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Two speeches were made after his death, one being by Mark Antony. He uses many rhetorical devices in this speech to counter the previous speech and persuade the crowd that the conspirators who killed Caesar were wrong. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and these many devices strengthen this by making points and highlighting flaws. Antony uses many rhetorical devices, all of which are used to persuade the crowd that the conspirators are wrong and Caesar did not need to be killed.
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