Terrorism: Media Simplistically Portrays War as Good vs. Evil :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Media Simplistically Portrays War as Good vs. Evil    The morning of September 11, 2001, will be a communal memory for many around the world.   On this morning, peace was threatened by terrorism on United States ¹ soil and the U.S. declared war in defense of peace. The majority of television, print, and internet media coverage of these events have focused around a discussion of good vs. evil.   In this paper, I will address ways in which hegemonic and counterhegemonic forms of media have contributed to the discussion of good vs. evil at war.    The depiction of good (us) vs. evil (them) in the media has justified war in the name of peace.   The United States ¹ first visual of good vs. evil came with television broadcast statements from the leaders of this war.   From this, the American public ascertained that the evil guys are led by Osama bin Laden who promised that  ³America will not live in peaceÃ…  1 ² sitting atop a rock outside a cave.   In turn, the good guys are led by President George W. Bush who, from his leather chair in the White House, asserted  ³We are at war with terrorism.2 ²Ã‚   These broadcasts became proof for many that  ³they ² attacked peace therefore  ³we ² were justified in declaring war. President Bush extended this belief by reminding the American public that,  ³If you ¹re not with us, you ¹re against us.3 ²Ã‚   This statement called all of America to war against terrorism; Bush ¹s comment implied that those in opposition are the enemy.   As one of the most access ible forms of news, television has become the most powerful form of social pedagogy.   With few exceptions, television has succeeded in perpetuating and legitimizing a hegemonic good vs. evil mentality where  ³we ² are good and  ³they ² are bad.   One could argue that few have sufficient media literacy skills to deconstruct dominant messages put forth by the majority of television networks.    Conversely, internet and print media have, on more occasions, provided counterhegemonic alternative readings on the September 11 events.   One can still visit mainstream websites such as NBC, ABC, FOX, and CNN to view hegemonic references of good vs. evil.   A series of clicks on one ¹s mouse can take a web surfer from photos of candlelight vigils and Twin Tower donation centers to sites where one can watch Powell and Bush, singing calypso, about the demise of Osama Bin Laden as well as play an interactive torture game on the leader of evil4.

Mobility essay Essay

The Unites States is the land of opportunities where people pursuit the American dream to have a better life. American life is built on the faith that it is possible to rise from humble origins to economic heights. In that case social mobility plays a big role in todays society. Social mobility refers to the ability to change the positions within a social stratification system. In other words, when people improve or decrease their economic status in the way that it affects their social class, they experience either pward or downward social mobility. With this in mind, the social mobility in United States appears to be stalled or in decline. One of the main reasons is poverty that is causing a decline. Furthermore, the rich-poor gap that widens also has an effect on mobility causing income inequality. Also, European social mobility is much better than that one in the United States. Some other factors that influence social mobility include race, income, mother and father occupation, and ethnicity. Certainly, one of the reasons why social mobility in United States appears to be talled or in decline is because of poverty. The higher the individual starts on the social ladder the more likely that individual will end up higher than where he or she first started. The more income the parents have will guarantee more opportunities for that person. According to Economic Mobility Project, 40% of Americans that are born in the bottom quintile remain stuck there as adults (â€Å"Upper bound†). That means that that almost half of that social group doesn’t change their position within a social stratification system. That doesn’t mean it is their fault because people that are poor start with a disadvantage. For example, according to Eric Wanner, president of the Russell Sage Foundation, â€Å"Upper-income families can invest more in their children’s education and they may have a better understanding of what it takes to get a good education. † (â€Å"Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs† by Jason DeParle). That means that a child that comes from a richer family has more educational opportunities than a child coming from the poor. Furthermore, a child oming from rich family will have a better understanding on how to succeed in school where on the other hand, child from poor family doesn’t have that opportunity. However, Just 8% of American men at the bottom rose to the top fifth. That shows that even though it is difficult it is still possible. Generally speaking, the rich-poor gap that widens also has an effect on mobility causing income inequality. As the gap between rich and the poor has widened since 1970, the odds that a child that is born in poverty will climb to wealth remain stuck. Same goes to child that is born rich will fall into middle class. One reason for mobility gap may be the depth of American poverty which leaves poor children starting especially far behind. Most of the time it is determined by the father and mother occupation. Based on the new data gathered by Bhashkar Mazumder of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, he argued that 60% of a son’s income is determined by the level of income of the father. (â€Å"Goodbye, Horatio Alger†). This means that more than half of men are dependable on their father’s income. Furthermore, this shows that the higher the income ot parents, the more opportunities the child example, researchers now estimate the elasticity of father-son earnings at 0. 5%. That means that for every 1% increase in father’s income, his sons’ income will be increased or expected to increase by about 0. 5%. ((â€Å"Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs†). In other words, the better the income of the father, the better the income of the son. So the family background is very important in social mobility. In contrast, European social mobility is much better than that one in the United States. European countries have made serious investments to create equality of opportunity for all. According to Fareed Zakaria in â€Å"The downward path of upward mobility,† they have extremely good childhood health and nutrition programs, and they have far better public educations systems than the United States does. Furthermore, poor children compete on a more equal footing against the rich and in the United States poor children compete for better education few steps behind then others.

Understanding Depression And Anxiety, Addiction, And Dementia

The biopsychosocial model is a perspective for explaining the causes of mental problems, which collects evidence from the individual’s social, psychological and biological conditions (Toates, 2010, p19). It considers those factors as interdependent and equally important (Toates, 2010, p13). This essay will evaluate this model ability to understand depression and anxiety, addiction, and dementia, and will show that in some cases of mental problems, the biopsychosocial perspective is not the appropriate tool for explaining these problems. Firstly, this approach is crucial for understanding depression and anxiety, and the case of Neha’s depression is an example. Socially, she suffered a divorce and her parents’ death (Toates, 2010, p18).†¦show more content†¦This depression could be alleviated by drugs that reduces cortisol, which is an evidence of the biological root only. Hence, a biopsychosocial model is not useful for explaining comorbid depression. Furthermore, phobia of spiders is a case where the biopsychosocial approach to understanding anxiety is not helpful, and an example of that is Kate phobia (The Open University, 2016a). The reason is that spider phobia happens because of an environmental learning process about a frightening experience, and an evidence about this is the case study of â€Å"little Albert† (McLannahan, 2010, p107). On the other hand, snake phobia is the result of the evolutionary process of human, which is genetically inherited for protecting the survival of human; thus, it has a biological explanation only (McLannahan, 2010, p108). Also, there is evidence from twins’ studies for the genetic predisposition for specific animal phobias (Kendler, et all, 1992, cited in Mclannahan, p 109). Thus, a biopsychosocial approach did not contribute to understanding these specific phobias. Meanwhile, biopsychosocial model is important for explaining OCD. For example, John’s excessive hands washing. Psychologically, he has intrusive thought regarding his family’ safety (Toates, 2010, p1). Stress at work and family misunderstanding are his triggers (Toates, 2010, p2). Using PET scan, there is increase of activities in the prefrontal cortex and the caudate nucleus brain’sShow MoreRelatedMental Health Problems Are Still With Us1406 Words   |  6 Pagesare a problem in society today because the lack of development in pharmaceutical intervention. The essay will endeavor to give evidence on how the lack of understanding in some mental health illnesses has prevented the development in drug treatment. One such problem is seen in dementia, scientist have some understanding on what occurs in dementia but as yet have not found a cure (cited in Leys, Rostron and Heading 2011). 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