Reading Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Reading Response - Essay Example only nighttime visit was permitted, but brief that it could not fill the parental bond effective for raising a child plagued by the torments of slavery. One day he sees the whipping of Aunt Hester by master Antony; a scene that eventually prompts him to move to Baltimore (Douglass 18). The move is a turning moment because it frees Douglass from becoming a slave forever. He starts participating in antislavery campaigns that champion the rights of those still held in the South. Three episodes are central to Douglass in his quest to gain freedom and help other fellow slaves escape the bondage. For instance, the first episode involves the acknowledgement of being slave. Douglass’s decision to take a decisive action emanated from his slavery predicament that exposed him to beatings by his masters such as Mr. Covey. Similarly, the humiliation and fatigue of being overworked in the field plantations features prominently in his life and this prompts his to seek ways of escaping the suffering. This is because Douglass wishes to have a life better than slavery that is only possible in the North. Alternatively, slave identity convinces the narrator on the need to address the matter amicably through freeing other slaves first before taking any action. The second episode is the urge to seek education for emancipation and empowerment in fighting for the thriving slave trade in the South. This transformation occurs after Douglass has moved to Baltimore, Maryland under the ownership of his new mistress called Mrs. Sophia Auld. Unfortunately, this noble venture comes with numerous challenges such as the strong disapproval by Mr. Auld. He rightly knows that an educated slave would become sad and worse, wild. This act, however, affirms Douglass’s zeal to learn how to read and write because it is sanctioned by his master. In other words, he learns that education is tied to liberation especially after comprehending the word ‘abolition.’ Going North and beginning the

Religious Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Religious Philosophy Essay Christian theology has its roots in Judaism. Christian theology has evolved from the philosophy of the Old Testament from which the Christians take their most basic of tenets: there is only one God, that God is present everywhere, and that God is all-knowing. However, the God of the Old Testament was a more personal and a more vengeful God. This wrathful nature led to a philosophy that God was an awesome, fearsome God. Later Western philosophers also accepted that God was in everything and was the Creator of everything. However, those who followed the cosmological argument of St. Thomas Aquinas seemed to also include the goodness of God. Not only was God fearsome, as the Creator of all things He was also the source of all good. Much of the religious philosophy in today’s Western culture is based on this goodness. St. Thomas Aquinas did more than just theorize on the goodness of God. Through the cosmological argument he offered a proof for the existence of God. But he was not a cloistered scholar. Aquinas wrote profusely, he preached to and taught congregations, and he lectured at public gatherings. His many writings influenced two avenues of Western thought: empiricism and Aristotelianism. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Thomass theological writings became regulative of the Catholic Church and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource which is now receiving increased recognition. The following account concentrates on Thomas the philosopher and presents him as fundamentally an Aristotelian (McInerny, 2005, par. 1). Few philosophers of Western religion had so much impact on religious thought as St. Thomas Aquinas. One testament to his continued importance is that Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical that used Thomist reasoning in 1998 (McInerny, 2005). For this reason, I think that St. Thomas Aquinas most advanced Western religious thought.

Mathew and his Amazing Journey to Break my Heart :: essays papers

Mathew and his Amazing Journey to Break my Heart â€Å"Look at how his hair curls down on his forehead! Isn’t that so cute?† I whispered to my best friend Jenny who was seated next to me. Jenny and I have known each other since we were in diapers with teething rings. I could predict what she would do or say; it was even found that I could tell what she would be wearing that day, without her even telling me. We were both exactly alike also; in love with Mathew Jackson, in love with NSYNC, in love with the color pink, and the list went on. I still have memories of the pink hats we had that matched our pink dresses that we wore on Easter. And the Barbies we played with in Jenny’s pink dollhouse. Even the coloring books we colored completely pink. I also still have trillions of best friend necklaces Jenny and I bought and trillions of letters that spell out JENNY AND VALERIE ARE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER. So this is why I could tell you that Jenny would agree with my comment about Mathew’s hair. â€Å"Yes it is!† she whispered. We were still astounded to be in the same room as Mathew Jackson, the most handsome 8th grade boy; I take that back, the most handsome middle-school boy we both had ever seen. He was an accomplished student and athlete. He had everything and anything a guy would ever want, definitely a perfect 10. He was the president of Green Valley Middle School. Which explains what we were doing in the same room with him. He was going over some of the fundraisers we could do to raise money for our trip to Washington D.C. in April. When Jenny and I found out that Mathew was going to be present on the trip, we knew we had to be there. The calendar on the wall told the month to be February, and if we skipped a few pages to April, â€Å"D.C. TRIP!† was marked in red and yellow, our school colors. We were going to be riding on a train all the way from Tennessee to Washington D.C. I wanted to raise a lot of money to help my parents out as much as possible, not to mention get noticed by Mathew, who was at the top of the fundraising committee, for raising the most money.

Describe Techniques to Enhance Group Communication

Describe Techniques to enhance group communication Effective group communication begins with knowledge and sensitivity. A good manager should know their group and be able to effectively analyze how they work or analyze information. The manager should be creative in addressing mixed groups with the foresight that everyone could and probably will react to the message differently. Communication is the key factor in a group for portraying thoughts and messages. A manager should be creative in expressing these thoughts in such a way that everyone can take hold of it with their own personality and still come out with the same message. Groups will come to barriers created by individual evaluation of the meaning of a managers message. All ideas will be distorted due to each individual perception of an idea. As a group grows, so do the number of meanings that a message can carry. Each individual will input their own emotions, wants and needs into the message a manager is trying to carry forward. Timing is key in delivering an effective message. If morale is down, messages about lay-offs or cost cutting are not going to be accepted well. If a manager can try to approach a group that is on a high note, most studies show that any information will be accepted and allowed to sink in before reacting irrationally. In each group, everyone will have their own creative thoughts to express. The problem is that usually everyone has a different view to express about their meaning of the idea on the table. Each person should be allowed to convey their thoughts and a discussion may aid in hammering out everyone’s difference so that each member of the group can gain an understanding of how the other person came to their conclusion. Managers should allow for a brainstorming session so that everyone has an equal opportunity to share and explode upon ideas. This can also open creative doors in people that may normally not come forward. However, when they see a team working together, they may see a door of opportunity and jump in. We’ve already learned that one message can carry many meanings for groups of people. If the same group of people are allowed to stretch, share and explain their reasoning, it could bring the group closer while bringing them closer to a shared evaluation of the message being brought forward.

Critical Thinking and Potent Drugs Essay

Statement 1: It is pretty obvious that smoking marijuana causes people to crave more potent drugs, such as cocaine or heroin. Statistics show that almost all people who become addicted to drugs smoked marijuana before they began using more potent drugs. Answer below– This statement does comply to the guidelines of critical thinking. To start, I feel this statement shows a lot of uncertainty. The words used in the first sentence, â€Å"pretty obvious,† show a lot of uncertainty. If the person was certain, he or she would have used the word â€Å"obvious.† Another way this statement complies to the guidelines is the reliability of the evidence provided. The use of â€Å"almost all people† in the statistic instead of a concrete number shows that the statistic in the statement isn’t all that reliable. This also shows some uncertainty in the statistic. This statement is a mixture of an opinion and an unreliable statistic. There is no proof that marijuana makes you desire or â€Å"crave† more potent drugs. What about others factors such as genetics, familial, or environmental factors influencing drug use? I feel that the reason more people try marijuana before other hard drugs is by chance, because it is more readily available at a young age. Critical thinking is important in everyday life, especially when having discussions with peers over controversial issues, such as racism, gender difference, and homosexuality. It is important in this instance to think critically to come up with alternate explanations for events or problems, without using emotional reasoning or previous bias and beliefs.