Thinking Through Religions 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Thinking Through Religions 4 - Essay Example This is because self isolation and being separate can lead to a mental state of renunciation. There is a perception that when men make vows, they tend to become spiritual men who state separate from the physical world (Merton, 1966). In a sense, this theory suggests that it is possible to subscribe to a personal ideology to the exclusion of the mainstream society (Braght & Sohm, 1987). The illusion theory assumes that men become separate by taking vows that cause them to belong to an interior life. The new reality suggests that while the interior world may be real, it should not lead to denial of physical world which is dominated by the secular (Merton & Bochen, 2000). The reality of the God does not denounce the existence of hatred and corruption in a physical world that has evolved through revolution (Ferch, 2012). The reality of the interior world and the secular world in which we live is brought about by the level of awareness. The new reality is that there are no strangers (Ward, 8). The level of understanding of how we appear in God’s eyes can alter the values of collective existence (Broom, 2003). A telling example would be destroying weapons after realizing the need for friendship and company. As members of the human race, God has designed us to be naturally interdependent. Question 2 Father Maximilian was arrested for aiding Jews and Polish underground. He with four others was deported to Auschwitz labor and death camp. According to the Camp Commandant, Fritsch, Roman Catholics had only one month to live while Jews were entitled to only two weeks. They would then be killed through a crematorium. He was tattooed with 16670 as his number and began hard labor. However, when a prisoner escaped five months later, officers from Kolbe’s bunker were paraded, ready to be taken to death chamber. Ten men were picked at random. One was a sergeant, Francis Gajowniczek. Father Kolbe offered to die of his behalf after listening to his desperate cry. In 1982, during a rescue operation, Lenny Skutnit dived into the icy waters to save a lady. Priscilla Tirado was too exhausted to hold the rope dropped from a helicopter as dozens of people watched, emergency service personnel included. The 30 feet swimming to the river show saved her life. Both men indicated their willingness to offer their lives on behalf of other people with actions as the evidence (Braght & Sohm, 1987). While one incident involved drowning, the other involved prison execution. Fath er Kolbe offered to offer his life for a person who could not reciprocate. These actions reveal that human nature can be moved to act on behalf of others without having a prior knowledge of their existence. The actions also reveal that human beings are naturally in need of each other. Human beings can act heroically on behalf of those in desperate circumstances or dire need of rescue. Question 3 Charles Roberts, 32 year old milk truck drivers killed ten girls before committing suicide. This occurred in west Nickel Mines School in Pennsylvania. The members of the community went through extreme moments of grief and mourning (Kraybill, 2007). However, hours after the shooting, an Amish neighbor had comforted Roberts’s family. The Amish community donated money to the widow and attended the burial ceremony of the killer. They showed love to Roberts’s family hours just a day after some of them had buried their own daughters. The members of the Amish committed offered uncondi tional forgiveness even when it was extremely difficult. The national society might have mistaken their kind acts to mean they were less affected. Many affected families

Political Parties and Elections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Parties and Elections - Essay Example In other circumstances, parties might choose to form coalitions with disparate interests. It has to be acknowledged that parties in the United States are very powerful for they determine the fate of all citizens1. Ambition in Political Parties Politicians are very ambitious people. Although some choose to stay in their current offices for several terms, others aspire to go to higher offices. In addition, some politicians want to be politics for short periods. This implies that it depends with the politician to know his or her ambitions. Career ambition decides the behavior to be exhibited by the politician. His/her hopes and expectations for the future are the main driving force that helps the politician in making decisions. Majority of political leaders possess progressive ambitions and as a result, they aspire for higher offices. Politicians make policies that satisfy the needs of their constituents at the given time and in future, in order to ensure success. It has to be noted tha t one cannot achieve higher office if s/he lacks ambition2. Although majority of Americans believe that the president is a powerful person who makes all the decisions for the country from white house, Richard Neustadt in his book Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, believes otherwise. The president’s power is guaranteed in the constitution, the prestige of Washington, abroad, and the country at large. However, article II of the constitution, which defines the powers of the president, does not guarantee that everything that he (presidents) commands he achieves. This means that the president must always ensure that the people around him are persuaded and thus willing to do what he believes is good for the country. The fact that United States of America is a democratic country means that there is separation of powers so the president is not the sole decision maker in the country. The ability and the power to pursued help in ensuring that the policies implemented by the president are able to pass and become law. This can be attributed to the fact that the president in the US does not change legislation alone for it needs approval by the respective houses. If the president is unable to persuade legislators to pass his policies then chances are high that most of these policies will not go through. This is the reason why Neustadt (1990) notes, presidency is not a place for amateurs. Presidents should act in a prospective manner in order to make sure that the decisions he makes today will help him persuade tomorrow3. Power of Politics Obama exercises the power to persuade because he understands that his policies cannot pass without the support other legislators.4On the other hand, Schlesinger acknowledges that the US presidency is becoming too powerful, such that people are not concerned on checking it. He attributes this to the powers that the presidency exercises because of domestic policy, foreign policy, and the affairs that go on in secrecy. Sinc e the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces, he has the authority to defend the United States but the power of declaring war is vested on the congress. This means that the president can make decisions that will cause death or injury to other people who are deemed as a threat to the country5. In his time at the office, Obama has ordered the killing of Somali pirates who had hijacked a ship with American crew. In addition, he ordered