Foreign Aid and US Politics

Foreign Aid and US Politics To Be Or Not To Be Involved In the year 1796, President George Washington gave his speech, the Farewell Address, directing to all fellow American citizens before he resigned from his presidential office concerning the young nation’s future. He warned the Americans to avoid political parties for it may tear the country apart, and to avoid creating permanent alliances and foreign affairs, but rather favor isolationism and temporarily alliances in cases of emergencies. It wasn’t until during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, World War I occurred that America began to shift away from the ideology of neutrality. Since then until today, the United States rose to become the world’s superpower and serves as the world’s â€Å"police† after the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War, ending the concept of isolationism. With many speculations regarding foreign issues, threats, attacks, helping hands that are not needed and the increase of the deficit spending, many Americans began to wonder whether or not being involved in other countries’ businesses would do more harm than good to the nation. After the World Wars, many Americans believe that the country should cut all ties from any foreign affairs, including aids. A number of people believe that the government is spending too much money on foreign affairs, not realizing that the money being â€Å"wasted† is used to help many undeveloped countries around the world. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan stated in his speech, ‘Remarks at a White House Briefing for the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs,’ that America is actually spending less than what they supposed to on foreign policies, â€Å"Give away too much money without return? The truth is that now, and historically, weve spent very little on foreign affairs in terms of the overall budget of our government. In the late forties and early fifties, during the time of the Marshall plan, we spent 11 cents of every Federal dollar on foreign affairs. That figure had dropped to 4 cents on the dollar by 20 years ago and has continued to fall until, in recen t years, weve been spending less than 2 cents of each dollar to support our national’s foreign policy.†[1] However, over the years America has changed; America continued to develop and strengthen their economy and defenses as well as helping other unfortunate countries who are in need to the point that America is in a deficit with the national debt of about 17 trillion dollars compared to Reagan’s era which was only 1-2 trillion U.S dollars. President Bill Clinton made effort of lowering the national debt during his presidency, which he did briefly by -2.0%, and the United States was in a surplus for just that moment until George W. Bush came into power in 2001.[2] By having their complete focus on foreign affairs, the U.S has neglected the problems arising among their own people. As of today, thousands of Americans are unemployed and are being forced to continue to live in poverty. Many Americans argued that the billions of dollars the government is sending to foreign countries should be used for creating jobs and prevent poverty from spending throughout the country. Not only are thousands of Americans are living in poverty but also millions of foreigners around the world. Ironically, those billions of dollars the United States government sending is going to the Middle East, the most Anti-Americanized region in the world. [3] Americans questions why does the government even bother helping a country if they don’t want any interference from outsiders regarding their own domestic issues. Although America is trying their best to help as much as they can, half of those billions of dollars are going straight to the rich people’s pockets rather than the poor and receive nothing in return as a result. Foreign aid is supposed to help the lives of poor people who never had the chance to live a better life. For over 40-50 years, there are still children around the world roaming around on the streets to find food and help their parents’ labor; many of those children if not all are illiterate. For 40-50 years of receiving foreign aid, these people’s lives aren’t improving much at all. As William Easterly pointed out, â€Å"The West spent $2.3 trillion and Amaretch is still carrying firewood. It’s a tragedy that so much well-meaning compassion did not bring these results for needy people.† [4] And did the people even receive the full amount of $2.3 trillion of foreign aid? If the people in foreign countries truthfully received only about less than one-fourth of the original amount, what happened to the rest of the trillions of dollars? William Easterly cited that the money gets lost along the way to the World Bank, other agencies, rich people and corru pted politician leaders before the money finally arrives to the lower class citizens. And because the auxiliary countries usually don’t pay attention, they just stop at that, not realizing that the money they have sent to a country like Ethiopia in Africa has come extremely short. â€Å"So with a long chain of officials in charge of the money with no one looking over their shoulder to see how they’re spending it, there’s plenty of ways that it leaks.†[5] Unfortunately, the people who are more benefited with this amount of money are the rich. Isolationist and former U.S Congressman, Ron Paul expresses his foreign policy by stating that â€Å"the country needs to ‘downsize’ its foreign policy.† Despite being a conservative politician, Ron Paul opposes any type of foreign affairs and urges America to cut off foreign aid completely. He disapproves President Barack Obama continuously getting the nation too involved with the affairs which have already leaded to many misconceptions between the foreign countries and the United States. â€Å"’What I really want is [President Barack Obama] to downsize the foreign policy, because if you stay involved in 140 countries . . . stirring up trouble, and you downsize the military, you run into a problem. So, its our intervention that needs downsizing.’†[6] Paul also states that the countries should solve their own domestic policy issues without the United States constant interfering. Even if there’s no intervention among countries, foreign aid creates dependency of countries one another, especially upon the U.S. When President Obama denied Ukraine’s need for military aid in the early 2014, he received many critics of why he didn’t help aid, and why did he not send in troops into Ukraine. His response was â€Å"Why is it that everybody is so eager to use military force after we’ve just gone through a decade of war at enormous costs to our troops and to our budget? And what is it exactly that these critics think would have been accomplished? Do people actually think that somehow we sending some additional arms into Ukraine could potentially deter the Russian army? Or are we more likely to deter them by applying the sort of international pressure, diplomatic pressure and economic pressure that we’re applying?†[7]Obama had used the same tactic when issuing about Syria up until now. During the war in Libya, the Obama Administr ation intervention was poorly devised; the overall purpose of heading into Libya remained unclear. To add on more of the uncertainty of Libya’s affairs, Congress considered Obama’s action a violation against the War Powers of Resolution of 1973.[8] Speaker of the House John Boehner informed the president that the Obama Administration must withdraw.[9] Currently, the United States is involved with Syria’s Civil War since 2011 with Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has warned against any foreign intervention that will be seen as an act of aggression to the entire country. After the deaths of five ‘Westerners’ in Syria by attempting to give aid to the civilians, especially children, U.S President Barack Obama continues to send in more troops into the foreign country, not only to stop ISIS but also overthrow the Syrian President. [10][11] However, the idea of foreign aid is not corrupt as some people may have interpret, but rather how much does the countries take role in foreign affairs. When a country does not seek aid but to resolve their domestic issues instead on their own, a foreign country such as America should not have the right to interfere. There is no use of one country getting involved in a foreign issue that has nothing to do with them. However, if they continue to get involved without consent, then the foreign country may have become new enemies to the problematic country that is facing its own civil war as long as the issue may impact the entire world. In 1796, U.S President George Washington knew the dangers of being involved in foreign affairs, and although President Ronald Reagan stated that â€Å"We are the leader of the free world. And that is not a role we asked for; its a role that was thrust upon us by history and by the hopes of those who aspire to freedom throughout the world.†[1], so l ong as America continues to engage deeply with foreign affairs that are deemed â€Å"threatening to the entire world of democracy†, America will continue making enemies and their economy will fall due to the large social gaps between the rich and the poor and the troubles the country is facing itself. Despite trying to not get involved with future affairs, many countries are already depending on the United States to resolve their problems such as the Ukraine Crisis. The best solution for America regarding foreign aid is less interference unless the situation is necessary. Cited Sources http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=33589 www.skymachines.com/us-national-debt-per-capita-percent-of-gdp-and-by-presidental-term.htm http://www.rightsidenews.com/2013072832963/us/politics/on-foreign-aid-duncan-stop-giving-money-to-countries-that-hate-us-they-can-hate-us-for-free.html http://www.cato-unbound.org/2006/04/02/william-easterly/why-doesnt-aid-work http://bigthink.com/videos/why-does-foreign-aid-fail http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ron-paul-military-cuts-budget/2014/02/24/id/554467/ http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2014/04/obama-fed-up-with-foreign-policy-critics-187581.html http://www.cfr.org/libya/obamas-poorly-conceived-libya-intervention/p24494 http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-challenges-president-obama-legal-justification-continued-operations http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/syria-islamic-state-201491114243147712.html http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-house-approves-obama-plan-for-military-intervention-in-syria/5402679 The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality by Angus Deaton http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10054.html Ch.7 Aids and Politics http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s2_10054.pdf

The Story of Medusa :: essays research papers

There are many variations of the story of Medusa. Yet, I find this one more detailed and precise. Medusa is apart of the chain of Greek Mythology, these stories, or legends are not real and usually said to get a point across, or entertainment. Medusa also shows the relationship the society had with women at that time. Medusa was a Gorgon, The Gorgon's where three sisters, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Their names where Stethno, Euryale, and Medusa. Stethno and Euryale where immortal, however Medusa was a mortal. The three sisters where known to be so ugly, if anyone looked at them they would be killed instantly. Medusa was a Queen who reigned in the land around Tritons in Libya. She used to be a beautiful Maiden and Triton fell in love with her. Medusa, after her encounter with Triton, Athena, turned into an ugly woman with snakes as hair, and anyone that looked upon her would turn into stone. Medusa had this spell cast upon her by Athena because, Medusa and Poseidon where caught sleeping together in one of Athena's temples. Athena then became very angry and in her rage, turned Medusa into an ugly woman. Thus, as the story goes Perseus (the son of Andromeda and Zeus), is assigned to assassinate Medusa. He kills her by coming to her in her sleep, then using a mirror looks to see her face, careful not to look at her, he cuts her head off. The blood that splurged from her neck made the country of Libya infested, because her blood turned into snakes. It is also said that Heracles is said to have obtained a lock of Medusa's hair, which possessed the same power as her head, from Athena. He gave it to Sterope, the daughter of Cepheus, as protection for the town of Tegea against attack. When exposed to view, the lock was supposed to bring on a storm, which put the enemy to flight. In my mind Medusa has many different symbolic qualities.

Ghalib and Metaphor

The sheer lyrical power of metaphor can be found throughout Ghalib’s poetry. Ghalib utilizes this figure of speech, I believe, to help us connect to and really experience what he is trying to tell us about life, love, and hardship. It seems that, through metaphor, he implores us to delve deeper into his writings and enter into the suffering, heartache, alienation, and ambition that marked his entire life. Using ghazal’s from the Joy of the Drop website, I will examine and discuss the verses that I thought to be the most profound and inspiring. ‘I have taken to grave the deep scar of happiness hile she stands above in her hundred colors’ Happiness, in this line, has left Ghalib critically wounded. Whether in his pursuit of an ideal life or a society’s ideal life, whatever ‘happiness’ is to him, he has not only failed to achieve it, but it has succeeded in ruining him. The beloved seems to stand, unscathed and lofty, above the defeated Gha lib, still adorned with the pristine and elaborate clothing that Ghalib has ascribed to her. We know from historical accounts of Ghalib’s life that he searched, unsuccessfully, for influence, status, and financial stability, none of which he would be able to grasp in his lifetime.This may be the ever- unreachable ‘happiness’ he is referring to here. The beloved seems to have not only found this happiness but fully abides in this state of being. ‘As a boy I almost threw stones at that crazed lover trapped always in desire but at last I remembered Leaving I bear the scars of an unfulfilled longing to exist like an extinguished candle I know no place of friendship†¦ †¦ Pursuit has unraveled the strings of beauty's veil leaving nothing but threads for those who can see’ These lines, rich with metaphor, point to a beaten and existentially muzzled Ghalib.Married at thirteen and without a proper education or monetary income; Ghalib’s inner struggle with this life, that had seemingly been thrust upon him, can be seen in the above verses(Ahmad). Feeling subdued, Ghalib seems to flee from his boyish desires, but he is not able to fully recover from the unfulfilled dreams and aspirations that were the sum of his longings. An ‘extinguished candle’ is used here as simile concerning friendship and community. An ‘extinguished candle’ does not have purpose and is discarded or overlooked when it no longer gives, or is able to give, light.After fleeing desire and experiencing loss of purpose and meaning, Ghalib uses metaphor to reveal something philosophically profound. Pursuit ‘unraveling the veil’ of beauty to uncover nothing can be seen as a moment where Ghalib wonders if his desire and longing to exist mean anything at all. What if, in the chasing of a pre-conceived notion of a beautiful life, we find that the ‘beauty’ in that particular life doesn’t exists. How deva stating! Maybe this verse’s metaphor of beauty’s veil shows us that unless we can learn to free ourselves from that desire-driven pursuit, we will be forever tormented in life.This can be found in Buddhist teachings and although, buddhism wasn’t as large in India at the time, it still might have had subtle influences on a well versed and knowledgeable Ghalib. Ghalib somewhat hints at religiously-influenced, philosophical concepts, at times while communicating it using metaphor; as can be seen in these verses: ‘Who has seen the single face of the beloved if one of us glimpsed her shadow she unravels’ One could surmise from Ghalib’s verses, like this one, that his life was one of spiritual seeking and questioning. The unraveling of the shadow of the beloved points towards the idea that we cannot pigeonhole God.Seemingly, God, according to Ghalib, is elusive and ‘beyond’ what we know of Her. As soon as we have developed a theologica l rule about who God is; She vanishes and we are left with only a glimpse of the smallest speck of understand. His deep devotion to religious mystery and unknowing was juxtaposed with his brilliant subversiveness concerning fundamental views of God in Islamic influenced, 19th century, India. ‘At every step I am closer only to knowing the distance as fast as I run the desert runs on’ This metaphor of a running desert leads one to believe that Ghalib realized that very few things are graspable in this life.It seems the more you learn the more you realized you don’t know. The desert is in a sense, dead, and the barren wasteland can be hard to travel. This sheds light on the early maturity of Ghalib. It sounds like the wisdom of an old man but he was probably very young when he wrote this. In all his searching and coming up unfulfilled, Ghalib probably turned to abusing drink at an early age. Some of his most comical and sorrowful lines involve wine. ‘You shoul d always be drunk that too is wisdom the self holds a cabinet for every liquor, Viewing the ‘self’ as a ‘cabinet for every liquor’ is a clever way of saying that you are a lush.And in this particular verse, Ghalib, doesn’t just mention wine. He is willing to fill his cupboards with all types of liquor; possibly to numb his sorrows. Wine or drink also ‘loosened or freed Ghalib to be himself. Wine, ‘melting a bottle’ that he is hiding in, can be a reference to the release of the strangle-hold of inhibitions that comes when one drinks. No telling how many ghazals were written under the influence. This verse also seems to hint at the dangerously intoxicating power of love. Both have the ability to destroy. ‘If love burns more than the heart avoid love ven wine melts the bottle I hide in’ Ghalib was a genius, a lover, a seeker, a drinker, and probably had a better grasp on what the effects of longing-love, as apposed to emo tional romance, had on a person(Ahmad). ‘No longer ask about those seekers of love time has illuminated their bodies of grief’ We see this grief reflected in his ghazals and we learn about his personal experiences through his biographies. The power he evokes in his verses by using metaphor is what inspires me to keep reading and studying this great poet. Ahmad, Aijaz, ed. Ghazals of Ghalib. Columbia University Press, 1971.

Essay on Quest for Identity in the Victorian Era - 1880 Words

Quest for Identity in the Victorian Era Who are you? said the caterpillar to Alice (Carroll 60). This was a question she could not answer. Why doesnt Alice know what constitutes her being? Humans desire completeness, and a solid identity. Up to the age of Darwinism, that void was filled by religious faith. But with the emergence of Charles Darwins theories on natural selection and survival of the fittest, Victorians were reevaluating their paths to righteousness. Without God as a foundation, what were lifes rules? Peter Bowler argues in Charles Darwin: The Man and His Influence that the old road to salvation had been damaged by one of Darwins greatest triumphs - being the catalyst for the†¦show more content†¦Victorians, in the quest to find who they were, were faced with the difficulty of choosing an identity. Victorians knew they could play more than one personality and almost had to due to the strict social codes within their society. Even a child, Alice was very fond of pretending to be two people (Carroll 13) and throughout Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland, she grapples with finding her true identity. As she speaks to the caterpillar, she says that she cannot explain herself because she has not been herself since falling through the rabbit hole (60). But if Im not the same, the next question is, who in the world am I? Ah, thats the great puzzle! (Carroll 19) Like Alice, other Victorians could not definitively be a personality and searched for an identity they conceived was the purest form. Such is the case in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Robert Louis Stevensons The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in which Dr. Jekyll attempts to flush every bit of his evil being into Mr. Hyde. As well, Dorian Gray wishes his portrait would acquire all the traits he desires not to attain. Both these men and Alice struggle with an identity crisis, questing for their ideal Victorian self. 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