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My Conscience

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:24 am


These are my works:

Prohibition and Censorship of Profane/Vulgar Language
and Remembered Event are my newest ones. I wrote the other 2 last year. I used my Siddhartha essay to get into a more advanced English course. Remembered Event is a true story about my last talk with my Dad before he passed away.



Siddhartha Argumentative Essay

It is commonly believed that events and experiences can be fully understood and perceived accurately from another person’s point of view rather than someone’s own self. Most would concur that reading an article on how the living situation is in any third world country is an acceptable way to perceive an event accurately. This common way of presumption is completely unbefitting and not acceptable. There are several aspects on coming to an adequate conclusion about a subject matter that are only acceptable. These ideals are exhibited in a novel written by Hermann Hesse called Siddhartha.

Siddhartha is about a boy named Siddhartha Gotama who grew up in his younger years as a Brahman. Siddhartha has already known what the eldest and most wise of the Brahman’s knew as an adolescent. He believed that living everyday with rituals and traditions, to reach bodha (awakened) when no one else has ever done so that way, was a waste of time. Siddhartha believed that there must be another path to achieve awakenedness. Finally, Siddhartha and his friend named Govinda left on a search of enlightenment. Throughout the rest of the novel Siddhartha learned things he never knew before and experienced things in person, in search of a way to achieve enlightenment, rather than perceiving how things are by yourself.

The Buddha expressed in the Sutra of The Four Noble Truths that enlightenment can be achieved when one possesses “the four noble truths”. These four noble truths are, know suffering, abandon origins which are a cause for suffering, attain cessations, know there is an end to suffering, and practice the eightfold path that leads out of suffering. The aesthetics attempt to achieve enlightenment by fasting, meditating, abandoning ones self. It seems logical that these methods would satisfy The Four Noble Truths. Siddhartha believes these conventional methods will not help one attain enlightenment as expressed by Siddhartha “There is one thing that this clear, worthy instruction does not contain; it does not contain the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced—he alone among hundreds of thousands. That is what I thought and realized when I heard your teachings. That is why I am going on my way—not to seek another doctrine, for I know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone—or die.” Siddhartha understood that enlightenment can not be taught but that it has to brought on by ones own will.

Inadvertently, Siddhartha subsequently possessed The Four Noble Truths at the time of his enlightenment. The first noble truth is “know suffering”. His life with the aesthetics involved losing his desire for property, clothing, sexuality, and all sustenance except that required to live. One would learn to fast, to endure terrible weather conditions, such as the extreme cold, the extreme heat, etc. This is inadvertently how Siddhartha possesses Dukkha, The first Noble Truth. Siddhartha expresses this - “Siddhartha learned a great deal from the Samanas; he learned many ways of losing the Self. He traveled along the path of self-denial through pain, through voluntary suffering and conquering of pain, through hunger, thirst and fatigue. He traveled the way of self-denial through meditation, through the emptying of the mind through all images. Along these and other paths did he learn to travel. He lost his Self a thousand times and for days on end he dwelt in non-being. But although the paths took him away from self, in the end they always led back to it.” Siddhartha even understands but doesn’t connect the fact that he is actually gradually attaining enlightenment by experiencing each of what he is learning and that what he learned while with the Samana’s was several of The Noble Truths. The second Noble Truth is to abandon origins which are a cause for suffering. When Siddhartha left his father and his whole childhood behind to become a Samana, he, again inadvertently attained Samudaya by abandoning his origins. The third Noble Truth is Nirodha, which is knowing there is an end to suffering. “And Siddhartha's soul returned, had died, had decayed, was scattered as dust, had tasted the gloomy intoxication of the cycle, awaited in new thirst like a hunter in the gap, where he could escape from the cycle, where the end of the causes, where an eternity without suffering began.” Moreover, Siddhartha learned about the end of his own suffering when he was with the Ferryman and he learned to speak to the river. The forth Noble Truth is knowing The Eightfold Path. This is the part of The Noble Truths that Siddhartha wholly learned from his traveling.

Siddhartha knew subconsciously that enlightenment is best not to be perceived at a distance. The Brahmans, Samanas, and the Buddha’s teachings, none of them actually evolved putting themselves in the whole cycle and making perceptions then. They actually involve perceiving how things are from a distance and believing this is adequate. This is what helped Siddhartha to become enlightened. Siddhartha actually put himself in the world. When someone reads the news, they act like it is acceptable for them to make whole hearted conclusions. One can try, but not wholly and accurately, to learn of events by themselves and not actually perceive the event in person and have the emotions acquainted with being present. This ideal makes Siddhartha actually selfless by wanting to find out the world for himself and actually evolve himself in such events.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:25 am


Prohibition and Censorship of Profane/Vulgar Language

Profane words and phrases are abundantly apparent in everyday colloquial discussion. They are frequently deemed by society to be obscene and inappropriate. Something becomes profane through the etymological process of connotating certain words to be insulting, rude, or vulgar. Profanity originally was acclimated to religious obscenities such as blasphemy, sacrilege, or speaking of God's name in vain. In contemporary discussion, profanity has widened to include secular meanings.
Due to societies unwavering discontent of profane words, they have become censored by governments, prohibited per the authority of parental figures, and overall criticized by many. On the other hand, there are those who advocate the allowance of profane and vulgar words. During the Parents Music Resource Center hearing in 1985, John Denver spoke out in opposition to censorship. This is what he expressed, “…That which is denied becomes that which is most desired, and that which is hidden becomes that which is most interesting. Consequently, a great deal of time and energy is spent trying to get at what is being kept from you. Our children, our people, our society and the world cannot afford this waste.” What he is trying to convey is that by acquiescing to the use of these words and any other word, the word becomes disempowered. By denying any words you empower them through their exclusivity.

One of the methods by which words are suppressed from public access is through censorship by government appointed officials. There are those who endorse the idea of censorship for the protection of our youth. Frank Zappa spoke out in discord about censorship, more categorically about the censorship of music. This is what he said, “Because of the subjective nature of the PMRC ratings, it is impossible to guarantee that some sort of 'despised concept' won't sneak through, tucked away in new slang or the overstressed pronunciation of an otherwise innocent word. If the goal here is total verbal/moral safety, there is only one way to achieve it; watch no TV, read no books, see no movies, listen to only instrumental music, or buy no music at all.” In all objectivity, the discourse by which a vulgar intended meaning through the use of other means might get through the censorship. There is no absolute method by which to prevent every vulgar or profane word or intended word from getting through.
Through the means of empirical interpretation, a group of government appointed officials attempt to infer what someone implies to determine whether the content is vulgar or profane. Implications are all subjective. John Denver voiced his opinion of this matter by stating, “I have had in my experience two encounters with this sort of censorship. My song "Rocky Mountain High" was banned from many radio stations as a drug-related song. This was obviously done by people who had never seen or been to the Rocky Mountains and also had never experienced the elation, celebration of life, or the joy in living that one feels when he observes something as wondrous as the Perseides meteor shower on a moonless, cloudless night, when there are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you are out camping with your friends, your best friends, and introducing them to one of nature's most spectacular light shows for the very first time.
Obviously, a clear case of misinterpretation. Mr. Chairman, what assurance have I that any national panel to review my music would make any better judgment?
To my knowledge, my movie "Oh God" was not banned in any theaters. However, some newspapers refused to print our advertisements, and some theaters refused to put the name of the film on the marquee.
I do not believe that we were using the name of our Lord in vain. Quite the opposite, we were making a small effort to spread his message that we are here for each other and not against each other.
Discipline and self-restraint when practiced by an individual, a family, or a company is an effective way to deal with this issue. The same thing when forced on a people by their government or, worse, by a self-appointed watchdog of public morals, is suppression and will not be tolerated in a democratic society.” Like Mr. Denver expressed, because of the subjectivity of interpretations, misinterpretation are likely to occur. A more efficient method of preventing this is through personal judgment rather than through an outside person’s views and interpretations. On a member of society level, rather than governmental, vulgarity and profanity are additionally subjective by perception.
The idea of censorship falls along of lines of what is morally acceptable and unacceptable. Many will maintain the idea that morals are a necessity for our society to grow proper. Morals fall along the lines of religious adherences. Our country was founded upon the concept that there shall not be an establishment of a national religion. Per the idea of the 1st amendment of the United States Constitution, one may choose to adhere by the morals of their religious beliefs but they can not impose them upon others. Because of the heavy religious influence on censorship, many other religious ideas could very well be imposed by the government. Frank Zappa contested the idea of imposing morals on other by stating, “The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of Moral Quality Control Programs based on "Things Certain Christians Don't Like". What if the next bunch of Washington Wives demands a large yellow "J" on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to 'concealed Zionist doctrine'?” If we continue to censoring words, it will be appeasing them to eventually censor more things they find “offensive”.
Like I just stated, censorship and the prohibition of vulgar words has a strong framework of morals and ethics. One of the strongest moral and ethic ideals that surrounds the support of censorship is fundamentalism. This is Frank Zappa’s response, “Fundamentalism is not a state religion…labels regarding sexually explicit lyrics, violence, drugs, alcohol, and especially occult content reads like a catalog of phenomena abhorrent to practitioners of that faith. How a person worships is a private matter, and should not be inflicted upon or exploited by others. Understanding the Fundamentalist leanings of this organization, I think it is fair to wonder if their rating system will eventually be extended to inform parents as to whether a musical group has homosexuals in it. Will the PMRC permit musical groups to exist, but only if gay members don't sing, and are not depicted on the album cover?”
An apparent perspective from view of having the government interpret whether they deem something inappropriate for our children is that they are doing the parenting for everyone. From the view of John Denver is, “The problem, Mr. Chairman, in my opinion has to do with our willingness as parents to take responsibility for the upbringing of our children, to pay attention to their interests, to respond to their needs, and to recognize that we as parents and as individuals have a greater influence on our children and on each other than anything else could possibly have.” When asked to a parent, the response is clear, “It should be a parent’s discretion to choose what they want their children to hear rather than the government.”
One of the most influential quotes during the Parent Music Research Center hearing in 1985 is this, “In my experience, sir, all over the world one of the most interesting things about the music that young people are listening to is it gives us as adults a very clear insight as to what is going on in their minds. We can know what they are thinking by listening to the music that they surround themselves with.
The people that I have had the opportunity to talk with, the troubled children, the teenagers who are considering suicide, what they expressed to me is a real frustration in their lives, an inability to communicate with their parents, an inability to understand or to envision any kind of a possible future because of the nuclear threat that we live under.
They do not see things getting better economically. They do not see things getting better for the small businessman, for the small farmer. They do not see a future for themselves.
It is my opinion that it is out of this that some young people put a gun into their mouths and pull the trigger. We can turn this around, sir. We can address the reality of a problem and not deal with just the symptoms, and create not only a better world for our children but for ourselves and all of humanity.
We can end hunger. We can rid the world of nuclear weapons. We can learn to live together as human beings on a planet that travels through the universe, living the example of peace and harmony among all people.” Like Mr. Denver said, many may blame vulgar and profane words as the cause of violence in today’s youth. The vulgar language, or more categorically vulgar music, is a gateway for one to manifest their feelings. The music doesn’t manifest these feelings. Music doesn’t create these feelings but rather society and its falsities do. Look at bettering society which causes these feelings than stopping the feelings at all. These feeling are all expressed the same through the views of a parent. “People are going to be around profane words. We should be looking at the product of an environment and that being the reason why people are saying those words.”
From looking at all this conclusive evidence, it is apparent that censorship is not necessary and that it harms society rather than better it. The product of a stanch censor society that has the government control exactly what they deem as appropriate can be viewed by Nazi Germany. Words in the end are just words. Whether society chooses to further the taboo of “bad words” is up to them. In the end I think it is pretty unambiguous that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

My Conscience


My Conscience

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:28 am


Jealousy by Dale Wallace

In our present society we have a preconceived notion about jealously and it’s attributing emotions and circumstantial reactions to such emotions. These prejudgments are not only erroneous but simply not even relative by canon and evidence in Shakespeare’s work of literature titled Othello. What becomes a problem is what is the actual foundation for jealousy and how is it exhibited in Othello.

Throughout Othello it is apparent that jealousy is the predominant theme. Understanding how jealousy attributes to the majority of the tragedy involves explanation of the fundamental groundwork. Jealousy is spawned with the antagonist character named Iago and the protagonist named Othello. Othello, who is a General, appointed Cassio to be Lieutenant, which Iago believed the position to be most adequate for him per of his background in warfare. In order for Iago to beget what is rightfully his, he manufactures fallacious rumor about Cassio sleeping with Othello’s wife, Desdemona. By doing so, Othello will demote or have Cassio executed. In order to make Iago not appear related to these affairs, he uses Othello’s insecurities about his relationship with his wife to get the best of him.

What becomes of Othello is the fact that he believes he is obligated to be jealous. Jealousy reflects a persons view of himself and how confident they are about who they are. Even though Othello still is sexually active with Desdemona, he feels as if he is emasculated. His feelings are attributed to him feeling as if he can’t fulfill Desdemona adequately. This inadequateness is the downfall of love dote for Desdemona. Othello begins to question and examine his masculinity because of this jealousy. As Desdemona said “But jealous souls will not be answered so; They are not ever jealous for the cause,
But jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster, Begot upon itself, born on itself.” (page 80) This statement is indubitable.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:31 am


This is a true story that happened to me:

Remembered Event

An echoing of a dreary murmur, that once relayed from the EKG but now is silent, was still running through my head. My heart felt burning ice cold while I was gasping sporadically for short breaths. My knees locked together in the chair as my whole body posed incapacitated in a fettle position. My sweat drenched hands were cupped together under my chest. Tears profusively fell from my blood shot eyes onto my pant legs.

Only just minutes before did my Dad just pass away in his ICU room. Time seemed circumventus as I lay motionless in my chair next to my Dad. He rested on his bed in an everlasting sleep. Everything seemed so unreal due to the fact that only a couple months prior did I have my last conversation with my Dad.

Several months earlier I was with my father in the cancer treatment floor of the same hospital. I spent the first couple weeks assisting and supporting my Dad while he went through the beginning of his chemotherapy. The day I left was day that will forever be imposed in my memory.

An aroma of soft candy was emitting from the room. My Dad was sitting upright within his bed in his blue gown. The medical instruments throughout the room masqueraded themselves intimidatingly. Nothing seemed quite natural.

My Dad’s peaceful light blue eyes had tears softly flowing down the contours of his checks. He smiled at me with an overwhelming compassion of love.

While extending his arms out he said, “I love you so much,” as tears fell from my eyes I went in and gave my Dad a hug and he said, “You are the best son I could ask for.”

I gathered my belongings that I brought with me and left the room. Everything that happened and that I viewed will never be forgotten.

Just several months later, the day after my birthday, did my Dad pass away unexpectedly. Many events in life are unexpected and unforeseen. The ones you love could be lost forever any day at any time. The words expressed between me and my Dad were that of love. Many times this is not the case between those who truly love each other. Always leave a seemly last impression of love with someone rather than that of hate. The last things you want those who you truly love to hear are words of spontaneous and inaccurate feelings of anger.

My Conscience

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