Power Always Corrupts The One Who Holds It - REVISED

            John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

                 Beyond all else, the world yearns for power. Throughout the history of man, rulers, peasants, philosophers, and leaders have all committed countless murders, genocides, and masterminded a number of duplicities. All committed in the attainment of power. These men start off kind-hearted but with time and exposure to power they become corrupt. Power is a mighty force; it affects the way people behave and dominates one’s mind. It is in a way a powerful drug that can lead one’s life downhill. Power always corrupts the one who holds it.

               It is human nature to always want more. Power boosts this selfish nature to such a high extent that many become corrupted. This has been going on since the beginning of time. Back in the day leaders of different countries fought for land. They believed the more land they owned, the more power they obtained. For example an unclaimed land with an abundance of resources meant cheap supplies to build things that could be sold for profit. Whilst countries may already have an abundance of resources, leaders see this unclaimed land as an opportunity to gain power over more people and power in economics. The leaders desire more control and power then they already have, and are willing to fight one another to prove that they are the best. They no longer care about the safety of the people, they desire more land and will do anything to obtain it. This situation has caused countless wars being fought which resulted in many deaths and poverty within citizens.

              There are two types of power, socialized power and personalized power. There is a simple distinction between these two types of power. Socialized power is power used to benefit others while personalized power is power used for personal gain. Leaders often use both powers equally to govern a society, group, or business. The corruption begins when the personalized power starts to dominate. The leaders gain but often from the follower’s expense. For example, Marie Antoinette was a French queen that was despised by the people of France. In the beginning the people of France had no complaints towards the way she and King Louis XV governed, but Marie Antoinette was soon dominated by her personalized power; she bought a diamond necklace worth more than the income of France in a year. The necklace had cost many lives because France was already in debt, and had no money to help feed starving citizens. The personal desire for something extravagant combined with the domineering effect of personalized power was the cause of corruption for Marie Antoinette.

                Power has a drug-like effect on humans. Some may describe it as intoxicating, and feel a rush of excitement from even the tiniest tastes of power. Once power has been embedded into the human system it creates the need to gain more. Scientists have discovered the feeling of power is similar to the effects of cocaine. The rush of power increases testosterone and in turn leads to raised dopamine levels, also known as the brain’s reward system and is very addictive. This effect is also obtained when humans consume cocaine. Too much dopamine leads to arrogance and impatience as well as many other negative effects. This excess amount of dopamine is why people with power act impulsively and outlandishly. The addictive side effect of power evokes negative behaviour much like a drug addict with no drugs to consume. The negative behaviour and the addictiveness of power is what cause corruption to power holders.

                Power may arguably be a human’s most vicious enemy. It can boost the negative side of human nature; the desire to want more, and can have similar effects as a dangerous drug. While there are two types of power, personalized power is the more domineering type and humans are easily susceptible by it. Many leaders start off with good intentions but due to the extreme power on their hands they are lured to the dark side. It is indisputable that power always corrupts the one who holds it. 

Violence Can Bring Positive Change- REVISED

                                  Violence Can Bring Positive Change                    Melissa Lin

George Orwell once said, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

When the word “violence” is uttered the first things that many think of are negative. It is common to picture fighting, blood, and death. Is that all violence is? The word violence has been misconstrued for it is only ever used to describe horrid fights or rebellions but there are always two sides to a story. Despite the common misconception of violence and its negative effects it actually has the ability to bring about positive changes.

   Violence is not just inflicting pain; it is also a sign that shows you when things need to be changed. Only when you get hurt do you realize that something is wrong, for example the Egyptian Rebellion in 2011. The Egyptians had many reasons to rebel, but one of the major factors was the safety of the people.  They had brutal police forces that beat the peaceful protestors unconscious. When the string of attacks became continuous the people of Egypt realized something was wrong. People who were supposed to protect them from dangers were the ones inflicting violence to innocent citizens. The violent attacks on the people were a sign to the citizens that they needed a change, and through a rebellion the positive change came. The President resigned and the brutal police force attacks have come to an end.

   Violence is the most effective way of getting the public’s message across. The French Revolution is a perfect example. Due to the corrupt government, French citizens were starving, in debt, and had no say in the wellbeing of the country. When Marie Antoinette was informed about her citizens asking for food, she did nothing to help them. The French citizens were furious, and decided it was time for a serious change. Several years later, when the revolution began Marie Antoinette’s head was severed. This act of violence displayed the hatred and disapproval of Marie, and heeded a warning to the next person in ruling. The public used the violent act of beheading their ruler to demonstrate the anger in the country.

  Another example of violence bringing positive change is the Lower and Upper Canadian rebellions. For many years, the colonists had no say in government and were ruled by oligarchies who only wanted to benefit themselves. They asked for change by writing a list of grievances, and the British denied them. The answer displeased the colonists, and rebellions broke out. They used violence to display their message of wanting a democratic government system. Although, the colonists did not win the rebellions, their voices were heard. Today, in present day society a democratic system of government is currently running. This freedom  to vote and have a say in government would not have been present if the colonists did not use violence to get their voices heard and message across.

     Violence should not always be looked at as the criminal; it does more than just inflicting pain on others. History is full of violence, but without those violent battles we could not be living as comfortable as we are today. The acts of violence can heed us a warning that things need to change, it is an effective method to get the public's message heard. Misconstrued and shamed, violence has always been looked at from a negative angle. Think about what this "awful"  violence  has brought us, a democracy, safer living environments, and freedom. Step back and view this violence from another angle and it is evident that violence can bring positive change. 

Essay #2

It's raining outside, you're home alone and you have nothing to do. Why not play soccer in the house? Even if your mother has advised you not to do so? Suddenly, you hit a table, knocking over your mother's one-of-a-kind and extremely expensive vase. Your reaction is to slow to stop the vase from falling

Crash

Shards of shattered glass are at your feet. Your jaw drops to the ground and your face is in shock. What do you do now? Cleaning up the mess, stressed, worried, and guilty, you try putting the pieces together, but it's no use. This situation can go two ways, a choice between lying or telling the truth. Lying seems much more convenient, so you tell your mother a robber broke into the house and stole the vase. She calls the police and you need to answer some questions. You're telling the police what happened. The police men are searching the house for evidence. Little did you know, police men can detect a liar when they see one. A bag full of shards that was carelessly placed in the garage was found. Your mother is angry and can no longer trust you again.

It's not necessary to take decisive, pre-emptive action against someone because you fear what he/she might do.

There are reasons why someone would take action and lie, it could be from various situations. Such as a mistake that was made; jealousy, and cheating. Just like in Julius Caesar, Act I, Brutus doesn't tell Portia about the plot of Caesar's assassination because he was afraid how she might react; cheating by copying off the answers from someone close by on an exam. Even jealousy or being envious, by stealing something from someone else.

For reasons why someone would lie and take action, there is logic why lying has negative effects. Firstly, getting into lots of trouble as mentioned earlier. Also, hurting someone emotionally because of words or actions that possibly have been said or done. This can lead to no trust and feeling guilty, such as using a friend to make a goal achievable. Not thinking of the situation carefully before going into action. For example, when cheating on a test with a phone and not knowing if anyone close by is watching. This could result in being caught by a teacher or student, and it will result a zero and possibly a phone call home.

To prevent any of these problems from happening in the future is by telling the truth! Honesty is the best policy as most people say, and by lying it could result in karma; most of us know karma... Isn't such a good thing when it comes back. Also, don't let feelings make judgments on the reaction of the situation because this could lead to worse decisions when being under pressure. Lastly, thinking of actions and words before making an attempt. Just stop for a minute and think, 'is this worth it? Will taking action possibly hurt someone else including myself?'

To conclude, remember that even though getting into trouble because of reckless and careless mistakes, to apologize and tell the truth. This is how people learn from their mistakes.

So remember, even though lying is an option, it's not going to do any good for anyone. It's best to be honest because karma is not the best thing to get in return.   

Julius Caesar Essay #2

Without doubt, it's necessary and reasonable to take precaution decisions against the potential dangerous people around a person. One makes this decision based on past events and the characteristics of the opposite. One takes precautions to prevent future events that may bring clouds and unfavorable events to him or her. One should be extremely cautious in making choices around their possible enemies. Even if it may just be a false alarm, it is always sagacious for one to take decisive and preemptive actions to protect themselves.

The history has provided sufficient examples to prove this. At the end of World War II, China’s party leader of the Republic of China Mao ZeDong had the highest power of any power in China at the time. Mao knew that period of time will be very short, he knew he wanted to be an emperor, thus he took actions to hold onto his power by carrying out events that would let the time ‘pause’ at the age of time. Another country took immediate movements. USA learn from the 9.11 twin tower attack, so they held many plans and movements to prevent another National tragedy from stepping under into the American roof.

Preventing tragedies and danger from occurring does not only exist in the real world. In the Greek creation epic, Cronus was poisoned by his son Zeus and wife Rhea for Zeus and Rhea imagined what Cronus would do to his ‘children’ when he finds out that his children hated him and were getting stronger and stronger than what Cronus originally meant for them to be. Zeus and Rhea knew what Cronus did to Cronus’ brothers and their babies: Cronus killed them and trapped them for the fear of losing his throne. Here we can see not only one but two generations of gods taking precautionary actions to ensure their own safety and power. Another example would be the famous Harry Potter Series character: Lord Valdemort. After hearing the prediction from the witch who foreseen a boy born in June into one of the powerful families of wizards will be the cause of the downfall and end of Valdemort, he went and took actions in seeing that no boys born in June will live that long to kill He Who Must Not Be Named.

The society has always been dangerous and cunning from various subjects, it is just different as different ages pass and come. Even now our society is insecure place with traps and liars lurking around, also filled with worse things that one does not want to even think about. In the end, and always, there is no way of determining absolute safety. The only way is to be on guard to enemies, and have an open heart to friends. Better be safe than sorry don’t you think?

            

Power always corrupts the one who holds it- Response

Imagine being given the power to obtain or do anything you want, to rule nations or sail the world. What would you do? Would you use this opportunity to make good or would the extremity of what you have get to you? It is said that power can corrupt the week and the strong, but is this really true?

In Paris France power and corruption have been known to come together often throughout their history. One of the most common examples of this would be in the year 1774. This was the year Marie-Antoinette became queen of France. She and Louis Augustus sent the country into overwhelming debt due to their money use, parties, and lavish outings. Psychologically these actions were brought on by unhappiness, a need to give them a look of extreme power, and to intimidate their people.

Psychology is a major factor in this theory. The kindest person could be too turned violent and venomous with large amounts of control. Literature, media, and history all show this happening. The possibility of exaggeration is always possible but patterns have been known to appear. When given the ability to control in small doses humans can undertake this responsibility with success, but there are consequences to large amounts.

If you were given a million dollars what would you do? The majority of people asked would say they would travel the world, go on an enormous shopping spree, and buy a jet. These are all fun things to do but are they truly necessary? In a sense the lavishness of your changed life would almost be a way of showing of and demonstrating your wealth and power.

I have found that power can corrupt. It can take over the mind and reset your goals, and morals. This may not be done consciously but the gradual change would happen. Eventually it is found that most can’t handle the pressure and crack. The answer is power can corrupt, but can this corruption be reversed?

Power Always Corrupts the One Who Holds It

              John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

               Beyond all else, the world yearns for power. Throughout the history of man, rulers, peasants, philosophers, and leaders have all committed countless murders, genocides, and masterminded a number of duplicities. All committed in the attainment of power. These men start off kind-hearted but with time and exposure to power they become corrupt. Power is a mighty force; it affects the way people behave and dominates one’s mind. It is in a way a powerful drug that can lead one’s life downhill. Power always corrupts the one who holds it.

               It is human nature to always want more. Power boosts this selfish nature to such a high extent that many become corrupted. Humans strive to be the best of the best. This has been going on since the beginning of time. Back in the day leaders of different countries fought for land. They believed the more land they owned, the more power they obtained. For example an unclaimed land with an abundance of resources meant cheap supplies to build things that could be sold for profit. Whilst countries may already have an abundance of resources, leaders see this unclaimed land as an opportunity to gain power over more people and power in economics. The leaders desire more control and power then they already have, and are willing to fight one another to prove that they are the best. They no longer care about the safety of the people, they desire more land and will do anything to obtain it. This situation has caused countless wars being fought which resulted in many deaths and poverty within citizens.

              There are two types of power, socialized power and personalized power. There is a simple distinction between these two types of power. Socialized power is power used to benefit others while personalized power is power used for personal gain. Leaders often use both powers equally to govern a society, group, or business; history books never mention a poor king or queen. The corruption begins when the personalized power starts to dominate. The leaders gain but often from the follower’s expense. For example, Marie Antoinette was a French queen that was hated by the people of France. In the beginning the people of France had no complaints towards the way she and King Louis XV governed. Marie Antoinette was soon dominated by her personalized power; she bought a diamond necklace worth more than the income of France in a year. The necklace had cost many lives due to the fact that France was already in debt. The personal desire for something extravagant and the domineering effect of personalized power were the cause of corruption for Marie Antoinette.

                Power has a drug-like effect on humans. Some may describe it as intoxicating, and feel a rush of excitement from even the tiniest tastes of power. Once power has been embedded in the human system it creates the need to gain more. Scientists have discovered the feeling of power is similar to the effects of cocaine. The rush of power increases testosterone and in turn leads to raised dopamine levels, also known as the brain’s reward system and is very addictive. This effect is also obtained when humans consume cocaine. Too much dopamine leads to arrogance and impatience as well as many other negative effects. This excess amount of dopamine is why people with power act impulsively and outlandishly. This addictive side effect of power evokes negative behaviour much like a drug addict with no drugs to consume. The negative behaviour is what causes corruption to power holders.

                Power may arguably be a human’s most vicious enemy. Power can boost the negative side of human nature; the desire to want more, and can have similar effects as a dangerous drug. While there are two types of power, personalized power is the more domineering type and humans are easily susceptible by it. Many leaders start off with good intentions but due to the extreme power on their hands they are lured to the dark side. It is indisputable that power always corrupts the one who holds it. 

No Red Pill, No Blue Pill - Response

“You take the blue pill, the story ends; you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” The Matrix

Starting of this post on learning and internet communication with this quote was a gripping idea. It intrigues the reader and gets them to continue reading. To some the writing style that continued after the quote could be considered beautiful, I on the other hand have a different view on the subject and style.

In this entry she stresses how well blogging and the internet can enhance learning. She describes how bland a class without some form of internet communication or work can be. My opinion on this matter is very different. Personally I find the action of writing on paper or reading a book to be relaxing. Not only for my eyes but also for my mind. Yes I do agree with the author on how important communication is during the learning process but I don’t believe you need blogs and the internet to do so. Pen pals, teachers, and pear review are all ways to do this. The irony of posting this on a blog does not escape me. I do see the positive side of using social media in learning, but my view on the matter is remains different.

The blog itself though was genius. Ana Cristina Pratas is a wonderful writer. The words she uses paint an image in your head and her style is unique. It is evident by her grammar that she is a teacher! When reading some other entries, her writing almost felt elegant. One thing that I did find was that her style of writing could be jumpy at times. To me it didn’t seem to flow. This was apparent to me in the first paragraph (I didn’t notice it much anywhere else).

Aside from her article the rest of the blog was very interesting. She writes about a wide variety of topics. When writing her entries I noticed that she likes to use visuals. I like the idea of having them there to enhance the message of her writing. At times I felt like this cluttered the blog. The idea of adding pictures and videos was excellent but in some areas there seemed to be a lot.  

Though there where some areas of the blog and article that I did not particularly agree with I do have to appreciate her style and thoughts. Ana Cristina Pratas has a talent for writing that has to be appreciated by the reader. If asked the question “would I continue reading her work?” I would say yes. Her work can be critiqued but her work is art. She expresses her thoughts and opinions freely with unique descriptions. For this reason I would have to state that Ana Cristina Pratas is a phenomenal writer.