Corrupt Influence

The Progress movement or as many refer to as the Progressive era, was a time frame where Americans joined in varying groups to advocate reform across the United States. To elaborate, Progressives believed in widespread change for child labor, industrialization, government, racial reform, and women’s rights. Countless stories of corruption in these areas were brought to light in the Progressive era mostly due to the published writings of Muckrakers. Muckrakers, were journalists who wrote for popular magazines that attempted to expose corrupt political activities from their investigative journalism. Furthermore, I will discuss and compare these groups and their attempts for changes in the rights of child labor, women, acknowledgment of corrupt government practices, racial relations, and industrialization reform.

RICO represent Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which is a federal statute that deals with fraud. The United States Congress enacted RICO in the early 1970’s in an attempt to curb organized crime, which includes businesses, drug dealers, and any person subject to committing fraud. (James, Shapiro & Martin, 2006) “The federal law creates an individual “racketeering offenses” that include participation in various criminal schemes and conspiracies, and that allows government seizures of property acquired in violation of the act” (Hall, 2014, p.154).

Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) in a criminal or civil law suit a pattern of racketeering activity must be ascertained by proving at least two acts of racketeering activity have been performed within an interval of ten years. This law could not be upheld in Sedina, SPRL v Inrex Co., 473 US 479 (1985) as two predicate acts could not be maintained (Twomey, 2013).

Tulia, a small town in Texas of just under five-thousand people, is a frightening example of how the judicial system is governed solely by racism as well as one corrupt man’s word. In 1999, nearly ten percent of the town’s African American population was arrested in a single drug bust. Of the forty-six people arrested, thirty-eight were African-American, furthermore all were convicted. The remaining seven arrested where know to associate more with the black community than the white in Tulia as well. With the towns income levels averaging at or below the poverty line, most arrested could not afford to hire a good attorney that cared or had the time to care, left therefore with one provided by the state. Consequently, convictions were up to ninety years in jail for allegedly selling three and a half grams, more commonly known as an eight ball, of cocaine in drug-free zones. In was only on appeals, that the convictions where revoked on insubstantial evidence.

In response to your above comments, there was always some aspect of corruption in politics as was seen during Reconstruction, particularly in terms of subjugation the African American population. However, the machine politics, seen in the Industrialization era, took on a new meaning as more and more citizens were becoming involved with more diverse needs and convictions. While most were concerned with real change to improve society, others seemed to be more concerned with their own agendas rather than the idea of improving democracy and society. From buying votes with philanthropy to city officials illegally distributing funds to illegal enterprises for their own gain, the “you scratch my back” mentality seemed to rule the political

In 1887, historian John Dalberg-Acton asserted, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This theme has a prominent role in history, literature, and even current times. Certainly, many instances have occurred where once someone earns authority, they allow it to get to their head and do things they would not have done otherwise. Similarly, it is also seen that when one is inferior or beneath others, they receive a hunger for power. Specifically, a few prime examples of people who became corrupted because of their dominance include Marc Antony from Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Joseph Stalin, and Kim Jong-un. These rulers negatively impacted the places they ruled all because of their abusive tendencies that came with dominance.

Power and corruption seem to be words that most people would say go hand in hand. Why is this, though? Does power lead to corruption or is there some other correlation? Maybe it is powerlessness that actually brings corruption. Everyone to some extent is powerless; even the highest leaders are not absolute. Power is at all times up to question, as anyone could lose it with just a few events. Also the only way to be absolute in power would be complete world domination, which no one person has ever possessed. Thus everyone is somewhat powerless and it is this quality that brings people to corruption as they search for ultimate power.

Living in America people learn to live amongst some of the most corrupt human-being known to humankind. Anyone can be corrupt, weather he or she is a corrupt cook working for Burger King stealing money from the cash register to pay bills, or a corrupt politician who votes to raise his or her earnings while committing white-collar crimes against the American public. Theodore Roosevelt could not have been more precise when he said, “When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘present’ or ‘Not Guilty’.” Corruption has been around for some time in America, and the government has struggled to void this type of behavior when it comes to politicians. The government’s use of the FBI for investigations, the media

Many Americans may think that the government is ideal because United States is “the land of the free” but the government is corrupt when looking at it from a different view point. Especially with the election coming, some americans have been observate of the government and its choices.

There is no doubt that “understanding power in all its complexity is important for feminism because it offers an inroad to the analyses of systems of inclusion and exclusion, the structures of domination and subordination, and the hierarchies of privilege” (Bromley 2012). It is true that power is the authority held by a group or party which allows them to make use of public sources and have political control over a society. However, this essay is supposed to cover different concepts of power in three texts. In the book, A Small Place, Kincaid represents the issue of corruption amongst the group of people who hold power, which is the government. She sees the global economy as a way for the people in power to abuse the powerless. Also, in Uses of the Erotic, Lorde writes about the erotic as a source of power and information, which people constantly confuse with its opposite, the pornographic. According to Lorde, power comes from sharing deeply any pursuit with another person (Lorde 56). Lastly the theme of power is also represented in Adrienne Rich’s Compulsory

Interview: Marin Alsop, music director of the Bournemouth Symphony, discusses the power in music and the power in the position of conductor October 7, 2003

“BOOM! That’s your story.” Mr. Whitmore stated, as he concluded his explanation on how our simple conversation could be used as my personal narrative portion of an essay.

There are some leaders that know of their horrible past and do everything in their power to keep it quiet. These leaders are just sad examples, you can never really trust someone. Hiding a bad past and continuing the horrible acts, is not a good leader. We need honest and reliable leaders, not corrupted cowards. In our society today, we have encountered many corrupted leaders/famous people. All of the people caught stealing money, all the cheating and lies, and all of the secrets. We need to really rethink some of the people we call leaders. Some people look at anyone with money, or any kind of fame as a leader. We need to be focused on people that make good changes and are dedicated to our country, not who has more money or fame.

The summer of 1988, nearly a decade after the Iranian revolution with the war against Iraq coming to an end, the Iranian government committed an act of mass genocide, killing five thousand political prisoners overnight. The event is not particularly known due to the Iranian governments substantial efforts to make sure the news never covered the event. With what started as the Khomeini regime, has overtime grown into an empire equivalent to a religious dictatorship. The use of forceful power by the Iranian government to mask the events of the 1988 Massacre and the 2009 Green Movement has tarnished their reputation of being a credible regime.

The summer of 1988, nearly a decade after the Iranian revolution with the war against Iraq coming to an end, the Iranian government committed an act of mass genocide, killing five thousand political prisoners overnight. The event is not particularly known due to the Iranian government’s substantial efforts to make sure the news never covered the event. With what started as the Khomeini regime, has over time grown into an empire equivalent to a religious dictatorship. The use of forceful power by the Iranian government to mask the events of the 1988 Massacre and the 2009 Green Movement has tarnished their reputation of being a credible regime.