Culture & Democracy Essay

My cultural ancestry comes from a Cuban and Mexican decent. I have chosen to write about my Cuban side because I can relate to them more than I could with my Mexican side. I was raised around my Cuban family and would occasionally see my Mexican side due to them living so far away. I have spent a lot more time associating with Cubans and have adapted to more of their habits.

As American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez expressed, “Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” Respecting everyone’s culture is a necessity, no matter their ethnic background, or if they stand out in society. Language, customs, food, and religion are all parts of a culture everyone possesses. All individuals have a viewpoint, a perspective of what cultures the world around them is compromised of. The culture in every human influences how they view the world around them by hiding one’s own culture, giving people biased views of others’ ethnicities, and weighing down the minority groups.

We talked about anarchy means no central authority and there is no world police force. In class we talked about anarchy and how it related to International Relations. In the real world every country feel insecure and the only way for surviving is relying on themselves; self-help. We said in class, it is difficult to trust anyone because everyone is looking for self-interest in the anarchy system. As a result, that led to security dilemma that is actions taken by countries in order to secure themselves from other countries. Increasing its military strength or making alliances, for instance. The book talked about anarchy in general and how countries such as USA, Germany, and China would interact with one another under anarchy system. On the other hand, the book talked about how diplomatic communications can lessen or inflame tensions between countries or actors as well as clarify or obscure a county’s intentions. So not only military can help you to protect yourself but also

1. Ben Franklin, pointing to the sun carved on the back of the presiding officer's chair, remarked; "Throughout the days we have been laboring here, I have observed that sun, and wondered whether it was a rising sun or a setting sun. Now I know it was a rising sun."1 Throughout our lives we have been told of how our country was formed. I am here to tell you about the things the history books and teachers don’t tell you about the freemasons and there shaping of the United States of America. We will start with freemasons an agency that has been shaping history since the building of King Solomon’s temple.

Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field, yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, “ culture was expressed through the medium of language but was not reducible to it;

Russia has many cultural characteristics that have shaped the country we know today. A nation 's culture can define its actions and make them more predictable as a state on the international level. Understanding a nation’s culture gives great insight into the motives and reasoning behind their aggression or acts of force. Factors such as geography, weather, political landscape, military, and key infrastructure provide a clear understanding of Russian culture and how it has shaped the nation over the past century.

One of the main focuses of society that advocates totalitarianism is uniformity. A society such as this works towards uniformity by oppressing its population’s individuality and promotes a standardized environment. In this environment citizens are restricted in every way of life to ensure that no one has more

The article I have chosen is called “Roadside tests for pot need to rethink before legalization, say defence lawyers”. It is written by Laura Glowacki from CBC News on April 16, 2017.

Cole Moore: I thought that Cole’s introduction was very professional and got straight to the point of what his group was discussing. The idea of combining the themes of the military, patriotism and one’s heritage was very impressive and caught my attention. Also, tying it to the themes of the red convertible was very interesting! While the presentation was amazing, I was confused as to what was the artifact. It seemed as if you talked more about general themes rather than close reading the design on the jacket. Nevertheless, you did an amazing job presenting.

In growing up in the position of the ‘other’ in society, Smith provides an empowered stance of identity exclusively through the demonstration of cultural hybridity, as evidenced by Millat and his gangster crew, the Raggastani’s. As Millat becomes increasingly connected to a swaggering identity highlighted by Western popular culture, his sense of belonging becomes established with the multicultural mix of South Asian and Caribbean teens he hangs out with: “It was a new breed, just recently joining the ranks of the other street crews. Becks, B-boys, Nation Brothers, Raggas, and Pakis; manifesting itself as a kind of cultural mongrel of the last three categories. Their ethos, their manifesto, if it could be called that, was equally a hybrid thing” (193). Here, Smith uses the Raggastani’s as a symbol representing the emerging identity of a multicultural London transformed by the migration of formerly colonized populations from South Asia and the Caribbean. Their mission, to put the “invincible back in Indian, the Bad-aaaass back in Bengali, the P-Funk back in Pakistani” (193), is about taking their identities which have been devalued in Western society and linking them together through a collective sense of approval. As a productive example of cultural hybridity taking place, they are a direct contrast with the forms of difference and racial purity that the Chalfen`s represent, and the resistance of letting go of traditions that their parents uphold. The group tries on a series

“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme” - Aristotle. This quote lays out the main idea behind Democracy. The idea that the people deserve equality and freedom. Equality in race, colour and religion, and freedom of speech, and will, unless it is against the will of the majority of the people. Democracy endeavors to achieve a balance in freedom of an individual, whilst not violating the majority's will. Democracy was developed in Ancient Greece. The word itself comes from the greek term ‘demokratia’ (‘demos - the people’ and ‘kratos - rule’. Democracy was first used in the Greek state, Athens. Athens used a direct form of Democracy, as people knew each other. Nowadays, there are an abundant amount of countries that are ruled under democracy, such as New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, and Austria.

According to a theory proposed by Hobbes, when anarchy transpires, stronger bordering governments tend to partake in warfare in order to attain more land. When strong, central governments rule, then a time of peace presides without other nations making a political grab for your own land. This is exemplified in a decrease in European wars once the states developed a centralized government. Furthermore, in areas such as the Middle East where weak central governments rule, there tends to be political unrest, civil wars, and fighting amongst the nations.

Living as a Messianic Jew in America presents a threefold problem with culture. In many ways, I have my feet in three, dare one say four, differing cultures that are always fighting against each other. The first is an American culture which is moving more towards an atheistic culture and wants to bury its need for G-d under many differing ideas where a one person thinks they can make a difference by doing something of no value. The second culture is a Christian sub-culture. Christianity which has been the dominate religion for so long that many will think that being American makes one a Christian and thereby loses it value of meaning and salvation. Christianity second part of culture is the attempt to take over the culture and accepting it into the church service because many Christians feel a desperate need to be relevant. The third is a Jewish sub-culture. While Jews make up about 2% of the population and the religious jews make up less than a a fifth of Jews in America. Yet, the bonds to synagogue are closer to the Jewish

What does cultural identity have to do with me? Well it basically has to do with what you love doing and how you feel about things. Cultural identity is the identity of feeling a person’s self-conception. The things that I like to do are play soccer with my family and friends, listen to music when I am angry or sad, I also love to draw pictures that pop into my mind when I see something gorgeous, cooking food is my favorite thing to do for my family and some of my other relatives, and taking care of animals that can’t take care of themselves. Those all make up my happy, loving, and fun side that I have in me.

I believe that schools have hidden cultural agendas, stemming from their policy makers collective cultural backgrounds, which controls what curricula is used, and how knowledge is taught within the system. I further believe that not all students fit the cultural mold defined by our schools, and that those students that find themselves outside the established "norm" cannot fully benefit from their school experiences.