Analysing The Age Of Global Tribes Philosophy Essay

Analysing The Age Of Global Tribes Philosophy Essay In The age of global tribes, Amin Maalouf presents two themes; religion as the main identifier in now a days and globalization. He discusses these in parallel, demonstrating how they affect and shape one another. He approaches the issue of religion by attempting to analyze how it came to be that specific aspect of identity that everyone seems to be holding on to presently through a series of questions resonating around the source or reason for this global drive back to religion. He provides some probable answers attributing this phenomenon, as he calls it, for example to the fall of Communism and Marxism and how their goal of obliterating religion back fired, hence making religion the sole refuge for the oppressed. The authors position is clear through out this chapter, for although, hes personally not against religious affiliation and he believes that religion is always going to be a present factor no matter how dynamic the equation of life got, he still stands against religious affiliation being the primary or sole form of identification and declares that we are in a need for an other aspect of association He calls upon a separation of church and identity and states that if religious affiliation were to be replaced, it ought to be with something more humane and not the opposite. When addressing the issue of globalization, Maalouf describes its power of propagation and how in the face of such a strong phenomenon, religion is being chosen as the shield and sought as a refuge since it seems to be comforting and fulfilling both urging needs of spirituality and identity. This is a very interesting chapter from his book, as it discusses an extremely real and present phenomena, the battle between identity and globalization. One could take such a dilemma lightly dismissing it as a natural reaction to change, but what one must realize is that like any battle ever fought, its the lessons that one learns while fighting that are more valuable than the outcome itself. We, as individuals should be concerned about this ongoing conflict, one that we are involved in without even being aware of. We take it for granted that we know who we are and where we stand but when faced with a crisis, things shift drastically and we surprisingly find ourselves on sides we might not have known even existed. Thats what this excerpt invoked in me, while reading it, especially when the author presents the idea of how one is in fact closer to his contemporaries than to his ancestors, elaborating this through the two types of heritages that he calls vertical and horizontal. Our ho rizontal heritages seem to affect us more than we realize, this is something to seriously reflect upon and understand since we do by habit or denial tend to hold ourselves in regards primarily if not solely of the verticals level point of view. For this battle to end, we all should find a way to mingle these two phases of our heritages within us in order to achieve inner peace. This should be taken on an individual level; every part should heal itself in order for the whole to be able to achieve harmony. Globalization like any other phenomenon is a medium; it has both good and bad in it. Why do we take it as a habit to scorn upon the objects, means or mediums rather than the persons who use them to do bad? These mediums are not bad or good by nature but they hold the potentiality of being one or the other, depending on whos using them. They are in a state of neutrality until used, and hence the outcome if bad should therefore be attributed to the person and not vice versa. The author in this chapter tries to show the potential good that globalization can bring in that it can in fact help direct the worlds attention to a global identity. The only aspect that we all should hold as primary of our identities, is our humanity, thats the type of lineage that we should strongly identify with, thats what we all have in common , thats what we all are no matter what . Admitting that common bond will in no way make us less of the individuals that we are. How did union come to mean loss? Why is it ok to belong to a certain group but suddenly its threatening if its on a universal level? On the contrary, I find it personally to be inspiring and strengthening to belong to such a universal lineage, especially one that is as certain and as real as humanity. Because coming to think of it, anything else in the world is taken now a days by words or actions, making it a complex and unstable foundation for intentions and motives are involved and one can never manage to know these for sure but humanity is the only aspect of ourselves that is undisputed; one cannot pretend to be a human being! Of course, history is full of examples of certain characters that lacked humanity in them as shown by their actions and thoughts but these I insist remain an exception. I find myself standing on Maaloufs side in his call for a universal identity , one that we all belong to by the virtue of our humanity and through which we all enjoy our fundamental rights and one in which our dignity is revered and preserved. For universality cannot exist without such concepts. Human dignity should be maintained above all. Unfortunately, realistically speaking we stand in a world very far from achieving this view any time soon whether it is due to political systems, materialistic notions or simply apathy , I honestly dont know. But I do hold conviction to one thing and that is in order for us to embody such a vision, we will have to start with ourselves first, this has to be fought on an individual level and once weve all dealt with it ,well realize that the battle is already won.

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 24

No peck on the lips was going to satisfy Damon, Elena thought. On the other hand, Matt was going to need outright seduction before he would give in. Fortunately Elena had broken the Matt Honeycutt code long ago. And she planned to be remorseless in using what she had learned on his weakened, susceptible body. But Matt could be far too stubborn for his own good. He allowed Elena to put her soft lips against his, he allowed her to put her arms around him. But when Elena tried to do some of the things he liked most – like running her nails down his spine, or touching her tongue tip lightly to his closed lips – he clamped his teeth shut. He wouldn't put an arm around her. Elena let go of him and sighed. Then she felt a crawling sensation between her shoulder blades, as if she were being watched but a hundred times stronger. She glanced back to see Damon standing at a distance with his Virginia pine rod, but she couldn't find anything unusual. She glanced back once more – and had to cram a fist into her mouth. Damon wasthere ; right behind her; so close that you couldn't have gotten two fingers between the front of her body and the front of his. She didn't know why her arm hadn't hit him. Her whirl actually trapped her in between two male bodies. But how had he done it? There had been no time to travel the distance of the clearing from where Damon had been standing to one inch behind her in the second that she had glanced away. Nor had there been any sound as he'd walked across the pine needles toward them; like the Ferrari, he was just – there. Elena swallowed the scream that was desperately trying to get out of her lungs, and tried to breathe. Her own body was rigid with fear. Matt was trembling slightly behind her. Damon was leaning in, and all she could smell was the sweetness of pine resin. Something's wrong with him. Something's wrong. â€Å"You know what,† Damon said, leaning forward even farther so that she had to lean backward against Matt, so that, even spooned against Matt's shaking body, she was looking straight into the Ray-Bans from a distance of three inches. â€Å"That gets you a grade of a D minus.† Now Elena was shaking as well as Matt. But she had to get a grip on herself, had to meet this aggression head-on. The more passive she and Matt were, the more time Damon had to think. Elena's mind was in feverish scheming mode. He may not be reading our minds, she thought, but he can certainly tell if we're telling the truth or lying. That's normal for a vampire who drinks human blood. What can we make of that? What can we do with it? â€Å"That was a greeting kiss,† she said boldly. â€Å"It's to identify the person that you're meeting, so you'll always know them afterwards. Even – even prairie hamsters do it. Now – please – could we move just a little, Damon? I'm getting crushed.† And this is just much too provocative a position, she thought. For everybody involved. â€Å"One more chance,† Damon said, and this time he didn't smile. â€Å"I want to see a kiss – a real kiss – between you. Or else.† Elena twisted in the tight space. Her eyes searched Matt's. They had, after all, been boyfriend and girlfriend for quite a while last year. Elena saw the look in Matt's blue eyes: hewanted to kiss her, as much as he could want anything after that pain. And he realized that she'd had to go through all that fancy footwork to save him from Damon. Somehow, we'll get out, Elena thought to him. Now, will you cooperate? Some boys didn't have buttons in the selfish sensations area of their brain. Some, like Matt, had buttons labeledHONOR or GUILT . Now Matt held still as she took his face between her hands, tilting it down and going up on her toes to kiss him, because he'd grown so much. She thought of their first real kiss, in his car on the way home from a minor school dance. He'd been terrified, his hands damp, his whole interior quaking. She'd been cool, experienced, gentle. And so she was now, drawing a warm tongue tip to melt his frozen lips apart. And just in case Damon was eavesdropping on her thoughts, she kept them strictly on Matt, on his sunshiny looks and his warm friendship and on the gallantry and courtesy that he had always shown to her, even when she broke up with him. She wasn't aware when his arms went around her shoulders or when he took control of the kiss, like a person dying of thirst who's finally found water. She could see it clearly in his mind: he'd never thought he'd kiss Elena Gilbert like this again. Elena didn't know how long it lasted. Finally she unwound her arms from around Matt's neck and stepped back. And then she realized something. It was no accident that Damon had sounded like a film director. He was holding up a palm-sized video camera, staring into the viewfinder. He'd captured the whole thing. With Elena clearly visible. She had no idea what had happened to the disguising baseball cap and dark glasses. Her hair was disordered and her breathing came quickly, involuntarily. The blood had risen to the surface of her skin. Matt didn't look much more together than she felt. Damon looked up from the viewfinder. â€Å"What do you want that for?† Matt growled in tones completely unlike his normal voice. The kiss had affected him, too, Elena thought. More so than her. Damon picked up his branch again and again waved the end of it like a Japanese fan. Pine aroma wafted by Elena. He looked considering, as though he might ask for a retake, then changed his mind, smiled brilliantly at them, and tucked the video camera into a pocket. â€Å"All you need to know is that it was a perfect take.† â€Å"Then we're leaving.† The kiss seemed to have given Matt new strength, even if it was for saying the wrong type of things. â€Å"Right now.† â€Å"Oh, no, but keep that dominant, aggressive attitude. As you remove her shirt.† â€Å"What?† Damon repeated the words in the tones of a director giving an actor complicated instructions. â€Å"Undo the buttons of her shirt, please, and take it off.† â€Å"You'recrazy .† Matt turned and looked at Elena, stopped aghast to see the expression on her face, the single tear running down the eye not hidden. â€Å"Elena†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He moved around, but she moved too. He couldn't get her to look him in the face. At last, she stopped, stood with her eyes down and leaking tears. He couldfeel the heat radiating from her cheeks. â€Å"Elena, let's fight him. Don't you remember how you fought the bad things in Stefan's room?† â€Å"But this is worse, Matt. I've never felt anything this bad before. This strong. It's – pressing on me.† â€Å"You don't mean we should give in to him†¦?†That was what Mattsaid and he sounded as if he were on the verge of being ill. What his clear blue eyes said was simpler. They said:No. Not if he kills me for refusing. â€Å"I mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena turned suddenly back to Damon. â€Å"Let him go,† she said. â€Å"This is between you and me. Let's settle it ourselves.† She was damned well going to save Matt, even if he didn't want to be saved. I'll do what you want,she thought as hard as she could to Damon, hoping he would pick some of it up. After all, he'd bled her against her will – at least initially – before. She could live through him doing it again. â€Å"Yes, you'll doeverything I want,† Damon said, proving that he could read her thoughts even more clearly than she'd imagined. â€Å"But the question is, after how much?† He didn't say how much what. He didn't have to. â€Å"Now, I know I just gave you an order,† he added, half turning toward Matt but with his eyes still on Elena, â€Å"because I can still see you picturing it in your mind. But – â€Å" Elena saw the look in Matt's eyes then, and the flaming of his cheeks, and she knew – and immediately tried to hide the knowledge from Damon – what he was going to do. He was going to commit suicide. â€Å"If we can't talk you out of it, we can't talk you out of it,† Meredith said to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"But – there are things out there – â€Å" â€Å"Yes, dear, I know. And the sun is going down. It's a bad time to be outside. But as my mother always said, two witches are better than one.† She gave Bonnie an absent smile. â€Å"And as you very kindly did not say before, I am very old. Why, I can remember the days before the first motorcars and airplanes. I might have knowledge that would help you in your quest for your friends – and on the other hand, I am dispensable.† â€Å"You certainly are not,† Bonnie said fervently. They were using up Elena's wardrobe now, piling on the clothes. Meredith had picked up the duffel bag with Stefan's clothes in it and dumped it on his bed, but the first time she picked up a shirt, she dropped it again. â€Å"Bonnie, you might take something of Stefan's with you as we go,† she said. â€Å"See if you get any impressions from it. Um, maybe you too, Mrs. Flowers?† she added. Bonnie understood. It was one thing to let somebody call themselves a witch; it was another thing to call someone very much your senior one. The last layer of Bonnie's wardrobe was one of Stefan's shirts, and Mrs. Flowers tucked one of his socks in her pocket. â€Å"But I won't go out the front door,† Bonnie said adamantly. She couldn't even bear to imagine the mess. â€Å"All right, so we go out the back,† Meredith said, flipping Stefan's lamp off. â€Å"Come on.† They were actually walking out the back door when the front doorbell rang. They all three exchanged glances. Then Meredith wheeled, â€Å"It could be them!† And she hastened back to the dim front of the house. Bonnie and Mrs. Flowers followed more slowly. Bonnie shut her eyes as she heard the door open. When there were no immediate exclamations about the mess, she opened them a slit. There was no sign that anything unusual had happened outside the door. No smashed insect bodies – no dead or dying bugs on the front porch. Hairs on the back of Bonnie's neck rose. Not that she wanted to see the malach. But she did want to know what had happened to them. Automatically, one hand went to her hair, to feel if a tendril had been left behind. Nothing. â€Å"I'm looking for Matthew Honeycutt.† The voice cut into Bonnie's reverie like a hot knife through butter, and Bonnie's eyes snapped all the way open. Yes, it was Sheriff Rich Mooseburger and he was all there, from shiny boots to crisp collar. Bonnie opened her mouth, but Meredith spoke first. â€Å"This is not Matt's house,† she said, her tone quiet, her voice even. â€Å"In fact I have already been to the Honeycutt house. And to the Sulez house and the McCulloughs'. Every one of them, in fact, suggested that if Matt weren't at one of those places, he might be out here with you.† Bonnie wanted to kick him in the shins. â€Å"Matt hasn't been stealing stop signs! He would never, ever,ever do something like that. And I wish to God I knew where he was, but I don't. None of us do!† She stopped, with the feeling that she might have said too much. â€Å"And your names are?† Mrs. Flowers took over. â€Å"This is Bonnie McCullough, and Meredith Sulez. I am Mrs. Flowers, the owner of this boardinghouse, and I believe I can second Bonnie's remarks about the stop signs – â€Å" â€Å"In fact this is more serious than missing road signs, ma'am. Matthew Honeycutt is under suspicion of assaulting a young woman. There is considerable physical evidence to support her story. And she claims that they have known each other since childhood, so there can be no mistake as to identity.† There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Bonnie almost shouted, â€Å"She? Shewho ?† â€Å"Miss Caroline Forbes is the complainant. And I would in fact suggest, if any of the three of you should happen to see Mr. Honeycutt, that you advise him to turn himself in. Before he is taken by force into custody.† He took a step toward them as if threatening to come through the door, but Mrs. Flowers silently barred the way. â€Å"In fact,† Meredith said, regaining her composure, â€Å"I'm sure you realize that you need a warrant to enter these premises. Do you have one?† Sheriff Mossberg didn't answer. He made a sharp little right turn, walked down the pathway to his sheriff's car, and disappeared.

Linguistics for Elementary Teachers Essay

After reading the first and second chapters, in How Linguistics are Learned, I am interested by what Lightbown and Spada (2006) argued. The authors claimed that â€Å"The development of bilingual or second language learning is of enormous importance† (p. 25). They argued also that acquisition of more than one language in our new global world is rewarding for bilingual individuals socially and economically. The authors stated that most children nowadays are exposed to more than one language during their early childhood and schooling time. Some may learn two languages at the same time ‘simultaneous bilinguals’ while others may learn the other language later ‘sequential bilinguals’. There are situations where children are cut off their family language while they are very young. They may stop speaking their family language. This might represent a reason for concern. Researchers have recently devoted a considerable amount of their time and energy to investigate children’s abilities to learn more than one language at early age. The goal is to help students to learn a second language at early age and facilitate that for teachers and educators. This subject matter is interesting and challenging to me personally because it is connected to my experiences as a teacher and principal of multicultural schools environment with language learning /acquisition and education. My first language is Arabic; English is my second language. I started learning English while I was at Middle school; I was 12 years old. I have been all my life in education. I worked a teacher and principal. I worked in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Canada and the US. I have worked with students from different countries speaking different languages in multicultural schools environment. My current school is Annoor Islamic School (AIS) in Wichita, KS. It is a private school, Pre-K through 8th grade. Students enrolled are 157 from 20 countries and 90 % of them are bilingual or trilingual. Students speak more than five different languages at their homes in addition to English. Due to the fact that our school is an Islamic school all our students are Muslims. AIS provides higher quality of education for students. They learn, in addition to public schools’ curriculum: Al-Quran al-Kareem, Islamic Studies and Arabic Language. Teaching Arabic for the non-native Arabic speaking makes them trilingual. It may look difficult for students, but in reality they want to be able to read Al-Quran. Al-Ksareem. They are highly motivated to learn more about their religion and read Al-Quran Al-Kareem in the Arabic Language. Based on my experience and observations all these years as a teacher and principal, I found that my bilingual students have higher academic results compared to their non-bilingual counterparts. The same conclusion was confirmed by developmental psychologists’ research as Lightbown and Spada (2006) stated. I also found that bilingual students’ skills are transferrable. The skills and knowledge that bilingual students know through their first language are transferrable. They can present these skills knowledge in their new second language easily. At my current school AIS, students startlearning anther language at age 3-4 years old. I found it is important to start young students learning a language other than their own from at an early age. That’s when they pick up a language the fastest. It is important because we need to know more about other nations’ cultures and history to improve world relations.

Your Writing Style Essay - 1536 Words

Your Writing Style How can one person know what good style is when writing a paper? Where is it written that we as students should have to follow specific guidelines while writing? Anyone wanting to make their writing clear, precise, and simply correct will usually try following some type of guideline, or book in order to perfect their own writing style. After reading both The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and also Williams’s Style toward Clarity and Grace I can see why teachers discuss these books as tools for correcting and perfecting their students writing, and style. While at the same time understand someone out of the classroom setting, brushes up on their skills in writing with these books before they†¦show more content†¦Instead of calling these books rule books they should be called suggestive writing tip books. Whereas, before someone thought if they did not follow the rule they were breaking it, now they can feel they are simply choosing to ignore some advice tha t may or may not have been helpful to them. This helps them to understand that not every time they â€Å"break† a rule is wrong, sometimes choosing to ignore the advice can have positive effects on their writing. Strunk and White, and Williams use very different approaches when addressing the issue of style. Strunk and White, apply more of a straight forward approach strictly telling the reader to follow their rules word for word. Although, many students and teachers believe it is a mystery why they choose the rules in style that they put into their book. Are these places where students have the most trouble with their style, and diction? If not, then are they the pet peeves of an overtly critical no-nonsense teacher? 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