Persuasive Essay On Refugees - 1096 Words

To be defined as a refugee you would have been a person who was forced to leave your country in order to escape war. Every needs help in their own way. I might need help on some homework that I am having trouble with, but refugees are truly in desperate need for help. They are having a rough time in their own country maybe because of war. They are forced to leave to country if the want to be safe. They will life so they can continue to have their life and make it a good one. To be called a refugee is the opposite of an insult; it is a badge of strength , courage, and victory. This quote was from the Tennessee Official For Refugees. This is a good quote because if you were able to make it out of the country that poses a threat to their†¦show more content†¦Since that, the number of Syrian refugees that need help is way too high. The refugees need somewhere to go and need somewhere to stay. They are struggling to stay alive because there is so much war going on and there donâ €™t have anywhere to go. Refugees need to flee from their home country because it is no longer safe and is filled with war. The refugees need help because they aren’t able to have or get some of essential living needs as a matter of fact lets take water for instance. They might not live by a clean water source. They might have lived by a water source, but it was damaged by drought or because of the war. We need clean water to live and not become sick. I get that we want to protect our country from attacks, but not all refugees want to commit a terrorist attack on our country. As a matter of fact a coffee shop is opened and all the workers are refugees. This gives refugees an opportunity to work and make a living. This allows refugees to come to the U.S. because they needed our help and once they come into the U.S. they are able to make a living and so there are able to afford a lifestyle. Refugees need someone to help protect them when they can not do it themselves. We can be that person the can protect the refugees from war. TheyShow MoreRelatedRefugees Persuasive Essay1220 Words   |  5 PagesRefugees should be allowed into the United States under certain conditions only, including a positive background, Eligible for a job and will respect our nation as well as the people in it. Just imagine that your little town is being attacked or even a natural disaster may be occurring and having nowhere to go, what would you do? How would you survive? By the US starting to turn away refugees thousands of peoples lives are being taken away when we could easily be helping them out by taking themRead MorePersuasive Essay On Refugees1331 Words   |  6 PagesAlone? Scared? And very worried. That would be hard wouldnt it. Would you want a home? Mr. Trump has been a target for many people involving refugees and the people coming into our country. So many people in our country ta lk about this issue everyday about letting people into our country and the decisions are very split. The United States should accept refugees under the following conditions, if they have a clean criminal record, if they are children and if they have a plan for a job. Because if theyRead MorePersuasive Essay On Refugees973 Words   |  4 Pagesethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries. When people flee their own country, and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum – the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. An asylum seeker must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is well-founded. More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, the conflict in Syria continuesRead MorePersuasive Essay On Accepting Refugees1503 Words   |  7 PagesThis is what the debate of welcoming refugees is over. The situation for these refugees back home (in the Middle East) is absolutely horrible, with no place to go, and no idea what is next. With the wars, persecution, and natural disasters that propel them to leave, people want to welcome them into our country. But even though we want to welcome them, we have to hold up on our actions and think about this a bit. We do have a screening process for these refugees, and this is where we check their applicationsRead MoreThe Syrian Refugee Crisis869 Words   |  4 Pagesgrowth of a person, but in a much more metaphysical fashion. To give an example, throughout this performance task, I have evolved as a writer, student, and team member. This is clearly exemplified through the steps my team and I took to complete this essay. We began with plainly discussing all of my members’ ideas, eventually deciding our top three topic choices. Finally, we chose the Syrian refugee crisis as our paper’s topic. From there, we decided that the whole crisis was too broad and I alreadyRead MoreMy Journey Through Writer’S Composition Has Been A Rocky1213 Words   |  5 Pagesbut from these experiences I have grown as a writer overall. The essays I have written for this course demonstrate that I have developed critical thinking and have shown minor improvements in my communication skills. They also demonstrate that though I have made some progress in personal responsibility and general writing skills, I still have work to do. From Writer’s Composition Two, I have developed an understanding of persuasive writing, and I now am able to pick a topic or a claim and argue itRead MoreThe Syrian Refugee And Migration Crisis1423 Words   |  6 Pagestheoretical perspectives or paradigms: realist, liberal -pluralist and critical† (Goldstein et al., 4) This essay will examine two of the three main theoretical perspectives explained in Goldstein et al.’s academic textbook; namely, realist and liberal-pluralist and subsequently match them with the viewpoints expressed in two news articles written on the Syrian refugee and migration crisis. This essay will analyze the article by Canadian Press for the Huffington Post and the article by Patrick KingsleyRead MoreLogical Fallacies. Logical Fallacies Can Be Found In Many1288 Words   |  6 PagesPost Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc. The Slippery Slope relies on the faulty conclusion that a small change â€Å"will inevitably lead to large changes that are widely recognized as undesirable† (Gunderman). A Slippery Slope example is: if we let in more Syrian refugees we will inevitably let in many terrorists and then American will fall under terrorist control. Another illegitimate argument Logical Fallacy is the Hasty Generalization. This fallacy relies on â€Å"insufficient or biased inf ormation† the conclusion isRead MoreEssay1797 Words   |  8 Pagesyear 2014 can be recognized as the beginning of the migrant crisis in Europe when thousands of immigrants crossed European borders (Metcalfe-Hough, 2015). Also during last few years, many far-right-parties in Europe has been successful. While some persuasive explanations are used to explain that growing support for far-right parties, with growing migration problems, some atypical country units drew my attention. In my work, I focus on country units (states, and constituencies) with a small number ofRead MoreThreats to Bioreserves4807 Words   |  20 PagesAbstract Eight global crises – human economy, climate change, exponential human population growth, ecological overshoot, biotic impoverishment and the reduction of biodiversity, renewable resource depletion, energy allocation, and environmental refugees – affect each other and affect and are affected by the biosphere. Some, perhaps all, are close to tipping points that, if tipped, will result in irreversible change. And yet, no sense of urgency is apparent. If any one of the eight interactive crises

Alexander the Great His Influence on Future military...

Great men have lived on the face of the earth and left marks of their prowess and legacy that men of the present and even the future find it hard to emulate; a good example of such men is Alexander the Great. This paper seeks to explain further Alexander’s military genius and its positive impact on military impact over the past centuries. The paper also gives a well thought analysis why Alexander was so much successful in his wars and conquests. His big empire spread all the way from Gibraltar to the Punjab and in his leadership made Greek the lingua franca of his new World (Cary, M, 1932). His real name was Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon; he was also known as Alexander III but many have referred him as Alexander the Great in praise†¦show more content†¦Alexander went to Corinth for the assembly of the Greek league and was named the supreme commander of all Greece. At that time the Thebans’ revolted; he destroyed everything in their city except the temples. This served as a reminder to the other communities and tribes in Macedonia respected and honored Alexander. He proceeded to conquer the Asia Minor, and used his knowledge to plan and organize the army. During the Persian expedition Alexander had in his army more than 100 000 but only a few fought. Alexander honored veterans; he left them in charge of cities. He was a military genius and could change his army within seconds and used to make decisions as fast as possible. He could even change his plan of action if the enemy changed plans. To him it was not about numbers but leadership and plan in battle. The first commander to have backup reserves was Alexander; this affected the way wars were staged and fought in the coming years. Alexander defeated the Persians; he was an unwavering fighter and fought with his soldiers. He conquered the Phoenician coast, Syria and Egypt (Louis, W. R, 1984). The battle of his life was when he crossed over to India near the Indus River. Despite the terrain Alexander’s leadership in the army produced victory and India became a part of Macedonian Dynasty. During Alexander’s tenure as the king of the empire he respected other people’s traditions and culture although this saw theShow MoreRelatedAlexander The Great s Influence On The Persian Empire1453 Words   |  6 PagesAlexander the Great, he is one the most glorified and historically significant leaders within history. Unique, the one word that could be used to describe the details and importance of his life. Unlike his predecessors that came before him, what sets him apart has to be how he rose to power and how he used that power. And even though he only lived until the age of 33, he accomplished what those that came before him failed to do so. The topics to be discussed are how he rose to power and what he managedRead MoreThe Death Of Marshal De Saxe956 Words   |   4 Pagesexposed to the military lifestyle of his time at a very young age, which would be a major contributor to his future success. He would eventually serve under and study with such greats as Alexander the Great and then be hired to serve in the French Army. This would lead him to earn the title of â€Å"Marshal-General of the Kings camps and armies† while serving under the French. He died in 1750 of â€Å"putrid fever†, which is a very un-glorified death compared to a death on a battlefield. Over his life he wouldRead MoreGenghis Khan And The Mongol Empire Essay1578 Words   |  7 PagesGenghis Khan and his successors during the 13th and 14th centuries (between the years 1206-1368), the Mongol Empire, with a military force of unparalleled strength, succeeded in unifying large regions in order to establish new economies and create the largest contiguous land empire in history. By having a democracy similarly present within the Roman Empire and adopting a structu re comparable to the satraps of the Persian Empire, the Mongol Empire’s organized government assisted the Great Khans’ effortsRead MoreThe Reign Of Alexander The Great1141 Words   |  5 PagesAlexander the Great In 338 BC Phillip II of Macedonia, became ruler of Greece after a lengthy battle. Phillip’s plans to war against Persia were cut short when he was assassinated in 336 BC. Speculation suggest that Phillip’s previous wife, Olympias and his son Alexander may have been involved in the assassination plot. The murder had taken place after Olympias and Alexander were forced out of Macedonia once Phillip had remarried Cleopatra, who was much younger. In the wake of his father’s deathRead MoreGeneral Pete Quesada And The Triumph Of Tactical Air Power During World War II1318 Words   |  6 PagesQuesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II I would like to begin my paper with the quote by John Kennedy â€Å"learning and Leadership are indispensable to each other.†1 I think it is a great saying about leadership I have ever heard. There are many books about leadership. But if someone wants to be a good leader and if they do not have leadership abilities, character from birth, they will never be able to be a good leader. When we say leader, we have to think about people who are ableRead MoreThe Death Of Alexander, The Egyptian Pharaoh Essay1593 Words   |  7 PagesPtolemy, Alexander’s general who became the Egyptian Pharaoh following the death of Alexander, narrates the story at an old age to scribes in Egypt. Ptolemy, a primary source for many of the events in the history of Alexander, did, in fact, write down his accounts of those events. Unfortunately, those documents no longer exist. Understandably, the film does not attempt to cover all of the battles in which Alexander and his troops fought, rather it basically covers two of the major battles in spectacularRead MoreThe Death Of Alexander And The Egyptian Pharaoh Essay1579 Words    |  7 Pagesglimpse at his often-times tumultuous relationships with his mother, who insists he is the son of Zeus, and his father who exiles Alexander and his mother from the kingdom for insubordination. Ptolemy, Alexander’s general who became the Egyptian pharaoh following the death of Alexander, narrates the story at an old age to scribes in Egypt. Ptolemy was present and was a primary source for many of the events in the history of Alexander and he did, in fact, write down his accounts of those eventsRead MoreAncient Greece : A Form Government System Essay2462 Words   |  10 Pagesphilosophers and artists to thrived and be recognized as great in today’s modern civilization. What we call democracy today, is a form government system rooted from Ancient Greece. Macedonians much like their Greek neighbors shared the same traits in regards to having a ferocious attitude from a life’s perspective in general these individuals were considered to be rough. Unlike Ancient Greece, the Macedonia ancient empire lack and failed to produce great philosophers, artist, or actors whose stage worksRead MoreConventional and Irregular Warfare1484 Words   |  6 PagesGiulio D ouhet, in his seminal treatise on air power titled The Command of the Air, argued, â€Å"A man who wants to make a good instrument must first have a precise understanding of what the instrument is to be used for; and he who intends to build a good instrument of war must first ask himself what the next war will be like.† The United States (US) military establishment has been asking itself this exact question for hundreds of years, in an attempt to be better postured for the future. From the CivilRead More Edsons and Carlsons Raiders Essay2578 Words   |  11 Pagestoughest soldiers in his unit. He retired from the Army as a First Sergeant, after peacetime was called, and headed for civilian life. Carlson’s goal of combative experience was not answered in the Army, but the need for armed service would be too strong to be denied. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Carlson soon enlisted again, but this time in the Marine Corps as a private at the end of World War I where he was soon selected for Officer Candidate School. The Marine Corps recognized his small unit actions

The Psychological Effects Cults Have on People Free Essays

This paper will address the meaning of the word cult. While also touching briefly on why its difficult to describe what a cult is and how it could be compared to Christianity and Jews. I also give some examples of people who started groups/cults with the art of persuasion; Leading some of their member to even commit murders and suicide. We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychological Effects Cults Have on People or any similar topic only for you Order Now Finally by the end paper one would fully understand the roles cults play in the physiological process of a person. For many years, cult leaders always had a psychological hold on their followers’ minds. Whether it was to kill other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. Some cult leaders used fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used persuasive and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling God’s plan. Because cult leaders are powerful through psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldn’t normally do in their right state of mind. For years, there have been problems surrounding the definition of the term ‘cult’. The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult, which are more fully explored at the entry Cult (religion), come from the Latin cultus, meaning â€Å"care† or â€Å"adoration,† as â€Å"a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same. † In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means â€Å"worship† or â€Å"religious attendance†; therefore an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices. The word for â€Å"cult† in the popular English meaning is secte (French) or ecta (Spanish). In formal English use, and in non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word â€Å"cult† are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word â€Å"sect†. Hence Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are cults within Christianity. However, in common usage, â€Å"cult† has a very negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group in order to criticize it. Understandably, most groups, if not all, that are called â€Å"cults† deny this term. Some groups called â€Å"cults† by some critics may consider themselves not to be â€Å"cults†, but may consider some other groups to be â€Å"cults†. Although anti-cult activists and scholars did not agree on precise criteria that new religions should meet to be considered â€Å"cults,† two of the definitions formulated by anti-cult activists are: Cults are groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by making members comply with leadership’s demands through certain types of psychological manipulation, popularly called mind control, and through the inculcation of deep-seated anxious dependency on the group and its leaders. Cult: A group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines cult as: â€Å"a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents. Indeed, any religion involving unconditional worship and unquestioning obedience to God could be labeled as a cult (using the derogatory suggestion of the word), since such a religion would have that high level of dependency, obedience, and unwavering compliance ascribed to cults by definition. Many mainstream religions still require their members to believe in God unquestioningly, to have faith that he is good and that what he does is good, to consider one’s own wants and needs as unimportant while accepting the will of God as paramount. All of these are certainly characteristics commonly attributed to cults, but while it would not be unreasonable to apply this definition of a cult to any dogmatic religion that requires strict compliance with God’s word and will as a condition of membership, the notion of applying the word â€Å"cult† to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any other major world religion today is considered absurd. There are those who make this very claim: that those who worship God fit the classic depiction of cult members in their dogmatism, unswerving obedience, and denial of self. This highlights the problematic nature of defining what is and is not a cult. The problem with defining the word cult is that purported cult members generally resist being called a cult, and the word cult is often used to marginalize religious groups with which one does not agree or sympathize. Some serious researchers of religion and sociology prefer to use terms such as new religious movement (NRM) in their research on cults. Such usage may lead to confusion because some religious movements are â€Å"new† but not necessarily cults, and some purported cults are not religious or overtly religious. Where a cult practices physical or mental abuse, some psychologists and other mental health professionals use the terms cult, abusive cult, or destructive cult. The popular press also commonly uses these terms. However, not all cults function abusively or destructively, and among those that psychologists believe are abusive, few members would agree that they suffer abuse. Other researchers hold the view that classifying a religious movement as a cult is generally used as a subjective and negative label and has no added value; instead, they argue that one should investigate the beliefs and practices of the religious movement. The field of cults and new religious movements is studied by sociologists, religious scholars, and psychologists and psychiatrists. The debates about a certain purported cult and cults in general are often polarized with widely divergent opinions, not only among current followers of a purported cult and disaffected former members, but sometimes even among scholars and social scientists. Psychologists, among them those specialized in group psychology, studied what cognitive and emotional traits make people accept to join a cult and to stay loyal to it. Some groups, particularly those labeled by others as cults, view the designation as insensitive, and feel persecuted by their opponents whom they often believe to be part of the â€Å"anti-cult movement†. Such groups often defend their position by comparing themselves to more established, mainstream religious groups such as Catholicism and Judaism. The argument offered in this case can usually be simplified as, â€Å"Christianity and Judaism can also be defined as cults under some definitions of the term, and therefore the term cult is superfluous and useless. Members of groups referred to as cults have been known to engage in long discussions over the definition of the word â€Å"cult. † Critics of alleged cult groups state that by doing so, these persons have been known to waste large amounts of time and effort that would be better spent examining the actions of the groups in question, in order to reveal why these groups are referred to as cults. Another problem with writing about cults comes about because they generally hold belief systems that give answers to questions about the meaning of life and morality. This makes it difficult not to write in biased terms about a certain cult, because writers are rarely neutral about these questions. Some writers who deal with the subject choose to explicitly state their ethical values and belief systems to deal with this difficulty. For many scholars and professional commentators, the usage of the word â€Å"cult† applies to abusive behavior, and not to a belief system. For members of competing religions, use of the word remains pejorative and applies primarily to rival beliefs, and only incidentally to behavior. In the sociology of religion, the term cult is a part of the subdivision of religious groups into sects, cults, and denominations. In these terms, it is a neutral term, referring to a religious movement with novel beliefs and a high degree of tension with the surrounding society. Cults, in this sense, may or may not be dangerous, abusive, etc. By this definition, most of the groups which have been popularly labeled cults are indeed cults. In some cults people don’t join them, they are recruited by the cults. Philip Zimbardo explains, â€Å"People join interesting groups that promise to fulfill their pressing needs. They become cults when they are seen as deceptive, defective, dangerous, or as opposing basic values of their society† (Zimbardo 212). The fact is, the recruitment techniques that cults employ are quite effective. Cults obviously want to be successful, so they seek to recruit the most capable people who can effectively serve them. Many cult members are doctors, lawyers, professors, and high profile celebrities responsible citizens. This is why some cults have survived for decades and functioned efficiently despite a high turnover rate, public disapproval and angry parents. People often believe cult members must have been neglected by their families. But this conclusion is in sharp contrast to the actions taken by many concerned families who will devote their money and time in intervention efforts to bring their children out of such groups and home again. Zimbardo urges people not to stereotype cult members. Rather than asking â€Å"What kind of people join cults? he suggests we should instead ask, â€Å"What was so appealing about this group that so many people were recruited/seduced into joining it voluntarily? What needs did the group fulfill that were not met by ‘traditional society? ‘† (Zimbardo 126). It is also important to note that cults make many promises to potential recruits in the initial phases of induction–it is often not until months or years later that the recruit reali zes that these promises were ploys to gain their compliance. However, by that time, the member is already submerged in the group and likely in submission to and under the undue influence of its leadership. Since at least the 1940s, the approach of orthodox or conservative or fundamentalist Christians was to apply the meaning of cult such that it included those religious groups who used (possibly exclusively) non-standard translations of the Bible, put additional revelation on a similar or higher level than the Bible or had practices deviant from those of traditional Christianity. These unorthodox groups can be rather large or small. Understandably, these groups deny that they are cults. By 1967, Charles Manson had spent most of his adult life in jail, mostly for such offenses as car theft and credit card fraud. He also worked some time as a pimp. He gathered a group of followers, which he referred to as the Family, a group bound together by fanatical loyalty to Manson, and an abolishment of all moral precepts. He soon afterwards moved to Los Angeles, at first basing himself and the Family in Pacific Palisades and then taking over an unused ranch in the western San Fernando Valley formerly used to make western movies, the Spahn Ranch. Inspired by the Beatles song â€Å"Helter Skelter† and other songs off the White Album he became convinced of an impending race war and nuclear attack, based on Biblical prophecy in the Book of Revelation. He implied to his followers that he was Jesus Christ, saying he had died before, some 2000 years ago. However when asked directly in court he said, â€Å"I may have implied on several occasions to several different people that I may have been Jesus Christ, but I haven’t decided yet what I am or who I am. (Bugliosi 341) Around the time the family was formed, he is said to have begun calling himself by a slightly different name, Charles Milles Manson (his real name was â€Å"Charles Willis Manson†), allegedly because it could be read symbolically as â€Å"Charles Will Is Man’s Son†. Although only a few members of the Family came to national attention, the Family itself seems to have been quite a significant size, estimates of up to 100 people (of v arying degrees of involvement) associated with the Family have been quoted beyond the â€Å"hard core† of around 30. On the night of August 9, 1969, Manson directed some members of the Family to commit murder. These were Charles â€Å"Tex† Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins, at or around midnight entered the home of actress Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, who was eight months pregnant, and murdered her along with friend, Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring, and house guests Abigail Folger, the coffee heiress, and her lover Voytek Frykowski. Before entering the house, they had shot to death Steven Parent, an 18 year old youth who was leaving the property and had unwittingly seen the intruders. Linda Kasabian was the look-out and driver, and later received immunity for submitting evidence against the group. She told Manson, â€Å"I’m not like you, I can’t kill anybody†(Bugliosi 312) and evinced shock and horror at finally seeing the pictures of the killings in court. The victims had been stabbed ferociously many dozens of times, and words were left on the walls in their blood. The following night in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California, businessman Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary LaBianca were also murdered in their home, once again by members of the Family. On this occasion, Manson apparently went along to â€Å"show them how to do it† with less tumult, and pacified the victims, tying them up before returning to the car to tell his followers to commit the murders. There was no apparent connection between the victims of the murders, but the crimes were prosecuted by Los Angeles assistant district attorney Vincent Bugliosi in a single trial. Members of the Manson Family had previously been responsible for the murder of Gary Hinman, a music teacher, in Topanga and were suspected of other murders. They claimed a total of some 35 killings, not counting those after the trial, of which several were considered likely or plausible, but were not tried on most of these either for lack of evidence, or because the perpetrators were already sentenced to life for the Tate/La Bianca killings. It begins with the Beatles, and with the Beatles’ celebrated White Album that came out in 1968. In it, while tripping on acid, Manson heard the message that put it all together for him. There would be a war between blacks and whites; whites would lose. Manson and his followers would hide out in the desert when the slaughter took place. When it was over they would emerge from their hiding places and somehow convince the blacks that they should be made the leaders of this new world. He got all this not just from the Beatles but also from the Bible. Perhaps his most fascinating connection was to put side by side the Beatles song â€Å"Revolution 9† with Revelations 9 from the Bible. Revelations, the final book of the New Testament, has always been the favorite of mystics because its wild apocalyptic imagery is so bluntly addressed not to the literal but to symbolic consciousness. For those who read scripture not as a moral code of social behavior nor as a literal history book but as a symbolic rendering of a reality out of time and out of mind, the book of Revelations is the proof text. In the book Helter Skelter, Susan Atkins is quoted in saying â€Å"The whole thing was done to instill fear in the establishment and cause paranoia. Also to show the black man how to takeover the white man. † When asked to describe the start of Helter Skelter, she defined it as â€Å"The last war on the face of the earth. It would be all the wars that have ever been fought built one on top of the other†(293). To Manson, Judgment Day, Armageddon, and Helter Skelter were one and the same, a racial holocaust which would see the black man emerge triumphant. David Berkowitz became known as the ‘Son of Sam’ after taunting letters from him to police investigating the case were published in newspapers. At a court in Brooklyn, New York, Berkowitz admitted all the killings which in 1977 had residents of three New York boroughs living in fear. He also admitted wounding seven people before he was arrested in August 1977. Berkowitz, who acquired his proficiency with guns through a three-year stint in the US army, said he had no motive other than â€Å"excitement† for carrying out the shootings. However, the Son of Sam nickname was adopted after Berkowitz used the term to describe himself in an anonymous letter to police in April 1977. The first killing attributed to Son of Sam occurred in July 1976 when 18-year-old Donna Lauria was shot as she sat in a car with a friend in the Bronx district of New York. However police did not realize there was a serial killer on the loose until another two people had been murdered and several more injured. The link was not made until March 1977 when it was found the gun used to kill Ms Lauria had also been used in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Virginia Voskerichian. The press initially dubbed Berkowitz â€Å"the . 44 Killer† after the calibre of gun he used. â€Å"Unlike a number of other high profile criminals, Berkowitz kept to him self†(Terry xiv) He was eventually captured after being linked to the scene of the final killing through a parking ticket issued when he left his car parked illegally. Berkowitz quickly confessed and claimed he was ordered to kill by a neighbor’s dog. He also admitted to being behind the unsolved stabbings of several women, all of whom survived. In June 1978 David Berkowitz was sentenced to 365 years in jail. Over the years Berkowitz has hinted he did not work alone. Conspiracy theorists believe Berkowitz was part of a satanic cult and that others were involved in the shootings. â€Å"The group’s main goals were power, greed and terrorism. It is the embodiment of organized evil†(Terry xii). They also believe that the members in this satanic cult did not also work with Berkowitz, but also worked with Charles Manson and had been part of ‘the Family. The Peoples Temple was a cult that is best known for a mass suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978. The Temple was founded in 1953, at Indianapolis, Indiana, by Reverend Jim Jones. In Indianapolis, and at the California cities of Ukiah, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where Jones extended new branches of his church, they earned a good reputation for aiding the cities’ poorest citizens, especially racial minorities, drug addicts, and the homeless. Soup kitchens, daycare centers, and medical clinics for elderly people were set up, along with counseling programs for prostitutes and drug addicts who wanted to change their lives. Then disturbing accounts began to spring up, told by a few people who had succeeded in leaving the cult. â€Å"Jones has a power that operates on fear, guilt and extreme fatigue. While we were in it we did many strange things. We signed over all of our property. We wrote and signed false, self-incriminating statements. We had to admit that we were homosexuals and that we molested our children. We had to participate in painful punishments for such minor things as forgetting to call Jones â€Å"Father,† forgetting to pay a bill, or for giving a piece of candy to a child. Some of the punishments were beatings, humiliations and medications that made people appear to die (later to be resurrected by Jones). The beatings were intensely brutal. Many times the beatings would be done on children four and five years old. The board they used was three-quarter of an inch thick and about two and a half feet long. Children were beaten the number of times decided by Pastor Jones, often as many as 150 times. During the beating, Jim Jones would demand that a microphone be held to the child’s mouth so that the audience could hear the groans of pain. The microphone was unnecessary as the screams could be heard throughout the whole building. After the beating the child or adult would be held up and forced to say, â€Å"Thank You, Father. † If they didn’t say this, they would be beaten again. We were so frightened of him and his power that we would have sworn to anything he asked. We believed that he would always take care of us and would never harm us, even though we witnessed daily atrocities that should have convinced us otherwise. It is impossible to explain the effect of his brainwashing. We do know that it took months after we left to be able to think and act as normal, reasonable people†(Mills 13). Jones was stealing from his followers, faked the miracle healings, was punishing the members severely, practicing sodomy with male members, and now considered himself the new Messiah. By now, journalists, law enforcement officials, and politicians were showing interest in Jones’ group. Jim Jones reacted with frequent long and angry speeches, where he claimed that the defectors lied, and the outside world was trying to destroy them. At the time, more former members told of beatings and abuse within the People’s Temple, and relatives of members insisted that members were being forced to remain there against their will. Jones reacted by moving his church, over 800 followers, to Guyana. The followers were promised a tropical paradise, free from the wickedness of the outside world, but when they arrived, they were forced to work by Jones’ orders, and together they built Jonestown. In November 1978, the cult was visited by Leo Ryan, a United States Congressman, who was investigating claims of abuse. A number of Temple members expressed a desire to leave along with the Congressman, and the entire group went to the local airstrip. Temple security guards fired on the group, killing Congressman Ryan, three journalists, and a Temple member who wanted to leave. The shootings were captured on film by one of the journalists who died in the attack. Later that day, Jones ordered his congregation to drink a cyanide-laced soft drink in the Jonestown mass suicide. Those who resisted were shot, strangled or injected with cyanide. Jones was found with a shot wound in his head. Upon investigation his body contained high doses of drugs. In all, 914 people died. Mind control theories are based on the premise that an outside source can control an individual’s thinking, behavior or consciousness. Such theories have ethical and legal implications. The mind control theories as applied to membership in new religious movents assumes that no one would join such a group if he knew what he was getting into. In Helter Skelter, Bugliosi states about Manson’s control over his ‘family’ â€Å"A domination so complete, that they would do anything he told them to do. Including murder. Getting this evidence was especially difficult because Manson rarely gave direct orders. Usually, he’d suggest, rather than command, though his suggestions had the force of commands†(287). The recruit is not to be held responsible for his actions, since he was â€Å"under control†. Neither scientists nor sociologists generally consider this model a viable theory. Theories vary as to the degree of control attained and the methods used to attain it (either direct or more subtle). When these methods are used forcibly on captives, most sources refer to it as â€Å"brainwashing† Although to their followers, Reverend Jim Jones and Charles Manson were all messianic and each possessed the uncommon ability to totally control and dominate the lives of those who believed in them. Clearly, many influences from the outside world influence people’s minds, such as advertising, media manipulation, and propaganda. Politics plays a role in the forming of cults. Charles Manson had a hatred towards police. In Helter Skelter, Manson states â€Å"I have x’d myself from your world. You have created the monster. I am not of you, from you, nor do I condone your unjust attitude toward things, animals, and people that you do not try to understand. I stand opposed to what you do and have done in the past. You make fun of God and have murdered the world in the name of Jesus Christ. My faith in me is stronger than all of your armies, governments, gas chambers or anything you may want to do to me. I know what I have done. Your courtroom is man’s game. Love is my judge†(Bugliosi 412). His hatred was directed towards them because he believed that they were the ones that created him into a monster. Therefore, cult leaders are powerful through psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldn’t normally do in their right state of mind. Cult leaders used various ways of molding a follower’s mind and brainwashing them to do things for them. Some cult leaders used punishments as a way of breaking the follower’s that were resistant to their demands. Others used and perfected the art of persuasion. Either way, the mind of their followers or ‘family’ are in total control of the leader. How to cite The Psychological Effects Cults Have on People, Papers

SEX EDUCATION Essay Example For Students

SEX EDUCATION Essay Word Count: 1228 Thesis: should be taught in middle schools to make our children aware and help them with decisions in the future. Audience: All District #150 Personnel SEX EDUCATION Essay should be taught in middle schools to make our children aware and help them with decisions in the future. When children enter middle school many of them are going through adolescent changes. This school district needs to help educate these hormone raging teens about sex education. Not only will this program teach sex education, it will also give teens the chance to ask questions and receive help if they are in a sexual situation. District #150 makes up about three quarters the schools in Peoria and if you make room for a sex education program to help your students, many other schools will follow your example. You can help stop teen sex at an early age with guidance. With a sex education program in your curriculum, you will see success in the students lives and notice a change in attitude toward the opposite sex. As you walk down the middle school hallways, you see more young teenage girls that are pregnant. Many of these girls knew the chances of getting pregnant without using a condom, but really they didnt care. According to Faye Wattleton, the staggering rates and devastating consequences of teen pregnancy in America are well document (Wattleton 51). It seems clear that many of the girls are unaware of the results of having unprotected sexual intercourse. These girls and even young men should be given the opportunity to learn about the outcomes of sex. When a teenage girl is making out with her boyfriend and things start to grow intense, most just go along with sex because they think nothing will happen. With this program you can help decrease more than 1,000,000 US teenagers becoming pregnant each year, intentionally (Donavon 28). Helping find the answer to a problem is a start, but solving the task takes time. Pregnancy is a major effect when young teens have unprotected sex but diseases also are being transferred between parties. With the HIV/AIDS virus and STDs like Gonorrhea, spreading throughout the state, District #150 middles schools should be aware of the symptoms. When I was in middle school we had a very small discussion on sex education. Truthfully, I remember very little because the program was very brief When I entered high school we had a little better explanation about diseases but I was still clue less. Maybe if we taught these middle school students the effects and showed the pictures of affected people, they might actually consider using protection. Debra Haffner states, 95% of adults want HIV/AIDS education to their children (Haffner 54). I talked to a teacher, Candace Walrath, at Broadmoor Junior High, and she has her students do an STD activity. Two students, male and female, are given a half glass of water. Each student pours their half into the partners cup and vice versa, sharing body fluids, just like unprotected sexual intercourse (Walrath). Then the student break up and performs the experiment with a different partner. The more information you teach about the diseases caused by unprotected sex, the more teens will think before having unprotected sex. Diseases can change the minds of young teenagers but there are many different types of protection they should be aware of so there is an option if sexual intercourse happens. I know my high school health teacher told me about condoms and birth control but most teens are scared to ask about these contraceptives. Young teens think that if they ask about condoms or birth control, questions about having sex will come to the adults mind. At Planned Parenthood free condoms are given to sexually active teens and even birth control methods. Places like these are good for these teens because confidentiality, is a must with sexual active teenagers. (YM, Love). Your school can help by making the students aware of these places. Even if your program shows a teem how to use a condom, telling them places to get them will lead to a higher use of protection. Hate Crime Prevention Act Essay A YM survey states that 41% of teens dont know why they didnt use protection (YM Love). Students need to know their options so they can use protection. Teach these students that if they do decide to have sex, there are ways to prevent diseases and pregnancy but where is the respect in a sexual situation. .