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September 11 Attack
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September 11 Attack
One of the major events that directly impacted America is the September 11 attacks. On September 11 of the year 2001, the United States was attacked by terrorists, 19 militants that were associated with the Islamic extremists’ group that is rooted in the Arabic countries, the al-Qaeda (Gigerenzer). The militants hijacked four planes, carrying out deadly attacks to the US. Of the four planes, two were flown and crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center based in New York. One of the other planes crashed in the fields in Pennsylvania while the fourth plane hit the Pentagon in Washington DC. The attack had massive fatalities that included deaths and disabilities. More than 3,000 people were killed during the attack, and as a measure to prevent such an event, America became vigilant in tackling and combatting terrorism, and therefore, this became one of the most Significant events in the American history despite having negative implications in the American history.
The main cause of the attack is the hatred that reigned between Osama Bin Laden and the United States. The United States had been involved in several wars in Afghanistan that disrupted the al-Qaeda’s activities and thus enmity developed between the two parties (Bergen). Osama is regarded as the biggest precipitator of the bombing as he held naïve beliefs to the run-up attacks that the United States were weak. Before the attacks, the al-Qaeda leader was well convinced that America was more vulnerable than the nations surrounding it and thus saw it easy to bring it down. One of the reasons he considered America to be weak is what happened to America in Beirut during the bombing of the marine base that resulted to the American army fleeing from Lebanon and left around 241 American soldiers dead. Osama believed that America was a paper tiger and this belief was not only triggered by their departure in Lebanon following the marine attack but as well the withdrawal of the American forces from Somalia in 1993 that as well was precipitated by the deaths of 18 American soldiers in Mogadishu. Another reason is the American withdrawal from Vietnam in the 1970s, and these withdrawals portrayed America as a coward who would never fight a war to an end. Bin Laden had every belief that America could easily be brought down to its knees with minimal efforts.
The attack impacted negatively in the United States as there were social, economic, political and legal impacts. The social implications of the attack is that a large number of people died in the attack leading to the loss of loved ones in a family (Goodrich). Most of the families were permanently disconnected from their loved ones with others unable even to trace the body remains for their loved ones thus lacked a chance to offer them a proper burial. The American people got divided regarding religion, and the perception of the Islamic people changed in the minds of Americans. The Islamic religion was now associated with terror and the people behind the religion were perceived to be criminals. In terms of economic impacts, lots of buildings were brought down while others were destructed for example the Twin Towers a multi-billion investment. More resources were directed to curbing and fighting terror. Legal impacts included the formulation of policies to curb terrorism in the United States that oversaw the country becoming vigilant to protect its citizens. The attack reduced the number of tourists in the US in fear of insecurity (Bac et al.).
The political impacts include the shift to radical ways that agitated to the banning of immigration in America as well as the close checking of the border points to prevent the entry of criminals in the US without notice (Hayden et al.). Long term impacts of the September 11 attacks include ruined relations between America and the United States and the association of terror criminals to the Islamic religion. America hosts a large number of immigrants from the Arab nations that have gone to further their studies while others have gone to work, despite this distrust among the Americans still exists in that they still have the fear that another attack might be coming and perpetrated by the people who live in the country. Another effect is that America has become an enemy of most Arabian countries and this is due to its continued attacks on the oil-producing states crippling the governments and instituting those that they can work together.
If the September 11 attacks never occurred, there would be a different notion regarding terrorism in America. For one, there would be no deaths in the US that were as a result of terrorism, and thus no much emphasis could have been put on the terror attack. Regarding the economy, there would be no cases of property destruction that resulted from terrorism, and thus the burden of terror could not have been felt in America. And this implies that; one, the Islamic region could not be associated with terrorism (Huddy et al.), second, no policies could have been formulated regarding terror, and as well there could have existed a good relationship between America and Afghanistan to date. Besides, Osama bin Laden could not have been hunted down by America, and thus he would still be alive. The long term impact if the event had not occurred is the strengthened relation of America and the Arabian countries, and also, the American citizens could feel secure living in the same nation with the people of the Islamic religion. A lot of deaths were witnessed from the attack, and thus no deaths could have resulted and as well policies regarding terrorism would not have taken the lead but instead could have been directed into other more useful projects that require immediate attention.
Works CitedBac, Dorin Paul, Nicoleta Georgeta Bugnar, and Liana Eugenia Mester. “Terrorism and its impacts on the tourism industry.” Revista Română de Geografie Politică 17.1 (2015): 5-11.
Bergen, Peter L. Holy war, inc.: Inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden. Simon and Schuster, 2002.
Gigerenzer, Gerd. “Dread risk, September 11, and fatal traffic accidents.” Psychological science 15.4 (2004): 286-287.
Goodrich, Jonathan N. “September 11, 2001 attack on America: a record of the immediate impacts and reactions in the USA travel and tourism industry.” Tourism Management23.6 (2002): 573-580.
Hayden, Patrick, Tom Lansford, and Robert P. Watson. America’s war on terror. Routledge, 2017.
Huddy, Leonie, Nadia Khatib, and Theresa Capelos. “Trends: Reactions to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.” The Public Opinion Quarterly 66.3 (2002): 418-450.
Role of Religion in Appiah’s ‘The Case for Contamination’
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Role of Religion in Appiah’s ‘The Case for Contamination’
The Case for Contamination is an essay written by Kwame Antony Appiah and to which the author focuses on three main issues that are interrelated throughout the essay. Cultural diversity, globalization as well as ethical considerations are among the interrelated issues in the essay. Religion in the essay plays two main roles within the interrelated issues, the claims made by the individuals in favor of globalization and those against globalization. Religion can be positively used to protect the cultural diversity in the idea of globalization and in the same way it could be used as a double-edged sword concerning the role that religion plays in globalization. Religion is an excellent way for individuals to keep in touch with their cultures and traditions as the issue of globalization becomes bigger.
Sipho is a religious man from the Zulu tribe originating from the province of South Africa of KwaZulu-Natal. Sipho was raised with the strong traditions based on the culture he was born in, but despite being brought up and taught within the rich cultures of their traditions, through his encounters and exposures, Sipho has been greatly affected by globalization in ways such as through the television. One of such is that Sipho was greatly influenced by the soap opera by the name “Days of Our Lives” and he explains how the soap had aided him in fixing his relationship with his father. But at the same time, certain aspects such as women dating before the age of 20 were among the issues that were still unacceptable in their culture.
The role of religion in the globalization process can also be responsible for harming the situation. The preservationists fear globalization and as well are scared that it will have some negative impacts on their culture. Every individual’s life is unique and different from the other. People range from sex, diverse cultural background as well as religion, but at the same time, they are connected to one another no matter the perspectives as deep inside, all individuals are the same. Whether through the media or conversation, people are constantly exposed to new ideas that allow for a change in their cultures. Conversation is an essential factor in the aspect of social growth, and therefore people must learn what every person’s detonation of living an average life is before they open their minds and at the same time learn to tolerate with the varying ideas and rituals that different people hold. According to Appiah, he doesn’t mean that people should agree with each and every culture that they come across but through conversations, we are able to see the different perceptions on the subjects and grow to accept and appreciate the values upheld by the various cultures.
Appiah in his analysis claims that one of the roles of religion is the creation of a global society that is not divided along the cultural ties and this implies that religion creates a society unto which all the people have to share a common culture. The common culture refers to the submission to a single god, and this depends on the religion. The author refers to the ummah, a global community that is made up of Muslims providing membership to all the people who share the same beliefs and faith as them. In this part, the author uses the Ummah group to demonstrate that religion allows different individuals from various backgrounds to share a common faith. The role of religion, therefore, is to bring about equality in the globe as it is evident that religion allows people with various economic backgrounds to be equal on the basis of religion. In each and every religion, the individuals who believe in that religion share a common faith making them equal. With the people believing and sharing the same faith, the social-economic background becomes irrelevant as no such religion in the world defines the political as well as the social-economic status of its members. With no distinctions in faith, religion, therefore, can be termed as play the crucial role of uniting people bringing an aspect of equality around the globe.
I do agree with the author’s analysis concerning the role of religion. The reason is that since time in memorial, religion has consequently been referred to as a social institution enabling individuals from different backgrounds to share a common culture. For example, Christianity is one of the global religion meaning it has followers from all over the world and most of the people come from different backgrounds. Despite having different backgrounds, all the members of the Christian religion do share a common culture, and that is Christianity. In the same manner, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are also global religions that play the same role as Christianity in ensuring equality among believers who tend to possess different backgrounds. Under the issue of religion, no single individual identifies themselves with their culture. For example, people sharing the Islamic faith term themselves as being Muslims but do not relate to them from being from a certain cultural background. Besides, religion ensures that equality of all is attained by providing that all the members of a particular religion share a common faith. Religious faith is therefore at no instance dependent on a personal social, economic or even the political status.
As in the case of Sipho being brought up in a religious background and being influenced globalization in making various decisions. For example, in his case mending their relationship with his father imply that globalization plays a significant role in shaping the culture of the people either positively as in Sipho’s case or even negatively in the cases of the soap operas promoting sexual influence to young people under the age of 20 years. In connection to globalization, religion, therefore, plays the role of mending the broken social values and thus contribute to enriching the culture of that community by promoting their beliefs. For decades now religion has contributed in uniting people and as well ensuring equality no matter the backgrounds, and therefore, I do possess the same approach to that of Appiah in the role of religion in promoting equality all over the globe.
Work Cited
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. “The case for contamination.” New York Times Magazine 1 (2006): 32.
Role of Portia in ‘The Merchant of Venice’
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Role of Portia in ‘The Merchant of Venice’
Portia’s role as both a desired commodity that is a wealthy and beautiful wife, as well as an active agent- a learned doctor who changes the outcome of the plot, embraces a character that defies and pushes against stereotypes (Sutliff-Benusis). Gender roles have been for ages been divided between men and women, and each of them had distinct roles in the society that made them unique from the other. Women from ancient times were seen as subjects and to whom were expected to stay at home and look after their children while men used to provide for the family. Women were to be submissive to men a concept that has continued to change since the rise of the feminism. During the Renaissance, a period which Shakespeare wrote the merchant of Venice, the perception about women and gender roles are similar to the ancient times when women strictly followed gender roles as dictated by the society.
In the merchant of Venice, the author brings out a character who has been used to indicate that women in the society can as well be beautiful, intelligent, powerful and above all, capable of overcoming similar challenges that are faced by men in the society (Kaplan 371). Through Portia, Shakespeare conveys the true definition of feminism through her heroic attributes. He uses qualities that surpasses other women of her time and thus a clear indication that Portia defied the societal expectation of women as well as the stereotypes placed on women. Some of the traits that can be deduced from her role include strength, perseverance, resourcefulness, and the ability put others before herself, admirable traits that surpass the renaissance culture.
Portia puts the interests of others before hers by self-sacrificing, and unlike other characters in the play, she is not concerned about money, but instead, she focuses on saving the lives of the people around her and also making peace in the two nations of Belmont and Venice (NA). Portia demonstrates that she does not love money and this can be seen by her willingness to double the amount of money to cover Antonio’s debts which he owned to Shylock, simply because she wanted to save him. Despite her generosity to double the money, she barely knows Antonio and thus a depiction that she is not interested in wealth but saving lives of the people around her and making peace. Portia’s willingness can be traced from the quote on page 298-301 that states, “Pay him six thousand, and deface the bond: Double six thousand, and then treble that, before a friend of this description shall lose a hair through Bassanio’s fault”. Portia proposes the offer due to her love for Bassanio, but this isn’t a reason to ruin her reputation that of willing to help and save a life by doing whatever is necessary. Other women in the play are portrayed as self-centred characters, especially Jessica, who are led by greed, for the hope of financial gain. Jessica steals money from her father, but instead of using the money for the right way, she wastes it by purchasing unnecessary possessions.
Fortune is money that is acquired through hard work and not through deceitful ways such as stealing. People who work for their money use it in the right way while those who rob are led by greed. People admired Portia because she left her earthly paradise and went ahead to save and help people who are suffering. Portia saw her wealth as a moral responsibility, which is in contrast from the rest of the characters such as Jessica and Bassanio for all their beauty and charm appear as frivolous members of the leisure class. Their lives are carefree and parasitic upon the labors of other hardworking people. During the trial scene, Portia disguises herself in a masculine attire, a depiction of heroism, playing the part of Duke and law clerk. During the Renaissance period, most of the women would have reservations about being involved in such circumstances, but they would rather wait for their husbands to return and take the role. Portia is willing to assist and therefore, decides to take any initiative. During that time, women were not allowed to take part in some activities, and this explains why there were no women actors in the 16th century, and as well, there were no women law clerks and lawyers. In contrast, Portia took the role because if she failed, Bassanio would have paid Shylock with his life, another incidence that portrays her willingness to help the people that were around her.
Portia displayed high intelligence and brilliance in the courtroom when she used common sense that fooled everybody, including her husband (Turner). Through this, she depicted her as an active agent, a learned person who changes the plot of the play. Portia dispels the clouding precisions as well as the intellectualities of the law court by a clear common sense. Portia’s mercy speech is an accurate reflection of Jesus teachings, and her white beam of intuition depicts that the academic intelligence is itself vulnerable and can be used as a weapon to itself. It is because of her presence in court that prevented Antonio’s exploitation by Shylock in that she manipulated the terms set upon Antonio, depicting much intelligence and knowledge in her efforts to help the less fortunate in the society. It is clear that Portia’s character defies and push against the stereotypes asserted on women as she comes out boldly, helping where she can, depicting similar capabilities to men and as well challenging masculinity. Porta, therefore, does not reinforce the traditional gender roles, but instead, she is a woman who is far much ahead of her time.
Works Cited
Kaplan, M. Lindsay. “Others and Lovers in The Merchant of Venice.” Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture(2016): 361.
NA, NA. The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Springer, 2016.
Sutliff-Benusis, Alicia. Based on Shakespeare: Twenty-First Century American Film Adaptations of Shakespeare. Diss. University of Kansas, 2011.
Turner, Antonio Jo, et al. “THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 2017: COMPANY LIST.” (2017).