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Double Speak By William Lutz
Double Speak By William Lutz
Double-Speak is a book written by William Lutz who works at the Rutgers University as an English Professor. He believes that the use of Double speak is meant to deceive people. For example, the word ‘Physical Education’ refers to ‘Human Kinetics’ as well as ‘Pot holes’ that refers to ‘Pavement Deficiencies’. He believes that double speak should be eradicated from issues that are vital, as the result is disastrous. The advertising industry and government are fond of using double speak. Double speak is referred to as euphemisms that disguise the true meaning of words. George Orwell is referred to as the founder of double speak that he first introduced in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ a novel written by him. Moreover, Orwell believes that implications of a political nature exist when double speak is used in matters that affect people (Lutz, 1989. 232).
There are many instances in life whereby, I encounter double speak and it is used mostly in people’s work places. Most times, there is a need to visit government offices in an attempt to obtain services. Government agencies tend to be bureaucratic, and the employees often behave as they like. While enquiring about the process of obtaining a license for my business, the employees at the office often engaged in double speak. They were having a discussion about developing nations, which they were referring to as poor countries. Furthermore, they insisted that the United States is not doing a lot to help African countries to alleviate poverty. If, this matter progresses any further, it might be lead to problems that will affect the American government. If African countries get to know that they are being referred to as poor countries they will not be pleased. The relations between African countries and America will be strained causing more problems in the future.
Lutz comments that “double speak has become so common in everyday living that many people fail to notice it (Lutz, 1989. 234)”. This is extremely evident from the above scenario that I witnessed while at the government office. He gives an example of when people go to offices, and they are told that they have to ensure that their packages are in perfect condition. In reality, this means that by ensuring the packages are in excellent condition, the other person who provides the packages benefits. Double speak affects me in many ways, as it sometimes makes issues have negative aspects. For example, when referring to African countries as poor countries, gives a negative view of Africa. It is not right to refer to the latter in that manner if nothing is being done to assist African countries to develop.
President Obama has also used Double Speak in many of his speeches. For example, in his recent address concerning economic recovery he referred to it as reviving and improving the economy. Lutz comments that “double speak is insidious because it can affect and eventually destroy the function of language” (Lutz, 1989. 245). This means that people should be careful when using double speak as it involves talking to many people. People often interpret things they have heard in many ways, thus the need to avoid double speak in their conversations. In conclusion, people need to be careful on how they use double speak. This is because it has the ability of making issues appear to have negative aspects. Lutz advocates for people to communicate effectively and not to use double speak.
Work Cited
Lutz, William D. Doublespeak: From “Revenue Enhancement” to “Terminal Living”: How Government, Business, Advertisers, and Others Use Language to Deceive You. New York: HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_%26_Row” o “Harper & Row” Harper & Row, 1989. Print.
Double Jeopardy
Double Jeopardy
Author
Institution
Introduction
The judiciary has been one of the most fundamental pillars of the United States, as is the case for other countries. It is mainly charged with the responsibility of interpreting laws, as well as deciding cases between offenders and their plaintiffs so as to ensure that justice is done for all. Cases brought to the judiciary have varying levels of technicalities. This is especially in the case of criminal cases where the prosecution is expected to demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that an individual committed a particular offense. Needless to say, this is not always easy as volumes of evidence must be used to demonstrate culpability beyond reasonable doubt. This underlines the fact that there are instances where an individual will be taken through a criminal trial and released on the basis of insufficient evidence (Burchell & Milton, 2005). Of course it would be reasonable to expect that the individual would be brought to trial in case more evidence showing his culpability is shown. However, this is not the case, thanks to the introduction of double jeopardy.
Double jeopardy eliminates the technicality in law and prevents the prosecution of an individual that has previously been acquitted in criminal trials by appeal court judges, jury or even the judge (Burchell & Milton, 2005). Its entry has been triggered by the notoriety in the contemporary times that has resulted from increased crime solving capabilities thanks to forensic science developments, as well as the increased response of media to public demand for increased exposure of issues pertaining to law and order (Burchell & Milton, 2005). This law is aimed at protecting against prosecutors that would maliciously and spitefully abuse their authority through persistently bringing an individual whose previous prosecution may have humiliated them, as well as to ensure closure, absoluteness and finality to court decisions (Burchell & Milton, 2005).
In the case provided, double jeopardy occurred when the jury denied the individual bail considering the nature of the trial and then went ahead to convict him on multiple charges that related to assault. This is especially considering that an individual is considered innocent until proven guilty.
However, I feel that the jury may not have been unduly influenced by the decision of the defendant not to take a witness stand in his own defense. This is especially considering that the defendant was positively identified by the plaintiff. His refusal to take a witness stand in his own case may have resulted from the fact that his testimony would have implicated him. On the same note, the Fifth Amendment of the United States constitution prohibits jurors from making reference to the refusal of the defendant to testify when making a decision as to the guilt of the defendant (Gardner & Anderson, 2009). On the same note, in Griffin v. California (1965), the jury ruled that the prosecutors are prohibited from making inference of guilt from the refusal of a defendant to testify or take the witness stand in his own defense. This is because the defendant may have had reasonable fear of the prosecution even while he may have been innocent, in which case the law protects the individual from self-incrimination (Gardner & Anderson, 2009).
There exists varied constitutional safeguards against that would apply for the defendant choosing not to testify in his defense. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no individual would be compelled to be a witness against himself in a criminal case. However, this law is subject to the interpretation by courts. The Fifth Amendment during trial gives a criminal defendant the right to decline to testify (Lippman, 2010). This underlines the fact that the defendant’s own lawyer, the judge and prosecutor would not force the defendant to be a witness against his own will (Lippman, 2010). However, in cases where the defendant chooses to take the witness stand the defendant would not elect to answer some questions and fail to answer others. In instances where the defendant pleads the fifth (elects not to take the witness stand in his own case), jurors are prohibited from considering the refusal in deciding whether the individual is guilty (Gardner & Anderson, 2009). This position was held by the Supreme Court in Ohio v. Reiner in 2001, where it decided that a witness may incorporate some reasonable fears of prosecution even when he or she is innocent of any wrongdoing. This law aims at protecting innocent individuals who may have been ensnared by unclear circumstances (Scheb & Scheb, 2011). This law is not limited to criminal cases but also civil cases in cases where the testimony would result to the opening them up of criminal charges (Scheb & Scheb, 2011). However, they would not enjoy similar protections against bias from the jury as far as liability is concerned, in which case the jury would be free to make inferences in instances where a defendant chooses not to make a testimony in a civil case fearing self-incrimination (Scheb & Scheb, 2011). In essence, civil defendants in such instances usually claim ignorance rather than pleading the fifth.
While varied theories of punishment may be applied in the case of this defendant, I would primarily apply reformative theory of punishment, as well as retributive theory. Reformative theory mainly revolves around reforming the criminal’s behavior. This theory is mainly based on the idea that no individual is born a criminal (Samaha, 2011). In fact, research shows that criminal behaviors are learned rather than genetic, in which case they can always be unlearned. In most cases, criminals are a product of the economic, social, as well as the environmental conditions of the areas or societies in which an individual is brought up (Gardner & Anderson, 2009). Different individuals have different methods of coping with difficult situations. The only difference between the defendant and others who may have been in similar environments is the technique of coping with the varied pressures (Samaha, 2011). In essence, reformative theory would seek to re-educate the defendant and train him so that they can unlearn the criminal tendencies of coping with the pressures and become competent members of the society. This theory has, for a long time, been successful in cases of young offenders.
In conclusion, double jeopardy provision was introduced in an effort to hinder prosecutors from prosecuting individuals for the same offense after they have been cleared of it by a jury, panel of judges or the appeal judges. This was aimed at bringing closure and finality to court decisions. The judges in the case provided may not have been influenced or biased against the defendant due to his decision not to take the witness stand in the case (Samaha, 2011). This is because they are prohibited from the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution from making inference as to the liability of the defendant from his decision not to be a witness. Defendants are protected by the Fifth Amendment from being pressured by any party to make a testimony.
References
Samaha, J. (2011). Criminal law. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learninig.
Gardner, T. J., & Anderson, T. M. (2009). Criminal law. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Lippman, M. R. (2010). Contemporary criminal law: Concepts, cases, and controversies. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Scheb, J. M., & Scheb, J. M. (2011). Criminal law and procedure. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Burchell, J. M., & Milton, J. (2005). Principles of criminal law. Lansdowne [South Africa: Juta.
Dont Let a Personal Crisis Go To Waste
Don’t Let a Personal Crisis Go To Waste
All over the world, people are always making plans to either make more money, invest the hard-earned money in profitable ventures, and for the parents with young children, many always think of saving for the good future of the children. Thinking about the future is not a bad idea; the only problem is the method that some people use in achieving the set goals. Even though man is not a perfect being, some mistakes that most of the people make are at times disastrous. There are people or organizations that may have very brilliant plans to allow them achieve success but no follow up is done to make sure that they succeed in their ventures.
In a bid to understand the concept in saving, planning, and investing, I searched for articles that would bring out the connection. I looked for journals that were connected to the topic in all business related journals. Eventually, I settled on the Wall Street Journal as it has business related articles from all over the world. In one of the articles in the Wall Street journal by Chuck Jaffe under the heading “Don’t let personal crisis go to waste,” the writer gives a personal account about his health. He describes how he ended up having a blocked artery as a result of his “bad habits”. He, unconventionally, chose the moment when he was being treated to see ways in which he will live healthy rather than thinking about the condition he was at the moment. He elaborates how he deals with the situation, the plans he makes, and how he handles the challenges he encounters in pursuing these plans.
The writer goes ahead and relates health problems with finances. In the article, he says that, “There is a personal finance angle to all of this, because saving, budgeting and investing properly are remarkably similar to diet, exercise and eating right. Just as many people have trouble with a diet, so do they have issues living on a budget, spending within their means, and saving properly.”, In the aforementioned explanation, he points out that just as many people have problems with diet and exercise, so do they experience problems with personal finances.
Follow Up
In the hospital bed, the writer was able to come up with a three-year plan on how to restore his health just as any other person would have done if found in the same position. This implies that when faced with financial crisis, people always make plans on how to solve the problem. He further states that a plan without proper follow up is fruitless. I totally agree with this claim; however, the part that I do not find convincing is his assertions that there is always room to make mistakes. Financial mistakes lead to serious consequences and any such mistake might have a very huge impact on the final financial situation. Many people always have very good plans to help them solve financial problems such as investment and saving dilemmas. People save for various reasons; some save for their children’s education while others save to buy things such as houses or cars in the future, yet other save for holidays.
Whatever the reason for saving, a plan must be put in place so that one can ascertain the amount to save as well as the time and amount limits. Some people may require regular saving, while others save annually. Some reasons for saving such as holiday may require a short duration and the plan might culminate once the holiday is complete. However, other reasons for saving like a child’s education might take several years until the child is through with his/her education. It should however be noted that many people do always come up with very good ideas on how to save or invest when faced with a crisis. Sometimes saving seems like a burden to people because when the problem is over the plan is shelved. There are some other people who initiate the plans but do not make any follow up to ascertain whether the ideas are working or not. There are still some people or organizations that might have excellent plans to solve the problems facing them, but are too afraid to implement the plans as they are not sure of the success. In such a scenario, the organization or person may continue to wallow in problems owing to their fear to take risks or try out novel ideas.
Setbacks
The writer notes that every plan might have a setback, but it should not be a barrier in achieving the desired goals. By dealing with the setbacks in the right manner and with positive attitude, one might eventually succeed. The writer tries to bring out the fact that even the right plans will always have difficulties. Therefore, when faced with such challenges, one needs to rise up and take the problems head on instead of feeling sorry or being overwhelmed by the situation. Most people when faced with setbacks in implementing a plan tend to look at it as another failure, instead of looking at them just as challenges. Just like in the writer’s case, some problems might be life threatening but when dealt with in the right way, they can become great opportunities for victory.
Problems, once dealt with do not necessarily mean that they might not arise in the future, but might recur again-and-again. When such incidences take place, most people lose hope of ever finding permanent solutions to the problems. Setbacks should be viewed as the everyday challenges that people face just like health problems. A person might suffer from a cold, go to a doctor and receive treatment. However, the same person might suffer from a cold again months later. The doctor can not be blamed for not doing a splendored job, but the solution pegs on prescribing another type of medication for this patient.
Conclusion
The article clearly brings out the connection between saving, planning, and investing. Financial issues are a very significant issue to every person; hence, making the best decision is very vital. However, plans without follow-up mechanism might not bear any fruits. In this respect, it is important to back up every plan with action. Financial security for future generations is very vital; hence, parents investing for the future of their children should look for the appropriate plan in order to avoid costly mistakes. The article is very vital to international business at it helps one make the best decisions regarding the type of business venture to pursue. Life is full of challenges and so is the financial world, every form of investment, and saving. At times, some of the challenges faced when implementing certain plans are meat to make the plans more successful.