Prayer in Public Schools Essay Example for Free

Prayer in Public Schools Essay In the essay named Banning Prayer in Public Schools Has Led to Americas Demise by Gary Bergel, the argument is made that by removing prayer and any form of religious contemplation has caused America to plummet from righteous living, prosperity and success within the last quarter century. He states that from around June 25, 1962, when 39 billion students were forbidden to pray in school, Americas moral decline began to accelerate more rapidly. Bergel supports his claim by stating the main reasons behind the U. S. Supreme Court ruling and by issuing some religious tidbits. Even though Bergel lists some facts and names some general ideas, he has an extremely weak argument for the simple reason of the claims and warrants not being supported with factual or personal evidence. The opposing article that I have chosen is titled Argument against School Prayer by Adam Frucci. Frucci first starts out by saying that the article is not intended to bash God, or Christianity. But its purpose is to argue all forms of religion in schools, high school in particular. He states that high school is a place where you begin to separate from your parents and begin to form your own ideas. Keeping this in mind, its the absolute worst place to start forcing values and beliefs on you. He further states that religion will never be non-discriminatory; it can never totally include everyone. There will always be someone who doesnt fit in simply because of a personal belief, and high school is not the place to institute isolationism and criticism on any level outside of an academic level. Again, I like this article but it is somewhat biased because of the writers status of a student in a catholic high school. I get the feeling that he is really bitter about having the catholic beliefs forced on himbut frankly he, or his parents, chose for him to attend the school so he might as well adapt, learn, and become stronger from the situation. Both of the arguments are weak in their own ways and strong in others, and I will attempt to acknowledge most of their faults. Beginning with Bergels argument of the demoralization of the US as a result of the removal of prayer from public schools, I get the since that he is very adamant about getting his views across regardless of analyzing the other side of the story. The whole essay is just the ranting and ravings of a bitter Christian. No support is given to his main thoughts anywhere throughout the paper. In all of his main thoughts, he spouts some statistics and information about different factors that have influenced the topic, however there is no substantial evidence of factual data, but rather only his own opinion. In the first section of the essay, he mentions that there has been a decline in family and morality. How does one evaluate a decline in something so abstract and so subjective? It is clear that from here on out, he is making general assumptions based solely on his beliefs. Bergel goes on to argue that removing prayer from school creates the secular system beyond the power of God. This is a faulty argument for the simple Christian fact that if God is all powerful, how can anything be created beyond Gods power. If anything, removal of prayer will keep children from experiencing God in more than a church setting. He also argues that in doing so, religion in being stripped from the lips and minds of children. Its not restraining a child from totally expressing or acting religiously, its simply preventing prayer to be forced on those who arent believers. Its, in essence, protecting the first amendment rights of those affected and moreover, is a gross exaggeration of the case in hand in addition to the fact that religion cant be totally taken from some one. At a point in the article, he mentions the Engle vs. Vitale Supreme Court case. The whole ruling has nothing to do with keeping kids from learning the religion, its concerned with children who arent believers of Christianity not being forced to participate in something that they dont believe in. Bergel seems to forget that the basic principle of separation of church and state is that the US isnt a professed catholic state therefore it cant just allow the use of one religion over another in any public arena. The Engle vs. Vitale ruling doesnt eliminate the learning of religion, it simply doesnt allow institutions to force the practice of Christianity on kids of other faiths. In general, his rational appears to be based on passionate fervor rather than rational thought and analysis of the Engle vs. Vitale ruling and its surrounding issues. He never pinpoints the issues and examines them within his analysis. He never presents an argument against the opposition but rather rants and raves about what he believes to be right thus stacking the evidence and therefore making it seem as if anything that is in opposition to his beliefs are wrong. In addition, he never mentions anything about his main idea of prayer in school prayer, thus committing a red herring. In Fruccis article concerning the argument for the removal of school prayer, it has both good and bad aspects to it, thusly providing me with the evidence that this is a stronger argument than that of Bergel. Frucci suggests to us that high school is the worst time to impose such a subject for the simple reason that its a time when one is learning about ones self and its not the time to impose new mindsets. Firstly, Religion cant be imposed but rather be encouraged and taughtits up to the educated whether or not to accept the knowledge. Fruccis statement is purely circumstantial because people learn at all times of life and new ideas are presented everyday. Therefore, the teaching of religion in schools can only offer more options rather than changing ones whole mindset. In saying that the setting is inappropriate, Frucci is clearly showing signs of his immaturity. In my own opinion, school is the one of the best places to teach religion. The childs inability to concentrate and focus on the task at had does not warrant removal of school prayer. If thats the case, school in general should be gotten rid of because of the childs inherent nature to be easily distracted and loose concentration. One of Fruccis strongest arguments within the paper is that prayer in schools does create a since of discrimination. However, he takes it to the extreme when saying that the since of community will be ruined because of their nonparticipation. Overall, Fruccis essay is stronger than Brugels in the since of me, the reader, being able to relate to the authors point of view, as well as the amount of support that was given to each point raised. Fruccis essay presents more of an argument, as opposed to Brugels which is more of an outcry of ideas. However both essays are pretty weak in their persuasiveness, but since I have to choose on, Id have to say that Fruccis is the stronger of the two.

Altered Reality in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay example --

Altered Reality in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚  Ã‚   The world of darkness that Marlow finds himself in is directly comparable to what Leary describes of the bardos (stages) that occur during a drug-induced trip or psychedelic experience. ‘The underlying problem of the Second Bardo is that any and every shape—human, divine, diabolical, heroic, evil, animal, thing—which the human brain conjures up or the past life recalls, can present itself to consciousness: shapes and forms and sounds whirling by endlessly’ (48). An example of such presentation is Marlow’s perception of the jungle as a palpable force that has the power of human gestures. It calls, beckons, lures, etc. Leary writes that accompanying the moment of ego-loss is the perception of ‘wave-energy flow’: ‘the individual becomes aware that he is part of and surrounded by a charged field of energy, which seems almost electrical...the attempt to control or to rationalize this energy flow... is indicative of ego-acti vity and the First Bardo transcendence is lost’ (41). Marlow never loses ego-activity so he never reaches transcendence, but his ego-activity rationalizes his feeling of the physical awareness of the jungle. He colors the Congo dark instead of light and chooses to reject, not embrace, the force of the jungle so his rationalizations are negative and he thinks the force is evil.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The negative, wrathful counterparts to this vision occur if the voyager reacts with fear to the powerful flow of life forms. Such a reaction is attributable to the cumulated result of game playing (karma) dominated by anger or stupidity. A nightmarish hell-world may ensue. The visual forms appear like a confusing chaos of cheap, ugly dime-store objects, brassy, vulgar and useless. The ... ... all truth, and all sincerity, are just compressed into that inappreciable moment of time in which we step over the threshold of the invisible’ (Conrad, 113).    Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Editor Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton, 1988. Cox, C. B. Conrad: Heart of Darkness, Nostromo, and Under Western Eyes. London: Macmillan Education Ltd., 1987. Guetti, James. ‘Heart of Darkness and the Failure of the Imagination’, Sewanee Review LXXIII, No. 3 (Summer 1965), pp. 488-502. Ed. C. B. Cox. Leary, Timothy , Metzner, Ralph, Alpert, Richard The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead Ruthven, K. K. ‘The Savage God: Conrad and Lawrence,’ Critical Quarterly, x, nos 1& 2 (Spring and Summer 1968), pp. 41-6. Ed. C. B. Cox. Watts, Cedric. A Preface to Conrad. Essex: Longman Group UK Limited, 1993.  

Living Life to It’s Fullest

â€Å"Begin at once to live and count each separate day as a separate life. † At times, it’s seemed as though life contains an endless supply of days. When I was younger, I thought this for sure. It didn’t matter how long I held a grudge, or how long I waited to do something I wanted—there would be an unlimited pool of other opportunities. At least that’s what I thought back then. Maybe it’s a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood: the moment when you realize life happens now, and that’s all you’re guaranteed. It doesn’t really hit you when you merely know it intellectually, like you know your ABCs, state capitals, and other concrete facts.It hits you when somehow you feel it. Your health declines. You lose someone you love. A tragedy rocks your world. It isn’t until you realize that all life fades that you consider now a commodity and a scarce one at that. But maybe that’s irrelevant. Maybe living a m eaningful, passionate life has nothing to do with its length and everything to do with its width. So, i have created this list with a few tips to live life to it's fullest!!! 1. Live in the moment. Forget the past and don’t concern yourself with the future. 2. Fully embrace the now, no matter what the situation. 3. Do the things you love. 4.Learn to forgive and embrace unconditional love. 5. Live every day as if it’s your last, embracing each experience as if it’s your first. 6. Believe in â€Å"live and let live. † 7. Use quiet reflection, honesty, and laughter. 8. Be other-centered. 9. Find calm in making art. 10. Focus on today and how you can do your best to live it to the fullest. 11. Participate in life instead of just watching it pass you by. 12. Stay healthy, eat right and most importantly, be kind to all. 13. Pray, forgive yourself, appreciate others, listen to your gut, do things you enjoy, and remind yourself that we are all loved and connected . Sandra Lumb) 14. Don’t sweat the small stuff. 15. Question everything, keep it simple, and help whenever and however you can. 16. Try to enjoy every minute of every day. 17. Appreciate life’s every second. 18. Step through new doors. The majority of the time there’s something fantastic on the other side. 19. Remember that all is a gift, but the most precious of all gifts is life and love. 20. Keep your spirit free, be flexible, let go. 21. â€Å"Do one thing every day that scares you. † 22. Don’t attach to outcomes. 23. Spend as much time with a two year old as possible. 4. Enjoy each and every moment of life. Every day is a new challenge and opportunity to discover something new. 25. Budget travel. It is always an adventure! You get to enjoy what fate has to offer with limited means. 26. Be honestly thankful for every breath you take. 27. Just be. 28. â€Å"Trust yourself. Trust your own strengths. † 29. Pause momentarily before everythin g you do so that you notice everything you should or could notice. (Scott Hutchinson) 30. Follow your hopes and not your fears. What have you done today to live life to the fullest?

The Horrific Duration Of The Holocaust - 1780 Words

The horrendous duration of the Holocaust was a dark time in human history. Millions of Jewish people died along with African-Americans, disabled people, and anyone who did not fit into the Nazi regime. During this time of persecution, there were people who did not take action to help their fellow neighbors and decided to be bystanders. But in the midst of terrified silence, a Capuchin priest resolved to break the silence. Pà ¨re Marie-Benoà ®t was a member of the Catholic Church when Jews were being taken to concentration camps to face a dreadful demise. Unlike many of his fellow church members, he decided to take action and help as many people as he could. A concise review of Pà ¨re Marie-Benoà ®t’s life will help show the amazing effects†¦show more content†¦He was raised during a time where French leaders were very prejudiced against Catholic establishments, which included schools (Picker 152). This did not deter him evidently, as he discovered he wanted to become a priest at the young age of 12 (Zuccotti 54). Pà ©re Paulin, a Capuchin friar at the time, mentored young Pà ¨re on Catholic duties (Zuccotti 20). When he got older, Pà ¨re moved to Bruest-Esyden in the Netherlands to study theology at a Capuchin school (Zuccotti 22). He did not stay at home because of the French ban forbidding members of religious orders to teach at schools (Zuccotti 54). He was still living in the Netherlands in 1914 when World War 1 broke out. Abandoning his studies, Pà ¨re moved back to France to join the military where he served as a medic and a stretcher-bearer (Zuccotti 54). During this time, he would often send letters to his spiritual leader and mentor, presumably for guidance and encouragement (Picker 152). He received numerous citations for his time in service actions such as tending to soldiers and rescuing people on the field (Zuccotti 27). 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