My Side Of The Mountain Essays (837 words) - My Side Of The Mountain

My Side Of The Mountain My Side of the Mountain By Jean Craighead George Sam Gribley is tired of living in a crowded New York City apartment with his dad,mom and 8 brothers and sisters, so he runs away looking for his Great-grandfather Gribley's land in the Catskill Mountain wilderness. The Gribley land had not been inhabited by any Gribley's for around 100 years. Sam hitched rides trying to get to the farm. Sam thought he prepared himself for this adventure by reading books in the New York City public library about how to survive on the land. No one in his family took his plans seriously though. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel, he relied on his own ingenuity and the resources of the land to survive. Sam arrived in the Catskill's and went to the Delhi library to find information about Gribley's farm. A nice librarian found information that was very old, this helped Sam find the farm. This was the beginning of Sam's great adventure. On his great-grandfather's farm he learns how to survive. At first he struggles to make a fire, then he had trouble whittling wooden fishing hooks to catch fish, but he ended up perfecting the hooks and catching a few fish. He quickly realizes that he needs shelter; just building and staying around a campfire won't do, so he decides to set a fire inside a hemlock tree and hollow himself out a room. Here he builds himself a little hidden home in the forest. His tree home consists of a hidden door made of deerskin, a bed and a fireplace to keep him warn in winter. People come to the forest and are all around him, but they never discover him in his tree home. He struggled every day to find food, only to find that frog legs and turtle soup aren't bad food. He also ate wild onions, acorns, apples, wild strawberries, and sometimes rabbit that he manages to catch in some traps he had built. He finally spots a falcon and decides to catch one of it's babies in the hopes that he can train the falcon. The falcon can then help him catch food. The falcon he caught he name Frightful, because it was very frightening when the falcon's mother tried to attack him, to keep him from getting her baby. Sam spent many days training the falcon. After Frightful became trained she was able to catch many small animals and provide them with food. Sam also struggles with providing himself with clothing. Fortunately for him, a hunter killed a deer in the woods and Sam got to it first and hid it. Later Sam came back for it and eventually made himself a pair of pants from its hide along with eating its meat. This happened a couple of other times so that Sam was able to also make himself a shirt and a blanket from deerskin. All the while, no one realized that Sam lived in the forest. Sam eventually makes a friend he calls Bando, who turns out to be an English professor who had gone exploring in the woods. Bando stays with Sam for the summer and told him he would return at Christmas time. Sam really struggled during the winter, he prepared by storing nuts in another tree close by and then by cutting plenty of firewood And survive he does with only the animals to talk to and Frightful for companionship. Around Christmas time, his friend Bando returns. This time Bando told him that there had been stories circulating in New York City about a wild boy living alone in the forest, but no one could prove it. The stories became huge rumors, newspapermen were poking around the woods trying to find the wild boy. Sam's father realized from the newspaper that it must be Sam they were talking about, so he decided to look for Sam. He finally found Sam and ended up spending Christmas in the forest with Sam, Bando, and Frightful. After Sam's dad left to return to New York City, a newspaperman named Matt Spelling came poking around the forest looking for the wild boy. Matt

Essay on The State, Media Policies DemocracyEssay Writing Service

Essay on The State, Media Policies DemocracyEssay Writing Service Essay on The State, Media Policies Democracy Essay on The State, Media Policies DemocracyThe issue regarding the relationship between the state, media policy and democracy has been widely discussed in scientific literature. There are different conceptions of democracy, which can be applied to different situations. On the one hand, the public has the right to participate in social affairs, applying democratic principles and effectively using the mass media information to achieve the established goals. On the other hand, the conception of democracy is that â€Å"the public must be barred from managing of their own affairs, but the means of information must be kept narrowly and rigidly controlled† (Chomsky, 1992, p. 10). According to Noam Chomsky (1992), â€Å"propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state†(p. 4). In other words, this phrase means propaganda is used by leaders to keep the masses under their control. Actually, Chomsky discusses the effectiveness of American propaganda effor ts, providing comprehensive historical evidence â€Å"from the warmongering of Woodrow Wilson to the creation of popular support for the 1991 military intervention in Kuwait† (Chomsky, 1992). He places emphasis on the effects of the falsification of historical data, suppression of vital information, as well as the use of the vapid concepts by the U.S. leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, pursuing the major goal to prevent the U.S. citizens from putting forward awkward questions about the adopted U.S. policy. Thesis statement: Propaganda can be viewed as an effective tool to promote democracy through the media, controlled by the state, although it may be ignored by people who have no interest in the proposed beliefs.The role of propaganda can be assessed from different perspectives. Noam Chomsky, the linguists and political thinker, highlights the idea of â€Å"the bewildered herd† that refers to the masses that are too ignorant to critically assess the media. Acco rding to Chomsky, â€Å"the bewildered herd, trampling and roaring, has its function: to be the interested spectators of action, not participants† (Chomsky, 2004, p. 93). The state can be viewed as the specialized class, which involves not only policymakers, but also school teachers and principals, who lead and control the so-called â€Å"bewildered herd†.   The media can be used to direct the â€Å"bewildered herd† providing each member the sense of reality and instilling the proper beliefs. The so-called â€Å"gatekeeping† in relation to Chomsky’s arguments regarding â€Å"the bewildered herd† and propaganda being to democracy â€Å"what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state† can be explained by the impact of the state on media policy. Some of the techniques of propaganda, which include codes and conventions that depend on cultural knowledge, can be used to orient the public in the world of politics. Actually, propaganda†™s function is to motivate others and influence the behavior of others in terms of politics. The techniques of propaganda are based on ethos, pathos and logos, because these elements make any argument more persuasive. As this strategy helps to produce successful propaganda, many propagandists combine democratic principles with the ideas expressed by the state to control media policies (Marlin, 2002). The art of propaganda is the art of persuasion, which proves the significance of the established ideology and proposed policy (Marlin, 2002). Codes and conventions that depend on cultural knowledge affect the quality of propaganda.  In general, such gatekeeping compromises Bennett’s (2007) characterization of â€Å"news as a democratic information system† because the news media fails to serve the needs of democracy in certain political contexts.   Lance Bennett (2007) is focused on the role of various political actors, including political leader, presidents, the memb ers of Congress, the members of interest groups and human activists in the functioning of the media to persuade people. According to Bennett, political thought is driven by the media, which provides both external and internal information. Many people ignore the news information because their interests are in conflict with the proposed beliefs. The media is focused on creating the healthy, trustworthy environment that is aimed at supporting the major state’s policies, as well as the ideas of the interest groups. In other words, the media is used to maintain and promote the so-called illusions developed by the state to allow public opinion being influenced by the state’s interests. The media operates as the tool to control political thought. Noam Chomsky (2004), as an experienced political thinker, believes that the media is a powerful force used by the state to create the required illusion of democracy. The media has the ability to construct public opinion as it is requ ired by those who are in power. The fact that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution works to ensure freedom of press, driven by democratic principles, does not mean that the media reflects democracy. According to Chomsky, â€Å"if the powerful are able to fix the premise of discourse, to decide what the general populace is allowed to see, hear and think about, and to manage public opinion by regular propaganda campaigns, the standard view of how the system works is at serious odds with reality† (qtd. in Best Radcliff, 2005, p. 72). Generally speaking, Bennett’s characterization of â€Å"news as a democratic information system† fails to reveal the real function of the media in today’s political environment.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the role of the media in contemporary politics is crucial as it depends on the state, but, at the same time, it is influenced by democracy. The study of political power in relation to public opinion helps to evaluate the significance of propaganda. The media can be viewed as an effective tool to control and manipulate public opinion, based on the principles of democracy and the ideas of governmental elites. In other words democracy is influenced by the state’s policies. Chomsky’s arguments regarding â€Å"the bewildered herd† and propaganda being to democracy â€Å"what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state† can be used to give explanation to the impact of the state on media policy. Although the media is considered to be free from the state’s censorship, it is steadily compromised by the state’s control. In some cases, the media fails to provide people with the type of information they need to assess the political situation and make the correct choices regarding their own interests in politics. The governmental elites who provide control over the functioning of the media also have control over publ ic opinion, shaping the information in their own interests. So, Bennett’s characterization of â€Å"news as a democratic information system† is false. Propaganda is crucial for the state as it maintains the illusion of democracy while permitting the interest groups to have power over public opinion.

Do you think the European Union has a democratic deficit Essay

Do you think the European Union has a democratic deficit - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the European Union is among the international organization that is developed. It provides an avenue for viewing the democratic structures development outside its state members. Democratic deficit is a controversial issue among the European Union members and touches on issues that are crucial. The essential issues are based on developments in the future within the theory of democracy. However, the European Union democratic deficit is known for its heterogenic nature. Thus, members are not sure if the deficit really exists and the issue is still being debated upon. Similarly, possible problem potential solutions vary in scope and range. In comparison to international organizations that are traditional, the European Union has a distinct institutional structure. The member states acceptance of the European Treaties has brought so many favours. For instance, the member states have the capability of relinquishing sovereignty in relations to institutions that are independent thus representing shared and national interests. The institutions of the European Union complement each other. In that case, each has a role to play in terms of decision-making. The decisions made fulfil various functions such as executive, judicial and legislative. There exist seven (7) key European Union governing institutions. These are such as the council, European commission, European parliament, court of justice, court of auditors and the European Central Bank. (â€Å"European Union Primer†). All these institutions have a role to play as illustrated below. The council main role is to set an agenda. In that case, it is responsible for the overall European Union political direction. However, it has no mandate to approve any laws. As a result of the role it plays, members have to meet occasionally after every six months. It comprises of the state or government national heads and the commission’s president. In their meetings, they do cover various issues facing the member countries. These are such as, transport, industry, environment, agriculture among others. On matters related to law-making, the European Union three institutions play an essential part. These are such as, the European Union Council, European parliament and the European commission. The parliament represents the citizens of the European Union; the council represents the state or governments of European Union members and the commission represents the Union interest. Jointly, these institutions work together to come up with viable policies for the Union. They follow the ordinary legislative process and provide laws and policies that are thorough. The policies and laws are then adopted throughout the European Union. Ideally, it is the commission that proposes laws that need to be implemented whilst the council and parliament approves them. The European Union member countries and the commission task are to implement the newly generated laws and poli cies. Furthermore, the commission has to ensure that the designed laws are implemented and applied properly (â€Å"EU institutions and other bodies†). The Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors have also a significant role to play in the European Union. The court of justice main purpose is to ensure the correct interpretation of the community law and its implementation in correspondent with the signed Treaties. For instance, a ruling can be made by the court if a state member fails to follow any laid down Treaties obligations. Alternatively, if the country fails to check community institutions instruments that are compatible with regards to the Treaty. This occurs whereby, annulment actions are presented before the court or failure to act by the European commission, council or parliament. Apart from the above roles, the court of justice has all the powers to give their opinion on Treaties correct