Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Introduction to Democrats VS Republicans
My first major writing assignment was a compare and contrast titled "Democrats VS Republicans". When I submitted it as a final draft during our second week of class it didn't meet the requirements for an effective piece of writing. Since then I've had several opportunities to revise it and now it's a worthy representation of an effective piece. This paper gives the reader another perspective of politics in America.
Introduction to Seminar 1 Three Cups of Tea
I chose this as the best representation of analytical writing. The task was to take several important quotes from the book "Three Cups of Tea" and write about their importance in understanding the story. By underlining these quotes and coming back to them it allowed me to take some time to brainstorm and really get a better understanding of their message. The following was an excerpt from this assignment, "by describing the lack of oxygen at those elevations it helps the reader understand another element that many people aren’t familiar with" (Keller 1). By picking the text apart the reader gets a much better understanding of the story, this is something we worked on as a class. This has made a huge difference in the way I approach a book, I've been able to get a much better understanding of things that I read.
Seminar 1 Three Cups of Tea
“His images startle, but Rowell always felt they failed compared to the experience of simply standing there, dwarfed by the spectacle of what he considered the most beautiful place on earth, a place he dubbed the throne room of the mountain gods”(Mortenson 18). In this passage Rowell was referring to the images he had taken of Baltoro. This statement gives the reader a very strong sense of how awesome the scenery was and how nothing, not even his glamorous pictures, could compare to actually witnessing it first hand. It makes you want to travel to Pakistan and see it for yourself.
“Mouzafer was a Balti, the mountain people who populated the least hospitable high-altitude valleys in northern Pakistan”. “With their diminutive size, toughness, and supreme ability to thrive at altitudes where few humans choose even to visit, they have physically reminded many mountaineers climbing in Baltistan of their distant cousins to the east, the Sherpa of Nepal”(Mortenson 21). These statements were very important in describing the Balti people. They were small but strong and well adapted to this harsh environment. I believe it gives the reader an added sense of respect for these people and seemed to be a source of pride for the Balti.
“Fosco Maraini, a member of the 1958 Italian expedition that managed the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV, a rugged neighbor of K2, was so appalled and fascinated by the Balti, that his erudite book about the expedition, Karakoram: The Ascent of Gasherbrum IV, reads more like a scholarly treatise on the Balti way of life than a memoir of mountaineering triumph”(Mortenson 21). This show’s how meeting the people of Balti was such an important part of his adventure. Maraini seemed to be so amazed with them that he lost cite of the importance of their triumph over the Gasherbrum, a mountain that had never been climbed before.
“The autumn air down at eleven thousand feet had a weight and luxury he’d forgotten” (Mortenson 23). I chose this sentence because I thought it helped describe the harsh circumstances that Mortenson faced while he was at a higher elevation. It made me think about the difficulties of just breathing at such altitudes and how much of a relief it was to descend to a friendlier climate. Just the lack of sleep and food alone would make things hard, after traveling across such a rugged landscape, but by describing the lack of oxygen at those elevations it helps the reader understand another element that many people aren’t familiar with.
“Mouzafer was a Balti, the mountain people who populated the least hospitable high-altitude valleys in northern Pakistan”. “With their diminutive size, toughness, and supreme ability to thrive at altitudes where few humans choose even to visit, they have physically reminded many mountaineers climbing in Baltistan of their distant cousins to the east, the Sherpa of Nepal”(Mortenson 21). These statements were very important in describing the Balti people. They were small but strong and well adapted to this harsh environment. I believe it gives the reader an added sense of respect for these people and seemed to be a source of pride for the Balti.
“Fosco Maraini, a member of the 1958 Italian expedition that managed the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV, a rugged neighbor of K2, was so appalled and fascinated by the Balti, that his erudite book about the expedition, Karakoram: The Ascent of Gasherbrum IV, reads more like a scholarly treatise on the Balti way of life than a memoir of mountaineering triumph”(Mortenson 21). This show’s how meeting the people of Balti was such an important part of his adventure. Maraini seemed to be so amazed with them that he lost cite of the importance of their triumph over the Gasherbrum, a mountain that had never been climbed before.
“The autumn air down at eleven thousand feet had a weight and luxury he’d forgotten” (Mortenson 23). I chose this sentence because I thought it helped describe the harsh circumstances that Mortenson faced while he was at a higher elevation. It made me think about the difficulties of just breathing at such altitudes and how much of a relief it was to descend to a friendlier climate. Just the lack of sleep and food alone would make things hard, after traveling across such a rugged landscape, but by describing the lack of oxygen at those elevations it helps the reader understand another element that many people aren’t familiar with.
Democrats VS Republicans
The United States was a country built on the idea of Democracy a system of government that recognizes “equality and freedom” for all. The two political parties that stemmed from these beliefs are the Democratic and Republican. They’re both a product of democracy, in which all men are created equal. These political parties share the same goal to decide who gets what, when and how. They both govern the United States in terms of welfare, national defense, taxation, and legislation. They both are forms of governing by the “people or by elected representatives of the people” (Allen 123). However the Democratic Party does a better job of representing the majority in terms of taxation and social issues and the Republican Parties strong stance on national defense have kept Americans safe.
Historically the Democratic Party has leaned in favor of taxation and many people are opposed to that, but without it the wealthy minority would take an even larger percentage of this nation’s income. Taxation, bureaucracy and large government don’t sound so good but the idea behind them is to create jobs and provide for a more even distribution of wealth. Taxes fund schools, support welfare programs, help to build roads, and public facilities. Many of the people that are opposed to taxes benefit the most from them.
Republican Tax cuts only benefit the wealthy minority by minimizing surtaxes on incomes that are far above average. These wealthy minorities earn their money off the backs of working class Americans. Republicans believe that fewer taxes are better to stimulate economic growth, but the only growth we see is the growing pockets of the wealthy few and the growing gap between working class incomes and corporate dictators.
On the other hand putting too much faith in diplomatic approaches to resolve conflict, the Democrats have failed their country in terms of national defense. Diplomacy has its advantages, but we all know actions speak louder than words. President Woodrow Wilson’s failure to act during the early stages of World War I resulted in the deaths of almost 1,200 innocent civilians, when the German U-boat U-20 attacked the British passenger vessel Lusitania.
However the Democratic Party is more liberal in its views of social restrictions and favor control over enterprise, commerce, and taxation. Democrats are pro choice in terms of abortion, and lean towards equal rights. The Republican Party believes in little government control, lower taxes to stimulate economic activity, and less control over commerce with more over social issues. They generally represent religious groups, are pro-life, and recognize the unity of marriage in a traditional fashion and are opposed to same sex marriage. Although both the Democratic and Republican parties stand for valuable ideas the Democratic Party better represents the majority.
Social freedoms are important to Democrats. Typically they are pro choice with regards to abortion. They believe in separation of church and state and equal rights for homosexuals. Homosexuality is genetic with one abnormal chromosome. Why is it ok for us to discriminate against sexual orientation? Why do Republicans insist that marriage is a union between men and women?
Both political parties have their faults and make mistakes, but the Democratic Party does a better job of rewarding hard work creating jobs and sharing the success of this nation. By cutting taxes for the wealthy and restricting social freedoms the Republican Party has been unfair to blue collar Americans that represent the majority. The party has failed to recognize social freedoms and equality.
Historically the Democratic Party has leaned in favor of taxation and many people are opposed to that, but without it the wealthy minority would take an even larger percentage of this nation’s income. Taxation, bureaucracy and large government don’t sound so good but the idea behind them is to create jobs and provide for a more even distribution of wealth. Taxes fund schools, support welfare programs, help to build roads, and public facilities. Many of the people that are opposed to taxes benefit the most from them.
Republican Tax cuts only benefit the wealthy minority by minimizing surtaxes on incomes that are far above average. These wealthy minorities earn their money off the backs of working class Americans. Republicans believe that fewer taxes are better to stimulate economic growth, but the only growth we see is the growing pockets of the wealthy few and the growing gap between working class incomes and corporate dictators.
On the other hand putting too much faith in diplomatic approaches to resolve conflict, the Democrats have failed their country in terms of national defense. Diplomacy has its advantages, but we all know actions speak louder than words. President Woodrow Wilson’s failure to act during the early stages of World War I resulted in the deaths of almost 1,200 innocent civilians, when the German U-boat U-20 attacked the British passenger vessel Lusitania.
However the Democratic Party is more liberal in its views of social restrictions and favor control over enterprise, commerce, and taxation. Democrats are pro choice in terms of abortion, and lean towards equal rights. The Republican Party believes in little government control, lower taxes to stimulate economic activity, and less control over commerce with more over social issues. They generally represent religious groups, are pro-life, and recognize the unity of marriage in a traditional fashion and are opposed to same sex marriage. Although both the Democratic and Republican parties stand for valuable ideas the Democratic Party better represents the majority.
Social freedoms are important to Democrats. Typically they are pro choice with regards to abortion. They believe in separation of church and state and equal rights for homosexuals. Homosexuality is genetic with one abnormal chromosome. Why is it ok for us to discriminate against sexual orientation? Why do Republicans insist that marriage is a union between men and women?
Both political parties have their faults and make mistakes, but the Democratic Party does a better job of rewarding hard work creating jobs and sharing the success of this nation. By cutting taxes for the wealthy and restricting social freedoms the Republican Party has been unfair to blue collar Americans that represent the majority. The party has failed to recognize social freedoms and equality.
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