Land of Bondage, Land of the Free

Land of Bondage, Land of the Free Essay The tao does not come here tonight to be judged, but to judge, Hear then his accusations and his sentiments. I indict the Spanish encomendero for inventing taxes impossible to bear. I indict the usurer for saddling me with debts impossible to pay. I indict the irresponsible radical leaders who undermine with insidious eloquence the confidence of my kind in the government. You accuse me of not supporting my family. Free me from bondage and I shall prove you false. You accuse me of ignorance. But I am ignorant because my master finds it profitable to keep me ignorant. Free me from bondage and I shall prove you false. You accuse me of indolence. But I am indolent, not because I have no will, but because I have no hope. Why should I labor if all the fruits of my labor go to pay an unpayable debt? Free me from bondage and I shall prove you false. Give me land. Land to own, land unbeholden to any tyrant, land that will be free. Give me land for I am starving. Give me land that my children may not die. Sell it to me. Sell it to me at fair price – as one free man sells to another – and not as a usurer sells to a slave. I am poor, but I will pay for it. I will work, work, until I fall from weariness for my privilege, my inalienable right to be free. But if you will not grant me this last request, this ultimate demand, then build a wall around your house. Build it high, build it strong. Place a sentry on every parapet. For I, who have been silent there three hundred years, will come in the night when you are feasting – with my cry and my bolo at your door – And may God have mercy on your soul!

In the Eyes of the Beholder Essay -- Music Entertainment Musicians Pap

In the Eyes of the Beholder The Contrasting Views of American Culture between Foreign and American Musicians The crowd of over 60,000 bursts into a thunderous uproar as the stadium suddenly becomes dark and anticipation rises like the temperature under a blazing Georgian July sun. After a seemingly infinite wait, one solitary image suddenly lights up from the seventy-foot video screen: an American flag. The Star Spangled Banner then booms from the massive speakers with the crowd growing frantic in the waiting for what is next. The national anthem fades out with â€Å"o’er the land of the free...† and a brief silence exists before a fierce drum beat begins, pounding away as the crowded frenzy is at an ecstatic high. A voice soon booms across the stadium, â€Å"and the home of the braaaaave† rattling it like a kitchen cupboard full of plates and glasses when a train passes by. The stage lights up and there on the massive stage set are U2. Lead singer Bono is lit up by a spotlight dressed in all black leather, sunglasses, and an American flag bandana. After a sc reeching guitar intro from The Edge, Bono breaks into the lyrics for the song â€Å"Bullet the Blue Sky,† an outsiders take on America. The show has begun. As with beauty, what actually is American life and culture is in the eye of the beholder. There is a large discrepency between the views of Americans on their own lives and that of inhabitants of other nations. The American dream of opportunity and freedom is well illustrated in its popular music. On the other hand, foreign artists usually take a more critical approach to American life with their views coming from the opposite end of the looking-glass. The contrasting views bring up an interesting que... ...is band sees is his reality and epitomizes his view of America and its culture. What is yours? Works Cited Mr. Showbiz. Wall of Sound: Tom Petty. 1997. (6 June 1998). Passengers. Original Soundtracks I. Island Records, Inc., 1995. Rolling Stone. Pop Review. 1997. (8 June 1998). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Damn the Torpedoes. MCA Records, Inc., 1981. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Into the Great Wide Open. MCA Records, Inc., 1991. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records, Inc., 1976. U2. The Joshua Tree. Island Records, Inc., 1987. U2. Pop. Island Records, Inc., 1997. U2. Rattle and Hum. Island Records, Inc., 1988. U2. War. Island Records, Inc., 1983.

Augustine Aquinas

Aquinas embraces the material, arguing that the material world is essential in order to understand the divine. Though the theories of both men are different, they both agreed that one could know God through reason, yet no one could understand God fully because God created man. SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas on Human Nature SST. Augustine believed that human nature, which was created by God, was good. He also believed that humans are equally able to choose good or bad, but humans are constantly attracted to evil because of our sinful nature that we inherited from Adam (Free will, 2013).SST. Augustine argued that the only way to escape this sinful nature was to accept the grace given by God, which we receive only by salvation and being good. SST. Aquinas' theory on nature differs from SST. Augustine. He believed that human nature is the compilation of the mind, body, and soul. Our minds and bodies are subject to corruption, but our souls are immaterial and free from corruption. To exi st, according to Aquinas, is to be good. However, our human nature or our good depends on goodness of our actions. SST. Augustine and SST.Aquinas Knowing Good SST. Augustine believed that we are trapped by our sins and our fulfillment or happiness can only be found in God (Clark & opportune, 2003). For Augustine, knowing the good was not enough to motivate humans to be good. Humans due to their free will and sinful nature require divine intervention; knowing God. SST. Augustine believed that good was not found in worldly possessions and that we should not attach ourselves to such things (2003). Material possessions can be lost and God is the only good that cannot be lost. SST.Aquinas was a follower of Aristotle, who also believed that good was pendent on whether it contributed or deterred us from our proper human end, which is dominance, or happiness. He also believed the people could know good by reasoning well (Lecture 3, SYS-305, GU, 2013). Knowing good required a range of intell ectual and moral virtues that enable us to comprehend the nature of true happiness, and motivate us to search for it on a consistent basis. He also believed that good, was reaching a maximally fulfilling life and that we as humans are always in search of fulfillment (Wilkins, 201 1).SST. Augustine & SST. Aquinas on DOing Good Both SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas felt that doing good required God to be the main focus of man. For SST. Augustine, doing good required our love of God to be primary (Augustine, 2014). If we give God our primary love, then all other loves gain value. If we love God first, we will know what is right and good (Aquinas & Regis, 1997). Putting God first, put good in the proper order, which would then lead us to diamond. SST. Aquinas felt that our happiness or goodness is not be found in created things. SST.Aquinas believed that doing DOD required God and that God alone was sufficient for our fulfillment, or happiness. True fulfillment in doing good would come f rom loving God and our neighbor (Clark & Progeny, 2003). Hope of our fulfillment, or of doing good, can only be found in receiving grace and leading us to a closer relationship and love of God (Aquinas & Peg's, 1997). Critique of SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas Though SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas have different views about material possessions in the world, SST. Aquinas has the view that is more rational.His view is not as harsh as SST Augustine. SST. Augustine is strict on the belief that we are all broken people due to man's sinful nature. Without saying so directly, he makes humans sound like awful beings that are no good. Whereas SST. Aquinas does believe that, we have a sinful nature, but that we all have the ability to have a fulfilling life and reach our ultimate goal of happiness in the end with God. Conclusion SST. Augustine and SST. Aquinas were both great minds of medieval times. They were pioneers in theology and Christianity.

A Considerable Speck By Robert Frost - 1257 Words

A Considerable Speck - Analysis Sometimes, the most insignificant object can hold infinite meaning. â€Å"A Considerable Speck,† by Robert Frost tell us of a story representing a legacy, with the main thematic statement revolving around all entities having meaning if an individual were to look close enough. The title of the poem, an oxymoron in itself epitomizes an entity that would have otherwise been overlooked almost immediately by any other person. As the reader progresses through the poem, it becomes a distinct possibility that Frost himself was writing the poem as the events were unfolding live, actually seeing the dust mite skittering across his paper and documenting his thoughts via poetry. This particular element of thought expression can be seen when he expresses his statements â€Å"Plainly with an intelligence I dealt. It seemed too tiny to have room for feet, Yet must have had a set of them complete, To express how much it didn’t want to die.† (15-18 ) further cementing his judgment into the pillars of his poetry. Throughout the poem, these thoughts can be connected to not just one particular dust mite, or â€Å"speck,† but other entities as well. The poem begins with a line immediately drawing attention to the subject, â€Å"A speck that would have been beneath my sight.† (1.) This line is oxymoronic in the sense that, although the speaker acknowledges that the speck was beneath his gaze, he still feels the need to validate the object’s existence in his statements. This, alongShow MoreRelated Fire And Ice - Compared To 4 Other Poems Essay1607 Words   |  7 Pagesthink Robert Frost is a understandable, but yet an unconventional poet. Frost wrote in his own style, and as a result, he took quite a bit of heat from the critics of his period. Frost has an elegant style of writing descriptive and understandable poems. I am going to tell you about the five best pieces he has ever written. First off, amp;quot;A Considerable Speckamp;quot; is a unusual poem about Frost noticing a tiny speck on his paper. Upon further observation, Frost notices that the speck is