The Homeless †Mentally Ill, or Just Lazy? Essay -- Exploratory Essays

The Homeless – Mentally Ill, or Just Lazy? What causes homelessness? Is homelessness the result of job loss? Does it result from drug and alcohol addiction? Just who are the homeless? The homeless are a mixture of people with many different problems. Many of them are mentally ill patients released from institutions. Some are single women with children. As John Grisham stated, 40% are substance abusers (Grisham 14). Some of the homeless want and need help, but to others being homeless is a conscious choice. The choices a person makes will largely determine what kind of life he or she has. Outside factors, such as unexpected job loss, may drastically alter a person’s lifestyle for a while, but most people get back on their feet before long. As the GM worker said in Roger and Me, "It’s never pleasant when something like this comes to an end, but life goes on." The majority of people will make the choice to look for another job, no matter what they have to do to get one. This may include moving to another part of the state or country (the lady at the Flint post office said they had 82,000 address changes). It may also result in a cut in pay. Most workers are willing to make the sacrifices it takes to continue to be employed. Yet there are others who decide to give up, start to drink, or take drugs, and end up on the street. Watching Roger and Me in 2004 does not have the same impact it had in 1989. GM was one of the first companies to "downsize," and it was a big shock to everyone when it happened. Since then downsizing has become a trend with thousands of companies, and people nowadays are not surprised when they are laid off. Roger Smith is only one of many CEO’s who make millions while lower employees lose their jo... ...ay find themselves jobless and homeless. Everyone faces obstacles in their life. How one chooses to deal with them - to fight or to give up - will determine the quality of life he or she will have. Works Cited Crimmins, James C.   The American Promise.   San Francisco: KQED Books,   1995.    Grisham, John.   "Somewhere for Everyone."   Newsweek February 9, 1998: 14.    Marin, Peter.   "Helping and Hating the Homeless:   The Struggle at the Margins of America." Writing For Change: A Community Reader.   Ed.   Ann Watters and Marjorie Ford. NY McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.   270-283.    Moore, Michael, Dir.   Roger & Me.   Videocassette.   Dog Eat Dog/Warner Bros., 1989.   VHS.   Ã‚   83 min.    Terkel, Studs.   "Mike LeFevre:   Who Built the Pyramids?"   Writing For Change - A Community Reader.   Ed.   Ann Watters and Marjorie Ford.   NY McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.   209-216.

Macbeth And Lady Macbeth Essay Essay

Complex relationships between main characters are often crucial to our understanding of a plays core issues. â€Å"Macbeth† by William Shakespeare is a play that features a breakdown in the relationship between two main characters. Macbeth and his wife begin the play with a desirable relationship but as the plot progresses, his ambition pushes him to commit regicide and many other murders so their relationship dissolves and disintegrates. The breakdown of their relationship has a significant impact on the play. At the beginning of the play Macbeth and his wife are loving to each other: when Macbeth writes a letter to Lady Macbeth and calls her his â€Å"dearest partner in greatness†. This shows he sees her as his equal. The breakdown of their relationship is caused by many things, the most obvious is the murder of King Duncan. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth react in very different ways: Macbeth is overwhelmed with guilt and regret â€Å"Sleep no more: Macbeth has murdered sleep† this shows how uncomfortable he feels with the crime he has committed as he won’t be able to sleep because of the guilt he is experiencing. Lady Macbeth reacts completely opposite to Macbeth. She is calm and practical, telling him to wash his hands â€Å"A little water clears us of this deed† this shows how optimistic she is to think that water can wash away the guilt. Lady Macbeth takes control in their relationship as Macbeth is very weak and she questions his bravery and manhood, therefore they are no longer affectionate towards each other. The mental suffering they both go through after the murder is another factor that contributes to the breakdown of their relationship. After being crowned King, Macbeth confesses he is discontented. â€Å"To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus†. He has the idea that Banquo will become King and fears it will come true. At the same time, Lady Macbeth is feeling a similar disappointment: â€Å"Nought had, all’s spent when our desire is got without content†. Yet the pair are not communicating at this point. Lady Macbeth has to ask her servant to tell Macbeth she wants to speak with him and he is plotting to have Banquo disposed of but keeps this information from her.

Changes in American Foreign Policy, 1880-1920

Reflective of changes throughout the world, and sometimes in response to them, America underwent a great deal of transformation in the period from 1880-1920, especially in the various areas of foreign policy. With this transformation in mind, this paper will discuss several key areas in American foreign policy from the late 1800s to early 1920s. At the conclusion of the paper, the reader will have better understanding of the topic and hopefully will study the topic in greater depth.With the topic in mind, the paper begins with an overview of American foreign policy in the early days of the period being presented. American Foreign Policy Prior to the Late 1890s Prior to the late 1890s, American foreign policy was mostly focused on ways for America to insulate itself from the rest of the world, evidenced by the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, the taking of the Midway Islands off of Hawaii as an American territory in 1867, and later, the acquisition of Hawaii as a territory.What these strategic moves show is an American initiative to put as much distance between the United States and the other nations of the world as possible. At that time in history, oceans and land borders were an effective barrier against foreign interference, more so than today. Reasons for the Change in American Foreign Policy in the 1890s Once America entered the 1890s, attitudes about foreign policy began to shift from the previous desire for isolationism, for a variety of reasons.In the specific interest of democracy and its proliferation around the world, the United States found it necessary to look beyond its own borders for fertile land to plant the seeds of democracy, as most historians agree that the United States frontier was officially â€Å"closed† as of 1890, making it necessary to look elsewhere to spread American influence if so desired. The United States also had legitimate reasons to be concerned about the foreign policies of others in the world, illustrated by the expansion of European influence in Asia and Africa, as well as economic concerns that affected foreign policy.The 1893 depression that rocked the American economy necessitated a way to distract the people from their domestic problems, as well as ways to find international markets for American products as a way of relieving the economic ills brought by the depression of 1893. Domestic industries also had an acute need for raw materials, many of which could only be obtained overseas, and the only way to effectively obtain them from overseas was to build a relationship with foreign countries, which admittedly was not part of foreign policy to any measurable extent up to this time.Prominent Americans Involved in the Formation of Foreign Policy Whether in an official government function, or as a result of other actions, there are several noteworthy Americans who shaped the course of foreign policy at this time, and indeed changed the course of history to a substantial extent. Governm ent leaders who had a loud voice in regard to American foreign policy during this era were of course President Theodore Roosevelt, as well as powerful senators such as Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, Secretary of State John Hay who served in this capacity both Under Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and others.In the world of American industry, men such as Andrew Carnegie were held in high esteem for their foreign policy views, as were â€Å"celebrities† such as author Mark Twain. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most influential â€Å"civilians† in foreign policy at this time was newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Hearst, it is alleged, sensationalized headlines in an effort to ignite the American interest in engaging Spain in what would be come to be known as the Spanish American War, as well as other events.This type of activism played a pivotal role in the shaping of American foreign policy. Foreign Policy in Latin America, Asia and Europe As America undertook a more active foreign policy due to government and private citizen involvement, it encountered challenges from several areas of the world, both relatively close to her borders and overseas. One of the most significant tests to American foreign policy at that time came from Spain, namely in regard to the issue of Cuba.More specifically, Cuba had not gained independence from Spain up to this time, as the rest of Latin America had. Cuban revolt against Spain had been ongoing for many years, but Cuba remained Spain’s only American territory, and was important to the Spanish for its strategic location as well as for its resources in sugar, beef and tobacco. The United States also had substantial business interests in Cuba and therefore desired to confront Spain in regard to possession of Cuba.In 1898, the United States went to war with Spain, a war which ultimately resulting in American victory and possession of Cuba, but at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars an d thousands of American lives. Upon possession of Cuba, the United States established the Guantanamo Marine and Naval Base in Cuba, which still exists today. Regarding the involvement of America in foreign affairs overseas, following the Spanish-American War which gave America possession of Cuba, America began to move further away from its native soil, acquiring Guam and the Philippines as territories as well.America also became more involved with foreign powers in regard to trade as a result of the acquisition of the Panama Canal Zone, and President Theodore Roosevelt sought to flex American muscle by such displays as the launching of a naval fleet of huge ships which traveled to foreign ports, proudly displaying the American flag as a clear message that America was in a sense â€Å"moving into the neighborhood†. Succeeding Roosevelt in the presidency, Woodrow Wilson’s emphasis on diplomacy and missionary type foreign relations led to American intervention and war in Europe.When World War I first began to erupt in Europe, the United States attempted to stay neutral in the dispute, which was impossible due to America’s wish for neutrality on one hand and the desire to prevent Germany from winning the war on the other. Wilson, attempting to toe the line between American entrance in the war and efforts to assist in the defeat of Germany, tried to be involved without going to war, which he soon learned was impossible, throwing America headlong into World War I.The American entrance into World War I, it should be noted in fairness, was also made necessary by the aggression of other countries. Specifically speaking of German aggression against the United States, German submarines sank the British liner Lusitania in 1915, killing among others 128 Americans, followed by continued German warfare aimed at United States merchant ships on the seas that the United States tried to sail as a neutral nation.There is also evidence of an organized German e ffort to wage war on the United States, which certainly accelerated the American path to World War I. American Foreign Policy as it Appeared Around 1920 In the years around 1920, America’s foreign policy, in a sense coming full circle from the isolationist policies of the early 1890s, seemed to look inward, namely in the area of immigration, and how the huge influx of people from other countries seeking a new life in America was affecting the lives of those already in the country.During the beginning of the 20th century, millions upon millions of people had come to the United States, and as the number of people coming from other countries increased, the opposition to this among Americans increased as well. The United States in the early 1920s was no longer willing to accept huge numbers of immigrants as in the past. With this in mind, several laws were passed to limit the numbers of immigrants allowed admission into the United States, signaling the end of one of the largest m ass migrations of people from many nations to one nation in the history of the modern human race.As immigration slowed to a mere trickle, a small but significant movement of Americans to Europe was taking place, but this was mostly in the area of the intellectuals, artists and authors, who sought the deep cultural history of Europe to stimulate their creativity and quest for knowledge and exposure to ancient cultures. Closing Thoughts In retrospect, American foreign policy from 1880-1920 was truly a vital ingredient in defining the expansion of the United States, as well as establishing democracy as a force to be respected, and in some cases reckoned with, in terms of international foreign relations.In addition, the land acquisitions and strategic alliances that were formed during this era play a part in the economy and security of the United States even today. This being said, as a closing thought, it is intriguing to consider the role that history has in not only defining and expl aining our past, but also setting a course for the future. Therefore, it is the duty of every thinking person to treasure history and learn from it, lest, as the old saying goes, we become condemned to repeat it.