Civil Disobedience Essay(1200w)

Civil Disobedience Essay

            Civil disobedience is an inherent part of any nation’s history, from the most developed to the most backwards. Without the act of civil disobedience most developed nations would stagnate then die or wither away under the repressive rule of tyrants. Civil disobedience has been a part of human life since the first cities began and the first tyrants took up rule. Even the great and powerful Roman Empire had multiple examples of this, some which developed into coups and other into revolution. One act of civil disobedience in recent history was the Romanian Revolution of 1989(Revoluția Română). It was the last push to eradicate Communism in Warsaw Pact nations and heralded the impending end of the abomination that was the USSR. The people of Romania grew tired of the tyranny, censorship, and poverty imposed on them by the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, whose rule was cemented by the Soviets until the end, so they took up arms against him. The accounts of those dark yet enlightening days vary depending on the person, but all have one thing in common: Ceaușescu was a dictator who had to be deposed to free the Romanian nation. Even his closest advisors knew at heart that Ceaușescu’s judgment day was coming, and it would be a new start for the country. The revolting people were totally in the right, for they had the natural human right to remove someone who did nothing but oppress, kill “dissidents”, mismanage the economy, and drive the country into poverty and famine. This act of civil revolt showed the rest of the world, especially other oppressed peoples, that there is always a way to achieve the goal of freedom from the regimes that look to suppress and control them.

            The Revolution began as a protest against the economic and social malaise that pervaded the daily life for most Romanians, especially after Ceaușescu’s economic and social reforms. Ceaușescu’s “reforms” were damaging at minimum. They caused widespread famine, especially in agrarian communities, which were required to give up most of their crops to the government, under threat of punishment(death). Nicolae Ceaușescu had ordered the military to fire on the protestors, which led to the deaths of over 100 Romanian citizens. The president gave a speech soon after, claiming that those protestors killed were traitors and dissidents, so punishment was a necessity. The people at what was to become the dictator’s final speech listened to his worthless rhetoric with a lack of emotion that had never been seen in the nation. Few cheered for him when he finished portions of his scripted speech; quite the opposite occurred: they began to jeer and shout anti-government slogans. The Securitate(government secret police) saw this as a threat while the people saw this as a beginning of a democratic revolution. The dictator and his wife, the deputy Prime Minister, white with fear, were escorted to a waiting helicopter by their guards and fled the scene to the chanting of the crowd,” Ti-mi-șoa-ra!” The whole scene was televised, allowing other Romanians that were absent from the speech to see what was happening. Many of the Romanians were privately supporting dissidents and held anti-Ceaușescu ideas. Their allegiance to the idea of democracy spurred them to action, and soon the whole country was in the throes of revolution. From the point of view of the Ceaușescus and their cronies an unjust rebellion and massive “waves” of traitors threatened to sink the government’s “ship”. Though Ceaușescu was a Communist he was at odds with the Soviet government and believed that they organized a coup-de-etat. He had long believed this to be the future reason for his downfall, but in his mind his fear finally had factual support. From the point of view of the Romanian people, a glorious and long-overdue revolution was igniting their spirits, pushing them to throw off the yoke of Communism and the Warsaw Pact, forced on to them after WWII, willing them to take their rightful place in the world as a modern European nation.

            The Ceaușescus were captured by the military, which, by December 22^nd, was on the side of the revolution and the people. The new minister of defense, Victor Stånulescu, said about the reason for the military’s defection,” I had the prospect of two execution squads: Ceaușescu’s and the revolutionary one!” He chose the people over his ex-leader, and had a trial for the two. The trial ended in 90 minutes, with a death sentence for both leaders of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The charges were,” Accounts in Switzerland amounting to $1 Billion, Genocide against the Romanian people, undermining of the national economy, and subversion of state power against the people.” The new, democratic government decided to gain more popular support by giving the people a “Christmas gift”: a televised execution of the Ceaușescus.They were taken outside and shot with a machine gun. The whole scene, from the trial to the execution, was televised. This allowed the people to see what was happening and gave them the knowledge that the oppressor is dead and that the nation will turn over a new leaf. The Democratic Party prevailed with a landslide election and became an uncorrupt government never seen before in the country. The economy struggles, however, and the nation still has the highest poverty rate of all European nations. This would not be the case in the modern day.

            Had this occurred in 2015, people from around the world would know much quicker, for social media and new coverage has increased many times over since 1989. The world would express their support for the revolting people and the dictator would fall quicker, with international disdain being voiced. Such an act in the modern day would be much better known and would garner the support of millions. Many people would donate money in support of the new, changed nation, unlike when news spread slightly slower. People would see the news on their plethora of Internet-capable devices and would Kickstart™ some funds or trusts to support the nation. Others would join FEMA or other foreign support companies that send food, supplies, and medical help to the nation that underwent a revolution. Some people would be able to visit Romania and be Internet journalists whose articles and videos on the new Romanian lifestyle and nation may draw the attention of even more people. The difference in two and a half decades would have very different results in how the nation fared. Today’s Romania is poverty-stricken. If their Revolution of 1989 had been the Revolution of 2015, the country would be a nation capable of rivaling other European countries.

Civil Disobedience Essay(600 words and counting!)

Civil Disobedience Essay

            Civil disobedience is an inherent part of any nation’s history, from the most developed to the most backwards. One act of civil disobedience was the Romanian Revolution of 1989(Revoluția Română). The people of Romania grew tired of the tyranny, censorship, and poverty imposed on them by the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, so they took up arms against him. The accounts of those dark days vary depending on the person, but all have one thing in common: Ceaușescu was a dictator who had to be deposed to free the Romanian nation. The people were totally in the right, for they had the natural human right to remove someone who did nothing but oppress and kill „dissidents”. This act of civil revolt shoed the rest of the world, especially other oppressed peoples, that there is always a way to achieve the goal of freedom from the regimes that look to suppress them.

            The Revolution began as a protest against the economic and social malaise that pervaded the daily life for most Romanians. The people at what was to become the dictator’s final speech listened to his worthless rhetoric with a lack of emotion that had never been seen in the nation. Few cheered for him when he finished portions of his scripted speech; quite the opposite occurred: they began to jeer. The Securitate(secret police) saw this as a threat while the people saw this as a beginning of a democratic revolution. The dictator and his wife, the deputy Prime Minister , white with fear, were escorted to a waiting helicopter by their guards and fled the scene to the chanting of the crowd,” Ti-mi-șoa-ra!” The whole scene was televised, allowing other Romanians that were absent from the speech to see what was happening. This spurred them to action, and soon the whole country was in the throes of revolution. From the point of view of the Ceaușescus and their cronies an unjust rebellion and Soviet coup-de-etat was taking place. From the point of view of the Romanian people, a glorious and long-overdue revolution was igniting their spirits, pushing them to throw off the yoke of Communism and the Warsaw Pact, making them take their rightful place in the world as a modern European nation.

            The Ceaușescus were captured by the military, which, by December 22^nd, was on the side of the revolution and the people. The new minister of defense, Victor Stånulescu, said about the reason for the military’s defection,” I had the prospect of two execution squads: Ceaușescu’s and the revolutionary one!” He chose the people over his ex-leader, and had a trial for the two. The trial ended in 90 minutes, with a death sentence for both leaders of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The charges were,” Accounts in Switzerland amounting to $1 Billion, Genocide against the Romanian people, undermining of the national economy, and subversion of state power against the people.” They were taken outside and shot with a machine gun. The whole scene, from the trial to the execution, was televised. This allowed the people to see what was happening and gave them the knowledge that the oppressor is dead and that the nation will turn over a new leaf.

            If this had occurred in 2015, people from around the world would know much quicker, for social media and new coverage has increased many times over since 1989. The world would express their support for the revolting people and the dictator would fall quicker, with international disdain being voiced. Such an act in the modern day would be much more well-known and would garner the support of millions.

           

Creativity Essay kicked up a notch

CREATIVITY ESSAY REVISED

            The creation of a creativity class would be a boon to students. It could help students learn to be creative and would possibly help students learn how to solve problems in the world. The class could also help fan the embers of ideas into alive, burning ideas that may turn into new inventions or a new style of something. The possibilities of problems that can be solved range from making food production easier to stopping conflict in the Middle East.

            Creativity is something that can and should be improved and enhanced in everyone because it can help give birth to creative solutions to problems. One example of a creative solution to a problem is using black plastic balls to prevent sunlight from interactiong with water in the Hollywood Reservoir. Engineers who were able to think “outside of the box” thought up this solution, and this trait should be engendered in students. A class for creativity could help students invent unorthodox solutions to problems or obstacles in the future.

            A creativity class would also allow student to speak their minds and not fear ridicule for their ideas, no matter how eccentric. This would boost self-esteem and may help students feel more confident about themselves and their thoughts. This could open more doors for students that normally are too shy to express their ideas. This class would be a huge help for humanity.

My College Essay(revised)

REVISED COLLEGE ESSAY

College can be a blessing or a burden: personality, state of mind, and wishes for the future influence whether college life and education are the former or the latter. If someone is more comfortable working with their hands, also known as something “concrete”, that is something you physically interact with, college may not be as important or interesting as it is with English or math “fanatics”. This statement’s view is supported by Source A, which talks about how the risks of working with one’s hands can be worth it if one enjoys the work. Society also needs people to do non-basic, manual labour: fixing cars, building buildings, welding, and other important artisan professions that do not require a higher education. Source C shows the decline in entry wages for college graduates by ~$1.50. Some people who have not been educated past high school earn more than college graduates, depending on the line of work. Source E shows how 24 people received $100,000 to not go to college but instead work with Silicon Valley professionals to bring their ideas to reality. Another reason that some choose to not go to college is tuition cost, as Source D shows. This drawback can be neutralised by financial aid, but still indebts the recipient of aid for a long time, which some people do not want.

            One side of the college-or-not debate is the no college, manual work side. Some people enjoy doing “manual” work that does not require an education further than high school. Source A has a quote supporting the view that manual work is good, “The pitcher longs for water to carry and a person for work that is real.” This means that manual work is “real”, as in not abstract, culpable. One may be happy with their life without ever stepping foot in college. Adversely, Source F, in the “payoff” category, shows how,” Adults who graduated from a four-year college… earning $20,000 more as a result of having gotten that degree.” A college degree pays more “off the bat”, which can help immensely, but the positives are cancelled out by the large debt and great amounts of stress associated with college. Source A once again comes to the spotlight with a quote,” IF the goal is to earn a living, then maybe it isn’t really true that 18-year-olds need to be imparted with a sense of panic about getting into college.” This quote supports the view that college is not totally necessary, as a good wage is totally possible without spending time and large sums of money on college. A neutral solution is presented in Source B, in the form of a liberal arts education. This form of education,” Emphasises freedom and experience as tools for students to develop.” This foci help people decide what they want to do, be it work, college, or something else. This can be a solution for someone who is on the fence about college. Source E talks about the Thiel Fellowship, an organisation that awarded its 24 winners with,” $100,000 to not attend college for two years and to develop business ideas instead.” This supports both views: these people can either go to college knowing that they’ve a future with the companies they’ve worked with before, or can keep working without college. This proves that the choice whether to go or not go is dependent not only on financial capabilities(for tuition) but on the choice of an individual.

My academic biography, starting from my coming to the USA and ending with today, or whenever I wrote this.

Academic Biography

One adult who supports me through my academic efforts is my brother, Aleksandr Rodin. He helps me understand the material and explains things to me if I do not understand the teacher’s explanation.

I began my academic career in a now defunct preschool that catered to the immigrants from the ex-USSR. For elementary I went to a private school that was run like a mix of a Soviet and an American school; its name is the Green School of Hollywood. I did quite well and we had an accelerated learning system: I took the 8^th grade CST in the equivalent of 5^th grade and got “Advanced” on every category. After finishing 5^th grade I culminated to John Burroughs Middle School, and went there from 6^th to 8^th grade.

My favourite subject is AP Biology. I am extremely interested in how we came to be and how the amazing machine that is our body works. It is something that has interested me since I was able to speak and control my bowels(little dirty joke, don’t hate me please).

An influential teacher I had was named Mr. Joseph. He was from the Ukrainian SSR, but was Jewish by descent. His family escaped to Israel and he came to America to better his life. He was a very smart, kind teacher who helped me master the English language.

I remember learning how to write proper essays and how to put my thoughts on to paper, which I was not able to do until Mr. Joseph began to teach us English.

I hope to become a dentist or an oral surgeon in the future, that is why I am taking AP Biology, Honours Physiology, and most likely will take AP Psychology in 12^th grade.

A description of myself in the academic sense would not be the prettiest thing ever. I am somewhat lazy but am intelligent and know quite a lot about a lot. I don’t like to do book work but do love to write about things that not many people know about, to counteract the “not knowing” part. I can and will do work, though I may complain and grumble. I am also a great test taker and retain information well because my memory is very good.

I learned English after I came to America. I spoke only Russian and Bulgarian until the age of 5, when my parents authorised my learning of English. They did not want me to forget Russian so I had to master speaking it before I could learn English. My teacher, Mrs. Bella, taught me to read, write, and speak. She was from the Soviet Union, but was schooled in English in the UK, so she taught me to write the British way, as can be seen by my spelling of certain words.

In junior high I did well in English: always got A’s and such. My GPA for the whole year, every year, was above a 3.5. I did not particularly enjoy junior high English class because it was extremely dull and the teachers were usually, pardon my French, asshats. They would not listen to reason, would shout without much provocation(not just from me), and would sometimes just not do anything.

My goals for this class is to pass with an A, pass the AP exam, and get credit for taking the class in college. If I could do that I would be extremely happy because that would make my family proud and would also make my future that much easier by eliminating yet another college class from my future schedule.

First and foremost, I expect you to teach us how to write proper essays that will be enjoyable to read, and not vomit-worthy. I would also deeply appreciate if you were just in punishment and not quick to anger. That would be pretty great.