Is The Unites States Political System A Legitimate Democracy In Any S

Is the Unites States Political System a Legitimate Democracy? In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows people to freely make choices without government intervention. Another necessary characteristic which legitimates government is that every vote must count equally: one vote for every person. For this equality to occur, all people must be subject to the same laws, have equal civil rights, and be allowed to freely express their ideas. Minority rights are also crucial in a legitimate democracy. No matter how unpopular their views, all people should enjoy the freedoms of speech, press and assembly. Public policy should be made publicly, not secretly, and regularly scheduled elections should be held. Since "legitimacy" may be defined as "the feeling or opinio n the people have that government is based upon morally defensible principles and that they should therefore obey it," then there must necessarily be a connection between what the people want and what the government is doing if legitimacy is to occur. The U.S. government may be considered legitimate in some aspects, and illegitimate in others. Because voting is class-biased, it may not be classified as a completely legitimate process. Although in theory the American system calls for one vote per person, the low rate of turnout results in the upper and middle classes ultimately choosing candidates for the entire nation. Class is determined by income and education, and differing levels of these two factors can help explain why class bias occurs. For example, because educated people tend to understand politics more, they are more likely to vote. People with high income and education also have more resources, and poor people tend to have low political efficacy (feelings of low self -worth). Turnout, therefore, is low and, since the early 1960s, has been declining overall. The "winner-take-all" system in elections may be criticized for being undemocratic because the proportion of people agreeing with a particular candidate on a certain issue may not be adequately represented under this system. For example, "a candidate who gets 40 percent of the vote, as long as he gets more votes than any other candidate, can be elected?even though sixty percent of the voters voted against him"(Lind, 314). Political parties in America are weak due to the anti-party, anti-organization, and anti-politics cultural prejudices of the Classical Liberals. Because in the U.S. there is no national discipline to force citizens into identifying with a political party, partisan identification tends to be an informal psychological commitment to a party. This informality allows people to be apathetic if they wish, willingly giving up their input into the political process. Though th is apathy is the result of greater freedom in America than in other countries, it ultimately decreases citizens' incentive to express their opinions about issues, therefore making democracy less legitimate. Private interests distort public policy making because, when making decisions, politicians must take account of campaign contributors. An "interest" may be defined as "any involvement in anything that affects the economic, social, or emotional well-being of a person." When interests become organized into groups, then politicians may become biased due to their influences. "Special interests buy favors from congressmen and presidents through political action committees (PACs), devices by which groups like corporations, professional associations, trade unions, investment banking groups?can pool their money and give up to $10,000 per election to each House and Senate candidate"(Lind, 157). Consequently, those people who do not become organized into interest groups are likely to b e underrepresented financially. This leads to further inequality and, therefore, greater illegitimacy in the democratic system. The method in which we elect the President is fairly legitimate. The electoral college consists of representatives who we elect, who then elect the President. Because this fills the requirement of regularly scheduled elections, it is a legitimate process. The President is extremely powerful in foreign policy making; so powerful that scholars now speak of the "Imperial Presidency," implying that the President runs foreign policy as an emperor. The President is the chief diplomat, negotiator of treaties, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Is The Unites States Political System A Legitimate Democracy In Any S Is the Unites States Political System a Legitimate Democracy? In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows people to freely make choices without government intervention. Another necessary characteristic which legitimates government is that every vote must count equally: one vote for every person. For this equality to occur, all people must be subject to the same laws, have equal civil rights, and be allowed to freely express their ideas. Minority rights are also crucial in a legitimate democracy. No matter how unpopular their views, all people should enjoy the freedoms of speech, press and assembly. Public policy should be made publicly, not secretly, and regularly scheduled elections should be held. Since "legitimacy" may be defined as "the feeling or opinio n the people have that government is based upon morally defensible principles and that they should therefore obey it," then there must necessarily be a connection between what the people want and what the government is doing if legitimacy is to occur. The U.S. government may be considered legitimate in some aspects, and illegitimate in others. Because voting is class-biased, it may not be classified as a completely legitimate process. Although in theory the American system calls for one vote per person, the low rate of turnout results in the upper and middle classes ultimately choosing candidates for the entire nation. Class is determined by income and education, and differing levels of these two factors can help explain why class bias occurs. For example, because educated people tend to understand politics more, they are more likely to vote. People with high income and education also have more resources, and poor people tend to have low political efficacy (feelings of low self -worth). Turnout, therefore, is low and, since the early 1960s, has been declining overall. The "winner-take-all" system in elections may be criticized for being undemocratic because the proportion of people agreeing with a particular candidate on a certain issue may not be adequately represented under this system. For example, "a candidate who gets 40 percent of the vote, as long as he gets more votes than any other candidate, can be elected?even though sixty percent of the voters voted against him"(Lind, 314). Political parties in America are weak due to the anti-party, anti-organization, and anti-politics cultural prejudices of the Classical Liberals. Because in the U.S. there is no national discipline to force citizens into identifying with a political party, partisan identification tends to be an informal psychological commitment to a party. This informality allows people to be apathetic if they wish, willingly giving up their input into the political process. Though th is apathy is the result of greater freedom in America than in other countries, it ultimately decreases citizens' incentive to express their opinions about issues, therefore making democracy less legitimate. Private interests distort public policy making because, when making decisions, politicians must take account of campaign contributors. An "interest" may be defined as "any involvement in anything that affects the economic, social, or emotional well-being of a person." When interests become organized into groups, then politicians may become biased due to their influences. "Special interests buy favors from congressmen and presidents through political action committees (PACs), devices by which groups like corporations, professional associations, trade unions, investment banking groups?can pool their money and give up to $10,000 per election to each House and Senate candidate"(Lind, 157). Consequently, those people who do not become organized into interest groups are likely to b e underrepresented financially. This leads to further inequality and, therefore, greater illegitimacy in the democratic system. The method in which we elect the President is fairly legitimate. The electoral college consists of representatives who we elect, who then elect the President. Because this fills the requirement of regularly scheduled elections, it is a legitimate process. The President is extremely powerful in foreign policy making; so powerful that scholars now speak of the "Imperial Presidency," implying that the President runs foreign policy as an emperor. The President is the chief diplomat, negotiator of treaties, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

History Of KoRn essays

History Of KoRn essays Korn was formed in 1993. There are 5 members, Jonathan Davis, Munky, Head, David Silveria, and Fieldy. As a child, Jon Davis was sexually abused by his father, he has a deep hatred for what his father did to him that he expresses in the song "Daddy" off of the self titled Korn Album. He was a mortitian at the Kern County Morgue. He was 16 when he landed that job. In school he was teased by other kids, and called a "faggot" and a "queer", because of that, he earned his nickname, "HIV", pronounced "hive". Munky and Head, the 2 guitarists, were best friends, and have played together over 2/3 of their lives. Munky lost the top part of his left index finger in an accident, and Head taught Munky to play guitar. They were in LAPD together. David Silveria, the drummer in the group, is the shy member in the band. He had a good childhood and doesn't relate well to most of Korn's lyrics. He has a penis fetish, and when he signs things he usually makes a penis somewhere in it. Fieldy, the bassist, is sort of mysterious, hardly anyone knows his real name, which is Reginald Arvizu, and his past is pretty much unknown as well. On the side he has Fieldy's Dreams, a sort of combination between Rap and Hip-Hop. KoRn was formed as a result of SexArt and LAPD breaking up. Jonathan Davis, Korn's front man was in SexArt, Head, Munky, David, and Fieldy were in LAPD. After the 2 bands split, Jon Davis joined LAPD, and they changed their name to Korn. The name Korn didn't come from Kiddy pORN like Bible-Thumpers like to trick people into thinking. It came from a conversation over heard by Jon Davis while he was in a bar. The conversation was between 2 homosexuals, they were talking about eating eachother's asses, and one had dirahea and shit on the other guys face, and he had eaten popcorn. When the guy who had been shit on opened his mouth there was a corn kernal on his tongue, and every time Jon said corn, the rest of the group a ...

Hamas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hamas - Essay Example There are many causes of this violence and brutality that is happening from the both sides but three of the most important reasons are discussed below: 3) Occupation of oil resources: the recent surge in the violence in the region is also directed at the notion that US is after the oil resources of the region and by occupying them, West will deprive the region , its rights on its own resources. I believe that the occupation of Palestine is the root cause of the violence in Middle East and in order to bring in peace to that region, West has to come up with a solution of recognizing the due rights of each party to the region and based on that decide to provide the right political as well as diplomatic support. Hamas is an Islamic militant and political group working in the Palestinian region. Founded in 1987 by Sheikh Yaseen Ahmed in Gaza, Hamas soon emerged as one of the most robust terrorist organizations in the region with Israel as its main target. Listed as terrorist organizations by many countries including Canada and US, Hamas is now considered as the leading political party in Palestine also after the failure of PLO and demise of Yasser Arafat. (Hajjar, 1993). It was also believed that the success of Hamas as political as well as terrorist organization largely depended on the failure of PLO and Yasser Arafat and that the Oslo agreement between Arafat and Israel, brokered by US, provided Hamas necessary political support in the region to flourish and strengthen its roots. (Kristianasen, 1999). It is also believed that Hamas, having an Islamic Brotherhood beginning, emerged as a new militant movement in the region colored with the Islamic hue and it was because of this that Hamas wa s able to won the elections. Hamas is an organization which seems to be combining the Islamic fundamentalism with the Palestinian Nationalism. With the basic aim of the destruction of Israel, Hamas is also intending to replace the PA with an

A comparative case study of Japan and China Research Paper

A comparative case study of Japan and China - Research Paper Example It was experienced from the 1929 to late 1930s for some countries and early 1940s for others. It is believed that most of the countries came out of the depression as a result of the Second World War. This depression was the longest, widespread and deepest depression of the 20th century and is believed to have started in the United States and spread to other parts of the world. A depression results after a prolonged recession and results in loss of income, reduced profits, decline in trade, and increased unemployment among others. There have been various recessionary periods over the last several decades especially the Japanese lost decade of the 1990s, the Asian crisis and the recent financial crisis of 2008 but not to the magnitude of the great depression. The paper will discuss the various policies undertaken by the governments of Japan and China in response to the crisis and why the policies were adopted as well as their effectiveness in overcoming the crisis. Japan and China had almost similar conditions in that they relied on export of cash crops to the US and European countries especially silk and cotton. They also had most of the population as small agricultural farmers hence were affected much as a result of declining crop prices. However, Japan was under the gold standard system of monetary policy while China was under the silver standard hence not affected much by the great depression... The Keynesians who rely on demand side macroeconomics attribute the great depression to fall in demand and international trade. A fall in demand or underconsumption and overinvestment results in an economic bubble and coupled with incompetence of government policies resulted in lack of confidence (Frank & Bernanke, 8). The lack of confidence resulted in decline in consumption spending as well as investment spending causing panic among bankers and deflation. The investors found it more profitable to hold money rather than invest as profits were declining hence reacted by keeping clear of markets leading to low economic activity. Low activity leads to unemployment and loss of income thus aggravating the situation due to reduced demand. The decline in prices also meant that consumers could buy a lot of goods with less money hence they did not demand more of the goods leading to drop in demand. This causes a recession which refers to a period of economic downturn as a result in reduced a ggregate demand. A prolonged recession leads to a depression. The monetarists on the other hand, explain that the depression was as a result of ordinary recession. In the business cycle, recessions do occur and are necessary to stimulate the economy but it is government policies undertaken at such a time that worsen the situation. The monetarists thus believe that policy mistakes by the monetary policy authorities were the cause of the depression. The policies caused the shrinking of money supply thus worsening the situation (Bernanke, 5). The decline in money supply due to contractionary monetary policy and bank failures beginning 1930 was believed to have caused the depression. The federal government did not use expansionary monetary policy to counter the decline in money

Virtue ethics Essay Example for Free

Virtue ethics Essay Today the Arms Procurement Commission began public hearings into what appears to be the biggest corruption scandal in the history of South Africa. Apply the Global Business Standards Codex and explain if and how the Defense Department used these principles, what they could have done differently if the Codex was applied GLOBAL BUSINESS STANDARDS CODEX. †¢ Fiduciary Principle (Diligence, Loyalty) †¢ Property Principle (Protection, Theft) †¢ Reliability Principle (Contracts Premises, Commitments) †¢ Transparency Principle (Thruthfulness, Deception, Disclosure, Objectivity) †¢ Dignity Principle (Respect for the Individual, Health and Safety, Privacy and Confidentiality, Use of Force, Associatiation Expression, Learning Development, Employment Security) †¢ Fairness Principle (Fair Dealing, Fair Treatment, Fair Competition, Fair Process) †¢ Citizenship Principle (Law Regulation, Public Goods, Cooperation with Authorities, Political Noninvolvement, Civic Contribution †¢ Responsiveness Principle (Addressing Concerns, Public Involvement). LEARNING OBJECTIVES (TOPIC 3) After completion of this topic, you will be able to: 1. Describe the main ethical theories and apply it to business scenarios  © iStockphoto. com/Dan Bachman ETHICAL THEORIES Three periods in history of ethics Greek period (500 BC-AD 500) †¢ The man who performed his duties as a citizen = good man †¢ Greeks – â€Å"Man is the measure of all things† – he decides for himself what is right and wrong †¢ Socrates, Plato and Aristotle emphasised the need and importance of understanding the nature of goodness †¢ Stoics emphasised that goodness is natural to man, laws of morality are the laws of nature – rational and comprehensive to human reason. ETHICAL THEORIES Medieval period (AD 500 – AD 1500) †¢ Attention was given to inner aspect of morality due to spread of Christianity †¢ Changed Greeks’ view that ethics is a part of politics †¢ The standard of right and wrong was according to God’s law in the Bible and was against any doubts ETHICAL THEORIES Modern period (AD 1500 onwards) †¢ Individualism more important that priests’ preaching and church principles †¢ Human freedom and human accomplishments more important than the Christian revelation †¢ The difference between right and wrong was subjective, depending on the attitude of the individual making the moral judgement ETHICAL CONCEPTS THEORIES. †¢ Developed by moral philosophers over generations to distinguish ethical from unethical behaviour †¢ Viewpoints from which guidance can be obtained along the pathway to a decision †¢ Each theory emphasizes different points in order to reach an ethically correct decision †¢ Theories are directed towards achieving a common set of goals (Ethical principles) ETHICAL CONCEPTS THEORIES ETHICS DEFINED The domain of ethics is centrally concerned with human CHARACTER (the kind of people we are) and CONDUCT (how we relate to others) Three key questions comprise the focus of this domain: 1. 2. What is good or bad for humans? What constitutes right or wrong conduct? 3. How ought we to live and treat others? ETHICS OF CONDUCTS CONSEQUENTIALISM The rightness/wrongness of an action is determined by its consequences or results The right action is the one that: †¢ Promotes the greatest happiness of the greatest number (maximizes social utility) = Utilitarianism †¢ Produces results that maximise a person’s selfinterest = Ethical Egoism CONSEQUENTIALISM UTILITARIANISM †¢ Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Creator of Utilitarianism †¢ Goodness = human well-being – what benefits is good and what harms is evil †¢ Two concepts of importance: †¢ Pleasure and pain governs our lives †¢ Pleasure makes life happier and pain makes it worse †¢ Utility – net benefits. and usefulness produced by an action †¢ An action is right if the act is greater than the sum total of utilities produced by any other act †¢ Hedonistic Calculus – system to measure amount of pleasure and pain that an action produces CONSEQUENTIALISMUTILITARIANISM 7 Criteria Questions Asked 1. Intensity How intense/strong is the pleasure and emotional satisfaction? 2. Duration How long will the pleasure last? 3. Certainty How certain am I that pleasure will occur? 4. Propinquity How soon will the pleasure occur? How near is it? 5. Fecundity How likely is it that this experience will cause more pleasure in the future? 6. Purity Is there any pain that accompanies this pleasure? 7. Extent How many people will be affected? CONSEQUENTIALISMUTILITARIANISM. †¢ John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) – qualitative separation of pleasures †¢ Bentham treats all forms of happiness as equal, whereas Mill argues that intellectual and moral pleasures (higher pleasures) are superior to more physical forms of pleasure (lower pleasures) †¢ Mills argument is that the simple pleasures tend to be preferred by people who have no experience with high art, and are therefore not in a proper position to judge. CONSEQUENTIALISM – ACT AND RULE UTILITARIANISM †¢ Rule Utilitarianism an action is right if it conforms to a set of rules which produce the greatest balance of pleasure over pain †¢ Act Utilitarianism – an action is right if and only if it produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain for everyone CONSEQUENTIALISM – ETHICAL EGOISM †¢ One’s self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one’s own action †¢ Three categories: individual, personal, and universal ? An individual ethical egoist would hold that all people should do whatever benefits them ? A personal ethical egoist would hold that he or she should act in his or her self-interest, but would make no claims about what anyone else ought to do ? A universal ethical egoist would argue that everyone should act in ways that are in their self-interest CONSEQUENTIALISM All is well that ends well, regardless of means used to produce results End justifies the means! NON-CONSEQUENTIALISM DEONTOLOGY †¢ Emphasis on rules, duty, rights †¢ Actions are right if they respect rules and wrong if they violate them †¢ Golden rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (human dignity, respect for people, obligation, duty) DEONTOLOGY. †¢ Morality and ethics are to be understood as systems of rules meant to govern and guide conduct †¢ Deontological ethical theories are agent-relative as opposed to agent neutral you have a duty †¢ If an action is of the wrong kind, it is forbidden, no matter how good its consequences are †¢ Rejects both Utilitarianism and Ethical Egoism DEONTOLOGY – KANTIANISM †¢ Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Ends, not mere means: don’t treat rational agents (others or yourself) as mere objects to be used or exploited Categorical imperative – everyone should be treated as a free person equal to everyone else (unconditional) Everyone has a moral right to such treatment and a correlative duty to treat others in this way Mustn’t sacrifice the few even to benefit the many †¢ †¢ †¢ DEONTOLOGY – KANTIANISM. †¢ Performing an action solely because it is our duty is what Kant refers to as a good will – being good without qualification Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will it that it should become a universal law of nature – offers consistency †¢ DEONTOLOGY – NATURAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS †¢ Another approach to Deontology and complementary to Kantianism †¢ Natural rights: ? Right to freedom/ liberty – freedom from coercive powerful rulers ? Right to ownership and property – each person has a right to ownership over own body and own labour and is free to decide what will be done with what he or she owns, without interference NATURAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS. †¢ †¢ Moral rights –by virtue of being human Each right has a corresponding duty and these duties may be perfect or imperfect Rights play an important role in business ethics – stakeholders have rights Many rights however come into conflict and it is difficult to decide whose rights receives priority (victims or criminals) †¢ †¢ DEONTOLOGY – JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS †¢ †¢ †¢ Fair and equitable distribution of opportunities and hardships to all Ask how fairly benefits and costs are distributed to everyone regardless of power, position, wealth, etc. Seven categories: ? Distributive Justice – concerned with fair distribution of society’s benefits and burdens ? Cooperation and competition – taking a proper share of some good ? Procedual justice – fair, decisive practices, procedures and agreements among parties DEONTOLOGY – JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS. ? Retributive Justice – just imposition of punishment and penalties upon wrong-doers – does the punishment fit the crime ? Compensatory justice – compensating people for losses they have suffered when they were wronged by others – losses due to Apartheid ? Corrective justice – laws themselves as instruments of justice should be considered as just ? Distribution – take into account who has suffered an unfair share of the costs of a policy and others who have unfairly benefitted from a policy RAWLS’ PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE †¢ All social values – liberty and opportunities, income and wealth, and the bases of self-respect – are to be distributed equally unless unequal distribution of any, or all of these values, is to everyone’s advantage. Two principles †¢ †¢ Basic freedoms Freedom of speech, liberty and pursuit of happiness Difference principle -There can be inequalities as long as it makes the worst person better off DEONTOLOGY â€Å"The end doesn’t justify the means. † ETHICS OF CHARACTER ARISTOTELIANISM – VIRTUE APPROACHES †¢ Examines a person’s moral character and whether or not this exhibits virtue †¢ Aristotle – a moral virtue is a habit that enables one to exercise reason in all actions †¢ Action of giving people goods they exactly deserve is justice (virtue) or giving too little/ too much is injustice (vice) †¢ Virtues are means to and constituents of happiness †¢ Virtue ethics makes being virtuous an essential element of leading a moral life SUMMARY ETHICAL THEORIES Utilitarian Model. ? When confronted with an ethical dilemma: †¢ Identify alternative courses of action †¢ Determine both benefits and harms of each alternative course of action for ALL stakeholders †¢ Most benefits and least harm to the greatest number of people ? The Utilitarian Model has a strong capitalistic orientation and supports: †¢ Profit maximisation †¢ Self-interest †¢ Rewarding hard work Weakness: Focus †¢ Competition on outcome rather ? Focus of ethical behaviour is around: than process which might be †¢ Organisational/ Public Services goals unethical †¢ Efficiency †¢ Conflicts of interest ETHICAL THEORIES Moral Rights Model ? When confronted with an ethical dilemma: †¢ Identify if any decision or behaviour violates the rights of an individual †¢ If it does, it is wrong Weakness: Focus only ? Focus of ethical behaviour is around: on individual †¢ Right to safety and not societal rights †¢ Right to know the truth †¢ Right to privacy †¢ Right not to engage in behaviours that are contradictory to a person’s moral or religious beliefs †¢ Right to freedom of speech ? Provides clear guidelines on moral individual rights ETHICAL THEORIES Justice Model ? When confronted with an ethical dilemma: †¢ Identify if any decision or behaviour violates the rights of both individuals and groups †¢ If it does, it is wrong ? Focus of three principles: †¢ Distributive Justice Principle ? Everyone needs to be treated the same, unless they differ in ways which are reliant to the situation †¢ Fairness Principle ? Obligations as a result of relationships †¢ Natural Duty Principle ? Accepting responsibility in exchange for certain rights Any questions?

Students vs. The System Essay -- essays research papers fc

Students vs. the System Education has always been a great factor in determining human survival and success. Whether it is learning to live in a harsh environment or learning to manage a company, education is and always will be incredibly significant. Education is so important in modern society that a system of grades has been developed to evaluate students of all ages and levels. In Paul Goodman’s essay â€Å"A Proposal to Abolish Grading† he argues that the grading system that is commonly used in our society is ineffective and should be done away with. This idea is wrong since there are many positive outcomes that result from the current grading system. Goodman opens up his piece by making his claim that grades have take precedence over everything in classrooms. He also mentions that some authorities in the educational field agree with and support this statement. â€Å"I think that a majority of professors agree that grading hinders teaching and creates a bad spirit, going as far as cheating and plagiarizing† (Goodman 206). Here, he talks about how grading has lost its power, and has been reduced to a meaningless letter on paper that tempts students to cheat in order to receive a passing grade on their assignments. He also goes on to declare that, â€Å"†¦grading is inevitable; for how else will the graduate schools, the foundations, and corporations know whom to accept†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Goodman 206). By expressing these ideas in such close proximity, it can be inferred that Goodman believes grades are unreliable sources of data due to cheating. Although cheating is a prevalent problem in all places of work, it should not be a reason to disregard looking at grades when considering an applicant for hire. Letter grades from all schools simply represent the work ethic of that particular student. The threat that a person who received high grades could be a cheater is always present, but the characteristics of a cheater can easily be recognized by other workers and by the employer. So the belief that grades are unreliable due to cheating is erroneous, due to the fact that not all students are cheaters. The grading system simply provides a standard that all students should fall under, which implies that all applicants be educated. This is just a small sample of what Goodman includes in this essay. Two other topics that Goodman covers in good detail are the purpose of a test and the self-awar... ...defend and help people, but when used in the wrong hands, it becomes a weapon for evil. This grading system, much like a gun, is a tool just as capable of being used for evil in the sense that teachers abuse their power to grade by forcing lazy students to work. By abusing the system and threatening students with grades is what prompts them to cheat, steal, and copy, not the grading system itself. The current grading system implemented in schools today is a great thing, where students are able to monitor their own progress, and be rewarded for their hard work with high grades. Goodman makes some good points in his proposal by mentioning the somewhat unreliability of grades, and by acknowledging the strength of a self-aware student, but they are outweighed by his weak, one-sided arguments accusing the modern grading system of being useless and bad. Education is a powerful tool in the present day and age, and although what people are being taught has changed significantly, one can never learn too much to prepare for future success. Works Cited Goodman, Paul. â€Å"A Proposal to Abolish Grading.† Elements of Argument. Ed. Ellen Rottenburg. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. 206-209

Personal Development Plan †Setting Your Vision (Milestone One) Essay

In the last two weeks of taking this class I have learned a lot about myself, or at least thought a little more about who I am as a person and how I handle different situations. I have endured many things in the last two years that I’m sure many people go through, but should never have to. I have fallen to my lowest, and brought myself back up to my highest. This ranges anywhere from being homeless and sleeping in my truck and having no one around to help me out, to getting my own apartment, attending school again, and getting the best job I’ve ever had that actually pays the bills. With the self-assessments we have taken in the last two weeks I have come to realize I am apparently dangerously close to burning out due to being overly stressed. With everything going on in my life I don’t feel like I am close to burn out. I feel like I could take on a lot more and still be ok mentally and physically. The stress scale that I filled out indicated I had a â€Å"High or very high risk of illness.† This is probably of the most accurate test out of the five tests I took. Between working full time, part time school, bills and supporting my live-in boyfriend who is currently unemployed my stress level is through the roof. This gives me a much deeper respect for families with only one income who live this way constantly, even more so when children are involved. By writing out my development plan I hope to get an even better understanding of myself. How I now handle different situations, and getting feedback and suggestions on better ways. I also hope to learn more about career choices and ways to handle the stresses of work and the many thought processes of management thinking. I don’t want to stay in the position I currently hold forever and would definitely like to move up in the company that I now work for. There are many opportunities for advancement at United Healthcare, but I know that to really succeed and thrive I would need to make a couple of self-adjustments and some self-growth before I could truly  grow and thrive. This is why this development plan is so important to me. By writing out my goals and watching myself grow as a person, intellectually and emotionally I can really gather my thoughts and get them organized and really get my goals situated. This organization would help greatly with my motivation. As we read about motivation theories in chapter two, I agree that in on theory there are basic needs that need to be met in order to keep motivated. I also agreed with another theory that sometimes more than one of those could be wanted at any given time [1]. By doing this plan, I hope to be able to find out what my immediate needs are, or the most important that I feel, and be able to keep those needs satisfied in order to stay motivated to advance in my career as well as schooling.