Total Separation of Church and State Essay Example for Free

Total Separation of Church and State Essay Total Separation of Church and State â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The first Amendment of the Bill of Rights within the Constitution and an amendment that comes with support, rejection, and controversy. The amendment was made because the forefathers didn’t want a bloodbath that had plagued most of the world. Since 1618, at least 23 million people have been killed during a war revolving around religion issues. The wars have been fought over land, where separate countries claim a spot of land was promised to them, which is similar to the hostility that is going on between Israel and Palestine, and beliefs, like the Taliban and Syrian rebels attacking the United States Embassy’s because of a movie showing the face of the Islamic prophet Allah, and portraying him as a foolish, sexist pig. Many wars were fought â€Å"in the name of God†, which caused many men, women, and children to parish. When the forefathers came to North America, they didn’t want a repeat of the hostility. Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase â€Å"separation of church and state† in a letter to a political friend, and the phrase stuck, with James Madison saying, â€Å"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe for centuries. † Because of the senseless fighting in Europe, separation was widely celebrated. But for separation to work, it needs to be enforced and to be strict. Strict separation is desirable for several reasons. First, it is a way of ensuring that we can all, as Americans, feel that it is â€Å"our† government, whatever our religion or lack of. If government becomes aligned with a particular religion or religions, those of other beliefs are made to feel like outsiders. The total separation of Church and State would benefit all citizens because it would end the persecution of non-religious persons. But, in the end, it comes down to one question: Can anyone prove that religion is a benefit to everyday life if it’s included in government? Since the founding of our country, the United States of America has been, mostly, Christian country with over two-thirds of the people belonging to Christianity, but that number is dropping. With the religious population dwindling down in the United States, the government should erect a wall of separation that James Madison and Thomas Jefferson envisioned. Erwin Chemerinsky wrote in the book Why Church and State Should Be Separate, â€Å"It seem s to me that if we want our citizens to feel that the government is open for everyone – that it is their government – we need our government to be strictly secular. With the total separation of the church from all federal affairs, it would benefit the citizens of the United States of America from persecution on individual’s personal beliefs and ideals. Our forefathers came over to the Americas to escape the religious oppression of the King of England, and the Church. While holding onto their Christian beliefs, the forefathers decided that the land that would become the United States of America would be of religious freedom, so as not to repeat the atrocity of England during this time period. Even though they tried, the oppression found itself on our shores, coming with a vengeance. In the past 50 years, the government has been adding religion into our country. On June 14th, 1954, president Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law a change to the Pledge of Allegiance by adding ‘Under God’. Two years later, Eisenhower signed a law officially declaring â€Å"In God We Trust† as our nation’s official motto, which also mandated the phrase be printed on all American paper currency. Eisenhower’s choices to add these religious statements showed that the government has ahold of the ideals that once plagued England. This issue has been fought in many unsuccessful lawsuits trying to undo the damage done by Eisenhower. The biggest issue is a government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some. This belief counter acts everything that the country had worked to accomplish. According to the principle of the constitution regarding the separation of church and state, religion is a private matter, which has no place in the presence of government. As in every argument, there are two sides. In this case, people say that we don’t need a wall of separation, that the church and state should become one, and that the United States should officially become a God fearing country, and that anyone who is not a Christian shouldn’t hold political offices. There’s a growing movement in which nonreligious persons are becoming more and more abundant, beginning to compare with the number of the Christians in the country, leading to a conflict that resembles the Crusades without all the violence. All religion should be kept out of government buildings and any and every government acknowledgements of a God should be thrown out, respecting the citizens that are not religious. Throwing out the mention of religion could lead to some major changes within the government, which could benefit the country. The first reason to make this change is that it protects the nonreligious from unfair persecution. Besides the danger of a direct mixture of religion and government, there is an evil which ought to be guarded against in the indefinite accumulation of property from the capacity of holding it in perpetuity by ecclesiastical corporations. Many Americans misunderstand the words â€Å"separation of church and state†, assuming that the law requires that public life must have nothing whatsoever to do with religion. The founders, by and large, were very much supportive of the role of religion in society, but they separated the ideas of society and government, leaving religion to play a role in society, not government. The separation of church and state is not meant to hinder religion, or to deny the role of religion in society or in our history. The concept of â€Å"separation of church and state† applies to the actions of the government only. The second reason to make a change is that we will be able to tax the churches. In 1986, an estimate showed that all religious income for that year was approximately $100 billion, or about five times the income of the five largest corporations in the United States. All tax free. With the money that is made from churches, the country would be bringing in billions of dollars a year that we can use to help pay off the deficit, build more roads, make more jobs, and build more schools. The third reason is that it’ll take the pressure off of public offices. When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1961, the public was scared that the Catholic Church would take over the country. President Kennedy quickly made public that he supported separation of church and state and that â€Å"no catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be catholic) how to act†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As President Kennedy believed in, the greatest way for our nation to flourish is without religion involved in politics. Many politicians can’t be elected and lose to individuals that are not as qualified as they may have been. Religion is a very powerful tool, which we need to be careful on how we use it. Taking it out of government and federal affairs would greatly benefit the nation. The future of the United States of America is strong and prosperous as long as it adheres to the wishes of the forefathers and past presidents. Without religion, we shall strive. With religion, we will fall. In 1773, a Rev. Isaac Backus, a prominent Baptist minister in New England, studied amongst his people that when â€Å"church and state are separate, the effects are happy, and they do not interfere with each other: but where they have been confounded together, no tongue nor pen can fully describe the mischiefs that have ensued. † Looking at the ministers studies, it comes down to one final question: what will you choose; happy and separate, or mischievous and confounded together? With the non-religious growing in more and more numbers and their beliefs coming out, the world is noticing a change, a change for the better.  The change is bringing down the level of hostility toward non-religious individuals, and with separation of the church and state becoming an even bigger issue in today’s world; it has become a topic which cannot be ignored any longer.

Iacocca :: Essays Papers

Iacocca The book Iacocca is an autobiography of Mr. Lee Iacocca. The first couple of sections of his book were about family. Starting with his mother and father, coming over from Italy and his childhood. His father always taught him something that when he was going to do something that he had to be the best. Which is to be believed, where he got his strength in competition later in his business career. Then after his parents came his wife and children, whom he loved. The next few sections were about his job and how it was changed through out the years. Even when his job was still with the same company his position is that company changed many times in his career before he even traded companies. Mr. Iacocca had a very loving and understanding family as told in this book. His parents were always a major part in his life even after he got married and they were a large part of his life up until their deaths. His father was always interested in cars and so in a way Mr. Iacocca grew up around cars and the knowledge of them. His father taught him many valuable lessons about how to deal with himself and others which also may have helped him in his future career in the business world. When he married, his parents were proud but in a small way they were pushed to the side to make room for his new wife, Mary. After Mary and He were married they had some children. These children became his pride and joy. When this family grew, they all grew together in turn and they also grew closer together. This family was extremely close. Even though the family was close, his job did seem to have a slight impact on them. When Mr. Iacocca first started working for Ford, he was a low ranking engineer, fresh out of college like many of his co-workers. He tried the engineering job for a few months until he decided that he didn’t want to work in that department but he wanted to work in the sales department. After this major change in his life, he took control and went to his boss and said â€Å"there is no point in me finishing the training course and that my masters degree from Princeton was equivalent to the second nine-months of training.

Tomb of Shihuangdi

Tomb of Shihuangdi Professor Carney Hum 111 Joanna Davis January 23, 2012 Qin Shihuangdi, born Ying Zheng was one of the most influential rulers of all China. It is believed that Shihuangdi was father by one of two men, Zichu a son of the king of Qin at the time. Zichu was sent as a hostage to the state of Zhao during a dispute between the two kingdoms (Lindesay p. 4). Eventually Zichu was allowed to live freely in Zhao. There he became acquainted with a rich, but conniving merchant named Lu Buwei, who had a concubine. When Zichu became interested in the concubine, Lu Buwei stepped aside and eventually helped them escaped to Qin where Zichu shortly became king (Lindesay p. 4). Shortly after arriving in Qin, Ying Zheng (later to become Shihaungdi) was born. It was never revealed whether Zichu or Lu Buwei was his father. At only thirteen Shihuangdi took control of the Qin Dynasty, which was a start of a great rule for the young emperor. Many accomplishments were accredited to his rule, The Great Wall, a road system throught the kingdom, a written script that unified all of China, and of course his mystifying tomb that contain life-sized soldiers of the Terra Cotta Army. Many theories surround his tomb. Probably one of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries was his tomb with over 6,000 life-size soldiers buried with the emperor. One theory that could be believable was that he feared death, therefore he was always in search of immortality. In seeking immortality Shihaungdi made at least three pilgrimages to Zhifu Island seeking immortality. In one case of he sent Xu Fu, a Zhifu islander, with ships carrying hundreds of men and women in search of the mystical Penglai mountain (Wintle p. 61, p. 71). Penglai mountain was said to be the home for the Eight immortals and the 1,000 year old magician Anqi Sheng who Shihaungdi supposedly met while traveling, invited him to seek him there (Pregadio p. 199). The people that was sent on the voyage never returned with any evidence of the immortal, or the magician, perhaps in fear of returning without any news they would be executed. Legend states they reached Japan and colonized it (Cavendish p. 17). Many of the Emperor’s best scholars were also executed for not being able to produce any evidence of supernatural powers. Since Shihaungdi was afraid of death he had workers build tunnels and passage ways to each of his palace, thinking this would protect him from the evil spirits, as he traveled unseen. Death In 211 BC a large meteor is said to have fallen in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. On it was the words inscribed â€Å"The First Emperor will die and his land will be divided (Liang p. 5). When he heard of this, he sent an imperial secretary to investigate this prophecy. When no one would confess, everybody living nearby was put to death. On September 10, 210 BC (Julian Calendar),while on one of his tours to Eastern China the Emperor died. Reportedly, he died from ingesting mercury pills, made by his court scientists and doctors (Wright p. 49). Ironically Shihaungdi ingested the pills thinking they would make him immortal (Wright p. 49). Perhaps there maybe some truth to this theory surrounding his death due to the fact high levels of mercury was found in his tomb. References Cavendish, M. (2006). China Condensed: 5000 Years of History & Culture. Liang, Y. (2007). The Leitimation of New orders: Case Studies in World History. Chinese University Press. Lindesay, W. (2008). The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China. Airphoto International Ltd. Man, J. (2008). The Terra Cotta Army. Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA Wintle, J. (2002) China. Rough Guides Publishing. Wright, D. (2001). The History of China. Greenwood Publishing Group.

How to Write a Persuasive Essay

When writing a persuasive essay, the authors goal is to sway the reader to share his or her opinion. It can be more difficult than  making an argument, which involves using facts to prove a point. A successful persuasive essay will reach the reader on an emotional level, much the way a well-spoken politician does. Persuasive speakers arent necessarily trying to convert the reader or listener to completely change their minds, but rather to consider an idea or a focus in a different way. While its important to use credible arguments supported by facts, the persuasive writer wants to convince the reader or listener that his or her argument is not simply correct, but convincing as well. The are several different ways to choose a topic for your persuasive essay. Your teacher may give you a prompt or a choice of several prompts. Or you may have to come up with a topic, based on your own experience or the texts youve been studying. If you do have some choice in the topic selection, its helpful if you select one that interests you and about which you already feel strongly. Another key factor to consider before you begin writing is the audience. If youre trying to persuade a roomful of teachers that homework is bad, for instance, youll use a different set of arguments than you would if the audience was made up of high school students or parents. Once you have the topic and have considered the audience, there are a few steps to prepare yourself before you begin writing your persuasive essay: Brainstorm.  Use whatever method of brainstorming works best for you. Write down your thoughts about the topic. Make sure you know where you stand on the issue. You can even try asking yourself some questions. Ideally, youll try to ask yourself questions that could be used to refute your argument, or that could convince a reader of the opposite point of view. If you dont think of the opposing point of view, chances are your instructor or a member of your audience will.Investigate.  Talk to classmates, friends, and teachers about the topic. What do they think about it? The responses that you get from these people will give you a preview of how they would respond to your opinion. Talking out your ideas, and testing your opinions, is a good way to collect evidence. Try making your arguments out loud. Do you sound shrill and angry, or determined and self-assured? What you say is as important as how you say it.Think.  It may seem obvious, but you really have to think about how you a re going to persuade your audience. Use a calm, reasoning tone. While persuasive essay writing is at its most basic an exercise in emotion, try not to choose words that are belittling to the opposing viewpoint, or that rely on insults. Explain to your reader why, despite the other side of the argument, your viewpoint is the right, most logical one.Find examples.  There are many writers and speakers who offer compelling, persuasive arguments. Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech is widely cited as one of the most persuasive arguments in American rhetoric. Eleanor Roosevelts The Struggle for Human Rights is another example of a skilled writer trying to persuade an audience. But be careful: While you can emulate a certain writers style, be careful not to stray too far into imitation. Be sure the words youre choosing are your own, not words that sound like theyve come from a thesaurus (or worse, that theyre someone elses words entirely).Organize.  In any paper that you writ e you should make sure that your points are well-organized and that your supporting ideas are clear, concise, and to the point. In persuasive writing, though, it is especially important that you use specific examples to illustrate your main points. Dont give your reader the impression that you are not educated on the issues related to your topic. Choose your words carefully.Stick to the script.  The best essays follow a simple set of rules: First, tell your reader what youre going to tell them. Then, tell them. Then, tell them what youve told them. Have a strong, concise thesis statement before you get past the second paragraph, because this is the clue to the reader or listener to sit up and pay attention.Review and revise.  If you know youre going to have more than one opportunity to present your essay, learn from the audience or reader feedback, and continue to try to improve your work. A good argument can become a great one if properly fine-tuned.