Civil Disobedience

Civil disobedience occurs when people nonviolently break the law to achieve justice. There are laws that are only for the minority of the population that should not have been imposed but instead, the supreme court was partial to the lower class while favoring the upper. During the 1960s there were laws that caused segregation which was biased towards the African Americans. Famous historical figures put their lives on the line to set an example and impact the future generations. Laws should be made so that it applies to everyone without any exceptions.

A gifted activist, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led a nonviolent movement that inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to become a civil disobedient activist as well. Gandhi, knowing his people, resorted to justifications without violence. He knew that his people would not fight using violence despite the fact that the British used violence towards them. Gandhi had a philosophy, "Satyagraha," which are two words in Sanskrit. "Satya" meaning truth and "Agraha" meaning holding firmly to so the name of his philosophy, Satyagraha, literally means "holding firmly to truth." However, Satyagraha, in Gandhi's definition, is "the Force which is born of Truth and Love or non-violence." This philosophy not only pertained to the civil disobedience but it also viewed that the struggle involved in Satyagraha is a spiritual journey with nature. The Indians refused to pay salt taxes due to its absurdly expensive price. In order to aid his people Gandhi led a movement known as the Salt March. Gandhi and his followers defied the British policy by marching to the Arabian Sea to make salt using sea water. Over sixty thousand people were arrested as well as Gandhi. When he got out of prison he met with Lord Irwin. They negotiated so Gandhi ordered the stop of Satyagraha and settled with Gandhi to be a representative at at a London conference about India’s future. On that year of August, Gandhi traveled to the conference as the sole representative of the nationalist Indian National Congress. Even though the meeting was a disappointment, the British leaders had admitted that Gandhi was a force they could not suppress or ignore. India’s independence was finally granted in August 1947. This shows that words have a huge effect on people. Although actions speak louder than words, the fact that Gandhi did not use unnecessary actions that would generate the outcome to be disastrous.  

“Pride makes a victorious nation bad-tempered.”(On Nonviolent Resistance, Gandhi). This quote emphasizes how pride causes one to trample on his or her character and virtue. Gandhi said that even though the war may have been won, the main reason for the war still remains and it has not disappeared. The war continues after the defeat because there is always the effect that lingers. There are emotional and mental scars that are left behind. The reason is still there causing the issues to grow “a thousand times more”. What happens during the war can affect the future even post to the war because this can lead to the fall of a country as well as terrifying consequences. With this possibility, a nation may not be able to rise which would result to the defeat of the country.

    Another powerful historical figure that was prominent throughout African American history named Martin Luther King Jr. He went to jail in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting regarding the treatment towards blacks. Martin Luther King Jr. used his words to encapture the minds of others. While King was in jail he wrote “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” which powerfully explained the discriminations towards African Americans. King wrote in his letter, “there is nothing wrong with an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade, but when the ordinance is used to preserve segregation…”(pg. 246). This indicates that it was extremely difficult for blacks to live in Birmingham because of all the racism and segregation. The reasoning for the imprisonment (the denying the right to assemble and protest) of Martin Luther King Jr. was rather unnecessary and immoral. King utilized a nonviolent civil disobedient act in response to the cruel actions of the whites. He incorporated religious and placid words to convey his message towards the people. The restrictions that the African American had to endure in public facilities not only frustrated them but also led to civil rights movements. These movements that involved thousands of people created a bigger impact through history because it pressured the government to make changes. The African Americans was not going to take in all the wicked slandering and belittlement from the whites. Instead, all of them stood strong and firm to prevent them from falling. An important thing to note is that the main thing that held them together was cooperation and unity.

    During an interview with Howard Zinn, he states that there are two reasons for injustice but one being that “they feel that they have no alternative.” (pg. 220) There are people who have to surrender to the government cause the people do not do anything about the unjust laws that are inflicted upon them. The issues of unjust laws would only be more corrupted if violence was involved. “We have seem mass movements overthrow dictatorship without war or massive violence.” (pg. 221) Howard Zinn describes how mass movement is incredibly effective. Not only will nonviolence “avoid the horrors of war” but it is also more of “a step in the direction of justice.” (pg. 221) I learned that Howard Zinn himself used civil disobedience tactics which resulted him to be arrested throughout his life. Howard Zinn said if you are trying to impact the world by making changes look at the history of the United States. The methods that brought changes to the United States may be  corrupt but not all of them. Supposedly we have a democracy, so we elect representatives and we elect a president every four years. However, this does not help the black people in this country. That's why people had to turn to the streets in order to begin to get anything and it did not help workers.

In order to create changes for the better while considering the future generations, our historical figures used moral methods instead of rash actions and decisions. The movements that were tremendously effective involved civil disobedience and if it was successful then even the outcome would be peaceful. However, even after there is a victory from a war, the damage the war costed nourishes another issue. Although the government gives restrictions, the citizens should ethically fight for their rights like the way gay marriage became legal recently. Look at the changes that were able to happen without using rabid actions.

Persuasion- Joan Didion

          In Joan Didion’s essay “Los Angeles Notebook,” she talks about a wind that is powerful but also deadly. Didion conveys her view of the Santa Ana wind through imagery and selection of detail as well as the structure and tone she sets up.

          Didion starts off the opening with “uneasy” and that tells the reader that the tone will be gloomy while having “some tension.” Then she states her reason by using imagery such as “... a hot wind from the northeast whining down through the cajon and San Gorgonio passes, blowing up sandstorms out along Route 66, trying the hills and the nerves to the flash point.” Didion tells the audience about the wind with selection of detail too. Simple words like hot has a great effect because small words like wind is actually something big. She later talks about peacocks screaming in the olive trees which create an ominous feeling.

          The author then uses an anecdote to explain the Santa Ana wind and when she experienced it. In the anecdote, the writer talks about a neighbor she had. “The heat was surreal… My only neighbor would not come out of her house for days and there were no lights at night…” The ominous tone that she sets up using her neighbor was to emphasize that the Santa Ana causes “depression” and “nervousness.” “[the neighbor’s] husband roamed the place with a machete, it lets ts the reader know that this person is anxious and nervous about something. Also if the husband heard “ a trespasser, the next [day] a rattlesnake” that displays the husband as paranoid. On top of all this the “Indians would throw themselves into the sea when the bad wind blew. The Pacific turned ominously glossy during a Santa Ana period.” The wind drove the Indians to kill themselves by going into the Pacific. This can mean that the depression or something in their minds was put into their minds by the Santa Ana.

When the author uses diction like “anything can happen” in an ominous tone, the audience feels uncomfortable and cautious. The choice of words she uses indicates that the Santa Ana causes depression and suicidal thoughts. The author tell the readers several examples how the Santa Ana turns the people into something they are not to convey her message. The “children become unmanageable” and “the suicide rate goes up.” The foen also causes the same effects towards the people of the city in Austria and Switzerland. The structure that the author is using provides multiple evidences to how the Santa Ana affects the people of the country.

          There is also scientific evidence like “ the positive ions are there, and what an excess of positive ions does, in the simplest terms is make people unhappy.” The author uses evidence from multiple views to convey her message to many different types of people.

          Joan Didion used multiple rhetorical devices to emit her view of the Santa Ana by using imagery, selection of detail, the structure, and the ominous tone. The Santa Ana is a wind that causes depression which can lead to chaos. She shows her readers that the mysterious yet evil characteristics of the wind.

Analysis- JFK

          President John F. Kennedy stated that the steel industry is making America into a country that contradicts itself. Kennedy is saying that the prices of the steel is causing and will cause complications in the economy. Kennedy uses parallelism, a sympathetic tone, and diction persuade the steel industry to undo the increase of steel.

          When Kennedy is holding this conference, he uses parallelism to emphasize his purpose of the conference Kennedy says “when we are confronted with grave crises in Berlin and Southeast Asia, when we are devoting our energies to economic recovery and stability, when we are asking Reservists to leave their houses and families for months or end, and servicemen to risk their lives.” By talking about the military using phrases like “devoting our energies to economic recovery” which gives hope to the people of the U.S so it convinces the people because of recovery. Other presidents like Abraham Lincoln uses parallelism in his Gettysburg Address which makes the diction and the way he would talk in his speech persuade and win people to his side which aided both JFK and Lincoln into getting what they wanted. Parallelism affects the effectiveness of the speech as well as the way he uses his words. When he says “the American people have a right to expect in return for that freedom, a higher sense of business responsibility for the welfare of their country...” JFK uses words like “freedom,” “higher,” and a phrase “responsibility for the welfare” to win people over and to persuade the steel companies to contribute to his ideas.

          President Kennedy then uses the sympathetic tone while explaining how it would affect the Americans. “The cost of steel is imitated by the rest of the industry, instead of rescinded, it would increase the cost of homes, autos, appliances, and most other items for every American family. It would seriously handicap our efforts to prevent an inflationary spiral from eating up the pensions of our older citizens...” The diction is related to the sympathetic tone because of the way he purposely used the category of the people “older citizens” who affects the thoughts and opinions of the younger people. The younger citizens will eventually become the older ages citizens.

          Also another statement he said that had effective diction is his last sentence: “some time ago I asked each American to consider what he would do for his country and I asked the steel companies.”

Argument- Locavore

          Like everything in the world, there needs to be a balance because even if something can be good for a community, too much of it can be bad. Locavores can be good for the economy but there must be a balance. In order to have a balance, if something becomes better, there is always a consequence. The consequence can positively or negatively affect the community but is it worth it to make a situation better to sacrifice another?
          A lot of people buy food in their local grocery stores without know how it was grown or processed. On top of that the cost also affects the buyer's decision of what can be eaten by the consumer. Organic food are popular but the prices are what prevents people from buying them. The only reason people buy organic food is because of the amount of chemicals and preservatives that are not used to process them. “Fruit and vegetables that travel shorter distances are therefor likely to be closer to a maximum of nutrition.” (B) This shows that the traveling distance of a crop affects the nutrients because the more it travels the more nutrients it loses. “...Produce that you purchase at your local farmer's market has often been picked with in 24 hours of your purchase.” (A) The products are fresh and full of nutrients which will make the consumers healthy and strong. Also small local farmers can have a better profit because of locavores.

          Although freshness and nutrients and pros, the con is that it limits a group of people that have financial problems so just buying a few vegetables can ruin their finances. Also some people might not even care about what they eat as long as they are able to feed themselves. If people are having financial problems what would make you think that they would buy vegetables over junk food that satisfies them because the junk food is cheaper? These days there are small businesses are closing down because bigger companies mass produce cheap produce or items. Big farms owned by meat companies also affect the local farmers. Cheap vegetable and fruits is what people purchase because that's all they can afford too.

Personal Narrative

          Everyone has a story and my story starts in elementary when I transferred to a new school in second grade. I had met a girl on the first day of my new school when I was second grade. Her name is Sabrina. I befriended her but after the first day she never approached me. I was deeply offended and this was a start of my horrible experiences. Because of these experiences, it made me the person I am today. I personally do not remember much of my elementary or middle school years because they have been horrible that without even noticing my memories of those years became very hazy.
I had a lot of problems when it came to friends. After I met Sabrina, I made other friends like a girl named Maria. Maria was the girl that got along with the girls well as well as the boys. However to me she was a cheater and a bully. My mom sent me to after school and out of all the people she was there. She always tried to copy my homework and if I refused to give it to her she would sit next to me and hit me, bump my shoulder when she passed by me, and push me. Even though there were other kids around no one said anything. On top of this, Sabrina would go around to other student gossiping about me. What have I done to make them dislike me? I didn't understand what I've done to receive this kind of treatment from them. Sabrina created lies that spread to everyone in the class which was a horrible experience but the worse was yet to come.
          My last year of elementary school came. I was in the same class as Sabrina and Maria. Everything started all over again: the gossip, the lies, the physical abuse. I constantly bottled everything up. Sabrina even started using profanity against me. It got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore. After a day of bullying at school then Maria bullying me at after school, I exploded in tears and I confronted my mom about what has been happening. My mom talked to the teachers but even after that they still bullied me. The two girls both bullied me to the point where I always cried in the bathroom all the time but I didn't tell my mom. I culminated elementary school and when I got to middle school I made sure I didn't go to the same middle school as my bullies. Eventually I met new friends. I didn't want the same things happening to me so I became incredibly loyal to my new friends and I still am. As a result to everything that I've encountered I have met the most extraordinary group of friends and I am thankful for that.

          My friends heavily influence the person I am. I even try to be someone I'm not but when now I know if my friends are genuine because I don't have to be impostor. This experience changed my perception of people because you need to be careful of who you surround yourself with.