De Tocquevilles democracy In America Essay -- essays research papers

Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America delves deep into how the American States and the federal government would grow politically and socially under the umbrella of democracy. He sees the United States as a unique entity because of how and why it started as well as its geographical location. De Tocqueville explains that the foundations of the democratic process in America are completely different from anywhere else on the globe. The land was virginal and the colonies had almost complete sovereignty from England from the very beginning because they were separated by an ocean and financial troubles. The people who came to America were the oppressed and unhappy in England and all were trying to find a place where they could start anew and create a political structure that would facilitate an individual freedom unlike anything that they had previously experienced in Europe. De Tocqueville believed that the nature of democracy in the New World rested within the fact that all of the emigrants were basically from the same social strata, resulting in the first new country where there was no preliminary basis for an aristocracy. "Land is the basis of an aristocracy†¦and†¦ [in America] when the ground was prepared, its produce was found to be insufficient to enrich a proprietor and a farmer at the same t ime(41)." He saw that even the soil of America was opposed to the structure of an aristocracy. There were also outside influences lending unvoiced support for the creation of this new democracy. Being an ocean apart from its mother country, who at this time did not have the financial reserves to oversee its colonies, let the Americans govern themselves. If they had not had this sovereignty at the beginning America might have become something completely different than it is today, but that was not the case, so these emigrants now had a fertile place to plant their ideas of a country founded upon the many ideas of the Enlightenment. Another large influence was the lack of neighbors. America had no ... ...man responsible for herself. De Tocqueville has left no aspect of American society out of his publication. He rips the American body open and examines all the things that are inside right down to the bare bones. It is a little scary to read of ones’ own nation and its culture. To realize that one’s own life is not how he made it, but of how his ancestors have created society. Whether it be as to how Americans view their politics, or their social afflictions, de Tocqueville voices his opinions as to what is commendable, are conversely, what is wrong with every aspect of America. He sees America through the eyes of intelligent outsider who has no reason to make America sound anything other than it is. He has done a very thorough job, and his vision of nineteenth century America will surely help lead America into the twenty-first century with a better definition of itself.

Written Abstract on Sea Turtles

The article, entitled â€Å"Relationship of Blood Mercury Levels to Health Parameters in the Loggerhead Sea Turtle† by Day et al. , (2007) aimed at investigating the threat of mercury as one of the pervasive environmental pollutants in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). The rationale behind this study is that there was a need for a study that focuses on the presence of mercury in sea turtles and its toxic effects since immunosuppression is evident in diseased populations. Total Hg analysis, clinical chemistry and complete blood counts,lymphocyte proliferation: ex vivo THg exposure, incubation, lymphocyte proliferation: in vitro MeHg exposure, lysozyme activity, corticosterone and testosterone, statistical analysis, THg concentrations, the use of clinical blood parameters, and ex vivo lymphocyte were implemented to obtain results. Randomly selected free-ranging subadult and adult turtles that served as the research sample were examined from May 2001 to July 2003. To assess proliferative responses, lymphocytes were exposed in vitro to methylmercury. The authors found a positive correlation between blood mercury concentrations and hematocrit and creatine phosphokinase activity, but they also found a negative correlation between blood mercury concentrations and lymphocyte cell counts and aspartate aminotransferase. The positive correlation result implied that there is higher affinity of mercury species for erythrocytes than plasma. It also showed that it is important to measure hematocrit when analyzing whole blood for mercury. On the other hand, in vitro immunosuppression occurred at methylmercury concentrations that correspond to approximately 5% of the research sample which were captured in the wild. In addition, the negative correlation result found ex vivo between mercury and lymphocyte numbers and mercury and B-cell proliferative responses. This implies that there is a possibility that it is possible that mercury negatively impacts on the immune function of sea turtle in the wild.

Huck Finn Censorship Synthesis

In this modern day and age, everything offends someone. Eating at Chick-fil-A hurts the LGBT community, going to see the latest Adam Sandler movie gets the Jewish mad at you- so why is it surprising that Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is being changed to please people? Whether they be teachers, students, black or white, there need be no change in Huck Finn. And if any change were to be made- that would be censorship. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portrays a message that cannot be missed about the racist ideals of society at that time.Using demeaning words like â€Å"nigger† and â€Å"injun† serve purpose in Twain’s work. His repetition of ugly phrases like those show just how ugly community values were back then. In Source B, Gribben admits to changing those words to more family friendly terms, specifically â€Å"slave† and â€Å"Indian†. Those are not always correct, though. Often times, â€Å"nigger† is used fro m one African American to the other, to show an acceptance of brotherhood and a communal understanding of struggle. The replacement of â€Å"slave† is not correct in this case, or in others.â€Å"Slave† is defined as a person who is property of another. This is not accurate either, considering Jim, the main African American character in the book, ran away from his owner and no longer held that specific job. Even if he were still a slave, the correction would not be correct at all. African Americans were never kindly titled â€Å"slave†. They were spit at, and the harsh use of the word â€Å"nigger† slapped them across the face like it does to students across the country who read it now (Source D).Taking away Twain’s most purposefully placed word completely takes away from his message. Without the original vocabulary, society cannot learn the important message that Twain is trying to teach. Twain’s use of â€Å"nigger† is like a whole new form of imagery. Many students shift uncomfortably in their desks when they hear it out loud, some will even go as far as claiming to hate the book because of the tense and demeaning language (Source A). This is what Twain wanted.The use of â€Å"nigger† has not changed at all over the years, and ignoring it would be equivalent to ignoring an entire chapter of our history books, one that very much defined our country. The poster-word for the discrimination of African Americans is â€Å"nigger†, therefore Huck Finn would be ripped of its historical accuracy if the word were removed. Twain wants reders to empathize with the book’s victims, because only then would his readers be able to understand the harsh pain of the word. Twain’s message is simple: â€Å"nigger† is not okay.But there is no other way to prove this than to force it upon the reader. Twain was and continues to be a literary genius. His willingness to take a chance and make a reader empathize and feel something is what makes his book such a learning experience. Stripping the book of its most infamous word, â€Å"nigger†, cowards away from its most obvious message. If everything mildly offensive was censored, there would be nothing left to read. So instead of complaining about history, enjoy the beauty of Twain’s book, buy some Chick-fil-A, and the rent the newest Adam Sandler movie- before it’s too late.