Changing Views of Family in Society Essays -- Family

A Family Portrait: How the Picture Keeps Changing Growing up I believed that the three bears in the tale of Goldilocks were a family because they lived under the same roof and ate at the same table. I also believed that Barbie and her little sister, Skipper, were family because they looked alike, and that Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head were family because they were married. Now that I am grown, my understanding of family has matured, and many sources have helped shape my belief. Carol Shields points out in her article, â€Å"Family Is One of the Few Certainties We Will Take with Us Far into the Future,† that all around us there are different definitions and symbols of family (Shields 558). In short, a family does not have to conform to a set mold to be considered a family. For example, a small family, such as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head’s, still qualifies as a family. On the contrary, Webster supports a more traditional view that defines â€Å"family† as a household consisting of parents and their children. R elatives and those who share a mutual ancestor are also included in this definition (â€Å"Family† 215). Our culture’s interpretation of family is constantly changing, and an amendment to the definition should be allowed for. History tells us that a family consists of a man, a woman, and their children, but I believe that today, that definition should branch out to include non-traditional families, which in some cases could even include, pets and close friends. Thousands of years ago, a family consisted of a man, a woman, their children, their servant, and any children the man had with the servant. King Solomon from the Bible is said to have had seven-hundred wives and three-hundred concubines. His family was quite literally the siz... ...rom whether biological relatives or best of friends. Circumstances may alter the traditional sense of the word family, but human nature allows us to adapt and form our lives accordingly. With our ever changing society, maybe Hasbro Toys will someday have Mr. Potato Head leave the Missus for a certain lusty Radish and her two children. Works Cited Shields, Carol. â€Å"Family Is One of the Few Certainties We Will Take with Us Far into the Future.† Wall Street Journal, 1 Jan 2000. Elements of Argument. Eds. John E. Sullivan III and Deborah Baker. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. 558-563. Smiley, Jane. â€Å"Why Do We Marry?† Utne Reader, Sep/Oct 2000. Elements of Argument. Eds. John E. Sullivan III and Deborah Baker. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. 563-564. â€Å"Family.† Webster's New World Dictionary. Ed. Victoria Neufeldt. New York City: Pocket Books, 1995. 215.

Arguing for the benefits of vegetarianism

Be a vegetarian. It is all one can say to another to stay healthy. In the current world that human kind live in, it is very clear that many people have different problems in their bodies. Some people may have cancer, some may have flu and some others may be obese. About 8 million people die from cancer every year and considering the fact that Switzerland has a population of about 9 million people, this country would be wiped out to nothing if the cancer killings only occurred in Switzerland. A simple way of lessening the risk of catching cancer, or rather any kind of disease, is to be a vegetarian. People practice vegetarianism for various reasons. Some being health, religiously, economically and environmentally. But even with all the reasons combined, there still aren’t enough vegetarians to change the future of the world. If we were to be vegetarians, first of all we would be consuming less fat and cholesterol, decreasing the risk for us to get obese. With the advantage of not having too much fat in the body, we would have a less chance of getting cancer as well. Secondly, we would be consuming more beneficial nutrients and minerals such as carbohydrates, fiber and vitamins. The loss of protein can be replenished by consuming beans for vegetarians. The last reason that vegetarianism is good is because it is very environmental. When raising livestock in farms consistently produces CO2 from the animals, vegetables produce oxygen. Hence, it is very environmental although plants produce CO2 as well. The world would be living with less danger if everybody in the world were vegetarians. Also, the Earth would be less polluted than it is right now. But the problem is that in reality, it is not. A research page had a result showing that a mere 5% of the world’s population were semi-vegetarians. The number of pure vegetarians would be less. Many people in the world are not aware of the word ‘vegan’ which is the same term for vegetarian and most of the people know that being a vegetarian is good for one’s health, they just completely ignore that fact and carry on a meat-based diet because it tastes good. If people quickly learned that they could live longer by following a very simple process, it would finally be the time period of the human kind going against bacteria. We humans having the largest brains ever seen on earth have taken control of the earth for thousands of years but bacteria, having no brain at all have been controlling the earth for millions. A solution to this problem of not having enough conceptual awareness about vegetarianism can be very hard to find. Since it is impossible for one to force another to follow a plant based diet, the solution has to be something that triggers oneself to follow it on his own. A way to do this is to advertise the positive effects of vegetarianism. Another method, based on a fact of having unlimited resources, is to invent a technology that would make vegetables more attractive to eat. Most people who dislike vegetables say that they dislike them because they don’t taste very good. By solving the taste problem, we would have a lot more vegetable likers. Be a vegetarian.

The Role of African-Americans in the Abolition of Slavery

Presentation: The role of African-Americans in the abolition of slavery According to Ira Berlins essay The role of African-Americans in the abolition of slavery, despite the role of slavery in causing the American Civil War, Northerners and Southerners alike did not envision slaves having a viable role in fighting for their freedom. However, as the war progressed, it became increasingly clear that slaves could play a role in the conflict to help the Northern side. The Emancipation Proclamation and the subsequent conscription of African-Americans had a very practical purpose: it demonstrated that the Union was on the side of enslaved blacks and enabled African-Americans to prove their readiness to become citizens. At first there was tremendous opposition to these policies: merely because people supported the Union did not mean they believed in equality of the races. Even in the North, there was initial resistance to returning slaves to their owners after war was declared. Anti-slavery congressmen took great passed a resolution declaring it no part of the duty of the soldiers of the United States to capture and return fugitive slaves only with great effort (Berlin et al 428). As black Americans, including escaped slaves began to play a more and more critical role in the war effort and eventually, the abolitionist view began to become more accepted. 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