The Scopes Monkey Trial :: American America History

The Scopes Monkey Trial      Ã‚  Ã‚   In a tiny courtroom in the county of Dayton Tennessee, the jury settled into their seats, ready to return the verdict in the most controversial case of the 1920’s, the scopes â€Å"monkey† trial.   Up to this point, the trial itself had been a media spectacle; the lawyers, the witnesses, even the defendant had become media icons in the commercialism of the twenties.   The trial itself was set up to be a media demonstration to challenge the constitutionality of the butler act.   This act  prohibited the teaching of â€Å"any theory that denies the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the bible,† and in particular, the theory of evolution.   the American civil liberties union petitioned for a teacher to challenge this statute; john Thomas scopes, the local high school track coach and science teacher accepted the challenge and stood trial for teaching evolution the previous spring.   Over the course of the trial Charles Darrow an d William Jennings Bryan, the attorneys on the case, debated each other profusely.   Eventually Bryan even testified to the truth of the biblical story, even though he was massacred by Darrow upon examination.   Despite all that the trial stood for, the most lasting aspect of the trial was that it brought the media into the courtroom, and the courtroom into the daily life of the American citizen.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most common association with the trial is as an example of the debates that raged during the 1920’s; this case particularly described the battle between the conservative religious movement and the new liberalized ideas of evolution. The case is most often referred to for, and most commonly associated with, the debate between science and religion. The scientific revolution had its roots in the arguments of the trial. â€Å"Because of this, scientific thought becomes very prominent and also with this, self consciousness is elaborated upon. With the clear understanding of why mankind is self conscious, commercialism and consumerism start booming like never before!† (Gerstein 14) the monkey trial opened people’s eyes, as well as their pocketbooks; consumerism flourished more so now because people could use reasoning to justify the spending that they did. Every religion in the world preaches some form of love for others and respect for humanity, w hile science, and especially evolution, advocate the survival of the fittest organism. By developing a scientific outlook on life, people felt less indebted to their contemporaries and instead found themselves concentrating on material possessions. The Scopes Monkey Trial :: American America History The Scopes Monkey Trial      Ã‚  Ã‚   In a tiny courtroom in the county of Dayton Tennessee, the jury settled into their seats, ready to return the verdict in the most controversial case of the 1920’s, the scopes â€Å"monkey† trial.   Up to this point, the trial itself had been a media spectacle; the lawyers, the witnesses, even the defendant had become media icons in the commercialism of the twenties.   The trial itself was set up to be a media demonstration to challenge the constitutionality of the butler act.   This act  prohibited the teaching of â€Å"any theory that denies the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the bible,† and in particular, the theory of evolution.   the American civil liberties union petitioned for a teacher to challenge this statute; john Thomas scopes, the local high school track coach and science teacher accepted the challenge and stood trial for teaching evolution the previous spring.   Over the course of the trial Charles Darrow an d William Jennings Bryan, the attorneys on the case, debated each other profusely.   Eventually Bryan even testified to the truth of the biblical story, even though he was massacred by Darrow upon examination.   Despite all that the trial stood for, the most lasting aspect of the trial was that it brought the media into the courtroom, and the courtroom into the daily life of the American citizen.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most common association with the trial is as an example of the debates that raged during the 1920’s; this case particularly described the battle between the conservative religious movement and the new liberalized ideas of evolution. The case is most often referred to for, and most commonly associated with, the debate between science and religion. The scientific revolution had its roots in the arguments of the trial. â€Å"Because of this, scientific thought becomes very prominent and also with this, self consciousness is elaborated upon. With the clear understanding of why mankind is self conscious, commercialism and consumerism start booming like never before!† (Gerstein 14) the monkey trial opened people’s eyes, as well as their pocketbooks; consumerism flourished more so now because people could use reasoning to justify the spending that they did. Every religion in the world preaches some form of love for others and respect for humanity, w hile science, and especially evolution, advocate the survival of the fittest organism. By developing a scientific outlook on life, people felt less indebted to their contemporaries and instead found themselves concentrating on material possessions.

Safety vs. Freedom

Americans take pride in their individual freedoms above safety. We as Americans have fought for our freedom since the building of our great nation. In the past, the people of America took pride in their freedom as a nation and a group of people. During the time, safety was an irrelevant issue. However, as time progressed to what we consider a contemporary society; safety became a co-existing factor in the systematic balance. Constant threats and dreadful attacks have been made by people because they were considered to have â€Å"too much freedom†.Safety in our everyday lives did not become prompted until people have taken drastic measures to ensure their freedom. Drastic measures have been taken by people because â€Å"too much† freedom was placed into the hands of the people. The correlation of freedom and safety now lingers onto a thin delicate balance that can be toppled when there is too much of freedom or safety. In today’s contemporary society, people not o nly want freedom, but they also feel the need for safety in their everyday lives. H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) wrote, â€Å"The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.† His statement over the topic may have been true for the time, but in today’s society, matters have changed dramatically in that safety and freedom are needed. The topic of freedom and safety has been constantly debated. In order to fully understand the situation, definitions must be provided. Freedom is defined as â€Å"the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint†. In other words, freedom is a power that is passed down to the people from the local and national government. On the other hand, safety is defined â€Å"as the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury.†Interestingly enough, these definitions overlap. Ambiguity and confusion seem to be interwoven in this case. These defin itions are an underline proof that the average man desires both freedom and safety. No matter how the question is phrased, the same pragmatic, convoluted response should be given. Freedom and safety are relative to each other, usually tipping back and forth like a seesaw. The balance between each virtue is rather delicate, but always negotiable, depending on the influence of events at home or even internationally.Freedom is the benchmark of the American value system. As long as Americans remain to place importance on freedom, it will endure. Safety is equally significant, but often manipulated. Most Americans seem to be rather susceptible when it comes to the safety of the nation state and will usually agree with legislation that will â€Å"make us safer†. To this discussion, there are usually two opposing sides. The sides in this situation are people who stay faithful to pure freedom and people who are aficionados of safety.Some people have belief that freedom is the only th ing that matters and that freedom should be the prioritized factor across the nation. On the other hand, there are people who believe that safety is more important. On both sides, however, there is always an argument involved with gun control. Recently, there has been an uncontrollable force that has swept across America and that is the use of guns for mass murdering. The Sandy Hook incident left people traumatized. During this issue, people who stand true in safety want nothing less than the ban of wielding arms. â€Å"†¦the stronger our gun control laws are, the fewer acts of violence†¦. † (Sandy Hook quotes). At the same time, those for freedom still want to be able to wield arms even though such tragic events have occurred. Even though there is a constant heated debate over the topic of freedom verses safety, there always has to be a fine line that defines both freedom and safety. With the latest shooting tragedy in Colorado, gun control is undoubtedly on everyo ne's mind. People who have a stance with â€Å"pro-gun† seem to cite freedom, liberty and the 2nd amendment while talking about their right to carry guns.And people who are â€Å"anti-gun† might cite the safety and well-being of the general public, as criminals and people with mental disorders will not have such easy access to weapons that kill. People who say that freedom and safety have no correlations, and that safety is more important than freedom or freedom is more important that safety, have not considered it’s daily applications. In society today, people demand both freedom and safety. While more and more Americans demand freedom to do things as they please, they want the feeling of protection and safety.Safety is needed when more freedom is given. An example of this lies in our homes. As children have later curfews as they grow older, their parents demand for more of their own protection for their children. Ultimately, curfews are reasonable guidelines a nd should be followed. It is important to maintain respect for your parents and the rules they set throughout your adolescent years. â€Å"While it may seem unfair or unreasonable at the time, you will eventually realize how beneficial such rules were and will thank your parents for looking out for your well-being. † (Why Curfews Should Be Enforced).This correlation is evidence that with more freedom, people need more safety to keep them in check and to keep people in line. Freedom in this case cannot exist without the need for safety and safety is not necessary if there is no freedom. Freedom and safety are desired by everyone. However, unlike popular belief, they cannot be separated. Like a well-balanced formula, freedom and safety intertwine in a well-defined system. In this contemporary society, freedom is important for the liberties of the people; however, safety is important for the security of the people. Both freedom and safety are important factors for people today.

Why The Gender Pay Gap Essay - 1692 Words

Vincent (2013) provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis on why the gender pay gap exists in Canada by researching, studying, analyzing, and interpreting over 39 different sources of Canadian micro data and finds that the gender pay gap has decreased over the years but still persists even in younger generations, less than a third of the pay gap can be explained through females over-occupying lower sector jobs, women placing a larger emphasize on non- monetary related aspects of a job, women experiencing an income penalty when raising a child, and that discrimination all play a role in the persistence of the gender pay gap. Vincent proposes that females being disproportionately represented in lower wage jobs, females placing a larger emphasis on aspects of a job that are not monetary related, women having to deal with more family and child responsibilities hindering their careers, and workplace gender discrimination that causes employers to value masculine orthodoxies of work explain the gender wage gap. As of 2011, the average hourly wage for females in Canada was that of only 87 percent of males in Canada (Statistics Canada 2011). Vincent argues that educating females and males equally about professions in schools and at an early age will encourage both genders to regard their careers will elevate the females’ confidence in their career and academic capabilities. 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