Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Perhaps One Of The Most Influential Person

Martin Luther King, Jr. was perhaps one of the most influential person of our time. As the father of modern civil rights movement, Dr.Martin Luther king, Jr., is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom and peace. Born January 15, 1929, King was the son of an Atlanta pastor. King accomplished many achievements during his life. He graduated from Morehouse as a minister in 1948 and went on to Crozer Theological seminary in Chester, Pa., where he earned a divinity degree. After that King went on to earn a doctorate in theology from Boston University in 1955. King also achieved the Nobel Peace Prize in December of 1964. He was assassinated on April 4,1968, outside his motel room by James Earl Ray. While his views at the time seemed radical to many, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered and respected today as a martyr of the civil rights movement and an icon of change through nonviolent means. "The Ways of Meeting Oppression", by Martin Luther King Jr., is a story about the ways in which oppressed people deal with their oppression. Dr. King came up with 3 characteristics in which oppressed people deal with their oppression. In this essay we will discuss the three major ways that Dr. King talks about. We will also reveal the one method that King supports. He first characteristic that King mentions in his writing is acquiescence. In this characteristic, King explains how people give up to oppression and become accustomed to it. He believes that this form is not the way to solve the grief that the Negroes were being put through. In fact, he criticizes the people who utilize this method. The following line proves my statement, "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor." The second form that Dr. King talks about is hatred and violence. This is another method that he disagrees with. King explains how violence only creates temporary results and creates more complicated problems in the future. As a minister and deep believer in peace, King refused to accept this way. He also believed that this form will only bring injustice to future generations. He explained how violence today will bring chaos tomorrow. An excellent statement made by Dr. King to disprove this method is, "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind". The third, and final, way that Marther Luther King Jr., talked about was nonviolent resistance. This form of dealing with oppression was strongly supported by King. He believed that the oppressed must consider the benefits of both methods, acquiescence and aggressiveness. A line that best describes my statement is "...the principle of nonviolent resistance seeks to reconcile the truths of two opposites-the acquiescence and violence-while avoiding the extremes and immoralities of both." King believed that this was the best method and in order for it to be successful the Negros "must work passionately and unrelentingly". Marher Luther King Jr., was a great leader. In the writing we've just discussed we've learned 3 ways in which King believes are options available to oppressed people. Among these options we also learn the one supported by Dr. King. He explained all methods from acquiescence to his favorite nonviolent resistance. King also gave great examples of each and everyone of these ways. If it wasn't for such beliefs, maybe todays wouldn't be shaped this way. King was undoubtedly a great leader whom we all admire. A man who changed history and the way people think about each other. A radical thinker who achieved many thing, and created great movements. Despite his death, his legacy and belief still stand strong. RESOURCES Transitions (Barbara Fine Clouse Pp.507-509) -The Ways Of Meeting Oppression -by Marther Luther King Jr.

The Movie “Serpico” and Police Corruption Research Paper Example

The Movie â€Å"Serpico† and Police Corruption Research Paper Example The Movie â€Å"Serpico† and Police Corruption Paper The Movie â€Å"Serpico† and Police Corruption Paper The movie, â€Å"Serpico†, (Maas, 1973) was based on a true story about Frank Serpico, a New York police officer who wanted to expose the corruption in law enforcement and went undercover in order to reveal their criminal activity. He is offered a share of the money in which the corrupt officers share and when he refuses to take part in their activity, he is shunned by his fellow officers and they don’t want to work with him and he remains in danger because he chooses to be honest. Serpico understands that the other officers in his force, are likely to place him in a position that is ultimately, life threatening. Al Pacino plays the role of Frank Serpico, in this movie, who was a real life NYPD detective, (Cannan, 1997) who almost died because of his loyalty to his belief that good cops really do exist. Even when Serpico talks to his superiors in his department, he gets nowhere. Police Commissioner, White acted as if he didn’t care about Serpico’s concerns and ignored his plea for help. Serpico was sure that there were as many crooked cops working in New York City, as there were criminals. He remains loyal, throughout the movie, to his strong belief that police officers should be trustworthy, even though it places his own life in imminent danger. When Commissioner White doesn’t help, Serpico took his plea to a New York Times editor. With the scandal being talked about causes the mayor of New York City to conduct an intense investigation; The Knapp Commission, into Frank Serpico’s bold claims. Frank Serpico became a police officer in 1960 when he had faith in law enforcement and thought that criminals were arrested with traditional methods without using excessive force while arresting them. Seeing all the corruption, Serpico wanted to refrain from joining in one the corruption and asks another officer, by the name of Bob Blair, whom he trusts, to help him in his battle against criminal activity within the New York City police force. Eventually, Serpico went to court, in order to expose the corrupt officers who had tried for so long to bring him down. He testified to the fact that he had witnessed the corruption with his own eyes. The definition of corruption is described as â€Å"forbidden acts involving misuse of office for gain.† (Trautman, 1997) Author, Jack Gattanella tells us about the movie, â€Å"Serpico. â€Å" He says, â€Å"The real powerhouse performance by Pacino, thirty years down the line, still one of his finest.† Al Pacino was perfect for the role of Frank Serpico. Pacino depicted Serpico as an honest and good natured cop who only wanted to do the right thing while exposing those officers who weren’t. Global standards to combat corruption in police forces and services, (Interpol, 2007) have a duty to ensure honesty and ethical behavior and should use force in normal boundaries, in police departments. Frank Serpico (U.S. News, 2007) states that, â€Å"Frank Serpico, the former New York City cop who became a symbol for police honesty, lashed out at society’s leaders.† Serpico continues to hold strong to his faith that society can be led by honest individuals who hold police positions. From the very beginning of the story, where Al Pacino is slumped over in his car seat and dripping blood on his car seat, on his way to the hospital to get treatment for his injuries from being shot, the movie is shown as flashbacks in Serpico’s mind as he thinks about his days of being an honest cop, until the end of the story where he is testifying against the corrupt officers who tried to kill him. Police corruption still remains in our society as we read in Daniel J. Shanahan’s book, â€Å"Badges, Bullets and Bars†. (Shanahan, 2006) We learn a firsthand account of police disloyalty on the force as Shanahan tells us about some of his own experiences while being a cop. Frank Serpico was very courageous in his fight to show human decency and honesty in this movie. He left behind guidelines for all officers who work in law enforcement and will always be remembered as an early display of the way cops are supposed to perform in their duties. In today’s society, there still remains corruption in law enforcement but we still do have loyal officers just like Frank Serpico who are truly dedicated to their careers and work toward upholding the proper standards of the law and not getting involved in pocketing money that doesn’t belong to them, while performing acts that are of criminal nature. â€Å"Serpico† proved to be both educational and enlightening about the corruption in New York City police forces.

The development of teaching physics through modeling as pedagogical Essay

The development of teaching physics through modeling as pedagogical method in the United States - Essay Example In 1821, when the first public high school in America opened, physics was already a part of the curriculum. By1886, Harvard College established a physics laboratory to improve the physics teaching establishment (Hurd, 1969). We may wonder how physics was taught back then. What caused the development of modeling? The purpose of this literature review is to understand the modeling method that is being applied in physics classrooms today, how this method developed and how physics teachers are being trained to have more effective teaching methods into the future. In scientific terms, a model is a representation of a phenomenon initially produced for a specific purpose. As a ‘phenomenon’ is any intellectually interesting way of segregating a part of the world-as-experienced for further study, models are omnipresent. Teaching science as inquiry is among the most important science standards to be passed to future generations. Modeling is part of teaching science as inquiry beca use it enhances students’ critical thinking skills. For this reason, teachers, such as physics teachers, who play a big role in applying inquiry in the science classroom must be knowledgeable in modeling techniques to encourage students to think critically in areas of inquiry. Modeling constitutes a complete open learning environment appropriate for students 11-17 years old. It supports students as well as teachers during learning/teaching activities.