Politcal Cartoons

When you look at a newspaper or any editorial the first thing that catches your attention is the editorial cartoons. We share them with friends and post them on refrigerators and office doors. Political cartoons are arguably the simplest and most powerful form of communication that symbolizes a topic of interest, and most often that topic is one of great controversy. Because political cartoons are a combination of verbal and visual satire, it comes as no surprise that many political cartoons are often extremely offensive. A political cartoon published in the South African Sunday times is a prime example of just how offensive these cartoons can get. South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro’s derogatory drawing was offensive to me, and was the source of world wide controversy. Shapiro drew a vicious, downright disturbing image of the ANC (the South African ruling party) leader Jacob Zuma unbuckling his belt, looking down on a woman labeled “Justice System,” blindfolded and held down by leering men. The cartoon shows Zuma preparing to rape the justice system, portrayed as a blindfolded woman pinned down by Zuma’s political allies including the ANC, the Communist Party, unions and the ANC Youth League holding the woman or the “justice system” down and rooting Zuma to “go for it”. In other words Zuma was preparing to rape the justice system. It is important to remember that Zuma’s leadership has been characterized by corruption and he has even been accused of rape. In the second part of the political cartoon, president Zuma, standing with his pants unbuckled warns that he “respects” the justice system that he is about to rape. I must admit, that I understand and agree with the point that Shapiro was trying to make with his cartoon, and that is that Zuma is taking pure advantage of the South African justice system. Zuma is in fact a corrupted leader, but this cartoon is still offensive due to its graphic nature. In the picture, we do not get to see that Zuma is raping the justice system, we only see him and his allies’ gang rapping a woman, and we can all agree that seeing images of a woman about to get gang raped is in no way appropriate to be printed in a nationwide news source. And furthermore comparing the leaders corruption to the lewd act of rape is also something that needs to be reconsidered. I must say that even though I find this cartoon highly offensive, and I do think that Shapiro could have expressed his views in another way, I feel that Shapiro has the right to draw and publish whatever he wants.

Free Speach V. Abusive Language

In no way do I take the privilege of having my first amendment right to free speech for granted but I do feel that we as a society are too hypersensitive and need to wake up and stop letting what others say about us have such huge effects on us. Nevertheless, I am very considerate to the needs of others around me and do feel that outward use of abusive language toward another individual is wrong and is not something that I would take part in. So when asked if I would sign an agreement to refrain from using such language to gain acceptance into my school, then I would sign, but I would do so reluctantly. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with agreeing to not using offensive language. Actually, in my opinion, an agreement should not be necessary and its existence shows the true character of people in our society. Are we that rude and inconsiderate? I cannot understand what motivates people to be so disrespectful, and it is disappointing that so many people are. The way I was raised you never use this type of language and offend people, even if you do not agree with the person, and I do not know how a person can be heartless enough to fix their lips to hurt another person.
Even still, upon signing the agreement I would be very suspicious of my right to free speech being oppressed. My right to say what I want to when and where I want to is ultimately compromised by signing this agreement, and if it were not for positive means, I under normal situations I would never sign such a thing that takes away my right to free speech, but since this promotes social ‘behavior adjustment’ I would in fact sign.

Reading Lolita

A memoir, a social history, and a literary criticism all wrapped in one, Reading Lolita in Tehran is an outstanding novel that opens the door to many complex subjects to the government and cultural issues in Iran and the world. Being New York’s Times number one best seller, the significance of this memoir is of no doubt.

In the true story set in a time of everything but peacefulness, highlights the experiences, the trials, and the tribulations held by English literature professor and her students, we learn that freedom is something not to be held lightly. Due to the oppressive nature on women in Iran, Professor Nafisi was forced to resign from her teaching career at the Iranian university. Soon after, she gathered seven of her best students, all female, and together they attended secret weekly studies of western literature from the confines of her own home. The books they read were banned by the Iranian government, and they often had to share photocopied pages of the illegal texts. For years the met with each other to share and to talk and to "shed their mandatory veils and robes and burst into color." The meetings provided liberation for them under strict Islamic rule.

Threaded into the memoir are incisive discussions of the literary works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, George Orwell, and other great western authors who provided the women with examples of those who successfully defeated obsession despite the challenges they faced. It in turn encouraged them to revolt against the blatant authoritarianism and repression in both large and small ways.

After reading this novel, I would recommend that everyone reads also reads it, and I think it would be especially appreciated by any one with even the tiniest interest in literature and foreign social or cultural issues. Reading Lolita in Tehran is enlightening and reminds us to take every advantage of all the freedom we are blessed with and to not to take them for granted. We must remember that some are not blessed with the right to read, watch, or even think about certain subject matters, and even the smallest liberating topics such as the freedom to dress how one pleases is not always guaranteed. All in all, Reading Lolita in Tehran is an outstanding read that emphasizes the relationship between life, literature, and liberty, and should be on the bookshelves of every home.

Lets not be Politically Correct:

We too often stray from using our words and replace them with others because we are worried to offend and stress on being politically correct. In fact, we have become so focused on being politically correct that we stray further and further from the message we are trying to communicate. Political correctness can better be defined as conforming language, ideas, policies, or behavior in order not to be offensive. The idea of conforming is not a looked upon platform of our society, so why should we conform our language, the tool we use to express ourselves? Furthermore, conversation and speech is a natural and necessary human process, and if we conform in our communication and language by being politically correct, then we ultimately reduce the human status. We need to be a little less sensitive and get beyond the point of political correctness, and just say what we need to say. Our overbearing consciousness of being political correct has had a great effect on how we use language, and ultimately our language is suffering from it. Rather than being straight forward and effectively communicating, our focus on being political correct has lead to cliché, vague, terms that are confusing and open to misinterpretation. Nowadays we can barely even describe a person without seeming sexist, racist, or close-minded. For example, political correctness placed on gender roles has been blown out of proportion. I see no harm in using words such as congressMAN or policeMAN. I mean are we all not huMAN? And why should us women stress about being called a waitress or a hostess? I like the fact that my womanhood is acknowledged. We also stress way too much on being politically correct in regards to race and ethnicity. One trip of the tongue and a person can be labeled racist for ever. Recently I had a conversation with one of my teachers and she asked if I preferred to be addressed as black or African-American. I told her black is fine, my descendants could have came from Africa over 400 years ago. I am just as American as her, why stress the point? When I travel abroad, I am first viewed as American who is black. Not African-American. All in all, both words can be used interchangeably with no harm done. Nevertheless, my teacher said the school stressed that African-American was the politically correct term, and the only one that should be used in the classroom. The point here is why do we narrow our language and over exaggerate situations to make others feel comfortable. Instead of saying what is on our minds, we have to check and rephrase ourselves, and too often our original message does not get conveyed appropriately. Not only do we tailor our language in racist and sexist situations, however we use it in regards to a persons mental status. We are scolded for using the word retarded, but is mentally challenged really a better choice? We are careful not to offend people in their relationship choices— not gay, rather alternative lifestyle. Alternative lifestyle can describe many situations, why must we confuse ourselves? We use political corrective-ness to describe anything of negative or awkward connotation. Are we really that fearful of being uncomfortable and does every situation need to be one of bliss? Overall, political language which is supposed to shed light on a situation is dimming our language.

English and the Global Economy

After Mandarin, English is the second most spoken language in the world, and unlike mandarin which is predominantly only used in Asian countries, English is used in just about every corner of the world. Through political alliances, trading blocs, and technological innovations, it comes as no surprise that English is achieving a special status in being a global language and becoming recognized by almost every country. The prevalence of English is obvious. Just flick on the news, and we find that people in foreign nations reporting stories in fluent English. English is even the most taught second language in the world, and over 80 percent of what is on the internet is published in English, despite the fact that non-English speakers are the fastest group of growing internet users. Take a visit to a foreign country and you will instantly recognize the use of English. Billboards, street signs, and even dinner menus are written in both the native language and English.

With all this in consideration, it only makes since that English also has a significant impact on the global economy, and it is hard to imagine what incredible challenges nonnative speakers face when trying to compete in a global economy dominated by a single language. English is the language of many trade alliances including the Asian trade group ASEAN, who has established a free trade market area within several Asian countries. ASEAN is currently negotiating free trade agreement with the European Union where English is the official language of the European Central Bank, despite the fact that no predominantly English speaking nation is a member of the European monetary union. However without the common language of English, there would be many more barriers ultimately resulting in less international trade.

Even in the western side of the world, English has a great influence on the global economy. For example, the United States free trade agreement with Canada (where English and French are the official language) and Mexico (where Spanish is the official language), the use of English is required for it to survive. The united states is also actively involved in trade with many international countries including Central America, Israel, Jordan, Chile, Singapore, Bahrain, Peru, Morocco, and Oman to name a few. As a major developed nation, the United States economy and industry has relied heavily on the import of raw materials and the export of finished goods. It would come as a major deficit without the knowledge of English within these trade systems. Not only does English influence the global economy through the way of trade. But also English is the language of businesses and corporations through out the world. With the large numbers of multinational corporations, English has become important in the work place for employers and employees alike.

Because the importance of English in the global economy, many cultures are making moves to ensure that they can also compete. Many nations such as Mexico are actively implementing that English as a Second Language a requirement in schools. Many countries are also making the move to add English as an official language.

It goes without saying that English has a huge influence on the world, especially in our global economies. Because of this influence, I foretell that English will continue to grow even faster and continue to spread through out the world.

Saying Is Believing

The way a writer reaches out to the reader is the same way a speaker reaches out to its audience, and we as readers or listeners want clarity and understanding of the point trying to be conveyed. Saying is Believing by Patricia T. O’ Connor provided some great tips for me in improving and making my writing clearer. She puts it best when she says “A good writer is one you can read without breaking a sweat”. I could not agree more. In my opinion, a good writer is understandable and clear, and O’Connor provides some great insight on how to be a better writer. According to O’Connor, a good writer can directly express their point, avoids redundancy, and puts their ideas in an order that is easily understood. There are a couple of tips that O’Connor offered are particularly helpful for me. The first was not to belabor the obvious. In other words, the reader will understand the point better without extra prepositional phrases, something I do too often in my writing. The second tip was especially helpful for me, that is to just repeat a word that fits instead of using an ill fitted substitute. Often I tie myself in a knot trying to figure out different words to use instead of just repeating a word, when in fact it is often a lot easier for a reader to understand if I do just repeat the word. Lastly, but most importantly is to use an active voice by being direct. To be direct it is important to say what you have to say, and stop when you have said it. The active voice can help both readers and writers because it provides clarity. O’Conner also states that many people are brainwashed to believe that the more brilliant the writer, the tougher going. By this she means that people tend to believe that bigger of more confusing words and statements, the writer is smarter and the text is ultimately better. Often this is simply not the case. I agree that a good writer has the ability to take complex ideas and express them with clarity, instead of confusing the reader. If the reader is forced to use a dictionary just to understand every other word, or if statements are so complex that it is hard to comprehend, the writing may not be so great after all. I am very fortunate to have read these tips that O’Connor has provided, and look forward to using them in my future writings.

Language that Inspired Change:

Language, an emotion-filled sound that rolls of our tongues rooting from our deepest inner thoughts and subsequently stems out to those around us ultimately enables our fellow people to absorb our thoughts and ideas. The boundaries of language are the boundaries of this world, not only do we use it transmit and receive information, it is powerful beyond measure. It is filled with emotion, it gives us a passageway to expression, it appeals to our intellect, and it inspires us. One of the most inspirational examples where language has prevailed in moving the masses is in civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. On the steps of the Lincoln memorial, during a time when the civil rights movement was becoming heated, King delivered a speech that still inspires change to this very moment. King won the hearts over of all those assembled there that day when he spoke. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood." The language King uses appeals to our hearts, our emotions, and our intellect. It is sincere, emotion filled, and selfless. He inspires us to try our hardest make this beautiful dream come alive. Even the location of the speech could not have been better suited. The Lincoln Memorial, the very place that symbolizes the very dream that King spoke about was a perfect backdrop to a speech that inspired change and the advancement of human civil rights. Lincoln’s leadership and integrity is one that will for ever be forever remembered and looked up to as greatness. The memorial of President Lincoln, a man who stood up in the face of adversity and is immortalized for pushing for change and for the abolishment of oppression in slavery, greatly contributed to Kings speech. The location chosen was well suited and greatly symbolic.
The “I Have a Dream” speech will forever be a huge part of history. It inspired change and gave hope in hearts of everyone around this country.