John Lockes Law of Nature Theory - Free Essay Example

According to John Lockes theory of the social contract, a group of citizens have the obligation to themselves and their fellow man to abolish a government not protecting the basic Law of Nature. This law of nature being that each and every man must have the unalienable rights to their life, liberty, and their personal property. Any government that would be going against this natural law is to be considered an unfit and uncivilised government. Therefore, the people governed by this uncivilised state have the right to rebel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most simple way to describe the Law of Nature is that a government must work for the protection of the governed. King Georges refusal to meet the needs of the colonists was a blatant show of disregard for Lockes social contract. He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. (preamble) As a result of King Georges actions, the colonists felt very strongly that their most basic of human needs were not being accommodated by England and the throne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   King George again pushed past the basic ideas of Lockes contract when he sent his own personal government regulators to live within the societies of the colonists. He has erected a multitude of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. (List of Grievances) He went from disregarding their needs for existence, to inserting himself into the very foundation of their lives. The King continued to give his people in the colonies no support in the form of laws and regulations, yet sent people to take what little solaces they had.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When a head of government takes power, they vow to protect the citizens of the country in which they hold power, with the exception of a dictatorship or a tyrant. In the instance of King George, he swore to do this exact thing, yet failed when it came to the lives of the colonists. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection. (List of Grievances) By declaring the colonists out of his protection, by the basic ideas of Lockes social contract, he must also declare them out of his rule, yet he continues to rule as if nothing has changed, other than his newly acclaimed hostile attitude towards the colonists. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of the people. (List of Grievances) Not only did The King declare that he could not aid the colonists in defense against threats from the French, Spanish, and native peoples, he added himself into the list of threats the colonists faced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   George sealed his fate by sending in his armies. Not only government regulators, but fully armed soldiers to live amongst the colonists. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy of the head of a civilized union. (Resolution of Independence) His actions had come to resemble the acts of a leader of an uncivilized and bloodlusted country. Not a country that was to be recalled as a global power, reaching the farthest ends of the seas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Georges behavior was unacceptable, and he failed the protections and the lives of the people who lived under him. He was there to protect them, not kill them. He blatantly broke Lockes social contract, the likes of which the colonists had admired a great deal, and went beyond bounds that could even be considered civilised. His behavior was unfit for a ruler, and certainly inadequate for the colonists.

9/11 Memorial Remembering the Tragedy

9/11 Memorial or, to be more precise, National September 11 Memorial Museum, is a memorial dedicated to the memory of the greatest tragedy in American history – the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which took lives of 2,997 people. It is also often considered to be the largest and the most expensive memorial in the country – the construction costs are said to exceed $1 billion, even though original design was estimated at $500,000. The Memorial consists of several objects in this or that way commemorating the September 11 attacks. The main element of the Memorial are two enormous pools with largest man-made waterfalls in the United States, located at exact spots the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. They symbolize the emptiness and void left after the destruction of the WTC and the death of those who worked there. Although the Memorial is located in the middle of New York, the sound of water falling muffles the noise of the city, which means that nothing interferes with the solemn atmosphere of the place. The pools are surrounded by trees, namely swamp white oaks and American sweetgums, which have been chosen for this role because they grow to 60-80 feet and their lifespan is 300-350 years, which means that they will be standing for years after all who had anything to do with building of the Memorial are long gone. Another important element of the design is the so-called Survivor Tree – a callery pear that was found in the rubble left after the collapse of the World Trade Center. At the moment it was badly burned and barely alive. Although nobody really believed that it was going to survive, it was replanted in a Bronx nursery and, to universal surprise, showed the signs of new growth the next spring. It was surrounded with new care as an important symbol of hope, preservation of life and rebirth. It, however, wasn’t the end of the tree’s misfortunes – in 2010 it was uprooted by a storm and replanted again – true to its name, it stubbornly refused to die the second time. Later it was relocated to the Memorial, where it is considered to be an important part of the general design and its overall message. The parapet of Memorial pools has 76 bronze plates attached to it, having the names of all the victims of September 11 terrorist act, plus the names of six people killed in 1993 World Trade Center bombing, thus ensuring that this tragedy will never be forgotten. However, in addition to the Memorial there is also the Museum of September 11, containing images and artifacts pertaining to the tragedy, audio recordings of stories about the victims and those involved in rescue efforts and video about the events. Its design is worth noting separately – following the principles of deconstructivism, it resembles a partially collapsed building, mirroring the event it is supposed to commemorate. Its exhibits cover the tragedy in its entirety: there are various parts of the original buildings, damaged and destroyed vehicles that surrounded the World Trade Center at the moment of attack, photographs of wreckage and destruction, phone calls of victims and members of rescue force, recordings of their memories and so on. Despite the topic covered by the exhibition being not a little grim, all possible efforts were made to keep it from being traumatizing, especially for people directly connected to the tragedy. All in all, 9/11 Memorial fully corresponds to the importance of the event it is commemorating – the most horrific and gruesome tragedy in the entire American history is marked by the most impressive and imposing monument in the country.