The chapter 3 of Murrin’s Liberty, Equality, Power dwells on the extension of British colonies, which occurred in 1700. Specifically, the Atlantic demographic discrepancies are recounted in the work. The author links the diversity of Indians in America to the migration processes that occurred at this time. He states that New England, which was the healthiest part of the world, took control over the margin societies.
The beginning of the British Empire is connected with the rise of mercantilism, which pointed out that the status of a country should be fully dependant on its wealth. Therefore, England launched an extensive trade politics by initiating the First Navigating Act so that to gain an opportunity to receive the stay in close contact with world markets.
In the subsequent part of the chapter, the author illustrates the events of Indians’ settlement. It is emphasized that, in the second part of the 17th century, the citizens of Indian colonies were depopulated, which provoked Virginia’s Indian War. The rebellion led to the upheaval of colonists and brought Nathaniel Bacon, the initiator of the major Indian resistance, on the scene. The movement stipulated crisis in England, which damaged its imperial politics and trade plot.
The events of Glorious Revolution, which are regarded in the book, reveal the Protestant movement that became a starting point of Catholic overthrowing. Moreover, the establishment of governmental regulation of the royal colonies became the consequence of the revolution. The transformation gave rise to the political system of British Empire and stimulated the introduction of “mixed and balanced” legislation.
Finally, the author recounts the opposition between North America colonies, France, and Spain, which were interested in converting Indians to Catholicism. Mainly, the outcomes of Pueblo Revolt and the Iroquious Five Nation struggle, which included France in the slave trade, are reflected. As a conclusion, the regulation of human commerce and the fundament of colonial household in the New England are discussed. The author claims that mercantilism ideals became the prevention of ethnic diversity support.
Works Cited
Murrin, John, Paul Johnson, James McPherson, Alice Fahs, Garry Gerstle, Emily Rosenberg and Norman Rosenberg. Liberty, equality, power: a history of the American people, Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Before the Columbus expedition, there were four waves to settle Americas: tree from Asia through the former land bridge across the sea of Beringia and the fourth wave of the settlers from northern Europe that did not survive.
European countries did not have a monopoly on anything thus were obliged to trade with one another and Arabic countries, competing for limited sources. That resulted in armies and marine powers developing.
In about a century, Portugal developed from a small country with a population of less than a million into one of the major players in world history, developing its maritime powers and encouraging overseas expeditions along the coast of Africa, getting gold, ivory, and slaves.
Genoa navigator Christopher Columbus was encouraged by Spanish rulers to search for the western way to India. The voyage resulted in Pope’s decree of the division of all non-Christian lands between Portugal and Spain, dying out of the local population of Carribean and Bahama Islands and replacing it with black slaves from Africa, the conquest of Inca and Aztec Empires, reaching the Pacific Ocean.
Local Indians in Central America practiced the slash-and-burn approach in agriculture, moving every ten years as the soil was exhausted. Sedentary Indians lived in the cities, but the development was on the level of the Stone Age. Inca civilization did not have a written language. Thus they invented the decimal system. The Olmec culture of Mesoamerica was subdivided into two cultures Maya (south) and Teotihuacan (not far from Mexico City). The Aztec culture required an enormous amount of human sacrifices, they gained through wars with neighbors. Non-Aztec locals gladly helped Spaniards to fight the Aztecs.
As not mentioned in the Bible, Indians were considered by Christians as animals not-having immortal soles. Aztecs were considered to worship Satan. The understanding of Christianity to Indians was of a mixed nature.
The conquest of Tenochtitlan by Cortes and the conquest of the Inca Empire by Pizarro, and the discovery of silver mines in the territory of modern Bolivia resulted in sustaining Spanish military might in Europe for the next century. After conquistadors did not confirm the rumors of cities of gold in the Northern part of America, the missionaries followed to turn locals into Christianity. The local population of the Americas decreased by 90-95% in a century of contacting Europeans due to the massive killings and the diseases. The American gold and silver made Spanish king Philip II the richest king in Europe, having the largest army, and Spain, after the Portuguese king’s death and seizing its lands and colonies, the largest Empire of the world. It also caused the development of unfree labor – Serfdom.
Early France Settlers
Early France settlers of the 16-century focused on Canada, but they did not find wealth there, and later the inner religious wars distracted their attention from the Americas. French missionaries were trying to make friendly relationships with Indians in North America. The priority of France later shifted from Canada to the Caribbean region.
Dutch republic in the 17th century was a polyglot confederation. Dutch East India Company, established in 1602, became a serious competitor to Portuguese trade in Asia.
England’s expansion of America began when it accepted Protestantism. English sails-man traders Hawkins and Drake were trading slaves in America on the approval of Spain. After the conflict, Drake plundered Spanish colonies on the western coast and returned to England through the Pacific, and was rewarded by knighthood. The confrontation with Spain made the English colonization of the Americas challenging.
The colonization of Hudson and Delaware was the most successful because the colonists settled there as families.
Jamestown was found in the Chesapeake Bay in 1607. Failed as a colony under London Company management, Became the first royal colony, Virginia. Maryland – a colony, raised as a refuge for Irish Catholics.
The pilgrims arrived in America in 1604, and their colony almost died out but survived because of the help of Indians. The migration was due to religious reasons. Puritans formed a patriarchal community. Puritans had confrontations with Anglican Church that led to wars in the colonies.
Works Cited
Murrin, John, Paul Johnson, James McPherson, Alice Fahs, Garry Gerstle, Emily
Rosenberg and Norman Rosenberg. Liberty, equality, power: a history of the American people, Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
The civil rights movement became one of the most notable phenomena in the history of the United States because it forever changed the political, legal, and social landscape of the country. Although the government’s actions made major and final contributions to the establishment of racial equality from the legal perspective, it would not be possible without the people who led the movement and participated in it. Thus, despite differences in their approaches, activists such as Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, and numerous local-level campaigners and demonstrators played a defining role in the struggle for racial equality.
Martin Luther King was the most well-known member of the civil rights movement, and, in many ways, he became the symbol of African Americans’ fight for justice. King was an extremely charismatic leader who was able to inspire thousands of people to join the struggle and undertake actions targeted at the achievement of equality on various levels. King’s I have a dream speech to this day remains one of the most important addresses in U.S. history. King highlighted racial inequality, saying, “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are… robbed of their dignity by signs stating ‘for whites only’” (Zaretsky et al., 2013, p. 184). Due to his active involvement in the civil rights movement, King became a target of the FBI’s campaign to neutralize him and make him no longer relevant or important. Nevertheless, despite all attempts to discredit King’s reputation, his legacy is still commemorated and celebrated by millions of people, since he made a considerable contribution to the equality movement.
During his lifetime, King had many counterparts who opposed the civil rights movement, and the most notable one was Stokely Carmichael. Unlike King, who embraced a peaceful approach to protesting, Stokely Carmichael adhered to the idea that justice and equality could only be achieved through radical actions. Carmichael wrote that the civil rights movement spoke “to an audience of liberal whites” while neglecting young African Americans (Zaretsky et al., 2013, p. 185). Carmichael believed that it was necessary to build a movement that would target the black militant youth living in urban ghettos. Carmichael promoted the idea of black power, which meant that African Americans had o organize and unite to form their communities independent from the whites’ influence. Although Carmichael’s proposals could be viewed as radical, he influenced a large number of people and inspired them to join the struggle for justice. Despite his criticism of King’s ideas, Carmichael’s actions contributed to the success of civil rights by raising awareness among citizens about racial inequality and the need to change it.
People such as King and Carmichael were the main influencers of the era, yet thousands of African American activists made their contributions to the movement for equality. Franklin McCain is one of the major activists who engaged in different peaceful protests, which led to the removal of racist practices by local businesses. For instance, McCain remembered how he and his friends began their protests by going to stores that practiced segregation and requesting the clerks to serve them at the counters for white people (Zaretsky et al., 2013). According to McCain, such actions received “mixed reactions from people in the store” (Zaretsky et al., 2013, p. 181). Yet, the regular sit-ins of McCain and his colleagues forced the Woolworth store to discard its segregation policy (Dierenfield, 2021). Activists such as McCain were not known to millions of people, but their contribution to the civil rights movement was substantial.
The struggle of African Americans for equality in the postwar United States was successful because of the efforts of numerous activists. Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, and Franklin McCain all embraced different approaches to the achievement of racial equality in the country, yet each of them made a positive impact in their way. Essentially, activists became the major force of the civil rights movement and eventually managed to reach their goal of installing racial justice in the United States.
References
Dierenfield, B. (2021). The civil rights movement: The black freedom struggle in America (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Zaretsky, N., Lawrence, M., Griffith, R., &, Baker, P. (2013). Major problems in American history (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an activist for women’s rights in the nineteenth century, talked about equality and women’s rights. She defined impartiality on the creation account premise, man and woman were created as equivalent beings (Wayne, 2020). God gave them the earth as their abode to enjoy its yield. Additionally, they both have a collective sense of morality and seek counsel and help from the same Supreme Being. Conversely, rights refer to the women’s ability to make their verdicts, think independently, access resources and act freely (Wayne, 2020). Women’s rights encompass their participation in the political process through voting and having fair laws.
Stanton felt that only a woman could adequately define rights and equality in a way that represents them. A man cannot fully express a woman’s thoughts, wants, and desires as they are inherently different (Wayne, 2020). Globally, the male gender had feigned the role of dictating females’ actions and duties. Religious leaders used their influence to suppress women to submission and suffering (Wayne, 2020). Women were to support movements, such as ‘The Education Societies,’ which discriminated against them and uplifted men who would come back to sabotage them.
Importance of Equal Rights to a Nation
The same rights enable both a man and a woman to be part of enhancing the growth and development of a nation. Women have demonstrated their capabilities by doing ‘manly’ activities, such as fighting and hunting (Siegel, 2019). The Croatian and Wallachian women contributed significantly to their economy through cultivation and running their households (Wayne, 2020). Identical rights help each person to understand the frailty and instability of human help and encourage reliance on Supreme power. As a result, they will appreciate and seek independence, making them responsible citizens with a sense of duty to God and their nation (Siegel, 2019). Everyone will also have equal opportunities to access resources that will enable living harmoniously by contributing equally to adjuration and power.
Proposition on Rights Acquisition
Stanton hoped that the men at that convention would be motivated by the women’s protest and reasoning to enact change. Men were in political offices, and their support was vital to passing reforms that promoted women’s rights (Siegel, 2019). The women would acquire their rights by using their penmanship, words, wealth, influence, and unshakeable faith to promote their course (Wayne, 2020). Stanton said that as women, they would keep fighting for their rights and not give up until justice was served. Educating women who resisted the movement on their troubling reality would be vital in creating a strong force. Women’s empowerment will reduce distasteful publications that support their oppression and suppression by claiming contentment with the present situation (Wayne, 2020). Stanton suggests that women should cease their support of initiatives that disempower them. They cannot contribute their hard-earned money to a course that segregates and diminishes them.
Conclusion
Human beings are equal according to creation, regardless of their gender differences. Men have used religion and other forms of teaching to degrade women to servitude. Stanton felt that only a woman could articulate their grievances with the weight they deserved and proceeded to give her speech clearly distinguishing equality and rights. Equal rights foster growth and development as it give everyone a chance to contribute productively to the economy. Women can use their words, writings, wealth, third-party influence, and unity to gain their rights in a chauvinistic society.
Racial segregation was one of the most atrocious aspects of US history. Fortunately, as time progressed, there were attempts at abolishing this issue, promoting projects that could assist the rise of racial equality. The Brown v Board of Education of Topeka was one of the events that resulted in a step towards demolishing inequality, being preceded by an unfair ruling. The following text will review the predecessor, the ruling itself and its impact.
The end of the 19th century marked the beginning of the aforementioned atrocity of US history. The Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court ruling legalized segregation in facilities as long as they were equal. It resulted in black Americans being banned from being present in the same facilities as white ones, caused by Jim Crow’s laws. The ruling would persist in the country for the following sixty years.
However, there were attempts towards abolishing racial inequality in the US, with the NAACP being one of the main contributors. They would file anti-segregation lawsuits in various states in America. One of them was the aforementioned Brown v Board case. In it, Oliver Brown created a suit against Topeka’s Board of Education since his daughter was denied entrance to its all-white schools. He stated that educational facilities were unequal to those for white Americans and that it violated the equal protection clause. The decision acknowledged the inherent inequality of segregated schools and stated that plaintiffs were stripped of the protection promised by the 14th Amendment.
The case was then followed by other impactful anti-segregation events. For example, a year after the decision, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat in a bus, which resulted in extra boycotts and demonstrations. These acts were performed by a movement that would finally cause the abolishment of Jim Crowe’s laws in the South. Thus, the Brown v Board ruling caused the formation of the Civil Rights movement.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court ruling of 1954 was a step towards equality, preceded by an unfair ruling and followed by another impactful case. It was triggered by the injustice of racial segregation which had been present for six decades by then. The case was caused by Oliver Brown’s daughter being banned from entering Topeka’s all-white schools. Fortunately, the decision acknowledged the unfair position of all black schools and that it was a violation of the 14th Amendment. As a result, the event was followed by Rosa Parks’ protest, further aiming towards abolishing segregation.
The Enlightenment, which is also referred to as the Age of Reason, is linked to the significant historical changes that occurred between the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The ideas inherent to the philosophy of the Enlightenment changed the course of history and gave rise to the French Revolution and the start of the Constitution of the United States, human rights, and the pursuit of equality around the world. Discussing the idea of equality within the context of Enlightenment is considered essential because modern society is still struggling with reaching the desired level of social justice and equal treatment.
The great thinkers of the Enlightenment movement considered themselves as irreplaceable contributors to illuminating the human intellect and culture after the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. During these periods, the power of the Catholic Church gained extreme leverage and infiltrated every part of politics, life, including the monarchy of most European countries. The rise of such ideas as liberty, reason and the scientific method encouraged society to think about the ways in which some people were treated, thus starting considerations of equality within and between societies. Thus, despite the fact that the history of humankind had to undergo many more changes and developments since the Enlightenment, the period should be seen as the starting point to discussions on equality.
Inequality Before the Enlightenment: Gender Issues
The secularization of learning, universal education, individual liberty, and the separation of church and state was the principal concepts of the Enlightenment, developing a certain philosophy and a worldview. It was believed that the application of reason to every aspect of life could help people break free from irrationality and ignorance and through learning start acting reasonably. Inequality between social layers was one of the unreasonable aspects that prevailed before the Enlightenment.
One of the most pressing equality problems that existed in the Middle Ages, which preceded the revolution of thought, was linked to the treatment of women. When speaking of Europe of that time, most people in medieval times inhabited small rural communities, predominantly making money from the land. Women were responsible for taking care of the family, preparing food, and tending to the livestock. One of the key symbols that accompanied the depiction of a medieval woman was the distaff, a tool used for spinning wool and flax. Thus, women were seen as fulfillers of a distinct domestic purpose and nothing beyond.
The thinkers of the Enlightenment thought that all aspects of human life should be aimed at increasing reason and knowledge instead of eliciting emotion. However, in the Middle Ages, women were considered inferior to men due to feelings evoked from the Bible. It was believed that Eve was created from Adam’s rib and ate the forbidden fruit, which led to the expulsion of men from paradise. Because of this, a woman was seen as the embodiment of sin – they were morally weaker and responsible for tempting men into committing sinful acts.
During the Renaissance, women did not experience any significant improvements in treatment; however, some changes in gender roles based on class took place. The historical period was referred to as the “flowering of urban culture between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries” and implied the introduction of a new consciousness (Reilly 258). However, women still did not experience the deserved level of respect and dignity. For example, women from low social classes were seen as housewives and had to fulfill their responsibilities in the house. Working-class women were expected to help their husbands run their businesses while upper-class women had servants and other employees working for them. Notably, women could not work by themselves or live alone if they were single. Therefore, the lack of options that women had continued in the Renaissance.
The Enlightenment attempted to abandon such a myth, initiating the first attempts of discussing their equal status to men. John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, and David Hume debated issues of gender equality. For instance, John Locke argued for the same education for both young boys and girls, making a little allowance for beauty disciplines and a few other considerations. In addition, the philosopher had no objections to women being ministers or having political power and praised the influence of the Queen Mary and Elizabeth to which he referred to in respectful terms. Therefore, some of the aspects of early feminism, which could never have been born in the Middle Ages when women were seen as beacons of original sin. While feminism as a movement started gaining momentum in the 1830s, the earliest considerations regarding gender equality should be attributed to the Enlightenment (Reilly 307).
Enlightenment and Global Inequality
Focusing on the subject of global equality and inequality in the discussion about Enlightenment is essential because it also divided the philosophers of the eighteenth century as well as modern-day commentators and critics. The universalistic claims that the proponents of the movement put forward gave rise to the mono-cultural worldview, which eventually spawned the civilizing mission of the European colonial powers. The worldview of the natural equality of all human beings on the planet was similar to a utopia. However, within such philosophy, the authority of the enlightened and those who possess an intellectual advantage over others was given authority on a global scale. Moreover, the equality of non-European citizens was seen as a receding target, suggesting that it was not the time yet for them to become equal to Europeans. This points to the elevation of the role of Western countries in shaping the course of modern history within the Enlightenment philosophy.
If applied to the modern liberal context, the values of Enlightenment are those that champion the core principles of equality and liberty. As a repository of such values, the movement provided a framework of moral and intellectual foundations of the liberal-democratic civilization. Furthermore, it is believed that those belonging to ‘other cultures’ cannot be considered equal to Westerners unless they become enlightened – abandon religious superstitions or adhere to the liberal set of values that most countries in Europe or Northern America share. Therefore, Enlightenment was considered the core of modernity; it was both desirable and unavoidable.
Answering the question of whether the economic and political revolution brought by the Enlightenment led to more or less inequality, it is imperative to consider the rationale with which the philosophers of that time explained slavery and racism. Both were institutionalized and enabled the representatives of a superior social class to impose power upon others. As written by Randolph, “sometimes the poor slave takes courage to ask his master to let him pray, and is driven away, with the answer, that if discovered praying, his back will pay the bill.” Such a sentiment was also shared by Turner who revolted against slavery due to the poor treatment.
Even Immanuel Kant said that compared to whites, Indians (meaning – citizens of India) were not talented enough and that Blacks were the lowest of all American people. It was also recounted that the philosopher dismissed an opinion given to him by a person of color because his skin color was clear proof that what he said was not worth any attention. Today, such an opinion would be challenged and criticized; moreover, it does not mean that the Enlightenment as a movement was inherently racist. It just shows that mistakes were made and that not all proponents of the movement were true advocates for equality.
As slavery was established before the conception of the Enlightenment as a movement, it did not end with the social and political liberation of the West. As written by Douglass, “you have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” Later, when slavery as an institution was declining, racial distinctions associated with discrimination assumed great significance (Reilly 336). This means that while the Enlightenment gave the start to a discussion about equality among people in a global society, no indications of complete abolishment and discrimination were present.
Globalization and Social Inequality
The links between social equality and globalization have been heavily debated. Globalization was brought by the industrial revolution, which was associated with a significant increase in production and the use of machinery and new technologies (“Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution”). While it was believed that the elimination of barriers between nations would decrease the extent of inequality, the opposite effect was witnessed. Inequality matters both across and within countries, especially in regards to developing countries where communities are more likely to witness unequal opportunities, injustice, and insider privilege. This is linked directly to economic theory, which explains that inadequate education and weak credit markets enable the rich and the powerful to take advantage of the investment opportunities. An example of this is Latin America, where the high land concentration and the low concentration of income limited the opportunities of education and developed a very small middle class, dependent on the state, and a largely poor and near-poor lower classes. Thus, the most powerful social segments hold most of the wealth, leading to increased income gaps within most countries.
In regions that were considered lucky to inherit the equal distribution of land and political impulse, such as East Asia, governments invested in health and education, thus encouraging the development of the middle class on the basis of smallholder agriculture and technology-based manufacturing. Thus, the rate of inequality among citizens of such countries was lower than in Latin America. However, if compared on a global scale, there is a significant gap in inequality of opportunity and outcome in Latin and East Asian countries.
Globalization increased inequality because global markets are dis-equalizing in their nature and such would increase inequality in developing countries a greater possibility. In the environment of free markets, there are several reasons why globalization increased inequality instead of decreasing it. For example, the large economic gains linked to efficient global markets are not shared by all participants. Markets only reward those economies that possess the correct assets, such as financial and human capital or entrepreneurial skills. Thus, only the accomplished countries increase multiply wealth with the help of globalization. Since social equality among people is directly tied to financial well-being, it must be concluded that globalization did not play a decisive role in the distribution of equal opportunities and outcomes for people.
Concluding Thoughts
The links between the Enlightenment and the global strive for equality are undeniable. In the Middle Ages, all aspects of social life were guided by the Church. The emotional attachment to sin and wrongdoing made people scared of thinking independently. Because of the Bible, women were considered sources of original sin and were diminished in their roles in society. The Enlightenment attempted to elevate the fear and encourage society to use learning as the primary source of decision-making. The movement in support of scientific thinking spread across the Western world and initiated such important developments as the US Constitution and the French Revolution.
Nevertheless, despite the expectations that the industrial and scientific modernization brought by the Enlightenment would elevate the burden of inequality, history suggests that humanity had a long way to go for reaching equality to its full degree. There is evidence suggesting that even the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment, such as John Locke, were racially biased and considered Westerners as ‘enlightened’ and thus superior to other populations. In regards to globalization, social and wealth gaps between and within countries increased based on the principles of free trade. This was linked to the fact that free-market models rewarded only those fortunate states to have technological and financial resources, leaving the less fortunate behind and without any opportunities for growth. Overall, discussions on the Enlightenment and its impact on global society are relevant to this day, and it is imperative not to underestimate such an influence.
Social inequality is a specific form of social differentiation in which individuals, social groups, or classes are at different levels of the social hierarchy, and have unequal life chances and opportunities to satisfy their needs.
Inequality is understood as unequal access of large social groups of people to economic resources, social goods, and political power. The main mechanisms of social inequality are relations of property, power, social division of labor, as well as uncontrolled, spontaneous social differentiation. One of the forms of social inequality in the world was apartheid, the policy of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 to 1994 (Meyer, 2017). History has known many fighters against inequality, and one of the most famous human rights activists was an enemy of apartheid who served 27 years in prison for his beliefs.
This individual was born in the village of Mfezo, located on the left bank of the Mbashe River in South Africa. After secondary school, he graduated from Clarkebury School, then attended Methodist College in Fort Beaufort, and at the age of 21, he was enrolled as a student at Fort Hare University (Meyer, 2017). However, he left the university due to participation in a boycott of students who disagreed with the results of elections to the student representative council. In 1941, he moved to Johannesburg, and, along with his work as a lawyer, he entered the University of the Witwatersrand at the Faculty of Law.
As a university student, he became interested in politics and regularly participated in meetings of black intellectuals of the African National Congress. He often appeared at rallies and protests, supporting the side of the local population. In 1948, when the National Party came to power in South Africa, he became chief secretary and later president of the African National Congress Youth League (Meyer, 2017). He organized the Campaign of Disobedience to the Authorities, and in 1955, convened the Congress of the Free People (Meyer, 2017). His help to the people did not consist only of political disagreement.
He created the first law company that provided free services to blacks. He also compiled a list of principles for the future democratic society of the Republic of South Africa, which became the main document for the non-violent struggle against the apartheid regime.
In the early 60s, having achieved nothing peacefully, he created a radical organization that allowed for the possibility of armed struggle. Together with team members, they organized explosions of government and military facilities. In 1962, he was brought to trial and imprisoned for organizing strikes (Meyer, 2017). As a political prisoner, he had the worst conditions of detention and the least amount of privileges. For example, he was allowed to write only one letter or make only one call every six months. Nevertheless, thanks to the support of his friends who remained at large, during this period, he managed to become a well-known politician and fighter for equality.
Since the mid-1980s, the government has been trying to find a compromise. He was offered freedom in exchange for refusing to fight against apartheid, but he refused the offer. Only in 1989, did the authorities lift the ban on the African National Congress (Meyer, 2017).
A year later, he was acquitted in court and released. Immediately after his release from prison, he began an intensified struggle against the government which was accompanied by acts of terrorism and clashes. His efforts led to the holding of the first democratic elections in South Africa’s history and the African National Congress in 1994 (Meyer, 2017). With 62% of the vote, the fighter became the first black president of South Africa.
During 5 years of his rule, the new president achieved free medical care for children and pregnant women, free compulsory education for children under 14, and introduced equality in the payment of benefits. He increased subsidies for the maintenance of rural residents, introduced laws on land, labor relations, qualifications of workers, equality in employment, and many other policies. Under his government, large-scale work was carried out in the country on telephones, electrification, and the construction of hospitals, clinics, and residential buildings. He died on December 5, 2013, at the age of 96 (Meyer, 2017). However, his policy and fight for equality made him a well-known person around the world.
The person who made a difference in fighting for equality was Nelson Mandela. He was one of the most recognizable symbols of the 20th-century human rights movement, whose dedication to defending the freedoms of people inspires human rights defenders around the world. Mandela, sentenced to life imprisonment, became a vivid symbol of resistance to the growing anti-apartheid movement. He consistently refused to surrender his political positions in exchange for freedom. His historical merit is the creation of a Republic where representatives of all races coexist more or less peacefully. Nelson Mandela has become the moral compass and symbol of a better future for all of Africa.
Reference
Meyer, S. (2017). Nelson Mandela: South African president and anti-apartheid activist. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
The argument that economic inequality is bad to our health has absolute truth based on the reality in our society today. Individuals’ status in society determines the kind of lifestyle one leads, a factor that dictates the health conditions of a person. However, financial status determines an individual’s consumption pattern, living conditions, as well as the body exercise one takes and how he takes it.
The economic advantaged individuals can access the health requirements to keep in a good state through balancing their food, leisure and work, although their consumption patterns do sometimes hinder proper health maintenance. Contrary, the economically disadvantaged persons are more exposed to factors that negatively affect our health due to money factor determinacy. They are sometimes unable to attend to their basic needs, including their daily consumption and healthy living standards (Bashir 76).
In a society characterized by economic inequality, people’s lifestyles including norms and values are set by those who rank highly in the economic bracket. However, these norms do not favor the whole community, but only seem to favor those making them. The society’s way of life dictates how to achieve necessary commodities, thus making well-off individuals’ consumption patterns different from the poor people.
Moreover, means of acquiring healthy resources are intensified to suit the social class of the rich making it difficult for the lower class to attain them. The poor find it difficult to meet the living standards accepted in the society, which are often set by the rich, and they opt to move in poor houses with unhygienic conditions, which lack of proper sanitation exposing them to disease outbreaks.
In addition, education becomes a distinguishing factor between the two groups where the poor are less educated, hindering them from realizing a better way of handling health issues in their lives. On the other hand, due to social class differentiation, the rich ignore healthier foods as they associate them with lower classes, thus resulting to imbalance in their diet. This brings about unhealthy conditions such as obesity and other related diseases.
Apart from fulfillment of human basic needs, the level of inequality in income greatly undermines the public health status. The material acquisition is associated with the opportunity access where those with more achieve much in life; a factor that creates strive for those within low economic positions in achieving the social norm and as a result they resort in working more hours.
Their choice to work longer hours however deprives them the opportunity for leisure, denies them time for social relationship-important for maintaining both psychological and physical health, creates stress from the job leading to poor health as well as providing less time for exercise, eating out and minimizes the ability of maintaining good health.
The inequality also brings reduction in social capital due to competition in societies which results to decline in productivity. More advantaged society benefits from political support for social programmes while others suffer from lack of these programmes (Beck 115).
In order to eradicate these health-related problems, the issue of economic inequality needs to be addressed. Equal distribution of resources by the government should be encouraged, which involves making education and health services affordable to all. Charitable giving and volunteerism towards the lower classes also needs to be practiced in order to uplift the less privileged social status hence bridging the economic gap.
On the other hand, social organizations should intervene to improve people’s wage/hour law and workers safety, together with setting of a standard norm that does not benefit one class any more than the other should be involved to bring down the inequality (Bryant & Mohai 137).
Toxic wastes released in the environment pose an health hazard to both the people living near the production plants and those working in these plants. These impacts on people’s health are directly and indirectly encountered as people interact with the environment they live in.
Through inhaling the released toxic gases in the atmosphere, people’s health becomes affected by the harmful chemicals in these gases. More adversely, the release of the gas contributes to the global warming, a condition that has not only affected human being’s health, but also all living organisms. Similarly, the release of chemicals to the soil has also resulted to growth of foodstuff with harmful elements which affect people’s health.
The level of toxic gases in the environment has been attributed to the high rate of chemical use than that from disposal sites, disposal of chemicals is being perceived more costly than dumping while production being given a high priority than awareness of health impact. This has resulted to massive dumping of the chemical residual without people realizing the danger it poses to their health. As a result this has contributed to undiscovered toxin exposure, which has affected the general public health.
One of the communities that have been affected by these toxic wastes is the African American community. Bryant & Mohai (137) notes that “Between 1920 and 1978, more the 80 percent Houston’s household garbage landfills were located in black neighborhood.” About 60,000 tons of soil with highly polychlorinated biphenyl was damped on Black County illegally.
This brought many complains of illnesses by the black people who were living in this area due to pollution of water and crops. While the production plant continued to benefit from the cost reduction of chemical disposal, the black people were suffering from the harm resulting from these chemicals.
This led to protests against environmental injustices, which resulted to arrest of 500 protestors. However, the demonstrations continued until the state and federal government intervened and stopped the dumping of toxic chemical by industries. In addition the State and federal government incurred the cost of this pollution by spending $ 17.1 million to detoxify the contaminated soil stored at the landfill.
However, detoxifying the soil was not satisfactory as the process involved application of another chemical to neutralize the other. This failed to guarantee people good health as the chemicals used caused more harm to humans, animals and plants.
There were no measures of preventing more dumping of the toxic residues by the involved industries. In addition, there was no guarantee that the poisoned soil could be 100 percent detoxified. To protect public health, adequate disposal of toxins byproducts of industrial process need to be enhanced. Thus the law and regulation concerning disposal needs to be emphasized to ensure that toxin products do not find their way into people’s life.
In addition, toxins have affected people’s life in their daily activities and undertakings. Farm operations such as use of pesticides on food, use of bottled water as well as carpeting have also contributed to toxic release to the environment affecting people’s health. This issue calls for measures of ensuring toxin solutions have been employed. For example, the community organizing environmental justice should ensure that rules concerning disposal are adhered to.
Also, there is need for community monitoring on the industrial activities including their disposal processes. Community health survey also needs to ensure that any threat towards community health is dealt with. In addition, political actions are needed to discourage release of harmful gasses and chemical to the environment and create proper planning process of release of harmless gas in the atmosphere (Beck 85).
Before a food product is place on a table before a family, it has passed a number of systems along which the person taking the meal might not be aware of the risk involved in these steps. From the very first step of the production of these foodstuff, the health of the individuals involve is always at risk.
This is sometime experienced directly and indirectly, with the persons involved either being conscious or unconscious of these risks. As a result, the measures to avoid or suppress these risks are either unattainable by the involved person or unidentifiable where these risks are experienced.
If a food product in an American kitchen such as tomato paste has its systems considered, it will require one to trace the products origin which is in the soil. This entails the farm production of tomatoes which goes along the process stage to tomato paste. In tomato production, land factor is a major thing that posses threat to both the community’s and individual health.
Land ownership dictates who produces tomatoes for the market. Those with large lands dominate the market and in some cases oppress the farmer with small piece of land. This may happen when the big farmers lower the price of tomatoes since they have the produce in large quantity.
However, the small farmers with only little production have to sell at that price regardless of whether they make profit or not. This creates pressure and stress which affect the farmer’s health. In addition, the people working in the farm are exposed to harsh conditions that may pose threat on their health. In most cases these workers are work for long hour, denying them time to rest end exercise as well as being with their families. This physical pressure negatively affects their health (Bryant & Mohai 51).
On the other hand, application of chemicals such as fertilizers and herbicides on the farm causes poisoning to the land, the air and water. This has negative result towards the health of both the workers and the community at large as they use the water and inhale the chemical in the air.
The market condition exposes people to hazardous conditions. Working under vagaries of weather such as under hot sun or heavy rain risks people’s health. In addition, both the buyers and seller get to the market very early and leave very late which denies them time for other recreation activities. As the fruit goes to the factory for processing, there is an association of risk related condition towards the employee’s health. Working with machines and chemical bring about danger of harm to the employees both physically and mentally.
For example, machines have been reported injuring and even killing people in industries, their noise interfering with mental performance of the employees and chemicals having their way in employee’s body systems resulting to temporary or permanent damage. In addition, working long hour and at night to meet individual needs have negatively impacts towards individual’s health.
On the market of tomato paste, economic inequality causes people to give up their time for health improvement activities such as leisure, eating, and exercise to work in order to meet the social class requirement that will enable them to be in a position of acquiring the product. As a result, their health is put at risk so that they can be able to lay this tomato product on their kitchen table.
Using Genetically Modified seeds to produce tomatoes can be one way of ensuring workers’ health and their community. GMO seeds have high capability of resisting pests and diseases, thus a reduction of the application of chemicals to the land that poisons the surrounding. Secondly, enforcement of workers’ rights to ensure healthy conditions for both the farm workers and factory workers.
Government and Humanitarian bodies have to ensure that the needs of the workers are at the forefront. In addition, clear schedule of work time as well as the rights of the workers should be ascertained to avoid any form of exploitation. This will provide them with extra time they need to recuperate and maintain their health. Thirdly, market bodies or governments need to research on the market conditions at different time and come up with a standard price of the products in the market.
This will deny the big farmers and the economic advantaged people from defining the social status in association with the product prices. This will reduce the strains imposed to lower classes as they struggle to ensure that they get what it takes to fit in the set social norms by the ‘haves’. This will enable them to moderate their working time, social and recreational time (Bashir 72).
Works Cited
Bashir, Shinny. Home is where the harm is: inadequate housing as a public health crisis. Phetchaburi: Am J Public Health, 2002. Print.
Beck, Anderson. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. New York: Sage, 1986. Print.
Bryant, James & Mohai, Peterson. Race and the Incidence of Environmental Hazards. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992. Print.
The following is an argument in favor of the Americare. This medical plan is different from the current Medicare. The Medicare plan is a medical insurance plan that covers the older people who are in the United States.
The other insurance is the Medicaid that covers the poor and the unemployed people. This medical plan lead to inequality in provision of health services as they leave most of the uninsured people unable to access critical medical services when they need them.
The Americare insurance system is an extended Medicare that aims at covering all Americans irrespective of their age and social status. It incorporates the Medicaid, Medicare, Disability funds, Veterans Health Administration, and insurance for federal employees.
Several factors make Americare a better option than the insurance covers in the American healthcare system.
Advantages. The first reason is that it eliminates the current experience rating used by the insurers to discriminate elderly and unhealthy people.
The commercial insurance companies have policies that eliminate unhealthy and elderly people leaving the healthy young people as their customers.
The Americare uses the community rating process to grant insurance policies. The community ratings accept everyone and they are not discriminatory in terms of age and health status.
This means that there will be universal insurance coverage for all Americans irrespective of their age.
The second advantage of Americare is that it is likely to be more efficient than the existing medical covers in releasing funds to the healthcare facility.
This is because gatekeepers who prevent or regulate the amount of funds the patients receive from the insurance will be inexistent in the new insurance. This will make provision of health services faster and efficient (Bodenheim and Grumbac 17).
The Americare will also have an added advantage of pooled funds because it will incorporate other medical schemes related to the states and the federal government. This will make it possible for the insurance fund to cater for the healthcare services (Epstein 6).
Unlike other funds with socialist tendencies, this fund will treat patients as stakeholders who have a role to play in the provision of the healthcare services.
The citizens have to contribute to the insurance fund through the taxes and paying little amount of money for health insurance policies (Ezekiel 28).
The other supporting point of view is the argument of liberalizing and operating the health industry like other trades where the services are influenced by forces of demand and supply.
The argument is that if there is no insurance, patients would buy the health services directly from the physician and are likely to go to the physicians who offer quality services at an affordable price (Ezekiel 28).
However, the insurance industry and medical practitioners are highly opposed to this arrangement and sabotage the success of the plan. This means that the better option of insurance is a universal insurance plan that caters for everyone (Goldberg 13).
Disadvantages. The Americare has a problem, the first one being that the programs run by the federal government experience bureaucracy that hinders efficiency.
The other disadvantage is that the citizens will pay higher taxes than the current taxes. This is a challenge in the implementation of this project as the public is not ready to increase income tax to fund the healthcare programs (Hayes 34).
Conclusion
Irrespective of the few challenges that may hinder implementation of universal healthcare, Americare is possible where all the citizens are guaranteed access to health services.
Works Cited
Bodenheim, Thomas and Grumbac Kevin. Understanding Health Policy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.
Epstein, Richard. Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Healthcare? New York: Basic Books, 1997. Print.
Ezekiel, Emmanuel. The Ends of Human Life: Medical Ethics in a Liberty Policy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992. Print.
Goldberg, Johnston. “Understanding Health Disparities.” Health Policy Institute of Ohio (2004): 13. Print.
Hayes, Wilson. “Understanding Health Disparities.” Health Policy Institute of Ohio 12(2004): 10. Print.
The newly learnt topic of licensure and regulations in nursing were fascinating to me. Being a nursing student, I came to understand it better when I was doing my attachments in one of the hospitals. I had been placed in the inpatient and admission and discharge. Everything was completely new and out of control to me. I found it hard arriving in the hospital early and the many patients I was handling. The workers, other nurses, and the patients were all from diverse backgrounds, which gave me more challenges.
One afternoon, while in the line of duty, I came across an elderly patient. He was roughly 65 years and could barely understand my official language of communication. He was alone, without any company and money to cater for his admission charges. I yelled at him out of my anger and told him to go and come later when he was ready. I did not know that he was the father of the senior director at the hospital, and the older man was waiting for him.
Eventually, the director appeared, and the father explained what had happened. The case was immediately reported to the hospital management. I had gone against the set rules and regulations where any practising or qualified nurse must have an excellent professional character (Oyeleye, 2019). The patients were shocked on hearing about my misconduct, and all I could feel was a shame. The incident was the subject of discussion in the workplace, and I felt uncomfortable about it.
I felt so embarrassed and extremely uncomfortable after harassing the innocent patient. Since i was inexperienced, I lacked enough knowledge and skills on how to handle patients, which might have led to the incident. Nonetheless, the positive thing I learnt about the experience was how to manage patients. One must reasonably treat patients because of their condition. I understand that people have different personalities, and perhaps this is what caused the harsh treatment. From this occurrence, it can be concluded that patients must be treated equally and moderately and above all, good communication skills must be used when dealing with the sick. For a successful career experience, one ought to abide by the rules and regulations which guide them in their specific fields.
Reference
Oyeleye, O. A. (2019). The nursing licensure compact and its disciplinary provisions: What nurses should know. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(2). Web.