Intro to Greek Mythology Influence Essay Example for Free

Intro to Greek Mythology Influence Essay Introduction: In order to understand the impact of Greek mythology on Western culture one must understand what Greek mythology itself is. Greek Mythology is the belief, tales, and stories of ancient gods who ruled the ancient world as well as heroes who challenged the gods or some who fought for them. Many of these tales include moral stories and shaped humanistic values of what and what not to do. The ancient Greece Empire was located around the Mediterranean Sea and touched parts of what was called minor Asia (Howstuffwork 2010). In these times the belief was that ancient gods were a part of everyday life. Supposedly the gods rules all aspect of life such as the production of food, domestic life, war and social life such as fortune and love. The people mad sacrifices to these gods to â€Å"please† them and many died fighting for these gods, which no one actually saw because of their home on Mount Olympus. Greek mythology was more than just stories to these people it was actually a religion, which formed and shaped political nature of Ancient Greece as well. Greek mythology attempts to explain the origins of the world and the reasons for occurrences in the world. The time period of when Greek mythology began is not really confirmed it is estimated around 800 BC, but there have been accounts of earlier pottery and artifacts which show images of the gods. These mythical stories have stood against the sands of time and even today are used in modern language and societies. Howstuffworks Ancient Greece. (n.d.). HowStuffWorks Learn How Everything Works!. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from http://www.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece.htm/printable

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Desertification is an increasing global issue that has caused many concerns throughout the world. Desertification affects mostly Africa; however it has (and still is) taking its toll on the Arabian Peninsula, southern Asia, Australia, southern South America, and the southwest region of the North American continent (â€Å"Desertification†, 2013). According to â€Å"Desertification: A Forgotten Threat†, every year, some 23,000 square miles of arable and range land are uncontrollably lost to desert, leaving an exceeding amount of consequences for the entire globe to face. As alarming as this fact is, it is important to understand the negative effects that desertification exerts on these affected areas, exactly what this problem is, what it is doing, why it’s happening, why it is important, and what global communities, as well as world leaders can do to prevent it from spiraling out of control in the future. This paper will focus on the physical and economical hards hips due to desertification, the causes of it, the necessary measures that should be taken to prevent it, as well as the importance of spreading global awareness regarding this topic. According to a statement made by UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) on December 10, 1993, â€Å"Desertification is ‘one of the most serious global environmental problems’† (â€Å"Desertification: Not About, 1994). When discussing the topic of desertification, two common questions are, â€Å"What is desertification exactly, and how is it possible for the desert to advance?† Desertification is a term that describes â€Å"the loss of productive land to desert† (â€Å"Desertification†, 2013). It’s a common, innocent public misconception that the desert is advancing; however, this in fact is not the case. When an area u... ...ined areas. Strongly supported by the UN Development Program’s Office to Combat Desertification and Drought, the CCD is the first treaty to demand full participation by local populations. This way, countries can learn from each other, passing on scientific and technical knowledge† (â€Å"Desertification: A Forgotten Threat†, 1999). As one can see, desertification is a serious matter at hand. Creating laws and setting limits to farmers can slow the desertification process slowed down. Actions need to be taken now in order to save the precious land. If nothing is done, the future of important nations will be dark as they are forced to face a myriad of economical and biological hardships. Additionally, there could very well be wars over land and water, causing the affected country to sink deeper and deeper into a viscous pit due to the malicious cycle of desertification.

Rude American

Rude Americans Stories are often told about rude American tourists, neighbors, or simply Americans. They have been labeled as rude because of their actions and their portrayal in the media and our society. Most of the complaints involve tourists. According to businessperson. Com, Tripods, a travel blob, conducted a survey last year involving 700 respondents from 62 countries about bad tourist behavior. It covers everything from travel etiquette and manners (like hogging the armrests and asking to switch seats incessantly in plane rides) to drunken misbehaver and foreign fertilization.A whopping 33% of respondents, three times as many as the next worst, Britain, agree that Americans are terrible tourists. 44% of the American respondents even agreed that their countrymen are the worst tourists. As the stereotype goes, they're loud, rude, fat, and make terrible fashion choices. Stereotype aside, why are Americans seen as rude and disrespectful? Aside from the Internet research, a survey was also done in class asking the students their opinions on why Americans are often seen as rude.The top reasons turned out to be 1) the US is involved in a lot of wars, 2) the American bringing and 3) cultural differences and misunderstanding. The supports, however, were mostly based on information from the Internet and personal observations. First reason on why Americans are often seen as rude is the role of the US in wars around the world. The US has been a world superpower for so many years and is considered as one of the â€Å"Most Reliable Countries. Being one of the richest and most powerful countries, Americans tend to think they are superior and can overpower anyone, making them come off as rude and disrespectful. American rudeness and disrespect also comes from the wars hey were involved in the past to gain power or just for the sake of warring such as World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Korean, Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Even if they didn't win without the help of other coun tries, it still made Americans act and think that they are above anyone, which carries on up until now.Second reason of American rudeness is the American upbringing. It is the environment that they grew up in; it is how they were raised. Many Americans are loud and outspoken because they grew up in a similar environment especially if they grew up in a city since American cities tend to be hectic and Hattie. They are often seen glued and yelling over their phones, which may be just talking normally for them. They are also seen as rude because of their informality when meeting strangers and they think everything is funny.This is because they are comfortable with other people although they don't realize that the same open behavior comes across as disrespect to other people. Americans are seen as rude because many of them feel that they have to insult others because everything has to be their way. Many Americans are known to be chain-swears like it's a part of them, like it's a normal t hing. When they do not get what they want, they become frustrated. They just lack manners and social graces because they feel the need to become dominant and take control of everything without thinking about how to treat others.Americans also seem to have a bad reputation with not realizing that the whole world did not grow up learning English to serve them, and that speaking slower to someone who doesn't understand or speak English, doesn't make a difference. Third reason is cultural differences. As mentioned in the previous reason, the open behavior of Americans comes across as disrespect to other people cause they aren't used to such culture, whereas Americans often view familiarity as a good thing. Mistakes made by tourists when visiting other countries are often seen as disrespectful.They may not be fully aware, but some people actually get offended. For example, if you're in France and you're invited to dinner at someone's house, you should bring a gift but do not bring a bott le of wine because it implies that your hoses wine is not good enough. Since it is habitual for polite Americans to bring a bottle of wine as a gift for one's hosts, it may be a problem especially if they aren't familiar with he French rule. Americans are also known for their busy lifestyle, wherein their time costs so much that they don't waste it in apologizing or thanking others.Some people as a child has been taught that saying â€Å"thank you,† â€Å"you're welcome,† or â€Å"I'm sorry/' is a way of showing good manners, so not doing any of the mentioned may seen by others as rude. The way they show their nationalism and pride makes them seem to look down on other countries since they say that other countries are nothing compared to them, and that the US is the best country in the world. Maybe we are just used to he respectful culture, but some of the ways they show nationalism and pride may be disrespectful to other countries.Some of the things they say may also sound offensive but they actually mean something different. An example would be their use of the phrase, â€Å"Oh, really? † A person could take it as someone challenging his opinion but in reality it simply means, â€Å"Interesting Can you elaborate? † The portrayal of arrogance among Americans through their actions, the media and the society is caused by the role of the US in wars, the American upbringing and cultural differences. Not all Americans are rude; they were just stereotyped as such.That is why everyone should respect and appreciate each others differences and try to learn and understand them and their culture. It is important to learn and understand them to avoid getting too offended, and to know how to react to certain situations. It also helps in getting to know and socializing with Americans instead of avoiding them for being intentionally or unintentionally rude because after all, they are humans just like everyone else.

Marxs Theory of Money and the Theory of Value Essay

Marxs Theory of Money and the Theory of Value The most important point to emerge from Marxs theory of money is the idea that money is a form of value. The difficulty with this idea is that we are more familiar with money itself than with value in other forms. But value does appear in forms other than money. For example, the balance sheet of a capitalist firm estimates the value of goods in process and of fixed capital which has not yet been depreciated, as well as the value of inventories of finished commodities awaiting sale. Each of these aggregations of commodities has a value, usually expressed as the equivalent of a certain amount of money, but it is clear that neither goods in process nor fixed capital is money. Marx views the†¦show more content†¦There is no reason to think of the commodity form emerging historically before the money form. To the degree that we see the first, we will see the second, or reasons why the emergence of money is suppressed in the concrete situation. What we see historically are very di fferent stages of development of commodity relations, corresponding to different degrees of development of social production and to different forms of money. These differences in levels of development may give the illusion of an historical emergence of money separate from, and subsequent to, the emergence of commodities. But in such cases what is at issue is the particular form of money, or the way in which value manifests itself in the particular society. Even transactions which are apparently barter transactions, in that the equivalents exchanged are both concrete commodities, may best be analyzed as degenerate monetary transactions, in which the parties estimate the abstract value of their respective products, and finding them equal, or nearly equal, are able to avoid transferring money itself. Marx regards value, the general power of exchangeability that resides in commodities, as an expression of the labor expended in the production of the commodities. If we use the word labor for the more accurate phrase, abstract, sociallyShow MoreRelatedBiography Of Karl Marx s Writing On Class Conflict1335 Words   |  6 Pagesociety is told that through hard work and dedication anyone can become successful. Success in the United States is looked at as being a part of the elite. Though it may seem like the status may easily be reached, this is not, in fact the case. Karl Marx’s writing on class conflict suggest otherwise. Class conflict is still very relevant in present day’s society and can be seen throughout the levels of class. 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