Nelson Mandela’s Values Essay Example for Free

Nelson Mandela’s Values Essay It will be hard to believe if a person says â€Å"A man who served twenty seven years in prison, turned out to be one of the greatest presidents our world has seen†. Well this did actually happen and this former president is still living today. Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Transkei, South Africa, he was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in the 1940s. Mandela was jailed for 27 years for acts of sabotage against the South African state, and shortly after his release from prison he led a multi-racial party for the first time ever in South Africa’s history. By doing this he was elected as the first black/democratic president of South Africa. Throughout his years as a president he has been widely regarded as a symbol of global peacemaking, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. His birthday, July 18, has been declared Mandela Day; a global celebration of his legacy. Mandela reached this success and earned the title of a world renowned leader with his values in leadership, standing up for what he believed in, that is in democratic process and his strong disapproval of injustice. Nelson Mandela valued leadership since his early days, considered by many as a revolutionary leader; he helped organize the fight against racism and apartheid in South Africa. (Brink). Mandela witnessed leadership at a young age when observing his guardian supervising tribal decision-making gatherings. Mandela’s guardian listened in silence for days, never voicing his opinion even after everyone’s opinion was heard. After everyone had spoken, his guardian guided the group to reach a consensus. Later, Mandela used this experience to mold his leadership style (Stengel). According to Stengel, Mandela recalled the following lesson regarding leadership from when he was a young cattle herder: When you want to get a herd to move in a certain direction, he said, you stand at the back with a stick. Then a few of the more energetic cattle move to the front and the rest of the cattle follow. You are really guiding them from behind. He paused before saying with a smile, That is how a leader should do his work. Furthermore, Mandela’s strong value for leadership began with him displaying his ability to organize and lead others by helping to create the Youth League of African National Congress (ANCYL) which organized protests, boycotts, petitions, and strikes to end apartheid. Previously the African Nation Congress (ACN), ANCYL’s parent organization, had petitioned the government for years for  equality with little success. However, with increased success of the movement, the government increased violence toward nonviolent protesters and banned the ANC. Mandela and other leaders in the movement had to decide how to respond. In a risky decision, they concluded that nonviolence would no longer be effective and that the ANC needed to continue underground. These actions resulted in the imprisonment of Mandela and many ANC leaders, but this action helped to inspire others and to prepare the country for change (Nelson Mandela, African National Congress (ANC), and South Africa.).After more than twenty years in prison, Mandela decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. He realized that, as a leader, it was time to take a drastic step, and he met with the South African president in order to discuss his release and his desire to switch the nati on to a democracy. Mandela was successful, and upon his release he was elected the first democratic leader of South Africa (Brink). Mandela always stood up for what he believed in; he was never fazed by an opponent. Mandela’s value of believing in the democratic process is an example. Even though many did not always agree with this idea, he believed it was the right way forward (Johnson). He was at first unsuccessful with his pursuits, this included the time when he tried during his imprisonment to have prisoners to be addressed more respectfully by guards, and also later when he attempted to have the national voting age lowered to 14 (Stengel). But slowly he established his foundation of democracy and people were finally drawn to it (Stengel). Throughout his battle against apartheid and helping to bring democracy to South Africa, Mandela adopted a democratic leadership style (Johnson).And according to Johnson â€Å"Democratic leaders set policies through group discussion and decision, encourag ing and helping group members to interact, requesting the cooperation of others† and this was exactly what Mandela did (Johnson). Mandela’s other key value that supported his leadership and democratic style was his strong disapproval for injustice. Mandela never tolerated injustice; he believed that justice was the only path to success. For instance, when Mandela got to Robin Island where he was to be imprisoned, he was told to jog to the prison gate. He firmly refused and started a hunger strike with other inmates to condemn the condition they were living in. This worked out in their favor and the conditions improved (Hume). This example highlights Mandela’s value for denouncing injustice and  oppression. Nonetheless, Mandela believed Consensus to be the superior decision making process to build commitment and motivation in group members toward group objectives. Using Consensus meant that justice would be served at its best when making a decision and Mandela fully supported this process (Johnson). Ultimately, Nelson Mandela is viewed as a revolutionary leader for his ability to empower and motivate others using his strong regard for consensus and the democratic process. His stance for promoting justice and peace has been hailed across the world. He led South Africa from a white supremacist country to being the first democratic nation in Africa. With these values Nelson Mandela reached the ultimate success in the eyes of everyone. Work cited Brink, Andre. Nelson Mandela. Time. Time, 13 Apr. 1998. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C988171%2C00.html. Hume, Tim. Digital Mandela Archive Spreads Message of Social Justice. CNN. Cable News Network, 28 Mar. 2008. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/world/africa/mandela-online-archive/index.html. Johnson, Caleb. â€Å"A Leader’s Nest† New York Times [New York] 1993: Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=Nonesort=RELEVANCEinPS=trueprodId=GVRLuserGroupName=kent208tabID=T003searchId=R5resultListType=RESULT_LISTcontentSegment=searchType=BasicSearchFormcurrentPosition=2contentSet=GALE%7CCX3490200977docId=GALE|CX3490200977docType=GALE. Nelson Mandela, African National Congress (ANC), and South Africa. Cold War Museum. The Cold War Museum, 17 May 2009. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/CNelsonMandelaandSouthAfrica.asp. Stengel, Richard. Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership. Time. Time, 09 July 2008. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1821659,00.html.

The Lamb and the Tyger Analysis

The Lamb and the Tyger Analysis William Blake was an 18th century visionary, poet, mystic, and artist. Blakes romantic style of writing allowed him to create contrasting views as those in The Lamb and The Tyger. From a young age Blake used his imagination that was frowned upon and unfortunately was never greatly appreciated during his lifetime. William Blake believed that it was the chief function of art to reveal the truth of the spiritual world by liberating imagination (Bowman 53). It wasnt until after Blakes death that his work finally received some attention. Known as a romantic, Blake continued throughout his writing to radically question religion and politics; He was very critical of the church, putting forth the effort to attack and question it. Blake put his own insight into his poems to raise the public awareness in a personal attempt to seek the truth. Perhaps he is most famous for his creative and simplistic Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience that influenced the other Romantic poets with themes of good and evil, heaven and hell, and knowledge and innocence. With regards to religion, William Blake opposed the views of the Christian church and its standardized system. Blake, having more of a spiritual position than a religious one, considered himself as a monistic Gnostic, meaning that he believed what saved a persons soul was not faith but knowledge (Harris 1). Blakes view of religion was considered blasphemous, and in his works he was concerned with the character of individual faith than with the institution of the Church, its role in politics, and its effects on society and the individual mind (SparkNotes Editors 1). Blakes The Lamb and The Tyger is more suggestive to the nature of God. The idea is that the same God who made the lamb also made the tiger, so unless it is suggested that God created evil, then the tiger must not be evil. The fact that the same God created both the lamb and tiger suggest that they just represent two different sides of God: Two different aspects of existence. Blakes perception of good and evil isnt just one extreme to the other, instead, the ambiguity of evil isnt evil; it is just the other side of good. Blake technically didnt believe in a dichotomy, the division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions. Blake portrays his argument that a human being cannot be completely good or completely evil. This trait does not exist within human beings, and therefore does not exist in God. The other writers and minds of the 18th century were mainly deists, the belief based solely on reason. They did not show interest in the nature of God as Blake did, instead, reason was their god. In the poem The Lamb, William Blake incorporates his unique style through the use of religious symbolism, creative lines, and simple patterns. The Lamb was a part of a series of poems called the Songs of Innocence that was published in 1789. Poems that were more simplistic in style and nature became more contrition and prophetic in Songs of Experience. Through simplistic structure, he chose the narrator of a child, as in this poem, told through childlike eyes, speaking of the innocence in all of human life, and that the lamb is Christ, marveling over Gods creations. The dramatic perspectives and continual allusiveness of the lyrics in The Lamb have shown to be a key factor in Blakes writing and have been interpreted and reinterpreted by critics and readers ever since Blakes death. Blake utilizes his rhetoric genius by symbolically expressing the appearance of the lamb to that of the nature of God. Within the poem, Blake brings up an interesting concept by stating, He is called by thy name / For he calls himself a Lamb, the lamb not only suggest innocence and the meaning of life, but at the same time conveys the theme that Christ is the lamb (Blake 662). The poem comments on how he is meek and he is mild, thus giving God the characteristics of goodness and purity (Blake 662). This gives a varying contrast to Blakes poem The Tyger as it advocates the speculation of evil. William Blakes, The Tyger, is the poetic counterpart to the Lamb of Innocence from his previous work, Songs of Innocence, thus creating the expression of innocence versus experience What immortal hand or eye / Dare frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 770). The Tyger is part of the continued series of lyrics titled Songs of Experience that was published in 1794, as a response to the Songs of Innocence. The Songs of Experience are interpreted as the child, conveyed in Songs of Innocence, matures to adulthood and is molded by the harsh experiences and negative forces that reality has on human life, thus shows the destructiveness of the tiger. Blake utilizes his deceptively complex ideas, symbolism, and his allusiveness to portray the essence of evil in The Tyger. Blake uses tyger instead of tiger because it refers to any kind of wild, ferocious cat. The symbolism of the hammer, chain, furnace, and anvil all portray the image of the blacksmith, one of the main central themes in this poem ( Blake 769). William Blake personifies the blacksmith to God, the creator, and Blake himself. The Tyger is about having your reason overwhelmed at once by the beauty and horror of the natural world (Friedlander 1). When the stars threw down their spears / And waterd heaven with their tears (Blake 770). For Blake, the stars represent cold reason and objective science (Friedlander 1). In retrospect, the creation of the tiger represents transcendent mystery and direct reference to the lamb Did he who made the Lamb make thee (Blake 770). The Lamb and the Tyger are polar opposites of each other, one representing the fear of God and the other representing faith or praise of God through nature. As a child one is more like the lamb, innocent and more pure, and as they mature they earn their stripes and become aged and mature by societal tendencies of life like the tiger. The irony in the Songs of Innocence in contrast with the Songs of Experience is that they are opposites but seem to bounce off one another. They both have the same creator, both God and Blake, and suggest morals of good and evil. They are each on the extreme ends of the spirituality spectrum and in the middle is humanity, but you cant have one without the other. In order to have good you have to balance it out with evil, in a sense where good isnt just good, it is the other side of evil, and where evil is the other side of good.

College Admissions Essay: My Dad :: College Admissions Essays

My Dad    In writing about an important person in my life, there are a number of people that I could discuss. But, I feel that the person who is very special to me and one who has been the most influential, is my dad.    He is the type of person that makes me very proud to say that he is my father, and the type of father that I am most fortunate to have. My father and I have always been very close. He is both loving and caring and the type of person that always puts his family first.    My dad has always been there for me both as a parent and a friend. When I was little, my dad got involved in coaching in my little league baseball, basketball and soccer, and always made time for these father and son activities. We liked to play ball together and still do at times. My dad is a big sports fan and so am I, and I look forward to the weekends when we watch the ball games together. My dad started to take my to the ball games when I was about 5 years old, and we've been doing that ever since. But, playing ball isn't all that's important in life. My father has given me the necessary guidance and has taught me values as a person that have helped me develop from a child into a responsible adult. I want him to be proud of me too, and I know that he is.    His influence has been very strong and meaningful, as I have gone through some difficult periods where he has helped me to be more focused on my goals and trying to accomplish what I set out to do. We discuss my problems, try to put them in the right perspective and deal with them properly. As I am still living at home, with my parents and sister, I am constantly

The Career of Respiratory Therapist Essay -- essays research papers

Respiratory Therapist Respiratory care makes a difference. And there are reasons why a Respiratory Therapist would be a great job. A guest speaker came into our class to explain more about the job. He explained education requirements, the job description, and the job opportunities. Education requirements, is what a student needs to reach the goal of becoming a respiratory therapist. There are a total of 379 respiratory technician colleges/universities in the U.S. Such as, IUP, CCAC, and many more. For a Respiratory Therapist the most you need is a Bachelor?s Degree, which takes 4 years. For this major you, there is Technical School(1+year), Associate Degree(2 years), and Bachelor?s Degree(4 years). Then the degree you end up with is a Bachelor?s Degree. Then there?s further detail about the job itself. There are many responsibilities in being a Respiratory Therapist. Which include, performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Diagnostic procedures are the arterial blood gas analysis, pulmonary function studies, sleep studies, and more. Therapeutic procedures a...

hard :: essays research papers

Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, was a representation of his time. Times were hard for children and adults alike. People who questioned what they were taught, often went through struggles and â€Å"hard times.† Eventually, the people who were looked down were the ones who really helped those in need. Throughout the book, there are many ironic instances. Thomas Gradgrind was a man built on the idea that facts and statistics were the only truth in life and all that was needed to have a healthy and productive life. The only truth to him was his very own vision of the truth. Simple put, Thomas Gradgrind strived for perfection. He strived to be perfect, which is what his philosophy was based on, and he strived to make his children perfect and not to wonder. He raised his children never to wonder, never to doubt facts and to never entertain any vice or fancy. As soon as Gradgrind’s children were old enough to absorb, he was feeding giving more lessons than they could hold. His children were brought up only knowing one way to live and that was the idea that if it is not fact, then it is false. He was emotionaless as were his children because they were brought up only knowing what they were taught by him. Eventually, as Gradgrind’s children became older, what they were taught began to turn sour in their minds. Tom, Grandgrindà ¢â‚¬â„¢s son, began to despise his father and all he was taught and thus began to rebel. He took to smoking and gambling, which eventually led to his downfall. Tom had grown up to become a sycophantic, self-absorbed parasite. He had turned out the exact opposite as hoped. Thomas Gradgrind had raised his children never to wonder, but wondering intrigued them. Gradrgind had observed his children peeking into a circus tent because they were curious as to what was inside. The children were scolded for being curious, but seeds were planted into their minds of how there was more to life than what they had been taught. Futhermore, Tom, a usually well-behaved child, began to rebel after this incident. At first, he was rebelling in his mind, but eventually, after Tom moved out of his father’s house, so began his more visible rebellion. Once more, this is exactly what Mr. Gradgrind had tried to avoid whilst raising his children. When Tom Gradgrind was in serious trouble because of his gambling debts, he confided in his sister, Louisa.

Directed Writing †Welcoming Speech Essay

You are the school head prefect and your principal is asking you to prepare a welcoming speech in conjunction with the enrolment of 800 new form 1 students to your school Prepare a welcoming speech and use the following points to assist you in the preparation of your speech: *To ensure the discipline of school is strictly adhered to. *Demerit points awarded to students who breach the code of conduct. *Behave properly and talk politely with seniors and other visitors. *Proper attires at all times,no punk hair/coloured hair. *Get active and enrol in club and socities activities *Strictly no celullar phones. *Maintain and uphold the school acdemic achievements Your speech must follow the proper format. Higher marks awarded on language,presentation and clarity. This text is not edited: You may please identify any grammatical /spelling errors or on ideas and presentation. A very good morning for our beloved principal Mr. Haji Ismail bin Haji Syafiq, respected teachers and all my friends. This morning, I felt very honoured to speak to our junior level 1 about 800 of them. Welcome to SMK Pengkalan Chepa 2, Padang Tembak. You are now members of this school and so it is very important for you to protect the good name of this school. As the Head Prefect of the school, it is my duty and responsibility to ensure that these discipline code are strictly adhered to Firstly , you cannot bring mobile phones, cannot have colored hair, your school uniform must not be tight.The hair should be short and the shoes must be all white.Leather shoes are strictly not allowed except for the prefects where they are allowed to wear black leather shoes.All forms of jewelleries are not allowed to be wear inside the school compound. Remember , If you fail to comply with these regulations,then punishment shall be imposed on you.You will be most likely suspended or expelled from school. The members of this school are encouraged to be polite and well behaved not only among yourselves but also to your seniors in form 2,3,4 and 5.In addition you are also compelled to behave in front of the teachers.If there are visitors such as parents and any officials from any organisation outside there,you are required to wish them and respect them.This is our culture in this school and everybody must behave so that we can uphold the image and reputation of this school. Dear friends, It is also important for you to be enrolled in societies and clubs that we have in this school.We have many of them and some include mathematics,sejarah, english and bahasa melayu.As for the clubs,we have taekwando,silat gayong and chess.You can enrol in clubs and socities that you think,you can carry them until you reach form5. For your information ,this school use demerit points for each offence committed by each student. If the students collect more than 10 demerit points,then the student can be penalized and their parents will be call out. . Remember,. I hope that you all as a new student can uphold the school’s name.

Psychology and Stress Essay

In our world today there are factors that make our life a little more difficult. We all go through these frustrations every day and some more than other are affected by them. These factors come in many different forms, yet they all lay under one category, it is called stress. Stress can impact a person physically, emotionally and, may be reasonable for people’s actions out of the norm. Setting up a stress management plan is a good way to find out how to overcome this problem in our everyday lives. Stress can be addressed through finding out what type of stress it is, how it impacts our bodies, and how to deal with stress. First of all stress can be managed just by finding out what type of stress is the cause. Stress causes our bodies to react to event that can be good or bad. According to Melinda Smith, M.A., Robert Segal, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. authors of the article on Understanding Stress, explains the course our bodies take during stress. Our bodies can kick into super hero mode and take us out of danger this is called â€Å"fight or flight†. Our bodies own defenses want to save our lives by confronting the problem or getting away. This can further lead on to cause conflict in our lives. One type of stress that causes this is Acute Stress. This type of stress is cause by a full force event. This can lead to after-effects reoccurring for one month. A study was conducted by the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China, with this study consisted of analyzing acute stress. The researchers took people with acute stress and tested patients on different levels of symptoms. The study came up with a scale; six dimensions and symptoms a person my experience. The results were helpful to better assist the degree of stress a person has. Also they connected how acute stress could lead to Post Traumatic Syndrome. It’s very important to find good consisting research to be able to find the proper treatment for each person. The next step to manage stress is the impact it has on a person. How could this affect a person’s health in a positive or a negative way. An example of acute stress is a person who has experienced an earthquake afterwards has nightmares of being in the situation again. Their body is responding to emotional impact this event had on them. If we were to go back into the moment the event happened, we would be able to see how stress got this person to react and out of the situation to save their life. People go through a moments of being unstoppable like the hulk. The body gives a person strength and increase other senses to escape. That’s a good way our body response in a time of need. After the fact is when problems start, that can change a person’s life. If this problem is not addressed lead to psychological and mental issues. Stress can start with symptoms of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral (Smith, Segal, Segal). This is why people have different be haviors out of the ordinary. Also how important it is to know how much is too much stress (Smith, Segal, Segal). Letting a person get this far can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, depression and many other issues. Lastly finding steps to manage stress is the key. Finding a good plan that works for each person is a must. For example if a person gets stuck at the end of the line at the store and is late for work can be frustrating. People have to learn see the stressors and talk their way out of it. Tell them self’s its ok, review the situation and come to decision. At the end you’re the one who gets mad and then have to get happy again. So if a person starts from the beginning there’s so much that could be avoided. Another example is the people that were in 911 that had acute stress. This event was affecting many in different forms. Seeking treatment with a psychologist would help with the ordeal. Discussing the feelings behind the event helped many overcome their acute stress. In addition a good way to overcome stress comes from the article of Stress Management Health Center. The article notes how relax a person mind by writing, show a person’s emotions, and getting busy by destructions. This type of mental health treatment focuses on reliving the tension one carries. Taking walks, keeping an exercise plan to help focus the energy in another direction, these goals are good to maintain health balanced. A person may also due mediation to easy be the body and relax the mind. They can slowly start to change their outlook on life in more positive way. This can help with so much stress one deal with on a daily bases. In conclusion stress can be managed by taking control over lives by finding out what type of stress a person has, how it affects a person, and by learning to deal with it. Learning what stress is and its affects a person’s life is very important to improving oneself. It’s also a way to target the factors that are negative and replaces them with positive ones. Working one’s health one step at a time can avoid stress that affects people every day. Also learning to relax and taking the time for one self, makes life easier on the soul. If we let stress take ownership we will never overcome it. References YEBING, Y., JINGJING, T., YUAN, J., XUFENG, L., YUNFENG, S., XIA, Z., & DANMIN, M. (2011). DEVELOPMENT OF THE ACUTE STRESS RESPONSE SCALE. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 39(5), 713-720. doi:10.2224/sbp.2011.39.5.713 Smith, Melinda, Robert Segal, and Jeanne Segal. â€Å"Understanding Stress: Symptoms, Signs, Causes, and Effects.† Helpguide.org: Expert, Ad-free Articles Help Empower You with Knowledge, Support & Hope. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. . Stuff. â€Å"Techniques, Exercises and Therapies for Relieving Stress.† WebMD – Better Information. Better Health. Healthwise, 14 Oct. 2009. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. .