Politics Of 1960s Essays - Counterculture Of The 1960s,

Politics Of 1960s As the nineteen fifties turned into the early sixties, the United States remained the same patriotic, harmonious society of the previous decade; often a teen's most difficult decision was choosing what color lipstick to wear to the prom. Yet after 1963, a dramatic change slowly developed in the cultural, social, and political beliefs of America, particularly the youth. The death of President Kennedy, the new music, the quest for civil rights, the popularity of mind-altering drugs, the senselessness of the Vietnam War, and the invention of the birth control pill reacted like an imbalanced chemical equation to formulate a new American counterculture: the hippie. Contrasting with ever-dominant mainstream society, the "layed back" hippie nobly tried to change the world not by force, but through peace and love. Though not entirely successful, the hippie movement clearly marked the mid- to late-nineteen sixties and early seventies as a mixture of peace and brotherly love with "sex, drugs, and rock and roll." The formal definition of a hippie is "one who does not conform to social standards, advocating a liberal attitude and lifestyle." However, the true definition of a "hippie" in unclear; no interpretation could categorize every person who fits into the ambiguous category of a hippie. According to Phoebe Thompson's definition, being a hippie is "a choice of philosophy." Hippies are generally "antithetical" to structured hierarchies, such as church, government, and social castes. The ultimate goal of the hippie movement is peace, attainable only through love and toleration of the earth and each other. Finally, a hippie needs freedom, both physical freedom to experience life and mental freeness to remain open-minded (12-13). In the view of some historians, thus, Thoreau and Ghandi were hippies, and hippies continue to exist today (25). Yet what unique qualities characterized the American hippies of the nineteen sixties, and how did this movement gain enough power to influence millions of teenagers? The nineteen fifties was one of America's most prosperous (and dull) decades. Conformity and nationalism swept the nation; television sitcoms reinforced old-fashioned family values; the typical teenager aspired for the "all-American" look and personality. Yet music had already planted the seeds of rebellion; Rock and Roll began to sweep the nation. Kids wore leather jackets, violated curfews, and considered themselves rebels, though oddly with no cause. The rebellion craze was epitomized by Marlon Brado's role in the film The Wild One. When asked: "What are you rebelling against," he responded: "Whatta you got?" The music of Elvis and other rock bands caused the rebellion; all the teens needed was a cause (Manning 32-34). The Vietnam War began as President Kennedy's effort to protect the "free world" from Communism. Kennedy, a well-liked president, received little war opposition from the people. He was young and supported free-spiritedness, open-mindedness, and equality; at his assassination in 1963 only 15,000 troops were in Vietnam. Under Lyndon Johnson the number of soldiers skyrocketed, however, reaching 500,000 in 1966. Television broadcasts from overseas became more gruesome and the deaths more tragic. The nightly news counted the dead and described compiling destruction, and many political and literary figures began to speak out publicly against keeping US troops in Vietnam (Harding 56-9). Though Johnson continually promised a swift end to the war, the Tet Offensive of 1968 finally proved otherwise. A surprise attack on American soldiers caused a significant loss of land and life; the Communists were apparently nowhere near defeat (Buchholz 861)! Shiploads of American boys came too and from Vietnam, only too many of those returning home were riding in a coffin. The hippie movement germinated in San Francisco, with the Vietnam War at its core. The movement eventually spread to the East Coast as well, centralized in New York's East Village in addition to the Haight-Asbury district of San Francisco and Sunset Strip of Los Angeles (Buchholz 858). Disgusted by conformity, culture, and politics, some hippies abandoned society to live in isolated communes; by 1970 over 200 communes existed, maintaining 40,000 youths. However, many hippies also took a political stance against the war. The Vietnam War conflicted directly with the hippie belief in peace and love, so the counterculture protested the war throughout the nation. The "flower children" held "love-ins" to celebrate their rights, spoke out publicly, formed protest groups with the slogan: "Hell no, we won't go!", burned flags, and tore up draft slips (858). To avoid the Vietnam draft, some pacifists took extraordinary measures. Many claimed insanity, lied about homosexuality, pretended to be physically unfit, or fled to Canada (19). Yet far too many peace-loving hippies were sent to jail for refusing the draft

Corporate social responsibility Research Paper Example

Corporate social responsibility Research Paper Example Corporate social responsibility Paper Corporate social responsibility Paper Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contributes to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. Although the secondary stakeholders such as community, society and environment seem to have lower effect on business, an organisation that sought to act in a responsible way would need to compromise and take into account the secondary effects i.e. the externalities of business practice when undertaking work. These responsibilities are directly linked to the essential functions the organisation performs for society and the influence it has upon the lives of individuals. WPP Media is undertaking many programmes in relation to being socially responsible. In 2002, WPP adopted a Corporate Social Responsibility policy and established a performance baseline comprising a small number of key measures for environmental and social issues. WPPs director, Howard Paster, is responsible for the implementation of this policy. WPPs operating companies, together with the parent company, make a substantial contribution to society e.g. donations to charity and community organizations. They contributed more than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12 million worth of time, skills, materials and money to social and community causes in 2001. WPP supports a number of community programmes including the Partnership Against Drugs, a UK-government initiative led by Business in the Community, and has participated in the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum. WPP is a founder member of the RSAs initiative, Centre for Tomorrows Company, which advances best competitive and ethical business practice. As WWP Media is mainly a service-based company, their impact on the environment is small, but the Group recognises that the pursuit of economic growth and a healthy environment are inextricably linked. WPP, as a parent company to their operating companies, upholds the principle of subsidiary and charges their companies to adhere to best practice. In their worldwide operations they endeavour to adopt good environmental practice in respect of premises, equipment and consumption of resources. In the last few years they have invested in millions in improving areas such as education, employment and financed government schemes. As part of WPPs strategy of supporting young people through education, they have pledged 60,000 to Londons first Arts College for the Media Arts: Charles Edward Brooke, a state secondary school for girls from multi-ethnic backgrounds. This government-backed initiative aims to equip young people with the skills needed to succeed in business and to make learning more relevant to the needs of future employers. Group companies are contributing help, counsel and equipment to the college. To carry on the social responsibility doesnt mean the company has to give up their profit, WPPs success has proved that socially responsible firms tend to outperform the market average; it shows the company has long term plan. In addition they will obtain good reputation and stable relationships with their external environment. In conclusion of this essay, WPP Media is showing signs of being a Company that is dedicated to high standards of ethical practice. Their behaviour has met the public expectation, customer demand, also the employees desire. They are taking up projects, policies and standards that please all of their main stakeholders and are still improving every year. Therefore they have obtained not only economic profit but also more importantly, the good reputation, which will benefit their business in long run. Their needs are being met and constantly exercised. It remains to be seen what entails for the company in the future; after all ethical practise should be set as a long-term goal for any organisation and its worth the investment. Bibliography Business strategy, an Introduction  Authors: David Campbell  George Stonehouse, www.weblocate.net.

Mental health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mental health - Essay Example Herein, this essay will discuss who the First Nations people really are, how they got a reputation that has inspired fear and unease, and what should be done to help the people so that they are effective, healthy members of our society – and on some of their own terms – so that children can grow up and have a less difficult time assimilating than their parents have had. Although every source gives a varying number, it seems that there are more than 1.5 million First Nations people living in the Canadian area. There is also much debate about how long they’ve been there, and what their rights actually are. For starters, First Nations people have long-since claimed that their territories are being encroached upon by Canadian development, with no compensation given to them for land that that they believe is rightfully theirs. Over the years, many types of council have been developed to aid them. The Congress of Aboriginal People, Assembly of First Nations (AFN), and Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) are three organizations designed to defend First Nations rights. As well, The Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 also afforded rights to First Nations individuals. Still, in the 1990s, newspapers were rife with information about the lack of assimilation of the First Nations people. It was decided that the First Nations children should attend formal schools, receive standard immunizations, and, in effect, become more like â€Å"regular† Canadian people. Mothers claimed that when they refused, their children were taken away from them and put into foster homes. A lot of First Nations people saw this as retaliation for their refusal to move off of their land, or refusal to give their land away to Canadians for little or no monetary compensation. As recently as May 2008, AFN Chief Phil Fontaine wrote, â€Å"Aboriginal people in Canada are not getting their rights fully recognized† (Fiddler, 2008). Fiddler’s news article discussed the decision made