Pro-Child / Pro-Choice: An Exercise in Doublethink? by Judith A. Boss E

In her essay â€Å"Pro-Child / Pro-Choice: An Exercise in Doublethink?† Judith A. Boss deconstructs the argument supporting legalized abortion on the basis that it is beneficial to children in general. Boss presents the oft-used slogan of the pro-choice position, â€Å"Pro-Child / Pro-Choice†. She maintains that this slogan seems closely related to â€Å"newspeak†, which she characterizes as â€Å"†¦vocabulary pared down to a minimum so that whole ideologies are expressed in a single slogan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (156-7). The term â€Å"newspeak† comes from George Orwell’s 1984. In the novel, these simplistic slogans serve to perpetuate â€Å"doublethink†, which entails, as Orwell writes, â€Å"holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and accepting both of them† (156). Boss also explains, â€Å"Doublethink is maintained by a refusal to examine the assumptions and facts supporting one’s beliefsâ₠¬  (156). In order to weaken the pro-child/pro-choice position, Boss begins by presenting the â€Å"assumptions and facts† supporting it. Boss states that the basic assumption behind the pro-child /pro-choice position is the belief that â€Å"†¦the exclusion of humans prior to birth from the protection of the moral and legal community, thereby leaving the choice of carrying a pregnancy to term entirely up to the woman, benefits children† (157). Boss creates two categories of children and presents the possible benefits that abortion-on-demand provides. The first category, the unborn child, benefits because his or her â€Å"†¦ abortion will spare him or her a life of misery† (157). On the other hand, the second category, the born child, benefits because he or she â€Å"can enjoy a higher quality of life and paternal love unhindered by the presence of burdensome siblings who were... ...recognizes that the true utility that legalized abortion serves may lie in the benefits that it presents to women and that those benefits may appear in the form of social empowerment. It does seem that since 1973, women have been able to empower themselves in the occupational realm. However, Boss leads us to ask ourselves if this professional empowerment of women has come at any cost. In order to understand the true utility of allowing abortion-on-demand, one must weigh all the consequences it creates. It seems though that we have not appropriately measured the consequences of ensuring abortion-on-demand. Questions: How is doublethink mutually exclusive with the correct use of utilitarian theory? What positive consequences, if any, come from ensuring abortion-on-demand? How does one ensure that every child is a healthy child? Is it even possible?

Key Players: Decision Making in Terrorist Incidents

Decision making is defined as â€Å"simply the act of choosing among available alternatives about which uncertainty exists† (Mingst, p. 457). However, decision making is not an easy process especially with the participiation of individuals within the government.   Individual elites or the â€Å"key players'† decisions and actions greatly affect the course of events as well as the situation of the country when one of various factors are present and one of which is during time of crisis like terrorist incidents (Mingst, p. 133).The decisions made by these elite individuals are influence by politics within the government which eventually affect their actions (Mingst p. 460). The effects of the choices that they make are not always advantageous as sometimes it have its adverse consequences in the situation of the ccountry. A good example to exemplified such idea is the aftermath of President George W. Bush's decision to attack Iraq. Three imporatnt areas were badly affect ed by it, the country's domestic cohesion, the international standing of the United States of America and the insecurity felt by those immediately affected by the decision.The domestic cohesion of the United States of America has been greatly affected by Pres. Bush's decision . Many citizens especially the ones leaning towards the democratic side did not agree with his reasons of doing such in the name of U.S. battle against the war on terror. Moreover, the domestic consensus became much harder to achieve with the issue of personal gain.Opening   Iraq's oil economy would greatly benefit the Bush family, being a member of one of the largest American oil company the Washington's Carlyle Group (Chenoy, p. 23 ). A clear   indication of which is the drop in the approval ratings of the president after his speech that ordered the deployment of more troops in Iraq. Sixty percent of those who were surveyed expressed their disapproval in Pres. Bush's performance (Iraq drives Bush's rating to new low, 2006).Another area that is adversely afftected is the international standing of the country. Many states as well as international organizations are not in favor of the U.S. president's course of action. This immediately put the country in a bad light especially its leader because the non-approval of these states emphasizes the illegitimacy of this action. A good example is the European Union (EU) that has been the country's partner in economic activities but they didn't support Bush's action against Iraq. EU believes that America's unilateral strategy would not benefit their multi-polar interest (Chenoy, p. 25 ).Lastly, is the effects of this decision to the citizens of Iraq as well as to the U.S. soldiers.  Ã‚   The war has left numerous casualties in terms of death tolls, damage to property, as well as the over all security of the country (Chenoy, p. 27). According to the Iraq Body Count Project (IBC), there were 947 civilian deaths reported between 1st and 27th of February this year (Enforced security: solution or stopgap?).The weight of an elite individual's decisions and actions is greatly felt in crisis situation like terrorist incidents. The choices they make could have numerous effects in the country of their leadership and to others as well. Unfortunately, the politically driven decision of these â€Å"key players† could have adverse consequences in the lives of many people.Works CitedChenoy, Anuradha. Demystifying Terrorism : a War Against Terror & The Terror Of War, US   Ã‚  Ã‚   Hegemony & Militarism. ARENA, 1997.â€Å"Enforced security: solution or stopgap?†. 28 February 2008. Iraq Body Count. 12 May 2008..â€Å"Iraq drives Bush's ratings to a new low†. 14 March 2006. CNN. 12 May 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ;http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/13/bush.poll/;.Mingst, Karen. Essentials of International Relations. Norton, 2001.

The Importance of Being Earnest Quotes

Oscar Wilde created one of the most delightful and memorable social comedies with The Importance of Being Earnest. First performed in 1895, the play satirizes the stiff and proper customs and institutions of Victorian England. These quotes illustrate Wildes way with words in this witty farce. Social Standing Social standing  was very important during the Victorian era. You did not have a chance to rise to the top, as you might in the U.S., through hard work and luck. If you were born to a lower class -- generally the poorer and less-educated in society -- you would remain a member of that class for life, and you were expected to know your place, as these biting quotes illustrate. Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? - Act 1 My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isnt a dentist. It produces a false impression...  - Act 1 Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square.  - Act 1 Marriage Marriage during the Victorian era was decidedly unequal. Women lost all of their rights when they entered into the marriage contract  and were forced to endure the control and cruelty of their husbands. Women fought to gain more control in the institution of marriage, but they did not gain those rights until after the end of the Victorian era. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing.  -  Act 1 An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant as the case may be. - Act 1 And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties he becomes painfully effeminate, does he not?  - Act 2 The Roles of Men and Women Like everything else in this era, men and women were expected to behave in a prim and proper manner. But, a peak under to covers -- so to speak -- shows that what men and woman thought about their roles was very different than what appeared on the surface. All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. Thats his. - Act 1The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, if she is plain. - Act 1 London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.  - Act 3​​ The Importance of Being Earnest Must Victorian-era social interactions involved a dichotomy between what people said and how they acted in public and what they truly thought. The plays title -- and many of its quotes -- allude to Wildes belief that it was important to be earnest, and that truthfulness and honesty were lacking in Victorian society. Pray dont talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so nervous. - Act 1The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility! - Act 1Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth. Can you forgive me? - Act 3Ive now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest. - Act 3 Study Guide Check out these other sources to help you in your studies of The Importance of Being Earnest. Review: The Importance of Being EarnestQuestions for Study DiscussionOscar Wilde Biography