Roman Catholic Contemporary Tradition Of Moral Theology Theology Religion Essay

Roman Catholic Contemporary Tradition Of Moral Theology Theology Religion Essay An Introduction to Moral Theology was originally written in December of 1990 by William E. May. It was published by Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. in 1991, just prior to the Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, which was published in 1994. Later in 1994, May published his revised edition most likely to incorporate and respond to the clarifications provided by Veritatis Splendor. With the second edition, published in 2003, he further expanded his work and provides a very clear and thorough analysis of Christian moral theology. May maintains a strong emphasis on the Christian moral principles purported by Germain Grisez and his companion moral theologians John Finnis and Joseph Boyle. May maintains fidelity to the Roman Catholic Magisterium and offers a strong foundation that stems from his own expertise including his knowledge of bioethics. William May is definitely main-stream and possesses a sound and loyal adherence to the post Vatican II reconnection with Aquinian moral principles. If there is a criticism of Mays book, it is that he possesses such a deep and profound understanding of the evolution of modern moral theology, including the myriad of revisionist authors and their various schools of thought, that he is capable and somewhat prone to lose a novice in the complexity. His book may better serve the graduate student who possesses a core understanding of moral theology, rather than the neophyte or liberal arts undergraduate. May demonstrates repeated loyalty to the theories and teachings of Germain Grisez and often defends them in combination with John Finnis and Joseph Boyle. May, Grisez, Finnis and Boyle have also collaborated in publishing other works. May also brings other authors and theologians into his comparative analysis including: Martin Rhonheimer, Joseph Fuchs, Richard Gula, Charles Curran and Timothy OConnell among many others. May fearlessly pits their views on moral theology against Aquinas Summa , Veritatis Splendor and the documents from Vatican II, especially when sorting out the complex definitions of natural law. Although fearless in his quest for fidelity to Roman Catholic tradition and the Magisterium, he is both thorough and contextually compassionate to the opposing ideas presented by the revisionists and proportionalists, pointing out their positive contributions as well as their serious theological flaws. May is not timid and he quickly rejects their infidelity to the foundation al underpinnings of Roman Catholic theology while simultaneously attempting to understand why they have chosen a contrary stance to Aquinas, Veritatis Splendor, or similar post Vatican II magisterial interpretations. Human Dignity and Free Human Action In Mays first edition, he listed two kinds of human dignity stating, According to Catholic tradition, as found in Aquinas and in the teachings of Vatican Council II, there is a twofold dignity proper to human beings: one is intrinsic and an endowment or gift; the other is also intrinsic, but is an achievement or acquisition.  [1]  Referring to Dignitatis Humane, which was published in 1965, but more notably, citing Veritatis Splendor, May is motivated to add a third kind of human dignity in his revision that he calls, [A] purely gratuitous gift from God himself, who gives this to us when, through baptism, we are re-generated as Gods very own children and given the vocation to become holy, even as the heavenly Father is holy, and to be co-workers with Christ, his collaborators in redeeming the world. This dignity is a treasure entrusted to us, and we can lose it by freely choosing to do what is gravely evil.  [2]   In keeping with his recognized mainstream Roman Catholic theology, May incorporates John Paul IIs renewed focus on moral absolutes, together with the theological virtues presented in Veritatis Splendor, and inculcates this vision into in his two revisions. May was already a proponent of Aquinas and he spends a great deal of time, devoting an entire section of his book on natural law in Aquinas as developed in the Summa Theologiae. He contrasts Aquinas with Ulpians definitions of natural law and then focuses on Aquinas teaching of natural law in the Summa Contra Gentiles. His Revised Edition adds a section on natural law from Vatican II and then in his Second Edition he also adds sections to his book to include the theology of John Paul II as well as Martin Rhonheimer. Mays theology is strong on moral responsibility and their resulting norms. One example is how he interweaves the teaching on natural law from Aquinas with the theology expressed by Grisez, Boyle and Finnis; concluding, It is the natural law which is perfected, fulfilled, [and] completed by the evangelical law of love, of a more-than-human kind of love, the love that God himself has for us. [When we are] concerned with our life as moral persons in Christ, we shall seek to know how the evangelical law of love fulfills and completes the natural law.  [3]   As already noted, May is not shy about identifying and attacking the revisionist theologians and pitting them against Veritatis Splendor and the teachings of the Magisterium. He reviews and sheds light upon the writings of a myriad of the post-Vatican II revisionists including: Louis Janssens, Josef Fuchs, Richard Gula, Richard McCormick, Timothy E. OConnell, Franz Bà ¶ckle, Charles E. Curran, Bernard Hà ¤ring, Franz Scholz, Peter Knauer, and Bruno Schà ¼ller. May defends moral absolutes using strong and carefully documented arguments as they are described in the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church and Veritatis Splendor by John Paul II. He ultimately concludes, Revisionists, in their arguments based on the wholeness or totality of the human act, focus on the agents remote or ulterior end or further intention, i.e., on the good that the agent hopes to realize by choosing to do x here and now, or the evil that the agent hopes to avoid by choosing to do x here and now. But they fail to take seriously indeed, they even ignore the moral significance of the x that is chosen to realize this end and the fact that the agent freely wills this x as a chosen means, for it is the proximate end of his will act and the present intention that shapes his moral being. Revisionists are thus led to redescribe human actions in terms of their hoped-for results. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Secondly, it falsely redescribes actions in terms of their anticipated results and by doing so fails to reveal and at times even conceals what moral agents are in fact choosing and doing [emphasis added].  [4]   On Human Action and Virtue May provides a solid and clear understanding of human action and free choice. Mays first edition (1991) is virtually void of a discussion on the virtues. He does mention virtues and vices in his section, The Basic Understanding of Law in the Summa Theologiae, but his goal is targeted towards a discussion of goods and habits within Eternal Law and Natural Law. His revised (1994) and second (2003) editions add a section dedicated to the virtues. He reflects on Grisez, Aquinas and their discussion of virtue, but less as an instruction on the virtues and more as a response to Veritatis Splendors emphasis on the virtues and their importance and effect on free human action and formation of conscience in the moral life. May has a brief discussion on the Cardinal Virtues and specifically side-steps the Theological Virtues stating, I will not here consider his [Aquinas] teaching on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity and his teaching that, with charity, God infuses supernatural moral virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, etc. These aspects of his teaching are well set forth by Romanus Cessario in The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics and Virtue or the Examined Life. An excellent brief account of Thomass teaching on the virtues can be found in T. C. OBriens article on virtue in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.  [5]   Turning then to the Cardinal Virtues, May first reflects on Aquinas discussion of appetites and how they contribute to the formation of the Cardinal Virtues. May states, This text prepares the way for Aquinass division of the moral virtues perfecting the appetites into the classical cardinal virtues, namely, those of prudence (perfecting ones practical reason), justice (perfecting the appetite of the will), temperance (perfecting the concupiscible appetite), and fortitude (perfecting the irascible appetite).  [6]   In coincidence with and in defense of Germain Grisez, May sees a relationship between moral virtues and moral principles. He finds that a virtue is akin to a good habit, citing fairness and justice, and asserting that ones personality is affected by each of the commitments and moral norms practiced by that person. May states, Some today oppose a virtue-based ethics to a normative or principle-based ethics. This debate is in my opinion misplaced. The following passage from Grisez indicates the proper relationship between virtues and moral principles: What, he asks, is the connection à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ between moral principles and virtues? Do we have two distinct, perhaps even competing, approaches to morality an ethics of moral truth versus an ethics of virtue? Not at all. Take the Golden Rule. One who consistently chooses fairly and works consistently to carry out such choices is a fair person a person, that is, with the virtue of fairness or justice. A virtue is nothing other than an aspect of the personality of a person integrated through commitments and other choices made in accord with relevant moral norms derived from the relevant modes of responsibility. In other words: living by the standard of fairness makes a person fair.  [7]   This assertion of May also coincides with Veritatis Splendor and how John Paul II views human acts as moral acts and how they express the morality of the individual person. John Paul II states, Human acts are moral acts because they express and determine the goodness or evil of the individual who performs them. They do not produce a change merely in the state of affairs outside of man but, to the extent that they are deliberate choices, they give moral definition to the very person who performs them, determining his profound spiritual traits.  [8]   Natural Law, Central to Mays Moral Theology William May dedicates his longest chapter (chapter 3, of 55 pages) of his second edition (2003) on natural law. He concentrates on several areas of natural law, including the teachings of Aquinas, Ulpians definition, the Summa Contra Gentiles, Vatican II, the teaching of John Paul II, and the theology of Germain Grisez, John Finnis and Joseph Boyle. He also discusses areas of agreement between Rhonheimer and Grisez, Finnis, and Boyle and then turns to areas of disagreement between them and Rhonheimer. Finally he reviews the relationship between natural law and virtue. Kevin Flannery, who reviewed Mays 1994 revision for The Thomist, agrees and comments, The core of the book is chapter two in which May discusses the natural law theory of Thomas Aquinas and its development by Grisez, Finnis and Boyle. Anyone interested in a quick, accurate introduction to natural law theory as understood in its central tradition could do no better than to read these 63 pages.  [9]   Mays incorporation of Rhonheimers position on natural law did not come until the second edition was published in 2003. The core of his use of Rhonheimer supports Grisez et al. noting that as held by Aquinas, natural law is a work of practical reason. He opposes the moralists that deny moral absolutes and accepts that natural reason naturally apprehends the goods that are to be pursued and done. As May states, Rhonheimer agrees with Grisez et al. in holding that according to Aquinas and reality our knowledge of the truths of natural law is not derived from metaphysics or anthropology or any speculative knowledge. With them, he opposes those who maintain the opposite, explicitly acknowledging his debt to Grisez on this matter.  [10]   Rhonheimer disagrees with Grisez et al. in three major areas stated succinctly by May as, (a) the distinction between the perceptive-practical and descriptive-reflexive levels of practical reason; (b) the relationship between natural law and virtue; and (c) the movement from the first or common principles of natural law to its proximate or immediate conclusions.  [11]   May also notes additional disagreement of Rhonheimer with Grisez et al. and indicates that this is his own opinion as well, noting that Rhonheimer does not show how proximate conclusions are found to be true in light of prior principles. May states, Rhonheimer does not, however, explicitly show how the primary principles of natural law serve as premises in the light of which one can show the truth of the proximate and immediate conclusions. In this, he seems to follow Aquinas himself. As we have seen, Grisez, Finnis, and Boyle argue correctly in my opinion that one must show clearly how the so-called proximate conclusions are shown to be true in the light of prior principles.  [12]   In his revised editions, May includes a concise section on the teaching of John Paul II and most importantly as it is expressed in Veritatis Splendor. May demonstrates that one of John Paul IIs main points is that, in order to respect the dignity of our neighbor, one must refrain from destroying or damaging the goods of our neighbor and even, cherish the real goods perfective in him.  [13]   In addition and in agreement with Aquinas who states, Hence it is clear that the goodness of the human will depends much more upon eternal law than upon human reason  [14]  , May emphasizes the core of John Paul IIs thoughts on natural law stating, The highest law is Gods divine, eternal law. The natural law is our human, intelligent participation in this eternal law, which we can come to know through the exercise of our practical reasoning.  [15]  May then directs his reader to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 1950-1960) for further clarity on eternal and natural law. Here, is where the passage referring to Leo XIII, Libertas praestantissimum, 579, is encountered in the Catechism that states, The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.  [16]   According to Mays convincing and methodical presentations, John Paul II, the Second Vatican Council, Grisez et al., Aquinas, and May himself all agree, natural law that is perfected, fulfilled, and completed by the evangelical law of love, of a more-than-human kind of love, the love that God himself has for us.  [17]   Moral Absolutes and the Battle with the Revisionists May contested the revisionists long before the appearance of Veritatis Splendor and the re-centering of Catholic moral theology on the precepts of Aquinas. In his 1980 compilation of essays entitled Principles of Catholic Moral Life  [18]  May, together with William Cardinal Baum, compiled a series of essays that were unequivocally Thomistic and criticized the proportionalist and consequentialist thinking that had developed in several theological circles. In Mays own contribution to the volume, he provided an essay entitled, The natural law and Objective Morality: A Thomistic Perspective. He states, Today [circa 1979] a significant number of Roman Catholic moral theologians find it necessary to dissent from authoritative teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on moral questions. The Magisterium of the Church teaches that some specifiable sorts of human acts are wicked and contrary to the principles of the natural law.  [19]   According to May, the root cause of the revisionists rejection of moral absolutes stems from the Majority Report which was a document dated, (27 May 1966) of the majority theologians of the Pontifical Commission on Population, Family and Birth, in which they sought to explain why, if contraceptive intercourse is morally good, nevertheless various other masturbatory acts between spouses are not.  [20]  May, referring to Documentum Syntheticum, (in Hoyt, p. 72), further highlights the notions of the revisionist theologians of the Majority Report that state, Infertile conjugal acts constitute a totality with fertile acts and have a single moral specification [namely, the fostering of love responsibly toward generous fecundity].  [21]  May points out that the theologians of the Majority Report say, that the moral object of their act is the fostering of love responsibly toward a generous fecundity.'[They define] this [as] obviously something good, not bad. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Revisionists, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ claim that the specific moral absolutes defended in the Catholic tradition and affirmed by the magisterium isolate partial aspects of human acts and, on the basis of such isolated aspects, render decisive moral judgments about them. Their claim is that reason, objectivity, and truth require that an action be evaluated as right or wrong only as a totality that includes all the circumstances and motivations, considered in relation to all the premoral (but morally relevant) goods and bads involved in that totality.  [22]   May then goes on to show that from this line of thinking the revisionist theologians including those he names: Franz Bà ¶ckle, Charles E. Curran, Josef Fuchs, Bernard Hà ¤ring, Louis Janssens, Richard McCormick, Timothy E. OConnell, Richard Gula, Franz Scholz, and Bruno Schà ¼ller, develop the theories of proportionate good, the preference principle, and the denial of moral absolutes. Another group of theologians sometimes called the minority report theologians including Germain Girsez, John Finnis, Joseph Boyle, and others, including William May himself, hold fast to the teachings of Aquinas, and defend moral absolutes. In the 2003 second edition of his book, May also points out that in their understanding of the object of a human act, the minority report theologians coincide with both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and John Paul II in Veritatis Splendor. May clearly states, With this understanding of the object of a human act in mind, it is easy to grasp John Paul IIs conclusion, namely, that One must reject the thesis, characteristic of teleological and proportionalist theories, which holds that it is impossible to qualify as morally evil according to its species its object the deliberate choice of certain kinds of behavior or specific acts, apart from consideration of the intention for which the choice is made or the totality of the foreseeable consequences of that act for all persons concerned [no. 79; cf. no. 82].  [23]   May clearly points out that in Veritatis Splendor, John Paul II refutes the teleologisms of consequentialism and proportionalism declaring that they, are not faithful to the Churchs teaching when they believe that they can justify, as morally good, deliberate choices of kinds of behavior contrary to the commandments of the divine and natural law'(cf. no. 75).  [24]   Morality and Sin May focuses on three major areas in his discussion of sin: (1) the core meaning of sin, (2) the distinction between mortal and venial sin and the basis of this distinction, and (3) the effect of sin on our moral life.  [25]   In his discussion on the core meaning of sin, he turns first to scripture, starting with the Old Testament. According to May, The Old Testament consistently regards sin as a wicked rebellion against the Lord.  [26]  Here he reflects on the words to describe sin such as unfaithfulness, adultery, foolishness, and abomination. Referring to Sirach, May states, The consistent teaching of the Old Testament is that sin is rooted in human freedom and consists in an abuse of Gods gift of free choice.  [27]  He then turns to David and Psalm 51 and highlights what he calls a beautiful summary of sin in the Old Testament with the passage, Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions (pesha). Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity (awon), and cleanse me from my sin (hatta t)! For I know my transgressions (pesha), and my sin (hattat) is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned (hatta), and done that which is evil (ra) in thy sight (Ps 51: 1-4).  [28]   This is the source for the words used by the priest during Mass, when standing at the side of the altar, he washes his hands, saying quietly, Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  [29]   Turning to the New Testament, May finds words to describe sin like harmatia and harmatma (freely chosen deeds or to choose to miss-the-mark), anomia (lawlessness), adikia (injustice), and skotos (dimmed eyesight or blindness). For May, these words show that sin is an opposition to the truth of God, to Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life to ones fellowmen, and to the truth of being a human person.  [30]   The third area that May discusses in his section on sin is Catholic moral tradition. He reflects on aspects of St. Augustine and Aquinas as well as Gaudium et Spes, and Dignitatis Humanae. He also considers some of the active theologians and their contrary views, including Keane, Curran, Hà ¤ring, McCormick, and others. True to Mays orthodox view of divine law, he understands that God directs all of creation with charity and wisdom. In this context he concludes, [T]he highest norm of human life is the divine law eternal, objective, and universal whereby God orders, directs, and governs the entire universe and all the ways of the human community by a plan conceived in wisdom and love. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Man has been made by God to participate in this law, with the result that, under the gentle disposition of divine providence, he can come to perceive ever more increasingly the unchanging truth (Dignitatis humanae, no. 3; cf. Gaudium et spes, nos. 16-17).  [31]   May then goes on to unfold a clear and articulate discussion of mortal sin and venial sin. He uses many sources including encyclical and magisterial pronouncements, scripture, council teachings, and especially observations from John Paul II. Within this context, he carefully considers and then clearly rejects the fundamental option theories. Finally, at the end of his chapter on sin, May refers his readers directly to the Catechism of the Catholic Church where he clearly embraces its definitions of sin, including mortal and venial sin, which states, God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all (Rom 11:32). Sin is an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law (St. Augustine, Faust 22: PL 42, 418). It is an offense against God. It rises up against God in a disobedience contrary to the obedience of Christ. Sin is an act contrary to reason. It wounds mans nature and injures human solidarity. The root of all sins lies in mans heart. The kinds and the gravity of sins are determined principally by their objects. To choose deliberately-that is, both knowing it and willing it-something gravely contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is impossible. Unrepented, it brings eternal death. Venial sin constitutes a moral disorder that is reparable by charity, which it allows to subsist in us. The repetition of sins-even venial ones-engenders vices, among which are the capital sins.  [32]   In his latest (2003) revised edition of An Introduction to Moral Theology, May includes an appendix to his book, Christian Moral Life and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He refers his readers to the Catechism and this appendix often, pointing out that the prime source for most definitions within moral theology are best sought there. In his review of Mays book in the New Oxford Reviews, Justin Gullekson agrees with the observations above regarding Mays mainstream Roman Catholic position on sin and states, Sin and moral absolutes: These topics are taken up [by May] with gusto. The pastor, director of religious education or unsettled lay person will find Mays extensive treatment of these matters helpful, especially because he identifies certain theological positions with their corresponding expositors. This book battles the mess people make of their lives when they have been acting according to the false subjective norms of free choice (if it feels O.K., do it) and so-called conscience (if its not a sin for you, its no sin).  [33]   Jesus Christ, Our Moral Foundation May points out that Jesus Christ is central and foundational in Christian morality. He supports this with sections from Gaudium et Spes, Veritatis Splendor, scripture (especially from Pauls letters), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. As he often does throughout his book, May then turns to articulated positions from Germain Grisez. He points to Grisezs threefold understanding of how Jesus divinizes humanity, producing union with God. The first is, our union with him in divine life as children of God, [the second is] the bodily union between Jesus and his faithful, the members of his Church [and the third is] unity between Christ and the Christian in human acts.  [34]   The sacraments, and especially the Eucharist within the Mass and Baptism are central to ones union with Christ and humanitys sharing in His sanctifying grace. The Mass is fully a participation in Christs act of salvation and Baptism is the bestowal of ones vocation to not only be within Gods family and a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, but also to assume a greater responsibility to live a moral life as a member of His Mystical Body. In alignment with Aquinas, Veritatis Splendor, and Grisez, May turns to a discussion of the beatitudes, and how they provide, modes of Christian response [to] specify ways of acting that mark a person whose will, enlivened by the love of God poured into his or her heart, is inwardly disposed to act with confidence à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [35]   May turns again to Grisez. Here he enfolds the gifts of the Holy Spirit as found in Isaiah with the beatitudes producing eight modes of Christian response  [36]  as follows, 1. To expect and accept all good, including the good fruits of ones work, as Gods gift [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 2. To accept ones limited role in the Body of Christ and fulfill it [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 3. To put aside or avoid everything which is not necessary or useful in the fulfillment of ones personal vocation [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 4. To endure fearlessly whatever is necessary or useful for the fulfillment of ones personal vocation [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 5. To be merciful according to the universal and perfect measure of mercy which God has revealed in Jesus [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 6. To strive to conform ones whole self to living faith, and purge anything which does not meet this standard [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 7. To respond to evil with good, not with resistance, much less with destructive action [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] 8. To do no evil that good might come of it, but suffer evil together with Jesus in cooperation with Gods redeeming love -.  [37]   By digesting the beatitudes in this way, using Grisezs thoughts, May demonstrates how, in essence, the beatitudes are actually moral foundational norms or virtues for humanity provided directly by Christ. The Church, Teacher of the

people of 1970s :: essays research papers

The 1970’s are a decade of finding your self. In this decade, there were scandals, sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. The years between 1970 and 1979 were very crazy. In this paper are people that helped shape the 1970’s   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richard Milhous Nixon was born in 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. In 1946, Nixon was persuaded by the republicans to be their candidate, to challenge the democratic congressman, Jerry Voorhis. As a new member of the United States congress, Nixon gained valuable experience in international affairs, as well as serving on the committee that he committed, the â€Å"European Recovery Program†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦aka the Marshal plan. As the president of the United States, Nixon led us into the Vietnam War. It was said to be one of the most important issues that Nixon faced in his term of office. The war had begun in 1959 when communists tried to overthrow the government of South Vietnam. While running for president, Nixon had campaigned against war, saying that he would bring U.S. soldiers back home. However   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rutledge 2 The War only seemed to expand. In April of 1970, Nixon authorized the invasion of Cambodia, and the invasion on Laos in 1971. As the second half of the war came around, in 1972, Nixon traveled to Beijing and in May of 1972 he Visited Moscow. On both of these trips, he signed trade agreements with both countries, and a treaty with USSR to limit the deployment of the antiballistic missile systems. By the 1972 election, Nixon and Agnew were looking for re-election. The countries inflation had gone down, and the international position of the U.S. economy had improved greatly. The war was still raging in South Vietnam. At the beginning of Nixon’s second administration, the secret peace meetings resumed between Vietnam and the U.S. Nixon there declared a halt to all bombing, mining and artillery fire in North Vietnam. Nixon’s popularity would only increase with the public’s awareness of the Watergate scandal. By March of 1973, questions were aimed at Nixon about the tr ial of the burglars who had broken into the Democratic National Committee and the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. These questions also raised questions about Nixon’s knowledge about the activities and his participation of the cover up of the Watergate Scandal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rutledge 3 In early 1974, a report released by the IRS stated that Nixon owed $432,787 in back taxes for the years 1969 through 1972.

Female Foeticide: Death Before Birth Essay

It has been six long decades since India gained independence but many Indians are still trapped in age-old traditional beliefs. Here, ‘old beliefs’ imply the mindset of people who still find themselves in the trap of girl-boy inequality. The ‘liberal’ Indian society has failed to transform the other orthodox India. No doubt India is advancing at a fast pace in the field of science and technology, and also in aping of the western culture, but if we look at the grass root level, the picture is not so rosy; it is rather a dark, especially when it comes to how we treat the fairer sex. The status of females in India aptly symbolizes India’s status of being a developing nation – miles away from becoming a developed state. Of course, India deserves to be in this list because here, in this 21st century, the girl child continues to be murdered before she is born. Female foeticide is still prevalent in the Indian society, in fact, it has been a practice for hundreds of years. Narrow-minded people do not mind murdering their unborn daughters for the fear of giving huge amounts of dowry at the time of her marriage. Such people, whenever they discover they are going to have a girl child (through illegal sex selection tests), get the foetus aborted. Else they would continue to reproduce till they get a male heir. When price rise is already taking a toll on the standard of living, is it necessary to go in for more than two children irrespective of their gender? Many families put pressure on women to give birth to boy so that he can take family’s name forward, light the funeral pyre and be the bread earner of the family. But these days, are girls less competent than boys? Just look at the results of Board exams or any other competitive exams, girls mostly outshine boys. Women empowerment has led to inundation of females excelling in the corporate world, engineering and medical professions. Sadly, there have been numerous incidents of the foetus being found lying in farms, floating in rivers, wrapped up in jute bags etc. India’s major social problem is the intentional killing of the girl child. The struggle for a girl child starts the day her existence is known in her mother’s womb. The fear and struggle to survive swallow most of the girl’s life even if she is ‘allowed’ to live in this cruel world. In India, the girl child is considered a burden as huge amounts of money, gold and other items need to be given in the form of dowry when she gets married. Dowry is not the only reason for poor couple to abort their girl child. The ages old traditions, customs and beliefs of the Indian society are largely responsible for creating a negative mindset among the couples. More shocking is the fact that the sinful crime of female foeticide is not only common in rural areas where social discrimination against women, lack of proper education etc. ca n be considered as reasons behind carrying out such acts, but also the ultra modern, so-called ‘educated’ people living in urban areas and metropolitan cities who are a step ahead in killing the girl child in the womb. The truth behind this crime has been brought into light several times by the print and electronic media. But, it has failed to melt the hearts and minds of those who remain unaffected by the consequences of the grave sin they are committing. The matter was discussed in length and breadth in the inaugural episode of the show ‘Satyamave Jayate’ anchored by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan. The show has once again ignited the spirited discussion on the female foeticide in the country. That episode had mothers from different parts of rural and urban India talking about the pressure and the problems they faced for delivering a girl child. Although the show is doing really well and has already garnered positive reviews from the audiences, we will have to wait and see whether the impact will remain even after the programme stops beaming into our drawing rooms every Sunday. The emotional connect which the show has successfully created should be strong enough to stop the killing of the girl child before being born. If we look at the figures of sex ratio in India, according to the 2011 Census, the number of girls stands at 940 which is a marginal increase from 933 in 2001. Not surprisingly, Haryana has the lowest sex ratio among the states while Kerala remains at the top with the highest sex ratio. In the national capital Delhi, the statistics stand at 821 girls against 1000 boys in 2001 compared to 866 in 2011. According to the statistics, nearly 10 million female foetuses have been aborted in the country over the past two decades. Of the 12 million girls born in India, one million do not see their first birthdays. As a result, human trafficking has become common in various states of India where teenage girls are being sold for cheap money by poor families. The girls are treated as sex objects and more than half of such cases go unreported. The United Nations’ World Population Fund indicated that India has one of the highest sex imbalances in the world. Not surprisingly, demographers warn that there will be a shortage of brides in the next 20 years because of the adverse juvenile sex ratio, combined with an overall decline in fertility. With the advent of technology, ultrasound techniques gained widespread use in India during the 1990s. It resulted in the foetal sex determination and sex selective abortion by medical professionals. Recently, incidences of female foeticide were reported from Beed district in Maharashtra where women used to come to a doctor’s clinic to get their female child aborted for Rs 2000. Just think for a moment about the doctor’s connivance in this illegal act. Doctors, whose aim is to save the lives of people, happily kill the foetus for a meagre two thousand bucks! And more heart wrenching is the fact that the aborted foetuses were very often fed to dogs. The above mentioned case is not the only one of such heart wrenching heinous crimes. There are thousands of such clinics where illegal activities are carried out on a daily basis and in some cases, in connivance with politicians and police men. The life transition from a female foetus to a school going girl to a caring woman is never an easy task for the fairer sex. She has to face challenges at every step of her life. Daily, there is news related to rape, sexual harassment, molestation, verbal abuse, torture, exploitation. She has to fight against gender indiscrimination, inequality, and hundreds of social norms are tagged with her the day she puts her steps outside her home. In most of the cases, women abort their female child involuntarily when they succumb to family pressures. The in-laws’ illogical demand/ desire for a boy preference makes the life of women hell. Sometimes, she is left by her husband if she is unable to give birth to a child and worse happens when she conceives a girl child. Ironically, it all happens in a country where the girl is seen as an incarnation of Goddess ‘Laxmi’. True, many families are out of bounds in joy when a girl child is born in their family. They think she will bring luck, harmony, happiness and peace in their family. They even touch her feet to seek her blessings. Many childless couples even adopt a girl child irrespective of the worries of her future (mainly marriage). In such a grim scenario, it’s really difficult to digest the harsh reality of the differences between a boy and a girl. India has a deeply rooted patriarchal attitude to which even the doctors and the women, who in spite of being the victims, unthinkingly subscribe. There is an urgent need of undoing the historical and traditional wrongs of a gendered society; only then the hope of abolition of female infanticide and boy preference can positively adjust the figures in favour of the girl child in future. The skewed sex ratio has to find a balance in order to maintain the progress of the country.

The Meaning of Diversity Among the Professorateâ€A...

The Meaning of Diversity Among the Professorate—A Literature Review Different aspects of diversity in higher education are an ongoing topic of debate. In order for us to address the issue of diversity, we need to understand what diversity means. This paper reviews a study used at the University of Florida to assess their faculty’s meaning of diversity. It also looked at the faculty’s openness to diversity and the effect diversity has had on them. Researchers at Weber State University could use this, or a similar study, to gain an understanding of what diversity means to faculty at Weber State, as well as diversity’s impact. Literature Review Hon, Weigold, Chance (1999) conducted a study in an attempt to answer two questions: what†¦show more content†¦They collected data using a survey, which began with four open-ended questions. How has diversity affected your professional life? How will diversity affect you in the future? What concerns, hopes and fears do you have about diversity? What can the college do to address diversity issues and opportunities? They used those questions to make a self-administered questionnaire geared towards finding faculty’s beliefs and attitudes concerning diversity in several areas. Two demographic questions were also included, one dealing with status and one dealing with tenure. The findings of Hon et al. (1999) were that most of the faculty thought diversity had minimal if any affect. Most of the faculty responded that they did not believe diversity would have any impact on them in the future. The majority of faculty indicated concerns, instead of hopes, about diversity. Several of the concerns expressed were worries about political correctness and hiring to fill quotas. Most of the responses about the role of administration to address diversity issues were negative. The wording of the question elicited negative responses about administration in general. Future studies could benefit from rewording the question. However, the most important findings concerned the faculty’s preferred definition of diversity. Responses suggested that faculty had different opinions about what made up a diverse faculty on top of the standard race,