Mexico Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Mexico - Research Paper Example Mexico got its independence from Spain on the 21st of September 1821. It was declared and established as an independent republic in 1824. It is also known as the United Mexican States. Mexico went through numerous challenges because of invaders and other kinds of national problems that affected it throughout the twentieth century. It has risen from its troubled past, however, and is currently one of the most popularly liked and thriving nations of the world. Mexico is the fifth largest country in North America and the thirteenth largest in the whole world. Mexico fits in geographically with North-America, but ethnologically, it is part of Latin America (Nationsonline.org, n.d.). Mexico has the highest population in all of Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Around 70% of the people live in urban areas (Nationsonline.org, n.d.). Based on some estimates, the population of the area around Mexico City is roughly 18 million, which means it has the highest population concentration in the Western Hemisphere (Nationsonline.org, n.d.). The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. It has always been the centre of economic, political, social and cultural values of the nation, even before Mexico became a part of Spain. But when Mexico became independent, ultimately, Mexico City was made the capital of the United Mexican States. The flag of Mexico is quite different from other flags of the world. It is not only unique, but also holds a very deep and interesting story, as well as strong facts about the country Mexico. The flag consists of three colored bands placed in a vertical manner. Starting from the left, the first band is of green color, which represents hope, joy, love and prosperity (Barbezat, n.d.). The second band is of white color, which depicts peace, unity, and honesty (Barbezat, n.d.). The third band has the color red, which symbolizes courage and strength (Barbezat, n.d.). Initially, the green stood for independence, white symbolized religion, and red represented the union of Americans and Europeans; however, during the secularization of the country under President Benito Juarez (president of Mexico from 1858 to 1872), the implications of the colors were changed: green meant hope, white for unity, and red for the blood of the national heroes (Barbezat, n.d.). In the center of the white band is The Mexican Coat of Arms. It is composed of an eagle eating a snake on top of a cactus (Barbezat, n.d.). The Mexican Coat of Arms is based on an Aztec legend, which narrated the way in which t he Aztecs came to select the site where they built their capital city of Tenochtitlan (where Mexico City is located at present). The Aztecs, also called as the Mexica ("meh-shee-ka"), were a nomadic people who came from the north of the country (Barbezat, n.d.). The god of war, Huitzilopochtli, showed himself in a dream of an Aztec leader. Huitzilopochtli told this leader that they should settle in the land, where they would find an eagle sitting on top of a prickly pear cactus with a serpent (Barbezat, n.d.). The Aztecs saw this eagle in a quite inhospitable place, a swampy location in the middle of three lakes, but they believed in this vision and built the grand city of Tenochtitlan (Barbezat, n.d.). The currency of Mexico is â€Å"Peso.† Though American and Canadian dollars are accepted at some places where there are maximum visits of tourists, the peso is widely used in every area of Mexico. III. Mexico is widely famous around the world for innumerable features, includin g its astounding natural beauty, as well as man-made amusements. It is a well-developed country and is popular in different parts of the globe. These are some of the reasons that attract tourists towards Mexico. Tourists are usually found in almost every season of the year, especially during school and office vacations, and there are many tourists who enjoy living the Mexican lifestyle for a few days. IV. The following are some of the discussions about language, art, marriage,

Personal Narrative- Photo :: Personal Narrative Photograph Picture

Personal Narrative- Photo Remember back to the times of your youth, when a family member or friend would grace you with a gift? Remember that butterfly feeling you would get in the pit of your stomach and work itself outward and make you tingle with anticipation? Remember waking up early on Christmas morning way ahead of your parents only to attempt to wait patiently until they arose? Remember the moans of despair when they finally did clamber out of their bed to tell you that breakfast must be eaten first before gifts are opened? And remember the giggles that escaped one's lips when they grin mischievously and say "just kidding?" There was always one wrapped gift that stood apart from the rest. For weeks you gazed and pondered what on earth it could contain. At night as the sandman sang his sweet song in your ear you could swear that the gaily wrapped parcel was singing in unison, murmuring "open me first" over and over again. On my mantel sits a photo that captures this feeling. The likeness was not taken at Christmastime, but on an ordinary day which makes that day even more special to those involved. This photo rests within a white ceramic frame illuminated with two tiny, pink flowers with delicate green runners emanating outward on opposing sides of the frame. Another flower rests within, a flower in bloom. Daffodil eyes squinting in merriment, rosebud lips stretched to their outermost reaches, grasping for the sun, and cherry blossom cheeks glistening as with the morning dew: This is my daughter Daisy. She sits atop the very first bike she has ever had. (A gift from Easter Seals, made especially for her.) She knows she is special and her heart is full of gladness. She beams at those surrounding her running circles about them with her laughter following in her wake. What a magnificent steed she has! She learns quickly how to control this beast and have it obey her slightest wishes. Right now, at this exact moment in time, all is right with the world.

Afghan Women Revealed

In the year 2001 2002 the United States of America engaged in a political campaign for the war in Afghanistan. In her essay â€Å"To unveil the threat of terror†, Dana Cloud accuses the United States government to construct a hypocritical justification for the war in Afghanistan. The United States used the picture of veiled woman and children and presented them to the united citizens as oppressed and needing help. Dana Cloud argues that the real motif of the war was to obtain economical and geopolitical control of the territory of Afghanistan. In this essay we will analyze one of the photographs that played a big important role in the Afghanistan war campaign of the United States. Our goal here will not be to discuss the real reason of the war but to determine if the pictures really represented Afghan women and children as oppressed and needing help. We will then try to determine if the united states where in fact able to help this women. Based on our conclusion we will propose a more parsimonious property of these images: a property that all photographs possess and that Morris calls an express train to error. The afghan woman is a photograph of a young afghan girl taken by National Geographic photographs in a refugee camp in Afghanistan. The girl in the photograph is wearing a red torn burka and her piercing eyes are gazing at the viewer. Some say that she looks angry, others that she looks desperate and needs help. The truth is that we will never really know what she felt at that moment. But what we can be sure of in that picture is that if the United States had not gone to war in afghan we would not have been able to gaze at her photograph for the simple reason that in afghan culture, women are not allowed to show their faces. In an American perspective, the United States had helped this young afghan girl to be free and express her identity. Ironically although the picture promotes individuality and freedom, the picture also oppresses individuality and freedom as well. It possesses a dimension of individuated aggregate. They were no name in the photograph just â€Å"the afghan woman†. By naming the photograph the Afghan woman and publishing it in the United States Press, the photograph served as a representation of all the afghan women and thus ignored the specific individual represented in the photograph. An American citizen ignorant of afghan culture and proud of his own culture and belief will automatically perceive the girl in the photograph as freed and experience what Dana Could referred to as paternalism: a need to protect her. Thus we find that Dana could argument that the United States spread an image of savior during the 2001-2002 war campaign. Did they really save this girl, or the other afghan woman? The eyes of the Afghan girl had captivated the world so much that the National Geographic photograph that had taken her photograph was sent to search for her. Mc Curry says that he went first with his search team to the original place where the photograph was taken: the refugee camp of Nasir Bagh. A man who heard about the search told them he knew the girl in the picture. He claimed she was his childhood friend and that she had returned to Afghanistan near Tora Bora.. Mc curry was informed by the team that He told them that she was a childhood friend and that she went back to Afghanistan and in she had returned to Afghanistan years ago, he said, and now lived in the mountains near Tora Bora. When McCurry got to the place and saw her walk I the room he told himself: this is her. Thus â€Å"the girl with the piercing green eyes† or â€Å"the afghan girl† was identified. Her name was Sharbat Gula, and she was Pashtun, one of the most violent tribe of Afghanistan. Mc Curry took a new photograph of her and her eyes were still burning with ferocity. Her eyes were still sea green, big haunted and haunting green eyes. In them you could read the tragedy of a land drained by war not the relief and freedom that the United States should have brought with them. If the United States had helped this girl and the other women by going in war with the Taliban, this girl her eyes would have looked happier, less angry, or simply different. We would have noticed a change, but the only change we notice is the change of a girl into a woman. This change is not relevant to the United States going to war with afghan but to nature. When observing the afghan girl one should not make biased assumption. Although being unbiased is thorough, it is not impossible. While looking at the photo of the afghan girl a viewer should see all facets of the photograph or image being observed. While the photograph of the afghan woman portrays the oppression that afghan women experience, it also expresses the tragedy and struggled experienced by women in war. As Ell Morris described in his†¦. Photographs and images are an express train to error and believing is seeing. When one observes the photographs of the afghan women, one sees what he wants to see: a women that need help from the united states,a women that is angry, a women that is ravaged by a war ,a woman that is ashamed to show her face,a woman that is revolted. hey are so many interpretation that can be drawn from the afghan woman,but none of them can really grasp the reality that the photographs bring. it is just as ell morris said. While photograph reveals important some things, they hide or misrepresent others. Thus the photograph of the afghan woman has one very parsimonious property. a property that all photographs share: to represent a blurry reality. However although the photograph is not a real represe ntation of afghan woman, it remains true that they are oppressed and ravaged by the tragedy that is war.

The Minimum Drinking Age Act - 1700 Words

In 1984, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act made all 50 states raise the legal drinking age to 21(Dejong). The debate is on whether the age should be lowered or not. Statistically, having the age at 21 has been very helpful in keeping the nation safe. If there is not an issue with age now, would it make sense to lower the age and create unnecessary problems? In this case, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Simply because there is no good in lowering the age. The legal drinking age has been set at 21 for 30 years, lowering the age would only harm the nation with intellectual, physical, and social issues. First, drinking not only can harm the body and brain, but it puts the lives of others in danger as well. The nation should not be in favor of younger people drinking and losing control. Also, it would make the United States look bad socially. Considering that so many underage college students already drink illegally, it would not make sense to open the doors of drinking to that many people. Overall, there is not enough evidence to prove that lowering the legal drinking age would be beneficial to the United States. Beneficial means resulting in good. Therefore, if the legal drinking age were to be lowered, then nation would meet with disaster. To start with, lowering the drinking age has many atrocious downfalls. First, binge drinking is one of the larger issues. Binge drinking is when large amounts of alcohol are consumed into the body, in a short amount ofShow MoreRelatedThe Minimum Drinking Age Act1211 Words   |  5 Pages Some people find it hard to understand that at the age of eighteen you can fight and die for your country, but you cannot legally drink or purchase alcoholic beverages. Others find it hard to believe that there are people who want people under the age of twenty-one drinking. The important question is: should the drinking age be lowered to eighteen instead of remaining at twenty-one? The legal drinking age is the age at which a person can consume or purchase alcohol. These laws cover a wide rangeRead MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act1692 Words   |  7 PagesNational Minimum Drinking Age Act. This act stated that all states must raise their minimum drinking age to 21. Individuals under the age of 21 would now be prohibited from purchasing or being in public possession of any alcoholic beverage. Though not every state was keen on this idea, they all jumped to raise the minimum drinking age due to the government threat that they would lose up to 10% of their federal highway funding if they ignored the request. However, since the National Minimum Drinking AgeRead MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act1490 Words   |  6 PagesPresident Reagan passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (1). This meant that in order to purchase and publicly posses alcohol, one must be twenty-one years old (1). Today, many push for a reversion back to a drinking age of eighteen years ol d. The reasons on both sides are many, and all of them will be explored and diagnosed. As the reasons pile on, though, it will become clear that the drinking age should return to eighteen. The first reason that the drinking age should be lowered, and possiblyRead MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act Of 19841407 Words   |  6 Pages17 the United States Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Signed by President Ronald Regan, which requires that states prohibit people under the age of 21 from purchasing or publicly process alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving State highway funds. Initially intended as a comprehensive approach to reduce the number of alcohol related deaths on the nations highways. Not prohibiting a person under 21 from drinking under certain exceptions some such as religious purposesRead MoreThe Minimum Drinking Age Act Of 19841219 Words   |  5 Pagesand college-aged students. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 because adults can legally marry, begin a career and support a family, as well as serve in the military and prison. Along with these and many other reasons, the rebellious nature for wanting to participate in illegal activities is an immense driving force for why teens and young adults drink illegally. Why is the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21? State governments decided their own individual drinking age after Prohibition ended in 1933Read MoreProhibition Of The National Minimum Drinking Age Act1376 Words   |  6 Pages1993, the drinking age was set at twenty one but was later lowered to eighteen because of the passage of the 26th amendment which lowered the voting age to eighteen. In order to combat drunk driving, The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed and stated that states must raise their drinking age to twenty one or lose 10% of their funds to pay for their highways. The organization MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) was the group who put pressure on congress to pass The National Minimum DrinkingRead MoreThe National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 Is Not Working738 Words   |  3 Pagesworking. The NMDA, National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which states that people under the age of 21 can’t consume or purchase alcohol, has only served to heighten the problem that is currently being faced. The only realistic way to make real progress while reversing the negative effect the NMDA act has had and is having is to abolish the NMDA act and introduce a new act that establishes different phases to introduce alcohol to minors. In essence, the purpose of the NMDA act was to decrease the numberRead MoreAlcohol And Substance Abuse And The National Minimum Drinking Age Act2083 Words   |  9 Pagesstarted to arise. One being the legal age to start drinking alcohol. The national minimum drinking age act was signed on July 17th, 1984 to the law, with the drinking age at minimum being 21 (Archer M.D.). An adult is any person who’s reached the age of maturity as directed by law (Archer M.D.). Legally, being 18 years old in the U.S. is considered to be the adult age, but the consumption of alcohol has always been withheld from the young adults of today, until the age of 21. When you’re 18 year old, youRead MoreNational Minimum Drinking Age Act Essay719 Words   |  3 PagesIn 1984 the United States Government approved the National Minimum Drinking Age Act that required that â€Å"the States prohibit persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages as a condit ion of receiving State highway funds.† Even though this bill was nowhere near the magnitude of the prohibition act that was passed less than a century before it, the act still damaged the relationship between individuals, firms, and the United States government. Although theRead MoreThe National Minimum Drinking Age Act Of 19841084 Words   |  5 Pagesresponsibilities consuming alcohol at the average age of 18. However, unlike most countries in the world the United States has determined to establish their drinking age to be set at 21 years of age. This antiquated position is unjust to many young American adults. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 should be revised and reconstituted to the legal age of 18. To provide a more suitable America that is secure and reasonable for all young adults. The drinking age needs to be lowered so that it can reduce