Death Penalty-Carter

Currently the death penalty is legal and morally acceptable in the United States of America. However, the death penalty is expensive, ethically wrong, and even has the potential to put innocent people to death. Clearly, the death penalty is unconstitutional and should be abolished from the United States.

ben thesing research essay thesis

The modern theory of cultural relativism is necessary in our extremely diverse world. For both anthropologists and average citizens alike, the ability to not bias against cultures without having a complete understanding of what that culture really is, is vital. The same thing can be said on an individual level, each and every person has their own “culture”. It is important to understand that to a certain degree there is no right, and no wrong. It varies (to a moral degree) between the individual. The most important thing with cultural relativism is to understand that the entire theory cannot completely function; by accepting every culture, there are not boundaries for ethics. The Golden rule and sense of good Samaritanism are equivalent to human sacrifice and suicide bombings in the eyes of a cultural relativist. While having a good, clear sense of acceptance is necessary in the world today, wholly embracing the theory of cultural relativism is dangerous and unethical.

Nina's Thesis

The stigma that is typically associated with ‘cult’ stereotypes does not adequately represent members of these groups and their reasons for joining. Behind the widely publicized images of head-shaving, kool-aid-drinking, radical drones are people who have found a message of knowledge and certainty that they can connect to on a spiritual level. Although heinous murder sprees and lewd acts of sexual assault by cult leaders are not to be condoned, one must step back from their personal beliefs and respect that ‘freedom of religion’ is not to be confined to solely what ones own morals and beliefs dictate.

Autumn Morning

I step outside, feeling the sting of the cold, harsh wind.

I look out in front of me and see my long drive way covered with leaves of every color. They are cold and crunchy, they break as I step on them. The sun breaks through the foggy, grey sky, providing minimum warmth. It’s cold, but I don’t mind, the harsh wind feels good as it blows against my skin, opening up my pores. The trees look almost dead, a few of the leaves have fallen off the trees, and the bark is a dark brown. The fog is hard to see through, it is especially thick today. It honestly reminds me of a ghostly horror story outside. I’m not scared though, those are my favorite kinds of days, I find them in a strange way relaxing and calming. I take a breath in, the cold air stings my throat but the cold smoky air coming out of my mouth looks cool, so it makes up for the stinging throat. I look forward to these types of Autumn mornings, though not very common, I know they will come again in the future.

Allie’s Shack

It was mid-to late October of last year in the hazy town of Newport North Carolina. My best friend Allie and I decided to go to her house after returning from the beach. As we turned on to her street, we saw all the stoners outside their houses smoking, the burning tips of their cigarettes lit up the darkening sky, as the smoke rose silently into the cool blowing night air. See, Allie lived in one of the most drug- infested neighborhoods in Newport. It was filled with crappy old cars, old trailers that looked like they were going to collapse at any given moment, and a bunch of random cats running up and down the streets. Since it was October, a few houses did have bright orange jack lanterns smiling that creepy smile on their doorsteps, but that was about it for the decorations. As we pulled into Allies drive way, I could see her cat Louie, lying there on the couch, looking out the window at us. Louie is probably the fattest cat I have ever seen. When he walks, his belly touches the ground, literally. He looks like Garfield because he is orange too. When we got in, we went into her room to watch one of my favorite movies of all time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was playing on Logo at eleven pm, so we had about an hour to kill. We ordered Chinese take-out, and downloaded some music on Allies beyond crappy computer. It was one of those old ones that moved super slow and took forever to load the internet. Of course, it took a little while any way to find one of the neighbors’ Wi-Fi signals, because Allie didn’t have Wi-Fi in her house, she just stole her neighbors’ signal and that took some time. I finally got the thing to load all the way, and started looking up some good music to download, Allie was sitting on her twin size bed eating the take-out, and watching T.V.

All was good until about 1:30am. Next door, some people were having a costume party. Allie, of course, decided to slingshot candy at all the non-sober people outside. She hit one guy right in the eye and he started screaming at her and charging toward the window on Allie’s wall. We shut it quick, but he still banged on it and screamed like crazy at us to open up. It was quite ironic because he was dressed like an axe murderer, and I really think he wanted to slice us. He had I think fake blood all over his face and body, and he was wearing crappy, ripped clothing, and carrying a rusty old axe. Eventually he went away back to the party after much threats directed toward us.

But of course, at around 3:30am, he came back for no reason, only this time trying to break open the front door! Allie and I were scared out of our minds. I really don’t know how he didn’t break in, Allie’s house was more like a large shack combined with a trailer, the type of thing you would expect to find in such neighborhoods. After about three minutes of banging, the noise just stopped, and everything went silent.

When we woke up the next morning, we found the guy passed out on the front porch. Allie and I just stared at him, we tried to poke him with a stick, but nothing. I guess it was all okay because when we came back from a drive that afternoon, he was gone, but that was pretty creepy, even for Halloween season in Allie’s neighborhood.

Seasons of Life

By Adam Liberty

I wake up and go outside, just to see the colors of the world. Its insane wouldn’t you say? The leaves change color so fast you almost suddenly notice what is happening. They go from being green, to yellow, red, even orange. When the wind blows you can see the leaves fall from the trees like rain in a thunderstorm. I’d say it’s amazing, but I cannot help to think about what is actually happening. The trees are dying or at least going into hibernation for the winter like the bears do. The n when the air starts getting warm again the leaves blossom and grow more and more every day as children do getting larger everyday they live until they reach the point where growing is no longer a possibility and they are adults and have responsibilities like giving living thing in the world oxygen so that they can live and grow and some day have responsibilities of there own. The process of life is amazing.

A Revival (Final)

time goes by without me knowing.
the day is bright and young but i feel ragged and sleep-less.
a minor earthquake occurs as i drop my school bag, releasing the weight of the week past.
i look across the road to see two boys in their youth, lost in happiness.
a constant reminder of the simple joys i now miss.
where has the time gone?
what is to come for me in the future?
take me back to the days of my youth.
an epiphany, a change of mind as i run out the front door and across the street.
a pool of vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges awaits my entrance.
a perfect dive, hardly a splash is seen as i reattain a missing aspect of my youth.
this is right.
the pieces of my joy fit right into place as i am swallowed by this mass representation of autumn