Should Euthanasia be legalized?

In this rapidly evolving world, due to the advancement of science and technology, scientist came up with mercy killing through the use of euthanasia. This has been debated since the 18^th century and continues till today, as only some countries in the world legalized euthanasia. Therefore, euthanasia should be legalized in more countries.

Euthanasia should be legalized for the sick and suffering, as it is able to help them to die a painless death and also being relieved from the current pain that they are going through. This is being done through the consent of the patient, as every patient have the right to decide over their lives. Patients who are diagnosed with chronicle diseases are hence able to decide whether they want to continue suffering in treatment or not.

Euthanasia should be legalized for patients whose family is not financially stable, as it will help them to be relieved from the financial burden from the hospital bills. This may or may not be done through the consent of the patient, as sometimes in different cases, the patient may be suffering from dementia and the family members are the one who has been talking to the patient and emphasizing on euthanasia, which result in the patient’s decision to do so. It can be seen as inhumane, however, it can help to decrease the emotional stress and financial burden of the family members who are taking care of the patient too. Hence, euthanasia should be legalized in order to help the family members cope in life.

Euthanasia should be legalized for criminals who are being sentenced to capital punishment, as they will not have to go through a painful death. It has been a fact that the criminal has committed an offence and justice should be done upon them. However, many have neglect how the family members of the criminal may feel, as they have to go through the emotional struggles of having to accept the fact that one of the family members is being sentence to death. Therefore, by legalizing euthanasia, it will help to ease the pain felt by the family members, as it may serve as a tool of comfort for them to know that he/she will die a painless death.

However, many would refute and say that life is precious and that it should not be taken for granted due to their belief or religion. The Catholics condemns euthanasia, as they see euthanasia as a “crime against life” and a “crime against God”. They believe that God is the creator of mankind and he is the one who gives us life, hence we are not allowed to take our lives away.

In all, one’s perception of euthanasia may vary in many different ways. Euthanasia should be legalized, as it is able to help patients, criminals and their family members. 

What are the possible causes of conflicts?

Conflict is a disagreement between parties involved who believe that there is a threat to their needs, interest or concerns. Conflict is a normal part of our daily life that helps us to grow through improves understanding and insight. However, sometimes conflict can go out of hand and turned into a negative experience due to unforeseen circumstances. These disputes tend to have limited option and people normally do not look for possible solutions to solve it but argue mindlessly in order to save their pride. The possible causes of conflicts are mostly due to the increase in workload, competition of power and accommodating others.

The increase in workload may lead to conflicts due to the increase in stress level which people are unable to cope. Hence, they tend to vent their anger and emotions on others, which then lead to a conflict. For example, the increasing assignments from school have led to decreasing leisure time. Some may take a longer time to do, while some may take lesser time. The slow learners may find it frustrating, as some may not be able to cope with it. Therefore, if anyone tries to interrupt them while they are doing their work, they may get a good scolding. Thus, leading to a conflict, as the one at the receiving end would be shocked at the emotional responds and may start an argument. The emotional responds we experience in a conflict are often feeling due to anger, fear, despair or confusion. For this case, it would be fear and anger, as they fear that they might not be able to finish their work on time and are angry that they are being interrupted. These emotional responses are mostly being misunderstood, as people tend to believe that others are feeling the same way as they do. However, in most cases it is the direct opposite. Therefore, the differences in emotional responses are confusing and causes conflicts to arise.

The competition of power may lead to conflict, as one tends to seek complete control over others. This is because of the fear of losing control, which may lead to the failure to meet their needs. Therefore, competitions tend to lead to responses that increase in the level of threat, which will result in a conflict. For example, in a group project work, the dominating one will tend to take control and lead the group with or without the group members’ approval. She will tend to put a deaf ear to others opinions and do what ever she wants. Some members who do not agree with her may be picked on, resulting in cognitive responses. The members’ ideas and thoughts are often being presented as their inner voices during the conflict. Hence, the differing cognitive responses may contribute to emotional or behavioral responses, which then result in a conflict.

However, there are also some members who accommodates to others. These people tend to allow others to step over their heads and keep quiet about it, as preserving the relationship is seen as most important. Even if they disagree with another, they tend to keep it to themselves. Their physical responses will kick in at a stage where they cannot take it any longer, as it plays an important role in our ability to meet our needs in a conflict. It includes rapid heartbeat, increase perspiration and accelerated breathing. If a calmer environment is not established, the conflict may get worst, as emotions are hard to managed at this point of time.

In sum, we should all keep in mind that it takes courage to sit and listen to others’ needs. In order to avoid a conflict, one should learn to be open and respect others.

Life is Beautiful

Plot Synopsis
Life is Beautiful is a story of a father’s love for his wife and son, where the story is set during the holocaust.


Plot Outline
The story begins with two young man, Guido Orifice and Ferruccio driving through the countryside. However, their car broke down, and while Ferruccio was trying to fix it, Guido wondered to a nearby farm, where he got head over heels with a lady, named Dora, who later becomes his wife. Through out the first segment of the story, by fate, Guido bumped into Dora several times in the most unexpected manners. These sequences have helped Guido to win the heart of his princess, Dora, as they finally got married. The horror and tragedy starts at the second segment, as it is set in a concentration camp five years later, where Dora was separated from Guido and their son, Giosue. In order not to let his son learn the truth that they have been imprisoned, Guido tried to convince his son that they were actually playing a game. Thus, the guards and rules to be observed are all part of the game to win a tank. The story ended with Guido sacrificing himself for the safety of his wife and son.


Characters
Life is beautiful features mostly Guido, Dora and Guisue who were living happily together until the occupation of Italy by German forces sets in.


Guido Orefice
Guido, is a young man who acts as a loving husband and father in the story. Like any other young man, who longs to marry a princess in a fairy tale, Guido was immediately smitten by Dora’s beauty and tries all means to impress her to get her hand. He takes very good care of his son, Giosue, and makes sure that he is always safe. He is a hilarious yet intelligent character, as in times of trouble, he is still able to keep a cheery face, yet at the same time think and act quickly in the situation. However, his heroic act of love for both his son and wife, led to him sacrificing himself in exchange for their safety and lives.


Dora
Dora, is a young woman who acts as a loving wife and mother in the story. She is a brave woman, as she was not afraid of defying her mother and eloped with Guido, during her engagement dinner. She was also not afraid of being imprisoned, and even demanded to be brought to the concentration camp when she was being separated from her husband and son. Therefore, illustrating to us the love and bond this family has towards each other.


Giosue Orefice
Giosue, is a young boy who acts as the son of Guido and Dora in the story. He is an innocent young boy, who believed naively what his father told him from the start that they are playing a game. However, as the days passed by, he slowly learnt the horror that is happening in the concentration camp and started to question his father.


Critique
In my opinion, I feel that “Life is beautiful” is trying to relate us more with human feelings and the bond between father and son, as the focus of the movie is mostly on Guido and Giosue. Thus, giving a balance for us, so that we can cope with the horror later on. It also serves to help us bring our state of mind away from reality, as the story ends with “This is my story. This is how my father sacrificed himself. This is the gift from my father.” which illustrates to us the beautiful relationship between a father and son. However, the holocaust is the highlight of the story that draws us back into the painful reality. This engages us even more, as it helps to remind us the ugly side of what humanity is capable of. We are also able to see the racial discrimination between the Germans and the Jews, as there was a sign being placed outside a shop that says “No Jews or dogs allowed”, which illustrates to us how the status of Jews are being reduced to no more than a dog.

How does an individual’s definition of needs’ be differentiated from wants’?

Since the early 1990s societies have been infected by affluenza, a growing and unhealthy preoccupation with money and material things. This illness is constantly reinforcing itself at both the individual and the social levels, constraining us to derive our identities and sense of place in the world through our consumption activity. Economists assume that we know what we want, and that we are rational, so that if we have the opportunity and freedom to choose we will choose whatever gives us the greatest satisfaction. Therefore, one’s definition of needs’ or wants depends on one’s income.

People can be paralysed by too wide a freedom of choice, as they often choose badly, and even when people overcome paralysis and choose well, the thought of all those attractive options they have left on the table can undermine their satisfaction with the option they chose. The rich are therefore more vulnerable to these, as they have a powerful tendency to indulge in short-term passions at the expense to long-term interests. Hence, their definition of needs’ is mostly in luxury goods, where they can show off their status and backgrounds.

In impoverished countries, there is a lack of supply in their basic necessities due to corrupted government or poor climate. These people live on less than $2 a day, which is only enough to purchase daily necessities – food, clothes, water, as perhaps most of the money are in the pockets of the corrupted government who are unwilling to distribute it to improve welfare of the people. Therefore, the poor are stuck in this vicious cycle, due to the widening income gap between the rich and poor. Hence, the poor do not have the financial ability to indulge themselves in luxury goods, as they have to worry daily for their survival – the need to purchase daily necessities, in order to sustain a living.

However, there is not enough on this planet for everyone’s needs. Poor countries do not have sufficient medical care to meet basic needs, such as dental care. Even in rich countries, needs are not met too, as certain diseases like AIDS and cancers do not have a cure for it. Hence, conscious consumption, as opposed to no consumption, is the antidote to affluenza. It involves cultivating an awareness of why we buy or use things and understanding what needs we are trying to meet. People who have a better understanding of themselves are less prone to self deception and are able to see through marketers’ attempts to deceive them.

In all, one of the most valuable things parents can do for their children is to teach them to adopt a critical attitude towards marketers’ attempt to influence them. Hence, cultivating a conscious consumption from young, as they are able to differentiate between their needs’ and wants’.

How does one’s perception of success influence his decision?

In this ever-changing society, one’s decision is determined by one’s perception of success. However, the definition of success has evolved into many different ways. In general, our society is becoming one huge enterprise that is controlled by a puppeteer – the bureaucracy, where we man are the puppets who are slogging our lives away to help the economy flourish. Unknowingly, the blue and white-collar workers who are seeking for success have become economic puppets as they climb up the social ladder. Therefore, it is important today for one to succeed through pursuing happiness in what we do than conforming to what the society want us to be.

To be promoted or to fall behind is not only a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-esteem, where one tries to prove himself worthy in this competitive world. This constant need to prove that one is as good or better than one’s fellow competitor also creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness. Therefore, many problems have arisen, where businessmen become more ruthless in their business tactics and compromise the ethical and moral values. Therefore, resulting in a clash between business and ethics. An April 30, 2010, report by World Health Organisation issued a warning about the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry, where the companies’ main motivation was to make money than putting the patients welfare interest first. When a company develops a new formula or discover a new type of medicine, they usually do not wish to share it with other companies as they have spent a lot of money on the research and development of it and have not reap enough to cover their cost. This company will get a patent for their product, in order to prevent people from copying and selling the product. They tend to sell the product at a higher price, as the patent only usually last for fifty to a hundred years before it expires and their competitors starts selling the same product and driving the prices down. These leads to exploitation of consumers’ welfare as they act as a monopoly to raise price and profits, which may result in the poor not being able to afford this product even when they are sick. Patients may be use as guinea pigs in the process of research and development of the products too, in order to develop the best medicine. However, at times patients may be sacrificed as some problems may arise in the development of the medicine, resulting in the lost of precious life for the sake of money. Therefore, these companies who are hungry for success have sacrificed ethical and moral values, in order to boost their business revenue.

There are also enterprises such as McDonald who associates themselves with charity, as every happy meal bought, one cent is being donated to the McDonald’s Children Charity Fund in Singapore. However, it is still questionable, as it may also be a business strategy to gain recognition by the consumers that their business is also helping the less fortunate, in order to increase business profits.

In comparison, trying to succeed through pursuing happiness in what we do can make our road to success an easier one. An example would be Rowan Sebastian Atkinson, an English comedian and actor, who had attended Newcastle University and Oxford University and even attained degrees in electrical engineering. However, he was not interested in being an engineer but pursued his dream of becoming an actor and even made it into the 50 funniest actor in British comedy. By doing what he likes makes his work an enjoyable than mundane one. Therefore, it is important to succeed through the pursuit of happiness.

In conclusion, we should transform our social system from a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man are the full development of his potentialities.

Inflation

Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the world, where inflation is defined as a sustained, inordinate and general increase in prices. A rise in inflation means that the prices are rising faster and a fall in inflation means that prices are rising slower. Thus, it can help us to measure the rate of changes in general prices. However, when there is a fall in inflation, inflation rate may be positive, as prices are rising but at a decreasing rate. Therefore, a sustained fall in prices would mean a negative inflation rate or deflation. There are two main causes of inflation, the demand pull and cost push. Where, a demand pull inflation is caused by a rise in money supply compared to a cost push inflation, which is caused by a rise in unit of production.

The consequences of inflation is either due to anticipated inflation or unanticipated inflation. Where, anticipated inflation is the rate of inflation that majority of individuals believe will occur, compared to unanticipated inflation, which is inflation that comes as a surprise to individuals in the economy. Only when inflation is unanticipated, then it will generate unexpected negative effects on households and firms. This will result in a redistribution of income, as fixed income earners can only purchase fewer goods and services than before. Unless pensions, salaries and wages are adjusted for price increases, the real income of this group of people will fall. Incomes of a fixed value such as those from insurance policies, mortgages and bonds also decline in real terms. Those who receive income derived from interests and rents whose amounts are fixed by long term contracts are also adversely hit by inflation.

However, the effect of inflation on firms depends on the cause of inflation. If inflation is demand pull, profit margins tend to widen. This is because prices of goods and services tend to rise faster than factor prices as the latter are fixed by short term or long term contracts. Thus, investment is likely to increase in a period of rising prices due to higher expectation of profit margins. In comparison, if inflation is cost push, profits earned by firms may be squeezed as firms may find it hard to pass on the full effects of rising costs in the form of higher prices to consumers. In addition, firms which cannot absorb all or part of the higher factor prices by improving productivity and efficiency may find it difficult to survive. This leads to fall in investment and hence production.

A persistent increase in prices will also lead to an increase in cost of living. If the income of a family remain constant, its living standard will be lowered, as now they will need to give up on luxury goods to pay for their basic necessities. For example, in Zimbabwe, the inflation rate is as high as 2.2 million percent in 2008. The government had to order retailers and businesses to halve their prices to alleviate the high cost of living. However, this had resulted in widespread shortages for basic necessities such as rice and flour and a strengthening of the black market in the Southern African nation.

In sum, the type of policies to be implemented depends on the causes underlying the inflation. In order, to curb a demand pull inflation, a contractionary monetary and fiscal policies can be implemented to close the inflation gap by reducing aggregate demand. Whereas, to manage cost push inflation, the government can adopt prices and incomes policies to alleviate the problem.

Literary analysis on Grave of the Fireflies.

Grave of the Fireflies is a tragic story of the struggle for survival of a teenage boy and his younger sister during World War II. The writer tries to convey an anti-war message through the use of the disturbing images of the aftermath of the war. However, he uses metaphors to illustrate to us the central theme of hope throughout the story, in order to lead the readers on.


The writer uses metaphors to illustrate to us the central theme of hope in between segments of the story to keep the readers in suspense and lead us on. The symbol of the fireflies, which appears every time when Seita and Setsuko are feeling lost and in despair, are like a beacon of hope that guides them through their darkest times. Through the fireflies, the readers are being shaken back into reality, as "Why do fireflies die so soon?" illustrates to us the lost of guidance and hope when Setsuko crash the firefly in her hands. It is also a juxtaposition of the lost of their mother and we are constantly being reminded of how transience life is.


The writer uses metaphors to illustrate to us the theme of warmth throughout the story. The symbol of the candy tin is like an emotional support for Setsuko, as when ever she was feeling down and was being reminded of her mother, Seita gives her a drop of candy to calm her down. Through this, we are able to see how Seita transform from a brotherly figure to a motherly figure. Even when there wasn't any candy left, Setsuko was contented to even drink from the tin, as "It taste like mix fruits", which illustrates to us despite the ups and downs, what kept her going was the warmth back home she felt every time she tasted the candy . Upon the death of Setsuko, Seita took the candy tin and put the last bit of ash in it, which illustrates to us the bond between him and his sister, as now the candy tin was the last memory of her.


The writer uses flashback to act as constant reminder of the pain of the lost of a love one. The flashback of Seita's mother when ever he was feeling lost and in despair was the one that kept him going. However, when Setsuko told him that "Mother is dead. She's in a tomb", he finally breakdown. Through this, we are able to see how emotionally fragile Seita actually is, as he has been putting on a brave front for his sister. The writer uses the flashback to act as a palimpsest to let us be reminded of the faded past which can't be erased and to let the reader get the catharsis effect of feeling the pain of the lost of a love one.


The true colours of family members are being shown, during wartime, in the fight for survival. Seita's aunt only care about her immediate family members, as she has "traded everything for food. Even mother's kimono." but only gave Seita and Setsuko brown soup for dinner, while her family has radish. Through this, the writer tries to illustrate to us a dog-eat-dog society of wartime.


It was the pride and ego of Seita that led to his sister's death. Seita, being "a naval officer's son", doesn't want to be looked down upon and disappoint others, as others want him to "have courage" like his father. Despite, the constant reminder from his aunt to look for a job, Seita chooses not to and left his aunt's place, thinking that he and his sister was able to survive. However, when the their food ran out, they resort to stealing tomatoes and eating frogs. Through this, the readers are being shock at how cruel life was, as we are being drawn back to reality.


In conclusion, the writer tries to convey an anti-war message through the use of the disturbing images of the aftermath of the war. Similar to "The Spirits Play" by Kuo Pao Kun, Grave of the fireflies is use to illustrate to us how the japanese too had suffered during World War II, as the innocence in Japan didn't know what was happening to the other countries out there too. However, in my opinion, it was still rather ironical, as Japan was the one who started the war and caused their people to suffer the way they did to others.