Tuesday 22 May 2012

Pawns in the Game

Rebel [ri-bel]
1.
to resist or rise against some authority, control, or tradition. 
2.a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition. 
3.to show or feel utter repugnance
 
Oppress [uh-pres]
1.
to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power 
2. to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.)
 
Conform [kuhn-fawrm]
1.to comply in actions, behavior, thoughts, etc, with accepted standards or norms 
2. to be in accordance 
3. to act in accord with the prevailing standards, attitudes, practices, etc., of society or a group
 
These three terms can easily define each group of people that are involved with this issue, and the attributes which motivate them. They can serve as a general summary of how each group does and feels in regards to the issue:

source: http://agent3155.com/
Rebels - They are the people who are aware of their “faulty surroundings”, and are willing to make a difference in their community. As they are able to see through the “facts” that they are presented with in the media and able to develop their own conclusion on certain societal situations. They do not conform to societal demands and norms. However due to their awareness and reluctance to conform, they sometimes have to suffer for their opinions and thoughts, due to them being “against the order of society”. There are many people throughout history that are punished for what they believed in, even till this day. Most rebels are very independent people that are willing to fight for what they believe in, just to be just. Their perseverance is something that we all as individual should learn. They are the people who are willing to dismantle the system of oppression that is in the world, even if it stems from a mix of religion and politics.

Oppressors - They are the people with authority (e.g. Politicians). In order for them to maintain their positions as the leaders of their own respective groups, they will do their best to gain the popularity of the masses. One of the methods is to proclaim oneself to be a believer of a certain religion, and this will then most likely earn the support of the people with the same faith. To further their cause, they will then attempt to create policies that reflect their religious roots to strengthen their following of supporters. However, politicians sometimes utilize scare tactics to get supporters. By using that, the people are put into a system of oppression with terror, in which fear will become the determining factor of a countrys future. In order for some politicians to reach their agenda, they utilize religious values and fear of the people to propagate their own beliefs and values to gain support. As they reach their goal, the people suffer as the elected politicians policy that was said to “protect” the public will strip the people of their rights and freedoms. Thus, accelerating the rate of conformity among the people in society, as they cannot find ways to resist a system that is so-welled structured.
 
Conformists These are the people who are unaware of their surroundings, and just follow societal trends. Usually they are very devout believers of a particular religion, which has a strong impact on their development as individuals. They usually do not question authority or sayings, but instead follow these societal demands as they view it as help maintaining societal order. They are the people who do are not aware of their oppressed state due to the allusion that their everyday lives are similar. Nor would they care for the lives of others as they are unaffected by societal changes. As long as their way of life has a minimal to no change, they are willing to accept the hidden “oppression” they are presented with - as new societal standards. In the end, their unawareness of their living environment, and their unquestioning devotion to certain religions, can lead to a self-plummet into the systematic oppression, which is prominent in modern day society. 




 

4 comments:

  1. Hi Edison,

    I really appreciate your detailed and well thought descriptions of the individuals involved in your issue. I am wondering, though, if you have examples of specific politicians who have claimed to practice a certain religion in order to gain a following. Furthermore, do you have examples of "scare tactics" utilized by such politicians? Also, have there ever been any cases of this in Canada or the US, or is it more localized to countries overseas?

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    1. Hi, Michelle
      Thank you for your question. One famous politician which basically gained a huge following through his practice of Catholicism is John F. Kennedy, although in his campaign he endorsed the separation between church and state, his main supporters were that of the catholic faith. Now, regarding your question about politicians utilizing scare tactics. The "War on Terror" started by then-president George W. Bush can be considered a scare tactic as he mentioned the supposed existence of weapons of mass destruction that were in the possession of Iraq, and that these weapons posed threats to the United States. By using the term "weapons of mass destruction", Bush gained support from the American public to invade Iraq and subsequently set up permanent military bases there for monitoring. The use of scare tactics is definitely prominent in North America.

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  2. Edison,
    Do you think that influential individuals such as politicians abuse their power in order to achieve their desires? If so, how can the rebels bring this to the attention of the conformists in order to aim to stop this oppression?

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  3. I do believe certain politicians abuse their power to achieve their desires. As as I mentioned, when you have the power, you will exercise it. Awareness towards the conformist is only a small step in attempting to stop this oppression. To truly eliminate this oppression, a mutual understanding between these two parties must be established, then they can focus their efforts on the people who abuse their power, the oppressors.

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