John D. Ashcroft, Petitioner, V. Abdullah Al-Kidd Case Study

John D. Ashcroft, Petitioner, V. Abdullah Al-Kidd - Case Study Example Al-Kidd further alleges that during the trial of Al-Hussayen, he has never been called as a witness and also that the authorities have â€Å"never meant to do so† (p.1). Therefore, the petitioner challenges the constitutional validity of Attorney General’s â€Å"alleged policy† in authorizing his detention on the pretext that he is a material witness in the trial against Sami Omar (p.1). Initially, the case has been heard by the Ninth Circuit Court, which held that the action of the Attorney General has violated the individual’s rights under the Fourth Amendment which disallows â€Å"pretextual arrests† in the absence of a possible cause of a criminal activity (p.1). John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, challenging the decision of Ninth Circuit Court, has filed the suit to Supreme Court appealing for a review. On a petition by Al-Kidd, the Ninth Circuit Court has heard the case and ordered that the Attorney General’s action of securing a warrant under the pretext that the petitioner is a material witness in another case and hence he cannot leave the country, and his detention for this reason, is a violation of his constitutional rights. Therefore, the court has denied Ashcroft’s motion to dismiss the petition on â€Å"qualified immunity grounds† (p.1). The main issue present in the case is the question of the validity of the detention of Al-Kidd from a legal perspective, under the prevailing threat to national security of the US. The Attorney General has allegedly secured a warrant under the federal statutes relating to â€Å"material witness† for the detention of the former (Abrams, 2011, p.1). It becomes relevant here that the action of the Attorney General in securing the warrant for the detention of the petitioner is well within the relevant laws and thus it is purely legal. Under the prevailing circumstances in the country, when terrorist activities have been rampant in the nation, the petitioner has been detained because of his relevance

Critically analyze the major HRM systems of HP Essay

Critically analyze the major HRM systems of HP - Essay Example HP, is used strategically to shape and reinforce a certain type of culture by reinforcing certain ideas, norms, and behavior and by discouraging others. Strong values are passed down by the management and then reinforced by procedures and rituals that emphasize and reward desired behaviors in tandem with a cultural network that is consisted of a system of communication that is used as a tool to disseminate values and create corporate heroes. (Barry 2000, p. 107) This paper will explore the processes involved behind the HP HRM strategy, particularly the organizations rigorous selection and recruitment methods and the emphasis on employee training, compensation and performance evaluation. It is important to underscore that HP, along with IBM, initiated the antecedents of HRM in its studies of non-unionized employee management. For HP, HRM has always been associated with the kind of people management that placed a great deal of emphasis on gaining the commitment of individual employees to organizational goals. Confidence in and respect for our people as opposed to depending upon extensive rules, procedures and so on; which depends upon people to do their job right (individual freedom) without constant directives. (Gratton 1999, p. 109) One needs to remember that HP is now known worldwide as a company that continually creates innovative products and processes. That is why HP wants to recruit not just the best people but those skilled and committed to work in an entrepreneurial team-based environment that breeds innovation. According to Dexter Dunphy (2002), the core approach that drives HP’s way in developing its human capital lie in the following strategies: The above-mentioned strategies supposedly make it possible for HP to be able to quickly respond to the requirements of the market and the customers’ expectations. Such strategies are anchored on the development of enabling departmental structures like the utilization of smaller departments and

Gender Equality In Politics

Gender Equality In Politics The initiation of women into influential politics has the potential to greatly benefit society. There are a number of theoretical reasons women would be doing the world a favour by entering into politics. Basic statistics demonstrate that equality would benefit the economy. In the West, the perception towards women is positive: they are mostly on equal ground with men regarding capabilities (Pew Research Center [PRC, 2008]. Moreover, because most female politicians have to juggle professional, private, and sometimes family lives, their resulting ability to multi-task should allow them better management skills and more sensible political priorities. Now, these theories regarding womens abilities and inclinations do have some factual basis. There are already successful females in high positions of power within government (e.g. Angela Merkel; Scandinavian Parliament). A survey carried out in India had results illustrating that where women were in charge, villagers were much better off ( Beaman, 2007). Surprisingly, Southeast Asia is where the most women have reached the highest governmental positions (Fleschenberg, 2008). One can argue that, whether there is a positive or ineffectual upshot to womens involvement in politics, merely achieving equality and effectively rendering most prejudices null would be a tremendous benefit to society. However, while the women of the West have far more opportunity and are reluctant to take advantage of it, there are still the women of developing countries, where bias against women is still quite distinct (Beaman, 2007). In the meantime, there is the Middle East, where progress in gender equality is practically nonexistent (Akande, 2007). But despite the emphasis given to creating equality for women, there are still very few females in high-level decision making positions. (McDermott, 2009). If gender inequality can be overcome, it can open the doorway to alleviating a significant amount of the dilemmas the world faces. Opening the Doorway: Gender Equality in Politics If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost. Whether or not Aristotle meant to include females in his definition of persons, this quote of his basically supports the idea that there is no real equality until individuals of every possible variance are not only involved in government, but have the same say in proceedings. Equality is an abstract term; it has evaded human beings since the time we came into existence, and remains indomitably out of reach due to our own inherent prejudices. It is only very recently that real attempts have been successful in overcoming these imbalances in social order; but naturally, those at the top want to stay that way-and with their power comes the ability to maintain their position. Therefore, we still have a long way to go before humans can declare themselves a race of egalitarianism. Gender inequality is probably the most prevalent form of discrimination, due to the fact that it exists, unfailingly-not only in all societies-but within the classes and castes within those societies (Jamal, 2009/2010). The superiority of men has been a given through the ages, both through formal laws and unwritten, shared understandings (Jamal, 2009/2010). These days, women have come far along the road to equality, but-as modern feminists complain-women still have to work twice as hard to get half as far as men in their careers. There is no argument that, thanks to or despite this, women are underrepresented in many areas, most notably those of power. But politics, which has the most potential to influence culture and civilization, is the most notable area of all. Whether or not women are better than men is not the question here-the question is, would gender equality in politics have a substantial effect on global affairs? And would this effect be favourable or detrimental? Because gender is the key to the organization of product and reproduction, women are at the crossroads between economic growth and human development. (Jamal, 2009/2010, p. 5) The initiation of women into influential politics has the potential to greatly benefit society. There are a number of theoretical reasons women would be doing the world a favour by entering into politics. According to Akande, women are the worlds most under-utilised resource; getting more of them into work is part of the solution to many economic woes, including shrinking populations and poverty. (2007, p. 10) Basic statistics even demonstrate that equality would benefit the economy- women put in 67% of the hours of work done on Earth, yet they earn 10% of salaries and possess 1% of all goods (Career Womens Forum, 2006). So women have already proven themselves diligent, and take up around 50% of a population-on this note, Akande reasons that their lack of active participation (2007) in all influential fields, including the workforce, intellectual or academic spheres, or politics, basically deprives a country of valuable human resources. This applies more directly to developing countries where gender discrimination completely obstructs womens chances to achieve anything, let alo ne politics; however, it bolsters equality in general. Perception is the basis of social context, and negative social context is womans biggest obstacle towards achieving anything, let alone a career in politics. In the West, the universal perception towards female leaders is changing for the better. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center reveals the proletarian opinion on why women are still underrepresented in politics: gender discrimination, resistance to change, and a self-serving old boys club' (PRC, 2008). The public also believes that women are held back by the pressure of juggling family (which, as women, they are still meant to take care of) or personal life, and professional life; lack of the necessary skill is cited by few as a potential cause (PRC, 2008). In the same survey, women were rated higher than men on the majority of traits considered important to leadership (e.g. honesty, intelligence, compassion) (PRC, 2008). Women are believed by the populace to be more inclined towards dealing with civic issues such as health care and education (PRC, 2008); men, however, are more disposed towards eradicating crime, public safety, defence, and national security (PRC, 2008). This has been backed up by actual studies, though they put mens priorities in a less favourable light: Studies show that women are more likely to spend money on improving health, education, infrastructure and poverty and less likely to waste it on tanks and bombs. (Akande, 2007) The results of the survey continued by rating women higher than men in other areas believed to be important for a leader: holding firm to their principles even in the face of political strain; in negotiation and compromise; in instilling honesty in the government; and relating to the general public (PRC, 2008). Despite all this, only 6% actually claim women make better political leaders than men, which would be the natural progression (PRC, 2008). However, 69% rate men and women as equal, so this is probably, essentially, an even bigger step towards equality than if the reverse imbalance was presented (PRC, 2008). Even more theoretical reasoning can back up this claim: because most female politicians have to juggle professional, private, and sometimes family lives, their ability to multi-task is forcibly but finely honed (Career Womens Forum [CWF], 2006). This in turn allows them better management skills and more sensible political priorities. Now, these theories regarding womens abilities and inclinations do have factual basis. There are already successful females in high positions of power within government, such as Angela Merkel, Germanys first female Chancellor. Scandinavian countries, according to Career Womens Forum, are of the better-managed countries of the world, the most imaginative and prosperous (2008); the article goes on to correlate this fact with one stating their Parliaments are made up of 40% women, the highest percentage in the world. A Millenial Survey was carried out by a non-governmental organization in India in the year 2000 (Beaman, Duflo, Pande Topalova, 2007). It focused on subjective and objective measures of both the quantity and quality of five basic public services: drinking water and sanitation, health, education and child care, road transport and the public distribution system (Beaman, 2007). Though the survey was not undertaken for the express purpose of comparing male and female leadership performances, this-in accordance with the simultaneously subjective and objective nature of the survey-afforded the surveyors a lack of predetermined bias towards the results (Beaman, 2007). The results illustrated that where women were in charge, there was a higher investment in clean drinking water, leading to the avoidance of water-borne diseases and overall improvement of health (Beaman, 2007). Also, children were more likely to be immunized, and where women were in charge the gender gap in schooling was less by almost 13%; women were also less likely to accept bribes (Beaman, 2007). Despite all this, villagers reported dissatisfaction with their female leaders; Beaman found this rational, though, due to the inherent bias of the society (2007). Though the Nordic area can claim the highest percentage of women in Parliament, it is, surprisingly, Asia where the most women have reached the highest governmental positions (Fleschenberg, 2008). The first female Prime Minister in history was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, of Sri Lanka; she had power three times, beginning in 1960, and when she died in office in the year 2000, she was succeeded by her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga (Fleschenberg, 2008). Indira Gandhi, India, is possibly the most famous female politician, with the most influence and positive impact thanks to her campaign for progress in India-a recent BBC poll named her the greatest woman of the last 1,000 years (Fleschenberg, 2008). Aung San Suu Kyi is the accepted leader of democratic Burma despite her continuing house arrest (Fleschenberg, 2008). In Malaysia, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail freed her husband, Anwar Ibrahim, and has headed the parliamentary opposition party in Malaysia since the late 1990s (Fleschenberg, 2008). The re are more notable names, from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines; though all of these cultures are undoubtedly patriarchal and paternalistic in political and ideological terms, women have achieved the position of prime minister or president in all of them (Fleschenberg, 2008). These countries have little in common in terms of economic development, culture, religion, and political systems (Fleschenberg, 2008). The one defining commonality between these women involves their education: no different from influential politicians in general, but exceptional for their own locale, where often education cannot proceed past the secondary or tertiary level (Fleschenberg, 2008). In addition, many of them gained reputations and political experience against backdrops of political turmoil and/or transition (Fleschenberg, 2008, p. 33) as leaders of opposition movements, effectively classifying them as transformational leaders, (Fleschenberg, 2008, p. 33) valuable to their country from day one. As for their terms in office, analysis proves that none of these countries deteriorated [. . .] as a direct consequence of female governance (Fleschenberg, 2008, p. 5). In fact, any declines were caused by male-led interventions (Fleschenberg, 2008). These leaderships are made even more interesting by the fact that these women came into power by proving themselves worthy, rather than just to promote equality, are recognized as capable, self-reliant leaders with no limits on their power due to their gender (Fleschenberg, 2008). On the other hand, their governments are still not gender balanced; Fleschenberg admits that they are the exception, and their rise to power should not be confused with increased womens participation in politics (2008). One can argue that, whether there is a positive or ineffectual upshot to womens involvement in politics, merely achieving equality and effectively rendering most prejudices null would be a tremendous benefit to society. Women are generally fighting an uphill battle in this respect-or, at least, some of them are. Interestingly, a report comparing the victory rates of male and female candidates yielded the result that when women run for office, they win just as often as men do. (Bowman, 2008) Since this included mostly small-time political positions in already developed countries, it is not as provocative as it may appear; it basically only reveals that, at least in the West, there is less interest in politics. The surveyed women were not enthusiastic about running for office, or the process required, such as raising campaign cash or balancing familial responsibilities (Bowman, 2008). Still, Akande says, Women are more likely to organize in other politics, such as social movements, and in non-governmental organizations. (2007, p. 16) So, while the women of the West have far more opportunity and are reluctant to take advantage of it, there are still the women of developing countries, where bias against women is still quite distinct (Beaman, 2007). Because women are generally assumed, not to lack leadership skills so much as have less than men-even those with similar personality traits-if a woman is fulfilling a normally male role, she will be judged more ruthlessly (Beaman, 2007). For example, a bad decision, or merely an unpopular one despite advantageous ends, would gain them a harsher level of criticism than if they were male (Beaman, 2007). This social backlash for violating stereotypes dissuades all but the most determined women; indeed, where the Western woman shuns politics for the stress it promises, or mere lack of interest (Bowman, 2008), a woman in a developing country shuns it to avoid the extra controversy that would top that stress (Beaman, 2007). In the meantime, there is the Middle East, where progress in gender equality is practically nonexistent (Akande, 2007). Akande attributes this to the ongoing political upheaval, citing the near civil-war situation in Iraq, the murky future of the Palestinians, Irans nuclear ambitions, or the future of democracy in the region. (2007, p. 10) The female in the Middle East is generally far worse off than those of other developing countries, due to being in a society that is either indifferent (Akande, 2007, p. 17) to them, or downright hostile. (Akande, 2007, p. 17). The principles of the predominant religion of Islam cannot directly take the blame for this (Akande, 2007), as women have gained political prominence in every Islamic country of South-eastern Asia apart from Brunei (Fleschenberg, 2008). However, the combination of religion and culture do play a big part in the viewpoints that support this maltreatment of women (Akande, 2007). This goes not just for the Muslim women of the Arab world, but for other religions that undermine the weaker sex, such as Sikhs, Hindus, and Native Americans (Akande, 2007). He stresses the Middle East, however, because the predicament of the regions women essentially has a direct effect on world affairs; he believes that much of the strife in the Middle East (i.e. underdevelopment, domestic and regional instability [. . .], ethnic frictions (Akande, 2007, p. 9)) could be mitigated, if not outright halted, if women had more of a voice in government (2007). If the results of the studies referenced by Akande earlier on, as well as the beliefs presented by the Pew Research Center survey are any indication, even a gradual move towards gender equality-in politics and otherwise-would be a big step towards eventual stability. At any rate, gender equality is a worldwide goal, and there are measures in place meant to promote womens involvement in Parliaments, etc (McDermott, 2009). In India, one third of parliamentary seats are reserved for women (Atkins, 2008). Though some see these enactments as a step backwards merely because they appear as a chauvinistic inability to allow women a true sense of accomplishment (Atkins, 2008), there is a much more considerable reason they can be seen as such. Despite the emphasis given to creating equality for women, there are still very few females in high-level decision making positions. (McDermott, 2009) This even goes for the previously-praised Nordic countries where there is an almost-balanced level of genders within the government (McDermott, 2009). Still, when it comes to decision-making, the women have limited say. Gwaze points out that in Zimbabwe, women appointed to seemingly important positions only have real significance at voting time; otherwise, they are little more than puppets for the males with real power (2007). What we see now is a faà §ade of equality that prevents women from making the change that they are capable of. With all the previously described obstacles that women have to overcome, only for women to be rendered utterly inconsequential by males who continue to wield more power, it is no wonder that gender inequality prevails in government. Successful female politicians often take pride in not only their achievements in public service, but the fact that they are positive role models for younger girls (Campbell Wolbrecht, 2005). Males do not bother to see themselves as role models, reflecting the fact that men and boys need little additional evidence that the halls of power are open to them. (Campbell, 2005) The only way to change points-of-view on female politicians is for them to continue in this vein-its a snowball effect. Women already proven the positive impact they are capable of; as more gradually get into politics and gradually become more successful at it, the window of politics as a career is opened to more and more women. And as these women prove their value within government proceedings, attitudes towards them will change for the better, the way they already are (Beaman, 2007). Gender equality is not the biggest problem face by society, and it is not the only discrimination human beings must cope with. However, if this most profound and prevailing prejudice can be overcome, it can open the doorway to alleviating a significant amount of the dilemmas faced by the world.

Personal Narrative - Finding Truth in Prayer :: Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Finding Truth in Prayer Glory, God stared me in the face. A man, my savior stood at the curtain. â€Å"Are you planning to pray?† he inquired. I blinked twice, â€Å"Um... yes?† Praying isn’t my ‘thing,’ but I figured â€Å"When in Vatican City...† I stepped past the man and into Enlightenment. Behind the curtain a room heavy with relics awaited. People stood, sat in the corners; heads down and hands clasped the room was immobile. Satan himself could not stir a soul. I took my place in the pew furthest from the front in a dark corner. Mindlessly I closed my eyes, hands and tilted my head. â€Å"Ask God for three things† my stepmother whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes. The room was remarkably bright. Angels flew above my head. How could I have never noticed before? And the altar before me rang with a holy, resonant sound. And this sound, this deep hum filled my mind, almost deafening any insecurities that I could ever find. This projection left me feeling whole, left me feeling safe and secure. I was ready, I closed my eyes. Just like Robert Frost’s â€Å"Mending Wall.† It occurred to me that when you wall something out (God), you’re also walling something in (the very glimmer that one day I’d have faith). I chose to break down that wall. But what to ask for? Here I am in what has to be one of the holiest places I will ever encounter and I’m gearing to pray. I don’t pray. What do I want? â€Å"Truth.† I heard myself whisper. Yes, the word flowed right out of me. An eternal flame had been lit, and I felt remarkably warm. I could not contain myself, I continued to whisper â€Å"I want to find the truth. Any and all truth, and somehow find its’ beauty.† Sure it wasn’t exactly three things that I had asked from him, but I figured if I put this one on hold, he’d be sure to listen another day. Bombarded, my mind filled with a million thoughts and ideas. I felt like I could see through any problem solely because I’m meant to. I knew what I wanted - the mere idea swallowed me. There is truth, and a faith that will liberate me. And my job, my mission is find it’s beauty. To chisel away the inconsistencies and fallacies of life until I’m left with nothing polished or refined, only the raw truth.

Haier Group: A Chinese Company That Created A Global Brand Essay

Haier Group (â€Å"HG†) is a leading Chinese international manufacturer of large and small appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, conditioners, dishwashers and laundry products to cell phones and televisions. HG is not only known around the world for quality and innovation but as an early mover outside of the Chinese marketplace; it was able to implement a market strategy to take away market share from large manufacturers on their own home-front. I. Haier Group’s Global Brand Strategy A. Haier Group’s Expansion Strategy – It Was Time to Expand China joined the World Trade Organization (â€Å"WTO†) in December 2001 and became part of the international appliance marketplace. HG had a choice to maintain its current position as the leading manufacturer in China or to expand its operations into global markets. HG faced stiff competition from domestic manufactures and multinational companies (â€Å"MNCs†) that were penetrating the Chinese market. Although HG maintained a market advantage based upon its innovative and rapid market response to customer needs, superior after-sales servicing and efficient distribution centers, it would be only a matter of time before MNCs acquired similar resources through third-parties and adapted to local market needs (Palepu pp. 7-9). 1 HG could face overcapacity within the Chinese market – i.e., too many manufactures and not enough market share – and lose the opportunity to support its global expansion to capture market share overseas. If HG have had kept the status quo, it may never have another opportunity to use profits generated from its domestic sales to go head-to-head with large manufactures and develop its own brand. As early as 1997, HG had developed a formal global expansion strategy (Id. at 10). It manufactured products for MNCs overseas and entered into joint ventures (â€Å"JVs†) to explore foreign markets (Id.). HG had acquired access to the latest technology from the U.S. and Europe and was able to leverage its knowledge to manufacturer a better product at a higher profit per unit. Its  competitive advantage was two-fold: (1) product differentiation; and (2) response speed (Id. at 15). HG was successful in China, because it focused on organizing itself to understand what customers want and to satisfy those needs as quickly as possible. It also was able to  introduce brand new products or features that could be added to existing products to meet customers’ needs. While most Chinese manufacturers marketed and sold products under an original equipment manufacturer (â€Å"OEM†) client brand, HG was willing to endure the earlier costs of developing its own brand (Id. at 10). HG adopted an expansion strategy to first build its market share in developed markets and then go after emerging markets. It opined that many Chinese manufacturers would first export to South East Asia where they had no strong dominate competitors; HG would instead focus on the difficult and larger markets of the U.S. and Europe (Id. at 11). If HG could succeed in these markets it would have raised its competitive edge and could easily thrive in emerging markets (Id.). This logic makes sense since, because if the HG brand was widely accepted in the U.S. and Europe, it would become widely accepted as a high quality product in emerging markets. With the support and encouragement of the Chinese government, HG sought the benefits of being an early-mover and manufactured niche products in developed markets neglected by large manufacturers. HG focused on compact refrigerators for college students and offices and wine coolers (Id. at 11-12). When others began to imitate, HG was equipped to add new features, such as mini-fridges that doubled as a computer desk (Id. at 12). HG did not directly compete with the large manufactures in the U.S. and European markets because it had to â€Å"bridge the trust gap† and shed the low-quality  reputation attached to Chinese manufactured goods. After establishing the quality of the niche products, HG was able to gain the attention of major retail chains and introduce standard products to the U.S. HG learned from the mistakes made by MNCs in China and entered into new markets by hiring the right people with knowledge of local markets. HG developed JVs on five different continents, thus spreading the risk, and its strategy allowing HG to leverage knowledge from its local partners. It gained competitive advantage by product differentiation and response speed. HG’s large competitors were inflexible, slow moving and did not focus on the minor details of the customers’ needs. Customers felt as if HG’s products were local brands rather than imported Chinese brands. Haier Group Faced Risks with Global Expansion HG’s decision to globalize in developed markets faced risks if MNCs quickly learned from their mistakes in the Chinese market and started eating into HG’s domestic market share, depriving HG of the profits necessary to expand globally. If MNCs did not underestimate HG, they could have tracked movement and competed directly against the niches that HG sought to fulfill before introducing its standard products to major retailers. HG’s critical vulnerability was the Chinese reputation of manufacturing cheap quality goods, its harsh labor conditions and environmental practices. HG faced the risks that U.S. and European markets would reject out-of-hand the HG brand despite its innovation and high quality. China was fortunate to have HG lead the way in global expansion; another early-moving Chinese manufacturer with lower quality standards and poor market strategy could have resulted in failure and further setbacks for the Chinese government’s â€Å"going outâ⠂¬  policy. II.  Conclusion If HG chose to remain in its domestic market or sell its products under an OEM client  brand, it may have never been afforded an opportunity to develop its own global brand. MNCs invested millions into factories and distribution in China in hopes to prevent HG from using its profits in the domestic market to support its advancement overseas (Id. at 15). HG’s market strategy capitalized on MNCs failures in China and its knowledge of western technology. It was too risky for HG not to make its move into the global community. HG exploited MNC’s slow response to customer needs, inattention to minor details and inflexibility to become a leading player in the global market. The risk of not expanding globally when faced with MNC competition in China outweighed the risks of being complacent with its domestic market share.

Reaction to Dante’s Inferno Essay

Reading Dante’s Inferno has been a challenge for me, especially at first when I didn’t understand some of the main themes Dante was trying to get across. My values are so different than those of Dante when it comes to the afterlife, it can be hard to read something that is so contradictory of my own beliefs. Once I understood that Dante was not being literal about the things he wrote in the Inferno it became a lot clearer to me that his main theme was that of controlling our own fate based on the choice we make to do the right thing or wrong thing. After I knew this, I realized that we really weren’t that different after all, because that idea appeals to me greatly. I first had to struggle to get past some of the obvious differences I feel about the afterlife, like the fact that I don’t believe in hell, in order for me to really appreciate the Inferno. Probably the main thing that happened to me that shaped my views about Christianity in general was when my cousin tried to scare me into becoming a Christian when I was about 8 years old. He convinced me that unless I started being an obedient Christian who prayed and went to church and read the bible regulary, I was going to be sentenced to a existence of burning in hell for eternity by God. That’s a lot to try deal with as a kid, especially if the person telling you this is someone that you look up to and have love and respect for. The older I got the more I resented not only my cousin for this, but that spread to all Christians in general. His approach was to make me believe in God as a sort of insurance policy so that I wouldn’t go to hell. After this experience I decided for myself that hell was quite possibly something that was made up by people to scare other people into believing what they wanted them to believe. I could not imagine that God would really want people to practice a religion out of fear, the idea just seemed a little out there for me. All my cousin accomplished in the end with me was to make me suspicious of any person who is Christian and anything that has to do with hell, and I don’t think that was his intention at all. I have since learned that not all Christians are like my cousin in their views and I’m generally quite accepting of anyone and their faith, as long  as they don’t try to pressure me into believing what they do. But to this day I still feel a little uneasy about anything that has to do with being punished by hell, so you can perhaps understand why it may have been a little hard for me to look past that in the Inferno. At first glance, the Inferno can just look like its just about people being punished cruely for the sins they have commited. But after a deeper look, it can be said that there is much more to it than just that. What really helped me be able to understand the Inferno a lot better was to understand that what Dante wrote about was not meant to be a literal interpretation of how he felt the afterlife was. He understood that it would be quite presumptuous of him to think that he could really know that. Whats important is to realize that Dante uses hell in this poem as a vehicle for expressing his views about the choices people make to either do good or do bad, and being liable for those choices. I definitely feel it is healthy to read things that vary from one’s own personal beliefs because it may bring up issues and ideas you hadn’t thought of before, possibly expanding your understanding of what you know thought you knew. It can help you learn and grow and not be stuck with certain views. Even if your values are not some how changed, I think it is still important to beable to go into something with an open mind and respect the difference of opinion. I do feel that after reading Dante’s Inferno that I have been given a new way to look at the decisions we make for ourselves in this life. Whether I believe in hell or not, I can completely appreciate this new perspective, and it makes me grateful that I was given the opportunity to read Dante’s Inferno.