Sunday, February 16, 2020

Religion and politics in the United States Research Paper

Religion and politics in the United States - Research Paper Example Ground Zero became a symbol for American perseverance and a shrine for all the lives lost in the tragedy. Ten years later, plans have been made to build a mosque near the site which has caused much strife in the American public. The construction of an identity that is rejected by the traditional American has been the result. This society is based on the exclusion of those who oppose the dominant ideology as opposed to including diverse ideology out of appreciation. Indeed the history of the U.S. has been a history of the exclusion of various groups at multiple points throughout the history of the nation. The current conflict is merely an extention of previous conflicts manifested with a new enemy. The best means of fully understanding this conflict is through an analysis of current and historical events, social transformations, and American narratives. The plans to build the 100 million dollar mosque were headlined by Sharif El-Gamal who has stood for religious freedom in the face of adversity and hate (Baum, 2011). In fact, recent polls indicated that most New York inhabitants did not want to have a mosque near the cite (Baum, 2011). In spite of this, Michael Bloomberg defended religious freedom by stating that â€Å"there is no neighborhood in this city off-limits to God's love and mercy (Baum, 2011)." On the opposite side of the table was Pamela Geller who is a conservative activist that leverages her blog, Atlas Shrugs, to attack El-Gamal for being a front man for the money behind the project as well as for Islamic supremacist who believe in constructing a mosque near the site of a war victory (Baum, 2011). Ironically, a current candidate for president, Donald Trump, used money as an incentive to attempt to get the mosque moved to a different location. In response, El-Gamal asked, "Are we supposed to move so we can create a Muslim-free zone, Muslim-free blocks (Baum, 2011)?" He was furious with the notion that the criminal act that occurred on September 11 th is a representation of all Muslims. In terms of the historical relationship between Islam and Christianity, the two communities have shared conflict and feuds. The reason why Islam is being compared to Christianity is because it is the primary religion in the U.S (Gaustad, 2004). Empirical examples that prove this to be true is the fact that currency holds that â€Å"In God We Trust† and each day we pledge allegiance, it is â€Å"Under God†. When these two concepts came under heat by activist, it was the Christians that stood in defense of the terms. Much like that situation, Christian sects are arising to contest the establishment of the mosque (Sachedina, 2001). This conflicts stems all the way back to the year 1095 where the first crusades began. The crusades were a series of religiously sanctioned wars where followers fought over a rite of passage (Stokes, 1950). It seems as if Christianity is consistently attempt to stop the spread of Islam as is proven in the Crusades where the cause was because of the attempt to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim rule. While Jerusalem served as the birthplace of the Christian figure Jesus, It serves as the point of ascension into heaven for the Islamic figure Muhammad. In fact, the Bill of Rights already settles the issue concerning the mosque by establishing Freedom of Religion as an essential right of all Americans (Stokes, 1950). It states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof (Mutua, 2004). This means that the formation of the country was more geared towards the free exercise of religion as opposed to the persecution of individuals who don’

Sunday, February 2, 2020

American Gridiron Football Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

American Gridiron Football - Essay Example Hence, the total distance between the end zones is 100 yards. (Football Rules and Gameplay) Usually, each team has distinct offensive and defensive units. A team is said to be on offense when it has the ball in its possession, whereas, it is said to be on defense when the ball is with the opposite team. (Football Rules and Gameplay) Before discussing the anatomy of the play from either offensive or defensive point, it would be helpful to detail the different positions that players in each team can play on and the nature of the field. As already stated above, the total length of the football field is 120 yards while in width it is 53.3 yards long. The boundary lines along the length of the field are called sidelines while those along its width are called endlines. Near each end of the field is a goal line. The end zone, mentioned above, extends 10yards beyond this goal line on each side of the field. (American Football) Each team has 11 players on the field at a time, with substitutions allowed during the break between plays. A team can be divided into three units based on the nature of roles performed. These are: the offense, the defense and the special teams. A game begins with a coin toss. The team winning the toss makes one of three choices: 1) Kick off itself, or to receive the kickoff from the other team. 2) Choose which goal to defend. 3) Defer the first choice option to the second game. If the team that wins the toss decides to kick first or to receive the kick, the other team chooses its goal to defend or vice versa. Offense Anatomy of a Play Once the toss has been won and the teams have made their choices, the team that decides to kick first takes up the offensive role as it is in possession of the ball. Typically, all the players of a team round up to communicate or discuss a play i.e. coordinated movements and actions, to be followed; this rounding up of team players is called a huddle. Each half begins with a kickoff. Apart from the start of the half, the play begins at the line of scrimmage with a snap; the line of scrimmage is the position on the field where the play begins and where the offensive and defensive players line up against each other. Snap is the name given to the act of passing the ball between the legs to a teammate, usually the quarterback standing ready somewhere behind the Center. With this snap, performed by the offensive player, playing at the Center position, the game formally begins. Once the game begins, the offense has four attempts to advance the ball 10 yards towards the end zone of the defense team, or in other words, towards its goalpost. These attempts are called downs. When the offense has advanced the ball by the first 10 yards, it gets a first down. After gaining the first down, the team has another set of four downs to gain yet another 10 yards or to score. If however, the offense fails to advance the ball by 10 yards even after 4 downs, the other team gets possession of the ball at the spot of the football, hence beginning with their first down. (American Football) In order to get the downs, the ball can be advanced in one of two ways: By rushing, that means running with the ball, or by a forward pass. While rushing, one ball-carrier can hand the ball to another player, this act is known as a handoff, or throw backwards to another player. This throwing the ball backward is known as a backward pass or a lateral. "A down ends, and the ball