Power Struggles In Society Essays - Military-industrial Complex

Power Struggles in Society Mills, Schudson, and Gitlin show different approaches to society and the role of mass media. Each approach helps illustrate a different focus on society. They each hold special relevance in a discussion of the history of societal beliefs. The Mass Society refers to the overall belief C. Wright Mills held in relation to the type of society he believed we live in. Mills began The Power Elite with a bold statement saying, "The powers of ordinary men are circumscribed by the everyday words in which they live, yet even in these rounds of job, family, and neighborhood they often seem driven by forces they can neither understand nor govern" (Mills, 1956, p.3). This opening sentence helps describe the attitude and beliefs of the entire book. A "power elite" exists in a society that is made up of three spheres. They are divided into economy, political, and military, with the same group of people interchanging between the three. This large group of elite is at the top making all the decisions, while the masses are at the bottom, unaware of the process that molds public opinion. Masses within this view of society are irrelevant and do not have any type of influence. The media functions as an entertainment source, keeping the masses entertained while the elite is taking care of all the important matters. It helps keep the reality and truth of the world obscured from the masses. Mills explained what the media does for the masses as "they distract him and obscure his chance to understand himself or his world, by fastening his attention upon artificial frenzies that are revolved within the program framework, usually by violent action or by what is called humor" (Mills, p.315). This helps illuminate how the mass media guides, tries to control, and manipulates the masses. Mills describes the effect of mass media as "a sort of psychological illiteracy" to the extent that we "often do not believe what we see before us until we read about it in the paper or hear about it on the radio" (Mills, p.311). The masses "standards of credulity, standards of reality, tend to be set by these media rather than by 'the masses' own fragmentary experience" (Mills p.311 ). Mass media's role helps prevent the questioning of the elite. "Families and churches and schools adapt to modern life; governments and armies and corporations shape it; and, as they do so, they turn these lesser institutions into means for their ends" (Mills, p.6). The family into which someone was born or marries into helps improve or decrease their social status. The school where one is educated or the church where one worships also plays a major role in the social standing. Schools teach skills to the masses that enable them to function in society. Institutions shape life and the masses adapt to what institutions create. The masses in the theory are very disorganized and not connected to others. An excellent way to describe to masses can be shown by watching The Twilight Zone movie. It is a state of total confusion for everyone, with each doing their own thing. The elite enjoy the state of confusion with the masses, because they are able to control the major decisions that must be made. They determine the policies and the people enlist in them. In the mass society, the elite control the policies and ways of thinking for the confused masses. Schudson approaches the nature of society in a much different way, through the idea of the democratic society. In Discovering the News, he discussed "an even distribution of income" and described the 1800's as "more people acquired wealth and political power 'bringing' with them a zeal for equal opportunity that led to the expansion of public education" (Schudson, 1978, p.44). When looking at society as a whole, you have them socially, economically, and politically integrated. "Economic development was promoted and shared by many rather than few" (Schudson, p.45). The press does not cause, but picks up elements, reflects, and builds from a democratic society. "The democratization of economic life brought with it attitudes that stressed economic gain to the exclusion of social aims; business practice more regularly began to reward strictly economic

Fort Mims Massacre in the Creek War

Fort Mims Massacre in the Creek War Fort Mims Massacre - Conflict Date: The Fort Mims Massacre took place on August 30, 1813, during the Creek War (1813-1814). Armies Commander United States Major Daniel BeasleyCaptain Dixon Bailey265 men Creeks Peter McQueenWilliam Weatherford750-1,000 men Fort Mims Massacre - Background: With the United States and Britain engaged in the War of 1812, the Upper Creek elected to join with the British in 1813 and began attacks on American settlements in the southeast. This decision was based on the actions of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who had visited the area in 1811 calling for a Native American confederacy, intrigues from the Spanish in Florida, as well as resentment about encroaching American settlers. Known as the Red Sticks, mostly likely due to the their red-painted war clubs, the Upper Creeks were led by notable chiefs such as Peter McQueen and William Weatherford (Red Eagle). Fort Mims Massacre - Defeat at Burnt Corn: In July 1813, McQueen led a band of Red Sticks to Pensacola, FL where they obtained arms from the Spanish. Learning of this, Colonel James Caller and Captain Dixon Bailey departed Fort Mims, AL with the goal of intercepting McQueens force. On July 27, Caller successfully ambushed the Creek warriors at the Battle of Burnt Corn. As the Red Sticks fled into the swamps around Burnt Corn Creek, the Americans paused to loot the enemys camp. Seeing this, McQueen rallied his warriors and counterattacked. Overwhelmed, Callers men were forced to retreat. Fort Mims Massacre - The American Defenses: Angered by the attack at Burnt Corn Creek, McQueen began planning an operation against Fort Mims. Constructed on high ground near Lake Tensaw, Fort Mims was situated on the east bank of the Alabama River north of Mobile. Consisting of a stockade, blockhouse, and sixteen other buildings, Fort Mims provided protection for over 500 people including a militia force numbering approximately 265 men. Commanded by Major Daniel Beasley, a lawyer by trade, many of the forts inhabitants, including Dixon Bailey, were mixed-race and part Creek. Fort Mims Massacre - Warnings Ignored: Though encouraged to improve Fort Mims defenses by Brigadier General Ferdinand L. Claiborne, Beasley was slow to act. Advancing west, McQueen was joined by the noted chief William Weatherford (Red Eagle). Possessing around 750-1,000 warriors, they moved towards the American outpost and reached a point six miles away on August 29. Taking cover in tall grass, the Creek force was spotted by two slaves who were tending cattle. Racing back to the fort, they informed Beasley of the enemys approach. Though Beasley dispatched mounted scouts, they failed to find any trace of the Red Sticks. Angered, Beasley ordered the slaves punished for providing false information. Moving closer through the afternoon, the Creek force was nearly in place by nightfall. After dark, Weatherford and two warriors approached the forts walls and scouted the interior by looking through the loopholes in the stockade. Finding that the guard was lax, they also noticed that the main gate was open as it was blocked from completely closing by a bank of sand. Returning to the main Red Stick force, Weatherford planned the attack for the next day. Fort Mims Massacre - Blood in the Stockade: The next morning, Beasley was again alerted to the approach of a Creek force by local scout James Cornells. Disregarding this report, he attempted to have Cornells arrested, but the scout rapidly departed the fort. Around noon, the forts drummer summoned the garrison for the midday meal. This was used as the attack signal by the Creek. Surging forward, they rapidly advanced on the fort with many of the warriors taking control of the loopholes in the stockade and opening fire. This provided cover for others who successfully breached the open gate. The first Creeks to enter the fort were four warriors who had been blessed to become invincible to bullets. Though they were struck down, they briefly delayed the garrison while their comrades poured into the fort. Though some later claimed he had been drinking, Beasley attempted to rally a defense at the gate and was struck down early in the fighting. Taking command, Bailey and the forts garrison occupied its inner defenses and buildings. Mounting a stubborn defense, they slowed the Red Stick onslaught. Unable to force the Red Sticks out of the fort, Bailey found his men gradually being pushed back. As the militia fought for control of the fort, many of the settlers were struck down by the Red Sticks including women and children. Using flaming arrows, the Red Sticks were able to force the defenders from forts buildings. Sometime after 3:00 PM, Bailey and his remaining men were driven from two buildings along the forts north wall and killed. Elsewhere, some of the garrison was able to break through the stockade and escape. With the collapse of organized resistance, the Red Sticks began a wholesale massacre of the surviving settlers and militia. Fort Mims Massacre: Aftermath: Some reports indicate that Weatherford attempted to halt the killing but was unable to bring the warriors under control. The Red Sticks blood lust may have been partially fueled by a false rumor which stated that the British would pay five dollars for each white scalp delivered to Pensacola. When the killing ended, as many as 517 settlers and soldiers had been struck down. Red Stick losses are not known with any precision and estimates vary from as low as 50 killed to as high as 400. While the whites at Fort Mims were largely killed, the Red Sticks spared the forts slaves and took them as their own. The Fort Mims Massacre stunned the American public and Claiborne was criticized for his handling of the frontier defenses. Beginning that fall, an organized campaign to defeat the Red Sticks commenced using a mix of US regulars and militia. These efforts culminated in March 1814 when Major General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In the wake of the defeat, Weatherford approached Jackson seeking peace. After brief negotiations, the two concluded the Treaty of Fort Jackson which ended the war in August 1814. Selected Sources Fort Mims Massacre Fort Mims Restoration Association

Culture and communication in the global hospitality workplace Essay

Culture and communication in the global hospitality workplace - Essay Example Thus, in order to improve the productivity of hotel business, it is necessary to understand the consumers’ needs. It is worth mentioning that in order to overcome the cultural conflicts and misunderstandings, an intellectual training program was introduced in 1960 (Gong, 2008). The primary goal of this intellectual training program was to avoid the clash of different cultural values and norms. The training also helps to improve the performance of employees and efficiency of an organization (Gong, 2008). Contextually, the objective of this essay is to identify the relevancy of culture and communication to the global hospitality workplace. Cultural conflicts occur at instances when people stop communicating with other who belongs from different cultures, which leads to miscommunication or break of further communication. In hospitality industry, the management body requires understanding the varied needs and demands of customers from different cultures, and wherein only good communication skill can help them to increase their understandings. This in turn supports the organization to increase its productivity. However, it is also required for the managers to identify the causes of conflicts and solve those accordingly. The managers should also develop an intellectual communication skill to be successful in the global hospitality market (Gong, 2008). In the hospitality management process, there are four rules to establish intellectual communication skill. One of such rules is that it is necessary to understand the cultural differences. Moreover, it is also needed to describe or evaluate other’s behavior. It is also important to understand the viewpoints of other people. In addition, one should not hesitate to gather information of others and their culture as it reduces the possibility of misinterpretation or miscommunication. Communicating effectively in a hospitality