Gangsta Rap Essays - African-American Culture, Gangsta Rap, Music

Gangsta Rap Gangsta rap is a form of expression which uses words with rhythmic beats to make one point or another. What separates gangsta rap from regular rap is that gangsta rap talks about gang life and rap usually doesn't. Lyrics in gangsta rap that cause the most controversy are the ones that talk about killing people or ones that portray woman as just objects. People like Delores Tucker and William Bennett are currently trying to censor these "filthy" lyrics because they believe that these lyrics corrupt minds. But even though gangsta rappers like Tupac Shakur and "Biggie Smalls" might rap about hurting women or killing people, they are not to be blamed for what people do regardless of what correlation there might be. And even though it is unsure whether or not gangsta rap causes violent crimes, it should never be used as a scapegoat for hiding the more important issues. Delores C. Tucker, chairwoman of the National Political Congress of Black Women in Washington, D.C., is working with William Bennett to censor rap music because of its harsh lyrics and disparaging view of women. It is true that rap music, especially gangsta rap, uses vulgar language and also denigrate women. But rap, like all types of music is a form of expression. Just like poetry or art, it expresses ones view. It doesn't matter that rap uses explicit lyrics but, it does matter if you take away the right to express oneself. Because if ones right to express his or her opinion freely was taken away, then the expression will not be real. Tucker once stated "Stop producing [gangsta rap] and selling it to our children." (?95 Emerge) Stopping the production will not stop anything and Tucker obviously has no idea what the real problems are. Tucker and Bennett should be concerned more about dealing with the more important issues that plague society than trying to take away peoples ! right to free speech. In the video "Gangs in Los Angeles" (?91 Tom Brokaw), real life gangsters are shown in their own neighborhood. Unlike how music video's show gang life, life as a gangster is not as glamorous as it is portrayed in videos. Many of the children born in these "hoods" are most likely going to become gang members as well because of their surroundings and how they are raised. These children might not have the support, love, and guidance of parents or what is more common now, a parent. All they see around them is drugs, gangs, andcrime. By joining a gang, they gain a sense of belonging and pride. But more often, this is just a false sense, and eventually, they lose what should be most important to them. Rap music does not cause them to become gang members or to commit violent crimes, it is just one of the ways gangsters express themselves. The more important issues that should concern politicians and people like Tucker and Bennett should be that of figuring out how they will stop the! cycle of gangs, not going after the rappers. "Power Rangers," (?96 Courie) a documentary on the banning of a television show because of the belief that it promoted violence among young children is a good example of how people often use a scapegoat to hide more important issues. In Canada and New Zealand, a popular television show called "Power Rangers" was put off air because many people believed it promoted violence. Whether or not it did promote violence is irrelevant to the problem. The problem was, children appeared to be more violent. The issue is about the children, not the show they watched the day before. Taking away the show will not solve anything. The problem concerned the behavior of children and people should have focused their attention on that instead of using television as a scapegoat like Tucker and Bennett use rap music as a scapegoat. In conclusion, what people need to do is to stop blaming their own problems on issues that doesn't concern them. Even though scapegoating is not a new issue, people should stop and think about the main problems rather that being quick to blame problems on the small issues. Gangsta rap is not what

100 years of army history Essays - Reserve Officers Training Corps

100 years of army history Essays - Reserve Officers Training Corps Making the best military officers in the world; motivating young people to be better citizens. The Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), as it exists today, began with President Wilson signing the National Defense Act of 1916. Although military training had been taking place in civilian colleges and universities as early as 1819, the signing of the National Defense Act brought this training under single, federally-controlled entity: The Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Army ROTC is the largest officer-producing organization with the American military, having commissioned more than half a million second lieutenants since its inception. The United States Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) came into being with the passage of the National Defense Act of 1916. Under the provisions of the Act, high schools were authorized the loan of federal military equipment and the assignment of active duty military personnel as instructors. In 1964, the Vitalization Act opened JROTC up to the other services and replaced most of the active duty instructors with retirees who worked for and were cost shared by the schools. Title 10 of the U.S. Code declares that "the purpose of Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is to instill in students in United States secondary educational institutions the value of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment." History of Army ROTC The JROTC Program has changed greatly over the years. Once looked upon primarily as a source of enlisted recruits and officer candidates, it became a citizenship program devoted to the moral, physical and educational uplift of American youth. Although the program retained its military structure and the resultant ability to infuse in its student cadets a sense of discipline and order, it shed most of its early military content. The study of ethics, citizenship, communications, leadership, life skills and other subjects designed to prepare young men and woman to take their place in adult society, evolved as the core of the program. More recently, an improved student centered curriculum focusing on character building and civic responsibility is being presented in every JROTC classroom. JROTC is a continuing success story. From a modest beginning of 6 units in 1916, JROTC has expanded to 1645 schools today and to every state in the nation and American schools overseas. Cadet enrollment has grown to 281,000 cadets with 4,000 professional instructors in the classrooms. Comprised solely of active duty Army retirees, the JROTC instructors serve as mentors developing the outstanding young citizens of our country. Most Americans don't know there's an Army Reserve, and even many of those who do couldn't explain the difference between it and the active-duty Army. They're even more confused when it comes to distinguishing between the Army Reserve and the National Guard. So, here's all you really need to know about the Army Reserve: The Pentagon could not be fighting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq without it. As the Army Reserve turns 100 years old April 23, it's worth noting just how much its mission has changed, and what that says about the way the nation is waging war. The Army Reserve is made up of part-time soldiers, who for generations have undergone a period of full-time basic training, and then spent a weekend each month training and a week or two each year on extended exercises. (The National Guard is also a part-time force, whose members report to the governors of their states, but who can be "federalized" and sent off to war just like reservists). During its first 80 years, the Army Reserve was deployed six times, a number it has eclipsed in the 20 years since. Nearly half of the Army's supporting units everything from military police to civil-affairs units now resides in the Army Reserve. Currently 26,000 of the Army's 190,000 Reservists are on active duty, including 6,600 in Iraq and 5,700 in Afghanistan. After the Cold War, the Pentagon made dramatic cuts to its available ground forces, slicing the 770,000-strong active-duty Army to a complement of 479,000 on the eve of 9/11 (it's at 524,000 now). Dreams of waging future wars with $350 million F-22 fighters and $2 billion Virginia-class attack subs quickly evaporated as the mud-and-blood campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq showed that the U.S. would need plenty of boots on