Resisting Negative Peer Pressure :: Peer Pressure Essays

Do you remember the last time you wanted your mom or dad to buy you something? Did they have a look on their face like you just KNEW they wouldn't go for it? Did you try to change their mind? Did you say something like, "But everyone has one"? When you say that, you're really saying that you want to fit in with other kids your age, or your peers. No problem, even though that's just one way of fitting in. Why is fitting in, or belonging to a peer group, such a big deal anyway? Because we all have a need to be attached to other people and groups of people. It started when you were little, and you needed your mom, dad, or another adult to take care of you. Over the years, your attachment to them, and their bond to you, has grown stronger and stronger. Now that you are older, you can do a lot to take care of yourself, be more independent, and make more choices on your own. Some kids think that they have to push away their parents or other caring adults to "belong" to a group of friends. Do your friends own you? Of course not! You make your own choices, and are old enough to accept responsibility for them, along with their positive or negative consequences. The good news is that you can CHOOSE your actions and your friends, and still be close to your family. Some kids want to fit in so much with their peers that they will even choose to do things that they know are wrong. Some people call it "peer pressure" when friends try to make other friends do something wrong. I call it "peer choice," because you can choose who your friends are and what you do together. You know that "everyone else is doing it" is not an excuse to make a choice that hurts you or someone else. Let's say that a friend tells you that smoking cigarettes is really cool. "Here, try one." So now there's two voices in your head. One says, "I want to be cool and fit in. If I say no, everyone will think I'm weird." Another voice says, "Give me a break! Don't you know that smoking is stupid! No way anyone is going to make me do something that's bad for me What kind of a friend are you, anyway? Resisting Negative Peer Pressure :: Peer Pressure Essays Do you remember the last time you wanted your mom or dad to buy you something? Did they have a look on their face like you just KNEW they wouldn't go for it? Did you try to change their mind? Did you say something like, "But everyone has one"? When you say that, you're really saying that you want to fit in with other kids your age, or your peers. No problem, even though that's just one way of fitting in. Why is fitting in, or belonging to a peer group, such a big deal anyway? Because we all have a need to be attached to other people and groups of people. It started when you were little, and you needed your mom, dad, or another adult to take care of you. Over the years, your attachment to them, and their bond to you, has grown stronger and stronger. Now that you are older, you can do a lot to take care of yourself, be more independent, and make more choices on your own. Some kids think that they have to push away their parents or other caring adults to "belong" to a group of friends. Do your friends own you? Of course not! You make your own choices, and are old enough to accept responsibility for them, along with their positive or negative consequences. The good news is that you can CHOOSE your actions and your friends, and still be close to your family. Some kids want to fit in so much with their peers that they will even choose to do things that they know are wrong. Some people call it "peer pressure" when friends try to make other friends do something wrong. I call it "peer choice," because you can choose who your friends are and what you do together. You know that "everyone else is doing it" is not an excuse to make a choice that hurts you or someone else. Let's say that a friend tells you that smoking cigarettes is really cool. "Here, try one." So now there's two voices in your head. One says, "I want to be cool and fit in. If I say no, everyone will think I'm weird." Another voice says, "Give me a break! Don't you know that smoking is stupid! No way anyone is going to make me do something that's bad for me What kind of a friend are you, anyway?

The Versailles Treaty

Climbing from the Versailles Treaty The Versailles Treaty was commissioned by Great Britain, France, and a defeated Germany. Together they hoped the treaty would stabilize Europe and guarantee another world war would never happen again. However, just over two decades later, once again war engulfed Europe. So, is it logical that the question be asked; how did the Versailles Treaty help cause World War II? The treaty put much punishment on Germany by territory losses, major military restrictions, economical reparations, and the War Guilt Clause.World War II was one of the greatest wars of all time. One of the components that led up to this was German territorial losses. These losses included the Polish Corridor, Danzig, Alsace Lorraine, and a piece of Denmark. Out of these the Polish Corridor and Danzig impaired Germany the most because by taking the Polish Corridor it split the country into two parts, cutting some people away from their families. Also, the loss of Danzig, a major port city, as well as the loss of big coal-producing territories, greatly diminished the German economy.This reduced the German coal-production by forty percent. The people that in habituated these lost areas would have a hard life becoming accustomed to the new rule and being told that they were no longer considered a part of Germany. The peoples had resentment for the new power along with a lack of loyalty, and being discriminated against. Hitler suggests that Germans should respond to the Versailles Treaty with blood shad and valance. He says â€Å". . . No nation can remove this hand from its throat except by the sword. (DOC A) (DOC B) According to article 160 of the Versailles Treaty, the German Army must not comprise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry by no later than March 31, 1920. After the passing of this date the total number of German military troops must not exceed one hundred thousand men, this total includes officers. Also, the total eff ective strength of officers, which includes the personnel of staffs, must not go over four thousand.This article continues with the role in which the army should play. The army should be devoted exclusively to the maintenance of order and peace within the territory and to the control of the German frontiers. When the regulations were put into force, Germany’s Army weakened. France became the superior military force. Thus, making the Germans feel insecure about themselves and their protection. These insecurities felt by the Germans from the military restrictions, added to World War II, by making them feel less in control.The damage done during World War I was very severe and the victorious countries wanted this damage to be paid for by Germany in the aftermath. The Versailles Treaty required Germany to agree that she will make compensation for all the damage done to the civilian population of the Allied and Associated powers. This also included their property, during the perio d of the belligerency (DOC C #1). The reparations that are to be made by Germany were determined by an Inter-Allied Commission, who is to consider the claims and give Germany the opportunity to defend its self.Article 233 states, â€Å"The Commission shall draw up a schedule of payments prescribing the time and manner for securing and discharging the entire obligations within a period of thirty years from May 1, 1921. † The amount of reparations set was 132 billion gold marks or $367 billion at the value in 2010. This angered and humiliated the Germans who paid very little of the reparations in the 1920s. The amounts were reduced in 1929 (from 1921) to 112 billion gold marks or $341 billion. Within the next three years the Germans paid only two billion gold marks (this does not include American Loans) (DOC C # 2).The treaty also states that if Germany fails to meet its obligations any remaining unpaid balance may be postponed for future payment or can be handled in another ma nner, that will be determined by the Allied and Associated Government affirm. Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty, also referred to as the War Guilt Clause, forced Germany to accept the responsibility that they alone caused World War I and that it was their duty to pay reparations to the Allied and Associated Governments affirm(DOC D # 1).This clause was the justification for reparations. The Germans, on the other hand, saw this treaty, â€Å"as an atrocious injustice, an evil thing which must be destroyed. † (DOC D # 2) The knowledge of the treaty was embedded into the minds of the Germans, and only one word can describe how they felt: humiliation. This is why German enthusiasm, arising from the Nazi regiment, came from the way Hitler resurrected Germany from the ashes of World War I. He restored their sense of pride, and their sense of self respect, making the world look at German anew.Although, the Versailles Treaty was a major component in the start of the Second World W ar, there were many other components that added to the ignition of the war. The Versailles Treaty alone was the most influential because it caused anger and humiliation throughout the German regiment. The treaty itself was supposed to guarantee the prevention of a Second World War, but ended up causing an even bigger uprising than thought, by territorial losses, major military restriction, economical reparations, and the War Guilt Clause.Sources: DOC A: Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1924 DOC B: Treaty of Versailles, 1919, Article 160 and German political cartoon, 1920 DOC C # 1: Treaty of Versailles, 1919, Articles 232 and 233 DOC C # 2: Chart complied from varied sources including John Maynard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920; Charles Mee, the End of Order: Versailles, 1919 DOC D # 1: Treaty of Versailles, 1919, Article 231 DOC D # 2: Laurence V. Moyer, Victory Must Be Ours: Germany in the Great War 1914-1918, 1995

Essay Society at the Time of the Communist Manifesto

Society at the Time of the Communist Manifesto Much was going on in society at the time the Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Society was undergoing many changes and issues, and many events took place as a result of this. To many people in England it seemed that the middle class was taking control—and Marx and Engels agreed in the Communist Manifesto. They stated, â€Å"The bourgeoisie, historically, has played a most revolutionary part. The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man†¦show more content†¦On February 23, a shot was fired from the crowd, and the soldiers responded. In the end, 16 people were killed.11 There was also street fighting in Paris after the dissolutions of National Workshops.12 In Germany, the industrial proletariat were still discontented. This led to revolts among weavers in the 1840s. This lead to a yearning for reform and national union, especially after news of the French Revolution reached the Germanies. Germany demanded a constitutional representative government and this led to uprisings in Baden, Wurttemburg, and Saxony and others.13 As a result, theShow MoreRelated The United States Constitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto840 Words   |  4 PagesConstitution Compared to the Communist Manifesto Both the Communist Manifesto and the United States Constitution share some common ideas. They are documents that strive for ideas that in opposition to one another. The Communist Manifesto and The Constitution of the United States both include what the relationship between an individual and society should be about. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto. 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