Reality Vs Myth Essays - Segregation, Desegregation,

Reality Vs Myth Record 9 of 200 Scripps Howard News Service, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE, January 17, 1999 MILITARY GETS HIGH GRADES, BUT STILL SHORT OF KING'S DREAM Author: LISA HOFFMAN Topics: race relations blacks armed forces military history Estimated printed pages: 4 Article Text: It is said that the military is the only American institution in which blacks routinely boss whites around. The armed forces were the first segment of U.S. society to desegregate and now - 50 years after the Army opened its doors to blacks - the military remains the largest living example of the meritocracy the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned in his dream. But even in the military, where uttering a few racist words can end your career, racial equality is still elusive. Below the egalitarian surface, some white GIs grumble that less qualified blacks are being promoted ahead of them, while some African-Americans in uniform complain that they are both being unfairly passed over for higher ranks and held to stricter standards of behavior. ``The Army has come a long way in the past 50 years toward achieving a colorblind institution,'' Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer acknowledges. Still, ``We are far from perfect and we still have some work to do.'' While the Army and other services may not yet have created a prejudice-free meritocracy, there is no question that they have traveled far farther toward that goal than the rest of society. Of all 1.4 million uniformed personnel in the military, about 300,000 are African Americans. ``They are a role model, especially the Army,'' said Charles Moskos, a Northwestern University military sociology professor and co-author of a book on blacks and the armed forces. He also was the first to observe that only in the military do minorities regularly outrank whites. It wasn't an easy path. Although President Harry Truman ordered the military to integrate in 1948, it wasn't until the Korean War that the services accelerated the process of enlisting more blacks and melding them with white units. The reason for the push had little to do with lofty notions of equality or morality; instead, it was a function of the military's need for more soldiers. Over the years, the military environment - where commands must be followed no matter who is barking them, and where individuality is not valued but getting the job done as a team is - spurred an atmosphere of fairness for blacks, who found nothing like it in the civilian world. Sociologists and others also credit the military with helping to establish a black middle class, both by providing career opportunities and through the GI bill's help for blacks to attend college. Even so, periods of racial hostility have marred the military's record. During the Vietnam War and for several years after, animosities erupted into the open. In response, the Army began to focus on fostering better relations and in promoting the notion that racial diversity is good. Education and other programs were instituted to encourage the rising of blacks through the ranks. The transformation of the Army, which has both the highest number and proportion of African-Americans of all the services, has been dramatic. In 1948 there was one black general and blacks made up only 1.5 percent of the officer corps. Last year, the Army counted 26 black generals and blacks filling 11 percent of its officer corps. The numbers were even larger when enlisted personnel were tallied: About 30 percent of enlisted GIs are black now, compared with about 13 percent in 1948. Fully 35 percent of all supervisory sergeants are now African-Americans. But now voices of discontent are rising again. Some of the loudest came during the sexual harassment scandal that tied the Army in knots during the past two years. As the Army uncovered more and more examples of drill sergeants harassing young female recruits, criticism grew that a preponderance of the sergeants charged or disciplined were black while the alleged victims were white. Grousing also grew that other instances of sexual misconduct committed by white officers were being winked at. When Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney - the first black to hold that prestigious post - was charged with an array of sexual misconduct charges, his lawyer buttressed part of his defense on the argument that McKinney

Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught Essay Example

Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught Paper Learning is probably one of the most important things in life that we cannot get by without. In todays fast-paced life it has grown to be a cornerstone in most major economies. Education is being given a priority. Subjects such as biology and chemistry are the key to the new generation of money-minting industries. The allure of wealth pollutes the society. It becomes the survival of the smartest. When one is stuck with such societal expectations, one begins to wonder what exactly is worth knowing? One must realize that there is much more to life than that. We must also consider the pros and cons of such a taxing education system. In the pursuit of intellectual excellence, we might have actually missed out on real education. Knowledge without the heart is disastrous. Some of the worlds most brilliant minds were also the most destructive and caused a stain on the history of the world. An example is Hitler. He was a brilliant man but due to his desire for revenge and his warped ideas of society, he almost destroyed Europe in his rampage during world war two. Knowledge must be accompanied with good values. Some values can be taught but there are just some values that cant be taught. A good example is maturity. Maturity is not something that a teacher can lecture a student about. A person acquires maturity through experience. He will evaluate the experience and be wiser the next time. Maturity does not come with age, it must be acquired in daily life. Maturity can be gained if we overcome our fears. Maturity in words and actions will ensure that knowledge is not abused. Often missed out is also the lesson on relationships. Again relationship cannot be taught. We will write a custom essay sample on Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer A person must be in a relationship to be able to gain any valuable knowledge from it. Several values such as trust and empathy can only be truly appreciated and learned when we go though a relationship. It is a truly exclusive lesson that even the best teacher will not be able to teach. Moral values are based on what somebodys conscience suggests is right or wrong, rather than on what the law says should be done or what a teacher teaches. Examples include integrity and honesty. These values are intrinsically learnt. For example, when a teacher advises you on meting datelines, he will give examples about the working world. As students we can never relate to that. By putting it into practice, can we then actually learn these values. Moral values are not academic values. They can be told to a student but it is only learnt when a person actually experiences it and learns by adopting the value. In a nutshell, When some one learns from experience or past mistakes, it will carry a bigger impact than when he is preached by a teacher. Pain is also something that cannot be imparted through just preaching and telling someone. It must be felt. Through the experience of pain, one will learn the true meaning of the word. It is then learnt and imprinted into the persons mind. Essentially, pain is felt and learnt. No matter how much a teacher says that pain is painful it will never be the same as the sensation itself. It wouldnt be right to deny that whatever that can be taught is worthless. Academics are important to a certain extent. They guarantee your future. They give you a firm footing to explore your areas of interest. Things such as wealth can be acquired through academic excellence. There is a thin line between learning and being taught. When one learns something, it is not necessarily taught to him. Most of the time, what we are taught is different from what we actually learn. Learning can be done independently from being taught. Learning is the acquisition of knowledge oneself while being taught is gaining imparted knowledge. To conclude, I would say that things that can be taught such as academics are important but you can only get so far with it. The things that are really worth knowing can never be taught. There is more impact when one learns from experience than when one is taught by a teacher. To end, not through what a teacher teaches, but through what a student learns, is life really experienced.