Rights of chinese officials

Refined by Fire

In modern day China: Facebook, The New York Times, and other potential news outlets are censored by, “ China’s Great Firewall.” They also can see what you’re saying and seeing over the internet, which unlike America, they don’t need a court warrant. The Chinese government does this to enable their officials to do almost anything they want, such as the: Tiananmen Square Massacre. The amount of peaceful protesters murdered will never be known, as for the event isn’t acknowledged by the government.

In 1775 Benjamin Franklin wrote one of the most controversial lines in America, ” Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Edward Snowden, who formerly worked in the United State’s intelligence agency, leaked information about the government’s surveillance of all its citizens. Many Americans believe, “ If you have nothing to hide, then what do you have to fear?” We have the government to fear, freedom of speech is at risk. All governments are capable of making people, “ disappear.” If we allow such an invasion of privacy, we jeopardize our ability to speak out against the government. Therefore, we should fight for our rights to privacy, instead of praying that government can keep their promise of security.

“ The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” Wise words from Stephen King; words that I wish I paid more attention too. Last year my address was blacklisted on Amazon. It was my sister’s birthday and I didn’t want to pay full price for her gift. So, I searched internet for ways to get it cheaper. A trusted member on a forum offered to get me what I wanted for 70% off the original price. I checked his sales thread, and he’s had a lot of success; best of all I didn’t have to pay him until the item came. I took him up on his offer, and everything went smoothly. Until a week later, when Amazon notifies me that they won’t be shipping orders to my address anymore. Later I found out how he did it, it wasn’t ethical. Therefore, best said by Reagan, “ Trust, but verify.”

February 13 1945, the United States and Britain carpet bombs the city of Dresden. A firestorm ignites and the city is consumed by fire killing around 25, 000 innocent civilians, including children. An atrocity that we never speak about. When you think about WW2 we think about Hitler killing 6, 000, 000 Jews or sometimes even the Pearl Harbor attacks on Hawaii. We claim those events are unjustifiable. But, when the “ Allies” unethical bombings are brought up, we talk about how it was necessary for victory. It’s been argued, “ We had to bomb the cities in Germany to slow down their manufacturing. We were left with no choice, but to bomb the workers because they kept moving to new factories.” Yet we don’t try to justify the Nazi’s who also did similar things to Britain because they lost the war. Cultures were lost when the Europeans invaded the Americas. Ancient Chinese temples and monuments were burnt to ashes by the Communist. When a culture is gone, it’s gone forever, but history praises the victors who destroyed the civilization. Best said by Napoleon Bonaparte, “ History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.”

Communism, the experiment that was taken to a global scale. When the Communist took over China in October 1949, they sought to banish the, “ Four Olds,” which were, “ Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas.” The Red Guard punished those who clung to old ideas, and burnt their writings and statues to the ground. This was because Communism demands unity of all ideas, therefore establishing one or no religion. Atheism has been the choice in Communist countries to unify the people. But, the reason why they failed was because of their economy, not their ideology. The Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962–1806, unified by Christianity. Starting with Charlemagne, he declared God gave him and previous rulers the right to rule. Religion held the empire together for almost a century, therefore showing the power of unified beliefs. When people believe the same thing, and the rulers fulfill their needs, we are happy, and there is no revolution. Therefore a society’s key to success is similar beliefs.

“ Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” The cliche quote we were all told as a kid. Then we grew up, and found words are sharper than the sword. Amanda Todd, the victim of cyberbullying. She was extorted for pictures and videos of sexual activities, later the blackmailer released the photos all over the internet. She was bullied in school and moved, but the bullying followed her, and on October 15th, 2012 she took her own life. Words can be poison, but it can also be the antidote.

On March 11 2005, Kevin Berthia was sitting on fence that divided life and death. Kevin Briggs a CHP officer came up and talked to Berthia, they conversed for about an hour and he was convinced to continue life. In 2013 they both met again, the officer found that Berthia turned his life around, and was now in a happy relationship with two children. If the officer never found Berthia that day, two children would have never been born. Words have the ability to build and destroy, therefore in the wise words of Napoleon Hill, “ Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”