Great Changes Due To Cultural Conflicts example essay topic

1,794 words
Ethnic conflicts arise everyday among people in society. Although problems between the populace have changed in the present generation, ethnic issues have been apparent since the beginning of time. Some of the modern cultural conflicts can range from terrorism to religious wars. Terrorism has been a predicament throughout the entire world ever since the day man was created. It seems to be the answer to many leaders' issues with "foreign" people. Not only is terrorism harmful itself in many ways, it causes new problems that worsen every situation.

For example, terrorism is presently forcing many countries around the world, including the United States, to change their life styles, political processes, and even their economic values as a reaction to the threats. Although terrorism begins in one particular area, it seems to spread to other regions as well, even though not exactly to the same extent. For example, in the United States, there were consecutive bombings and suicide attacks during a short period of time. Considering that this causes paranoia, other countries began to create new laws and restrictions in order to protect its people, even though the attacks weren't necessarily focused towards that specific region. As an immediate response to the terrorism, the United States government changed in many ways, from restricting the citizens' rights, to ending certain public activities, up to restricting entrance into certain buildings. The government even began to limit the media.

Similarly to the United States, on September 22nd, the Russian parliament was debating on which possible new restrictions and laws can be enforced in order to "guarantee" better national security. New laws in the United States, such as the right to declare a "state of war", make the country seem as if it has more power than neighboring areas, helping to comfort any fearful, or paranoid, citizens. Terrorism, as well as other ethnic conflicts, has even caused the people of Asia-Pacific countries to create new laws in reaction to the threats, simply because they became intimidated. An article in the Financial times stated that it is trying to boost their "political momentum" behind the battle of terrorism, promising to take practical steps to improve their co-operation. New laws were being considered, due to the fear and security levels of both the government and it's people. Ethnic conflict had led to many negative setbacks in societies throughout the entire world.

One of the main points of change resulting from terrorism is the political and governmental procedures and laws. An excellent example of direct change would be the way that the United States has restricted previously existing laws that citizens must now get used to following. For example, security at different locations such as the White House, the Empire State Building, or even airports has become drastically heavier than what it used to be during periods of peace and ethnic tranquility. Of course, this is expected behavior because the United States is continuously being threatened, as well as attacked. Many of these new laws were developed in accordance to necessity.

On the other hand, governments, including the Russian parliament, are forcing changes that can help to get rid of the suspicion of being attacked, even though they weren't the actual people to get targeted. According to The Guardian, Russian Parliament is considering imposing tighter restrictions on everyday life, including travel and the media. One of the proposed laws includes restrictions on what the media can show during a hostage crisis. This can help minimize the chances of the terrorists escaping. Compared to the United States, this is obviously a less direct influence of terrorism. It's as though it seems to be more of a reaction to its intimidation.

Similar to Russia's "preparations", Indonesia is also beginning to develop new laws in order to help protect the populace. Unfortunately, because of the fact that this specific article was written before the final round of presidential elections, no immediate action was taken. This decision is somewhat foreshadowing the fact that this issue will later cause many problems among political parties, which is why it won't be dealt with at this moment. If it were to be discussed before the elections, it might change the opinion of the citizens, therefore resulting in the "wrong" candidate being chosen.

Ethnic conflicts such as terrorism obviously have profound influences on political activities among governments throughout the world. Because of the fact that the government is undergoing such great changes due to cultural conflicts, the country's economy is also being altered quite excessively. Since the government is undergoing a few alterations, the economic status of the government and its people is also changing. Almost all of the leaders in this world have gone into some type of battle or war, whether it is for a political reason, for the economy, or simply because of cultural differences. Entering and staying in these types of wars is costly in every way possible.

In the United States, money is spent grossly on current warfare, the military workers and fighters, and new weapons for improving our fighting skills, rather than on education and medicine. Similarly, in Darfur Africa, the government is fighting for their military and fighting rights, instead of having to provide us with new medicines, technologies, and ideas to further advance as a culture. Even simply enforcing rules can become expensive. For example, when choosing additional people to join the "forces" in the streets, such as firefighters and police officers, the government must consider the cost to the citizens, since they will be the ones responsible for paying for their protection through taxation. In some regions, including Russia, the government officials are attempting to "revamp" the images of these police informers, as well as the special military forces as a response to the intimidation of the terrorism.

Through taxes, the sufficient funds for cultural wars similar to those present in the United States can, and will be, derived from taxpayers, without any conflicts. Another method by which ethnic conflict such as terrorism affects nations in modern history, such as Russia is by the restriction and use of airline systems. Airport officials are taking additional precautions in order to ensure peoples's af ety at airlines. Once again, the point is that in order to enforce the world's laws and procedures, sacrifices will have to be made.

Unlike in Russia, countries in South America was far for worried about actual attacks rather than how to prevent future ones. In my opinion, this is a pointless theory, which should not be enforced. This is because even though it may be an acceptable idea to reflect on past experiences and compare it, it is better to "skip" the past, and jump into the present and future. As the world's economy and government slowly begin to change, so do its cultural and social values. Ethnic conflicts will result in great change in life styles, cultural ideas, and even social inequalities. These changes can take place immediately, or they can occur over an extended period of time, which is more of a permanent influence.

Even though all of the citizens, everywhere, are already paranoid about terrorism itself, they also become more concerned about their safety when the government doesn't act upon their original fears, and try to get rid of them, or at least redirect them to a different point. The best example of the effect that terrorism has on a society's cultural values would be the current war between Iraq and the United States. This would be a prime example simply because it illustrated how far a government would go to "protect" their region. As the issues between these two countries began to unfold, the government had the nerve to somewhat "segregate" the people going onto the airplanes, simply by facial points.

If a Muslim or Islamic-looking person arrived at the airport and attempted to board a plane, he would either not be able to board the plane at all, or the security would take extra precautions while observing and "checking" them. This method of new security isn't present in any other areas other than the United States. Terrorism has influenced our governments to a point where we are once again regarded to by our culture, which to me seems like a step in the opposite direction. Also, the culture itself is responsible for the problems in the first place, making it as a cycle, constantly revolving. Citizen's rights are becoming completely controlled, disregarding the advancements that were originally expected to move forward. On a more general scale, these ethnic conflicts are also causing major problems for the actual population and their well-being.

One similarity among every country in this world is the fact that terrorism, as well as any other possible ethnic conflict is highly responsible for any deaths corresponding with these attacks. As stated in the article from South America, the constant attacks on the population are continuously increasing, causing many deaths among not only the natives of South America, but just about every other region of the earth as well. Of course not everybody should fear terrorist attacks, because I have come to realize that usually only those countries with either dense populations, or mountainous terrain are usually attacked and used as hideouts. For example, Russia, South America, and certain sections of the United States are simple targets because of the land and the population densities, unlike places such as the Sahara Desert. Of course, if a terrorist truly wanted to mass murder a group, they would simply set off a nuclear explosion. This would obviously create a complete new set of problems along with those that we have already discussed.

Personally, I believe wars shouldn't be encouraged, and honestly, I don't suppose that it results in any positive feedback whatsoever. Although I don't completely agree with how Russia, Indonesia, South America, and Darfur are dealing with their terrorist problem, I still consider it a good idea to think forward and make plans on how to overcome cultural problems. Terrorism has caused many countries around the world, to change their daily values and their economic priorities, as well as their whole political framework as a response to ethnic conflicts. Terrorism has been a common answer among leaders regarding intercultural problems among "different" people ever since mankind was created. Ethnic conflict is now becoming a new, everyday aspect of life..