Alcohol And Addiction By Hamish Todd - 1640 Words

Alcohol and Addiction By Hamish Todd Alcohol has a colorful history in the United States, in the 1920s and early 30s, the sale, manufacture and distribution of alcohol was illegal. The result of a widespread temperance movement during the first decade of the 20th century, Prohibition was difficult to enforce, despite the passage of companion legislation known as the Volstead Act. The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor (known as â€Å"bootlegging†), the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. Home-made or bootleg liquor was of an inferior quality and sometimes dangerous. Crime rates soared rather than fell. Prohibition turned out to be bad for the economy. Restaurants couldn’t make enough money without liquor sales. Taverns and bre wpubs and bottling plants went out of business costing the government an estimated $ billion in excise tax. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt ran on, among other things, a platform to abolish prohibition. In 1933 the United States passed the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment. A few states in the south, remained â€Å"dry† until 1966, when the last vestiges of the 18th Amendment. www.history.com/topics/prohibition Alcohol has become ubiquitous in our society, advertised on

The Anatomy of a Decision Free Essays

At the end of John Updike’s short story, all the main characters were at odds with each other. AP grocery store clerk Sammy, who is the main protagonist of the story, Lengel the manager of the grocery store, and the three young bikini-clad ladies who caught Sammy’s attention, were all arguing over the dress code of the store. We will write a custom essay sample on The Anatomy of a Decision or any similar topic only for you Order Now The ladies in bikinis just came by to buy a herring snacks from the grocery, much to the delight of Sammy, who enjoyed observing and sexually fantasizing about the bodies of the three women. However, the ladies were reprimanded by Lengel for their inappropriate clothing which he deemed should only be worn in a beach. Seeing that the ladies of his interest were embarrassed, Sammy willingly resigns from his job in order to stand for what he feels is right. On a personal note, although his decision to quit his job as a store clerk in order to protect the ladies’ interests is notable, I do not agree with Sammy’s actions simply because it was immature and irrational. At the beginning of the story, Sammy fantasizes about the ladies, who enter the grocery store in bikinis, like any young boy would. He observes their clothing and bodies in a very detailed manner as if he wanted to remove them himself: â€Å"There was this chunky one, with a two-piece. It was bright green and the seams on the bra were still sharp and her belly was still pretty pale† (Updike, 1961). He also comes up with his own opinion of their personalities: â€Å"There was this one, with one of those chubby berry-faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose, this one, and tall one, with black hair that had not quite frizzed right†¦. You know their kind of girl other girls think very ‘Striking’ and ‘Attractive.’ She was the queen with ‘Long white prima-Donna legs’† (Updike, 1961). In short, his vivid descriptions of the three ladies no doubt show that he has a profound interest in them, which taints the moral justification of his decision to quit his job. Initially, it would appear that his resignation was mainly to protest the undue embarrassment that his boss, Lengel, caused the ladies. However, as shown in the end, Sammy’s move was primarily for the purpose of appearing as a hero to the three women. When he decided to quit his job, Sammy said, â€Å"The girls, and who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say ‘I quit’ to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.† Meaning to say, although he pointed out that he resigned in protest of his manager’s harsh actions towards the ladies, his actions were simply meant for show. Clearly, Sammy’s actions were signs of immaturity, which is arguably common among people his age. One does not simply quit a job in order to show off to women. His decision can be likened to a young boy desperately trying to impress a girl he likes, but fails in his attempt. He is a classic case of acting first without thinking and only realizing the folly of his actions after seeing the end result, which is expectedly not what he desires. Sammy obviously acted on impulse and as a result, the consequences were severe. As implied in the story, Sammy’s job as a clerk in the AP grocery store is very important to his parents, who possibly partially depend on his income. As Lengel said in his attempt to convince Sammy to reconsider his decision to quit, â€Å"Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your Mom and Dad† (Updike, 1961.). It can then be deduced that Sammy was not only working for himself but also helping his parents augment their family income. Meaning to say, Sammy’s decision to resign from his job possibly had a greater impact than what he imagined. And he realized this in the end, as he knew that his parents would not understand and accept that the reason behind his sacrifice to protest the actions of Lengel, whom he believes was very harsh towards the girls. Furthermore, despite his belief that what he did was heroic, Sammy cannot, in any way, be conceived as a hero in the context of the story simply because his efforts were fruitless. Although it can be argued that Sammy symbolizes a revolt against the prejudicial mentality epitomized by Lengel, in the end, the former still gained nothing out of his actions and therefore, cannot be considered as someone who fought for a justifiable cause. How to cite The Anatomy of a Decision, Papers

Prozac Essays - Depression, Eli Lilly And Company,

Prozac At first it was the cure all people were looking for. Then it became the drug they were afraid to take. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth about the drug Flouxetine, better known as Prozac, the most widely prescribed drug on the globe. It is mainly prescribed to patients suffering from clinical depression. It was first brought to the market in 1988 by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly co. Even though it was originally prescribed for depression, it has been prescribed for everything from eating disorders to insomnia. It was first considered the wonder drug of the new decade because of the way it helped depression patients when no other anti-depressant could and then also found to help many other personality disorders as well. But now it is frowned upon by many. Some of the side effects contributed to the growing opposition of Prozac include nausea, constipation, memory impairment, and excess sweating, just to name a few. What is depression? Depression can result from a physical disease, a mental illness, or it can be a recurring reaction of the body. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive illnesses are often the result of imbalances in neurotransmitters in the brain. It is these critical chemicals that send messages between nerve fibers and control mood (Creamer, 3). Older anti-depressants worked on three different neurotransmitters, serotonin, norepinepherine, and dopamine. However, it has been found that serotonin is the specific chemical in the brain that controls moods. Its job is to carry an impulse from one nerve fiber to the next. Serotonin is released by the nerve into the space between nerve fibers, carries the impulse to the next one, and is then reabsorbed by the first. when it is reabsorbed to quickly, a person feels depressed (6). Clinical depression includes at least five of the following nine symptoms: 1. Feelings of sadness or irritability. 2. Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed. 3. Changes in weight or appetite. 4. Changes in sleeping pattern. 5. Feeling Guilty, hopeless or worthless. 6. Inability to concentrate, remember things, or makes decisions. 7. Fatigue or loss of energy. 8. Restlessness or decreased activity noticed by others. 9. Thoughts of suicide or death. Dr. Brian K. Martin, President of the Mental Health Association of Hawaii, recommends that anyone who has suffered five or more of these symptoms for two weeks or longer see a doctor (7). Nationally, the Mental Health Association estimates that only one-third of those suffering from depression actually seek help. Most are restrained, according to the association, by fear, lack of knowledge, misinformation, and stigma. Depression is also the leading cause of suicide. It is estimated that 15 percent of seriously depressed people take their own lives (7). The cons of Prozac Historically, the use of drugs as fixers of the worlds private ills has run into serious, if unanticipated, snags. At the turn of the century, the medical community thought that Cocaine was a completely appropriate, nonaddictive drug, and widely prescribed it. In the 1950s and 60s, first barbiturates and then amphetimines were recommended for various psychological ailments. we now know that each of these drugs came with significant risks. So what yet-to-be-imparted knowledge may cause science, once again, to admit sheepishly that the exuberance over Prozac was somewhat premature, if not wholly overblown? Possibly, the biggest argument against this drug is merely the fact that it is prescribed for just about anything. It is estimated that it brought in over 1 billion dollars last year to Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company that brought us this wonder drug about ten years ago. It is prescribed for everything from eating disorders to panic to helping with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). David Dolan, Clinical director of one of the psychiatric programs at Jefferson Hospital in Jeffersonville Ky., agrees with many that Prozac is way oversold as a cure-all when it first hit the market. All of a sudden, Prozac was the medication for everything, then all of a sudden it was anything but. Almost overnight, a new phenomenon hit Louisville: Prozac panic. Instead of asking for, people were afraid to take it (Aprile, 2). The change occurred in the weeks following Joseph Wesbeckers rampage, where he fatally shot eight people and injured 12, only to finally kill himself. After the shooting, lab tests revealed therapeutic levels of Prozac in his blood. Three other antidepressants and two other prescription drugs were also found in his blood in tiny amounts. Wesbeckers medical charts indicated that his psychiatrist thought Prozac may have been contributing to

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay The Neolithic revolution paved the way for modern humans to advance in all aspects of daily life. During the Paleolithic era early humans lived nomadic life styles and traveled with their extended family. If early humans hadnt stumbled upon far mining we wouldnt have the social, economic, or religious foundations needed to form a civilization. But the discovery of a greater food source doesnt necessarily mea n better lives for everyone. Agriculture has its downsides and lead to slavery, patriarch y, and the modification of nature. The discovery of agriculture culminated the path to m Idem humans to become an advanced civilization. When early humans began to farm it created a social structure for present civilizations (Crash Course). Social structures are social organizations based o n similar characteristics between different relationships. These social structures began Neolithic towns such as Mesopotamia in which when people began to farm it I dead to a food surplus. Mesopotamia was located between the Euphrates and Tigris rive errs and is an excellent example of an early Neolithic town(Crash Course). People often g ether around reliable resources which is why you see so many civilizations around r Fivers (Acknowledge). But farming is a really complicated activity. So hard that pee people began to enslave other human beings and use them to create a free human la four force (Crash Course). This created a social hierarchy in Mesopotamia in which the SSL eaves are at the bottom of the chain and kings were at the top (Hierarchy Structure). Buy tin foraging societies they lived in isolated regions and had nomadic lifestyles. The eye lived wherever it was rich in game and had affordable foods (Acknowledge). The discovery of farming eventually lead to job specialization.

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay The Neolithic revolution paved the way for modern humans to advance in all aspects of daily life. During the Paleolithic era early humans lived nomadic life styles and traveled with their extended family. If early humans hadnt stumbled upon far mining we wouldnt have the social, economic, or religious foundations needed to form a civilization. But the discovery of a greater food source doesnt necessarily mea n better lives for everyone. Agriculture has its downsides and lead to slavery, patriarch y, and the modification of nature. The discovery of agriculture culminated the path to m Idem humans to become an advanced civilization. When early humans began to farm it created a social structure for present civilizations (Crash Course). Social structures are social organizations based o n similar characteristics between different relationships. These social structures began Neolithic towns such as Mesopotamia in which when people began to farm it I dead to a food surplus. Mesopotamia was located between the Euphrates and Tigris rive errs and is an excellent example of an early Neolithic town(Crash Course). People often g ether around reliable resources which is why you see so many civilizations around r Fivers (Acknowledge). But farming is a really complicated activity. So hard that pee people began to enslave other human beings and use them to create a free human la four force (Crash Course). This created a social hierarchy in Mesopotamia in which the SSL eaves are at the bottom of the chain and kings were at the top (Hierarchy Structure). Buy tin foraging societies they lived in isolated regions and had nomadic lifestyles. The eye lived wherever it was rich in game and had affordable foods (Acknowledge). The discovery of farming eventually lead to job specialization.

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay The Neolithic revolution paved the way for modern humans to advance in all aspects of daily life. During the Paleolithic era early humans lived nomadic life styles and traveled with their extended family. If early humans hadnt stumbled upon far mining we wouldnt have the social, economic, or religious foundations needed to form a civilization. But the discovery of a greater food source doesnt necessarily mea n better lives for everyone. Agriculture has its downsides and lead to slavery, patriarch y, and the modification of nature. The discovery of agriculture culminated the path to m Idem humans to become an advanced civilization. When early humans began to farm it created a social structure for present civilizations (Crash Course). Social structures are social organizations based o n similar characteristics between different relationships. These social structures began Neolithic towns such as Mesopotamia in which when people began to farm it I dead to a food surplus. Mesopotamia was located between the Euphrates and Tigris rive errs and is an excellent example of an early Neolithic town(Crash Course). People often g ether around reliable resources which is why you see so many civilizations around r Fivers (Acknowledge). But farming is a really complicated activity. So hard that pee people began to enslave other human beings and use them to create a free human la four force (Crash Course). This created a social hierarchy in Mesopotamia in which the SSL eaves are at the bottom of the chain and kings were at the top (Hierarchy Structure). Buy tin foraging societies they lived in isolated regions and had nomadic lifestyles. The eye lived wherever it was rich in game and had affordable foods (Acknowledge). The discovery of farming eventually lead to job specialization.

Act One Plot Summary of Pygmalion

Act One Plot Summary of Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw wrote over forty plays during the course long life of 94 years. Pygmalion, written in 1913, became his most famous work. Check out our article on Shaws biography to learn more about his life and literature. Quick Synopsis Its the tale of a conceited professor of linguistics, Henry Higgins, and the brash, incorrigible young woman named Eliza Doolittle. Higgins sees the cockney girl as a great challenge. Can she learn to speak like a refined English lady? Higgins endeavors to transform Eliza in his own image, and he gets much more than he ever bargained for. Pygmalion in Greek Mythology The title of the play is derived from ancient Greece. According to Greek Mythology, Pygmalion was a sculptor who created a beautiful statue of a woman. The gods grant the artist a wish by making the sculpture come to life. The main character in Shaws play is not a sculptor; however, he does become enamored with his own creation. Plot Summary of Act One Professor Henry Higgins wanders the streets of London, absorbing the local color and studying the various dialects those around him. A crowd of people huddle together, due to the sudden downpour of rain. A wealthy woman tells her adult son, Freddy to hail a taxi. He complains but obeys, bumping into a young woman selling flowers: Eliza Doolittle. She asks a man to buy flowers from her. He declines, but gives her spare change, for charitys sake. Another man warns Eliza that she should be careful; a stranger has been writing down every word she has been saying. The stranger is Prof. Henry Higgins who reveals his shorthand notes. She is distressed, thinking that she is in trouble. Henry rebukes her: HIGGINS: Dont be ridiculous. Whos hurting you, you silly girl? The crowd gives Higgins a hard time when they realize he is a gentleman instead of a policeman. At first, the citizens are quite concerned about the poor flower girl. Eliza expresses her distress (and reveals the nature of the crowd) in the following quote and subsequent stage direction: ELIZA: I aint done nothing wrong by speaking to the gentleman. Ive a right to sell flowers if I keep off the kerb. (Hysterically) Im a respectable girl: so help me, I never spoke to him except to ask him to buy a flower off me. (General hubbub, mostly sympathetic to the flower girl, but deprecating her excessive sensibility. Cries of Dont start hollerin. Whos hurting you? Nobodys going to touch you. Whats the good of fussing? Steady on. Easy, easy, etc., come from the elderly staid spectators, who pat her comfortingly. Less patient ones bid her shut her head, or ask her roughly what is wrong with her. (...) The flower girl, distraught and mobbed, breaks through them to the gentleman, crying mildly.) Oh, sir, dont let him charge me. You dunno what it means to me. Theyll take away my character and drive me on the streets for speaking to gentlemen. Prof. Higgins listens to peoples accents and cleverly recognizes where they are from and where they have been. The crowd is both impressed and perturbed at his uncanny abilities. The rain stops and the crowd disperses. Colonel Pickering, the man who gave Doolittle spare change, is intrigued by Higgins. The professor explains that he can identify a persons origins based solely on phonetics, the science of speech. Meanwhile, Eliza is still nearby, sulking and muttering to herself. Higgins complains that the flower girls speech is an insult to the majestic English language. Yet he also boasts that he is so skilled in phonetics that he could train her to speak like royalty. Pickering reveals his name, explaining that he has written a book on Indian dialects. By coincidence, Higgins had been hoping to meet the distinguished Colonel, just as Col. Pickering had been hoping to meet Higgins. Delighted by their chance encounter, Higgins insists that Pickering stay at his home. Before they leave, Eliza begs them to buy some of her flowers. Higgins drops a large amount of coins into her basket, amazing the young woman who very likely has never paid so much. She celebrates by taking a taxi cab home. Freddy, the wealthy young man who originally hailed the taxi says Well, Im dashed, in response to the flower girls confident attitude.