Rage Against the Machine Essay -- Music Bands Politics Essays

Rage Against the Machine Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, and Timmy Commerford took to a Philadelphia stage in 1993 clad in black electrical tape that covered their mouths and the initials PMRC written in black marker across their chests. They stood in this fashion for fourteen minutes while feedback from their guitars rumbled through the amps. This seemingly simple prank was actually protest against the censorship of music and the Parents Music Resource Center, founded by Tipper Gore (Buchi, incidents par. 3-4). The music of Rage Against the Machine contains the political and social views of the band members. They are very avid about defending constitutional rights of the individual and large groups of deprived people. The members of Rage Against the Machine each bring diversity and strong political views into the music they produce. Each member is unique in his childhood background and his introduction to music. It is important to understand their backgrounds to fully understand their passion for political justice. Zack de la Rocha was born in Long Beach, California in 1970. After his parent's separation when he was one year old, Zack lived with his mother in the "whitest community in Southern L.A.". Zack turned to his father to develop close ties with the Chicano community, but after his father's mental breakdown, Zack was forced to look for direction in a high school friend and now current band member Timmy Commerford. Zack, who is responsible for writing the band's lyrics, uses his intelligence to express his anger, especially in the mistreatment of groups like the Zapatistas (Taneja, Band Members par. 1). Timmy Commerford, the band's bassist, ... ...noose over all the new societies that it sees. "Ashes in the Fall" calls the leaders of today fascists that talk society up as a chosen life free of blot and mixture. The song contrasts this by showing that these promises fall through and the world is as it seems not as they want you to see it. "Ashes in the Fall" ends by showing that the closing of factories and schools by the rich drive the poor to crime. This driving force to crime opens the doors to the jail cells and the common person is tucked away. Rage Against the Machine uses its music to project its views about many political and social problems. The power of music has helped their messages reach people in positions that are normally politically retarded. Rage has had a profound influence on groups of people across the globe and will continue to do so in the future.

f the worldwide Muslim population, the Shi’a account for about thirteen percent

The religion of Islam is generally divided into two main schools; the Sunni and the Shi’a.   Of course there are at least five other schools of Islam, however, the Sunni and Shi’a make up the majority of Muslims. (Carmody, 2002)   Of the worldwide Muslim population, the Shi’a account for about thirteen percent.Although this is a small percentage, their influence the world over is strong, especially in the regions of Iraq and Iran where most of them reside. Sunnis, on the other hand, reside mostly in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. (Smith, 1991)   Although there are some major differences between the two sects, they generally follow the same path of faith, stemming from the founder of the religion, Muhammad.Muhammad was born about 570 C.E.   Around 610 he began to receive revelations which, after his death, were collected into what became known as the Qur’an.   According to Islamic doctrine, these revelations were from a sacred text from heave n which God himself had written.Seeing a prophet in Muhammad, God sent him the angel Gabriel to reveal what was in the book.   (Carmody, 2002) This was the beginning of the religion of Islam.After Muhammad’s death in 632, the religion of Islam began to split. (Carmody, 2002)   The Sunnis began following three main caliphs, or Islamic teachers, who proclaimed themselves the leaders of the religion after Muhammad’s death.Shi’as, on the other hand, refused to be led by the caliphs and claimed that the true leader of Islam was Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali. (Smith, 1991) They believed that the family of Muhammad was the only true authority of Islam.The Shi’a, which literally means â€Å"followers,† has both their own traditions and Islamic laws which differ from that of the Sunnis.   The Shi’as, for instance, although they follow something similar to the Five Pillars of Islam, do not call it that.The Five Pillars is central to the beli ef of Sunnis.   Shi’as, however, also have 5 central tenets, but these they call, UsÃ… «l al-DÄ «n, or the â€Å"Roots of Religion†.   These tenets are TawhÄ «d (Oneness), Adalah (Justice), Nubuwwah (Prophethood), Imamah (Leadership), and Qiyamah (The Day of Judgment). (Wikipedia, 2006)Besides these, there are also the FurÃ… « al-DÄ «n, or the â€Å"Branches of Religion.†Ã‚   The FurÃ… « al-DÄ «n are basically rules according to which a Muslim should live their life, such as fasting, pilgrimage, prayer, etc. (Wikipedia, 2006)There have also been cultural practices that over time have developed into strictly Shi’a beliefs.   One of these is known as taqiyya.   This rule permits a Shi’a to deny their religion to save their life or the lives of family members. According to the Shi’a, the Sunni are wrong in condemning this practice because it is sanctioned by the Qur’an. (Wikipedia, 2006)Another practice that sets apart the Sh i’a from the Sunni is that of Nikah Mut'ah.   This has to do with the idea of permitting a fixed-time marriage.   It states that a man and woman can, if they both so choose, contractually enter into a marriage for a specified period of time.   Although the Sunni frown upon this practice, and the Shi’a do not practice it regularly, they believe it is sanctioned by the Qur’an and therefore permissible. (Wikipedia, 2006)It is easy for such a large endeavor to get caught up in bureaucracy and find areas in which to split. It makes one wonder what Muhammad would think of the religion if he were around today.Works CitedCarmody, D.L., & Brink, T.L. (2002). Ways to the center: An introduction to world religions.Belmont: Wadsworth.Islam. Islam. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved May 7, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam#Schools_.28denominations.29Shi'a Islam. (2006). Shi'a Islam. In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved May 7, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi %27aSmith, Huston (1991). The World's Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins.

Free Will and Determinism of Ayer and Holbach Essay

Reconciling the Free Will and Determinism of Ayer and Holbach In respect to the arguments of Ayer and Holbach, the dilemma of determinism and its compatibility with that of free will are found to be in question. Holbach makes a strong case for hard determinism in his System of Nature, in which he defines determinism to be a doctrine that everything and most importantly human actions are caused, and it follows that we are not free and therefore haven’t any moral responsibility in regard to our actions. For Ayer, a compatibilist believing that free will is compatible with determinism, it is the reconciliation and dissolution of the problem of determinism and moral responsibility with free willing that is argued. Ayer believes that†¦show more content†¦For example, if I should happen to walk down the street to get food, the mere action of my movement can be explained by the fact that my being hungry has caused me to walk down the street and move my legs, and to keep moving my legs at all I need food. Thus, the body is in ne ed of nourishment, and from laws of nature and laws discovered by science the body does in fact need food as a consumable source of cellular energy to promote life in a system such as the human body. It is then to be deduced that if a definite law of nature caused my acting, then I must be in accordance with scientific laws, and no other alternative except that law has to be the one that I shall act on. If this is so, one cannot do otherwise than obey the law. Thus, our freedom of will is absent due to the compelling laws of nature and their innate causal behavior. Now that Holbach has clarified this, he moves on to say something on the nature of the human mind’s will, or more specifically its acts of willing. Holbach states that the will is a modification of the brain (Holbach 462). And it is from the brain, which makes one act in accordance with certain desires or impulses that act on the brain or mind that are outside of one’s control. A stronger desire, or motive a s Holbach calls it, may suspend a former desire, so that you are in fact always acting on your strongest desire due to the fact that you want to be content or happy with your choice, and this desire determines your will. ForShow MoreRelatedDiscussion On Free Will And Determinism1332 Words   |  6 Pagesgoing to discuss and argue about free will and determinism. What is free will, and do we have it? Free will is simply the power to act with no constraint, in other words, to act freely with no one holding us down. The controversial argument of this topic is if we have free will or not. According to physical determinism, â€Å"If our brain is in a certain state, then our next move is determined. Therefore, we do not have free will† (Holbach). According to others, we do have free will. In my paper, I will talkRead More The Problem of Evil Disproved by the Free Will Defense Essay1059 Words   |  5 PagesThe Problem of Evil Disproved by the Free Will Defense The Problem of Evil states that because evil exists the existence of a tri-omni being, which we typically refer to as God, is impossible. This argument, if proved to be true, would refute the Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence. The Cosmological Argument states that not every being can be a dependent being without infinite regress (which is believed to be impossible), so there exists a tri-omni self dependent being knownRead MoreEssay on Soft Determinism1435 Words   |  6 PagesSoft Determinism Do I have free will, or is every action I make predetermined? This question has concerned me for a long while. It has been the topic of many family dinner conversations, a topic of research, and a question in many prayers. I believe that this question concerns many people, since finding an answer has been the source of much literature, thinking, and religion. I have, after much thought, arrived at the conclusion of Soft Determinism - the Principle of Universal Causality, thatRead MoreThe Powers Of Rational Being : Freedom Of The Will1922 Words   |  8 Pagescontrol. â€Å"Free will† can only exist if a person truly has the choice between multiple possible options; however, as hard determinists claim, every choice is fixed to only one possible outcome based on any number of existing outside factors. While libertarians believe in the concept of free will and choices based entirely on personal deliberation, compatibilists assert that the state of the world does potentially offe r multiple outcomes, and so free will is possible alongside determinism. Peter van