Here is a short essay I wrote for a contest. It expresses my feeling on the topic of patriotism. More specifically, it addresses the reasons why I'm and American patriot. I hope you enjoy it!
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, our nation’s 35th president, spoke these words with a great sense of patriotism; a patriotism far beyond just support for our country. President Kennedy felt something for his country that made him so devoted to what he did. This certain something, my friends, is love. A love for the land, its people, and all that it has to share. I believe that love for one’s country is a sign of deep patriotism and is the very emotion that reveals my patriotism towards the USA.
Demonstrating love for our country starts with simple steps that can spark the rest of our society to do the same. For example, as a patriot, I consider it my duty to keep myself aware of where our troops are and what condition they’re in. It’s simply a matter of listening to what our soldiers have to say. Just by knowing where they are and how the soldiers are doing shows empathy and a deep appreciation for what those men and women risk their lives to do every day. Be it in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, even in our very own country, I take it upon myself to support our troops every step of the way and give them the respect and the honor they deserve. The first step to loving our country is to love those who toil endlessly to defend it.
Loving my country is to love everything that is right in front of and all around me. I show true patriotism by stepping up to make a difference in my community regardless of how small my town may be. I live to empower others and live to bring a feel of patriotism to my community. This starts with small acts of kindness and extending love to everyone I meet. As a patriot of America, I make this my goal every day of my life.
According to the dictionary, patriotism is “a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests.” The one word that stands out to me is loves. Patriotism is in fact as simple as a single word: love. Extending that love to those who serve, those I meet, those I care for, and to our grand country altogether is what makes me an American patriot.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Plutonium: Pros and Cons
Well, the title explains itself. Here is, honestly, an essay on the positives and negatives of plutonium. Don't really bother reading it unless you, like me, had/have an assignment on plutonium due in school:
It seems that whenever mankind discovers a substance that can change the way humans live for the better, something about the substance’s property is discovered making it more destructive than it is useful. Plutonium is no exception to this pattern. Plutonium is a substance that was first prepared in a useable form in 1940 by an American chemist: Glenn T. Seaborg. His achievement was seen as a breakthrough is the history of science while his discoveries were put to use in the years to come. As the world soon discovered, plutonium was doubtlessly a chemical with many pros and many cons.
A substance with such a large historical significance had to have some scientific value. Sure enough, plutonium was and still is used for the better in many different ways. The first and foremost of these uses is for nuclear energy. This form of power is very common amongst today’s society and is a highly effective alternative energy source. If handled properly, plutonium/nuclear energy is a very environmental-friendly form of energy, as well. For example, plutonium-238 (a form of plutonium) was used several times by NASA to power equipment on the moon. Another useful property of plutonium is its ability to give off heat. Although the manner in which it gives off heat is highly unsafe, this property of the substance can be used to heat non-living objects or places. Due to plutonium’s energy potential, it is considered the most economically important transurainium element known to date.
Of course, alongside the many pros of plutonium are the many more cons. Plutonium’s relevance to historic disasters is unforgettable. The most famous use of plutonium was during WWII in the “Atom Bomb.” Americans used the radioactive properties of plutonium to develop a bomb and drop it on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The rubble they left behind was embedded there for many years to come and was seen as an unforgivable crime. When plutonium was used in this “atom bomb,” its intense radioactive property spread a great amount of heat around a large radius of the impact point of the bomb. Henceforth, any inhabitants died immediately and any life-form that entered the impact zone for several years experienced great internal and external damage. This historic fiasco alone illustrates the very reason plutonium is handled with great care today and is forbidden to be used as a weapon. This substance becomes a yellowish color through oxidation in its solid or liquid form but has a terrible effect on the environment in any of its states. Plutonium is an extremely hazardous poison due to how radioactive it is as a substance. In regards to plutonium’s use for energy, the substance is a very fragile element and can cause an immense amount of destruction if handled in even a slightly wrong way.
Plutonium is a good and bad part of our lives today. The society’s view on this element all depends on how it is used. However, used in a beneficial or destructive manner, plutonium remains a highly hazardous and poisonous substance for organisms and the environment alike. Just a few pros and cons of this element can never change that fact.
It seems that whenever mankind discovers a substance that can change the way humans live for the better, something about the substance’s property is discovered making it more destructive than it is useful. Plutonium is no exception to this pattern. Plutonium is a substance that was first prepared in a useable form in 1940 by an American chemist: Glenn T. Seaborg. His achievement was seen as a breakthrough is the history of science while his discoveries were put to use in the years to come. As the world soon discovered, plutonium was doubtlessly a chemical with many pros and many cons.
A substance with such a large historical significance had to have some scientific value. Sure enough, plutonium was and still is used for the better in many different ways. The first and foremost of these uses is for nuclear energy. This form of power is very common amongst today’s society and is a highly effective alternative energy source. If handled properly, plutonium/nuclear energy is a very environmental-friendly form of energy, as well. For example, plutonium-238 (a form of plutonium) was used several times by NASA to power equipment on the moon. Another useful property of plutonium is its ability to give off heat. Although the manner in which it gives off heat is highly unsafe, this property of the substance can be used to heat non-living objects or places. Due to plutonium’s energy potential, it is considered the most economically important transurainium element known to date.
Of course, alongside the many pros of plutonium are the many more cons. Plutonium’s relevance to historic disasters is unforgettable. The most famous use of plutonium was during WWII in the “Atom Bomb.” Americans used the radioactive properties of plutonium to develop a bomb and drop it on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The rubble they left behind was embedded there for many years to come and was seen as an unforgivable crime. When plutonium was used in this “atom bomb,” its intense radioactive property spread a great amount of heat around a large radius of the impact point of the bomb. Henceforth, any inhabitants died immediately and any life-form that entered the impact zone for several years experienced great internal and external damage. This historic fiasco alone illustrates the very reason plutonium is handled with great care today and is forbidden to be used as a weapon. This substance becomes a yellowish color through oxidation in its solid or liquid form but has a terrible effect on the environment in any of its states. Plutonium is an extremely hazardous poison due to how radioactive it is as a substance. In regards to plutonium’s use for energy, the substance is a very fragile element and can cause an immense amount of destruction if handled in even a slightly wrong way.
Plutonium is a good and bad part of our lives today. The society’s view on this element all depends on how it is used. However, used in a beneficial or destructive manner, plutonium remains a highly hazardous and poisonous substance for organisms and the environment alike. Just a few pros and cons of this element can never change that fact.
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