Knowledge is Power Free Essays

The differences in cultural beliefs and traditions resulted in the difficulty of Cambodian migrants in adjusting to the lifestyle in the United States. However, due to the way American culture affects the way these people live, gradual changes had been seen. It is through this that we see a shift in the perception of Cambodian refugees concerning different things. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge is Power or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the end, such redefinition of concepts and knowledge cemented the Southeast Asians into the American welfare state. Looking at the issue presented by Ong, there are indeed drastic changes and a gradual shift as far as knowledge is concerned within the parameters of refugees living in the United States. Seeing these there are two (2) ways in which the production of knowledge increased which in turn cemented the role of South East Asians in the region. First, is that it created an opportunity for the acculturation process to happen among Cambodian immigrants in the United States. Seeing the catastrophe in Cambodia, residents sought to look for places that their security and stability can be assured. â€Å"By raising their arms, they elected to go to America, the home of freedom and wealth, far away from the demented Pol Pot regime, the chaos, poverty, and political uncertainty of Cambodia.† (Ong, 2003) The obvious problem that can be seen during the first entry of Cambodians in the United States was the issue of adjusting to the different norms and practices by the state. â€Å"The most obvious difficulties faced by Cambodian refugees in the United States have to do with intergenerational conflicts, shifting gender norms and opportunities, problems of economic marginalization, and problems of racial discrimination—all of which are mediated by state interventions in making these immigrants into â€Å"good citizens.† (AESonline.org, 2006) Though such case may be problematic, it solidified the information needed and the requirements set to become integrated into the state. Another problem within the realms of acculturation is the shifting of power by those who speak the language at to those who do not. â€Å"The change in power relations between parents and children led to children being frustrated with parents not being able to help them with homework.† (Vang, 2004, p.2) Another issue that can be analyzed in the situation is the role of both men and women particularly among Cambodian refugees. â€Å"For men and women, welfare dependency increased women’s power relative to men’s† (Vang, 2004, p.2) Also, there is the case of trying to cope and adjust to the service providers that caters to the services of both refugees and immigrants. â€Å"By having the right to intervene in domestic disputes and to set new norms of gender behavior, service workers were able to redefine refugee ethnicity morally, a process that also legitimized their professional domination over impoverished, disadvantaged, and racialized Americans† (Ong, p.167) This in turn created a spectrum of actions among the service providers as a means of acculturating the Cambodian immigrants/ refugees. â€Å"Similarly, the involvement of social workers in family life results for some in new opportunities for restructuring domestic gender and generational dynamics, whereas for others, it becomes a means of reinforcing traditional relations of hierarchy and community. The second reason is that the production of knowledge also legitimized the role of Cambodian refugees in the society. This means that these people, after the adjustment process became part of the overall dynamics and processes in the American society. â€Å"Such authority resulted in the refugees having to define and redefine themselves to â€Å"fit† into particular categories in order to obtain resources for survival.† (Vang, 2004, p.2) However, the legitimization only serves as a complement for every citizenry and for the part of the minority this means very little. Yes, such actions may seem beneficial in the way that they can acquire services from the welfare state, but overall the treatment among immigrants is the same as of blacks and other minorities. â€Å"It also appears that assumptions about the black and Hispanic underclass colored the teachers’ expectations about the precariousness of the refugee’s self-sufficiency, the limited kinds of jobs they could potentially fill, and their need for social discipline on arrival on the American mainland† (Ong, 2003, p.84) In the end, such knowledge of the situation paved the way for the development of new understandings and practices that is only unique to Cambodian refugees. It created a new avenue for changes that both showcased the good side and bad side of things. The dynamics of cultural activity are presented by Ong in the book and such creatively served the way Southeast Asians became part of the American society and culture. References AESonline.org. (2006) Buddha is Hiding: Refugee, Citizenship, The New America. Ong, A. (2003) Buddha Is Hiding: Refugees, Citizenship, the New America. California Series in Public Anthropology, vol. 5. (Berkeley and London: University of California Press) Vang, C.Y. (2004) Buddha is Hiding: Refugee, Citizenship, The New America. Review. How to cite Knowledge is Power, Essay examples Knowledge is power Free Essays In Today’s society there is a debate over which is best. The knowledge you acquire from life experiences or the knowledge you obtain in school. In † Learning to Read† by Malcolm X. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge is power or any similar topic only for you Order Now He discusses his experience of how he taught himself how to read and write while incarcerated, and how he learned more through his self learning then he ever did in school. In â€Å"Sophie’s World† by Jostles Gardner. Sophie gets these strange letters in the mail from a mysterious man teaching her to question her very existence ND not to conform into believing what interest someone else. In â€Å"The Teachings of Don Juan† by Carols Castanets. Don Juan teaches Carols Castanets that to be a true man of knowledge one must defeat man’s natural enemies. Although many individuals might have different opinions on what they consider their most Important lesson that they would share, I consider the power of knowledge to be the most significant lesson one can learn because the power of knowledge can help one overcome all odds, knowledge also gives us the ability to to look at the world in a ore omniscient view, also knowledge can give us the power to defeat man’s natural enemies. In â€Å"Learning to Read†, The fact that Malcolm AAAS incarcerated did not stop him in becoming the influential man he was in his day. Instead of wasting his life away by being unproductive with his time, he chose to expand and enlightened his mind with the likes of education and will power. While Malcolm X was In Charleston prison, he stated that he was envious of the fact that a fellow inmate had a vast amount of knowledge. Immediately, Malcolm X began an Intensive study by reading the cautionary from beginning to end and reading every single day multiple times a day. This allowed him to take the right path In his life against the odds by making him wiser about his decisions with the newfound knowledge he obtained through self education. Taking the right path is an individual discovery that’s based on what is best for a person in their situation. The whole point of taking the right path against the odds is to learn from one’s mistakes and instead of veering off to a path of destruction; one could walk onto a path of fruitfulness by grasping the positive points n their life and dismissing the negative. Next in the book â€Å"Sophie’s world† an anonymous person sends Sophie letters basically about broadening her mind to all the world’s possibilities and interest that other people have beside her own. It is important to be well rounded and knowledgeable about all topics and not Just the topics that Interest someone. Learning and having knowledge about subjects, hobbles and the mechanics of life enables a person to better understand how everything functions and oneself In the process. The power of knowledge also lets someone look at the world in a more ere written to Sophie gave her more of an object view on life because they pointed many other aspects of the world rather than her own. And in â€Å"The Teachings of Don Juan†. Don Juan said that in order to be a â€Å"man of knowledge† one must challenge and defeat his natural enemies. One of the enemies he discussed is fear. Fear keeps a man from knowledge because it makes him run away from knowledge. The consequences of first having the knowledge in the first place is what makes a man fearful. For example, during the asses when slavery was legal in the U. S. , slaves were forbidden to read or write and any inclination from the master of the slave doing so would have resulted in the slave being beat severely or some cases beat to death. Many slaves chose to submit to their master by not having knowledge of reading and writing because they were afraid of being caught and beaten. Fear prevents a person with going further in knowledge by suppressing and weakening their mind. Don Juan encourages the notion to fight against fear because the power of knowledge is greater than any fear imaginable. Given these points I believe the power of knowledge is the most significant lesson one can learn because it teaches one to rise above being average and Just existing. Malcolm X used his power of knowledge to overcome the odds he was dealt with to become a more productive and wise person in society. The letters Sophie was receiving broadened her mind and not to questioning the existence of life and conform to everybody else’s ideas. Ultimately, Don Juan used the power of knowledge to fight against his own fears and achieve greatness in his own life through that power. How to cite Knowledge is power, Papers Knowledge Is Power Free Essays Knowledge is power. This is true, whether the power which knowledge gives be used for good or for evil. By his medical knowledge, the doctor can cure disease and save his patient’s life. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Is Power or any similar topic only for you Order Now But the blackmailer, by his knowledge of some guilty secret, can bleed his victim white under the threat of disclosure. In general, the man who knows has an advantage over the man who does not know. In this way the educated classes have always been able to rule over the ig ­norant. During the middle Ages in Europe, the only educated men were the priests. Great barons, brave knights, kings and ruling princes very often could not even read and write Kings had to appoint priests as their ministers. Unless the king was a man of very strong character, the power, nominally his, was in the hands of learned and clever priests. The soldier, the man of the sword, thought he was the master; but he was really in the hands of the priest, the man of the pen. The pen was mightier than the sword. It was the same in ancient India. The learned Brahmins were for ages the real rulers of Indian States. They dominated the lower, ignorant castes; and their knowledge enabled them to manage the Rajas and Maharajas. In the same way, and for the same reason, civilized na ­tions can dominate ignorant savage races. A handful of cul ­tured men can control hundreds of unlettered natives. It is their superior knowledge, and the weapons, organization and character which that knowledge has given them that give the cultured man power over these people who are physically, but not intellectually, their equals. In Europe and America today, education is so wide ­spread that even the working classes are educated people. As they have advanced in knowledge, the common people have advanced in power. So in the great democracies the people now rule themselves, and are no longer under the domination of priests and kings. Physically, man is a comparatively weak animal. He can ­not naturally run like the horse, nor fly like the birds. He is no match in strength for the elephant, the lion or the bear. He has no natural weapons of defense like the tiger’s fangs and claws. Yet he conquers all these strong and fierce beasts, and forces some of them to be his servants. It is his superior knowledge and intelligence that make him the master of creatures superior to him in physical strength. How to cite Knowledge Is Power, Papers Knowledge Is Power Free Essays Knowledge is Powerful than Money Respected president, honorable faculty staff and my fellow students A. O. A. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Is Power or any similar topic only for you Order Now Knowledge is powerful than wealth is our today’s topic of discussion. When we say that knowledge is power we mean that knowledge is the only source of strength in the world. The idea that wealth is power is also quite common, it is believed to be true by a number of people but that is wrong; wealth is not a permanent thing. A man may be wealthy today but he may become very poor tomorrow. So man’s wealth cannot be a true source of power. Thus it is only knowledge that is a real source of power. Knowledge is wealth; if you have knowledge of market condition, you can become a rich trader and stock broker, you can get well-salaried jobs. If you want to engage in any trade of occupation, you have to learn it as an apprentice, otherwise you are lost at seas and will lose your capital instead of earning more. Knowledge and experience are most important in order to become wealthy man. MR PRESIDENT: Although in the present age money has become very necessary thing and people are giving much more importance to it, they are considering it as a ruling force. But they are wrong. We have to ponder over it with a keen eye. If money is ruling force than how we can justify the golden sayings of holy prophet (PBUH) when he says that ignorant and wise cannot be equal- when he says that to get knowledge is the basic responsibility of every man-male and female. When holy prophet is giving much more importance to knowledge, education and wisdom then we have a reasonable right to ask those people who are the advocates of money that holy prophet did not give importance to money. Why he always avoid accumulating money? The answer is very simple-wisdom is ruling power. Holy prophet ruled over a domain without money and on the basis of wisdom. MR PRESIDENT: If you have no knowledge of enemy fight and movements in war you can not organize your strategy to conquer him, this how Napoleon lost the battle of water too, he overslept that night against his routine and so he could not be informed about the changing pattern of enemy’s positions. When he got up he was too late to re-adjust his own forces before Lord Wellington launched a massive invasion against him. Wealth can be lost; more you spend it, it becomes less but knowledge is a thing that cannot be stolen by time or thieves. MR PRESIDENT: An educated man better understands his duties and obligations and serves his country in best possible way. Knowledge people are seeds of great civilization and progress. Russia and America owe their technological progress and space rocketry system to German scientists who they kidnapped after Second World War and paid them the highest salaries. Through knowledge, man is to earn livelihood and to maintain family. MR PRESIDENT: Knowledge comes first than money. If there is wisdom than earning of money is no difficult. Without wisdom earning money, saving money and using money is very very difficult. The history is replete with the examples where man had denied the wealth and prospered in life. Mehmood of Ghanznavi invaded India many times to spread Islam. He had the opportunity to plunder Temple of Somnaat. He had also been offered jewels and gold and wealth by the worshippers and administration of the Temple, but he refused to take it saying â€Å"I want to go in history as idol breaker instead of idol seller†. Hazrat Ali (RA) says and I quote Knowledge is better than money, since you have to protect money, while knowledge protects you. And money is depleted from spending, while knowledge grows when you spend it. And knowledge makes rulings, while money is ruled over. Their souls may have passed away, but their effects remain present in the hearts of people. People who hoard money have died while they are still living and scholars live on through the ages. . . I unquote. On the creation of Adam, in the Heavens, the Almighty bestowed upon him the gift of knowledge. The first verse of holy Quran which was revealed on Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was also IQRA BI-ISMI RAB-I-KALLAZI KHALQ read with the name of thy lord who created you. Desire to excel by mean of education and knowledge had been inculcated by Allah Almighty. MR PRESIDENT: It has become a misconception in the prevalent era that desire of wealth and money is everything. It is the sole reason behind the progress of man. It may be an exception but, I would say, one cannot generalize this notion. This is a fallacy. Knowledge reinforces the natural sympathies of a person; create in him a large fund of fellow-feelings. Inspire him to deeds of charity and sacrifice and makes him to love mankind in general. Knowledge of person feels satisfaction and thinks that he is having everything. It also strengthen moral instincts and impulses curbs and restrain lawless desire and teach a man the art of living in human society according to recognized values and principles. Knowledge makes a man to think for himself, everybody enlarges his mental horizon and develops his mental and intellectual powers. Knowledge equips a man with social manners, etiquettes and the art of speech making and conversation. It gives a certain polish and refinements to men and women. Finally knowledge raises our prestige in all ways. Thank you. How to cite Knowledge Is Power, Essay examples