Making The Invisible, Visible

Today we are faced with two deadly diseases that are rapidly spreading across nations. Although HIV and AIDS was only discovered a few decades ago, it is threatening the human population more than any disease, at the moment. It was a belief that only homosexuals obtained this disease, but it is evident that just about anyone can be infected, including innocent children. These infected children not only face the prospect of an inevitable and early death, but there is also stigma and discrimination follows the victims of HIV and AIDS. The unfortunate children lose friends and family because of the contaminated label they are given. Many children are abandoned and left on the street for the shame they have brought to their family. They are given the responsibility for things that are not in their control. The children are passed the disease more than often by the mother during childbirth or breastfeeding. The abandoned children are left in the world without a home or family, and forced to live in the darkness of the welfare homes, because no one is willing to take in HIV positive child. 

It is important to look into this situation because the disease has already gotten out control and is affecting the lives of innocent women and children. The chance of being affected is uncertain, and anyone can get it. The disease flies around invisibly, making it difficult to stop it. What surprised me most during my research, was how long it took before the symptoms of HIV appears. It could take 10-15 years before you can start to see or feel the infection. This is extremely dangerous because if you are carrying this disease unknowingly, the risk of you passing the disease on is high. Learning about this disease makes me feel more aware, but at the same time it scares me a little. Realizing how 'invisibly' dangerous it is, terrifies me, because I'm afraid of getting it. But I think more people should know about HIV and AIDS, as being aware of it would make people more cautious. Which could decrease the the number of people being infected. 

How To Deal With A Dictator?

It’s not an easy task, dealing with a dictator. Even politicians today have difficulty on deciding what to do with a dictator. But it is important that people do, do something, and not just stand by while the dictator looms over the citizens. Not a very good example of this would be the Holocaust, where many Germans and other countries merely watched the genocide. 

A problem that we are faced, is that most dictators are very determined to keep their power, and are willing to do anything to make that the power is held by them. In Julius Caesar, for example, Flavius and Marullus were ‘silenced’ when the two officers posed as a threat towards Caesar. With all the power dictators have, it’s extremely difficult to decide on how to take them down. Locking them up isn’t an option, because they surely will have allies, who will help them escape, in Caesar’s case it would have been his trusted right-hand Antony. 

Exiling them is possible, but there is a favorable chance of them returning with more force and more determination to get power. People could confront them, although it seems like a weak attempt to persuade a power-hungry strong-willed dictator. But it would be worth a try for someone like beloved a family member or an extremely close friend. But, as it’s seen in Julius Caesar, dictators are obstinate. Caesar was not moved at all when the conspirators begged him to bring back Cimber, instead he claimed he was “constant as the North Star”, that the ‘ordinary’ conspirators could not change Caesar’s mind. 

A more effective undertake to the situation would be of a larger, and most probably stronger, group forcing the dictator down and out of power. The country's military could use their weapons to forcefully take over the dictator. Surrounding countries could do the same, but consequences that follow that could be a bloodshed, which could kill innocent civilians. Organizations could make an efficient resistance, like protests or boycotts. These groups could do some underground work, to stealthily remove the dictator’s power. They could isolate the dictator from his/her connections, so there is no one to help them. The groups could also try and slowly take away the power, little by little, in a way that the dictator does not suspect anything, until it is too late. 

But in the end, using these techniques, would still leave the dictator alive, and the danger of the dictator returning would remains. So, the last straw would be to assassinate the dictator, much like in Julius Caesar where the conspirators assassinated Caesar for obtaining too much dominance over Rome. Even though killing someone isn’t justifiable, because it would make the murderer almost as bad as the dictator. Of course in the case of Hitler and the Nazis, it would have been far better if someone had taken Hitler down before he killed about six million people. Killing a dictator is the only way of assuring that he/she won’t come back. 

Although that does not mean the dictator’s descendants or former associates won’t carry on the dictator’s work. As it happened in Julius Caesar, Antony and Octavius disrupted the conspirator’s plans of making the Romans believe them. However, what you do with a dictator depends on how menacing the dictator is, even so, assassinating the dictator is the wisest choice, so the dictator is completely gotten rid off, before they can cause any damage.

-Zara (:

Assassination Of Caesar and Ferdinand

Taking a life is never right, no matter what the reason. Someone who looking to bring greater good won't become any better by killing someone, because being a dictator is almost as bad as being a murderer. In spite of that fact, murder is sometimes, the last resort to solving a problem, commonly a political problem. The assassination of Julius Caesar and Franz Ferdinand is a prime example of this. In both cases two leaders were bought to their end for their high standing in their society. Although the executor's motives were dissimilar, there are some connections to the two grim deaths. Caesar was assassinated for his growing power over the Roman Republic, for conspirators 'feared' that his ambitious nature might create a disastrous effect on Rome. While Ferdinand was shot by the Serbian group, the Black Hand, who were attempting to gain liberation from Austria-Hungary, the empire they were subjugated too. The two leaders had much superiority to their assassinators and nearly everyone in their country. Caesar and Ferdinand were both powerful men of their time, looked upon by their country, as the  leader. Some, like the assassinators, might argue that the two men had too much influence and control. The conspirators believed Caesar had too much dominance over the Roman citizens, which was true.  He was more or less worshiped by citizens who loved Caesar for indulging them with jobs and erratic parties. This supporters were his pillars that held him up above the other men, which was dangerous for both Caesar and Rome. The only justifiable way of protecting Rome was too take down Caesar completely. If Caesar wasn't killed, but just pushed aside, there is no telling whether he might come back fighting with more determination. Ferdinand too had power over nearly everything, being the heir to the emperor of Austria and all. His power greatly affected the Serbians, who just desired to be their independent country once again. The relation between the two 'countries' was not through alliance, more through conquer, which most probably put the effect of being imprisoned to the Empire for the Serbians. The difference is, while Caesar's assassination was justifiable, Ferdinand's assassination was not, as the death of him and wife triggered the World War I, causing casualty to more than 6 million civilians. The Black Hand's effort to gain their liberation wasn't as well thought out as it should have been. Even so, the two leaders had people locked up their power, but only a few realized the bars that Caesar and Ferdinand had fastened around their people, partially including the conspirators and the Black Hand. The assassinators believed that the most justifiable way of gaining their liberation was through murdering the leader. 

-Zara :)