Research paper in Internet Activism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research paper in Internet Activism - Essay Example Thus besides entertainment, such information is critical for education and informative purposes. The use of social networks has particularly had diverse impacts on the populations’ perceptions of relative social themes. The objectivity and reliability of relative information has been in most cases compromised by the subjective nature of the contributions made by various factions of the society. Most importantly, this tendency has had direct impacts on the social ties that the society holds in high regard. Through face-book, you-tube, my space and other social networks, important information has been relayed to populations across the globe. Apart from educators, activists have employed social media to reach various factions of the population and communicate important issues to these. Through these, they have been able to understand and appreciate the views of the global populations about emergent social issues. Perhaps the most critical information pertains to that relating to sensitive issues that affect the populations in different ways. Besides being instrumental in informing the public, these social networks have in most cases undermined the credibility of the information relayed across. It is against this background that this paper provides an explicit review of internet activism in light of the Kohn 2012 video. To address inherent concerns, it greatly relies on secondary research. The internet has become the latest technological tool through which information is passed on to the population within the shortest time possible. According to research, it only requires a single click to publish important information about emergent issues and concerns within the society. It is pervasive as exemplified by Giridharadas who cites the Kenyan Ushahidi initiative stating it has â€Å"been used in India to monitor elections; in Africa to report medicine shortages; in the Middle East to collect reports of wartime violence; and in Washington† (Giridharadas, 3). Through social networks, this is visible to a diverse population who have subscribed to the relative services. Likewise, these are able to present their views on the particular issue within the shortest period possible. It only requires access to internet and knowledge about its use to utilize this facility. The first world countries have taken immense practical steps to ensure that their populations have access to the electronic infrastructure. Although the third world countries such as Kenya and Uganda have not readily succeeded in enhancing the use of internet, use of phones has really been useful. According to Zuckerman â€Å"the most important activist technology of the last five years is the mobile phone â€Å". Specifically, the use of Short Text messaging provision has been important in information dissemination in third world economies. Through this, populations are able to communicate useful insights regarding wide ranging issues to a diverse population base. The lau nch of Kony 2012 video in March, 2012 triggered various arguments and controversies about the credibility of use of social media in activism. Initially, the intention of this online video was to raise awareness about the leader of Lord’s resistance army, Joseph Kony. Towards the end of the video, viewers were requested to help in different was to capture the war lord so that he could face the law. The video spread so fast and within six days, it had been viewed by a significant one

Assisted Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assisted Suicide - Essay Example A suitable way to deal with the matter is increased participation and involvement of the government in the cases of assisted suicide, to discourage the patient and the families from going for assisted suicide and provide them with medical help and resources to reduce the load on the patient and the family. Why Assisted Suicide should be Illegalized There are innumerable justifiable and reasonable arguments against assisted suicide. Firstly, it is a murder from the religious perspective. Secondly, there are many past cases in which the family members regret having led the patient to assisted suicide. Thirdly, there are always chances of recovery. Proponents of the assisted suicide criticize the illegalization of assisted suicide considering it driven by the religious beliefs of the people in power. However, â€Å"the most current opposition coalitions include many people and organizations whose opposition is based on their progressive politics. Among those are disability rights group s; many nationally prominent disability rights organizations oppose the legalization of assisted suicide† (â€Å"Why Assisted Suicide†). We live in a democratic society where everybody has a right to live. In this context, assisted suicide is subjugation of the rights of the person who is being killed. Even if the consent of the patient is involved, it mostly happens because of the family pressure upon the patient. In an attempt to get free from their responsibility, family members tend to induce negative feelings and emotions in the patient that lead him/her to opting for the assisted suicide. Brian Johnston is an anti-euthanasia activist. In his book, he writes, â€Å"In addition to their own emotional needs, it is the family and friends, more than anyone else, who will influence the mood and mindset of the patient. They may, even unwittingly, reinforce negative thoughts and attitudes.† (Johnston 17). In a vast majority of cases, assisted suicide of a family me mber leaves the rest of the family particularly the parents with a life-long trauma and guilt. They are not able to forgive themselves for being so selfish at a point in time back in their life when they got rid of their loved one when even the personal consent and will of the deceased was not involved. In certain cases, assisted suicide of one family members leads to subsequent suicides committed by the guilty conscious family members. According to a research conducted by the UK Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES) in 2003, at least 30 per cent of the suspects of assisted suicide commit suicide. Deborah Annetts, the chief executive of VES says that the number of sufferers is much greater than the 30 per cent statistic of the suicide committers (â€Å"Impact of Euthanasia†). Proposal to Reduce the Cases of Assisted Suicide The government should form a committee to look after the cases of assisted suicide to make sure that most of the patients are saved from being killed. The go vernment should deem all such cases of assisted suicide illegal in which the consent of the patient is not involved. In cases where the consent of the patient is involved, once the family as well as the patient have given their consent to go for the assisted suicide, the case should be referred to the committee. The committee should extend help to the patient to make him/her aware of the possible effects of assisted s

Gates of Fire Essay Example for Free

Gates of Fire Essay Why I chose this book: I have no particular reason why I chose this book. While searching through the commandant’s new reading list, the title of the book stood out to me. It did not seam like a boring documentary or and endless biography that goes on and on but rather an interesting read that would keep me interested. When I went to go check it out from training I read the summary on the back of the book and was immediately intrigued about the storyline. I like the adventure and thrill of the Spartans as well as reading about war battles. Give a brief description about this book: This book is about a legendary Battle of Thermopylae and the Spartan culture. In 480 BC the Persian Empire marched with a force of two million men against Greece. In Greeces defense a small army of 2,500 Greek soldiers marched out in an attempt to slow the Persian advance. 300 Spartans were among this squadron, willing to fight to the death for their homeland. The two armies crashed at the narrow pass of Thermopylae. For six days the small force held off the entire Persian army, inflicting an estimated 20,000 casualties on the enemy. On the seventh day the main Greek force withdrew. The remaining Spartan force and a small number of Thespians stayed giving their comrades time for escape. The residual Greek forces fought heroically to the death. The slowed Persian advance gave Greek forces added time to muster men and eventually repel the invasion. The author depicts the story from a Spartan soldiers squire (armor bearer) point of view. The armor bearer, Xeo, tells his life story from his youth as an outcast to his acceptation into the Spartan military. Through the eyes of Xeo, the author tells of an armor bearers duties, soldiers thoughts and attitudes, Spartas military training, and Spartas military based culture. While he tells that Sparta is a cruel and brutal military society he also tells of the beauty and love that the civilization also possesses. Tactical lessons learned from this book: Some of the tactical leassons I learned from this book come from the battle at Thermopylae. Some of the tactics that interestead me, even back in those days, is when the Spartan army first arived at Themopylae. They scouted the area to see it they could possibly be flanked by the opposing army. They rounded up all of the random people that were not part of the battle so that their opposition could not use them for land navigation. The Spartans even burnned all the fields of crops so that their foe could not use the crops for rations. It is clear to me that fighting a battle is not all about who is the better fighter. I learned that witts and logistics are key elements for victory. Leadership lessons learned from this book: One of the leadership lessons that could be learned from this book involves courage. On multiple occasions in the book the leadership tries to instill in their men the philosophy that training for war has little to do with strengthening the war fighter physically but rather to toughen the mind. Polynikes also had the men realize that any army can win a battle with its legs still under it, it is when all strength has fled and the men must produce victory on will alone. I learned that if I want my Marines to be the best, I have to expect the best as well as adopt this mentality so that I may lead by example. How can the lessons learned be used today: The spartans trained to achieve victory while face whith constant adversity. Today the younger generation has adopted the attitude of, if it can’t be done with a reassonable amount of effort, then it can’t be done and they give up. We as leaders can learn from the spartans will to push through anything against all odds. So, by pushing our Marines until they give up and then pushing them more with expectaions of exelence can be a useful tool in teaching our Marines that they can jump over the wall instead of running into it. I would or would not recommend this book to my peers, and why: The author gives interesting facts about Spartan culture, its soldiers, attitudes of religion, and gripping battle scenes. The novel is extremely entertaining and gives a fascinating insight into courage, discipline, love, and war. Based on all of these reason I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading of history or war.

La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre :: Our Lady of Charity South Florida

La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre One of the primary unifying forces of the Cuban community in South Florida is La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, or Our Lady of Charity. In 1898, after Cuba won its independence from Spain, she became the official patroness of the island. The Cuban soldiers credited their victory to the Virgin's intervention in their crusade for independence. The Virgin is seen as a religious tradition that strongly unites Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits. In South Florida, Cubans throughout the United States gather each year to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Charity on September the eighth. Alongside the traditional Catholic service, many within the exile congregation offer their hopes and prayers, to the Virgin, for a Cuba free from communism. Though Cuba is where the celebration of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre originated, each year, her statue, which was smuggled out of Cuba in 1961, is ferried by boat to Miami Marine Stadium. The reason for smuggling the statue, a scant two years after Fidel's revolution, was because the Catholic religion was not allowed to be openly practiced within Cuba. In recent years, a mass has been celebrated to honor La Virgen at the Hialeah racetrack. Taking all these South Florida celebrations into account, one could say that the Virgin plays an important role in the lives of many Cuban men and women who make the journey from Cuba to the free shores of the Florida coastline. They rely on her for protection and guidance while journeying across the Caribbean Sea. La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre as well as La Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre, the church that was constructed in her honor, have both become important Cuban cultural landmarks. Built along a stretch of Biscayne Bay, her shrine was completed with the donations of newly arrived Cuban exiles. The $420,000 raised helped pay for the construction costs. La Ermita can be seen as a unifying force for the Cuban population in South Florida; with the entire community contributing to the construction and maintenance of this site, she belongs to everyone.

The Cather in the Rye :: Free Essay Writer

The Cather in the Rye Nog voor hij het de klas instapte wist hij het al. Moest hij dit wel doen? Was het wel zo verstandig? Al maandenlang had Bertus B. rondgelopen met het plan. Steeds opnieuw hadden angst en onzekerheid hem ervan weerhou-den het ten uitvoer te brengen. Dagen lang had hij staan kijken bij dit, op het eerste gezicht lege en onschuldige klaslokaal. Maar plotseling op dat midder-nachtelijk uur, nam hij de beslissing en liep met zekere passen het lege donkere klaslokaal binnen. Het duurde even voordat zijn ogen gewend waren aan het donker en het lokaal. Stap voor stap kwam hij dichter-bij het gat in de vloer vliering. Langzaam kroop hij op zijn knieà «n naar een doos. Hij klikte het slotje open en pakte er een pistool eruit. Het had het al diverse malen gebruikt om zijn zogenaamde klusjes te klaren. Hij vergrendelde het pistool met de veiligheidspal en stopte het in z’n jaszak. Hij deed de doos weer op slot en liep zachtjes het lokaal uit. Bertus liep op zijn tenen om de congiere maar niet te wekken uit zijn verdoving, als die wakker werd waren de poppen aan het dansen. Hij t rok de rits van zijn leren zwarte jas helemaal dicht en sloop de nooduitgang uit. De lamp buiten sprong aan. Zonder naar te denken zette Bertus het op een lopen en verdween in de donkere nacht. Toen hij thuis kwam sloop hij zachtjes naar de schuur. Tegen de wand stond een breekijzer, hij wikkelde deze in kranten en hield het ijzer onder zijn jas. In zijn hoofd ging hij alle mogelijkheden na. Had hij alles? Kon iemand hem? Of nog erger HAD iemand hem gezien? Hij zette deze gedacht uit zijn hoofd en liep zachtjes naar buiten. Hij liep zonder na te denken naar de afgesproken plaats waar hij Arie zou ontmoeten. Van een afstand zag hij Arie al staan. Arie was helemaal in het zwart gekleedt. Arie liep op hem af, en ging naast hem lopen. "Vanmiddag gaat het beginnen en komen ze langs, tot dan hebben wij de tijd", zei hij. Bertus knikte instemmend. Hij rook aan Arie dat hij weer gedron-ken had. "Ik dacht dat je opgehouden was met drinken, dit valt me van je tegen. Zeker als we een klus gaan klaren heb ik liever dat je nuchter bent.

Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical and Operant Conditioning Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning in which one stimulus comes to serve as a signal for the occurrence of a second stimulus. During classical conditioning, organisms acquire information about the relations between various stimuli, not simple associations between them. (Psychology, pg. 170). In classical condition a stimulus, or a physical event capable of affecting behavior, that initially doesn’t elicit a particular response can obtain the capacity to elicit that response as a result of repeated pairing with a stimulus that can elicit a response.Classical conditioning became part of a careful study in the early twentieth century, when the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov identified it as an important behavioral process. Pavlov started out his research focusing on the process of digestion in dogs. Along his research he noticed that the dogs from his studies often began to salivate when they saw or smelled food but before they even tasted it. Some of the dogs even salivated at sight of the pan where the food was kept, or at the sight of the person who usually brings the food. Pavlov said that the stimuli had somehow became signals for the food itself.The dogs had learned that when the signals were present, food would soon follow. Pavlov quickly recognized the potential importance of his observation and started shifting his research. His experiment started out with a neutral stimulus, or a stimulus that has no previous effect of salivation such as the bell. He rang the bell then immediately followed it by a second stimulus know to produce salivation, such as a dried meat powder that was placed directly in the dogs mouth. The meat powder is considered to be the unconditioned stimulus or UCS, because the ability to salivate was automatic and not learned.On the flipside the salivation of the dog to the meat powder is the unconditioned response or UCR. The bell now is termed the conditioned stimulus or CS beca use the ability for it to elicit saliva from the dog is dependent on being paired with the meat powder. Salvation in response to just the bell is called the conditioned response or CR. He found that if you ring the bell then give the god the meat powder soon or later the dog will start to salivate just to the ring of the bell without the meat powder even present.Extinction is the process in which you lose the ability to evoke conditioned response when it no longer is followed by a unconditioned stimulus. In the case of Pavlov’s dogs, extinction could occur if Pavlov kept ringing the bell and not following it up with the meat powder. This means the dog no longer salivates in response to the bell. If Pavlov keeps ringing the bell sometimes the dog might remember about the meat powder and salivate even though no meat powder is present. This is called reconditioning.This means the rapid recovery of a conditioned response (CR) to a conditioned stimulus (CS)- unconditioned stimulus (UCS) pairing. Let’s say Pavlov stops working with the dogs for several weeks because he is working on other research, then suddenly goes back to the dogs and rings the bell, the dogs should in theory then salivate due to a process called spontaneous recovery. This is the reappearance of a weakened conditioned response (CR) to a conditioned stimulus (CS) after an interval of time following extinction.If Pavlov was cooking something and the timer goes off making a ringing sound, the dogs most likely would salivate because of a process called stimulus generalization, or the tendency of stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus (CS) to evoke conditioned responses (CR). Through the process of stimulus discrimination, or the process by which organisms learn to respond to certain stimuli but not to others, the dogs will salivate to the ring of a bell but if the door bell rand they would not salivate because they discriminate and can tell the difference between the bell and the doo r bell.Psychology. about. com says that classical conditioning is used in everyday life by many dog trainers helping to train people’s pets. Some techniques are also helpful in the treatment of many phobias or anxiety problems. Teachers can apply classical conditioning in the classroom by creating a positive classroom environment to help students overcome anxiety or fear especially with classroom speeches. It helps to get the student relaxed instead of anxious. Operant conditioning is a process through which organisms learn to repeat behaviors that yield positive outcomes.In operant conditioning it is broken down into reinforcements and punishments. In the reinforcement part there are two reinforcers, positive and negative. A positive reinforcement is a stimulus that strengthens responses, and a negative reinforcement is a stimulus that strengthens responses that permit the organism to avoid or escape from their presence. An example of a positive reinforcement is when I broug ht home my report card in 6th grade and there were all A’s my mom and dad gave me 5 dollars for every A.The target behavior for that example would be the getting A’s and the positive reinforcement would be my parents giving me 5 dollars an A. An example of a negative reinforcement would be on a cold and dark morning your all snug and warm under your covers, and suddenly your alarm clack goes off across the room. Getting out of the warm bed is the last thing you want to do but the noise is intolerable. The target behavior is turning off the alarm, and the negative reinforcement is getting out of the warm bed in order to turn off the annoying alarm clock.The punishment section of operant conditioning is broken in half just about the same way. There is negative and positive punishment. In negative punishment, the rate if a behavior is weakened or decreased because the behavior is linked to the loss of potential reinforcements. An example of a negative punishment is in a k indergarten class a young boy lashes out and hits the teacher in the stomach with a pencil as he throws it. The teacher sentences him to 10 minutes in the time out corner. The target behavior is the lashing out and throwing the pencil.The negative punishment is the 10 minutes of isolation in the corner. In positive punishment, stimuli weaken responses that precede them. For example you are driving home from work at an excessive speed, About 25 mile per hour over the speed limit. As you go over the little hill you see a state trooper parked on the side of the highway with his radar gun pointed right at you. The next thing you know is the flashing lights are right behind you and pulling you over. You get a pretty hefty ticket for your speeding. After you pay your fine you always obey the speed limit signs.The target behavior in this example is the speeding and the positive punishment is the speeding ticket you receive for speeding. B. F. Skinner is known as the father of operant condi tioning. He invented a box called the Skinner box where a rat is trapped inside with a lever. Every time the rat presses the lever it receives a food pellet. Shaping might have to be used in order to get the rat to press the lever. Shaping is a technique in which closer and closer approximations to desired behavior are required for the delivery of positive reinforcement.Basically this means Skinner might have had to shock the rat’s feet when the rat started going the wrong way. That way it will remember to not go that way. When it finally presses the lever the food pellet drops and it works as a positive reinforcement because if the rat got a food pellet from pressing the lever maybe he will do in again and remember that whenever you press the lever you get rewarded with a food pellet. There are many different schedules of reinforcement you can follow. A schedule of reinforcement is rules determining when and how reinforcements will be delivered.A continuous reinforcement sch edule is a schedule in which every occurrence of a particular behavior is reinforced. A fixed interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement in which a specific interval of time must elapse before a response will yield reinforcement. There is also variable-interval schedule which is a schedule in which a variable amount of time must elapse before a response will yield reinforcement. A fixed ratio schedule occurs only after a fixed number of responses have been emitted.Variable-ratio schedules are delivered after a variable number of responses have been performed. The last is a concurrent schedule of reinforcement. It is situations in which two or more behaviors each have its own reinforcement schedule and are simultaneously available. Works Cited * Baron, Robert A. Psychology (With Mind Matters CD-ROM). Danbury: Allyn & Bacon, Incorporated, 2000. * â€Å"Classical Conditioning – Introduction to Classical Conditioning. † Psychology – Student Resources – Psychology Articles. 06 Jan. 2009 . * Plotnik, Rod, Haig Kouyoumdjian, Dennis Coon, and John O. Mitterer. Introduction to Psychology 1505. Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008. * Skinner, Burrhus F. About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. , 1974. * Staddon, John. The New Behaviorism : Mind, Mechanism and Society. New York: Psychology P, 2000. * Wade, Carole, and Carol Tavris. Psychology. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, Limited, 1996. * Watson, John B. Behaviorism. New York: The People's Institute Company, Inc. , 1924.

Divorce Should Be Legalized in the Philippines Essay

I. Introduction Marriage is meant to last forever and vows usually include the phrase, â€Å"’til death do us part†. These are the words that most of us believed. Marriage is regarded as a sacred union between a man and a woman, thus, it must be cherished and valued with love. But what if the love that a couple once shared together fades away? What if the love becomes weak and unstable as time passes by? What if everything changes and a person started to live a life full of misery? One of their options to solve these problems would be the divorce. It should be implemented in the Philippines. Present situation demands it. Reality tells us that there are many failed, unhappy marriages across the nation. Marriage is never as blissful as people expect. Divorce is never as devastating as people imagine. Divorce gives people a fresh start to lead better lives. Living in a marriage where love, respect, friendship, and compatibility are gone is a life without hope. Let us think about other people suffering due to unhappiness brought by their marriage. What is the sense of being binded by a piece of paper when it is actually ruining your whole life? Divorce nullifies marriage, therefore, giving couples the freedom to remarry and to escape from an unhappy relationship. Divorce should be legalized in the Philippines. II. Background of the Paper This research paper entitled â€Å"Divorce should be legalized in the Philippines† aims to convince the readers by presenting different evidences that could change the reader’s perspective regarding the issue. The pieces of evidence that we gathered are from the articles of Evelyn Ursua (Positively Filipino) and Anne Umil (Bulatlat) entitled â€Å"Why the Philippines needs a divorce law?† and â€Å"Divorce bill, providing a remedy for women in abusive marriages†, an excerpt from Sen. Pia Cayetano’s privilege speech, annual comparative statistics on violence against women (2004-2011) and a poll result in an online website. The purposes of this research study are to define divorce and its concepts and to better understand the benefits of divorce when legalized in the Philippines. This paperwork also intends to review the issues and arguments that are being raised by the Filipinos. Also, this aims to clarify points about the issue. This paper covers the situation of fail and unhappy marriages in the country. Beyond all, this research paper is made to encourage and persuade the Filipinos to support the legalization of divorce in the country. A divorce is a legal action between married people to terminate their marriage relationship. It can be referred to as dissolution of marriage and is basically, the legal action that ends the marriage before the death of either spouse. The purpose of a divorce is to terminate the parties’ marriage. Marriage is a legal contract or a social union that unites people of the opposite sex who agree to live as a husband and a wife. It is a binding contract between two people who decide to join their lives, income and possessions. Marriage relationship forms a family unit that consists of a father, mother and children. It is also an institution where people acknowledge interpersonal relationships, which is usually sexual and intimate. Most people and cultures formalize a marriage union through a wedding ceremony. Reasons for marriage include emotional, social, legal, religion and spiritual obligations. An annulment is legal decree that states that a marriage was never valid. The legal effect of an annulment is to void the marriage as though it never existed. Cases where annulments have been granted in the past based on fraud includes citizenship, sexual relationship, character, honesty, health, financial, and religi on III. Body Divorce has become one of the major issues in our society for the past years. The social acceptability of divorce has varied widely across historical periods, religious faiths, and cultures but not in the Philippines. Other than the Vatican City, Philippines is the only nation that outlaws divorce. The Philippines is known for being a strong Christian nation, with over 80% of its population as Roman Catholics. They are the group that is known to be against the divorce issue. According to the article from Positively Filipino Magazine entitled â€Å"Why the Philippines Needs a Divorce Law† by Evalyn Ursua, the Catholic Church will be the greatest opponent of the divorce bill. It was once argue against the bill on moral grounds. But the Catholic Church does not need to worry. The institutions of marriage and the family have survived to this day, as they will survive a Philippine divorce law. We are a secular state, where no religious group has the right to define law or policy for the entire population. The law should only give people a choice, to be exercised according to their own personal beliefs. We can clearly see that our Catholic orientation has been a dominant factor. Divorce is something that we should adopt. Remember that Spain is the root of Christianity yet divorce had been implemented. They are now benefiting from it. A lot of people fear that divorce might erode the values and teachings of the Catholic Church. The cases of Italy and Spain (two Catholic countries which practice divorce) are clear evidences of its invalidity. In accordance with House Bill No. 1799 filed by the Gabriela Women’s Party last July 27, 2010, Italy had only 7% while Spain registers 15% of divorce rate. In addition to that, over 90% of the poll respondents are in favor of divorce. In an official poll that ran from December 19 to January 3, 92.44 percent or 40,414 voted â€Å"Yes† to the question, â€Å"Are you in favor of divorce in the Philippines?† This shows that the public, regardless of their marital status, is now more open to accept the possibility of divorce. Everyone should have the right to escape from a bad marriage and be happy again. Falling into wrong decision actually happens. If we legalize divorce in our country, people with fail marriage will be given a chance and freedom to choose the right one for them so they will not have to suffer from a marriage that is not working anymore. Moreover, there’s no assurance that people who get divorced want to find a new spouse. Everyday, there are Filipinos who get married, bear children, separate and get into other relationships, regardless of what the law says. The lack of a divorce law for Filipinos complicates further the marital and family problems of many Filipinos. Our Government has clearly failed to respond to their needs. If the country wants to move forward, it has to confront the realities of marital and family life of Filipinos in the Philippines. Let’s give other people another chance to live life with their desired happiness. The divorce law needs to be legalized in the Philippines now. The researchers also put forward the claim that the process of Annulment is allowed in the Philippines but why not divorce? After all, Annulment and divorce are just the same – it targets separation. However, Annulment only allows a legal separation through a legal settlement. This will not allow any of the parties to remarry. Because of the Family Code, some Filipinos think that we do not need a divorce for it already provides to cease a marriage through â€Å"annulment†. This argument misleads. The remedy of annulment is based on specified grounds that occurred at the time of the celebration of the marriage, such as lack of parental consent and vitiated consent. The remedy of annulment expires, and the defect may actually be cured by ratification through free and voluntary cohabitation (Positively Filipino, 2013). When lay people speak of â€Å"annulment† as a means of terminating a marriage, they actually refer to the remedy under Article 36 of the Family Code. Article 36 declares that a marriage is void from the beginning when one or both spouses are psychologically incapacitated to perform the essential marital obligations. Under Article 36, a court does not terminate a marriage but only declares it void. One must prove psychological incapacity by presenting evidence on three essential elements of the condition: that it already existed before the marriage; that it is grave or serious; and that it is incurable. To do this, one usually needs the help of a psychiatrist or psychologist to testify as an expert witness (Positively Filipino, 2013). Article 36 of the Family Code only nullifies a marriage when one has proved that he or she is psychologically incapacitated (Bulatlat, 2011). Therefore, annulment has no defined grounds and terms for terminating a marriage. Here is why the writers assert that divorce should be implemented in the Philippines. In support to this, Senator Pia Cayetano once stated in her privilege speech, â€Å"I’ll tell you why. I’ve talked to lawyers, psychologists and psychiatrists and it’s so traumatic to go through annulment because under our Philippine laws, you have to blame someone, you have to say you’re incapacitated, you’re saying that this marriage never existed, which is not true,† A divorce law will provide a remedy that Article 36 does not. Divorce does not concern itself with validity or invalidity of a marriage. It terminates a marriage based on a ground that occurred during the marriage, which makes the marital relationship no longer tenable, regardless of the spouse’s psychological constitution. A divorce law will provide a straightforward remedy to a marital failure. It will benefit Filipinos wherever they are. Conforming to an article (Bulatlat, 2011), an annulment case takes two years or longer to arrive at a conclusion. It could reach P250, 000 which includes attorney fees, court docketing fee and filing fees, etc. In 2010, a little over 7000 couples were granted annulment; most of these are well-to-do, because it takes a lot of money to have an annulment (WordPress, 2011). A blogger whose marriage is annulled claims that she disbursed P100, 000 for the judge, solicitor general and initial investigator, as well as everybody involved in the case since her annulment case is not moving after one year. After shelling out P100, 000, the case was concluded within a month. The total cost of the process was P175, 000 (Bulatlat, 2011). Thus, if the law is passed, divorce will be cheaper than annulment. Given the fact that most of the people in our country are financially challenged to stop unhealthy married life, divorce is the way to get peace out of a futile marriage. Divorce is the answer for both men and women who feel used, battered or tortured mentally in their marriage. Today, divorce is one way to le ssen violence. Annulment is just a legal separation and does not allow women to have a right to be happily remarried. This completely rejects the idea of new life– divorce does. The last and final argument that the researchers want to specify is the increasing rate of battered wife in the Philippines. The most common violence against women in the Philippines is the intimate partner violence – but married women in the Philippines have no way out. The abuse can be verbal, physical or psychological. According to the Annual Comparative Statistics on Violence against Women (2004 – 2011), wife battery ranked highest at 49% of all forms of violence and abuse against women. This is one of the reasons why divorce should be legalized in the Philippines. Women, nowadays, lack confidence because they know that there are no laws to support them. Couples remain living together due to the lack of a law that would allow them to legally and properly part ways, and seek the peace and happiness that they couldn’t find in their present partner. It would be best for a couple to part ways rather than to live together under one roof and sin through their violence that will affect and traumatize the innocent children. In millions of households, both men and women who are trapped in marital commitment constantly quarrel, often in front of their helpless children who grow up in a confused and violent environment. Often, men turn to other women and bear illegitimate children, and then abandon their legal wives and children because of laxity of laws that should have held them accountable. As stated in an article entitled â€Å"Philippines needs divorce law.† by Val G. Abelgas, â€Å"It is not a coincidence that those pushing for the divorce bill in Congress are women. It is also not a coincidence that all over the world, a big percentage of those filing for divorce are women. It is not difficult to understand that in most failed marriages, it is the women who suffer more – victims of domestic abuse and violence, and neglected or abandoned by philandering or alcoholic husbands.† Many of these women suffer in silence in the Philippines. And yet, they are confined to their hopeless situation because of the lack of a divorce law. It is obvious that most of people who are in favor in legalization of divorce in Philippines are women. We cannot deny the fact that they are the usual victims of abusive marriages. Divorce might be the solution to these problems. It could provide protection to the battered women and their children. It could save a wife from being beaten daily by a drunken husband. Divorce wouldn’t necessarily destroy the foundation of the family. It gives hope to the couples to rebuild their lives and have a normal relationship. It’s a reality that many are suffering from abusive marriages. Why let someone be stuck in a marriage where love and respect don’t exist anymore? Why deny them the chance to regain their liberty and happiness? Not legalizing divorce is a total injustice to these people. IV. Counter Argument The opponents, particularly the Catholic Church, claim that â€Å"What God has put together, let no man put asunder† or â€Å"Marriage is sacred, what was bound by God can’t be dissolved by man†. They believe that God did not make man and woman to be united and then separated if they got into some problems. For this reason, Catholic Church argues that divorce is contrary to the law of God, â€Å"Divorce breaks the contract to which the spouses freely consented to live with each other till death†. Therefore, people who opposed the divorce bill think it was only men who want it, not God. Furthermore, â€Å"moralists† feel that the divorce bill will just result to the breakdown of families. They concede that strong family foundation is the backbone of a stable society. Divorce threatens this foundation that can lead to the erosion of the society. It weakens the bond between the couple that tends to lessen the chance of facing the hardships and difficulties of a married couple. This instability of the families may yieldto the rearrangements and readjustments of the familial relationships that may bring psychological problems to the children. Children will become maladjusted and potentially harmful or destructive adults. Hence, they suppose that divorce will make the value and institution of marriage meaningless. Moreover, critics said that divorce is unconstitutional. They contended that it is stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that â€Å"Marriage is an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State†. Divorce will be a threat against the family which the constitution pledged to protect as an inviolable institution. Therefore, to be able to allow divorce, the constitution would need t o be amended first. V. Conclusion We, the researchers, therefore conclude that divorce should be legalized in the Philippines because couples should have the option to choose for remedies that will help them in obtaining their self actualization. The remedy is divorce. They should have the right to escape from marriages that they entered before and let them live a new and happy life. Given the aforementioned evidences, the researchers strongly claim that legalizing divorce would be a big help for Filipinos. The lawmakers should prioritize the divorce bill because the existing laws are not enough to address their needs. What we need is a divorce law that defines clearly and unequivocally the grounds and terms for terminating a marriage. Life is too short to be married to someone you don’t want to be married to. Divorce is a choice and we all should have the freedom to make choices. Simplify the divorce process and let the couples continue on with their lives in to find the partner they will be happy with to live their lives. Furthermore, in cases where a union is more harmful than beneficial, a divorce can be a benevolent and less hurtful way of severing ties with your partner. When the marriage is no longer viable, divorce should be an option. . References Abelgas, V.G. (2012, May 29). Philippines needs divorce law. Global Balita. Retrieved from http://globalbalita.com/2012/05/29/philippines-needs-divorce-law/ Umil, A.M.D.(2011, June 14). Divorce bill, providing a remedy for women in abusive marriages. Retrieved from http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/06/14/divorce-bill-providing-a-remedy-for-women-in-abusive-marriages/ Ursua, E.G. (2013, February 1). Why the Philippines needs a divorce law? Positively Filipino Magazine. Retrieved from http://positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/ 2013/2/why-the-philippines-needs-a-divorce-law Statistics on violence against Filipino women. Philippine Commission on Women. (2012, October 2). Retrieved from http://pcw.gov.ph/statistics/201210/statistics-violence-against-filipino-women Over 90% of poll respondents favor divorce in PH. Inquirer News. (2013, January 3). Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/334579/over-90-of-poll-respondents-favor-divorce-in-ph