Femicide in Guatemala Essay Example for Free

Femicide in Guatemala Essay Femicide in Guatemala â€Å"Six women and girls were killed in Guatemala last week in one day alone. Two of the girls, about 6 and 12 years old, were found strangled to death in a street in the capital Guatemala City wearing their pajamas† (Moloney 1). Guatemala has the third highest rate of Femicide in the world. Femicide is defined as the killing of a woman by a man because she is a female. In Guatemala, a significantly high number of femicide cases have been reported and I strongly believe that this is a very troublesome and unhealthy issue for the population. More than 3800 females have been murdered in Guatemala since the year 2000 and this is just the official number. This clearly suggests that numerous innocent women are tortured and killed by men each day throughout the region. Another report suggests that 512 women were killed between January 1 and October 16 in the year 2012 alone and this is after a 10 percent decline from the previous year. (PCUSA, 1) Most of these cases were reported in the province of Guatemala, which includes the country’s largest city and capital. The fact that this number is still so high despite the drop suggests what an urgent issue this is. There are various reasons for this violent victimization of women throughout Guatemala and is becoming an increasingly pressing issue which needs serious attention. It has been reported that this region is one of the unsafe areas in the world for women. Each day countless women are raped, mutated, forced into sexual slavery and abortions, sterilized and murdered. This creates a sense of fear among the entire population and makes them more submissive to this brutality. Men and women throughout the country live their lives in immense anxiety and stress of losing the women that they love. One of the main concerns regarding femicide is impunity, meaning that most of these cases are not brought to trial. Reports suggest that only 1%-2% of femicide cases are prosecuted whereas criminals have a 98% to 99% chance of completely escaping any punishment or prosecution. This poses a huge problem because women don’t get the justice that they deserve and criminals easily escape. This is very unfair for the innocent women who are victims of such crimes because their offenders don’t receive the punishment that they deserve. Another main reason for this exigent issue is the inability of the Guatemalan authorities to ensure the safety of women. This is to say that the Guatemalan government is so corrupt that they are unable to provide security for women and with the extremely high rate of impunity it is almost impossible for women to find justice. Now, it is very important to understand why these gender specific crimes exist in the region. One of the main reasons for this violent targeting of women goes back to the â€Å"Guatemalan government and military’s 36 year old genocidal counterinsurgency campaign against the country’s Mayan population† (Mychalejko 1). This is to say that the reason behind this problem of femicide exists to destroy the intricate social bonds of Mayan communities. Additionally, â€Å"Gender violence not only terrorizes women in the community, but it also disrupts traditional patriarchal gender relations by sending the message to men that they are not capable of protecting women† (Mychalejko 1). I find this medium of using gender violence to target an indigenous population very disappointing. It is not ethical for a population to kill thousands of women in order to get even with a community. Further, it is believed that this harsh behavior against women is really effecting the male population because such incidents happen so frequently that they are becoming insensitive to such incidents. Men in the Guatemalan society have become normalized to such reports and this can be seen because the crimes are continuing to become more inhumane and frequent. As mentioned above, one of the primary reasons for this ongoing violence against women is the Guatemalan Civil war, which left behind harsh memories of violence and impunity. The increased militarization cause by the ongoing war on drugs also continues to contribute to these high femicide rates. Guatemala is one of the regions strongly involved in the drug trade and thus women are used as collateral damage in the battle between gangs. Additionally, the economic and political climate in the region is not very stable and thus the land a resource conflict also contributes to these innocent deaths. Lastly, it has also been found that the increased involvement of foreign governments, especially US and Canada play an important role in this violence targeted to women. Basically, the Guatemalan government uses the targeting of women as a â€Å"tactical and deliberate tool of political repression (Mychalejko 2). In my personal opinion, not only is this very disturbing but it is also very unfair. Women play an important role in building a society and this unnecessary violence against them is very alarming. Using women as a bait to target the bigger economic and political issues is unethical and should not be practiced by any government. It is impossible for women to find hope and justice in a society where such high impunity exists. This continues to be a never-ending cycle for thousands of innocent women who lose their lives, while the people responsible are let free. Overall this is an absolute shame and mockery of the system. The Guatemalan civil war really contributes to these high rates of gender violence in the country. The aftermath of the war left more than 200,000 Guatemalans murdered, most of who were indigenous. Also, thousands were raped, tortured, disappeared and displaced. The most disappointing part however, is that over 98 percent of the people who engaged in these war crimes were left free. It is this lack of justice that left criminals in the country in power and innocent victims hurt. Therefore, these high rates of femicide are to inform the local population about this harsh past and to remind them that justice has not yet come. In conclusion, I think that we must all focus our attention to this increasing issue of femicide in Guatemala. In the recent times, as the political repression against women in increasing, they are becoming more active in order to prevent femicide. For example, â€Å"In Guatemala it has been proven that as more women participate politically and socially, it brings out more repression. An example is the recent attempt on the life of [the aforementioned anti-mining activist] Yolanda Oqueli† (Mychalejko 3). Yolanda is a leader of FRENAM, a movement that aims to defend land from expansion activities. She was returning home from a peaceful protest when she was shot. I believe that this issue of femicide is one that needs immediate attention. It is absolutely wrong and immoral to use a country’s women as a way of gaining political control. Additionally, the Guatemalan government is extremely corrupted and has a very high rate of impunity, which in turn, allows criminals to go free and possibly even commit the crime again. I suggest that the citizens of the world acknowledge this and do an intervention throughout the region. It is high time that women not be used as a bait to target men or to settle past scores. Women are an integral part of any society and deserve respect and security.

Building Information Modelling Analysis Construction Essay

Building Information Modelling Analysis Construction Essay Building Information Modelling (BIM) allows constructing a building virtually in a detailed form. During the design phase, the materials that will make up the finished structure including concrete slabs, rebar, steel structure, wall and ceiling components, HVAC, plumbing and electrical can be selected and placed. But tests can be carried out to ensure everything will come together without a glitch. The 3-D building model can be used to analyze the designed buildings energy efficiency by running scenarios to determine the best of possible solutions. In addition, depending on the detail of the model, you can automatically take off all items contained in the model and that way produce an impressively precise estimate. The software and database management technology exists today to accomplish exactly this. The degree of collaboration and coordination between the various construction disciplines that BIM calls for has to be bought into notice. Not only the owners and architects, but engin eers, contractors and, ideally, subcontractors as well, need to be involved in the project from the outset; in other words, during the design of the building. This, of course, invariably means some form of design-build rather than the currently prevailing design-bid-build process. BIM is an entirely new way of looking at the design and construction of a building. Many quarters are hailing BIM as the solution to most, if not all, construction industry ills, solving both design and construction problems while also providing a complete 3-D building model as a property management facility upon completion of the project. AN OVERVIEW The concepts and methodologies of BIM date back as far as 30 years-and then primarily within the manufacturing and aerospace industries. BIM as design and construction term was introduced about 15 years ago to set the then-emerging, information-rich, architectural computer-3-D modelling apart from traditional, and mainly paper-based, 2-D design and drawing. BIM intended to assign both software approach and method of designing and constructing a building by the use of highly coordinated and internally consistent computable information about the building; all the way from conceptual design, through construction, to post construction and asset management. A correctly assembled BIM is a reliable, digital, three dimensional, virtual representation of the project to be built, for use in design and in construction document production, scheduling, planning, performance predictions and in cost estimates. Three-dimensional demonstration of a centralized database containing all items that will consist of the actual building including their location, dimension, relation to other items, composition and cost in a digitally interpreted environment for engineers and architects. Assumption is done in such a way that all the input is accurate and resolves the builder in an easy assimilated view of the intact representation, its interrelations, and of any positional issues. And most importantly, it will also provide the information and the understanding necessary to resolve positional conflicts and other issues during the design phase, rather than later, on the building site. COMPONENTS OF BIM BIM is composed of several data involving legal, geospatial, financial, designer, owner/occupier, sustainers, Specifier and environmentalist data. Fig 1 Components of BIM Key features of BIM includes Ability to hasten design-to-build including starting projects from pre-approved project templates, supplier management and virtual commissioning designed to accelerate project execution. 3D visualization of the logical definition and the complete 3D physical definition, together in an environment to simulate and analyze equipment positioning and clash detection. Information management of all types of enterprise data including contracts, compliance documents, requirements, manufacturing processes, costing and procurement information. A global collaboration environment that enables full traceability, knowledge reuses and process automation for design, engineering and construction planning. Prepare the models for fabrication and construction with tools that support project work breakdown structure management including project status reports, task lists, approved vendor lists, workforce resources, etc. THE PLAYERS The field of BIM players breaks down into makers of three distinctly different sets of tools: 3-D modellers. Viewers/Surface modellers. Analyzers. The 3-D modeller is the true BIM tool, working with solid, parametric objects in sufficient detail to virtually construct the building. Not all views of the project have to be in that detail, however. The financing entity may want to see what the building will look like-as may the owner- and for that all you need is a surface modeller-or a viewer-to which all shapes are hollow. All it knows about is surfaces, which is all it needs to recognize in order to show concepts, and detect clashes for instance, and as such is of tremendous value. Analyzers are normally third-party software that speaks to the main BIM tool, meaning it can import and then analyze data from the 3-D modeller to determine the models energy efficiency or day lighting, among other things. BIM is an approach which essentially requires a technology to be implemented effectively. The combination of CAD, Object CAD and Parametric building modelling with respect to the effect and effort makes the building information modelling possible. Fig 2 shows the graphical representation of all these technologies which leads to BIM. Fig 2 Graph showing the technology The figure preceding shows the entire effect of each of these technologies shown in vertical axis measured against the effort required for those results in the horizontal axis. BIM has been consistent in the industry with its competitive advantages Increased speed of delivery Minimizes the errors Saves money Greater output High workability New revenue and business opportunity Design visualization Collision detection Quantity take-off 4D constructability 5D cost estimation Facility operations Fig 3 Hierarchy of BIM phases Building information modelling supports the continuous and immediate availability of project design scope, schedule, and cost information that is high quality, reliable, integrated, and fully coordinated. But it is not itself a technology, it is supported to varying degrees by different technologies. Building information modelling is based on intersection of 2 critical ideas: 1) Keeping critical design information in a digital form makes it very simple for updating and sharing .It is more valuable to the firms creating and using it. 2) Creating real-time, consistent relationships between digital design data using innovative parametric building modelling technology can save significant amounts of time and cost and increases the project productivity and quality. Below given is a detailed look at how Building Information modelling works and how the different phases such as design, construction and management of building lifecycle are benefitted. BENEFITS IN THE DESIGN PHASE During the course of a building project, an architect must handle the project scope, schedule, and cost evenly. Changes to any of these variables can have a negative effect on cost, time and money. Using the traditional methods, access to design and geometry related information is usually fairly steady. But cost and scheduling information is only occasionally available because of the period and attempt necessary to create it. By means of building information modelling, all of this significant information is immediately accessible, so that project-related decisions can be made more rapidly and effectively. Building information modelling allows changes to the project at anytime during the designing or documentation process without difficulty, thus the team gets more time to work on other high-value architectural problems. This leads the documentation and designing work of the building to be carried out simultaneously, instead of doing successively, this is due to the design plan is captured at the point of conception and embedded in the documentation as the work proceeds. Whenever a change is made to a project, all the consequences of that alteration are automatically coordinated throughout the project and is documented. This allows the design team to function faster, because this consumes the time and effort spent on delivering the visualisations and regulatory approval documents. The automatic coordination of changes offered by this building information modelling eradicates the coordination mistakes thus it improves the overall quality of the project and helps companies with more repe at business. BENEFITS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE In the construction phase of the project lifecycle, building information modelling makes available the real-time informations on building quality, schedule, and cost. The builder can accelerate the quantification of the building for estimating and value-engineering purposes and for the production of updated estimates and construction planning. The cost and consequences of proposed products can be studied and understood easily thus the builder can prepare plans showing site use or renovation phasing for the owner. Building information modelling consumes less time and money is spent on administration process in construction because document quality is high and construction planning better. Thus the end result is that more of the owners construction money goes into the building than into overhead costs. BENEFITS IN THE MANAGEMENT PHASE Building information modelling also makes available the concurrent information in the management phase of the building such as performance of the building, its occupants and contents, and the economic aspects of the building. Building information modelling provides a digital record of renovations and improves more planning and management. It accelerates the alteration of standard building prototypes to site conditions for businesses, such as retail, that require the construction of similar buildings in many different locations. Physical information about the building, such as tenant or department assignments, furniture and equipment inventory, and financially important data about leasable areas and rental income or departmental cost allocations are all more easily managed and available. Reliable access to these types of information improves both revenue and cost management in the operation of the building. OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE BIM is updated during construction to create as build record. Geometry is linked with the text and tabular information in equipment and maintenance manuals and it becomes a record to support the facilities management. Fig 4 BIM model (L) and Prototype (R) Features of facility management Improved asset definition The allocation is done so as to include the cost and work order data with respect to the required time. Simplified order provision Improvements are to be made in allocating the time and cost data. Extended cost model It enables the costing of any product throughout the lifecycle which includes captured costs, budgets, estimates and cost roll up. Condition monitoring The condition data are to be captured by two different means namely instrumentation and visual inception. Request capture Additional captures for operations and maintenance works and also dealt with work order requests. Service life data It should include the management and service life capture; taking prior notice to perform the analysis using the standards. Environmental impact Sustainable working atmosphere must be given consideration for all the environmental data which allows the total impact assessment all the process. Permits The proper access, security and work must be done which is possible only by providing the permit captures. Operating and maintenance information Provisions must be given to analyse the operations and maintenance information as per the relevant standards. The above mentioned are the major features of the facility management which must be taken into account while the operations and maintenance sequence is carried out. CASE STUDY The below mentioned is significant case study carried out in BIM at Canary Wharf located at the Churchill place, London. This building is located in Churchill place, London. It comprises of around 30,000 m2 with expedient access to major facilities of Canary Wharf, Docklands Light Railway station Jubilee line. It consists of 4 basement level, ground and six trading floors. The concealment is characterized by steel and Granite mixtures. Depending from where we view the building appearance varies; from a point it appears as a steel building from another view it appears as a predominately stone building. Foremost goal of the designing is its sustainability level. Built on a Brownfield site, a BREEAM rating of Excellent was achieved for this building. Use of the IFC beam BIM models of the new and existing buildings where built by HOK and WSP using the software named Revit Architecture and Revit Structural correspondingly. Autodesk .RVT files where used for the purpose of all the data exchange in the entire project. By merging the supply chain steel fabrication model which was shaped using Stru CAD software by a Dutch steel fabricator was one of the momentous underscore. The project was further imported to the Revit using a 3D DWG format which therein relates the HOK produced a construction design. A high degree of significance was shown in all the results achieved using traditional non-BIM methods.   Design reviews have benefit from using 3D Revit and Navisworks review which is possible only through regular project meetings with client and design team.   The main contractor has modelled the services in 3D using CAD Duct and is coordinating all BIM models using Navisworks to coordinate the Services supply chain design.

College Admissions Essay: Woman of the Year -- College Admissions Essa

Woman of the Year "You have just been named the 2015 Man/Woman of the Year. For what achievement are you being honored, and how did your college education help you reach your goal?" I sprint up the stairs to my shabby apartment, taking them two at time. I've had a long day at work and I need to jump into the shower before I meet a client for a dinner date. I fumble for the key with my right hand. When the stubborn door finally opens, I fly into the apartment and kick the door closed behind me. I punch the play button on my answering machine while getting ready to take a shower. The first message is from my client saying he will be a little late. Good. Ten extra minutes. The second message is the chairman of the Person of the Year contest telling me that I had been... College Admissions Essay: Woman of the Year -- College Admissions Essa Woman of the Year "You have just been named the 2015 Man/Woman of the Year. For what achievement are you being honored, and how did your college education help you reach your goal?" I sprint up the stairs to my shabby apartment, taking them two at time. I've had a long day at work and I need to jump into the shower before I meet a client for a dinner date. I fumble for the key with my right hand. When the stubborn door finally opens, I fly into the apartment and kick the door closed behind me. I punch the play button on my answering machine while getting ready to take a shower. The first message is from my client saying he will be a little late. Good. Ten extra minutes. The second message is the chairman of the Person of the Year contest telling me that I had been...

Taco Bell Not Real Mexican Food in The Great Taco War :: essays research papers

RR - â€Å"The Great Taco War† The Real Deal Mariah Carey is one of the top pop singers in America today. On an average, her CD’s sell for fifteen dollars. However, many find it easier to purchase a â€Å"knock-off† for a cheaper price than to purchase the real thing. For instance, an individual can purchase the exact CD at a local flea market for five dollars and save the extra ten dollars for something else. In the short story, â€Å"The Great Taco War,† Jose Antonio Burciaga informs readers that fast food industries like Taco Bell do no sell authentic Mexican tacos. He urges readers to purchase tacos from taquerias because unlike Taco Bell, their food is â€Å"real† Mexican food. In the beginning, Burciaga provides a brief history when Taco Bell was established. First starting in Mexico City and then spreading throughout the United States, the chain sold â€Å"mild imitations of the real thing† (382). Many Mexican businesses and people protested against Taco Bell because unlike homemade tortillas made from hand, they used â€Å"prefabricated hard tortilla shells† (383) that tasted nothing like real Mexican tacos. Additionally, the restaurant also combines food and makes up names so that it appears different. From Enchiroto, a combination of a burrito and enchilada, to Cinnamon Crispas, known as bunuelos, Burciaga points out that â€Å"the Taco Menu can be a mystery if one is not familiar with the renamed food items† (383). Lastly, the author informs readers that compared to Mexican food, Taco Bell’s food is cheaply made. Upon visiting a local Taco Bell restaurant, Burciaga orders a menu item and begins to consume the taco when he notices that the â€Å"meat was lukewarm and the cheese and shredded lettuce were cold.

How to Build a Computer :: Essays Papers

How to Build a Computer In order to build a computer you need to have a computer case where all the components of the computer will be stored. There are tow types of computer cases. The first type is called AT case which is used for the older computers, and the second one is called ATX case which is used for resent computers. Cases also come in different sizes, colors and styles. The next part you need is a Motherboard: All of the components of the computer plug into the Motherboard. Every Motherboard comes with Bus Speed, the higher the Bus Speed the faster the computer will run. There are two types of Motherboards one is made for Intel CPU and the other one is for Athlon CPU. After you got the Motherboard you need a Central Processing Unit (CPU). CPU is the brain of the computer. With out a CPU you have no computer even if you have the rest of the parts. All computer transactions go through the CPU. After a few minutes of working the CPU gets very hot. To cool it off it requires a fan to be attached to it at all times. Without a fan the CPU will burn in just a matter of minutes, or even seconds. The next part you need is called Random Access Memory which is also know as RAM. Ram comes in different megabytes (mg). It starts from 16 mg and all the way to 528 mg on one stick. Ram allows the computer to run all of its applications. The more ram you have in the computer the faster applications will run. After you got the Ram you need a Hard Drive. Hard Drive allows you to store different kinds of programs, such as games, music, typing software, etc. There is a limit to how much programs you can put on the Hard Drive, it all depends on the size of the Hard Drive. Today the maximum size of a Hard Drive is about 80 Gig. CD-ROM is also a very important part in the computer. It allows to-install different kinds of programs, listen to music CD’s, watch movies, and copy information from PC to CD. Today the speed of the CD-ROM is 56x. Modems and Network Cards play a very important role in a computer. A modem allows you to connect to the Internet, download music, and browse the Internet.

Corporate Bonds †Business Finance Essay

Bond – is defined as a long-term debt of a firm or the government set forth in writing and made under seal. Kinds of Bond 1. Government Bonds – are those issued by the government to finance its activities. 2. Corporate Bonds – are those issued by private corporations to finance their long -term funding requirements. Bonds as Distinguished from Stocks 1.A bond is a debt instrument while stock is an instrument of ownership. 2.Bondholders have priority over stockholders when payments are made by the company. 3.Interest payments due to bonds are fixed, while dividends to stockholders are contingent upon earning and must be declared by the board of directors. 4.Bonds have specific maturity date, at which time, repayment of the principal is due. In contrast, stocks are instrument of permanent capital financing and does not have maturity dates. 5.Bondholders have no vote and no influence on the management of the firm, except when the provisions of the bond and the indenture agreement are not met. Alternative way of bond Issuance Bonds are issued through any of the following ways: 1. Public Offering – involves selling of corporate bonds to the general public through investment bankers. 2. Private Placement – is a sale of bonds directly to an institution and is a private agreement between the issuing company and the financial institution without public examination. I. BONDS by Type of Security Debentures – are general credit bonds not secured by specific property. Mortgage Bonds – are those which are secured by a lien on specially named property as land, buildings, equipment, and other fixed assets. Assumed Bond – There are times when a corporation buys another corporation, or is merged with another. Guaranteed Bonds – is a type of bond in which the payment of interest, or principal, or both, is guaranteed by one or more individuals or corporations. Joint Bonds – There are times when a property is owned jointly by several companies. II. BONDS by manner of participation in earnings Coupon Bonds – these are bonds having attachments of a series of postdated certificates payable to the bearer for the interest over the life of the bond. Registered Bonds – these are bonds wherein the names of the owners are recorded on the transfer books of the company. Participating Bonds – these are bonds which stipulate a fixed coupon rate but which also provide a method of receiving additional income over and above this minimum sum. Bonds with Warrants – Bonds may also have warrants attached to them. The warrants is an option or a right, exercisable by its holder, to purchase stock at a stated price during a stipulated period of time. Bonds with Junior Security Attached – these are bonds which are issued along with some shares of stock in a package or block sale. III. BONDS by method of retirement Serial Bonds – is one among a group of bonds a part of which mature semi-annually or annually instead of all on a single date. Sinking Fund Bonds – Bonds may also be gradually retired with the provision of a sinking fund. Callable Bonds – The are bonds with provisions that the terms of the issue can be cancelled or called. Convertible Bonds – These are bonds which may be exchanged for the common stock of the issuing corporation at a fixed price, at a pre-determined redemption date and at the option of the bondholder. Perpetual Bonds – These are bonds which cannot be redeemed by demanding repayment. THE INDENTURE AND TRUSTEE Indenture – is a contract between the corporation and the trustee on behalf of the bondholders. Trustee – is a person who handles monies or property on behalf of another in a trust.

How Freedom of Religion Cultivates American Innovation

How Freedom of Religion Cultivates American Innovation In the annals of American history, religion takes up volumes. The framers used Judeo-Christian values as a cornerstone to create democracy in the nation. Manifest Destiny, a concept coined by William Jennings Bryan, explains that it was the people’s God-given right to populate the continent and reign from the east to west coast. Before the Civil War, among thousands of individuals, preachers and followers of the protestant faith were the largest faction in America to assist slaves in escaping plantations (Ogden, 61).So why did the Founding Fathers not limit the exercise of other religions in their writing of the Constitution? For the same reason most religions hold their faiths as truth. Individuals find security in religion and religion shapes who they become. Hundreds of cultures throughout the world leave everything including their health up to the God who manages them. Others believe in consulting a higher power in ord er to attain individual success. It is important that the state not cross the lines of religious freedom unless religious expression harms the rights of others – in the case of polygamy or human sacrifice.A Study on Religion and the Role of It on People and Media†¦.The framers knew that if they created a country that favored Christianity, personal beliefs of those outside that religion would be devalued and a follower might not feel safe as a citizen of his own nation. The framers allowed religion in the Bill of Rights to inspire every individual to pursue themselves and become the realization of their thoughts and beliefs. America’s reputation grew from religious freedom. When the founding fathers came up with a document stating the rights of an American, they hoped they wouldn’t be the only ones to create a new idea.Therefore they allowed room for individual expression. An individual should create his idea of himself and that drive came to most people thr ough religion. Religious freedom guided the Puritans to develop the first university in America, Harvard. It was founded by ministers who realized the need for a clergy in a growing population. It became the nucleus of theological teaching in New England by 1827 and gave America its first philosopher John Calvin, the creator of Calvinism and harbinger of the First Great Awakening. Today, Harvard is in the ranks of the highest achieving universities in the world.Although it started out as a seminary with nine graduates, today Harvard’s 360,000 living alumni span 190 countries. Religious freedom allowed the Protestants to lead their country to greatness. The First Amendment is not only expressed through education. American businesses also practice certain religious aspects. Famous restaurants one would not suspect exercise the power to practice Christianity. In-N-Out Burger, a popular Western fast food franchise will inconspicuously print Bible verses on cups per customer reque st.Wendy’s owner Dave Thomas was quoted, saying, â€Å"You can be anything you want to be within the law of God and Man†. His success demonstrates how prosperous a Christian owned business can be when coupled with strong beliefs. Finally, Quaker Cadbury Adams from Parsippany, New Jersey established â€Å"Cadbury†, the 2nd largest producer of chocolate and drinks in the world. It purports a net income of $700 million a year (Forbes 2012). Clearly, business in America has benefited from diversity. However, it is important that Americans keep religious freedom in perspective.Religious freedom should not influence two entities to battle between the validity of their party’s beliefs. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and Galileo’s heliocentric model of the universe are two examples in which Christianity has been tested. In the 1600’s, Catholics believed Galileo’s ideas were blasphemy. His theory that earth was not the only planet, much l ess the center of the universe, rocked the Church’s platform. Because he did not live in a democratic nation, his government put him under house arrest, all but silencing his discovery.However, Galileo’s theory was in fact only an explanation of the natural world. Although science and religion serve two different purposes, the Church took Galileo’s observation on nature as an attack on Christianity and locked him up. Today, Americans view the Church’s treatment as unjustified. Four hundred years and successful flights to the moon later, it is difficult to argue that the Church was correct in its attack on Galileo. From the perspective of a country with the First Amendment right, it seems unimaginable. However, today’s churches now test religious freedom.Under the protection of the Bill of Rights, Evangelical Christian D. James Kennedy has prosecuted Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. He believes evolution is, â€Å"a dangerous opinion that deems God’s judgment on Earth† (Kennedy 183) and has many dogmatic followers. He believes public schools should not teach evolution because it conflicts with Creationism. However, by law action taken on Kenney’s part infringes on the rights of others. His Christian agenda supersedes the beliefs of other faiths, such as Hinduism, Islamism, or Judaism, which contradicts freedom of expression.If Darwinism was kept from being taught in public schools, the government would be ignoring the rights of other faiths. Darwinism is taught in school is because his views are seen as science. Science deals with natural explanations about the world (Coriden 12). If science were to have a metaphysical stance involving supernatural explanations for the universe, it would cease to be a worthwhile pursuit. The explanation for a question would become too simple and deferred to God or another supernatural being. That understood, science is unable to disprove religion by fact and religion c annot disprove science by belief.A connection between the two would seem to be a non sequitur. Truly, neither harms the other. In fact, the opposite may be endorsed. The more discoveries science makes, the more difficult it makes man’s purpose to explain. People will turn to religion for comfort because usually a combination of the natural and supernatural will mold an individual’s sense of reality. Thankfully, America is a country where one can chose how much to believe in the natural and supernatural. The First Amendment puts no belief system ahead of another.The Founding Fathers believed in order to avoid religious persecution, that they must create a nation open to every ideology. As they intended, the United States flourished under the principles of equality. Today, the United States Constitution is used as reference for countries constructing a democratic nation because of the success and freedom Americans enjoy. Although the democratic system is not flawless, it opens the road to individual achievement that does not exist in all countries by allowing religious freedom and the freedom of expression.