Essay 4 options

In the last essay, you'll be asked to propose a solution to a specific problem. Here it is:

THE SHORT VERSION:
1. There is an increasing risk, perhaps more than ever before in history, of wars over limited world resources. This is because there are diminishing fossil fuel resources, and because global warming will create droughts, famines, floods, displace people, and cause water shortages and land squables due to refugees leaving flooded coastal areas.
2. The current problems in the US related to the Military-Industrial Complex, as described by Eisenhower, and privatization or "outsourcing" of defense contracts, and high spending on military, put us at increased risk for more wars. Bush and Cheney have had plans to bomb Iran, and many say this is likely before Bush leaves office.
3. Given the huge US national debt, plus wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, possible war with Iran, and the recent sub-prime mortgage financial crisis, some say there could be serious economic problems ahead, which could lead to instability and war.

If the problem is increased risk of war, what is the solution?

Option 1: Avoiding war? Propose how to avoid war and make the world a more peaceful place. For more details, see below, and resources assigned for the unit, listed elsewhere on the blog and on D2L.

Option 2: Embracing war? Propose how to position ourselves to win any war and survive, with some kind of civilization worth living in after the dust settles. For more details, see below, and resources assigned for the unit, listed elsewhere on the blog and on D2L.

Alternate essay option 3: If you prefer not to write about the topic of the assigned research for the unit, you could do your own research from scratch after proposing a problem and a tentative solution.

Alternate essay option 4: If you prefer not to write about the topic of the assigned research for the unit, you could do your own research from scratch for a DREAM ESSAY on ANY subject you propose, and it would NOT have to be a "proposing a solution" essay. See D2L for the discussion forum on which students can post ideas.

FOR MORE DETAILS, READ BELOW

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
There are various ominous trends that are, or will soon be, converging, and many of them seem to lead to greater risks of war. Here's a sketch of some of those trends:

1. Peak Oil:
One trend has to do with the fact that the world is running out of cheap oil (and also natural gas; in addition, coal and uranium are also limited resources for energy). We've used up at least half of the world's usable oil already, but demand from growing populations in developing countries is rising steadily. Even if one claims that current wars don't have anything to do with oil, there may be wars over what remains of this limited resource. Too many things depend on it, including transportation, agriculture, food production, plastic food packaging, clothing, and in some cases, heating, etc. In other words, our modern culture as we know it has been floating on a bubble of oil that is shrinking.
2. Global Warming:
Climate change is recognized as a real and growing problem, whether caused by CO2 emissions from coal, gasoline and natural gas, or by other natural causes. Already, global warming is causing (a) more violent weather, (b) droughts in the US, Africa, Australia and parts of Europe, (c) and may soon cause displacement of large population groups due to rising sea levels. Droughts and displaced populations could easily lead to wars over limited resources of food and water, as well as ethnic and other conflicts from large numbers of homeless refugees. (d) Germs and diseases that had been limited to certain areas may migrate more freely through world populations, causing more widespread death from illnesses like malaria and avian (or "bird") flu.
3. Military-Industrial complex and privatization (or "outsourcing"):
Dwight Eisenhower warned, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." Since 1992, many aspects of the military have been "outsourced" or "privatized" through contracts to various corporations that make large profits from war, and retired CIA Analyst and author Chalmers Johnson noted in Why We Fight that when war becomes so profitable, we will see more of it.
4. Potential Economic Crisis:
Current military spending and a runaway national debt could lead to economic collapse, not only for the US, but for most of the developed world, whose economic fate has long been tied to that of the US economy. If that occurs, many kinds of social unrest could occur, including riots and wars.


Your generation may have to deal with these converging problems in ways that previous generations never did, or never had to. Nothing like getting an early start: This essay gives you a chance. Propose a solution. And do it in a minimum of four pages, single-spaced. We live in a culture with a short attention span, so make it good.


Essay option 1:
Consider the mounting threat of future wars as a problem that can be solved through a combination of a variety of methods. Some possibilities:
(a) One approach could be to educate people about what Eisenhower saw as the problem, so that people can "guard against" the "unwarranted influence" of the "military-industrial complex," as Eisenhower said. The more people are aware of the problem, the more they could be able to guard against it. One can't guard against something one is not aware of.
(b) Another approach could be to implement policies like those suggested by Smedley Butler as a three-part solution to the "racket" of war, as described in the 4th chapter of his book, "War is a Racket."
(c) Yet another approach could be through the creation of a cabinet-level "Department of Peace," as Dennis Kucinich suggests, and as George Washington and others suggested centuries ago.
(d) A fourth approach could be through the actions of perhaps a relatively silent and perhaps currently disempowered majority, such as the women in the Lysistrata story, who don't wait around for others (men, elected officials) to solve the problem, but instead, take initiative to end war using creative means.
(e) A fifth approach could utilize peaceful civil disobedience as needed, such as that described in the Howard Zinn article, "A Break-in For Peace," about the Camden 28.
(f) Your solution could include some method for sharing world resources, or converting to renewable energy sources, etc.
(g) You could include other ideas of your own, or discovered through your research, relating to methods for resolving global conflicts and dealing with these problems.
- You could include any combination of the above, and where some seem to have limitations or challenges, you could acknowledge this and "tweak" various elements to make things work.
- In other words, for this essay option, you would propose a solution to the problem of the increasing threat of war, using mostly sources we've read for class.
- This could include resources from past essays related to environment (climate change, global warming) and peak oil (Crude Impact). A majority of your resources would be taken from those already assigned for class, but you could research additional sources.
- You would consider that making the world a more peaceful and sustainable place, even in the face of serious and unprecedented challenges, is possible and worth working for.
- Another way to put it: Propose a solution to the problem of avoiding the increasing threat of war, given the challenges we seem to face, as described in the "problem" above.
- Also, you might want to read Essay Option 2, below, to help consider some of what you're up against.
- What to avoid: Don't just write about how bad war is and to be avoided. Don't sound like a beauty pageant queen who has a sound byte about how nice world peace would be. Be practical about measures that could be taken to avoid the growing threat of wars.


Essay option 2:
Consider that people who oppose war are unrealistic dreamers who need to wake up, and that their lack of realism is part of the problem to which war and the natural course of events is the solution. Some possibilities:
- Consider that Italy's Fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, was right when he said (as quoted in chapter 1 of "War is a Racket" by Smedley Butler), "War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the people who have the courage to meet it."
- Consider that Scrooge was right: Charles Dickens, in A Christmas Carol, has the character of Ebenezer Scrooge speak about the workhouses for the poor, and how if they would rather die than go there, then "[i]f they would rather die... they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
- Warfare and death would decrease world population, which would result in less burning of fossil fuels, smaller amounts of troublesome greenhouse gasses, and then the few rich, powerful and resourceful who survive would have greater access to the world's resources. This is merely survival of the fittest. You could quote Darwin (although he never really meant it that way, and has kind things to say about the lower primates).
- While others run around trying to act like do-gooders, sharing resources, making sacrifices and making peace, others could let warfare, drought, floods and disease run their natural course. Some resourceful people could focus on making a profit off the suffering of others. Those who profit most may have a stronger chance at survival. Why waste time doing good when you can seize an opportunity to get rich?
- The embrace of warfare as inevitable could include the use of biological weapons. We have the technology and could do this: Simply create a designer-germ, inoculate the population that you want to save, and then spread the germs so that all those who are not inoculated (the poor, those of other countries, those without natural immunities, etc.) would die off. You could do this secretly and pretend it was a natural disaster, an illness that emerged on its own from nature. The clever and powerful would live, along with whoever they help survive, and the rest would die off.
- A few wars and a good die-off might be the best thing to ever happen to the planet: As a result, all the weak and poor individuals who can't deal with the hardships would simply be eliminated.
- In the end, this would give the human race more time to work out renewable, sustainable sources of energy, and those who survive would be of stronger genetic stock (or weaker genetic stock, but rich and powerful enough to ensure their own survival).
- This may sound a bit like Hitler and his idea of creating a "super-race" by getting rid of the weaker, less desirable people, but propaganda could be used to make it seem that the cause was actually a noble one, and to make it sound as little like Hitler or Mussolini as possible. Propaganda could be used to make the enemy seem evil and inhuman (like fictional stories about Iraqi soldiers taking Kuwaiti babies from incubators), and to make wars seem patriotic and necessary to keep us safe.
- For this Essay option, you would use many of the same resources, but you would argue in a different direction. A majority of your resources would be taken from those already assigned for class, but you could research additional sources.


Alternate essay option 3: If you prefer not to write about the topic of the assigned research for the unit, you could do your own research from scratch after proposing a problem and a tentative solution.

Alternate essay option 4: If you prefer not to write about the topic of the assigned research for the unit, you could do your own research from scratch for a DREAM ESSAY on ANY subject you propose, and it would NOT have to be a "proposing a solution" essay. See D2L for the discussion forum on which students can post ideas.


BASIC ESSAY REQUIREMENTS:
- Minimum four (4) pages, double-spaced (hard copy), not counting graphs, illustrations, or list of works cited. Your electronic version submitted to the drop box can be 2 pages single spaced.
- To be fair, because some fonts put more words per line than others, I'm still asking you all to use Times Roman 12 pt sized font.
- Make major use of sources assigned for the unit and the course.
- Integrate quotes, paraphrase carefully, provide citations and a list of works cited in MLA format.
- Write well in light of the things we've discussed during the semester: Have a clear and interesting introduction, a focused thesis, an organized outline, a thoughtful conclusion, well-developed paragraphs, with carefully edited prose.


Due Dates:

Outline due: Thursday, December 6 (or earlier, if you want feedback from the Center for Excellence in Learning).

- Getting feedback on your outline may help a lot; if you had trouble with earlier essays, try to get outline feedback early. Don't even try to write a first draft before you get feedback on your outline, or else you may be tempted to cling to your rough draft and only make minimal changes.

Final draft due: Thursday, December 13 (the night of the final).