Andy Warhol Essay -- essays research papers

The attitude of Warhol only confused society more. Instead of hiding his association with commercial art as other artists did, drawing and dividing the line between it and real art, he erased the line. â€Å"The Pop artists did images that anybody walking down Broadway could recognize in a split second.†(Warhol) Pop artist figures competed in that art market where images and auras, no just objects, are offered for consumption. Warhol has never objected to this state of affairs, which he did so much to reveal – and indeed, to push to new extremes of sophistication. Warhol introduced society to a new kind of art that is now being recognized as real art, he pushed to boundaries and so called standards to the traditional ways. Warhol’s first major display of pushing the boundaries was in 1948 at an art show given by the Pittsburgh Associated Artists his painting that he submitted was titled The Broad Gave Me My Face but I Can Pick My Own Nose, one judge thought it was excellent and another thought it was vulgar and coarse. It hung in the ‘reject’ section but drew a huge crowd of admiring students. From that he felt that he was ready to take on the art scene in New York. Warhol’s approach to the modern way of art was mass production of everyday items. He was very successful as a commercial artist but was not considered a ‘real’ artist. Andy wanted his art to look impersonal and mechanical. He discovered the use of silkscreen and how it produced slight mistakes and unevenness in his re...

Making a Living & Building a Life: Ranchwomen in Early Arizona History :: Essays Papers

Making a Living & Building a Life: Ranchwomen in Early Arizona History In the early days of Arizona, ranchwomen played vital roles as business partners, wives, mothers, nurses, teachers, etc. Many of their stories reveal how women often were married into the cattle industry. The lives of many of these early women begin to be told by connecting them with their husbands. However, it is obvious that these women were not just â€Å"the wives of so and so.† Instead, the women actively participated in the development and worked to put all of their effort into helping their husbands’ business succeed. This led to a flourishing of a group of highly skilled, adaptable, and socially aware women. The commonly held belief that it was solely men who drove cattle across the desert, dealt with the details of a family business, and worked the ranch alone while their wives watched after the children, is continuously refuted by the stories of ranchwomen in early Arizona. In actuality a ranchwoman made the cattle industry, not just her husbandâ⠂¬â„¢s business, but rather â€Å"their† business. Besides business, women were concerned with community and home-building. The organization and influence of â€Å"The Cowbelles,† has not only provided a historical record of life on Arizona ranches, it has also provided an example and inspiration to women today. The additional efforts these women put towards encouraging neighborly attitudes, becoming nurses and teachers, and simply doing what was necessary to survive all were part of laying the foundations for some of the first modern day towns of Arizona. A timeline of events reveals the gradual birth of the cattle industry in Arizona and reveals the positive and negative results for different groups of people. In 1822, Mexico gained independence from Spain which resulted in a new government. Protection by the military was largely withdrawn from what is now known as Arizona; as a result, new settlers on the land had major problems dealing with a 50 year period of Apache depredations (Accomazzo v). However, in the 1870’s many of the tribes which were troubling to the settlers were sent to reservations by the federal government (Accomazzo v). In 1872, what is known as the â€Å"second phase of cattle ranching in Arizona, that of the Americans† began (Accomazzo vi).

Law Enforcement and the Aging Process

The mandatory separation clause, or forced retirement at a certain age for police officers was officially upheld in 1996, as the lobbying efforts of the Fraternal Order of Police were successful in pleading their case.   The group argued that mandatory separation should be enforced because of the physical requirements of the position.They believe that an officer’s ability to physically meet the demands placed his or her body at a certain age naturally diminish, which places the officer in imminent danger.   Jim Pasco, the FOP director, stated that â€Å"It’s not only harder to defend yourself, but think of the very strenuous nature of, for example, the foot chase.†Ã‚   (Kennedy, 2007)The director did admit, however that not all police departments choose to enforce mandatory separation based upon officers reaching a certain age, as many departments   believe it’s â€Å"harder to recruit new officers and expensive to train them.†Ã‚   (Kennedy, 2 007)Pasco’s comments were in response to the November 2007 fatal shooting and death of Broward, Florida’s Deputy Paul Rein, age 76.  Ã‚   Many believe that the deputy’s death could have been prevented had the department enforced the mandatory separation policy state and local law enforcement agencies are allowed when an officer reaches a certain age.   While transporting a convicted armed robber to stand trial in another location the inmate gained control of the deputy’s fire arm and fatally shot the officer.Deputy Rein’s daily duty was to transport inmates between secure locations and according to the department this was a duty older officers could handle.   Rein was considered safe, as he transported the prisoners while riding in a secure vehicle that contained a locked cage.   Fellow officers however reported that they viewed Rein let the accused inmate out of a medical vehicle prior to his death, which put the officer in danger and viol ated department policy.   (Kennedy, 2007)Though most workers are protected by strict federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on age, there are some exceptions to the rule.   The Age Discrimination Act of 1967 (ADEA) is the federal government’s protection to employees over the age of 40 that work for a â€Å"regulated employer.†Ã‚   (Pellicciotti, 1991)The ADEA’s laws are not limited to those who hold a current position; these laws also provide protection during the hiring process, salary increases, promotions and more.   State and local government employees are excluded from much of the ADEA’s protection, as the government is not considered a regulated employer.Those workers are protected by the EEOC, which enforces the same discrimination laws.   Extreme limitations are placed on the civil servant – the state and local law enforcement officers and fire fighters, due to the demands of the position and taking into consideration the fac t that age may limit an officer’s ability to perform.   (Pellicciotti, 1991)Law enforcement officers have limited protection under the ADEA, as the Act allows the government employer to â€Å"fail to hire or discharge the †¦law enforcement officers because of age† if specific stipulations are met.   (Pellicciotti, 1991)The ADEA allows the government employer to discriminate against law enforcement officers because of age if the action is taken â€Å"(1) with respect to the employment of an individual as a firefighter or as a law enforcement offers and the individual has attained the age of hiring or retirement† and â€Å"(2) pursuant to a bona fide hiring or retirement plan.†Ã‚   (Pellicciotti, 1991) The ADEA will protect officers if the retirement option presented to the civil servant is not legitimate.The ADEA’s definition of â€Å"employer† also excludes the federal government and, like the state and local government workers, the se workers are covered under the EEOC.   The federal government established a mandatory separation clause specific to federal law enforcement officers, fire fighters and air traffic controllers.   Under 4 U.S.C Sec. 8335 (a), (b), & (c) federal workers holding these three positions are required to comply with the mandatory separation policy established by the federal government and this clause is heavily enforced.   (Pellicciotti, 1991)Experts on both sides of the argument agree that the bottom line is employing the best possible law enforcement officers and fire fighters.   Many believe that the age limitation is non-existent, as Broward Sherriff’s Department spokesman Elliot Cohen stated â€Å"there are different roles that can be filled by individuals of all ages.†Ã‚   (Kennedy, 2007)   Still, the ADEA allows state and local law enforcement officers to be the exception to the rule; however in the case of officer Rein many have once again posed the question â€Å"is age the best proxy for reaching that goal?†Ã‚   (Kennedy, 2007)ReferencesKennedy, K. (2007). Death of Deputy, 76, Raises Age Question. Gefunden am November 9,2007 unter http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-D8SQF39O0.htmlPellicciotti, J. M. (1991). Exemptions and employer defenses under the ADEA. Public PersonnelManagement , 20

Sonnet 129

The poem Sonnet 129 focuses on human lust and its inevitable stages of shame. Shakespeare promotes the theme that as a result of lust there is only corruptness, whether it be while one is â€Å"in pursuit† (9) (in the future tense), â€Å"in possession† (in the present tense), or after the fact (in the past tense) when it proves â€Å"a very woe† (11). The negativity of lust is extremely reinforced in only the third line of the poem with a chain of adjectives to describe lust: â€Å"Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame, / Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust† (3-4).This word choice exemplifies strong and ruthless voice that one would not usually categorize with lust. A simile is used to expound the consequence of lust by comparing it to when a fish is tricked by â€Å"a swallowed bait† (7). When a fish takes the bait with the hidden hook, the barb on the hook encases itself inside the fish’s flesh. This is an accurate compariso n to lust because the energy the fish exerts directly correlates with how deep the hook is buried. Correspondingly, just like when one is lustful, he or she is unavoidably doomed; that is, trying to escape the shame worsens the situation.Also, Shakespeare touches on the deceptiveness of lust: at first one is convinced lust is not a problem, merely â€Å"A bliss in proof† (11); however once realized and â€Å"proved† (11), the struggle with lust ends up being problematic. Moreover, Shakespeare expresses the shamefulness of viewing lust from â€Å"behind a dream† (12), the consequently terrible feeling one feels after lusting. The organization of Sonnet 129 helps convey Shakespeare’s idea about the tangles created by lust. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.This organization of rhyme forms a sense of always searching for a conclusion to the rhyme, as one reads one line and then the next in search for an end rhyme. There are no periods for the first 12 li nes creating a lack of pause, which forces one to read the entire poem through in a hastily manner. This all exemplifies the theme of lust because the poem reveals how once one lusts, they are never satisfied whether it be before, during, or after the lusting just like how as the reader is always propelled into the next word or phrase.The last couplet of the poem â€Å"All this the world well knows; yet none knows well / To Shun the heaven that leads men to this hell† (13-4) finally breaks the hurried 14 lines. In this couplet, Shakespeare explains that everyone knows lusting is a sin and it is always visible to God. This is an appropriate conclusion for this poem because it is reiterating the seriousness of lust and the Christian stance that lusting, in the end, will place you in hell.

Fresh Foods and Canned Foods Essay

Eating is an activity that we regularly do at least twice a day. We live in a world where the variety of food is immense, and we decide what we eat and how it will affect our bodies. As a reason, flavor, health benefits, and cost are the differences between eating fresh foods and canned foods. The most notable difference between these two kinds of foods is their flavor. Fresh foods have great flavor and taste because they keep all their natural conditions. In contrast, canned foods lack a lot of its flavor characteristics because there are some other chemical products added to the natural foods. For instance, the producers used to add more salt to a canned of beef to make the product salty instead of leaving its natural flavor. It is logical that fresh foods will have a better taste and flavor because you will satisfy with your own taste when you do the cooking while the canned food do not give your own favorite taste. By comparing both types of foods we notice another difference. Health is a factor that affects both of them. Canned foods lose some of the original fresh food nutrients when they are stored. They have to be tinned with many conservatives and chemical factors that extend the shelf life and apparent freshness of the food, but could also become poisonous if consumed often. Moreover, canned foods will be expired in a specific time. Therefore, it is dangerous when you do not notice the expired day of the canned foods. Another difference between these two types of foods is the cost. Canned foods are more expensive than fresh foods. The benefit of buying canned foods is that they are easier to find, for example, in a supermarket instead of the market like the fresh foods, and they require less work to prepare than fresh foods, just open and serve. As we can see it comes down to a personal choice, based on the time each person has, the money and the importance he or she gives to his or her nutrition and health. Therefore, it is important that you consider your possibilities and choose the best type of foods for your convenience and lifestyle.

Hrm About Alibaba

1. Introduction Alibaba Group is the world's outstanding business-to-business e-commerce service company, which provides an efficient online trading platform for buyers and suppliers all over the world. It is China's largest e-commerce group which was founded by Jack Ma in 1999, and has developed into seven affiliated groups, namely Alibaba International Business Operations, Alibaba Small Business Operations, Taobao Marketplace, Tmall. com, Juhuasuan, e-Tao and Alibaba Cloud Computing (News, 2012).Besides, Alibaba Group has more than 24,000 employees in 70 cities which scattered in China, India, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States (News, 2012). This report will focus on analysis for Alibaba Group's human resource management, in order to reply the demand of its future developments. 2. Background to the case study organization Alibaba Group has  taken a hit as a result that a part of its employees were guilty of online fraudulent activities and irresponsible short- term profit.The announcement of the company showed that nearly 100 employees including sales staffs, manager and supervisor, had conspired to the fraud by deliberately helping fake suppliers in China to register with avoiding the company scrutiny and allowing them to defraud oversea buyers on the Alibaba’s international website (Nytimes, 2011). Surprisingly, these allegedly fraudulent online shops account for 1. 1% and 0. 8% of Alibaba’s ‘Gold Suppliers’ signed up during 2009 and 2010 respectively, which has impacted on the company value and produced a shock to mass beliefs (Economist, 2012).Thirteen people were sentenced ranging from eight months to three years in jail after conspiring with suppliers to gain illegally around RMB 500,000 yuan in this online fraud (Nytimes, 2011). 3. Outline of People Management Issues This issue related to the credibility of  Alibaba is directly due to the internal defects in management, the lack of inside supervision an d few controls of the internal culture. Moreover, the deep-rooted reason should be the problems of its human resources management. Lacking of a set of scientific and effective control and management system cannot guarantee the mplementation of building both core value and enterprise culture of Alibaba. Therefore, the outline of this report about the human resource management issue behind the online fraud of Alibaba is as follows. On the one hand, the management and supervision system has problems. Alibaba Group has not supervised the management in the process of dealing with related complaints about fraud happened between 2009 and 2010, even though some suspected online trading accounts had been deleted and specific inquiries of its international market transaction had been conducted since the beginning of the third quarter in 2010.It appears that in this issue managers ignored fraudulent behaviours behind the performance-chasing. However, in the statement said by Mr. Ma, it was not allowed to violate business honest principal or the basic line of company values (BBC, 2012). Although managers in Alibaba Group have to take responsibilities for the consequences, it cannot be denied that the fraud fully exposed that the lack of internal control, especially the supervision and administration of the management, is one of reasons lead to exacerbate the situation.Additionally, the event of online fraud has been doomed from the start to some extent. With the accelerating pace of internationalisation, the number of employees which rapidly increased from 11,700 in 2009 to 24,000 in 2012 has become a significant challenge that threats the development of Alibaba Group (Hua, 2012). However, weak awareness of the human resource control among Alibaba Group’s executives sets the stage for this online fraud scandal in China. On the other hand, the company may not satisfy the physical and emotional need of its employees.Both the greedy desire and the psychological imbala nce are the internal reason behind the problem. 4. Analysis (linked to HRM theory) There is always a kind of psychological motivations behind any subjective action, and the online fraud scandal of the Alibaba Group is no exception. This report will start the analysis from the view of internal motivations and then moving to the external causes. 4. 1 Internal reasons According to the perspective of Abraham Maslow who is well known for the hierarchy of needs theory, the pattern of behaviours based on individual needs (Poston, 2009).The following are psychological requirements which could associate with the fraudulent behaviours of officers at Alibaba in term of the greedy desire, the psychological imbalance and herd mentality. 4. 1. 1 The greedy desire It is difficult to satisfy individual demands because everyone would move to the next more advanced platform of the hierarchical pyramid that Maslow created frequently once the prior need is met, especially in modern society.Meanwhile, w hen setting Maslow’s model into the business to understand the motivation behind employees’ behaviours, it is not amazing to find that there are also have similar five levels of needs which including wages, safety, social belongingness, self-esteem and finally self-actualization. Maslow and Stephens (2000) have posited out that individuals will not spend an inordinate amount of time to think about their salaries if they are fairly paid. After being paid adequate salary, employee seeks safety physically and mentally on the jobs.And then the stage of needs moves to the third level subsequently-seeking social belongingness in the workplace. Although the working environment is always full of stress and difficulties, training provides opportunities for employees to improve themselves and contact with new people which could help them to fit in. Until the employee make themselves comfortable among different working relationship, it will not allowed to access to the hierarchy stage of self-esteem and self-actualization respectively.Unfortunately, after employees have been satisfied with all these five levels of needs, the worldview, philosophy and value view of them will be generally changed in a climate of corruption. With the early success of corrupt deals by heads of the sales department at Alibaba, they would have an addictive sense of satisfaction and accomplishment which lead to those guilty behaviours for greater interest repeat again and again naturally. In Skinnner’s reinforcement theory, Skinner (1984) has drawn attention to the fact that appropriate reinforcement based on public consequence may influence verbal response.It means that individuals would reinforce a kind of behaviour once its consequence benefit to them. Therefore, it makes sense that managers at Alibaba will help to defraud if dynamically taking managers’ greedy desire into consideration. 4. 1. 2 The psychological imbalance Employees of equal position and qualifica tion serviced in the parallel department with the same salary may have  quite different perceptions of the fairness. When they perceives the disparity between the inputs and the outputs,  different responds will be excepted in various ways, including de-motivation, reduced effort, becoming disgruntled and even disruptive.According to the Equity Theory of Adams, an individual will perceive the ratio of inputs to the outcomes depend not only on the absolute value but also in the relative value in order to measure whether himself or herself is treated fairly or not (Adams et al, 1976). This can be illustrated by the following equation: Individual’s outcomes/individual’s own inputs = relational partner’s outcomes/relational partner’s inputs (Adams et al, 1976). Equity is considered when this ratio is equal. While if this ratio is unequal, it leads to ‘equity tension’ which was called the negative tension state by Adam (1976).Meanwhile, it wil l motivate him or her to do something to relieve this tension. Therefore, it is why some leading cadres at Alibaba Group may feel unbalanced and help to defraud which negatively impact on the credibility of the company. With the rapid expansion of international business scale in the development of Alibaba Group, they consider their contribution to the company is greater than the return. As a result, corruption was caused secretly by the combination of selfish desire and power without supervision. 4. 2 External reasons 4. 2. 1 OpportunityThe officers participated in the fraud are almost from a high-powered job position in Alibaba Group and own important resource and privileges in the company. Therefore, it is easy for them to commit a crime with close interest people once they are lured by short-term profits. 4. 2. 2 The lack of control and management system It is not just incorrect psychological requirement or the unsound political system is blamed for breeding corruption, the lack of core value and culture control of the company is one of the significant factors which could not be ignored.The development of supervision before the event, at present and after the event all depends on the growth of the enterprise culture. Thus, if the pre-supervision runs into a problem, it represents the failure in enterprise culture management. There are six core values guide Alibaba Group’s operations and operate its culture, which including customer first, teamwork, embrace change, integrity passion and commitment (News, 1999). However, it is difficult to transform corporate culture into practice to some extent.Meanwhile, with the rapidly increased number of employees in Alibaba Group, the previous culture management has to further improve. Organizational culture diagnoses and cultural audits, for example, can give an accurate picture of an organization’s current management system (Mason, 2012). 5. Critical Reflection on group presentation Because our group has not given the presentation to the class, I could just conclud some limitation about the analysis of this report. Due to the theories of human resource management are not fully understood, the analysis of the case study about the Alibaba Group is not in-depth and incomplete.Moreover, the report has only provided superficial explanations of the issue because of the insufficient knowledge of Alibaba Group and the limitation of those methods linked with. Besides, the recommendations have not taken everything into consideration. They are too abstract and theoretical that are not seen as scientific, feasible suggestions in practice. However, analysing the issue of human resource management in the view of psychology is an innovative point of this report. 6. Recommendations 6. 1 Strengthen job rotation system in the key positionAlibaba Group should strengthen the job rotation system to avoid the corruption, especially in some key positions. According Shalley and Oldham (2004), employees wi ll have job burnout of different extents as well as reduction of creativity after 6 years working in the same position. However, if the company could do the job rotation periodically and provide support to any employees transitioning out of the company, the situation will be changed as it not only prevents managers from increasing spheres of influence, but also gives opportunities to employees to gain experience in their professions. 6. 2 Establish the mechanism of risk managementRisk management of all positions in the internal enterprise is an important part of the management system. Alibaba Group should clear the level of risk in different position and establish an internal regulatory system which includes ‘peer review’ mechanism, department regulatory system, internal audit and external audit mechanisms to ensure mutual supervision avoid unnecessary credit losses. 6. 3 Establish psychological management mechanism It is necessary to give psychological training program me at least once a month for intensifying the efforts of anti-corruption and enhancing the management of core value and culture in Alibaba Group.Besides, relevant department would better assign a special supervisor to investigate the staff on suspicion of corruption. 6. 4 Improve the mechanism of incentives and restrictions Alibaba Group should keep its employees hold the sense of crisis and responsibility and correct the psychological imbalance at the same time, such as using gaming-style leader boards to encourage internal competition or offer appropriate prizes to the most successful one. 6. Improve the standard system of selection and appointment Alibaba Group should try to improve the standard system of selection in order to ensure the person employed has higher organizational commitment. Additionally, it is necessary to introduce different kinds of methods of personal testing and assessment which combine the enterprise culture into the evaluation. References Mason, K. (2012). Informing a new business-to-business relationship: Corporate identity and the emergence of a relationship identity. European Journal of Marketing, 46 (7), p. 684-711. Poston, B. (2009). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.The Surgical Technologist, 8 p. 348-353. Available at: http://www. astd2007. ast. org/publications/Journal%20Archive/2009/8_August_2009/CE. pdf [Accessed: 03 Nov 2012]. ADAMS, J. S. , BERKOWITZ, L. , ; HATFIELD, E. (1976). Equity theory: toward a general theory of social interaction. New York, Academic Press. Bbc. co. uk (2011). BBC News – China arrests 36 for fraud on Alibaba and other sites. [online] Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-13986308 [Accessed: 1 Nov 2012]. Economist. com (2012). An online-fraud scandal in China: Alibaba and the 2,236 thieves | The Economist. online] Available at: http://www. economist. com/blogs/newsbook/2011/02/online-fraud_scandal_china [Accessed: 05 Nov 2012]. Harpercollins. com (2008). Browse Inside In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters, Robert H. Waterman, Jr.. [online] Available at: http://www. harpercollins. com/browseinside/index. aspx? isbn13=9780060548780 [Accessed: 09 Nov 2012]. Hua, T. (2012). Alibaba and the 2,236 thieves. Business Management, Iss. 5 p. 12-13. MASLOW, A. H. , & STEPHENS, D. C. (2000). The Maslow business reader. New York, N. Y. , J.Wiley. News. alibaba. com (2012). Alibaba Group. [online] Available at: http://news. alibaba. com/specials/aboutalibaba/aligroup/group_news. html [Accessed: 02 Nov 2012]. News. alibaba. com (1999). Alibaba Group. [online] Available at: http://news. alibaba. com/specials/aboutalibaba/aligroup/culture_values. html [Accessed: 05 Nov 2012]. Nytimes. com (2011). David Wei and Elvis Lee Quit Alibaba Amid Fraud Inquiry – NYTimes. com. [online] Available at: http://www. nytimes. com/2011/02/22/business/global/22alibaba. html [Accessed: 02 Nov 2012]. Shalley, C. and Oldham , G. (2004).Th e Effects of Personal and Contextual Characteristics on Creativity: Where Should We Go from Here? Journal of Management, 30 (6), p. 933-958. Skinner, B. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 212 (4507), p. 501-504. Skinner, B. (1984). The operational analysis of psychological terms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7 (4), p. 547-553. Available at: http://web. comhem. se/u68426711/rft/Skinner%201945%20The%20operational%20analysis%20of%20psychological%20terms. pdf [Accessed: 06 Nov 2012]. SUZANNE, B. And STEPHEN, D. (2003). Understanding and motivating health care employees:

Morality in Politics Essay

Civic virtue is the formation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community. This term was important to Aristotle’s theories on politics. He felt that all humans should take pleasure in civic virtue and that it was essential for living â€Å"the good life†. Today, our democratic government is well-suited to promote civic virtue and participation of all people in the country. Although times have changed since Aristotle’s days, this ideology can be seen actively in our society. One of the main ideas in Aristotle’s philosophy was teleos, or the purpose or goal of something. To fully understand something, we must also understand its teleos. For example, I have an apple. I know that it is red, kind of round, and grows on a tree, but the real purpose or teleos of that apple to me is food. As far as humans go, Aristotle says that humans are meant to be happy. To be happy, humans must live a life of virtue, which means they always choose what is morally good. Humans have the abilities to think and speak, and therefore decide what is good and bad, right and wrong, etc. People that may think they are living a good life but are not making moral decisions are not truly happy in Aristotle’s eyes. Politics provides a place for people to interact with each other, talk about what is right and wrong, just or unjust, and to make laws reflecting these things. It allows people to participate in their lives, make ethical decisions, and fulfill their happiness potential. Politics is dynamic, unlike math or science that are concrete and unchanging. People can work with each other in politics and work for the greater good. The development of civic virtue allows for a person to relate to their community. It helps them understand their ties to the community and responsibility within it. It helps them see beyond their own personal interests. Some examples of civic virtue would be voting, volunteering, or going to a town meeting. Today, anyone can participate in these things, but Aristotle believed differently. He held that women and slaves were not eligible to participate in politics, and very young men were not ready to participate because they did not understand how the society worked yet. Because of this, a small number of people in his time actually participated in politics compared to today. The American democratic government is well suited for civic virtue. The first reason is that everyone can participate, which means that everyone has the opportunity to become happy people living their life to the fullest. Anyone, provided they are 18 and a citizen, can vote. They can vote for the candidate they feel will represent their moral views and put them into action. People can run for office and put their views to work. Another reason is freedom of speech. Americans have the opportunity to speak freely about issues and share their opinions with others. This helps them create those habits of morality that become a part of their civic virtue. A third reason is the freedom to assemble. Any person can start a club or a group to meet with others. Active participation in public life is essential to civic virtue. A group may be a philanthropy group aimed at helping others. Reciprocity or giving back to the community is another key element of civic virtue. Virtue is closely related to free will. Through active participation, people develop their moral compass and they develop their ideas of what is right and wrong, and their habits of how to react in situations accordingly. People develop their own morality. How can one legislate free will? You cannot. But the legal system can shape morality. By setting laws in certain ways, people will develop their moral views around them. Laws can shape habits by reducing the frequency of certain acts. Giving prison time, fines, probation, and so on can help people learn that they do not want to do the things that caused those punishments. Laws can shape morality as well because people naturally draw influence from other sources. Some may create their moral background on the basis of religion or their family, but the law can be one of those influences as well. The legal system is important for developing morality in society and promoting civic virtue. Civic virtue is important in society. By actively participating in the community, Aristotle believes that people will be ultimately happy. The true purpose of humans is to be happy, and civic virtue is the pathway to this happiness. The American government gives many opportunities for people to participate in both politics and the community, which promotes civic virtue.