Blog

  • Fiction

    Isabella City was a highly populated territory in urban areas of Latin America. The place had worn-out housing units with incomplete infrastructure. Some residents, including my parents, had professionally built houses; however, due to the absence of high-quality maintenance, the dwellings’ conditions had deteriorated. I chose to write about this place to narrate the challenges I experienced and how I overcame them by having an enduring hope. The situation of the area is comparable to the life lived by Trevor Noah in Soweto. Moreover, we lived in Isabella City hoping for a better transformation of the territory, and it, therefore, relates to the Emily Dickinson poem –“Hope” is the thing with feathers.
    Isabella City residing made us experience many challenges such as inappropriate clothing, an unbalanced diet, and improper shelter. As a young child, living in Isabella City was not easy. My parents, who had no source of income, never provided us a balanced diet. My siblings and I were forced to work in a nearby sugar plantation to acquire some money for survival. However, I was stranded on how to use the little income I received. Should I pay the tuition fee? Should I buy food and lack education? These are some of the questions that lingered in my brain. We bought items in small quantities, and purchasing more than two kilograms of rice, sugar, or maize floor was like a dream. My life in Isabella City was similar to Trevor Noah’s experiences in Soweto. The same way we could not afford to buy items such as eggs in ample quantities is the same way Trevor and everyone in Soweto could not.
    As residents of Isabella City, we bypassed hardships, tough times, and harshest situations. We passed through moments of disillusionment, from covering ourselves with the palm of our hands on cold nights through sleeping on hungry stomachs to waking up early in the morning to look for food. It is ironic how both parents and children worked tirelessly and received an income that could not feed a single stomach in a day. However, we hoped that challenging moments would change, hard life would change, and disillusionment situations would change. Our concerns compared to the poem Hope is the Thing with Feathers. The poet illustrated the expansive power of hope that wields over people. Hope becomes sweater as the problems get mightier (Dickinson, 3). The poet deems that no challenge can sway away hope. As an Isabella City resident, I had an adamant attitude of hope, and I believed that no matter the challenges, a fantastic day would shine over us and change our lives for the better. It was our best time, it was our worst times, it was our age of suffering, and it was our age of happiness. Similarly, in Trevor Noah’s experience, he narrates how they lived like poor people in a two-room house with his grandmother, sleeping on the floor. Still, today, he is a television host, comedian, and writer.
    In Isabella City, there were several shops, small bars, and kiosks where some people earned some income for livelihood. My grandparents and some other residents had shops where they bought items wholesale from the bigger cities and sold at retail prices. Though struggling to make a living, these individuals were termed as the wealthiest people in the territory. This situation is similar to Trevor Noah’s hometown Soweto. The only difference between Soweto and Isabella City pertains to a black-market economy in the former. Although Soweto’s residents had informal grocery stores, Trevor claims that some people operated businesses from their own houses.
    The worst situation in Isabella City that I experienced was increased crime and violence. Numerous people, fundamentally the youth and young adults, indulged in criminal activities from drug traffickers, street gangs, paramilitary mafias, and rebellious groups. Thieves would still in my grandfather’s shop and cause him to make significant losses in his business. My elder brother was also smuggled into the same territory by unknown people. Criminal violence had increased in the region, and death took most innocent souls. Due to increased poverty in the area, people opted to participate in illegal drugs, armed robbery, and smuggling. This problem contradicts the situation in Soweto from Trevor Noah’s experience. According to him, there were limited or no crime and theft cases despite most people living in abject poverty. Although he says that Soweto was a prison developed by their oppressors, it created self-determination (Hurt, 4). This scenario contradicts my experiences in Isabella City, where most people had lost moral values and participated in criminal activities. I hoped that the territory would change one day for the better, just like how Emily Dickinson conveys her message in the poem- Hope is the Thing with Feathers. The poet uses a little bird to pass her statement by saying that hope burns in the most brutal storms, coldest areas, but it stays present in the human soul.
    People viewed Isabella city as a hiding place for criminals and a region where nothing excellent; for example, people can acquire intelligent leaders. However, most students and learners from the area received sponsorship and studied in elite schools. I was among the first students who benefited from Foundation Scholarship in Isabella City. I got the scholarship after a good-hearted person saw the struggles I was going through, from working on a sugar plantation to performing all the household chores. I become independent and tried to eliminate poverty from my parents. However, after becoming prosperous, the worst action was to vacate to the bigger clean cities with a conducive environment without uplifting other poverty-stricken individuals. This situation contradicts Trevor’s experience. Despite Trevor purporting Soweto to be a prison, with no bars or restaurants. He believes that it was not essential to leave the ghetto but instead transform it (Hurt, 4). On the contrary, Isabella City residents focused on bringing their parents out of the area without performing any significant acts to help the community. These mean actions made numerous people view the territory as a poor example.

    Conclusion
    Isabella City was a poverty-stricken region in America. Most people, especially my siblings and I, experienced inappropriate clothing, unbalanced diet meals, and inadequate shelter. The part had undesirable dwelling areas. This housing situation was similar to Trevor’s in his hometown Soweto. Trevor purports to live in a two-room house with his grandmother, mother, and other extended family relatives experiencing severe challenges. As an Isabella City resident, I faced the same challenges, but I hoped that one day life would change for the better. Our hope can be related to Emily Dickinson’s poem Hope is the Thing with Feathers. Despite the challenges, most brutal storms, and complicated life that the people of Isabella City and I faced, our hope remained still and unshakeable.

  • Economics

    Keynesian and monetarist theories offer different opinions on aspects that drive the economy and how the government should deal with recessions. Keynesian economic theory states that spending leads to growth or stagnation of the economy. In contrast, monetarist supporters purport that the amount of capital in circulation is crucial in governments. Keynes purports that struggling household are likely to spend less in hard times (Kellner, 2013). However, the same acts by the government could be harmful. He further argues that when the unemployment rate is high, the government should spend a lot of capital and decrease interest rates to sustain the demand for goods and services. However, his arguments are criticized by monetarist who purports that in tough times the government is more ruinous by preventing the market force operations and by impeding the freedom of people and companies in earning and spending. Moreover, other monetarists argue that an increase in money supply leads to inflation and holding it steadily, then a fall in inflation occurs. Given the two points of view from the economic theories, I think like a Keynesian.
    The economy’s growth or stillness is fundamentally caused by aggregate demand, which is the overall spending in the economy. A decrease in spending drives the stagnation of production, causing unemployment. In contrast, an increase in expenditures causes higher employment rates and increased production (Fiebiger & Lavoie, 2020). As a result of these two situations, the government should endeavour to balance the economy’s periodic nature. It should spend more in challenging economic periods and less in times of prosperity. A rise in the amount of capital the government spends can dramatically boost the economy and promote employment—Moreover, a fall in government spending is essential to avoid inflation.
    The Keynesian economic theory emphasizes the essence of banks in the monetary approach. For example, according to Marshall and Rochon (2019), Keynes purports that “banks hold the key position in the transition from a lower to a higher scale of activity.” Economic production travels through credit, and if the government applies the Keynesian approach, it increases banking services by offering loans to people for them to invest (Kellner, 2013) This situation employs productive monetary systems at full employment. Generally, if individuals acquire loans from banks and invest in companies, then definitely the unemployment cases are minimized since they will get people to work for them. Monetarists view banks as financial intermediaries and ignore the essence of credit policy in offering solutions to counter the effects of the recent economic crisis (Marshall & Rochon, 2019). They ignore the transformative role of central banks in fulfilling the goals of employment in a Keynesian approach. Therefore, public banks are an approach that is used more precisely as compared to fiscal or monetary policy. The social and economic utility of the latter is dependent on aspects that wields them.
    Public banking has made significant contributions to economic growth in most regions, including diverse areas like Latin America. Monetarist assigns lack of importance to public banking since most of them originate from areas with little experience with public banks (Fiebiger & Lavoie, 2020). They disregard transformations in banking systems and base their arguments on the essence of fiscal and monetary policy, which are transmitted through the credit channel. Public banks differ significantly from private banks as they do not operate for profit. Interests acquired from loans repaid is transformed into increased rates paid in deposits. Thus, public banking is an essential option of regulating household financial services, unemployment and benefits the government in times of crisis.
    Conclusion
    The Keynesian economic theory purports that its overall spending triggers the growth or stagnation of the economy. Decreased spending leads to production stillness and increased unemployment rates. Keynesian theory encourages public banking services such as borrowing. Loans from public banks solve the unemployment issue and increase government spending. However, monetarist does not support public banking but instead supports fiscal and monetary policies which do not efficiently solve economic-related challenges.

    References
    Marshall, W. C., & Rochon, L. P. (2019). Public Banking and Post-Keynesian Economic Theory. International Journal of Political Economy, 48(1), 60-75.
    Fiebiger, B., & Lavoie, M. (2020). Helicopter Ben, monetarism, the New Keynesian credit view and loanable funds. Journal of Economic Issues, 54(1), 77-96.
    Kellner, P. (2013) The Bitter Face-Off Between Keynesian Economics and Monetarism; Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bitter- Face-Off-Between-Keynesian-Economics-and-Monetarism-The-1905030

  • climate change

    climate change significantly affects the water system. People have witnessed the effects in the American Midwest, where heavy rains led to catastrophic flooding, and countries like California experienced several years of drought causing water shortage (Zevenbergen, Huffman & Gies, 10). Numerous cities have started to think of their water system and suitable ways to help their communities return normal. The methods include abolishing the use of dams and pipes and replacing them with green roofs and infrastructure. Parks are being constructed depending on the landscape’s natural ecology to handle water.
    City planners are adopting better methods to convert floods into fresh reusable water. For instance, in China, the government began a movement that advocates for soaking up and reusing 70% of their rainwater. The sponge cities idea in China is essential in trapping stormwater to reduce climate change effects, such as flooding. The water retained through sponge cities can be used in several ways, such as irrigating gardens and recharging depleted aquifers (Jiang, Zevenbergen & Ma, 138). The method fights climate changes by reducing carbon emissions and carbon footprint. Carbon footprint refers to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from an individual, organization, or product, and it is viewed as carbon dioxide equivalent. The scientists suggested using pedestrian bridges and green roofs, and terracing landscapes to counter climate change.
    Moreover, in Houston, rebuilding of pocket prairies has begun to manage and control future flooding. Hurricane Harvey hit the city, causing catastrophic flooding, and thus, people have started planting prairie grass to reduce widespread floods resulting from climate change. Laura Huffman claims that prairies not only manage floods but also provide other benefits. She suggests that prairie grass causes rainwater to seep into the soil and absolves chemicals in the rain, treating the water. The pocket prairies replace the usual concrete pavements increasing urban diversity since they can be used as butterfly gardens. This situation provides a solution to pollution. Moreover, other countries like California trap water from melting ice, and this situation has reduced drought.
    Greenhouse gases are principal gases involved in climate change. These gases result from human activities, and they include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and water vapor (Abdollahbeigi, 300). Water vapor is caused by climate issues based on the warming of the atmosphere—carbon dioxide results from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline. Agricultural and farming activities lead to methane gas production, while nitrous oxide as an aspect of the nitrogen cycle occurs naturally in the atmosphere. Manufacturing techniques of aluminum and semiconductors lead to the emission of fluorinated gases. The water cycle contributes to the increase of greenhouse gases. An increase in temperature resulting from human activities and combustion of fossils cause water to be heated and, in turn, its evaporation. Water vapor occurs from evaporation leading to an increase in atmospheric temperature.
    There are various actions that I can perform to reduce my carbon footprint. The first action is choosing my diet appropriately. Animal products like red meat, rice, highly perishable produce, and packaged food are significant examples of high carbon food (Attari, Krantz & Weber, 530). I can reduce my carbon footprint by recycling and reusing disposal items. Moreover, avoiding or using limited air conditioning and heating equipment, using public means of transport, and planting trees in deforested areas are also other action I can take to reduce carbon footprint. I would tell DeSantis that Florida’s most critical environmental concern is the blooming of toxic algae across its waterways. The growth has caused an imbalance in the ecological system through the death of aquatic animals and plants decay. This situation has made it impossible for economic activities such as fishing to go on, paralyzing farmers and fishers’ standard livelihood method (Barnard, 3). A policy change that DeSantis could employ to address this environmental issue is enforcing a rule prohibiting the release of waste products from the agricultural sector to industries.

  • Topoi

    Topoi is a metaphor term brought into practice by Aristotle to identify or characterize the areas where speakers and writers may designate arguments that a suitable to a particular subject. They are thus tools or techniques of invention. Topoi can be used interchangeably to mean topics, loci or commonplaces. In rhetoric, individuals categorize topoi into puns, proverbs as well as cause and effects to generate arguments. Moreover, according to Aristotle, there are two major types of topoi; the general topoi and the particular topics. The general topics are applicable in numerous different areas while the particular topoi are only applied in specific discipline. The former can be used to mean commonplaces and the latter to mean private places.
    Topoi are useful to both writers and speakers. They enable them to build an argument and persuade individuals in non-argumentative contexts. Some of topoi put forth a strategic advice, for instance, to turn issues that have been uttered against oneself upon the individual who said it. Topoi enable speakers to identify cases that can be presented or viewed as noble, just or desirable to argue for the gladness and goodness of the selected issues. General topoi provide speakers with various familiar materials to which listeners and spectators respond positively