A Constitution Is A Mirror Reflecting The National Soul Essays

A Constitution Is A Mirror Reflecting The National Soul A constitution is a mirror reflecting the national soul. A constitution really only reflects the type of people who wrote it, the time peroid when written and the people over time who will find ways to exploit it. Although we are raised to believe that a constitution is the greatest thing since sliced bread, there are many flaws. Section 2.1 (d) of the Aug. 28, 1992 Constitutional Accord states: Canadians and their governments are committed to the vitality and development of official language minority communities throughout Canada. Except in 2.1(b) concearning native languges, all other languges are delibertely left out. This is utterly and completely racist. This leaves out millions of Canadians and turns them into second class citizens. It would be more appropiate to have offical replaced with white. How can we preach equality if were not equal. If we left no room for racisim in our constitution we would have the word official replaced with working since it is neutral but still recognizes that French and English are the most dominant languges. However, the Canadian constitution is not alone in it's racisim. When the American constitution was written to uphold equality for all and the freedom to pursue happiness, were the blacks of the country involved. No, of course not. The constitution refleceted only the white peoples values at the time. The people who wrote it. Which brings me to my next point. Written constitutions primarly are flawed since they can't evolve with the nation. They usually represent ignorant views that are no longer relevent to modern society. How good will our constitution be in two hundred years? How good will it be in five hundred years? A good example of this would be the American right to bear arms. This initially was in order to protect themselves from the British and probably made perfect sense, at the time. But now this is totally absurd. People have to live in fear and protect themselves, ironically enough, with guns because there are so many out there. There are school shootings it seems once every month and putting control on guns is nearly impossible because it is protected by the constitution. This correlates directly with my last point. Writing a constitution gives practically total immunity to every (Warning!! Good Guliver's Travels symbolisim about to be injected.) yahoo out there. The biggest example of this is the N.R.A., despite some good promotion by Charlton Heston. They have the right to bear today's most deadly assualt weapons because they know they can hide behind the all powerful constitution. The constitution in the U.S. is exploited so a bunch of rednecks can play with their guns. All attempts of control on these weapons is continually knocked down because it is unconstitutional. Hell, that part of the American constitution will probably never change. Which shows just what kind of damage can be done with the constitution. All my contempteous arguing can be summed up in this: A constitution is a mirror attempting to reflect the national soul. This leaves room for inevitable error but ensures that we are forever continuing to improve our constitution. Governmental Issues

Bessie Smith Essays - Music, Entertainment, Blues, Bisexual Women

Bessie Smith Essays - Music, Entertainment, Blues, Bisexual Women Bessie Smith Known as the Empress Of Blues, Bessie Smith was said to have revolutionized the vocal end of Blues Music. She showed a lot of pride as an independent African-American woman. Her style in performance and lyrics often reflected her lifestyle. Bessie Smith was one of the first female jazz artists, and she paved the way for many musicians who followed. Bessie was born April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a part time Baptist preacher, William Smith, and his wife Laura. The family was large and poor. Soon after she was born her father died. Laura lived until Bessie was only nine years old. The remaining children had to learn to take care of themselves. Her sister Viola then raised her. But it was her oldest brother, Clarence, who had the most impact on her. Clarence always encouraged Bessie to learn to sing and dance. After Clarence had joined the Moses Stokes Minstrel Show, Bessie got auditions. Bessie's career began when she was discovered' by none other than Ma Rainey when Ma's revue, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, was passing through Chattanooga around 1912 and she had the occasion to hear young Bessie sing. Ma took Bessie on the road with the show and communicated, consciously or not, the subtleties and intricacies of an ancient and still emerging art form. (Snow). Bessie started by working small-time traveling tent shows. With the help of Clarence she began her professional career in 1912, and soon became a featured singer. Smith was an established star with the black audiences throughout the south by the time she moved to Philadelphia in 1921. However, two more years would pass before she would begin her recording career. Soon after moving to Philadelphia, Smith supposedly auditioned for Okeh and other recording companies. However, each time the talent scouts would say that her voice was too rough to record. Finally, Columbia Records? Frank Walter signed Smith to a recording contract and set her up in a studio on February 15, 1923. Although there is nothing that survives from her very first recording date, the following date she recorded Gulf Coast Blues and Down Hearted Blues. The record sold more than 750,000 copies that year, making her a blues star. She then married Jack McGee in June 1923. In the mid-twenties she toured the entire south and most of the major northern cities, always as the star attraction on the bill. Smith recorded with a number of noted musicians. These included pianists Fletcher Henderson and James P. Johnson, cornetist Louie Armstrong, saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and Don Redman, and clarinetist Buster Bailey. Many of her earlier songs featured only a piano accompaniment, which allowed sole focus on Smiths vocals. Yet the songs cut with Armstrong featured the two most prominent black recording artists of the 1920s. They worked off each others talents and sang too the blues backdrops while keeping the southern roots. In 1929 Smith recorded the haunting Nobody Knows You When Youre Down and Out, a tune blues historian William Barlow called Smiths personal epitaph and a depression era classic.? She was the highest paid black entertainer and completely booked at $1500 a week. Her more than 150 recordings that followed, some of which sold 100,000 copies i n a week, propelled her to fame and immortality (Sanders). Alberta Hunter stated, Bessie Smith was the greatest of them all. There never was one like her and there'll never be one like here again. Even though she was raucous and loud, she had sort of a tear - no, not a tear, but there was a misery in what she did. It was as though there was something she had to get out, something she just had to bring fore. By 1930 her career began to fade due to the publics changing musical tastes, mismanagement of her affairs, and her heavy drinking. She had started drinking as a teen and drank more heavily as time passed. Columbia dropped her from its roster in 1931. Her last recorded song, Gimme a Pigfoot, was under the direction of talent scout John Hammond in 1933. Smith continued to perform, mostly in the South, although it seemed the classical blues era was over. She was even in a movie

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Homework - Essay Example Also, each individual tile’s form would be hard to appreciate since it needs to be seen at a close range, which can only happen if the observer has to climb up the roof and inspect each tile separately. Lastly, because of the changes observed with regards to the architectural designs of houses and buildings, clay roof tiles are already rare and could easily be forgotten by most of the general public, unless these people live in old houses that still have them for roofs. A formalist perspective in finding aesthetic value for clay tiles can be used in order to explain how some principles of aesthetic reasoning can be applied to make people see these objects into works of art. Each clay tile or its grouping or arrangement can be described aesthetically using the second principle, which states that â€Å"Objects are aesthetically valuable if they express the values of the cultures they arise in, or the artists who make them.† (Moore 464). While roof tiles have the same func tion in various places around the world, the make and color of these tiles are different from one another, since it can be expected that topography, weather, and climate would contribute to these variations. But aside from these, there are also differences with respect to the different architectural styles of each place, due to the availability of other housing materials to complement the design of roofs. Such differences can contribute to the cultural aspects of seeing clay tiles as objects with aesthetic value since the identity of various cultures can be represented based on how different kinds of roof tiles are made and crafted by artisans or craftsmen in each location. Aside from the principle dealing with cultural identity, another principle that can also be used to describe and bring artistic and aesthetic attributes to clay tiles would be the seventh principle of aesthetic reasoning, which states that â€Å"Objects are aesthetically valuable if they possess a special aesthe tic (formal) property†. (465). Using the properties of unity and organization, clay roof tiles can be seen in another light by evoking onlookers a sense of unity and organization with regards to the arrangement of the tiles on the roof, as well as being properly-arranged, with no misplaced tile in sight. This can be much more appreciated in places where old buildings are still part of everyday living, such as the old houses in villas located in old towns such as Tuscany, Italy or in large Shinto or Buddhist temples in Japan. In analyzing clay roof tiles using formal properties and cultural perspectives, it is possible to make ordinary roofing materials into pieces of art which can evoke senses of beauty and history, among other things. Thus, this paper uses the argument that clay roof tiles are able to depict the customs, traditions, and artistic sense of the culture from where it comes from by way of the tile’s shape and arrangement on the roofs of buildings. The cultu ral aspect of the use of

Answering 6 questions based on the book All the Shah's Men Essay

Answering 6 questions based on the book All the Shah's Men - Essay Example Mohammed, the prophet of Islam preached his ideas on one and only God, the almighty. Ali Khomeini, an Iranian political leader, had immense influence on religion and Islamic Republic of Iran. He acted the role of a link between politics and religion in Iran. Hussein Khomeini, grandson of the founder of Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, played a neutral role between religion and politics in Iran. Religious thought and nationalism can be seen as the common factor which binds these individuals together. The teachings of Zoroaster guided Iran to religious tolerance and integration. But the teachings of Mohammed eventually directed Iran to militant nationalism. The influence of Ali Khomeini insisted the government to stick on to the rules set by the religious leaders in Iran. The religious and political ideology put forth by Hussein Khomeini was against the militant nationalism of the religious leaders and it supported the sense of nationhood among Iranians. Stephen Ki nzer points out that: â€Å"Before great powers take far-reaching decisions that can reshape the world, their leaders normally consider the lessons of history.† (Kinzer xii) the great powers possess the duty to take proper decisions on international affairs. But the overall influence of religion, especially Islam insists Iran to be an Islamic Republic. 2. Stephen Kinzer points out that the role of the Britain in Iran is that of colonial exploitation. They were not in favor of nationalization of oil assets controlled by the British companies. Kinzer points out that: â€Å"The wealth that flowed from beneath Iran’s soil played a decisive role in maintaining Britain† (Kinzer 2) the wealth looted from the oil trade helped the British government to monopoly in oil trade but the exploitation badly affected the people of Iran. The exploitation by Britain made Iran

Glory Road Film Summary and Analysis

Glory Road Film Summary and Analysis He had always wanted to coach division one basketball but he encountered some problems early on after taking the job. Being a poor university, Texas Western could not afford a lot of money to recruit players, as basketball was not even the priority sport. Determined to win, Don Haskins did what had never happened in the history of college basketball. He recruited seven black players to add to the five white players the team already had. His recruiting quote that he used to persuade the players was, I do not see color, I just see talent and that is what I put on the court. He successfully applied it to get the black players as the good white players never wanted to play for Texas Western and even the other schools did not want the black players as they used to bench them. That was just the start of the hardships that Don Haskins was to face. The other conflict was between teammates who were being forced to work together. The white players did not welcome the black players and some had never seen a black man before. His first task was to unite the players not just for the white players and black players but also among the fellow black players as they had come from different parts of the country. More so the administrators were not happy with the coach for recruiting so many black players. After weeks of hard training and learning fundamental basics of basketball and discipline, the team starts the season with a bang winning all their games. After many undefeated games, their popularity grew but it also gained many enemies who did not look kindly at black players taking over their sport. The team members were victims of hate crimes fueled by the ignorance that face and the population in general felt against black people. One player was attacked and beaten up, their hotel rooms were also broken into and words in blood were written all over their rooms forcing Haskins to acknowledge the racism. That became uncomfortable for the players and they lost the concentration and hence lost their next game. They also blamed their white teammates for being part of the threats and attacks. But this was the start of the strong unity. The coach told them that nobody could take away anything from them that they did not give and that, if they quit now they would have given them what th ey want thus they would have won. So he advised them to shake off the hate and shut them up. After that incident the team recovers and makes it to the final. Following a conversation Don Haskins over heard, he decided to play only the seven black players for the NCAA championship final something that had never happened in the history of college basketball. However the black players defied all odds and went on to win the NCAA championship to set a new trend in college basketball. That years NCAA championship is important because of who played in it. It is hard to believe looking at todays college teams that back in 1966 black players did not play college basketball. Coach Haskins decided to change that. There is a bit of contradiction and hypocrisy portrayed in the movie. At some point regarding coach Don Haskins recruitment of seven black players, it was said that black players do not respond well under pressure, that they are not calm enough or intelligent enough to play without white direction. However regarding the college rules, a team could play three black players if the team is losing. What does this mean? Could it be that the black players were recognized as very good players that you only need them when a team is losing so that the team can recover and win some games? Or that black players were only featured in losing teams? The movie also shows a team of players whose desire and passion to succeed supersedes some of the most grueling and difficult challenges during a period of massive cultural and racial turmoil in the history of the country. The coach always had the desire to win but the last game was more of a social statement than anything else. He wanted to make things right hence he played only the black players. Issues This game was broadcasted on television and it gained a lot of popularity because of the entire road that the players and the coach from Texas Western University had to go through in order to get to the finals. After winning the final game, they gained more than a national title; they won respect and were able to pave the road for future generations regarding the use of black players in a league that was thought to be mainly for white people. We found it incredible to think that so many years after slavery was abolished in the United States, there were still many people that thought of black people as being inferior and were not given their right place in a society. We also liked how this small group of men was able to change the way of thinking of many others and their contribution to our modern society should not be forgotten. Analysis The movie is the perfect example of how sports can be very helpful in some ways and detrimental in others. The detrimental part was the violence experienced by the Texas Western players and coach plus his family. They were a target to violence, discrimination, verbal abuse, death threats and more. Basketball was in a way, promoting this against them. If they had not played basketball they would not have experienced that abuse, at least not at that level. It is also important to note that this violence could have escalated even more if other externalities would have been present. Thankfully this was not the case though, the players came out alive and victorious. The beauty of the sport prevailed, and talent and logic excelled. In this particular case, basketball was helpful as it revolutionized an entire society. This team and the coach, as Coubertin said, became an instrument to transform economy and politics, and this society as a whole. We can think that the incorporation of African Americans to basketball seems only obvious because of their physical characteristics, but back in those years it was not logical at all. They were considered not smart enough, lacking leadership and being weak-willed. It is important to denote that coach Haskins was not trying to change the world or create a revolution, he only wanted to play division basketball against the best teams. Given that, he was left with little or no resources. He went for what was available: raw talent. He was smart by acknowledging that no matter the color of their skins as long as they were good, he could use them. He did the evident and played with the best. A man with no prejudices decided he did not care about what the other people thought, if it was legal he could do it. Sports can do that, bring the best out of people, in this case it did for Don Haskins. The passion for basketball gave him the courage to play with five blacks in the final game. The love for the sport also inspired the players to continue playing and not give up. This is the positive side of sports and if the right conditions are met, sports move, inspire and change the world. In the end of the movie we see how because of that game, Adolph Rupp the coach of the University of Kentucky recruited his first black player in history before stepping down. This shows how even someone so reluctant to the idea of black players, changed his mind. Universities all across the states realized that there was nothing wrong with recruiting black players, and that if any, they were really talented and could help them win championships. As it states in the movie, in 1997 the University of Kentucky hired Tubby Smith, the schools first black head coach who lead them to a National Title the first year. This also proves how the former stereotypes of blacks not being able to lead was completely wrong. Again, basketball helped everybody realize this. As colleges continue recruiting black players, the NBA was able to spot better players and ultimately the entire history of basketball was modified. Society changed, it started accepting and even embracing the idea of watching mixed g ames. The economy changed, by black players being offered more scholarships and even NBA contracts, that social group started acquiring more power. Moreover the outcome became a very strong ground that changed the basketball dynamics in the United States. Prejudices were broken in a great way because of that one game called the most important game in college history, all for this sport. In a way, the final game can be seen as the game against racism. It was subconsciously a game to prove a point. Black players can also play, they can lead, they can think, and they can do every single thing white players could; and they proved it in that game. If Texas Western had lost, we do not know how many years or how much time would have needed to pass for society and rules to change. But they did win, so the game, and the world changed for good and forever. Nowadays basketball is a sport that is predominately played professionally by black players. It is more than normal now to see black players in the NBA, we could not have guessed that before Texas Western and Don Haskins this was not a reality. Talent does not differentiate between race, color, sex or age and at least in this movie and in real life sports contribute to the betterment of the world and the promotion of peace. What is even more impressive is that even today there are still many people that think in a similar way, racial discrimination is a serious problem in many societies. But we were able to appreciate through this film and the re-enactment of the team members, basketball was used as a tool for social change. Different sports can also be used in order to achieve similar changes in the way people think a society. It does not have to necessarily aim at racial discrimination, it can also help to end gang violence, social re-integration in a post conflict zone, or even empowering women. The concept of competitiveness that is inherent in almost every sport draws people together and this gathering of people can be very helpful if correct combinations of strategies are used to achieve the specific goals. We believe that using sports as a tool for peace building can be very effective if used in the correct way. This movie uses breakthrough methods that shook the very foundations of a sport that was overrun by a majority of white players. In situations were the social foundations are so embedded in the peoples mind that revolutionary methods served better to achieve the goal. Using a similar approach, sport can be used, with the aid of different projects, to engage is social turmoils. From gang wars, to nation building in post conflict areas. Direct interaction between opposing party members can create a process of humanization and ultimately decrease tension amongst them. These techniques have already been used in post conflict zones like Rwanda, were UNICEF organized an initiative in the country to introduce sport as a reunification tool in school as a way to recover from the genocide. A similar strategy was used in Colombia, were soccer was used as a way to increase gender equality in the country. Co-ed teams of children were created and no goals would count unless a girl was involved in the play that lead to the goal. Conclusion Glory Road showed that enough exposure and bonding can defeat racism. A team formed out of nothing stood against all challenges and triumphed. The self- discipline and importance of hard work and team work imposed on the team by coach Haskins was portrayed. This marked the beginning of new things to come in the history of USA college basketball. Many doubted, others ridiculed and laughed at the team and coach but i guess you could say they had the last laugh.

The Wainscott Weasel :: essays research papers

The Wainscott Weasel   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book is about a weasel named Bagley Brown Jr. He is a weasel and I noticed that the weasels color is the same as the last name. He is brown and he has a patch on his eye. He lives in the Wainscott Woods. His father is a legend because he made the Double B. The Double B is a quarter mile long tunnel that leads to a chicken farm. It feeds all the weasels in the Wainscott woods. Everybody treats him special and he hates it. All the weasels love to dance and at the spring cotillion a new girl came to the woods. Her name is Wendy Blackish and she is pretty high class. The whitebelly brothers were there too. The oldest, Zeke likes Wendy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They danced and she invited him to a tea dance. She went and got it and then on the way she met Bagley Brown Jr. She was sweating from dancing and asked to go to swim. they swam and then she gave him the invitation instead. After she left Bagley saw a striped fish and fell in love. Zeke found out and him and Bagley got in a fight. Bagley just gave him the invitation because of the striped fish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next day Bagley went to the pond and he saw the fish and they talked about bagleys patch. he got it when he was watching his dad make the tunnel. a owl came and got his dad and took his eye out. Bagley told the striped fish how he felt about her and she said they cant be together. She came back and then she said he shouldn’t come back to the pond. He kept his promise and didn’t come back, but he dropped bugs in the stream that led to the pond hoping she got them.

Lion’s Creed Essay

Listen good, my children; this is a story of my past, and it takes place when I was a little whelp, like you, in a village in Africa. We might be in chains now, but free your ears of the shackles of slavery and listen closely. This is a tale of a man called Credo, a brave man, a strong man. Once, not so long ago, there were these two men, strong as lions fighting over territory in the savannahs of the African continent, a man called Credo, and a man called Kha’Jin. But this story begins much earlier, when Credo was still a pup: The air was stale and the sun was scorching the earth as clouds of dust hovered over the grassy plains, and besides the squawking noise of various carrion feeders, everything seemed to be at a halt. There, a blood-gorged pit near a small tribal village; in this arena did, by a trial of blood, boys become true men. And one boy in particular has passed his test, a boy lighter than the others, who was adopted by the Zulus as an infant, when a pack of hyena s attacked and most likely killed his parents. I would know, as my father was the one who found him in the savannah, I was but a boy when Credo passed his test, and I was afraid because he was different. But he grew, and as he grew, he honored the tribe by hard work and dedication, the values that would bring him into the ring of blood in which he now stands. There he is covered in blood, shaking from exhaustion, breathing for his life, the young boy, and above him, a grown man with a spear in one hand, and in the other, a shield decorated with a bloody, zebra’s hide. They know each other, at least the boy knows the man. This is a man deemed to be one of the strongest in the village, a man that can lift a whole wildebeest by himself! With a quick thrust at Credo, the man seemed to have secured his victory– or so he thought. The boy leapt to the side like a cougar, passion and fear intermixing in his deep, blue eyes to become the most powerful weapon one can ever hope to yield; as salty sweat ran down his blood and d ust covered face, the will to live helped the boy defeat his enemy. Swinging recklessly, the man stumbled, and the boy, Credo, took this opportunity to win. As he turned, Credo’s tomahawk began to enter the area between the enemy’s shoulderblades. The man’s eyes widened in despair, and he stood motionless for a few, good moments. Then, as if the stone axe took a week to lodge itself into his body, a loud scream decorated the stale silence of the crowd watching around the ring; the man was now on his knees, not ready, but helpless enough to receive the finishing blow. The boy stood over his enemy, snatched the spear out of his hand, and looked him in the eyes. What he saw, was fear–the fear of death; this fear, however, did not stop Credo from taking his place among the tribe. â€Å"Kill or be killed,† echoed through his head†¦ The spear now stood erect in the man’s chest, the dust clouds whizzing by, while everything else remained silent. In the silence, the gravel grinding beneath credo’s footste ps was the only noise. Slowly circling his nearly dead enemy, Credo took his tomahawk into his hands once again. He turned towards the man again, lifted his hands high, so everyone could see them, and as the rays of sunlight enveloped his weapon, he struck downwards with unrelenting force. An unpleasant sound of bones breaking and teeth and skull fragments dropping to the ground like dates, blood gushing faster than the raging Ncandu Falls. Red all over, Credo knew that this was hi’s domain now. But the story begins in his prime; after passing his test, Credo, seeing no point in fighting his, now, own people, turned to the hunt and was recognized by the son of the Chief Kha’Zix, Kha’Jin. The two grew up to be inseparable; they were the two who would bring our tribe to new heights. I remember looking up to their brotherhood, as a boy. The two would come back from a long day of hunting, with large, white grins on their faces as they dragged their catch into the village. I hoped I could be like them one day†¦ Marching out of a amber sunset with food for the tribe. But at the turning of age, when the Zulu chief, Kha’Zix is on his ill with an unknown disease brought in by those white devils from far away lands, a new chief was needed. Credo, who proved himself over and over with his leadership abilities and fiery attitude, has caught the eye of the village elders. Despite most of the tribe not wanting a ‘white devil’ as their leader, Credo was in position to be the next chief. Obsessing with the thrill of the hunt, and proving his village that he was the ultimate hunter, Credo unconsciously ignored the struggle for power as things fell apart. Credo had his eyes set on the greatest honor amongst the Zulu people, mastering the lion’s own game. He intended to use the pelt of the lion as a gift to his chief and father, and at the same time prove his worth. The sun was beating down the Zulu village, as usual, and everyone was busy; some over come with sweat, curved like sickles, hastily picking out ripe yams from the dirty fields, some sitting, with their brows tense, scraping and tanning leather, while others were stringing bows, arguing what traps are best suited for hunting and warfare, as though preparing for war, actually. And as this went on, Credo was further away, in the open fields of South Africa, hunting like a wild cat, prowling through the low brush of the plains of South Africa, sneaking, trying not to make a single branch crackle under his cautious footsteps. Wildebeest was his game today; he needed a large catch as food was scarce those days†¦ He let out a beastly yell as he started running towards the herd, which immediately ran in the opposite direction. This hunter, had no intention of letting his prey loose; he guided one of the smaller calves into an oasis, where he carefully prepared a trap to catch it. Trapped, the beast was dazed, but slowly breaking loose, as the net was not meant to hold down such large animals. He flung his bola at the calf wildebeest’s legs. The bola wrapped around them with a whizzing sound, and moments after, it was helpless, on the ground, yelping. The other wildebeest were long gone by the time Credo was standing dominant above his prey, its tongue out, struggling to stand up and run away, still producing inarticulate sounds, crying for help. Bowing down, Credo unsheathed his jambiya, a curved dagger he ‘confiscated’ from a corpse of a merchant up north near the town of Sofala, east from our village. He looked at the calf one last time, and bathed in its fear; he placed the tip, gently at the left side of the base of its head, his eyes widened, his hand jerked, his roar frightened th e birds around, as he pushed in, and then across, leaving a pool of blood behind as a memory. Bringing the carcass back to the village, Credo is stopped by Kha’Jin, the son of the sickly chief. â€Å"Going back to the village with such a large amount of meat by yourself, are you?† said Kha’Jin as he blocked Creedo’s way with his large body. â€Å"Yes, brother, how are you doing today?† Kha’Jin’s smile was showing now, and they embraced each other with a powerful pat on the back. â€Å"What an odd question to ask someone when their father is dying, and their so called ‘friend’ is next in line.† Smiled Kha’Jin. â€Å"I am†¦ sorry, I did not mean to offend. And, what exactly do you mean ‘next in line,’ next in line for what?† The mood suddenly changed to something less friendly, and you could almost hear Kha’Jin’s brow furrowing. â€Å"Are you serious?! You are to become the next chief, Credo, you are to become what I was destined to! You†¦ you took that away from me, just like you tried to take away my father, but he never favored you, I was always his favourite, because†¦ because I am his real son, and because I am the same like everyone in the village–† Now losing his patience, Credo dropped his prey and a familiar darkness surrounded his head. Credo was alway one to lose his temper quickly; lies and disrespect were ways to make him furious, as he tolerated neither. Credo, in fact, was always favored by the chief, as he did not show great ambition to become chief, but to help his village, even if it meant the most difficult labor. The son, on the other hand, was proving himself worthy to be chief, arrogant enough to think the title will be bestowed upon him no matter what. A thundering fist flew towards Kha’Jin’s face, who was much larger than Credo, physically. Credo was not afraid, he assaulted the chief’s son with great fury before being held back by other village members, who now looked down upon his behavior. â€Å"Who attacks someone in mourning,† we thought. The next day, no one spoke to Credo, and stricken with rage and anguish, Credo attempted something he was not yet ready for. Gathering his weapons, he headed towards the barren plains to the north. Now I know that this was, in fact, the part of Kha’Jin’s plan to get rid of the only thing standing between him and the title of chief. The sun set with a glaring orange tint, and the tribe moved on to the tomorrow as Credo to his demise. The night was young and Credo stupid. He decided to attack the alpha lion by himself, in the dark. Stalking the lion, Credo’s only thoughts were of his timed attack; â€Å"Strike when ready†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He thought. The lion was asleep, and Credo was going to take this chance to best the beast. He was too foolish to remember that lions do not sleep alone. Before he even got close, let alone the chance to pounce, he was jumped by a lioness, which pinned him to the ground and looked at him, baring her teeth, ready to attack. She tore off a fist sized portion of Credo’s muscle with a single rake of her claw, but our hero made up for his lack of insight with his agility; he grabbed some dust into his bleeding fist and flung it, along with his fingers, into the lioness’ right eye. The beast roared, and stumbled away from him. Barely managing to get up, Credo ran for his dear life. He didn’t get too far when he fell and stopped moving. The next morning Credo awoke, and the lushness of a forest surrounded him, he was marveled, yet confused by its beauty, still dazed from the wound the lioness inflicted. He realized: the closest forest to the village is half a day away, and above him stood three large figures, one of which was Kha’Jin. He stood there, his shadow gleaming over Credo, with a wide smirk on his face. â€Å"Awake, ‘brother’? I have good news, and bad news, at least; I decided. I will make you chief. Bad news: You will not be chief of MY village, not while alive.† laughed the man. The men, carrying sticks and stones, took turns savagely beating Credo into a pulp of bloody fury. Bones were cracking and skin was tearing; if he did not die of the sheer pain, he would die of shame later on. Just like a lion will die if his mane is cut off. Laying there broken, defeated, humiliated, the only thoughts that were coming through Credo’s head were that of vengeance and redemption. The young hunter spent two days and two nights whimpering in pain, until he was found by a group of those ‘white devils’ passing through the forest, scouting the area. Unconscious he lay there, as the group approached†¦ Chapter 2: A Fresh Beginning Day 2: After arriving to this new land, me and the royal expedition have decided to explore and get familiar with the environment. Mostly a savannah, this region is dotted with several forests; we are about to examine the one close to our base camp for new species of animals and plants. This hot weather will, most certainly, prove to be difficult to handle in this warm clothing. â€Å"Good Lord, Mary! Look at this poor man, laying over there under that tree!† pointed one of the three soldiers accompanying me. â€Å"Quickly, someone, give that man some help!† No matter how and how much we tried to awaken him, he would not budge, exhausted, beaten and dehydrated, he was in barely any condition to live, let alone open his eyes. If the pain did not kill him, the infections, surely would. Still, it is important to try. We scurried him back to the camp where I treated him with bandages and liniment. Day 5: Miraculously, a few days later, he awoke. He seemed different than the rest of the royal expedition, feral is the word best describing him. He saw, that we seem quite like himself, or so he thought. He was intrigued by our skin color, for some reason; it is fairer than his own, and living amongst the Africans, it must have confused him. With his head lowered, the subject in front of me, Samuel, I will name him, looked around in curiosity. I take it he grew up here, though he looks very British to me. At first frightened by the unknown, this man was willing to set that aside and accept us as family in order to, perhaps, repay the debt of saving his life. Day 246: A long time has passed since we rescued Samuel, and he has, over the course of the last half a year, or so, has proven to be the most fascinating creature ever. His learning abilities are extraordinary, as are his abilities to hunt, learned from the native tribes, I presume. I also note that in such a short time, we have been able to learn much about his former people, as he calls them, as he learned about us. We are now able to communicate, to a certain extent, and Samuel seems to have taken a liking in us, especially myself. Unfortunate this is, indeed. We have received a new mission, it is to use Samuel to find the tribes, and expand the borders of the British, Christian Empire and remove all potential barricades and threats. It pains me to use this man after he has done so much for us, but if the Lord wishes so, it will be done. In the meantime, Samuel still practiced his hunting skills, though this time, with gunpowder and rifles. He finally caught, what he told me to be the most dangerous game in the savannah, the lion. He presented its pelt as a gift, which was in his culture, the greatest honor, for both factions. â€Å"This is thank you, for rescuing me,† stated Credo, on his knees. â€Å"This is most peculiar, Samuel, why†¦ I don’t know what to say! I suppose a thank you is in an order, and you are most certainly welcome. It was only proper of God’s men and women to save their lost brother, I am sure you would have done the same.† I reluctantly took the lion’s pelt. There was a glimmer of hope in Samuel’s eyes, he had found his true family, his own kin. The rest of the colonists made him believe that they meant only the best for the native peoples, and that the only thing they wanted was to spread Christianity and bring peace amongst the tribes. Chapter 3: The Return Foolishly enough, Credo led the colonists to our village, his old home. He was the ambassador of the two factions, not the great hunter I was used to seeing as a young boy. The peacebringer, not the hunter, not the warrior he used to be, and that is what brought him to his knees once again, he was reborn, but he was weak, not strong. He was naive, still; he believed anyone who said they believed him. Even the colonists, the white demons who wanted to purge our land of US! Kha’Jin was now chief of our tribe, and he did not want the rest to find out what he has done to Credo. Credo was managing to convince the tribe to convert to this strange belief, and he was saying how we would be protected from the other tribes and given technology to dominate. We did not need that, we needed Credo, the Great Lion. After one of his preachings, Credo was returning back to the colonist camp with two other soldiers. Kidnapping him, once again, he tied him to a tree in the same forest he was beaten in before. But things were different this time, Credo has matured into a better being, he has learned about the technology of the north and of the power of reason. Unfortunately, that was not at all effective with Kha’Jin, who tried to break Credo once again. Unwilling to suffer defeat once more, by the hand of the unjust, Credo’s animalistic instincts reactivated. The rush of pure adrenaline allowed him to snap the vines as though they were hay, and he leapt onto Kha’Jin, grabbing the first thing he could find, started savagely beating him until there was a bloody pool left on the ground. Meanwhile, in the village, the colonists were displeased with our lack of cooperation, so they decided to use force. One by one, the colonists were slaughtering my people like cattle, in an attempt to make an example. When Credo returned from the forest, still bloody and baring his fangs, the village consisted of two parts. One of which was the old, familiar place he used to call home, and the other a steaming pile of carcasses and stench of his former brethren. Baffled, he snuck into one of the houses still standing to find out the colonists were cleaning the land from the Zulu people. Overcome with anger, not thinking clearly, Credo decided it was time for retribution. Finding his dagger and old clothing, Credo, along with the night, crept into the colonist camp closest to his village, and as he has done before, slaughtered all living things in that camp, but one. He left Mary alive, he owed her his life, and he could not take hers away without taking his own too. With both Kha’Jin and the colonists gone, Credo was appointed the chief of the tribe and quickly regained his reputation in the village through hard work and his ferociousness. He was happy with himself, as he finally proved to everyone that he was the lion, the ultimate predator. Chapter 4: In The End†¦ Day 321: When I woke up in the morning, everyone was gone, and a note was stuck on a spear in the ground, next to my bed, it read: â€Å"Blood for blood, you killed my people, I killed yours. -Samuel Credo† I, the single colonist that survived, Mary, fled back to the port where I came form, grateful for my life, but furious with Credo’s actions. When I went back to the port, I demanded reinforcements and the cleansing of the Zulus, as they have killed the children of the Lord. Soon after, a battalion of one hundred or so royal soldiers marched to the village, and with our superior technological power, destroyed the Zulus, along with Credo, who fought relentlessly until the end.