In “Walking and the Suburbanized Psyche, ” Rebecca Solnit, an art critic and author of Wanderlust: A History of Walking, argues that suburbanization has fragmented the connection of our body, the world, and imagination that was created by walking. The diffusion of cars and suburbanization have led our society to devalue walking. Solnit believes that if walking continues to be devalued by our society, we […]

Disobedience happens when contrast between one’s inner beliefs and society’s norms collide. However, it can be seen as a starting act for an individual. A start of an action which has its alliance with Emerson’s Transcendentalism. Such transcendentalism in America gradually, allows separation towards the individual from the community and stresses a man to think in a present continuous matter. Ultimately this leads to the […]

The 1980s were a decade of unfettered capitalist excess in the United States. It was a time when Gordon Gecko’s mantra, “greed is good”, was the status quo. A former Hollywood actor, Ronald Reagan, was the president. The failure in Vietnam and Jimmy Carter’s administration had many white conservative Americans wanting a conservative outsider for president. Actors like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, and […]

Doctors are required to deal with many challenging situations throughout their career and I have witnessed the harsh realities of the healthcare system when my father was required to have a heart bypass. Witnessing the professionalism of the doctor and bonds formed with him highlighted to me the privilege of such a stimulating profession. This inspired me to want to pursue further knowledge and experience […]

Attracted by the belief that hard work and ingenuity should be rewarded, I think meritocracy is a compelling ideal which justifies a degree of inequality. Yet it is difficult to reconcile this view with the subjective nature of ‘merit’ and the randomness of circumstance. Ultimately, it is the inevitable association between wealth and opportunity, recognised in Stiglitz’s The Great Divide, that makes me cynical about […]

While growing up, my family never practiced any religion or even thought of there being a higher power, so when given this assignment I didn’t know how to feel about it. But whilst talking to a relative about this assignment, I came to the realization that this was a great opportunity for me to explore a religion and maybe even adapt it into my life […]