Jimmy Carter:
Why I believe the mistreatment of women is the number one human rights abuse
Former president Jimmy Carter shares his stance on human rights and how woman are most commonly abused. He presents three reasons why he believes that women are most commonly abused. The first reason is religious misinterpretation. Carter says that men read religious verses and interpret them in a way that appears to put men above women so men abuse women in order to follow what scripture tells them. The second reason that carter gives is the excessive resort to violence and he explains how we are one of the only countries to still use the death penalty. Carter also begins to give examples of different abuses of women including genital mutilation, honor killings, and human trafficking. Along with the abuses of women he also talks about discriminatory acts against women like unequal pay. Carter's final reason for the abuse of women is that men just don't care. Men may say that they are against all of the different things that Carter talks about, but they secretly are happy with the position they are in because it offers more opportunities and gives them more power. An extremely well known example of this unequal balance of power comes straight from a familiar piece of American literature.
This legendary piece of literature just happens to be F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby. The most notable representations of this biased power balance are shown through the relationship of Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan as well as the relationship between Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. The root of the unbalance lies solely with Tom. He had a successful marriage, but chose to throw it away by having an affair with Myrtle. Daisy has no options in this situation due to the time period and the fact that women were seen as drastically inferior to their male counterpart. Myrtle on the other hand, faces emotional torment as well as physical abuse from Tom. She is lured into thinking that Tom is in love with her and is even struck in the face as a form of discipline. It is a sad thing to see just how wrong the ways of the American people were.
Abuse in general continues to be a major issue in society to this day. Women though, in particular seem to be vulnerable targets to such abuse. The Great Gatsby portrays the prominence of abuse to women in American society and it also shows how casually it happened in the early 1900's. The good news is that since then, we have progressed as a nation and have seriously cracked down on domestic violence as a whole. With the absence of domestic violence and power lust, it is easier for men and women to see eye to eye. Abuse is only an obstacle to block the path to living your dream and overcoming it will make you stronger as a person as well as put you a step closer to living the way you envision.
This legendary piece of literature just happens to be F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby. The most notable representations of this biased power balance are shown through the relationship of Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan as well as the relationship between Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. The root of the unbalance lies solely with Tom. He had a successful marriage, but chose to throw it away by having an affair with Myrtle. Daisy has no options in this situation due to the time period and the fact that women were seen as drastically inferior to their male counterpart. Myrtle on the other hand, faces emotional torment as well as physical abuse from Tom. She is lured into thinking that Tom is in love with her and is even struck in the face as a form of discipline. It is a sad thing to see just how wrong the ways of the American people were.
Abuse in general continues to be a major issue in society to this day. Women though, in particular seem to be vulnerable targets to such abuse. The Great Gatsby portrays the prominence of abuse to women in American society and it also shows how casually it happened in the early 1900's. The good news is that since then, we have progressed as a nation and have seriously cracked down on domestic violence as a whole. With the absence of domestic violence and power lust, it is easier for men and women to see eye to eye. Abuse is only an obstacle to block the path to living your dream and overcoming it will make you stronger as a person as well as put you a step closer to living the way you envision.