Countering Counter Arguments

Of course, some may choose to contest that the criteria to which I am upholding Arab employers are unfair. They may argue that these criteria are heavily influenced by western cultures and ideals whereas the way in which Arab employers treat their domestic workers stems from an entirely different set of ethical standards. By this logic, it is unreasonable to uphold people to a set of standards that they neither recognise nor accept as (necessarily) true or right. 

However, every country in the GCC (namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, The United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain) is a member state of the United Nations. As such, the governments of each country profess to agree with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (written in 1948 – at which point Saudi Arabia was already part of the UN) and so agree to hold them “as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.” In spite of this, the treatment of migrant domestic workers violates multiple articles of the declaration. The inadequate and sometime unsafe housing violates Article 25. The lack of a proper work environment (and the details by which it is improper) violates Articles 3, 5, 13, 18, 23, and 24. Finally, the way in which employers pay (or withhold payment from) their workers violates Article 23. Because these articles were drawn up by (as well as western countries) nations that are clearly not western (such as Egypt, Nicaragua, and the Philippines), and must be agreed to by any country that wishes to become a member state of the UN, it is fair to hold Arab nations up to these standards. In seeing that the way Arab employers treat their domestic migrant workers is not in accordance with these standards, it is fair to state that what they are doing is ethically wrong.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

Evaluativ-ity

1. Evaluative writing is a written judgement of an object (whether concrete or abstract) based on a specific set of standards up to which that object is being held. For example, any review of a new piece of technology displays evaluative writing; the product is compared to its predecessors as well as similar gadgets currently on the market. By comparing size, aesthetics, usability, price, etc. the value of the gadget is determined.

2. Establishing criteria is important for an evaluative essay because the value of the object being evaluated is determined based on the criteria used to evaluate it. If said criteria are very broad then the audience will not have any clear idea of the objects value For example, both a plant and a dress can be described as 'pretty', however, using that at a criterion for an evaluation tells the audience nothing because 'pretty' has such a broad meaning. To effectively evaluate a plant, for example, the use of criteria such as leaf size, shape and colour; flower colour and fragrance, etc. gives the audience a much more comprehensive understanding of whether the plant is 'pretty' or not and what factors contribute to its aesthetic appeal (or lack thereof).

3. Question 1:
Hilary Rosen uses four key points to defend music and the music industry. Firstly, she states that music only reflects the violence already found in today's society - it does not create it. As such, while much can be discovered from the musical tastes of a person, their tastes stem from what is already inside of them and therefore should not be referred to as the cause of their actions. Rosen's second point is that music is "an outlet for parents... to talk to kids and an opportunity for adults to tune in to what kids are thinking and feeling." She claims that music provides a opening for inter-generational conversations that may not be accessed in other ways. This defence indicates that the music industry needs to continue functioning the way it currently does to maintain this bridge between generations. The third point that Rosen makes is that, while record companies often choose not to release songs or albums that are "sensationalist but empty of meaning," if they were to curb every artist with a "difficult message," then a significant portion of American society would go unrepresented in the music industry. Rosen argues that as today's music industry strives to reflect the cultural diversity of the USA, refusing to represent a large section of it would be far more damaging than their music could ever be argued to be. Lastly, Rosen uses references to the music industry's commitment to the "larger community" and "young people" as her final defence thereof. She lists many organisations and events affiliated with the music industry that have been aimed at encouraging and supporting youth in trying situations.

Switching Schools

This is me, age five, right before I left for my first day at The British School of Bahrain. For the previous two years I had been at Nadeen International School and this would mark the only time I would change schools until I graduated high school. My mom was clearly struck with "Proud Parent Syndrome" and wanted to capture me with my new uniform and 'Little Mermaid' lunch-box (which happened to be as big as my entire torso); the awkward angle of my arm holding the lunch-box is testament to the hurried nature of this photo – it was probably taken just thirty seconds before we rushed out of the door and into the car.

Looking at this photo, I can tell with absolute certainty that my smile is forced. It may not suggest more of grimace than a smile, and it may not look over-the-top and fake, but when compared with the other pictures with which it shares a page in my photo album, there is a definite lack of “squintiness” in my eyes that all of my genuine smiles contain. My inability to produce a real smile most likely stems from the fact that I am very scared of what the day holds for me; I have no idea about who my classmates or teacher will be, if they will be kind or mean or even if I will make any friends. Despite this memory of my worry on that day, this picture produces a certain sense of nostalgia and longing for the mindset I had at that age; I may have been scared, but my fear was purely external. I was not insecure about my image or personality, I did not possess the notion that I might not be ‘good enough’, and ‘success’ was a concept that did not trouble me yet. Over the years, as I have experienced, dwelt on, and tried to quell thoughts such as these, I have often found myself wishing to be able to recapture some of that innocence and selfless security that I once possessed.