Shawshank Redemption movie review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Shawshank Redemption movie review - Essay Example In this movie, there is not just a story line, but it has a deeper meaning to the scenario. There is a saving appeal in the title ‘the Shawshank Redemption’. According to the Webster’s Dictionary, redeem means to free from what distresses or harm (Analysis of the Shawshank Redemtion). There is an initial sense of salvation as to what Shawshank might be. However, later in the movie this sense is discovered. According to that sense, the title is an oxymoron. How can it be possible that a prison provides redemption? However, full meaning of the title is gained by the end of the movie. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is a successful banker and the leading character of Shawshank. He is a man who is convicted for murdering her wife and her lover. Due to this murder, he shipped to a maximum-security prison in Shawshank, Maine, for two consecutive life sentences. Shawshank is a depressing and harsh prison, where brutality from the prisoners and the guards is a common place. A ndy becomes friends of a guy who had a fair taste of the prison after spending many years behind the bars. This was Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding (Morgan Freeman). Red is aware of all the ways of smuggling items in the prison for other prisoners. After other prisoners brutalize Andy, Red realizes that he is an unusual person (Brundage). Morgan, as the new recruit who is most likely to crack under the pressure picked up Andy. Soon enough, Andy realized the harsh realities of the prison. The warden was a corrupt, Captain Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown), who led sadistic guards. The inmates were lesser wild than the animals, who would insure their dominance through rape or beatings. Andy had proclaimed his innocence in the beginning of the movie. Throughout the time he was in prison, he does not crack, but he has the hope of his innocence. Apart from being innocent, Andy was smart too. He was always doing something or the other. He helped one of the notorious guards with a tax prob lem in return for which he got chilled bottles of beer for his people who worked in the party. This is how he got the guards and other prisoners on his side (The Shawshank Redemption ). Andy improved the prisons library for those who wanted to study. In a matter of few years, Andy gained the respect of the guards and other prisoner in a matter of few years. Andy was an optimist who would never lose hope. He would also give hope to the other prisoners. He accepts that fact that life has many possibilities, but to fulfill them all, he needs to be free. This movie is the best example of art and music. It is about a man who does not give up on hope, the only thing that cannot be taken away from the external forces. Andy and Shawshank are two things the viewer completely is enveloped with. The first glimpse of the prison you get a fair glimpse of how grim the life can be- because of its utterly gothic structure that assaults you with a sense of foreboding. A prison life is composed of ro utine and debasement. It is Andy’s smartness, which allows him to prevail behind the bars. He wins over the guards and the wardens through his skills of banking. He keeps and eye on most of the staff of the prison (The Shawshank Redemption (1994)). Andy is raising funds for his undertaking. He is very patient about it and is steadily writing weekly letters to the state officials until he gets what he is expecting. Slowly and carefully, ‘the Shawshank Conspiracy’

Police Administrators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Police Administrators - Essay Example Police administrators in the recent past have become aware of their roles both in the community and also in the political arena. Community policing emphasizes on significant changes in approaches of police administrators. Research shows politicians are normally involved in various criminal practices in order to survive in the political arena. Police administrators must walk a fine line as politicians - accepted within their department by police officers - and also answerable to the community. This paper is an exploration of pitfalls and problems of this balancing act. (Dowell, 2004) While police administrators can walk a fine line as politicians, they have to be answerable to the community. This balancing act comes along with problems that may not be very easy to solve. Since time immemorial, politics has been referred to as a dirty game. This is because it is normally associated with crime practices in the society. The problem that comes in when police administrators start involving themselves with politics and at the same time carrying out their responsibilities is that they may not combat some crime issues especially those related to politics. (Kleinman, 2000)This is because there are crime issues that are related to politics that police administrators maybe aware of but due to their political aspirations, in case they deal with them then they may never succeed in the political arena. ... While it may be called a balancing act, in real sense there is lack of proper balance problems that result from this. This is because politicians are normally very busy people with meetings that always go up to late hours in the night. This makes police administrators to spend most of their time carrying out political endeavors. The result is that they fail to attend to their duties as administration officer. One of the roles of administrative officers is to carry out recruitment of junior police officers. (Royster, 1999) Once they get involved in politics they always have to appeal to other politicians by recruiting relatives to other politicians in order to survive in the political arena. This normally results in police administrators taking bribes in their line of duty. It becomes very hard for them to deal with police administrators who are corrupt. This actually results in increase in corruption within a nation. It is very hard to be good and bad at the same time. This is the scenario when police administrators come to the frontline of politics at the same time carry out their responsibilities in the community. When a police administrator carries out his duties in the community concerning crime, he may actually be at conflict with some members of the community and yet expect their approval in the political arena. (Manning, 1985) This is a big problem. Some of the people that carry out crime in the society are people who have political back up and once a police administrator carries out legal measures it follows that he or she will be politically disadvantaged. Another problem that is likely to result from this is in the area of community policing. This could

Reviewing The Psychological Effects Of Teenage Pregnancy Psychology Essay

Reviewing The Psychological Effects Of Teenage Pregnancy Psychology Essay On my journey to find a piece of art for my term paper, I was excited because this was the first time I had gone to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and I felt it was going to be a experience to last a lifetime. I wanted to pick a painting that was attractive but rather in depth. As I walked through MOMA, I had seen several paintings that I can choose but I decided to check one more floor and came across, Girl before a Mirror illustrated by Pablo Picasso (1932). This piece of art was rather fascinating and interesting due to the image of a young pregnant woman possibly viewing herself from past to future. After this, many ideas came to mind, such as the problem we have with teenage pregnancy and how pregnancy can affect a sense of identity, self-esteem, social relationship and education To me, Girl before a Mirror painted in the year 1932, shows a young pregnant girl confronting herself in a mirror. As the girl looks in the mirror one can see both her as a young pregnant girl and as a mature woman who will be soon transforming into a mother. This clearly symbolizes moments of sacrificing the image of one self, which may cause a significant loss of a sense of identity. On the left side of the mirror, there is a reflection of a young girl who is confused and worried. Her face is youthful looking, eyes round and narrow, and her pregnant body is developing rapidly. On the right side of the mirror, one can see a supernatural x-ray of the girls soul, her future, and her fate. Her face appears darkened, eyes round and hollow, and her pregnant body is twisted, as she looks older and more anxious. Pablo Picasso was born in Marlage, in the Southern Spain, on October 25, 1881.Was Pablo Picasso a famous painter? Yes, A naturally gifted draftsman, Born into an artistic family it is said that Pablo could draw before he could talk. (Mason, P.5) Picasso father was a painter and art teacher who taught and encouraged him. Picasso an attractive and unpredictable artist mastered realist early in his life, then moved to classical paintings and on to abstract painting. Impressionism was a name given to a group of artist including Picasso as he tried to evoke a scene by using quick brushstrokes. This was the breaking up of colors into bright dots. In fact, Picasso interest only included what the emotions of a painting would convey. Even though, he died on April 8, 1973, Picasso was one of few artists to be appreciated and celebrated during his lifetime. Girl before a Mirror, a masterpiece of color and design indicated Picasso was also capable of succeeding Surrealist. Surrealist included work that was inspired by dreams and imagination. The interest was realm of fantasy rather than reality. Picasso posed a golden-haired young woman, which is a portrait of his new love, the twenty-year-old Marie- Therese. She considers her reflection, a dark distorted and altogether sinister. The Byzantine richness of the patterned background and the continuous moving lines of the ovoid shapes reinforced a modern revival of the ancient; however, the exact meaning of the painting remains enigmatic. (Jacobus Wheler, P.300) Using this as my inspiration, I decided to examine the factors involved in teenage pregnancy, especially some of the psychological factors implicated in becoming pregnant at an early age. Furthermore, I will attempt to identify issues related to self-esteem, identity, and self-worth among young mothers and how these factors play a r ole in their psychological adjustments to motherhood. Teenage pregnancy is very common all over the world but, the United States have the highest pregnancy and births among adolescents. (Coley Lansdale, 1998, P.153) Teenagers who reside in communities with higher rates of poverty and raised in poverty by single parents are more prone to teenage parenthood. There are also large differences among teenagers of different racial and ethnic groups. According to literature review done by Coley and Lansdale, (1998), studies show that white teens have lower rates of teenage births than Hispanics and African Americans (P.152). As more African Americans become more upwardly mobile, the rates of teenage pregnancy appear to decline. For example, in the last two decades, the rates of teenage pregnancy among African Americans have decreased, while the rates among Latino populations have increased. Pregnancy is a major life transition requiring changes, challenges, and adaptation of many kinds. According to researchers, parenthood continuous demands and responsibilities leaves little or no time for most teen concern; such as, peer relations, dating, academics and career choices. (Coley Lansdale, 1998, P.155) F or instance, the image of the young girl in Girl before a Mirror expresses the psychological effect of teenage pregnancy, which is the loss of identity resulting in the consequences of developing low self-esteem. Sense of Identity Identity refers to the sense of ones self or a unique character over a period of time. A strong sense of self is dependent on early relationships, gender differences and support that allow adolescents to develop their own unique identity. The teenage years can be full of turmoil and changes that can have a detrimental affect on girls. According to the literature review done by Coley Lansdale, (1998) studies show that teenagers faced with setting and determining their sense of identity on their own while learning independence from their parents(P.155). This simply indicates that while learning to cope with changes, they must also be concerned with self-image. At this stage many teenagers try to find out: (1) who they are; (2) what they are about, their interest and personalities; and (3) where they are going, in order to discover their place in life. Negative thoughts about ones body can interfere with the development of other attributes. As one look at the young girl portrayed in th e painting, one can notice her pregnant body appearing twisted, perhaps reflecting some elements of her identity being threatened. The dramatic physical changes that happen during teenage pregnancy- such as, weight gain, breast enlargement and swollen of the body, generally makes a pregnant teen feel anything but, at home in ones body. Body image is a prime concern during adolescent years and is only part of a persons identity. In most cases the lack of physical attractiveness affects social relationships and the way one perceive oneself innermost , ones sincerity, intelligence and personality. Adolescents are also confronted with career choices, romantic entanglements and responsibilities that are new experiences in which they make decisions or adjustments to attain their own identity or success. Meanwhile, they are entering a new phase of role requirements creating a turning point of new directions for changes and adaptations; such as the plan to have a baby, pregnancy, childbirth , and care for the baby. According to researchers, earlier findings show that parenting is one of the womans key development tasks and considered to be an important part of an individual current and expected future identities. (Aro, Nurmi, Halmesmaki, 2000 P.180) In other words, because humans are essentially social beings, we are most concerned about how we fit in and measure up. Self- Esteem Low self-esteem among young mothers lead to many problems while they suffer from lack of confidence and hopelessness. Self- esteem refers to self-worth, self-respect, and how one regards or feels about one self. Simply, its ones feeling about various convictions of one self as a capable, competent person who have worth. A feeling of worth means having self-respect, which comes as a result of living up to ones own standard of values. Its how much one value oneself, how important one thinks he or she is, how one see one self and how one feel about ones accomplishments. The symptoms of low self -esteem vary for every teen. Some teens may feel constant tiredness, melancholy, sleep problems and lack of concentration. These symptoms if not noticed can lead to acute depression or various emotional and physical disorders. In fact, most teenage girls who are pregnant find it hard to face reality; that they are worthy and an important person who deserves to feel good every day in their lives a nd one of the factors which maybe keeping them from enjoying the gift of becoming a mother is their self-confidence and self-respect. Social Relationship During adolescents, relationships are very important and they need to be provided with supportive roles. According to researchers, partners may also be at risk for interpersonal problems while experiencing psychological problems connected to adolescent pregnancy. (Moore and Florsheim, 2001, P.101) This emphasizes that expectant adolescent may experience inter-personal difficulties between motherhood and their partners. The interpersonal and social functioning is important simply because parenting is fundamentally a social process. The emotional adjustment to losing a chapter in life can be difficult to make. Among young mothers who desperately want to be a mom will have to adapt to the change in their social relationship. Most parents would have to give up going to parties and dreaming about their futures. Indeed, once these opportunities are missed, they maybe gone for good. This includes having no free time to see friends. It is important to study expectant adolescent couples preci sely because their relationships appear to be at high risk for dysfunction and dissolution which indicates that many teenage mothers and their partners break right up before or shortly after giving birth. (Moore Florsheim, 2001, P.102) One of the reasons for this maybe young mothers are faced with the loss of social relationship while missing out on childhood and arduous and engaging in tedious unpleasant responsibilities of parenthood. Motherhood put tremendous demand upon the time, energy, emotions, and demands on teens, for which they are not prepared. Surely, early parent hood is a response to limited social interactions and relationships, in those who choose to have children at a relatively young age. To sum up, young adolescents continue to exhibit deficits in social relationship disturbances. Education Career Choice Early parenthood also has an effect on adolescents education. The young mothers are forced to discontinue education after birth. This significantly decreases the individual chances for obtaining a general equivalency diploma (GED). According to researchers, studies have shown that if teenage mothers stay in school, they are almost likely to graduate from high school (73%) as their non-parent peers (77%). (Coley Lansdale, P.155, 1998) However, a GED may result in a lower return of future earnings than future earnings with a high-school diploma. The young mothers who lack education are limited to a handful of career choices since jobs require at least a high-school diploma or some college experience. On the other hand, dropping out of high- school is a strong risk factor for early pregnancy and few will return back to school and possibly graduating. This problem causes a concern to the mother as well as the developing baby because of limitations of education and limitations of income. The consequences of education attainment direct a major concern of poverty. Those families with childhood poverty are likely to receive welfare funding during their life course. Overall, 53% of welfare funding is spent on families formed by teenage birth (Coley Lansdale, 1998, P.153). This brings us back to the young girl who is who is more likely to face education attainment and poverty as a result of pregnancy. According to researchers, the perceived cost of early motherhood is from life experiences linked to poverty including isolation of school, unemployment and unmarried parenthood and lack of education and career opportunities. (Coley Lansdale, 1998, P.153) Conclusion Teenage pregnancy is a problem that continuously occurs in the United States and other countries, despite the pregnancy reduction programs that are available. In fact, among the teenagers who become parents; also, lack knowledge of the consequences that may occur from their irresponsible sexual behavior. However, Pablo Picasso; painting Girl before a Mirror (1932) was very inspiring for me to learn more about the social, psychological, and economic factors involved in getting pregnant. Economics play an important role in teenage pregnancy and is a major concern. Mainly poor income and education leave an individual at risk of remaining in poverty. The social factors that contribute include social relationships as well as peer relationships that may be dysfunctional with the chance of ending before and after birth. In the meanwhile, studies clearly suggest that pregnancy fully requires a psychological adaptation on the physical and mental health which appears to influence the health of the developing baby. On the other hand, it is not only one factor that is responsible for the reason why many teenagers are pregnant and becoming pregnant. I believe that more research should be dedicated to what can be used to stop teenage pregnancy and information about some programs that have been tried out and examined for its effectiveness. There is also a need to encourage the use of contraceptions so that many teenagers wont contract H.I.V, A.I.D.S, and sexual transmitted diseases.

The End of Make Believe Essay -- Analysis, Claudia Kalb

In a culture saturated in high tech toys that explode with dynamite sounds and whirling lights, children spend countless hours watching television and playing video games and less time engaging in creative and imaginative play. In Claudia Kalb’s article â€Å"The End of Make Believe,† she introduces the Knott family from Cleveland, Ohio. Kris Knott and her husband, parents of three active children, are striving to get back to the basics of play by increasing family time and decreasing their children’s television and video game usage. During the summer months, it would not be uncommon to find the entire family outside enjoying a pleasant evening together. Mrs. Knott states that â€Å"entertainment is not play† and children need carefree, less structured time to use their imaginations (Kalb, par.1). While the Knott’s children have plenty of organized activities such as after school sports, their parents recognize the importance of using imaginatio n and creativity as a source of play (Kalb, par.1). In the same manner, parents must limit children’s time engaging in technology by creating quality family time and encouraging more creative and imaginative play for intellectual, emotional, and social skills to develop. In addition to television, today’s children are inundated with a wide variety of technological choices such as video games, Internet games, and other interactive activities. Despite these advanced technologies, television continues to play a large role in today’s society and while it began as an element to unite the family, it appears to be dividing the family apart now (Winn 437). While television provides us with hours of entertainment, stirs emotions deep inside, and is a tool for gathering information, most experts agree ... ...roviding the â€Å"box† for more creative and imaginative play. In addition, parents must gather around the dinner table and create family traditions that will last forever in their children’s memories. Parents must emulate the Knott family who are creating memories by spending time together outdoors instead of watching television in separate rooms. As a result, these children develop intellectually, emotionally, and socially and contribute both to their family and community. Elyssa Knott, at the young age of 11 states, "How much fun could you possibly have if you didn't use your imagination?" (Kalb, par.1) As parents follow Kris Knott and her family’s example, they will see their own family beginning to change and acknowledge the importance of spending quality time together, letting go of the television remote and stepping back to the basics of play.

Motivation in History: Charles Beard and the Founding Fathers Essay

Throughout history there are all kinds of historians that describe about our history and how we got to where we are. Charles Beard is a unique historian because he talks about the motives on our history event by not just any event. This issue created a lot of debate on what Charles Beard believed and that is the motives of the Founding Fathers. Charles Beard published An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States on whether the Constitution’s backers simply concerned for the nation or were they interested in protecting their own material interest. He also describes that questioning the motives of the Constitution’s supporters, it also demonstrated how important our interpretations of the past could be. The supporters of the Constitution before made the Articles of Confederation. The Article of Confederation was designed for the States to have the power and to have a weak central government, but it produced some problems. Money capital suffered under the Articles of Confederation, the lack of securities for American products and investments into the foreign market. Also under the Article of Confederation the government was not paying the interest on its debt from the war, which crippled the country. He made these arguments to back his thesis on that the supporters of the Constitution was looking for their interest and not entirely the nations interest. After Charles Beard published this thesis, made a dispute against other historians. These historians do not believe Charles Beard’s thesis and try to disprove his thoughts and prove that the supports did not write the Constitution for their own interest. In a chart, which shows the Delegates that were at the Constitution Convention. The Delegates on this chart are people having public security holdings, who are people from all different backgrounds. The Delegates mostly signed the Constitution were not all wealthy landowners looking out for them. There was some small farmer in that group, who would never sign the document to benefit the rich. In other chart on the Delegates to the New York State Ratifying Convention shows that there was a mixes of  people with different economic status voting for the Ratifying Convention. Also the people who voted were Federal and Anti-Federal that voted Federal, plus lawyers did not vote for it and those would be the kind of people to want the Constitution if it was to benefit the supporters. This chart showing that it was not just the supports interest it was made for the nation because they were different people voting different ways. The Founding Fathers Debate the Establishment of Congress discusses about the thought of the Delegates, who were at the Convention. Mr. Gerry was one of those men there and he said â€Å"The evil we experience flow from the excess of democracy.† Also â€Å"It would seem to be maxim of democracy to starve the public servants.† To what Mr. Gerry said and that he left without signing the Constitution and who also had the largest amount of money. All these disprove what Beard was trying to prove in his thesis because if it benefited the supporters won’t he be one to want to sign it. John Madison said â€Å"From the protection of differing and unequal abilities for the acquiring of property, there results the possession of different degrees and kinds of property; and from the influence of these differences there follows a division of society into different interests and parties.† With different interests there cannot be a majority making the Constitution for their own interest. Alexander Hamilton discuses about the needs the government must attend to and under the Article of Confederation would never be possible. He pushes the Constitution that can handle all of its problems and looked for the best interest of the people because it does benefit him just the stability of the country. I believe that Beard’s thesis on the motives of the Founding Fathers was not entirely correct because it was more than economics. I am impress on his thesis because he does creates support back up his thesis and with just reading his writing it makes you wonder is it possible, which is want he want that to be the reaction of people. The problem is if you are an historian you could not just read his writing, you must research other source and reading other primary sources the Beard’s thesis died out. Beard thesis is a step to understand our past; with this the historians stimulate others to research better and so on. That was one of Beard’s goals  but it backfired and took his thesis out of believing it was possible. This is a way of life and that it is the right of the Constitution to have been able to disprove peoples work and improve to understand our past.

Buddhism, Legitimation, and Conflict: The Political Functions of Urban Thai Buddhism Essay

Ideally, Buddhism is a religion with a huge following whereby the believers in the religion follow and interact socially with the Dharma doctrine which is basically what the Buddha taught or his way of living. Dharma is the path to attain such enlightenment and the teachings of Buddha and through the following of Buddhists traditions shows the variances in attaining Dharma and reaching enlightenment. The Buddha way of teaching is only considered helpful to individuals if it is practiced with discipline what the Buddha’s themselves called the VinayaCITATION Jac07 p 44 l 1033 (Jackson 44). The understanding of Buddhism is expressed by the acts of those who abide unwillingly to the apparition of Dharma-Vinaya and preach its beliefs to the masses. Like many other religions, Buddhists have multiple sects and traditions. In essence, the ultimate goal for all Buddhists is to attain enlightenment. Theraveda Buddhism accounts for nearly ninety five percent of the population in Thailand and this shows just how much Buddhism more than any other religion is influential in Thailand. In the long history of the existence of Thailand, the citizens seem to have been predominantly Buddhist by religion at least from the moment they were acquainted with it. Current historical records show that all the previous kings of Thailand were adherents of Buddhism. Most notable is the fact that the Thai constitution clearly states that a Thai King must be a Buddhist and as a result, must be the ultimate upholder of Buddhism. Theravada School of Buddhism has been one of the three major forces that have influence in the country. Despite the existence of substantial regional and local variations, the major themes of Buddhism in Thailand are provided by the Theravada schoolCITATION Mac07 p 87 l 1033 (Mackenzie 87). Traditionally, Pali is the language of religion in Thailand as evidenced by the fact that the scriptures are recorded in Pali through the older Tham and Khom scripts or the modern Thai script. As the primary religious Thai text, Pali is also used in religious rite despite the little number of Thai citizens who understand it. Hindu beliefs from Cambodia also serves are a significant influence on Buddhism in Thailand especially during the Sukothai period. The Thai kingship institution was largely influenced by Vedic Hinduism just as it did in Cambodia which as a result exerted influence in the creation of law and order in the society and religion of Thailand. There are certain rituals that are still practiced in modern Thailand by monks or specialists in Hindu rituals that can clearly be related to Hind practices or of Hindu origin. Essentially, Hindu influence can still be seen within Buddhist ceremonies and institutions in Thailand despite the fact that the visibility of Hinduism within Thai society has diminished significantly during the Chakri DynastyCITATION Suk10 p 34 l 1033 (Suksamran 34). Folk religion is the third major influence on Thai Buddhism as seen in the Buddhist rituals and precepts that are used in trying to appease the local spirits. Although the Thais who have received Western education often tend to define the line between practices of folk religion and Thai Buddhism, this is quite a gray area given the practices of the rural locales. An in-depth analysis of these three influences can clearly be traced through the current development and practices within the political system of Thailand. One of the most striking things that one notices upon arrival in Thailand is the magnificent Buddhist temple with its exquisite architecture coupled with the sight of monks and novices in yellow clad especially in the wee hours of the day. This sight serves as an inevitable reminder to both residents and foreigners of the dominance of Buddhism in the Thai nation Despite the fact that Thailand currently exists as a constitutional monarchy, its political system is quite a reflection of the string Southeast Asian tradition of Buddhist supremacy nature that link the legitimacy of the government to its support and protection for Buddhist institutions. This link has progressed into the modern era as seen in cases where Buddhist clergy and institutions are given special treatment by the Thai government as well as being subjected to a special government oversightCITATION Jac07 p 90 l 1033 (Jackson 90). Besides the cleric leadership of the Sangha, Buddhist temples and monks in Thailand are supervised by a profane government ministry. Good examples of these occurrences have been seen in the legal state of reform movements and Buddhist sects. For example , the case of Santi Asoke received legal prohibition from referring to itself as a Buddhist denomination and in the prosecution of monks who have been persecuted in the case of ordaining women by trying to revive lineage of the Theravada bhikkhuni and in so doing tried to impersonate clergy members hence their demiseCITATION Mac07 p 111 l 1033 (Mackenzie 111). A further examination of the Buddhist ways reveals certain themes and guidelines in the religious teachings of Buddha. The Srakakayana literally translates as the disciples. This is important to the Thai faith because as Buddhists listen to the teachings of Buddha and practice the teachings therefore becoming disciples. They thus listen to the text and scriptures then they can f ind their way to salvation. Generally, this concentration allows them to realize Dharma through listening and practicing. For a monk in Thailand to obtain a passport in order to travel abroad, one must have a Buddhist monk identification card, an official letter granting the permission to travel outside Thailand from the Sangha Supreme Council, any initial Thai passport or a certified equivalent thereof and a copy of House Registration. Beside these insurmountable acts of state recognition and support from the Thai state like the official gifts to monasteries from officials within the royal family and the government , Buddhist monks have quite a number of special rights bestowed upon them. Buddhist monks have access to free public transportation in airports and train stations where they often have special seating allocations. There is no law that directly forbids members of Buddhist institutions like monks and nuns from being candidates in the enrollment for recruitment as government officers. However, both the Sangha Supreme Council which serves as the supervising agency for Thai Buddhist communities a nd the Council of Ministers have placed such prohibition in cases of appropriateness in accordance with the Memorandum of the Administrative Department of the CabinetCITATION Suk10 p 127 l 1033 (Suksamran 127) . On the contrary, it is a crime for ordained monastic to stand for office or vote in elections. No member of the Buddhist community or other religious communities is entitled to either elect or be elected for any government position. The Thai constitution disfranchises a monk, novice, clergy member or priest of Buddhist religion from holding any government post. In addition, any member who is elected as a representative will lose membership upon becoming a Buddhist monk, nun or clergy. This illustrates a clear fact that Buddhist members are not in any way appropriate for Thai politics. The existence of Buddhists members like monks and nuns highly depends on the respect of the public and as a result, society expects them to behave in a way that calls for respect for the entire public and not a specific affiliate communityCITATION Jac07 p 221 l 1033 (Jackson 221). Any involvement by a Buddhist member either in support or participation of an election is considered a breach of the unusual conduct of the law and the Buddhist member is considered to have disgraced his religion, community as well as himself. Thus failure of monk or nun to uphold these stipulated rules is ground enough for them to condemned, disrespected and balked at in various ways. Since 2007 there have been several calls by Thai Buddhists to acquire recognition within the new constitution of Thailand as a state religion. Initially, this suggestion received rejection from the committee that was responsible for drafting the new constitution which consequently triggered quite a number of protests from those who supported the initiative such as a hunger strike by twelve of the Buddhist monk and various protest marches within the capital of ThailandCITATION Mac07 p 210 l 1033 (Mackenzie 210). Opponents of the plan, including Sulak Sivaraksa who is a renowned Thai social critic and scholar, did so based on claims that political gain is the driving force behind the call to declare Buddhism as a national religion and that it may have manipulated by the Thai supported Thaksin Sinawatra who had just been ousted as the country’s Prime Minister. As expected the Committee drafting the constitution later on failed to vote in support of the special status of Buddhism and in so doing provoked intense reaction from religious groups which criticized the committee for being impartial to religious affiliates. The issue also caught the attention of the Queen of Thailand who raised concerns over the matter and on her birthday, she delivered a speech through which she highlighted the notion that Buddhism goes way beyond politics. The reclusive politics of Thailand is in complete upheaval. The Sangha can no longer be dismissed as political force and simply perceived as a legitimacy fount for the country and for the monarchy. The role played by hundreds of monks in ProThaksin redshirts between March and May of 2010 are a clear proof of the growing apprehension within Buddhism. However, beyond these intense displays of complete lack of satisfaction, an important fact is the Buddhism and in this case the Sangha, faces quite a number of serious challenges. From a Buddhist perspective, the solution of Thailand’s approach to Buddhism is twofold. First and foremost, there should be a link between Buddhist base communities in Thailand to create a relatively decentralized society that can thereafter serve as a model for religion. The second solution lays in the attainment of a society that is more just on a national level through fighting for political reforms steered by Buddhist thinkers. The newly established Thai constitution that includes a democratic process that is reformed with a balance of power and structural check serves as a stepping stone towards structural change within Thailand’s political system. References Jackson , Peter A. Buddhism, Legitimation, and Conflict: The Political Functions of Urban Thai Buddhism. Bangkok: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007. Mackenzie, Rory . New Buddhist Movements in Thailand: Towards an Understanding of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke. New York: Routledge, 2007. Suksamran, Somboon . Buddhism and Politics in Thailand: A Study of Socio-political Change and Political Activism of the Thai Sangha. Bangkok: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010. Source document