American and Soviet Policies towards Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Essay

American and Soviet Policies towards Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Cold War - Essay Example The Second World War ended in the European theater on May 8, 1945. And the Cold War began on that day. The cold war had many dimensions; one was ideological, another was political, a third one was economic, and to all these we may also add the rivalry between America and Russia as to who would ‘rule’ the world. With an uncanny political insight Alexis de Tocqueville had predicted as early as 1835 that â€Å"There are now two great nations in the world, which starting from different points, seem to be advancing toward the same goal: the Russians and the Anglo-Americans. . . Each seems called by some secret design of Providence one day to hold in its hands the destinies of half the world† . It would appear; therefore, that history has destined these two nations to be at each other until a final and decisive victory is achieved by one over the other. But that time has not yet arrived, even though the cold war was declared to have been ended on December 3, 1989 at the conclusion of the Malta summit between George Bush Sr. and Mikhail Gorbachev. The ‘political Vacuum’ With the withdrawal of the colonial powers, Britain and France, from the Middle East after WW II, there was a virtual political vacuum in the region. By 1948 Soviet Union had consolidated its hegemony over Eastern Europe. The ‘Truman doctrine’ put a rein to its further ‘expansion’ into Greece or Turkey. But along with consolidating its domination over the East European nations, Soviet Union was busy trying to build and expand its influence among the ‘Islamic’ nations to its south.

How We Listen by Aaron Copland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How We Listen by Aaron Copland - Essay Example He succeeds in the clarification because of two main methods: People look on the sensuous plane for pure entertainment. For example, turning on the radio while doing something else and absentmindedly bathes in the sound. A good listener should realize that a lovely sounding music is not necessarily great music. I believe the sensuous plane before the other two is a useful technique since this is the plane most people often relate to the most. Second plane is the expressive one. Copland then discusses the notion of meaning in music. In his view, music has a meaning but the meaning is not concrete, and sometimes it is difficult for it to be expressed in words. This plane explains why music has a moving and relaxing effect on us. It is harder to grasp and requires more deep thought because Copland claims that meaning in music should be no more than a general concept. This issue is very philosophical, and one must accept the train to understand this plane (4).  Ã‚   The next plane deals with the manipulation of the notes and offers a more intellectual approach to enhancing musical appreciation. The actual structure of the music as such the length of the note, pitch, harmony, and tone color are emphasized in this section of the essay. This fundamental study of the structure is necessary to form a firm foundation for the musical piece and to understand the diagnosis of it. This technical and more scientific plane is contradictory to the philosophical sensuous plane. For this reason, it is another useful technique of Copland to use factual observations to explain the listening process to the satisfaction of the readers. After expounding his theory in the way we listen, Copland uses the analogy of a theoretical play to drive the point home. This is yet another useful technique used by him: it gives him the leeway to demonstrate clearly the interrelating of the three planes. Regarding the ideal listener, Copland says: In a sense, the ideal