Free Essays on Stalin And The Terror

Josef Stalin’s use of mass murder and extermination was perhaps the most horrific act in history. His complete disregard for human life was basically unmatched by any other dictator in history. He covered the entire country of Russia in a blanket of fear, the fear that their life could be taken at any moment for having the slightest connection to anything that Stalin disliked. Maybe it was a greed for power and control, maybe it was racism and bloodlust, but either way, its effects were devastating to the country. There could be various motivations for Stalin’s use of terror. But perhaps the most obvious or most sensible is plainly his lust for power. He would seem to go to any length to gain as much power as possible. This is best stated by document 3, when it says, â€Å"†¦he was determined to be in a position of absolute control, ruling as an autocrat with no restraints of any kind.† He simply wanted complete control, at any costs. There was nothing that he wasn’t willing to do to reach the goal. The terror and murder seems to have been very widespread. The constant threat of being exterminated for any reason kind of crippled the entire country. This is best proof of this comes from document 7 when it states, â€Å"What is sometimes neglected by those of us who never faced such things, is the extreme intensity with which the terror bore down not only upon its victims but upon the population as a whole.† This makes it quite clear that this mass murder had an effect on everyone. Not just those directly involved in the terror. It The Soviet Union reacted very passively to Stalin’s terror. The country had a history of being weak in the face of any exerted governmental power, which is basically summed up in document 11. Also, simply the fact that so many people were allowed to be killed is a testament to this idea. Millions and Millions were exterminated before anything was done. That shows how they reacted to Stalin. ... Free Essays on Stalin And The Terror Free Essays on Stalin And The Terror Josef Stalin’s use of mass murder and extermination was perhaps the most horrific act in history. His complete disregard for human life was basically unmatched by any other dictator in history. He covered the entire country of Russia in a blanket of fear, the fear that their life could be taken at any moment for having the slightest connection to anything that Stalin disliked. Maybe it was a greed for power and control, maybe it was racism and bloodlust, but either way, its effects were devastating to the country. There could be various motivations for Stalin’s use of terror. But perhaps the most obvious or most sensible is plainly his lust for power. He would seem to go to any length to gain as much power as possible. This is best stated by document 3, when it says, â€Å"†¦he was determined to be in a position of absolute control, ruling as an autocrat with no restraints of any kind.† He simply wanted complete control, at any costs. There was nothing that he wasn’t willing to do to reach the goal. The terror and murder seems to have been very widespread. The constant threat of being exterminated for any reason kind of crippled the entire country. This is best proof of this comes from document 7 when it states, â€Å"What is sometimes neglected by those of us who never faced such things, is the extreme intensity with which the terror bore down not only upon its victims but upon the population as a whole.† This makes it quite clear that this mass murder had an effect on everyone. Not just those directly involved in the terror. It The Soviet Union reacted very passively to Stalin’s terror. The country had a history of being weak in the face of any exerted governmental power, which is basically summed up in document 11. Also, simply the fact that so many people were allowed to be killed is a testament to this idea. Millions and Millions were exterminated before anything was done. That shows how they reacted to Stalin. ...

Going It Alone

Going It Alone For some reason, todays quote resonated with me. Whether introverted or extroverted, a writer has to feel comfortable being alone for hours and days on end. While we see lots of blog posts about how a writer needs his tribe or his team, the bottom line is he writes alone. Hes rejected alone. Hes accepted alone. Theres a tremendous amount of alone time in his career, and he has to accept, maybe even enjoy, that experience or he wont last long. All this alone time is probably why writers are indeed so introverted. We enjoy keeping company with ourselves, inside our thoughts. Its safer there. But that also explains why writers, when they venture out of their seclusion, tend to congregate with other writers. This is a trend that is helpful . . . only to a point. After that point, however, its detrimental. In case after case, I see writers pitching their books to other writers when they ought to be pursuing readers. Unless they write FOR writers, in how-to books, or their fiction is about a writer, they are not reaching their targeted audience. Writers are an incestuous lot. Conferences, promoting their books, chatting online. They gravitate to each other, but it becomes a habit because its so comfortable, and we tend to overdo it. And theres been a trend of late to host events where dozens of writers appear at a festival of sorts. Ive been invited to several of them. This is my opinion, keep in mind, but I see these events as not being very effective, possibly even handicapping or detrimental. At least depressing. And this is why: 1) Appearing with thirty or forty authors dilutes you, your voice, your work. The faces start to blur. Attendees remember you as part of a mass, not as you. 2) Attendees can only buy so many books. Lets say two books per attendee. Do the math. Thirty authors x 2 books per attendee = 60 attendees minimum. But lets say a productive day for you means ten books. That means 300 attendees minimum assuming one or two authors dont run away with the show. 3) Such events try to snare one or two well-known authors. Those names draw readers . . . to them, not you. Thats the name that will be remembered when the readers go home. Branding doesnt mean you and others. It means you. Dare to appear alone. Dare to promote yourself as unique, powerful, intriguing and worth reading. Embrace your aloneness. Theres nothing wrong with being alone. Like I preach to shy writers across the country, learn to love who you are. Be unique, be confident in your own skin. Because attempting to blend into dozens, even hundreds, of like souls will only make you fade into the masses. You are better than that.