Definition and Examples of Monologues

A monologue is a  speech or composition  presenting the words or thoughts of a single character. (Compare with dialogue.) Someone who delivers a monologue is called a monologuist or monologist. Leonard Peters describes a monologue as a dialogue between two people. One person speaking, the other listening and reacting, creating a relationship between the two (Demystifying the Monologue, 2006). Etymology From the Greek, speaking alone Examples and Observations It was the first day off in a long time, and all of us were trying to get a little rest and relaxation out by the pool at this big, modern hotel that looked something like a prison. If I had to call it anything I would call it a pleasure prison. It was the kind of place you might come to on a package tour out of Bangkok. Youd come down on a chartered bus — and youd probably not wander off the grounds because of the high barbed-wire fence they have to keep you in and the bandits out. And every so often you would hear shotguns going off as the hotel guards fired at rapid dogs down along the beach on the Gulf of Siam.But if you really wanted to walk on the beach, all you had to learn to do was pick up a piece of seaweed, shake it in the dogs face and everything would be hunky dory.(Spalding Gray, Swimming to Cambodia. Theatre Communications Group, 2005)A monologue is a predominantly verbal presentation given by a single person featuring a collection of ideas, often loosely assemb led around one or more themes. Note that I do not define it as a strictly verbal presentation; many, though certainly not all, successful monologuists also employ nonverbal elements to great effect, such as, their use of facial expressions and hand gestures, along with a variety of props and stage devices.(Jay Sankey, Zen and the Art of the Monologue. Routledge, 2000) Monologues and Dialogues A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. Thats why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.​  (Truman Capote)There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are intersecting monologues, that is all. We speak; we spread round us with sounds, with words, an emanation from ourselves. Sometimes they overlap the circles that others are spreading around themselves. They they are affected by those other circles, to be sure, but not because of any real communication that has taken place, merely as a scarf of blue chiffon lying on a womans dressing table will change colour if she casts down on it a scarf of red chiffon.​  (Rebecca West, There Is No Conversation. The Harsh Voice, 1935) Two Versions of Hamlets Famous Monologue (Modernized Spelling) 1603 Version (Bad Quarto) To be, or not to be, aye theres the point, To die, to sleep, is that all? Aye, all. No, to sleep, to dream, aye, marry, there it goes, For in that dream of death, when we awake, And born before an everlasting judge, From whence no passenger ever returned, The undiscovered country, at whose sight The happy smile, and the accursed damned. But for this, the joyful hope of this. Whod bear the scorns and flattery of the world, Scorned by the right rich, the rich cursed of the poor? The widow being oppressed, the orphan wronged, The taste of hunger, or a tyrants reign, And thousand more calamities besides, To grunt and sweat under this weary life, When that he may his full quietus make, With a bare bodkin, who would this endure, But for a hope of something after death? Which puzzles the brain, and doth confound the sense, Which makes us rather bear those evils we have, Than fly to others that we know not of. Aye that--O this conscience makes cowards of us all. 1604-1605 Version (Second Quarto)To be, or not to be, that is the question:Whether tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep —No more--and by a sleep to say we endThe heartache and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to! Tis a consummationDevoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep —To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, theres the rub,For in that sleep of death what dreams may comeWhen we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause. Theres the respectThat makes calamity of so long life:For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,The oppressors wrong, the proud mans contumely,The pangs of despised love, the laws delay,The insolence of office, and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes,When he himself might his quietus makeWith a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,To grunt and sweat under a weary life,But that the dread of som ething after death,The undiscovered country from whose bournNo traveller returns, puzzles the will,And makes us rather bear those ills we haveThan fly to others that we know not of?br/>Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,And thus the native hue of resolutionIs sicklied over with the pale cast of thought,And enterprises of great pitch and momentWith this regard their currents turn awryAnd lose the name of action.(William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act Three, scene 1) The Lighter Side of Monologues You know, there are some things that are actually harder to do with two people. Like, monologues.(Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, 2006) Pronunciation: MA-neh-log Also Known As: dramatic soliloquy Alternate Spellings: monolog

Standard vs. Automatic Compare Contrast Essay Free Essays

Jacob Phaneuf 10-20-12 Eng 101 (Compare Contrast) When buying a new car, many people do not stop to think about what kind of transmission that they would like. While most cars today come in automatic versions, there are also five and six speed standard transmissions available on most car models. While certain people may not even know how to drive a standard transmission, it is not the popular choice, but for the people who enjoy using both feet to drive there is always the option. We will write a custom essay sample on Standard vs. Automatic Compare Contrast Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now While most cars on the road today are automatics there are still ups and downs to both transmissions, standards may last longer, but automatics are easier to use and more convenient. Standards are usually sportier then the everyday persons automatic car, but they can also save on gas, and can be a little quicker compared to the same exact same automatic transmission model. While driving a standard can be a nightmare for some, others enjoy this feeling very much. Being able to drive with two feet is a very odd thing to be able to get used to, and also having a third pedal. This added third pedal is called a clutch, and must be pressed every time the vehicle switches gears, where as in a automatic the transmissions switches gears unnoticeably and requires no action from the driver. While having the control to be able to tell a vehicle what gear to go into when ever you want too, gives the car a much sportier feel, but also makes the vehicle a lot more fun to drive and also a little quicker off the start. Driving a standard is only for certain people though, while to others it may seem easy, learning to drive a standard can be a difficult task and if not done right can result in stalling or even permanent car damages. Having many things to remember to do while driving a car can be a frustrating thing to have to do, but thankfully there are automatic transmissions, which has many more conveniences and is much easier to use and drive then a standard car. Driving an automatic requires only one-foot operation and a computer does all the gear switching electronically. Automatics are the most popular choice when purchasing a car, because they are so simple, easy, and can also be fun to drive. While driving a standard can be a lot more fun, it can also be a lot more stressful considering there are things to always be aware of. Staling is something that is very easy to do and can happen for a few reasons, the clutch was released too quickly, or the transmission was left in gear when the clutch was removed. Also traffic can be a very stressfully thing to deal with in a standard because of the constant use of two feet moving every time the car must move forward. Hills can also be a major challenge for even the most experienced standard transmission drivers. When on a hill, the vehicle will be able to roll backwards until the driver has successfully engaged first gear, but stalling is still a great possibility and can cause big problems for an inexperienced driver. When it comes to choosing the right transmission, be sure you will be able to drive the vehicle the proper way, if not then at least have a person available to teach the proper ways. While both transmissions are great ways to drive, one driver may prefer one over the other, they both drive differences but will both get you to the same place. The only major difference to remember is that a standard transmission can be a lot more work, and the driver has to be ready to deal with the frustrations of a standard transmission. Happy driving! How to cite Standard vs. Automatic Compare Contrast Essay, Essay examples

God the Father Annotated Bibliography

Question: Give a breif discussion on annotated bibliography on God the Father? Answer: Channing, W. E. (2014).Unitarian Christianity. Netlancers Inc. This book is about the only father or master of the Christians, that is no one else rather than Jesus Christ, His teachings - either inspired by His Apostles or during His personal ministry. The principles are sometimes misunderstood by the common people as they may not understand the inner meaning of His teachings, but are blindly following them all as the principles of Christianity. Thus, in this book, the author tried to make people understand that The Bible was written by people, for the people, in their language, so that its meaning is clear to all and can establish a better society and finally a better world. Ehrman, B. D. (2014).How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee. This is the book section or citation from the book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee, written by Bart D. Ehrman. The citation mainly focuses on the believes of the people, which transferred a man to god. The man was Jesus Christ who was a crucified peasant and belonged to a lower-class Jewish family. In the early life, the author was a believer and in later days, he became a historian of early Christianity and has approached the matter in his book, such that it becomes useful to both secular historians and believers of the religion. Buggert, D., Carm, O. (2013). God the Father in the Trinity.New Theology Review,13(1). This journal is mainly concerned about the term Father, which the Christians generally utter in their prayer In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The author of this journal made a research about the first person of the Trinity to whom the whole religion of Christianity is referring as Father, that is, the God. Jesus Christ is the lord. Then another question arises about the Son. Thus the whole journal is a research work of the identification of the Father and the Son. United Church of God,. (2015). God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Retrieved 26 June 2015, from https://www.ucg.org/booklet/fundamental-beliefs/god-father-jesus-christ-and-holy-spirit According to this website, the religion Christianity has only one Lord, only one Father, who exists eternally as a Spirit, a personal being of supreme knowledge, justice, intelligence, love, authority and power. He is Jesus Christ, the Creator of the world and heaven. For Him only, the life exists in the earth both flora-fauna and human beings. He is the Origin of life. By Jesus Christ, the God made the world as the God came in the form of human being, taught His men and created the nature. Mozley, J. K. (2014).The impassibility of God. Cambridge University Press. The purpose of writing this book is primarily historical. This is an attempt to state the believe of the people regarding Gods incapacity for suffering, more over to examine and evaluate the belief. The reason for believing has thrown some focus on the beliefs, has serve to an extent as a criterion for appraising their worth. According to the view point of the Christian tradition, the idea of suffering God has been discussed in this book. Kasper, W. (2012).The God of Jesus Christ: New Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing. This book is formulated after 25 years for answering to the questions of the general people, as in these two decades, an enormous change in the society took place. The changes which took place in the field of cultural, political, religious, and intellectual in these two decades have been discussed by the author in this new version of the book. The author has mainly put his concentration in solving the problems and has put his own view point regarding the problems. The author has disclosed the existential and pastoral meaning of the doctrine of God. According to the author, common people can talk about the God, only when they can speak directly to Him. Dobson, J. C. (2012).When God doesn't make sense. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was written to uphold Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Bible and to encourage the Christians when God do such things, which makes no sense to men. Generally people get depressed, get overly discouraged. That is the cause of writing this book, such that men should not misunderstand the Lord, as He sometimes makes people suffer and face dilemmas. Thielicke, H. (2015).The waiting Father: Sermons on the parables of Jesus. The Lutterworth Press. To characterize the parables of Jesus Christ, as the Gods picture book, the book was written. The author here tried to tell the common people that all the harvest, far countries, flowers, birds etc are creation of the Lord Jesus. Thus, study of explanatory world is not needed as the terrestrial world could only answer to all these.

Free Essays on In Search For The First Americans

In Search of the First Americans -Vaughn M. Bryant, Jr. â€Å"When did the first humans really arrive in the Americas?† According to the article the bones found in the Folsom site are indisputably the oldest evidence of humans. The search for older sites and evidence subdued due to the wide acceptance of the Folsom site. The site was a perfect fit for the guidelines of even qualifying to be a specific archeological site, whereas most others couldn’t even meet one. Evidently in the 1950’s Clovis was uncovered. A dent type stone spear point was found among mammoth bones in deposits directly underneath extinct bison bones containing Folsom spear points. These new points were call Clovis points. The discovery of the Clovis points pushed back the existence of humans to 11,500 years ago. There has been many searches to try and discover older evidence of humans, some have been found, two in particular. These two sites that are found in the artic have suggested human existence over 27,000 years ago. The author believes that there are older and better site out there and that new sites are just waiting to be found. Time will unveil new sites and it is then when we will have a better understanding of how old our existence is. The author says that we cannot settle on the information given to us, that scientists cannot â€Å"foresee† the future. We have a lot to learn and to accomplish in our lifetimes. The author also states that we need more proof when determining the age of human existence. The article discusses the excavation of many sites to find evidence of older bones and tool of our ancestors. This is a form of anthropology, it is called archeology. There are a lot of scientists involved in the research of the age of human existence and a large majority of them are anthropologists, in on form or another.... Free Essays on In Search For The First Americans Free Essays on In Search For The First Americans In Search of the First Americans -Vaughn M. Bryant, Jr. â€Å"When did the first humans really arrive in the Americas?† According to the article the bones found in the Folsom site are indisputably the oldest evidence of humans. The search for older sites and evidence subdued due to the wide acceptance of the Folsom site. The site was a perfect fit for the guidelines of even qualifying to be a specific archeological site, whereas most others couldn’t even meet one. Evidently in the 1950’s Clovis was uncovered. A dent type stone spear point was found among mammoth bones in deposits directly underneath extinct bison bones containing Folsom spear points. These new points were call Clovis points. The discovery of the Clovis points pushed back the existence of humans to 11,500 years ago. There has been many searches to try and discover older evidence of humans, some have been found, two in particular. These two sites that are found in the artic have suggested human existence over 27,000 years ago. The author believes that there are older and better site out there and that new sites are just waiting to be found. Time will unveil new sites and it is then when we will have a better understanding of how old our existence is. The author says that we cannot settle on the information given to us, that scientists cannot â€Å"foresee† the future. We have a lot to learn and to accomplish in our lifetimes. The author also states that we need more proof when determining the age of human existence. The article discusses the excavation of many sites to find evidence of older bones and tool of our ancestors. This is a form of anthropology, it is called archeology. There are a lot of scientists involved in the research of the age of human existence and a large majority of them are anthropologists, in on form or another....

How to Cite a Poem Like a Pro, Using MLA Formatting Style

How to Cite a Poem Like a Pro, Using MLA Formatting Style MLA Formatted Poem: The Most Comprehensive Guide You probably know that formatting makes up almost half of your success when it comes to a college paper. You may have outstanding ideas or research results but they won’t mean anything if you fail to meet professor’s requirements. There are many different formatting styles and MLA is undoubtedly one of the most popular ones. It may seem very simple at first but you should still master its peculiarities if you don’t want your work to get a low grade. Especially when it is about a poem and not prose. In this article we will give you all the necessary information on all of the MLA formatting requirements. Just use them and you will never have to wonder how to cite a poem properly! Poem citing: why it is important First of all, you need to understand why it is necessary to cite a poem according to all of the guidelines. While being in a literature, English or art class, you will surely need to deliver multiple essays, including: Compare and contrast; Descriptive; Critical; Reflective; Classification; Argumentative, etc. Once you complete such essays or other works, you will achieve outstanding results in citing not only books but also poems. Here is what you must know about poem citing: Every time you want to include a phrase or an idea of the author from the source text, you must use citations. In other cases, it will be considered plagiarism and you will get yourself into big troubles; Explain why borrowed ideas are important for the goals of your paper; In case you paraphrase the author’s ideas there is no need to use quotation marks but you should always use in-text citing at the end of the paraphrased part; Every time you mention the title of the poem, put it into quotation marks; In case you need to delete a line or even more from the analyzed poem, you need to use ellipses. There is nothing wrong in deleting certain sections but you should indicate it in your text. Peculiarities of MLA Style MLA formatting style is an abbreviation for a Modern Language Association and is considered the most popular one, used for writing all sorts of papers, including poems reviews. Mainly MLA Style is used for liberal arts and humanities, and considered quite simple to master. However, it contains a range of requirements, which you need to master. Unfortunately, learning MLA formatting peculiarities is quite boring and time consuming, because it consists of many rules and requirements. It has a separate list of regulations when it comes to poem citing and if you don’t follow all of them, your text may be considered plagiarism and you may have to rewrite everything anew. However, if you are reading this article, you already know why formatting is so important and you just need to remember all the rules. We have collected all of them and you can get back to our text any time you are asked to use MLA formatting style. Citing quotes: MLA formatting peculiarities Once in a while, when you refer to a poem you may need to insert quotes to support your point of view and show that you have read the given piece. Citing means that you put exact parts of the source text into your own. MLA formatting style offers several ways of adding direct and indirect quotations to the text. Everything depends on the length of the piece. Short quotes, which are shorter than 3 lines; Long quotes that are longer than 3 lines and consist of several paragraphs. From time to time, you will also have to insert built-in citations to give an explanation to your thoughts or to explain parts, which have no meaning. However, never insert parts that are unnecessary or can be avoided. Some students think that it is very easy to find a quote and simply copy-paste parts to show that they have read the whole poem. However, choosing the best citing part is quite difficult, because you need to find an example, which renders the meaning of the poem in the best way. You won’t be able to select such a part without excellent research skills. Citing poem’s title properly You should always start citing from the first line, i.e. from poem’s title. You can either use italics or quotation marks. The choice depends on the length of the title you are going to cite. If it is a short title, you can put it into quotation marks. For example, ‘Forever young’, ‘My own battle’, etc. When the title is longer, it is better to use italics: A girl with a broken heart, The noble heart of my man. 5 useful tips on citing a poem, using MLA style When you work with an MLA formatting style, there is nothing simpler than citing a poem. It will only require a few minutes of your time and almost no efforts. If you want to save your time and don’t want to read tons of guidelines, you can simply stick to our rules. Every time you need to quote a poetry piece, either it is a single phrase or a big paragraph, you should place it in a citation with quotation marks on both sides. Use parentheses if you want to show what the author said exactly. Don’t forget to put punctuation outside the parenthesis. You can also put a number of a certain line after the quote. Here is an example: According to the author’s lyrics, â€Å"every soul will always find its path† (2). If you want to quote passages, which come one after another, you can type in the virgule to show where the lines divide. Place author’s name in parenthesis, divided with a hyphen; In case you need to insert four or more lines, use a so-called long quotation, which is sometimes named ‘block quote’. Write a signal phrase in the starting of the quote; indent twice and double space. Leave all the punctuation marks, as they appeared in the source text; All other parts of the poem should appear as if you are citing prose, considering all the rights of the author; Not depending what part you are quoting, always proofread quotations and edit them if necessary. How to cite poems in an MLA style Every successful student knows that it is important to master the required formatting style even before writing an essay itself, because it is as important, as https for the website’s address. There are multiple ways how to get started: get familiar with examples online, find an academic source or guideline, which is dedicated to a particular writing style. Don’t forget to read the poem itself, because you won’t be able to detect which parts of the source text you need to quote and where to place them. Before working on a proper citing, you need to estimate the length of the chosen part to identify its type. Short quotes are those, which are smaller than three lines. Don’t forget to follow this rule any time you are citing a poetry part not depending on the type of your assignment. Rules of a correct citing: Always use quotation marks, when you want to add a direct quote of the initial piece; Make sure you mention the title of the poetry, the name of the author and number of the page or line; Don’t forget about punctuation at the end of the quotation in parenthesis; If exclamation or question marks belong to the cited piece, put them inside quotation marks; Put them outside if they are not present in the original quote; All of the quotations should be fully reflected in the Bibliography (the last page of your essay), using MLA formatting style. Example of MLA citing When you insert a quotation to the text, make sure you put ‘/’ instead of breaks with a space on both sides. If you add a parenthetical quotation you can place the line number, not the page. Don’t forget to capitalize lines after the slash. However, this rule doesn’t apply to cite a secondary source. For example, As she claimed, â€Å"Until the rain came pouring / Until the wind surrounded us / We were there for each other† (23-25). You must provide a number of the line only in case if the source also shared them in parentheses. A number of lines is placed after quotation marks, before the punctuation. How to add long quotes, using MLA Format A long quote is a piece of a poem, which is longer than three lines. It has its own formatting peculiarities and here are the main steps how to use an MLA style: You should use a separate block of text; Don’t use quotation marks; Start a quotation from a fresh line; Every first word of a new paragraph should be indented. This rule is applied only if you need to quote more than two paragraphs; Use double-spaced in your quote; Don’t forget to use a parenthetical citation after you place the final punctuation. For example, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, dont deal in lies, Or being hated dont give way to hating, And yet dont look too good, nor talk too wise;(5-8). How to apply APA Formatting style Now, when you know all of the peculiarities of an MLA formatting style, we offer you to get familiar with APA, which is also popular among students and is usually applied in social sciences. Here are the basic APA formatting rules: If you want to quote a piece of poem, which is shorter than 40 words, you need to enter quotation marks; If you need to include two or more lines of one poem, you should show the line breaks, using a slash between them; In case you want to include a big paragraph to your text, use block quotations and start them with a new line. Rules of using APA poetry citing in a proper way Explain why you have chosen a certain part. Provide a comment or feedback and give the reader information on why the quote is important for your essay. Make sure you really choose a piece, which fully reflects your ideas; Built-in quotes. You can not only place quotes separately but also embed them into your sentences, placing anywhere you want: at the beginning, at the end or in the central part of the sentence. Don’t forget to place quotation marks and provide information about the author; Skipping words. If you are using an APA format to quote a poem and want to miss out certain words or phrases, you can use ellipses. For example, ‘there she stood with bare feet† (12). If you want to add any grammar changes, you should type your comments in brackets. Final guidelines It doesn’t matter if the quoted piece is short or long: any time you want to change it in order to adjust to your text, it is necessary to use a three-spaced period to show the omitted part; Skip all the insignificant details. It is more than simple to delete such parts: simply replace them with three-spaced periods; If you want to add your own comments or interpretations to the quoted part, you should indicate them in square brackets; Don’t add too many quotations. You may be tempted to include many quotes from the given piece to show how well you have worked with the source text. However, they may distract the reader and make the text difficult to read. Actually, quotations should occupy only a small part of an essay. In case you can’t do without citing, it is better to rewrite or paraphrase words and sentences, indicating authorship. Conclusion In this article we have discussed how to use MLA formatting style for citing a poem not depending on the size of the quoted piece. While using quotes is the best way to show that you have read the source text and understood author’s ideas, it is important to quote everything properly. If you still find it difficult to add a quote to your essay and examples from our article don’t help, there is another effective solution. You can contact our writing service and get academic assistance with the assignment. Our professional writers, proofreaders and editors know everything about citing and formatting, even if the required style is rare and complicated. We guarantee that you will get only the highest grades and your professor won’t suspect that you weren’t the author. You can always turn to us for assistance or advice and we guarantee outstanding results for a reasonable price. Let us make a step forward to your academic success together!

Should Canadian goverment provide privatization of water Research Paper

Should Canadian goverment provide privatization of water - Research Paper Example This has led to water privatization seeming like a practical alternative, as there will be a reduction of waste, sensible pricing and improved distribution. Despite the scarcity of water, lure of profits and promise of an improved economy, it would be vital to remember that there is no substitute for water. Canadian government privatisation of water for trading as a commodity like oil would be detrimental to the welfare of the humanity. There are humanitarian concerns relating to danger attributable to privatizing water that will result to closing out of the poor to its access. This is because prices attached to accessibility of water would not be affordable to majority of the people, leading to further disregard for social welfare, as spread of diseases will be more widespread. Privatizing water will liken it to commodities such as natural gas, which are not essential utilities or even a fundamental human right, and there is also the fear that water trading would lead to ecological destruction as it is a heritage of the Earth. Recently, opponents of privatization have stated that reversing this would be difficult once things go wrong. It would create a scenario where water services would be further privatized all over the country. As time passes, focus will shift to shareholders and not consumers, otherwise taxpayers if water delivery were a state-governed service. This implies that profits gained would go to a sm all number of people, further deepening inequality. If the service remains a responsibility of the state, any profits reaped go to the public implying lower taxes or increased spending in other beneficial activities (Trew). From a corporate perspective, water exportation would be expensive because of shipping costs since water is heavy and returns from it through local selling would not bring back the investment; therefore, financial viability would not be sensible. Looking at the

Middle Eastern Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Middle Eastern Studies - Essay Example The Arab Spring of 1919 emerged soon after the end of World War 1 gestured to the emergence of pan-Arabism that called for unity of all Arabs against the European led partition and domination of the Middle East (Gelvin). Common features of these nationalistic movements-present now as before- include: 1. A unique citizenry defined by language, ethnicity, religion and historical traditions 2. A belief that, despite the passage of time, nations retained their inherent characteristics Of these state-building and nationalism proceedings, the Syrian revolution is seemingly the bloodiest and longest that has seen massive infrastructural damage and civilian casualties. All nationalists believe in the existence of a â€Å"common interest†; which is the sole role of the sovereign state in its provision. However, in the modern world this nationalism-as an ideology and in practice-is not restricted to the interest of the sovereign nationals. The involvement of the United States in the gov ernance of Middle East states is treated with much criticism and skeptic. Its meddling in the Middle Eastern affairs is perceived in light of the massive oil and natural gas resources within the region. In particular, the US purported support for (and silence over) the continued annexation of Palestinian land by Israel and its relentless attack of Afghanistan and Iraq has been seen in stark contrast to its claim of democracy. This is based on the understanding that true nationalism and thus democracy should represent the authentic identity and sovereign aspirations of the local or native people. There are three primary ways through which a state can obtain food for its citizenry: through agricultural production, through imports and through food aid. The Middle East is incapable of growing enough food to sustain its population (Richards and Waterbury). The region is the world’s least self-sufficient in terms of food due to the mismatch in supply and demand. The region has seen an escalated rise in demand characterized by an increased life expectancy of 25 years since the 1970s; the highest in the world since 1970. The infant mortality rate is given as 44 per 1000 persons, which is well below the world’s average and that of less developed states, which are pegged at 54 and 59 respectively (Richards and Waterbury). Food-sufficiency is almost physically impossible and economically it is undesirable. Why is this so? Firstly, the region (being vastly of desert and semi-arid conditions) experiences high water constraint. The region’s renewable water supply per capita dropped from highs of 3500 cubic meters in 1960 to a paltry and diminishing level of 1250 cubic meters. This situation is attributed to a rising population, rapid urbanization and the increased use of water for irrigating purposes. Therefore, the consumption of water for industrial and domestic use has been found by policy makers within the region to be of higher economic value than for agricultural purposes (Richards and Waterbury). Secondly, the concept of food self-sufficiency is entirely different from food security. The former relates to the ability to produce enough agricultural products to meet the consuming public. The latter, however, is more focused on the pertinent needs of individuals over a reasonable guarantee of having a proper meal. The focus of policy