The Pioneer Magazine

Challenges Elderly People Face: An Abridged Guide

Posted by Editor on May 5th, 2024

Challenges Elderly People Face: An Abridged Guide

By Kailin Zhou

Yesterday, with my own eyes, I witnessed an elderly man trip on the street, causing a big ruckus as he almost got hit by a car! Everyone rushed to help him. Was there anything else we could do? This incident highlights one of the struggles that elderly people face every day.

Mobility is one of their challenges. According to 2022 research by Dr. Bob from Hong Kong University, 69% of elderly people fracture their bones from falling. The information above revealed that more than half of the elderly worldwide easily fall and suffer fractures! Therefore, we should try to help as many elderly people as possible.

I believe that elderly people’s health worsens as they age. From research spanning from 2012 to 2021 by Professor Andrew from Harvard University, it has been proven that 56% of elderly people are currently suffering from problems such as dementia, hearing loss, back and neck pain, etc. I think elderly people should have yearly check-ups to protect their bodies from viruses.

In my opinion, elderly people also struggle with self-care. Dr. Ting has shown that 67% of elderly individuals need help, while the other 33% have hired helpers or assistants to help them perform daily tasks, such as eating, standing up, or showering. I believe we should all help elderly people when they need assistance.

In conclusion, we should all take care of elderly people as if they are our most treasured persons. We can then help make their daily lives much more convenient so they do not need to suffer from the struggles they often face.

The Starry Night

Posted by Editor on May 3rd, 2024

“The Starry Night” – Painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889

People viewing the “Starry Night” in the Museum of Modern Arts,

Leopold Kory Song

The Significance of the Starry Night

“Starry Night” is one of the best paintings ever created, beloved by so many people. This makes it even more interesting that Vincent Van Gogh painted it when he was admitted to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France. The Painting was famous for its unique brushstrokes and exaggerated yet beautiful perception of the night sky.

How did the Museum of Modern Art acquire such a piece?

The Starry Night was not valued as much as it is today. In the original Van Gogh exhibition in New York, which lasted from November 5, 1935, to January 5, 1936, the Painting arrived too late and missed the opportunity to be seen by over 900,000 people in the United States.

One year after the death of Vincent Van Gogh, Jo van Gogh-Bonger received the Starry Night painting. The Starry Night went through several owners until it was sold to the Oldenzeel Gallery in Rotterdam. The Painting was sold to Georgette P. van Stolk. Then George P. van Stolk sold it to the Paul Rosenberg Gallery. The Paul Rosenberg Gallery sold Starry Night to the Museum of Modern Art in 1941. Lillie P. Bliss helped acquire the Painting by selling three paintings that Lillie P. Bliss had acquired previously. Lillie P. Bliss and Jo Van Gogh-Bonger played crucial roles in getting Starry Night into its current place today. Currently, the Painting is in the Museum of Modern Art.

Who was Lillie P. Bliss?

Lillie P. Bliss (Lizzie Plummer Bliss) was born on April 11, 1864, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. She is known by many for being the Museum of Modern Art’s founding member and a crucial figure in obtaining many paintings for the Museum of Modern Art. Her paintings, such as “Starry Night,” were obtained through her assistance and supervision. One hundred fifty works of art by various artists in the 19th and 20th centuries were from Mrs. Bliss’s collection when donated to the Museum of Modern Art’s home collection. In 1941, she sold three artworks from her collection to obtain the “Starry Night” from the Paul Rosenberg Gallery.

How did the “Starry Night” represent the Museum’s purpose?

The “Starry Night” is an iconic piece of Painting, which is why the fact that the Museum of Modern Art obtained such a fine piece makes the Museum exciting and educational. These characteristics and the ability to obtain such paintings strengthen the Museum’s purpose. Starry Night became MoMA’s most famous artwork and continues attracting millions of tourists worldwide. This helps the Museum’s purpose of being educational and preserving fine artworks.

What is the cost of the Starry Night?

If the Starry Night artwork were to be sold today, on March 20, 2024, it would cost around $100 million. However, the Museum of Modern Art doesn’t intend to sell such artwork yet.

Challenges of getting the Starry Night

There were considerable challenges as Starry Night went through many owners before finding its current home at the Museum of Modern Arts. However, the Museum of Modern Art had some challenges acquiring the Painting. I think the most crucial part is that Starry Night had a big journey as it traveled to many homes and sold many times before being displayed in its home at the Museum of Modern Arts. A notable challenge of the Museum of Modern Art trying to obtain the Painting would be getting the necessary funds to purchase the Painting from the Paul Rosenberg Gallery. Thanks to Lillie P. Bliss, the Painting is now home in New York, United States.

Factors in play in displaying the Starry Night

Only some factors were put into play to correctly display the Starry Night. Factors include lighting, as the visitors must be able to see the Starry Night in all of its glory. There is also an issue with security as some protestors may pour soup over the Painting, which is why protective measures are implemented. One such example is adding a plastic cover layer to protect the Painting from such attack. Crowd management is another huge factor to consider because many tourists want to visit the Starry Night, so tickets are sold in advance for guests who wish to see the Starry Night in New York.

Sources:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/739/releases/MOMA_1941_0076_1941-09-29_41929-75.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillie_P._Bliss

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79802

https://www.artandobject.com/news/starry-night-takes-center-stage-van-goghs-cypresses-met#:~:text=The%20painting%20was%20then%20sold,the%20collection%20of%20Lillie%20P.

The Progressive Era’s Impact on Rights, Politics, and Education

Posted by Editor on March 28th, 2024

The events leading to the Progressive Era occurred during the Gilded Age. It was a period full of corruption and poverty, women worked for hours in terrible conditions, subjected to male authority. Women were encouraged by society to stay home to cook, clean, and care for their children all the while their male counterparts received all the rights and respect that women should have also received but did not. The introduction of The Progressive Era of 1890 to 1920 marked a turning point in the history of women in the United States, many women even started to participate in groups that held protests fighting for women’s rights which eventually led to them gaining the right to vote. The Progressive Era also opened up the opportunity for women to become more involved in politics and gain better education that would lead to greater opportunities for them like getting jobs.

During the Progressive Era, women became unified and created organizations demanding rights for women. One of these organizations was the National American Woman Suffrage Association. This organization was formed in 1890 from two rival organizations, the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), leading this organization was Susan B. Anthony along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone. The NAWSA held many campaigns fighting for women’s rights, especially prioritizing the right women should have to vote. Another organization that helped in the battle for women’s rights was the National Women’s Party. In 1917 the National Women’s Party held many protests for women’s rights an example of this would be when members of the party went to picket the White House and many ended up being arrested. In response to this, members held another protest where they went on a hunger strike. Their efforts did not go unnoticed because they later won the right to vote in North Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana, Rhode Island, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Arkansas. Two years later in 1919, the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote was ratified and officially passed by Congress in 1920.

The Progressive Era marked a turning point for women in terms of politics. Not only did the Progressive Era result in women getting the right to vote but it also resulted in the first woman to be elected into Congress. In 1916 the first woman was elected to Congress’s House of Representatives, that woman was Jeannette Rankin, she was formally seated in 1917. This was a turning point for women in the history of women in the United States because, before the Progressive Era, it was frowned upon for women to work outside the home. Since the start of the Progressive Era in 1890 there have been growing numbers of women joining the workforce. An example of this would be how their employment rates increased from 2.6 million to 7.8 million from the beginning of the era up to 1910. Although most women were working in domestic servitude it was still a change from how things were before.

Due to all the changes that were occurring for women in the Progressive era, their education became much stronger and many women were becoming literate. Literacy opened up the way for women to gain important jobs outside of the house to help support their families. Jane Addams was one of the most influential of the women involved in the Progressive Era she was a social worker and the cofounder of Hull House and even won the Nobel Peace Prize eleven years after the Progressive Era, she was the second woman to do so. Hull House first opened one year prior to the start of the Progressive Era in 1890 it provided many services to the community, some of them being education, an employment office, and daycare. This gave women and many others the opportunity to get an education and be able to leave their children there while they went out to look for work.

The Progressive Era brought many new opportunities for women and changed the history of women in the United States. Some ways this era changed the history of women were by allowing them to acquire the confidence to go and protest for their rights, asserting themselves in spaces like politics that are generally ruled by men, and getting an education to help them get jobs to support themselves and their families as well. The actions of the women during the Progressive Era made it so that future women could vote and work jobs to earn a living on their own without having to always depend on their male counterparts.

Destiny J. Lopez

Civil Liberty and Rights

Posted by Editor on March 28th, 2024

According to the timeline, the long battle for civil rights and racial justice all began 68 years ago on May 17, 1954, when the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. This decision made segregation illegal throughout the country. As a result of this, it gave many people the courage to go out and stand up for their rights and led to many years full of protests for justice. The social movements from the past decades mainly focused on racial equality and economic justice whereas current-day social movements were more about the quality of life itself. There are still many similarities between the social movements of the past and the current day but there are also differences. Some of these similarities that can be seen now compared to the past are the forms of protests and the police brutality that occurred.

To start in the early years of protest in the social movement there was a lot of violence, not from the people protesting but from those opposed to their protests. An example of this would be the Freedom Riders movement of 1961. During what was meant to be a peaceful protest arose an angry mob that produced so much violence that many came close to death as a result. Nowadays in comparison to the reaction of people protesting we don’t see as much violence as there was in the past but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still violence. This circles back around to one similarity between the past and the present which is police brutality.

Police brutality has been around for a long time and was seen in 1979 when a white police officer from Miami-Dade County beat Arthur McDuffie, a Black man, to death which led to what was known as the Miami Rebellion. A more current example of police brutality would be in 2014 when Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old boy playing with a fake gun at a playground, was shot and killed by a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio. This brought the rise of the “I can’t breathe” movement in which many celebrities became involved. These are only a few of many accounts of police brutality that still occur today.

Starting in 1982 when the reasons behind the protests started to shift and began to support the quality of life. During this year in North Carolina, a toxic dump site was placed where a predominantly black community was. People in this community began to protest this new change because it could have been affecting their drinking water and as a result their health. Protests for health didn’t stop there but continued from 1985-1990 when President Reagan’s wife Nancy Reagan began a “war on drugs”. Nancy Reagan created the slogan “Just Say No” as part of a campaign to discourage drug use to protect the health of people.

The forms of activism expanded from protesting in the streets to incorporating them in the form of art. This can be seen in music like in 1968 James Brown’s song “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.” or even in more recent years of the 90s with the late Tupac Shakur’s “Changes”. There were many similarities and differences between then and now in terms of activism but one major pattern that can still be seen today is police brutality. We can only hope for that repeating cycle to be someday broken in the future.

Destiny J. Lopez

S.O.A.P.S. Analysis of the Truman Doctrine

Posted by Editor on March 28th, 2024

Truman delivered an address to the United States Congress on March 12, 1947,
later known as the “Truman Doctrine.”

Portrait of President Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States of America

A S.O.A.P.S. Analysis of the Truman Doctrine

The source is President Harry S. Truman’s address to Congress on March 12, 1947, also known as the famous “Truman Doctrine.” In this address, President Truman made it clear that it is in the best interests of the United States and our foreign policy to free nations from totalitarian regimes that impose mass restrictions on people’s freedom. He mentions both Türkiye and Greece as examples.

This source is very important as the Truman Doctrine was introduced during the start of the Cold War, a pivotal moment in American and global history. The Truman Doctrine was famous as it advocated for the United States to intervene in nations to help those people resist totalitarian regimes while also containing communism in global politics. The Truman Doctrine is one of the major factors that pushed the United States to fight in many proxy wars against communism and the Soviet Union.

The historical significance of the doctrine is significant because it helped shape American Foreign Policy at the beginning of the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine specifically said that it would intervene or help any nation willing or oppressed by totalitarian regimes with military support. The Truman Doctrine helped make the United States commit to supporting nations willing to fight oppression by the armed minority, regardless of their origins. This doctrine helped shape American foreign policy for the rest of the Cold War. This doctrine also contributed to the United States’ intervention in many countries during the Cold War, in what was known as “Proxy Wars.” This was to contain the spread of communism.

There are many inferences I can draw from this document, for example,

The Truman Doctrine clearly states that the United States will support the peaceful development of nations by actively intervening against totalitarian governments that impose mass restrictions on the people, such as free speech or human rights violations. In this case, Truman is referring to communism as a totalitarian government.

It also says that the United States must support people from all nations who suffer from subjugation or oppression from armed minorities or outside pressures (Soviet Union).

Lastly, it states that the United States will help people who free themselves from totalitarian regimes by giving them economic and financial aid so that they may have economic stability and convince the people that they won’t need a totalitarian regime to bring them to glory; they just need the people who are willing to fight for the people.

The Truman Doctrine was an address that was written by Harry S. Truman and was introduced on March 12, 1947, and it served as a basis to future foundation of American foreign policy.

To understand the idea of why this address was created, we must understand world politics during the time. The world was still recovering from World War II and so Europe and the Soviet Union were devastated during the war. The United States along with some allies were one of the only nations to avoid the mass devastation of the war and so the United States became one of two superpowers in the entire world. However, the Soviets, whilst also devastated from the war, they had massive military equipment from the United States to which they refused to give back. Which meant that the Soviets had many resources to become powerful militarily. As a result, the Soviets became the most powerful country in Europe, and they became a military superpower alongside the United States. Soon, the Soviets influenced the areas they occupied and made them communist whereas the American occupation were made into democracies. As a result of this, two blocs containing two ideologies soon became cold towards each other and soon had a cold war over which ideology was better or was worse. Many countries at the time either turned to democracy or communism and as a result the question to if Türkiye or Greece should turn communist or democracy was because of this tension and hate both blocs had towards each other.

Therefore, there was a serious decision needed to be made whether to let Greece or Türkiye to fall in either’s hands. This is because both nations were very unstable and were threatened with a communist takeover. That is why Harry S. Truman wrote this doctrine, to reinforce the values for which the United States stood for ever since their foundation. To fight for and help those who are under risk of oppression. The United States reinforced its policies to become a police-force in the world, to stop nations from becoming communist and having a totalitarian government that would oppress the people and instead have a government that would have fair democracy. That wouldn’t restrict the people or oppress the people.

So, knowing all this, it gives so much meaning to the United States and this address as it gives a new meaning to what the United States should stand for in future roles and politics. With the beginning of the cold war, this greatly help give so much meaning to the document.

There are many people that Harry S. Truman wanted his address to be seen by. These groups are primarily the U.S. Congress, American people, and the United Nations.

He wanted the U.S. Congress to see it so that he could get their support to impose the policies that President Truman wanted to enact so that his vision of fighting totalitarian regimes could be real. He himself cannot impose these policies as they need to be decided fairly in Congress through a rigorous process. Which is so crucial, he states his reasons and his desires so clearly so that they know exactly why it’s such a serious issue.

He also wanted the American people to see his address and support him more for his re-election and to have public opinion support the idea so there is a more likely chance that Congress agrees to the policies.

An important group not to forget is the international community. This address will be seen as a firm view of the United States’ desires to keep its interests and will defend its values overseas if prompted to. Which showed a clear message to the Soviet Union that they will never back down and never give up when faced with serious predicaments.

Considering the historical context at the time, this address does tweak some things in favor of the United States and so it may not be as reliable because it glorifies its argument as the best possible way whilst not actually figuring out if it’s truly the best way by evaluating other situations. However, because the address was introduced at such a critical moment during American history, it was widely accepted by the American people and Congress that many policies supporting free people were passed.

Whether it was reliable or not depends on the other arguments presented at the time. However as of now, I think this was the best possible outcome, given the situation within U.S. politics in 1947.

The source was produced on March 12, 1947, and was introduced at a critical moment in global politics. The serious question is whether the United States shall intervene on the side of the free people against totalitarian regimes. It was written to deter influence from the Soviet Union and its communist bloc. It could realistically force its influence on nations to have totalitarian governments rather than democratic ones. During the time it was written, there was a robust insurgency in favor of the communists in both Greece and Türkiye, and it was up to the United States to let these two nations fall under communist rule or democratic rule. This is because both countries at the time asked the United States if they could intervene to help quell the insurrection. This was also to be a strong statement against the Soviet Union that the United States was just as strong as the Soviets and would fight dirty if it meant to free people from totalitarian rule.

Truman hoped his address would convince the public to fight for nations that may fall under communism to help contain communism. He mainly wanted the U.S. Congress to be confident that totalitarian regimes were a real threat to democracy and that it was in the best interests of the United States to intervene and give aid to those fighting for a democratic government.

He hoped to accomplish many things, such as gathering public support and the U.S. Congress to allow policies that would let the United States intervene in nations to give them a fighting chance at a democratic government instead of a totalitarian one.

The speaker is President Truman who served as the United States 33rd president. As I researched his biography, he apparently served as a senator in Missouri before he was selected to become Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. After Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in 1945, Harry S. Truman then became the official 33rd President of the United States.

While President Truman wasn’t the most qualified to handle such serious tasks, he did his absolute best despite having flaws. He used his experiences during WW2 to shape his perspective on handling a significant political rival that threatened the values for which the United States stood.

Despite his flaws, he and his administration worked tirelessly to solve global issues such as the PLA’s victory in China, the Korean War, and how to handle a war-torn Europe.

He managed to come up with great ideas, such as the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe by donating American wealth to their allies, showcasing an example that if you are a democratic nation and are willing to free the people from oppression, you will receive aid from the United States to help keep that way of life.

He presents the United States as a savior in the world, and it must act accordingly by paving the way for other nations to be democratic and giving economic aid to those struggling with democracy. He makes the U.S. proudly state that it would defend the values of freedom and self-determination that have happened in our history.

Although as great as this sounds, the address seems biased. This is because President Truman is an anti-communist and, therefore, views communism in a negative light. He frames the Soviets as a totalitarian regime that wants to spread its oppression to other nations. That is true, but communism was never intended to turn out that way. Communism was built on values like the values for which the United States stands today.

“Let racist ignorance be ended, for respect makes the empires fall.”

“Freedom is merely a privilege extended unless enjoyed by one and all.”

These two quotes are from the “Internationale” song, which was the very first communist song and served as the song for the Paris Commune in 1871.

However, despite his bias, he made choices that greatly benefitted many people at the time.

The U.S. provides aid to the global community through many ways such as economic aid and military aid. One example the United States supported a nation against a totalitarian regime would be Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War from 2014 to present day. I think this support is justified as Ukrainians are dying to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine. Whilst also protecting the very democratic values for which the Ukrainians fought so hard to implement in their government. For this reason, is why I think it is necessary for the United States shall go through lengths to give Ukraine Economic and Financial aid as many Ukrainian men, women, and children fight and band together to preserve their rights and democracy. Something that is in line with the interests of the United States and to the security of the American people.

The United States is built on fighting for democracy and freedom, so for the American people to give economic aid and military aid to Ukraine is to support a nation that agrees with the American values and way of life.

I do not want to accuse Russia of being the real perpetrator as Russia is a nation with rich history and many people in Russia do not agree with the actions of the SMO and the Russian Federation Government. By not accusing Russia, I demonstrate the very thing that the Truman Doctrine was trying to tell us all about from the very beginning. To fight to free people from oppression. Currently both Ukraine and Russian people are suffering, both from different circumstances.

Which is why not only should the United States continue to aid Ukraine, but to help free Russian people from the oppressive government it has. Like what the address said, to protect free people from the armed minority.

Leopold Kory Song

Challenges Elderly People Face: An Abridged Guide

The Starry Night

The Progressive Era’s Impact on Rights, Politics, and Education

Civil Liberty and Rights

S.O.A.P.S. Analysis of the Truman Doctrine

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