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"Time to Assert American Values" from The New York Times

These word lists support the reading of the following texts from SpringBoard English Textual Power, Level 5, Unit 4 "Justice": Guernica, Nobel Peace Prize Speech, On Civil Disobedience, texts about hijab, Germany Divided over Hijab, School's Out for Summer, Mandela's Statement, Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Rough Justice, Time to Assert American Values, Kohlberg's Six Stages
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Full list of words from this list:

  1. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
    Western countries value the individual above society; in Asia, he said, the good of society is deemed more important than individual liberties.
  2. sophistry
    a deliberately invalid argument in the hope of deceiving
    This comfortable bit of sophistry helps governments from China to Indonesia rationalize abuses and marginalize courageous people who campaign for causes like due process and freedom from torture.
  3. assert
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
    Western nations, it is asserted, have no right to impose their values on countries that govern themselves successfully according to their own values.
  4. intrinsically
    with respect to its inherent nature
    So, the argument goes, when Americans express outrage over a punishment that causes permanent scarring--in this case, caning--they are committing an act of cultural arrogance, assuming that American values are intrinsically superior to those of another culture.
  5. elite
    a group or class of persons enjoying superior status
    It assumes that dissidents, democrats and reformers in these countries are somehow less authentic representatives of their cultures than the members of the political elite who enforce oppressive punishments and suppress individual rights.
  6. dissident
    a person who objects to some established policy
    At times like this, Americans need to remember that this country was also founded by dissidents--by people who were misfits in their own society because they believed, among other things, that it was wrong to punish pilferage with hanging or crimes of any sort with torture.
  7. propagation
    the spreading of something into new regions
    Americans concerned with the propagation of traditional values at home should be equally energetic in asserting constitutional principles in the international contest of ideas.
  8. brutality
    a barbarous savage act
    There are millions of acts of brutality that cannot be exposed and combated.
  9. exhort
    spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
    While this country cannot dictate to the Government of Singapore, no one should fail to exhort it to behave mercifully.
  10. influence
    a power to affect persons or events
    Principled private citizens ought now to call for American companies doing business in Singapore to bring their influence to bear.
Created on Fri Jul 25 22:45:47 EDT 2014 (updated Mon Jul 28 15:27:50 EDT 2014)

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