New Social Movements Essay Example for Free

New Social Movements Essay To what extent do new social movements represent a challenge to established ways of conducting liberal democratic policies? In order to understand the extent of the challenge posed by new social movements to liberal democratic policy and the ways in which they are conducted one must first understand what these policies entail. These policies or principles are listed by Goodwin as: 1. Supremacy of the people. 2. Consent of the governed as the basis of legitimacy. 3. The rule of law: peaceful methods of conflict resolution. 4. The existence of the common good or public interest, 5. The value of the individual as a rational moral active citizen. 6. Equal rights for all individuals.1 The modern day concept of a liberal democracy is based on the liberalist movement of the philosophers of the eighteenth century. However the advent of past social has resulted in challenges to the ways in which liberal democracy has been and is conducted over the intervening years since that time; the suffrage movement and the American civil rights movement against segregation are two such examples. These movements were successful because those in power allowed them to succeed (admittedly with some reluctance). More recently, that is over the past twenty to thirty years new social movements have grown up. These movements are campaigning on various issues including: * Anti globalisation; the backlash against the increase in power of large corporations and the perceived lack of legislation restricting their actions. * Extremist religious groups. * Environmental change; the movement and groups pushing for greater respect for the planet in a global community. There are also many other groups which have grown up as a result of the mass movement of peoples. These groups campaign for greater minority rights, and more freedom to express cultural heritage. Heywood states additionally that these groups are a result of the post-modernist era: If the major political ideologies were in their various ways, products of modernisation [i.e. the labour movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries], the transition from a modern to a post modern society cannot but have profound significance for their [the new movements] roles and character [] post modernity [] has both thrown

War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals Essay Example for Free

War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals Essay David Halberstam who is considered to be one of Pulitzers Prizewinning journalist write the sequel of â€Å"The Best and the Brightest† entitled â€Å"War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals. † In this great book he tries to evoke the internal conflicts, power struggles and unchecked ego within the White House, the military and the state department. He also shows here how the decisions of men who served in Vietnam War and even those who did not have shaped Americas role in global events. He provides the influential and fascinating power of Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Kissinger, Baker, Cheney, Albright and others to reveal a stunning view of modern politics in America and policy. Beginning with the Persian Gulf War, the author tries to discuss political shifts by emphasizing foreign to domestic issues which ushered Clintons administration. Despite the fact that Clinton, along with much of the country preferred to focus on the home front, America nonetheless found itself in conflict in Haiti, Somalia and the Balkans this events reflected American discomforts with the use of military forces abroad and at the same time acknowledging that majority of the world is dependent on the United States for guidance and support. Halberstam also noted the irony of the Gulf war since it was the time where lesser-known players who contributed to the picture were not overlooked. And the wrong branch of the service and the wrong military leaders were celebrated at its conclusion. He points out that President Bush got little electoral bounce from that first high tech, low casualty victory and that this was a lesson that Clinton never forgot. Then the author shifts to the conflict in Bosnia which\ch is a different kind. That war he says tested the United States commitment to moral goals in it foreign policy rather than simply to considerations of national security. Bosnia created a new political constituency in America on e that is â€Å"driven by a memory that connected these events to the atrocities of the Mazis and therefore demanded that other nations ask themselves what their larger purpose was. † War In A Time of Peace 2 Halberstam also noted. Reviewing the last pages of the book, the author gave his point of view in taking a glimpse of the future and the September 11, 2001 World trade center tragedy. The author tries to speculate and give a notion of wrong idea at the wrong time he notes that intelligence analysts believe â€Å"the threats to an open society like America comes form terrorist, rather than the military power of rogue states† which themselves present an exceptional target. Events and personalities clashed in this extraordinary book. The author masters the presentation of well-rounded portraits and in telling the anecdotes of the personalities that created United states policies over the past decades. It was really a historical book full of niche from the author that he himself had carved it is a luxurious product of about four to five years of research wherein any journalists or other people from all walks of life can be indulged and enjoy reading it. It gives a clear portrait of the emerging united States in its full and vivid human detail. War in a Time of Peace is really an interesting case for Americans. If they want to learn from the past decade, they should. If they want to think about the future they must. This is a guiding book for them to read so as to avoid conflicting ideas about politics and policy, leaders ad laws. And how it feels good to live in a strong and influential country like America. Reference David Halberstam, David, (2002). War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals.

Social movements and public opinion on gender issues

Social movements and public opinion on gender issues Social movements are loosely formed groupings of individuals which are usually formed with the aim of campaigning for or against the implementation of a certain issue in the society. Social movements do not have standard sizes because some may be made up of few individuals while others may cover even the whole part of the world. The size of the movement generally depends on the issues that are being debated at the time of its formation. Such movements are generally governed by the spontaneous coming together of people guided by no rules of regulations but rather by the common cause that brings the together (Saunders Walter, 2005). Some of the hottest topics that mostly capture the agendas of most western social movements include freedom of expressions, economic independence, and gender equality among others. The purpose of this study is to identify social movements that address issues related to gender and how such movements have affected gender. This will be possible by analyzing t he political environment that led to the existence of the social movements being discussed. The study will also seek to identify some of the impacts that the movements have head in the society at large (Love, 2006). Womens Suffrage, Ecofeminism and Womens liberations movements are some of the social movements identified in this study that have some effect on gender issues and how the society addresses issues related to women. Womens suffrage for instance is a social movements formed in the early 18th century to advocate for women to vote and run for public offices. This social movement has its basis on the era in which women were discriminated and considered to be too weak to hold any public office with diligence (Chapman, 2009). Such a movement called for the reformation of the economic and political spheres so that women could have equal competing field with men. Additionally, the movement also articulated for the honoring of women by being given equal rights as men in the ownership of property, payment of tax among other rights. Evidence point out that New Zealand became the first nation to vote for a woman to hold public office as a result of this social movement (Saunders Walter, 2005). The existence of the Womens Suffrage as a social movement clearly points out the nature of the political environment at those times to have been discriminative against women. Women were generally not allowed not to hold any public office and they had no right to own property. Generally, women were treated as if they did not have any say regarding their rights. However, the emergence of this movement drastically changed the perspective of the society towards women (Saunders Walter, 2005). The fact that women became part of leaders and held public offices is a clear indication that the social movement had a positive effect on the society because they ended up accepting the facts given by the social movement. The change also had the effect of changing the political structures of nations that accepted the calls made by the social movement. Ecofeminism is another social movement that has been shown to have a significant impact on the society. This movement indicates that there exists a commonality between environmentalism and being a woman. According to the proponents of this movement, there is a relationship between the way women are oppressed in the society and the destruction of nature through the creation of concepts that may indicate how inferior women are inferior to men (Chapman, 2009). This social movement explores or existed in a society that believed that men are always superior over women. Such a political environment is seen to have perpetuated social inequalities like racism among others. The brainchild of this movement was driven by the fact that the same intellect that promotes the destruction of the environment. The existence of ecofeminism describes the political environment in twofold. Women were being oppressed and discriminated in all manners possible. It also shows that there was environmental degradation that would ultimately threaten human existence. The coming of this social movement changed the societys perspective by improving the interrelationships between human beings. Additionally, the movement is seen as one of the factors that led to the extinction of discrimination on the basis of gender. Consciousness about caring for the environment also developed due to the coming up of the social movement (Love, 2006). Womens liberation movement is another social movement distinct from the feminism or ecofeminism which began to develop in the early 1960s. The social movement was formed to fight for all the possible women rights that may have been violated at the time of its formation. The movement was strengthened through the formation of two bodies in the United States. The National Organization of Women and Equal Rights Amendment were formed with the aim championing for the honoring of the rights of women. The political environment during the formation of the social movement clearly indicates how the rights of women we not being respected (Chapman, 2009). However, the existence of this social movement is seen to have changed the perspective of the society regarding the ways in which they could be able to treat women equally as men. This may have been the reason that led to the formation of the two bodies to oversee the fact that the rights of women were respected. Social movements are important bodies of the society because they address issues that dealt unfairly in the society. The ones related to gender are seen to champion for the respect of the rights of women in a society and a political environment that despises them (Love, 2006). The social movements identified in this study are seen to have facilitated the eradication of vices like racial and gender discrimination among others. The nature of the political environment is seen to facilitate the formation of a social movement in the sense that whenever the rights of a particular groups are infringed, the afflicted groups may be forced to from a movement that will champion for the ir rights (Saunders Walter, 2005).

Essay --

A year and three months ago, I was at football practice. I was on the defensive line. I tripped up the running back, but the running back landed on my left ankle. The result was a fracture on my left tibia. I played on my injury for two weeks. At that moment, I was not able to play football for the rest of the year. During this summer, I injured my back. I began to accumulate information about how to treat my injuries. While I was researching, the words physical therapy popped up. I clicked on them, and the article discussed what a physical therapist does. When I was halfway down the article, it stated that a physical therapist helps people with injuries like mine. After researching, I decided to be a physical therapist. Before fully deciding to do physical therapy, I arranged an interview a year and two months later with an actual physical therapist named Tess Vaughn. She began to discuss her view of being a physical therapist. She gave the general requirements, the advantages and the disadvantages of a physical therapist, and the salary. Although the salary of a physical therapist is abundant, the disadvantages of physical therapy outweigh the advantages. One of the general requirements is good time-management(Vaughn). Then she introduced different examples with this. She schedules her appointments based upon what she needs to be done throughout the day. Depending upon when she wants time with her family, she may choose to do her paperwork in the afternoon between each appointment. This involves the same thing with her appointments. Therefore, if people are not good at time managing, they should not go into physical therapy, which is really time consuming(Vaughn). Probably the biggest requirement for physical therapists is p... ...Vaughn). The third disadvantage is paperwork(Vaughn). According to Tess Vaughn, there is a plethora of paper work. Before going into physical therapy, think about having tons of paperwork on a desk. The fourth disadvantage is the amount of schooling. If one does not see himself doing seven to eight years of college, do not choose physical therapy as a career(Vaughn). Therefore, the decision is decided based on a student wanting eight years of college, tons of paperwork, and the liability. If he has the patience and dedication, he is capable of being a physical therapist. Once I learned about eight years of college and tons of paperwork, my decision changed. With others it can be different. I think the best part about physical therapy is helping people getting back on their feet, but I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Others might think differently.

Heating Commodities Essay -- essays research papers

Heating Commodities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Back in the middle of October, the price of natural-gas had risen because a gas company was forced to shut down a pipeline due to the need for repairs. This impending shortage led to the decrease in prices for other heating commodities, as well as larger profits. The demand for energy was becoming greater and greater because it was that time of year when consumers began storing energy in their homes to prepare for the cold winter months ahead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The four commodities mentioned in this article, crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and natural gas are all substitutes for one another. This is true because the cross elasticity of demand states that as the percentage change in the quantity demanded of one commodity results from a one percent change in the price of another commodity. In other words, the increase in demand for crude oil, gasoline, and heating oil was the outcome of the price increase in natural gas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As shown in the graph below, the cross elasticity of demand is direct (positive). As the price of natural increases, the quantity demanded for the three other energy commodities increase.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The market system today functions on price. Consumers make their decision on what to buy by the price of their desired good. Naturally, consumers will choose the lower price of a commodity they wish to purchase. This is why consu...

Computerization at Work :: Technology Computers Essays

Computerization at Work Work is a major component of many people's lives. Wage income is the primary way that most people between the ages of 22 and 65 obtain money for food, housing, clothing, transportation, and so on. The United States' population is about 260,000,000, and well over 110,000,000 work for a living. So, major changes in the nature of work - the number of jobs, the nature of jobs, career opportunities, job content, social relationships at work, working conditions of various kinds - affect a significant segment of society. Computer-based systems are organized to enhance the quality of working life for clerks, administrative staff, professionals, and managers. Computerization has touched more people more visibly in their work than in any other kind of setting-home, schools, churches, banking, and so on. Workplaces are good places to examine how the dreams and dilemmas of computerization really work out for large numbers of people under an immense variety of social and technical conditions. Office work has always involved keeping records. In the early twentieth century, the technologies and organization of office work underwent substantial change. Firms began to adopt telephones and typewriters, both of which had been recently invented. By the 1930s and 1940s, many manufactures devised electromechanical machines to help manipulate, sort, and tally specialized paper records automatically. Some of the more expensive pieces of equipment, such as specialized card-accounting machines, were much more affordable and justifiable in organizations that centralize their key office activities. Business such as insurance companies and banks, along with public agencies, adopted computer-based information systems on a large scale in the 1960s. Many of the early digital computer systems replaced electromechanical paper-card systems. The earliest systems were designed for batch operation. Clerks filled in paper forms with information about a firm's clients, and the forms were then perio dically sent to a special group of keypunchers to translate the data onto cardboard card. These card each stored one line of data, up to eighty characters. They were punched with a series of holes for each character or number. Keypunch machines were clanky devices with a typewriter-style keyboard, a bin for storing blank card, and a holder for the card being punched. There was no simple way for a keypunch operator to correct an error. Cards containing errors had to be completely repunched. The punched cards were then taken to a data-processing department for a weekly or monthly run, during which time records were updated and reports were produced.

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Six

â€Å"She's already made her choice. You saw it yourself when you ‘interrupted' us. You've already chosen, haven't you, Elena?† Stefan said it not smugly, or as a demand, but with a kind of desperate bravado. â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena looked up. â€Å"Stefan, I love you. But don't you understand, if I have a choice right now I have to choose for all of us to stay together. Just for now. Do you understand?† Seeing only stoniness in Stefan's face, she turned to Damon. â€Å"Do you?† â€Å"I think so.† He gave her a secret, possessive smile. â€Å"I told Stefan from the beginning that he was selfish not to share you. Brothers should share things, you know.† â€Å"That's not what I meant.† â€Å"Isn't it?† Damon smiled again. â€Å"No,† Stefan said. â€Å"I don't understand, and I don't see how you can ask me to work with him. He's evil, Elena. He kills for pleasure; he has no conscience at all. He doesn't care about Fell's Church; he said that himself. He's a monster-â€Å" â€Å"Right now he's being more cooperative than you are,† Elena said. She reached for Stefan's hand, searching for some way to get through to him. â€Å"Stefan, I need you. And we both need him. Can't you try to accept that?† When he didn't answer she added, â€Å"Stefan, do you really want to be mortal enemies with your brother forever?† â€Å"Do you really think he wants anything else?† Elena stared down at their joined hands, looking at the planes and curves and shadows. She didn't answer for a minute, and when she did it was very quietly. â€Å"He stopped me from killing you,† she said. She felt the flare of Stefan's defensive anger, then felt it slowly fade. Something like defeat crept through him, and he bowed his head. â€Å"That's true,† he said. â€Å"And, anyway, who am I to call him evil? What's he done that I haven't done myself?† We need to talk, Elena thought, hating this self-hatred of his. But this wasn't the time or place. â€Å"Then you do agree?† she said hesitantly. â€Å"Stefan, tell me what you're thinking.† â€Å"Right now I'm thinking that you always get your way. Because you always do, don't you, Elena?† Elena looked into his eyes, noticing how the pupils were dilated, so that only a ring of green iris showed around the edge. There was no longer anger there, but the tiredness and the bitterness remained. But I'm not just doing it for myself, she thought, thrusting out of her mind the sudden surge of self-doubt. I'll prove that to you, Stefan; you'll see. For once I'm not doing something for my own convenience. But I'm not just doing it for myself, she thought, thrusting out of her mind the sudden surge of self-doubt. I'll prove that to you, Stefan; you'll see. For once I'm not doing something for my own convenience. â€Å"Yes. I†¦ agree.† â€Å"And I agree,† said Damon, extending his own hand with exaggerated courtesy. He captured Elena's before she could say anything. â€Å"In fact, we all seem to be in a frenzy of pure agreement.† Don't, Elena thought, but at that moment, standing in the cool twilight of the choir loft, she felt that it was true, that they were all three connected, and in accord, and strong. Then Stefan pulled his hand away. In the silence that followed, Elena could hear the sounds outside and in the church below. There was still crying and the occasional shout, but the overall urgency was gone. Looking out the window, she saw people picking their way across the wet parking lot between the little groups that huddled over wounded victims. Dr. Feinberg was moving from island to island, apparently dispensing medical advice. The victims looked like survivors of a hurricane or earthquake. â€Å"No one is what they seem,† Elena said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"That's what Bonnie said during the memorial service. She had another one of her fits. I think it might be important.† She tried to put her thoughts in order. â€Å"I think there are people in town that we ought to look out for. Like Alaric Saltzman.† She told them, briefly, what she had overheard earlier that day in Alaric's house. â€Å"He's not what he seems, but I don't know exactly what he is. I think we should watch him. And since I obviously can't appear in public, you two are going to have to do it. But you can't let him suspect you know-† Elena broke off as Damon held up a hand swiftly. Down at the base of the stairs, a voice was calling. â€Å"Stefan? Are you up there?† And then, to someone else, â€Å"I thought I saw him go up here.† It sounded like Mr. Carson. â€Å"Go,† Elena hissed almost inaudibly to Stefan, â€Å"You have to be as normal as possible so you can stay here in Fell's Church. I'll be all right.† â€Å"But where will you go?† â€Å"To Meredith's. I'll explain later. Go on.† Stefan hesitated, and then started down the stairs, calling, â€Å"I'm coming.† Then he pulled back. â€Å"I'm not leaving you with him,† he said flatly. Elena threw her hands up in exasperation. â€Å"Then both of you go. You just agreed to work together; are you going to go back on your word now?† she added to Damon, who was looking unyielding himself. He gave another of his little shrugs. â€Å"All right. Just one thing-are you hungry?† â€Å"That's good. But later on, you will be. Remember that.† He crowded Stefan down the stairs, earning himself a searing look. But Elena heard Stefan's voice in her mind as they both disappeared. I'll come for you later. Wait for me. She wished she could answer with her own thoughts. She also noticed something. Stefan's mental voice was much weaker than it had been four days ago when he had been fighting his brother. Come to think of it, he hadn't been able to speak with his mind at all before the Founders' Day celebration. She'd been so confused when she woke up by the river that it hadn't occurred to her, but now she wondered. What had happened to make him so strong? And why was his strength fading now? Elena had time to think about it as she sat there in the deserted choir loft, while below the people left the church and outside the overcast skies slowly grew darker. She thought about Stefan, and about Damon, and she wondered if she had made the right choice. She'd vowed never to let them fight over her, but that vow was broken already. Was she crazy to try and make them live under a truce, even a temporary one? When the sky outside was uniformly black, she ventured down the stairs. The church was empty and echoing. She hadn't thought about how she would get out, but fortunately the side door was bolted only from the inside. She slipped out into the night gratefully. She hadn't realized how good it was to be outside and in the dark. Being inside buildings made her feel trapped, and daylight hurt her eyes. This was best, free and unfettered-and unseen. Her own senses rejoiced at the lush world around her. With the air so still, scents hung in the air for a long time, and she could smell a whole plethora of nocturnal creatures. A fox was scavenging in somebody's trash. Brown rats were chewing something in the bushes. Night moths were calling to one another with scent. She found it wasn't hard to get to Meredith's house undetected; people seemed to be staying inside. But once she got there, she stood looking up at the graceful farmhouse with the screened porch in dismay. She couldn't just walk up to the front door and knock. Was Meredith really expecting her? Wouldn't she be waiting outside if she were? Meredith was about to get a terrible shock if she weren't, Elena reflected, eyeing the distance to the roof of the porch. Meredith's bedroom window was above it and just around the corner. It would be a bit of a reach, but Elena thought she could make it. Getting onto the roof was easy; her fingers and bare toes found holds between the bricks and sent her sailing up. But leaning around the corner to look into Meredith's window was a strain. She blinked against the light that flooded out. Meredith was sitting on the edge of her bed, elbows on knees, staring at nothing. Every so often she ran a hand through her dark hair. A clock on the nightstand said Meredith was sitting on the edge of her bed, elbows on knees, staring at nothing. Every so often she ran a hand through her dark hair. A clock on the nightstand said Elena tapped on the window glass with her fingernails. Meredith jumped and looked the wrong way, toward the door. She stood up in a defensive crouch, clutching a throw pillow in one hand. When the door didn't open, she sidled a pace or two toward it, still in a defensive posture. â€Å"Who is it?† she said. Elena tapped on the glass again. Meredith spun to face the window, her breath coming fast. â€Å"Let me in,† said Elena. She didn't know if Meredith could hear her, so she mouthed it clearly. â€Å"Open the window.† Meredith, panting, looked around the room as if she expected someone to appear and help her. When no one did, she approached the window as if it were a dangerous animal. But she didn't open it. â€Å"Let me in,† Elena said again. Then she added impatiently, â€Å"If you didn't want me to come, why did you make an appointment with me?† She saw the change as Meredith's shoulders relaxed slightly. Slowly, with fingers that were unusually clumsy, Meredith opened the window and stood back. â€Å"Now ask me to come inside. Otherwise I can't. â€Å"Come†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith's voice failed and she had to try again. â€Å"Come in,† she said. When Elena, wincing, had boosted herself over the sill and was flexing her cramped fingers, Meredith added almost dazedly, â€Å"It's got to be you. Nobody else gives orders like that.† â€Å"It's me,† Elena said. She stopped wringing out the cramps and looked into the eyes of her friend. â€Å"It really is me, Meredith,† she said. Meredith nodded and swallowed visibly. Right then what Elena would have liked most in the world would have been for the other girl to give her a hug. But Meredith wasn't much of the hugging type, and right now she was backing slowly away to sit on the bed again. â€Å"Sit down,† she said in an artificially calm voice. Elena pulled out the desk chair and unthinkingly took up the same position Meredith had been in before, elbows on knees, head down. Then she looked up. â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith just stared at her for a moment, then shook herself. â€Å"Well. You- your body was never found, of course. That was strange. And then those attacks on the old man and Vickie and Tanner-and Stefan and little things I'd put together about him-but I didn't know. Not for sure. Not until now.† She ended almost in a whisper. â€Å"Well, it was a good guess,† Elena said. She was trying to behave normally, but what was normal in this situation? Meredith was acting as if she could scarcely bear to look at her. It made Elena feel more lonely, more alone, than she could ever remember being in her life. â€Å"I asked Bonnie to come over at seven o'clock, if her mother would let her. It's probably her. I'll go see.† Meredith seemed almost indecently eager to get away. â€Å"Wait. Does she know?† â€Å"No†¦ Oh, you mean I should break it to her gently.† Meredith looked around the room again uncertainly, and Elena snapped on the little reading light by the bed. â€Å"Turn the room light off. It hurts my eyes anyway,† she said quietly. When Meredith did, the bedroom was dim enough that she could conceal herself in the shadows. Waiting for Meredith to return with Bonnie, she stood in a corner, hugging her elbows with her hands. Maybe it was a bad idea trying to get Meredith and Bonnie involved. If imperturbable Meredith couldn't handle the situation, what would Bonnie do? Meredith heralded their arrival by muttering over and over, â€Å"Don't scream now; don't scream,† as she bundled Bonnie across the threshold. â€Å"What's wrong with you? What are you doing?† Bonnie was gasping in return. â€Å"Let go of me. Do you know what I had to do to get my mother to let me out of the house tonight? She wants to take me to the hospital at Roanoke.† Meredith kicked the door shut. â€Å"Okay,† she said to Bonnie. â€Å"Now, you're going to see something that will†¦ well, it's going to be a shock. But you can't scream, do you understand me? I'll let go of you if you promise.† â€Å"It's too dark to see anything, and you're scaring me. What's wrong with you, Meredith? Oh, all right, I promise, but what are you talking-â€Å" â€Å"Elena,† said Meredith. Elena took it as an invitation and stepped forward. Bonnie's reaction wasn't what she expected. She frowned and leaned forward, peering in the dim light. When she saw Elena's form, she gasped. But then, as she stared at Elena's face, she clapped her hands together with a shriek of joy. â€Å"I knew it! I knew they were wrong! So there, Meredith-and you and Stefan thought you knew so much about drowning and all that. But I knew you were wrong! Oh, Elena, I missed you! Everyone's going to be so-â€Å" â€Å"Be quiet, Bonnie! Be quiet!† Meredith said urgently. â€Å"I told you not to scream. Listen, you idiot, do you think if Elena were really all right she'd be here in the middle of the night without anybody knowing about it?† â€Å"But she is all right; look at her. She's standing there. It is you, isn't it, Elena?† Bonnie started toward her, but Meredith grabbed her again. â€Å"Yes, it's me.† Elena had the strange feeling she'd wandered into a surreal comedy, maybe one written by Kafka, only she didn't know her lines. She didn't know what to say to Bonnie, who was looking rapturous. â€Å"What are you two being so mysterious for? She's here, but she's not all right. What's that supposed to mean?† Elena didn't know whether to laugh or cry. â€Å"Look, Bonnie†¦ oh, I don't know how to say this. Bonnie, did your psychic grandmother ever talk to you about vampires?† Silence fell, heavy as an ax. The minutes ticked by. Impossibly, Bonnie's eyes widened still further; then, they slid toward Meredith. There were several more minutes of silence, and then Bonnie shifted her weight toward the door. â€Å"Uh, look, you guys,† she said softly, â€Å"this is getting really weird. I mean, really, really, really†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena cast about in her mind. â€Å"You can look at my teeth,† she said. She pulled her upper lip back, poking at a canine with her finger. She felt the reflexive lengthening and sharpening, like a cat's claw lazily extending. Meredith came forward and looked and then looked away quickly. â€Å"I get the point,† she said, but in her voice there was none of the old wry pleasure in her own wit. â€Å"Bonnie, look,† she said. All the elation, all the excitement had drained out of Bonnie. She looked as if she were going to be sick. â€Å"No. I don't want to.† â€Å"You have to. You have to believe it, or we'll never get anywhere.† Meredith grappled a stiff and resisting Bonnie forward. â€Å"Open your eyes, you little twit. You're the one who loves all this supernatural stuff.† â€Å"I've changed my mind,† Bonnie said, almost sobbing. There was genuine hysteria in her tone. â€Å"Leave me alone, Meredith; I don't want to look.† She wrenched herself away. â€Å"You don't have to,† Elena whispered, stunned. Dismay pooled inside her, and tears flooded her eyes. â€Å"This was a bad idea, Meredith. I'll go away.† â€Å"No. Oh, don't.† Bonnie turned back as quickly as she'd whirled away and precipitated herself into Elena's arms. â€Å"I'm sorry, Elena; I'm sorry. I don't care what you are; I'm just glad you're back. It's been terrible without you.† She was sobbing now in earnest. The tears that wouldn't come when Elena had been with Stefan came now. She cried, holding on to Bonnie, feeling Meredith's arms go around both of them. They were all crying-Meredith silently, Bonnie noisily, and Elena herself with passionate intensity. She felt as if she were crying for everything that had happened to her, for everything she had lost, for all the loneliness and the fear and the pain. Eventually, they all ended up sitting on the floor, knee to knee, the way they had when they were kids at a sleepover making secret plans. â€Å"You're so brave,† Bonnie said to Elena, sniffling. â€Å"I don't see how you can be so brave about it.† â€Å"Your hands aren't cold.† Meredith squeezed Elena's fingers. â€Å"Just sort of cool. I thought they'd be colder.† â€Å"Stefan's hands aren't cold either,† Elena said, and she was about to go on, but Bonnie squeaked: â€Å"Stefan?† Meredith and Elena looked at her. â€Å"Be sensible, Bonnie. You don't get to be a vampire by yourself. Somebody has to make you one.† â€Å"But you mean Stefan . . . ? You mean he's a†¦ ?† Bonnie's voice choked off. â€Å"I think,† said Meredith, â€Å"that maybe this is the time to tell us the whole story, Elena. Like all those minor details you left out the last time we asked you for the whole story.† Elena nodded. â€Å"You're right. It's hard to explain, but I'll try.† She took a deep breath. â€Å"Bonnie, do you remember the first day of school? It was the first time I ever heard you make a prophecy. You looked into my palm and said I'd meet a boy, a dark boy, a stranger. And that he wasn't tall but that he had been once. Well†-she looked at Bonnie and then at Meredith-â€Å"Stefan's not really tall now. But he was once†¦ compared to other people in the fifteenth century.† Meredith nodded, but Bonnie made a faint sound and swayed backward, looking shell-shocked. â€Å"You mean-â€Å" â€Å"I mean he lived in Renaissance Italy, and the average person was shorter then. So Stefan looked taller by comparison. And, wait, before you pass out, here's something else you should know. Damon's his brother.† Meredith nodded again. â€Å"I figured something like that. But then why has Damon been saying he's a college student?† â€Å"They don't get along very well. For a long time, Stefan didn't even know Damon was in Fell's Church.† Elena faltered. She was verging on Stefan's private history, which she'd always felt was his secret to tell. But Meredith had been right; it was time to come out with the whole story. â€Å"Listen, it was like this,† she said. â€Å"Stefan and Damon were both in love with the same girl back in Renaissance Italy. She was from Germany, and her name was Katherine. The reason Stefan was avoiding me at the beginning of school was that I reminded him of her; she had blond hair and blue eyes, too. Oh, and this was her ring.† Elena let go of Meredith's hand and showed them the intricately carved golden circlet set with a single stone of lapis lazuli. â€Å"And the thing was that Katherine was a vampire. A guy named Klaus had made her one back in her village in Germany to save her from dying of her last illness. Stefan and Damon both knew this, but they didn't care. They asked her to choose between them the one she wanted to marry.† Elena stopped and gave a lopsided smile, thinking that Mr. Tanner had been right; history did repeat itself. She only hoped her story didn't end like Katherine's. â€Å"But she chose both of them. She exchanged blood with both of them, and she said they could all three be companions through eternity.† between them the one she wanted to marry.† Elena stopped and gave a lopsided smile, thinking that Mr. Tanner had been right; history did repeat itself. She only hoped her story didn't end like Katherine's. â€Å"But she chose both of them. She exchanged blood with both of them, and she said they could all three be companions through eternity.† â€Å"Sounds dumb,† said Meredith. â€Å"You got it,† Elena told her. â€Å"Katherine was sweet but not very bright. Stefan and Damon already didn't like each other. They told her she had to choose, that they wouldn't even think of sharing her. And she ran off crying. The next day-well, they found her body, or what was left of it. See, a vampire needs a talisman like this ring to go out in the sun without being killed. And Katherine went out in the sun and took hers off. She thought if she were out of the way, Damon and Stefan would be reconciled.† â€Å"Oh, my God, how ro-â€Å" â€Å"No, it isn't,† Elena cut Bonnie off savagely. â€Å"It's not romantic at all. Stefan's been living with the guilt ever since, and I think Damon has, too, although you'd never get him to admit it. And the immediate result was that they got a couple of swords and killed each other. Yes, killed. That's why they're vampires now, and that's why they hate each other so much. And that's why I'm probably crazy trying to get them to cooperate now.†