How important is the character of Friar Lawrence to the plot and dramatic quality of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

How important is the character of Friar Lawrence to the plot and dramatic quality of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay In my essay I will be writing about the vitality of Friar Lawrences role, this includes how he fitted into the whole plot, what dramatic effect he had on the audience and most importantly I will be writing about the three main parts of his role. Friar Lawrence is a crucial character in the play Romeo and Juliet. The play was written by the famous William Shakespeare circa 1600 AD. The play is about two star crossed lovers living in the town of Verona who come from two great leading families who absolutely feel hatred for one another. These two families, Montague and Capulet have been bought up in conflict against one another as a part of an ever-lasting feud between the two leading members of the two most important families of Verona.The first time Romeo and Juliet see each other is at an annual party that is held at the Capulets mansion. As it is a masquerade party Romeo manages to sneak in. it is here that Romeo first sees Juliet and they fall in love at first sight. From then on R omeo constantly meets Juliet at her mansion in secret. In doing this the bond between both of them deeply strengthens encouraging them both to make the fatal decision of getting married. Knowing that their parents would never approve of their marriage, as a part of the ancient feud between both their families Romeo asks Friar Lawrence to wed him and Juliet in secret without their parents consent or blessing.The reason for Romeo approaching the Friar is because he is more of a neutral character as he is a friend of both the Montagues and the Capulets. The Friar knows of this ancient feud between both families and is shocked when Romeo first tells the Friar that he is love with Juliet. The Friar takes Romeos situation into consideration and after long thoughts decides to marry them. This is shocking to the audience because as a man of the Christian church and a religious man he would have been expected to honour the values of their parents. This leads the audience to wonder what the F riar is up to.Friar Lawrence knows Romeo and Juliet are acting against their parents wishes and he justifies this by saying In one respect Ill thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households rancour into pure love. In saying this Friar hopes to achieve peace between both the Montagues and the Capulet believing that Romeos marriage will bring them together. This leads to there being a very dramatic environment surrounding the audience because they know the couples fate will be a dramatic one from the very beginning of the play and by Romeo and Juliet becoming one in marriage, this leads them one step closer to their awaiting doom. Also it allows the audience to anticipate what the reaction of their parents will be when they find out of this tragedy. At the wedding Friar Lawrence warns the couple to love each other moderately as too much love would lead their relationship to ruins These violent delights have violent ends, this is an example of dramatic i rony, as the audience know that the couple are destined to die.While all this is happening lord Capulet is arranging a day for Juliet to get married to a respectable man by the name of Paris. Juliets wishes are not to marry Paris but her father persists on her to do this. In spite of this Juliet approaches the Friar in order to seek help to find a solution to her problem. Because of the state Juliet is in, the Friar decides to help Juliet, to prevent her from harming herself. The Friar sums up a sleeping potion and gives it to Juliet saying Then is it likely thou wilt undertake a thing like death to shide away this shame, that copst with death himself to scape from it; and, if thou darst, Ill give thee remedy. In giving Juliet the sleeping potion the Friar hopes to make it appear that Juliet is dead on her wedding day when in reality she is in a deep sleep awaiting to wake up in Romeos arms in her family burial tomb.The Friar then begins to reveal his plan to Juliet. He tells her to go home and pretend to her family everything is fine by telling her father that shell go ahead with the wedding. The Friar also tells her to drink his potion the night before the wedding. Hold, then. Go home, be merry; give consent to marry Paris. Wednesday is tomorrow. Tomorrow night look that thou lie alone; Let not the nurse lie with thee in thy chamber. Take thou dis distilled liquor drink thou off; when presently through all thy veins shall run a cold and drowsy humour. The Friars plan was for Juliet to take the potion the night before the wedding to appear dead the morning after.This would relieve her of her marriage with Paris. They would have the funeral and lay her body along side her dead cousin Tybalt inside her family tomb. The Friar would then send Romeo a letter explaining his plan, telling Romeo to return from Mantua to Verona and await his loved to wake up in his arms before escaping to Mantua free of their parents, to live happily ever after. Shall Romeo by my lett ers know our drift; and hither shall he come, and he and I will watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua.Hence the fact of something going wrong, Juliet accepted the Friars plan and did as she was told. The Friar then sent Romeo a letter explaining his plan. The Friar trusted the letter with another priest and set him to his journey to Mantua to deliver the letter. On the morning of Juliets wedding day, her Nurse calls out for her but she does not answer so her Nurse enters her chamber and as expected finds Juliet dead. Juliets family rush her to Friar Lawrence for help. The Friar then shocks the audience immerging a doubtful atmosphere upon them leaving the audience in suspense to find out what happens next when Friar Lawrence lies to Juliets family which is so unexpected from a religious man of a Christian church. In repliance to Lord Capulets plea for help, the Friar says Dry up your tears and stick your rosemary on this fair corse, and, as the custom is, and in her best array, bear her to church.At Juliets funeral, Benvolio sees Juliet being carried to the tomb and rushes in search of Romeo to tell him Juliet is dead. On his way to Mantua, he surpasses the priest who is to deliver the Friars letter to Romeo with his plan, so Romeo still does not know of what is going on. Benvolio reaches Romeo and is asked by Romeo how is my lady Juliet? Benvolio with tears in his eyes manages to reply she is dead my lord. Romeo is shocked and on the way back to see Juliet he stops to buy poison, whilst on his journey back to Verona he goes past the priest with the Friars letter, but neither of them notices each other and carry on their journey.Romeo arrives at the tomb and before entering he asks Benvolio to wait for him outside. He enters the tomb and sees Juliet lying along side Tybalt. He walks up to Tybalt and asks him for forgiveness for having killed him. He then walks up to Juliet and assuming she is dead drinks the poison he boug ht earlier on. Moments later he dies along side his beloved Juliet. The Friar without wondering weather Romeo got his message or not assumes he did and goes to meet up with him in the tomb like planned. When the Friar arrives at the tomb he sees Benvolio and asks him where Romeo is and Benvolio replies in saying that Romeo is inside the tomb, the Friar then rushes inside to see Romeo dead laying beside Juliet on the floor at that precise moment Juliet awakes from her deep sleep and asks the Friar Where art my Romeo?The Friar hears a large crowd approaching and in panic of being caught for what he has done he replies to Juliet come Ill dispose of thee. Among a sister hood of holy nuns stay not to question, but the watch is coming. Come, go, good Juliet I dare know longer stay. Juliet then refuses to leave with the Friar after she sees Romeos dead corpse lying on the floor. Seeing Romeo dead before her makes her want to kill herself. The Friar then leaves her alone inside the tomb and runs away. He does this because he does not want both families to find out that he was responsible for the death of Romeo and that he was acting against the wishes of their parents. Juliet then pulls for Romeos dagger and stabs herself. It took the deaths of two innocent people to cease this ancient feud, to finally see sense.In the Friar running out of the tomb and leaving Juliet alone, brings the play to a climax. The effect this would have on an audience would be shocking because the audience would expect the Friar to own up to what he did instead of running away from his mistakes and not talking the blame for causing this tragedy.I believe that the Friar should not be criticised for having helped out Romeo and Juliet because he was doing it for a good cause which was to put an end to the feud between both families and bring them together in piece. On the other hand he did not uphold the Christian values of a Christian church which the audience and myself would have expected, he should have been straight with Romeo and Juliet and have advised them to be honest with their parents instead of helping them act in secret behind their backs. It was the Friars three main parts of his role which bought the play to a climax and left the audience eager to find out what would happen next bringing them closer to the play.

Free Essays on Does Living In The Urban Environment Causes Mental Illness

Does the urban environment itself cause mental illness? Mental illness has been present in the world as far back as biblical times, and stigma against the mentally ill has had a long and inglorious history in western civilization. For centuries, the mentally ill have had to suffer an unremitting cycle of exile, extermination, and inhumane confinement. They have had few advocates. Ignorance about brain illness has fueled the theory that mentally ill persons are demon-possessed. To our disgrace, even today there are those who still hold that belief and act on it. In the Middle Ages, a few enlightened centers of care, such as the community at Gheel in Belgium where a group of compassionate monks reached out, have provided support and caring to people suffering from mental disorders. The center at Gheel continues to offer foster care and asylum in 1993. But it is a notable exception. More prevalent practices have been to exile the mentally ill, burn them as witches, or set them adrift on overcrowded ships to wander between European ports. Pop e Innocent VII authorized the extermination of witches in 1484, and a Dominican publication, the Malleus Maleficarum, detailed the recognizable behaviors of "witches." These behaviors would be clearly recognizable to any modern psychiatrist as the same symptoms of schizophrenia, manic-depression, and severe depression that are detailed in the present Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Minkoff 32-36). Within last years, more and more mental illnesses appear in the society, especially in the urban environment. Usually excessively stressful conditions of the urban life cause mental disorders. Why does that happen? Different theories explaining human emotion, thought, and behavior abound. Societies and mental health professionals continued to be puzzled about what constituted an appropriate approach to severely ill people whose behaviors and expressions frightened their neighbors. In eighteenth-century En... Free Essays on Does Living In The Urban Environment Causes Mental Illness Free Essays on Does Living In The Urban Environment Causes Mental Illness Does the urban environment itself cause mental illness? Mental illness has been present in the world as far back as biblical times, and stigma against the mentally ill has had a long and inglorious history in western civilization. For centuries, the mentally ill have had to suffer an unremitting cycle of exile, extermination, and inhumane confinement. They have had few advocates. Ignorance about brain illness has fueled the theory that mentally ill persons are demon-possessed. To our disgrace, even today there are those who still hold that belief and act on it. In the Middle Ages, a few enlightened centers of care, such as the community at Gheel in Belgium where a group of compassionate monks reached out, have provided support and caring to people suffering from mental disorders. The center at Gheel continues to offer foster care and asylum in 1993. But it is a notable exception. More prevalent practices have been to exile the mentally ill, burn them as witches, or set them adrift on overcrowded ships to wander between European ports. Pop e Innocent VII authorized the extermination of witches in 1484, and a Dominican publication, the Malleus Maleficarum, detailed the recognizable behaviors of "witches." These behaviors would be clearly recognizable to any modern psychiatrist as the same symptoms of schizophrenia, manic-depression, and severe depression that are detailed in the present Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Minkoff 32-36). Within last years, more and more mental illnesses appear in the society, especially in the urban environment. Usually excessively stressful conditions of the urban life cause mental disorders. Why does that happen? Different theories explaining human emotion, thought, and behavior abound. Societies and mental health professionals continued to be puzzled about what constituted an appropriate approach to severely ill people whose behaviors and expressions frightened their neighbors. In eighteenth-century En...

International banking assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International banking assignment - Essay Example For this reason, they are often regulated through creation of policies and regulations. Most nations have developed fractional banking systems, which are essential in the regulation of the banking industry (Somashekar 2009, 34). Through this system, banks have various liquid assess, which are equal to part of their current liabilities. In addition to different regulations aimed at ensuring liquidity, banks are often subject to the most minimal capital requirements depending on the internationally set standards that are known as Basel Accords. It has often been said that liquidity is something that be recognized easily that being defined; additionally, it is a highly elusive concept. As far as its barest essentials are concerned, is all about having cash at the moment one needs it. In relation to banks, liquidity can be defined as the ability of a bank to provide funding to the increases in assets in order to achieve various obligations as soon as they arise (Hall 2008, 16). This often has to take place without the banks having to incur any unacceptable losses. Management of liquidity risks aims at ensuring that banks can continue performing their most fundamental roles. It is important to note that while outflows are often identified with certainties, risks are often due to need to achieve indecisive obligations about cash flow. In most cases, they depend on the external events as well as the behavior and actions of various agents. The liquidity aspects of a certain bank are ultimately a function of its confidence. This confidence arises from the counterparties and depositors in the banking institution and its presumed capital adequacy or solvency. A liquidity shortfall in a certain individual institution can often have various repercussions in its broad systems. In this case, the withdrawal of one institution has a multiplier effect, having the ability to spread to other systems, which can bring about various

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Media - Essay Example They target almost everyone. In the recent past, advertisers have tremendously shifted their focus to children. Eric Schlosser’s through his article tries to bring to our attention how today child advertising is in high note through the various tactics marketers and advertisers are using to get today children to always want and thus in that context demand for their products (Schlosser 356). Eric brings to our attention that advertisers know that if the children saw their advertisement and which are appealing to them, they will with no doubt nag their parent to get the products for them. Again, through the article, we find how advertisers have begun using catching songs and cartoon characters to attract children. Today’s young generation have changed tremendously through media especially through advertisements, as observed by Eric Schlosser’s essay, today even products that young children at their tender age, who are not allowed to access some products such as cig arettes, companies are still coming with ways of developing unique advertisements that are aimed at targeting the children. These companies intelligently achieve this by changing the packaging around these products and go a step further to ensure that they develop iconic symbols on these products so that the children will recognize them even in future. This, they do putting in mind that even though the children will not necessarily access this at young age they will with no doubt remember them from the same advertisements they saw years ago when they were still young. Clearly it is with no doubt that that media has more negatives than positives effects on today’s young people. As a matter of fact, it is in my opinion that media has a tremendously negatives effects on our young children (Johnson 2011). From the article â€Å"Television: The Plug-In Drug† by Marie Winn, we find that today, the television has invaded most family both in known and unknown territories. This is characterized with wake up, go to school, watch television and thereafter retire to bed and this is the pattern in many families today. Almost every family today has a television set on their household and this has led many families dynamic to suffer. Watching television has clearly become the norm in almost every family today and this is leading to loss of touch such the quality of sharing a meal together, going out on holiday and vacations (Winn 457). Television has unknowingly eliminated most of the individuality enjoyed aspect of families and has in turn managed to create a boring uniformity, which is experienced with all families that watches the television. Television also affects how today’s children communicate with other people in the society, it’s evident that a child who spend his/her all day indoors watching television will have difficulties in maintaining eye conducts, and even of great concern failure to maintain conversations and even trust the same people in the society. I strongly believe that in today’s world the media is changing our young people, the family as a whole and even culture and more so education. As observed from Marie Winn’s article, television is invading many families; it is interfering with our today’s culture and eroding most of the family’s rituals in a faster way. Today television denies the families an opportunity to share their daily experiences and in return build their

The Male Dominant Image Essay Example for Free

The Male Dominant Image Essay In his play The Lion and the Jewel, Soyinka expresses his opinions about society through his characters, as many authors do in their writing. One of the characters, Baroka, frequently seeks to take more wives despite his age and subjects his current wives to humiliating tasks such as plucking his armpit hairs and tickling his feet as a way of showing his power over them. Through the characterization of Baroka and the attitudes of other characters in the play, Soyinka explores the idea that a man needs to show dominance over women to be considered a man by society. Despite his age and already having a larger number of wives, Baroka is still seeking to take another wife, specifically a young one. This is most likely because he wants to exert the image that he is still desirable and his sexual ability has not been diminished with age. It is very important for Baroka to maintain this image, and this is why he is still persistent to take Sidi as a wife, even after she clearly refuses several times. Image is very important to Baroka, and his existing image had been tainted by the photograph of him by a latrine. Sidi, however, is young and has the image of the most beautiful woman in the village due to the pictures of her in the magazine. Bakora believes that making the most beautiful woman in the village his wife is the perfect way to elevate his image. While he is seducing her, he tells her â€Å"the truth of this, old wine thrives best in a new bottle.† (p. 1185) The old wine is a metaphor for himself and the new bottle is Sidi. He seeks the new bottle to enhance himself. He will not stand to be seen as less than a woman, to have his position as a man and a leader diminished. This is why in the end, he resorts to physical force to get Sidi to marry him when all else fails. By tradition, she is bound to marry the man she loses her virginity to, and Baroka exploits this. The fact that Baroka ultimately used tradition to exploit her also implies that much of the twisted notion that a man must exercise dominance over a woman to be powerful stems from tradition. Baroka also asserts his power by taking advantage of his wives and forcing  them to do humiliating tasks for his pleasure. While the things he makes them do are not brutal or violent, it asserts the fact that they are below him and he holds the power in the relationship. They must pluck his armpit hairs and tickle his feet, although he never does something for their pleasure in return. In regards to them performing these tasks, he uses such statements as â€Å"†¦thou Sadiku, thy plainly unadorned hands encase a sweet sensuality which age will not destroy. Beyond a doubt Sadiku, thou art the queen of them all.†(p. 1172) This statement, while in his mind possibly meant to praise, is actually quite demeaning. These statements reduce his wives simply to objects of pleasure for him. This shows how by making a woman his wife, Baroka ultimately restricts the balance of power in the relationship, with himself permanently at the top, and his wives permanently at the bottom. They are not his partners in equal, nor do they assist him in making important decisions. They are simply there to pleasure him and maintain his status. Women are self-enhancing tools for Baroka, merely useful accessories. This is no different from wearing expensive rings to show off and raise one’s status. It is not only Baroka’s thoughts and actions that assert the idea that a man needs to show dominance over women to be considered a man by society, but also those of other people in the play. When Sidi learns from Sadiku that Baroka is supposedly no longer fertile, they both view it as him having lost his power. This is demonstrated by a line Sadiku aims at Lakunle when he witnesses them celebrating Baroka’s supposed downfall. â€Å"You a man? Is Baroka no more a man than you? And if he is no longer a man, than what are you?† (p 1170) This shows how the idea that a man needs to show dominance to have power is ingrained in the people of the village, just as gender roles and are ingrained in our society today. The fact that women react exactly in this way to a man’s loss of virility in The Lion and the Jewel shows that Baroka’s fears that he will lose the respect of the village if he does not constantly verify himself are justified. He is getting older and less attractive, so he feels the need to constantly prove his power. In conclusion, Baroka’s character represents a man who is trying to verify his power and maintain his image with age in the way his society deems  appropriate. Gender roles are present in all societies, and although they vary somewhat from one society to another, it is never a good thing to have cookie cutter expectations that all men or all women are expected to fit into. It is extremely harmful psychologically for people to always measure themselves to a standard of an ideal, when in reality few can be a perfect example. This also brings up the question, why are gender roles present in the first place? Why is there a set way a man should act or a woman should act? I believe that these standards originate from tradition. Polygamy is the tradition of the Yoruban people in The Lion and the Jewel, so naturally one may be inclined to use the number of wives a man has as a way to measure him. Likewise, in Christianity, gender roles stem from the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. Soyinka’s The Lion and The Jewel portrays a character who commits many misdoings, but in the end he is simply trying to fit with his society and tradition.

In The Park Analysis Essay -- Gwen Harwood, poem analysis, poetry

In the park written by Gwen Harwood, was originally written under a male pseudonym. The poem represents the idea of changing identity because of certain circumstances as well as challenging common ideas, paradigms and values & beliefs which is commonly held amongst mothers in today’s society. Harwood wrote the poem with relatively simple composition techniques but it provides a rather big impact which helps to give an insight into the life of a mother or nurturer which bares the burdens of children. The title of the poem ‘In The Park’ immediately gives us an image of the geographical landscape in which the poem is set in and from further analysis, the poem is written in a sonnet structure where its 14 lines broken up into two parts of 8 lines and 6 lines with a break in between. Though we normally associate sonnets with romantic love poems, it is a different scenario with this poem as it is slightly ironic because challenges us by attempting to show the negative effects of love where the woman’s life has been destroyed basically due to the children and how love is no longer present in her life. ‘The woman’ of the poem has no specific identity and this helps us even further see the situation in which the woman is experiencing, the lost of one’s identity. Questions start to be raised and we wonder if Harwood uses this character to portray her views of every woman which goes into the stage of motherhood, where much sacrifice is needed one being the identity that was present in society prior to children. The first 4 lines it is indeed set the in park and Harwood has cleverly chosen the park as the setting of the poem as many people see the park as a mundane, boring place. Our assumptions of the park as a scene is normally ... ...-lover is in control, the woman is in a total opposite situation and the conversation has reached its limit and the ex-lover is cued to leave in a subtle but quick manner with a ‘departing smile’. With the final lines give us a better understanding of her situation, where her life has been devoured by the children. As she is nursing the youngest child, that sits staring at her feet, she murmurs into the wind the words â€Å"They have eaten me alive.† A hyperbolic statement symbolizing the entrapment she is experiencing in the depressing world of motherhood. These final words sum up her feeling of helplessness and emptiness. Her identity is destroyed in a way due to having children. We assume change is always positive and for the greater good but Harwood’s poem challenges that embedding change is negative as the woman has gained something but lost so much in return.

Health Services Organization Essay

Identify and evaluate at least three forces that have affected the development of the health care system in the U.S. The U.S. healthcare system has continually evolved due to the success of innovative fore-thought. These innovations have been both strategic and tactical, influenced by all segments of the health care industry. There are many key strategic and tactical innovations, I will elaborate on three forces I feel affect the development of the healthcare system in the U.S.; they are: Increasing cost of healthcare, affect of economics on the healthcare system, and labor force trends in the U.S. as it relate to healthcare. * The steadily increasing cost of healthcare in the U.S. 1. The Unites States is known as the land of plenty, but if you are a native of this great nation you might feel quite differently about that statement. Being poor here has to be much like being poor anywhere else in the world, poor is poor; what might be different is opportunity. The opportunity that we are going to discuss is that of the pursuit of receiving the best healthcare regardless of race, creed, national origi n, or station in life (being with or without money). The cost of health care in the U.S. neared 2.6 trillion dollars in 2010, this is a staggering amount of money; but what make it more astonishing is that this amount is ten times higher than the 1980’s sum of 256 billion dollars that was generated by health care system (population bulletin, 2008). The rate of funds generated by health care has slowed down in recent years, but still is expected to grow faster than the national income. Our country need to address this growing burden and not just let politician say it’s a major policy priority, really make it a priority for the overall good of our nation. Furthermore, the United States has been in a recession for most of the past decade, resulting in a high rate of unemployment and lower incomes for many Americans. These conditions have put even more attention on health spending due to its affordability. Since 2002, employer- sponsored health care coverage for employee and family premiums increased by 97%, making the pursuit of health care a burden on the workers and employers. Medicare covers disabled people as well as the elderly; while Medicaid provides medical coverage for low-income families. Medicare enrollment has grown tremendously over the years due to the aging baby boomers and Medicaid due to the recession. This has added considerably to government spending, straining both federal and state budgets. Health spending accounted for 17.9% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010 (kaiserEDU.com, Health Policy from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Explained). * Economic affect healthcare. 2. Economics and health care is very simple to explain, especially by someone who has seen first-hand families being mentally tormented, because they could not afford dental care for their children, the check-up not covered by the company’s insurance to enable your child to be eligible to play football, or not being able to afford the prescription medication. There are many reasons families go without medical care, and far too many times it’s just because the individual is living just above the poverty line; which make them ineligible for assistance. I personally feel the affect economics have on healthcare or the lack there of, can never be explained any clearer; unless you are experiencing it yourself. * Labor force trends in the U.S. 3. In the 1960’s the U.S. labor force grow at the rate of 1.7 percent annually and continue to grow into the 70’s as the baby boomer (those born between 1946-1964 generation continued to reach adulthood and enter the workforce. During this same period women began to enter the workforce as never seen before causing the labor force to grow at a rate of 2.6 percent annually. One might not see this as a health issue, but with women joining the workforce men began to feel the pressure, causing health complication. Women on the other hand who at one time lived the life of a care free house wife, but now working in corporate America; has started to feel stress now heart attacks are the number one killer of the American female species. I know there was nothing glamorous about being a slave, but slaves lived with just about no illnesses or life threatening diseases, know blacks have the highest numbers when it comes to diabetes, HIV, and high blood pressure than any other ethnic group (but we are free), freedom should make us take life more serious and take care of ourselves as well as our children. During the 1980’s and 90’s fewer people entered the workforce, therefore the labor force growth slowed down and ranged from 1.6 to 1.1 percent. Even though we had covered on set of baby boomers we were about to see another set reach adulthood and struggle for a place in the workplace (U.S. labor force trends), in-turn means no health insurance because they are no longer their parents dependent. Healthcare is becoming a great necessity due to infectious diseases, the year of the flower children seem to have spread more than just flowers. Health Insurance Companies are not seeing their usual capital gain at this point, consequently a change in the way benefits are paid across overall is about to change. At one time people thought as long as they paid their insurance premiums the benefits would be there when or if it was needed (we learned to read the fine print). * Speculate whether or not these forces will continue to affect the health care system in the U.S. over the next decade. (Include a force that was not mentioned that you believe will impact the health care system of the nation. Unfortunately we show no immediate signs that the cost of healthcare will decline in the Unites States anytime soon. With all the bickering about healthcare, there’s one fact everyone seems to agree on: American medicine cost too much, especially considering what we’re getting for the money. As expert look toward the future, they don’t see the cost dropping dramatically anytime soon. Curbing the rise in healthcare cost depend on our ability to gain control of the many forces causing them to climb, technology has helped other industries lower costs by eliminating waste and increasing efficiencies, but it’s done the opposite in healthcare (Lisa Zamosky, Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2012. Without any dispute I’m sure we can all agree the economy will always affect healthcare and the people who need it, which will always be everyone. We all hope the economy will make a rapid recovery, but that’s just not how things work; just as it took decades of bad decisions to get us where we are today it’s going to take time for our nation to make a meaningful recovery. Over the next 50 years, the labor force is projected to grow even more slowly (at about 0.6 percent per year) as baby boomers retire. What will this mean as far as health care is concern; well as we grow older our need for healthcare on a regular base becomes more essential than it was when we were in our prime (population bulletin). Baby boomers, reaching senior living status promotes a different type of demand on the medical system; a tremendous demand for those employed by senior living facilities, as well as those providing home health care. * Evaluate the importance of technology in the health care system. Technology is the driving force behind the universe, if you are not a believer just think about the devices you use to get through your day; hence technology. Medical technology is constantly presenting us with new devices that make our lives more fulfilling, we have laser surgery, hip replacement, artificial limb to replace worn out or damaged ones, cataract surgery that have advanced so rapidly it’s amazing, can you believe a person can have heart surgery and be walking around the next day? This is all because of technology, it’s amazing. This is something we cannot put a price on, what is being learned and the advances being made due to research technology is saving lives as well as making lives better each and every day. References: KaiserEDU.com, Health Policy, from the Henry J. Kaiser family foundation, Explained, Cost and Spending. http://www.kaiseredu.org/en/Top ics/Costs-and-Spending Population Bulletin, Vol. 63 No. 2, June 2008, U.S. Labor Forces Trends By: Marlene A. Lee and Mark Mather (Marlene A. Lee is a senior research associate and editor of the Population Bulletin at the Population Reference Bureau. She holds degrees in public policy analysis and development sociology/demography from the University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill and Cornell University. Mark Mather is associate vice president of Domestic Programs at the Population Reference Bureau, where he coordinates several projects that communicate population research to advocacy groups, educators, the media, and the public. He holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in sociology/demography from the University of Maryland. http://www.prb.org