Bernabe 1 Monika Bernabe Professor Mary Gifford English 114B February 19, 2014 Influential Leaders An individual is fed

information throughout their life from innumerable outside influences, this is how one develops principles, opinions and beliefs, and from this, one forms their political views based on what they believe or have been taught to believe. For instance, many factors contribute to a persons political attitudes and behavior. On the other hand, political culture is apparent in every country. The political culture expresses the affiliation of people to the rgime. Furthermore, in the article Carter-Castro courtship: when the former peanut farmer and president recently visited Castro's island prison, he dutifully lent credibility to the bearded one's supposed reformation by Robert W. Lee and in Finding Maana by Mirta Ojito, there are two individuals such as President Carter and Fidel Castro who are greatly influenced by family and religion and still managed to make an enormous impact in their country. Most of society doesnt look completely into the mechanisms of the government and the system of politics. Instead, individuals look at what government has to offer them. I strongly believe that one individual can change the world. That one individual may not be able to do a whole lot physically to change the world, but one person has the power to motivate others to aid that person to change the world. The only setback is that when the probabilities seem insurmountable, it appears impossible to overcome them and

Bernabe 2 most people will give up. The actual leaders in this world are those who don't give up in these times when things seem impossible to do. For example, one leader who sought to change the world was President Carter. Carter is portrayed as the most religious man to be in the office of the presidency. But he also believed keeping the church and state separate. Carters religious faith influences every part of his life, and was closely interweaved with his duty as president. He said in one of his speeches that, We have a responsibility to try to shape government so that it does exemplify the teaching of God(McCann and Anderson). It was that Christian integrity that conducted his political action, and may have contributed to his navet in the cruel world of politics. For instance, President Carter, knowing who his audience was says that he will "continue to provide an open heart and open arms to refugees seeking freedom from communist domination and from economic deprivation, brought about primarily by Fidel Castro and his government"(Ojito 205). This quote shows how his choice of words helped him convey a sense of compassion he has towards the refugees in Cuba. Because of these heartwarming words, he received positive feedback from the audience. Quite frankly, reporters misinterpreted the meaning of his speech. Carter didn't "mean to encourage the disorderly arrival of thousands of people" but instead meant that the U.S. "had a history of compassionate immigration policy and that compassion should also be extended to those who had already arrived"(Ojito 206). I believe that although Carter's speech was portrayed as an over statement to the audience, many people were influenced that the U.S. we're their companions and ready to help them. Carters

Bernabe 3 perseverance on doing the right thing without any concern to a political degree hindered his capability to be a greatly efficacious president. Another great leader who sought to change the world is Fidel Castro. Castro the revolutionary was moderately hostile toward religion. Castro has maintained the communist ideal of a forceful revolution of the workers possibly longer than anyone on earth. In fact, hes become the typical lifelong revolutionary tyrant. Fidel Castro used his authority to influence Cubans to have trust in him and aid him and the revolution. For instance, Castro had once said, "Inside the revolution, all is possible; outside, nothing"(Ojito 79), which made the people of Cuba hopeless with what was going on in their country. Upon hearing this, Cubans were wavering between escaping to another country or accepting the revolution. He portrays to the people of Cuba that as if there is no life out of Cuba and their only choice is to join the revolution. Matter of fact, many people became revolutionaries because they had faith in Castro that they will be given a better way of life. Above all that the government was unjust to its own citizens. The people of Cuba were secluded, had no independence and lived in terror. On the contrary, in an article written by Robert Lee, he states that [Castros] regime [is] transforming Cuba's image as a hardline Communist satrapy to a respectably "moderate" collectivist partner in the developing new world order.(Lee) Under Castro, Cuba became self-sustainable, and its frugality even grew. I believe he knew what he was doing and he was stern when it mattered. The main goal of any world leader is to construct a strong country based off of a set of ambitions or standards by the governing body.

Bernabe 4 Both of these leaders contained different ideologies and that also influenced their political actions. Although Carter didn't have a political ideology, he did have what I would call an ethical ideology and on this he was flawless. He knew the distinction between right and wrong. He can pursue his idea moderately unrestricted by the frustrations and blockades that our political system contains. Carter believed in amity in avoiding war and in human rights. These two morals were the most important to him in which he guided his demeanor of foreign affairs. And again, these values were gestures of his sense of faithful and ethical duty. On the other hand, Castro had good intentions to guard the Cuban people from possession by the U.S., but his communist principles didn't end up aiding the Cuban people in the long run. He was a decent leader considering how well the country held on after their trading partners crumpled and the U.S. enforced an enormous embargo upon Cuba. Castro has done his best to help the nation. But, he has deprived many Cubans of basic rights. It is obvious that Fidel is a dictator but it is also obvious that Fidel has done good for his people. I have come to a conclusion that, one individual can change the world, but this person must be in the position that will permit them to impact others to follow his or her example. I would love to imagine that one person and one person alone could change all that is wrong with the world today, but I would be fooling myself. Leaders like President Carter and Fidel Castro, who didnt think about being one person out to change the world they thought about making the world a better place by influencing others to help change the world.

Bernabe 5 Work Cited Lee, Robert W. "Carter-Castro courtship: when the former peanut farmer and president recently visited Castro's island prison, he dutifully lent credibility to the bearded one's supposed reformation." The New American 17 June 2002: 25+. General OneFile. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. McCann, Sarah, and Lynae Anderson. "News21 A Journalism Initiative of the Carnegie and Knight Foundations." Religion in the White House. Part of the CarnegieKnight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education, 24 Aug. 2007. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Ojito, Mirta A. Finding Maana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus. New York: Penguin, 2005. 79+. Print.