Insomnia and Psychological Causes in Adolescents

Insomnia and Psychological Causes in Adolescents Ruhi Mehdi Ali Insomnia and Its Psychological Correlates in Adolescents Sleep, in one form or another, is a biological necessity for all living creatures (Coveney, 2014). Insomnia is the most frequently occurring sleep disorder in which the whole body and brain are in a conflict between the desires of wanting to fall asleep and not wanting to go to the wakening status (Mushtaq 2014). On the basis of occurrence of symptoms, insomnia can be classified as transient (no more than a few nights), acute (less than 3-4 weeks), and chronic (more than 3-4 weeks) (Kamel and Gammack 2005). I chose insomnia to be the subject of my writing because I think that it is a serious though ignored heath problem. Studies show that insomnia affects approximately 30% of the general population (Roth, 2007). While Johnson et, al. (2006), estimated that 10.7% adolescents are affected among the general population according to the DSM-IV criteria (as cited in Abe Germain, 2012). A study conducted in a Pakistani medical university revealed that 58.9% of the adolescents slept less than 8 hours a day (Kazim Abrar, 2011). Which means it is not only highly prevalent in our society, but also found worldwide in people of all ages and every gender but none of them tends to solve the issue on an earlier stage. This results in the severity of the disorder leading to various negative consequences. In this article we will focus mainly on the correlation of insomnia with the psychology of adolescents. We will also discuss the causes and circumstances that could lead to the progression of insomnia and some possible management remedies which could be helpful for the readers to diagnose and manage the problem at an earlier stage. In the month of March, 2015, a 28 years old lady was admitted to the Karachi Psychiatric Hospital with complaint of insomnia. She verbalized that she was divorced 10 years back and currently was living with her mother. During her married life she felt that her brother in law used to eye her in an inappropriate way which she felt uncomfortable and she talked to her husband about that but he didn’t believe her, instead divorced her. She was too depressed about the event, and since then she was having complain of insomnia. She didn’t adhere to the prescribed medications and therefore was admitted to the hospital with relapse. According to the criteria suggested by Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders edition 5 (DSM-V), a person is said to have insomnia disorder if the following symptoms are true for him; (A) dissatisfied with sleep quantity and quality. (B) One or more of these symptoms: difficulty initiating maintaining and returning to sleep after awakening, early morning awakening, non-restorative sleep and bed time struggles. (C) Major distress or impairment in daytime accompanies the sleep complaint (also reported by Kidwai Ahmed, 2013). (D) Sleep difficulty occurs at least thrice a week and is present for at least three months. (E) The difficulty occurs despite of sufficient opportunities and age-appropriate circumstances for sleep (Abe Germain, 2012). The criteria makes it easier to rule out the disease. CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS Carskadon discussed that during adolescence a range of biological, psychological and social factors interact, resulting in shortened sleep duration, that has been characterized as ‘the perfect storm’’ (as cited in Hysing 2013). A study conducted in Bahawalpur, Pakistan concluded that 39.2% of the youth (aged 16-25yrs) experience insomnia while 33% suffer from sleeplessness (Mushtaq et. al., 2014). There are several determinants that could lead to insomnia. I believe teenage is the most vulnerable stage of a person’s life. Multiple hormonal changes occur (Mushtaq, 2014; Kamel Gammack, 2005) and psychological distress acts as the key precipitating factor for sleep disorders. Problems in secular, personal or even religious life create great stress on a person’s mind (Mydin, et. al., 2012). Family conflicts, long working hours requiring more hard work, academic challenges and spiritual distress are some of the stressors that make adolescents face difficulties to fall asleep, no matter they have to get up early in the morning, and most of them skip the daytime naps as well (Yen et. al., 2008). Beside this, uncomfortable, noisy or change in sleep environment also hinders in sleep (Mushtaq 2014). Hysing et. al., (2014) claim that such routines cause a sleep deficiency of ~2 hours on weekdays. Some common habits including late night socializing activities, watching television or movies, surfing the internet (Coveney 2014; Yen et. al., 2008), excessive use of mobile phones (Mushtaq, 2014; Yen et. al., 2008), excessive use of substance like alcohol, caffeine, drugs, or side effects of some medicines like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) etc. (Mushtaq, 2014; Abe Germain, 2012; Kazim Abrar, 2011; Alhola Kantola, 2007), also interfere with sleep quality and delay the bedtimes. Furthermore, there could be some genetic or medical determinants as well that pose a risk towards sleep deficiency (Kidwai Ahmed, 2013), while in some cases psychiatric issues may also be present that lead to secondary insomnia (Roth, 2007). Depression and anxiety are the two most common co-morbid that lead to insomnia and vice versa, as worrying about sleep deficiency itself exacerbates insomnia. Dauvilliers described that 72.7% of the patients with primary insomnia had a family history of the disorder (as cited in Abe Germain, 2012). EFFECTS Adequate sleep is important not only for physical health but for cognitive and psychological wellbeing as well. On average, 7-8.5 hours of sleep per day is considered to be normal for adults. (Alhola Kantola, 2007; Kazim Abrar, 2011). While 6 hours/day, is thought to be short sleep duration (Bryan, 2011, as cited in Coveney, 2014). Insomnia, an underestimated disorder causes a number of effects that can disrupt a person’s quality of life (Alhola Kantola, 2007), for instance, chronic fatigue and malaise, aggressiveness, work absenteeism, increased risk of accidents (Cunnington, et, al., 2013; Abe Germain, 2012) etc. A study revealed that in a period of 12 months, only 1% of non-insomniacs had industrial accidents as compared to 8% of insomniacs (Roth 2007). Additionally, I have also commonly observed that it causes emotional instability and mood lowering, that further increases psychological distress and lowers concentration ability (Kazim Abrar, 2011). Decreased memory, ne urocognitive and academic performances are also highly affected that result in impaired performance on psychomotor tests and less productivity at workplace and schools/colleges (Coveney, 2014; Kamel Gammack, 2005). Furthermore, depression and hypertension (Kamel and Gamack, 2005) Such cognitive declines and stressors have their impact on a person’s social life which can be seen as the quality and quantity of his time spent with his family and friends is disturbed. As a result, the person may experience suicidal ideations as severe depressive symptoms. Many people then look towards substance abuse like alcohol and drugs use, either to relieve this stress or to merely induce sleep (Mydin, et. al., 2012; Abe Germain, 2012). Such people also have emotion focused problem solving strategies (Mydin et. al., 2012) i.e. they are less thoughtful about the situation and make emotional attempts to get rid of the Williams argued that moving towards a global 24/7 society is making us utilize our sleep time in walking activities and social opportunities (as cited in Coveney, 2014). Late night social gatherings, connectedness to peers through media and high tech devices has increased too much in our society. This simply means that sleep and rest are not being given much importance which in turn calls for a need to take this matter more seriously especially for the younger generation who wouldn’t want distressing effects of insomnia to affect their growing future. MANAGEMENT Sleep disorders especially insomnia is taken lightly and mostly remains undiagnosed and therefore, untreated. The disorder is treated so as to avoid relapses rather than treatment of current episodes or crisis (Cunnington, et, al., 2013). Benzodiazepine is the most frequently used sedative hypnotic as the first line treatment of insomnia. It decreases reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, sleep onset latency and nocturnal awakenings. Other pharmacological aids include non-benzodiazepines, anti-depressants, and anti-histamines. These medicines are used with the desired outcomes of improved sleep initiation, maintenance and improved next-day functioning (Kamel Gammack, 2005). Multiple approaches can help to control the situation from getting worse. One of them includes asking patients to maintain a 1-2 week sleep diary to assess their sleep pattern. This diary would be helpful to keep the record of the person’s usual bedtime and duration of sleep along with the details about the meals taken, exercise, use of alcohol and medications (Kamel and Gammack, 2005). Maintain such a diary would help to review the activities and factors that may have hindered sleep and improve them accordingly. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is another effective intervention with long-term efficacy. It targets the maladaptive behavior and thoughts that may provoke sleep disturbing conditions. This face to face interaction helps client and health care professional to particularly work on aspects and factors that are worsening the situation (Cunnington, et. al., 2013). One more approach known as ‘stimulus control therapy’ restricts the client and environment particular so as to induce sleep. For example, bedroom is confined to be used only for sleeping or sexual activity while sleep incompatible stimuli such as reading, television and computer should be avoided in the room (Cunnington, et. al., 2013; Kamel Gammack, 2005). CONCLUSION Insomnia’s prevalence varies from 11.8% in Nigeria2 to 27% in the United States and 37% in France and Italy (Kidwai Ahmed, 2013). As far as I have observed, people now a days are concerned about being at the top and being number one, but in the long run they ignore their basic health needs including rest. Especially teenagers have multiple stressors from their personal and secular/professional life which causes distressing emotions and they tend to skip their sleep time in order to cope with the challenges. Inappropriate sleeping environment, substance abuse family conflicts, and some underlying medical or psychiatric illness can also interfere and disrupt their normal sleep pattern. Insomnia is a preventable and controllable disorder. Therefore, it is important not to ignore any sleep issues as they may lead to the severe consequences of insomnia. REFERENCES Abe, Y. Germain, A., (2012). Insomnia and Its Correlates: Current Concepts, Epidemiology, Path physiology and Future Remarks. Public Health- Methodology, Environment and Systems Issues: 387-418 Alhola, P. Kantola, P., (2007). Sleep Deprivation: Impact on Cognitive Performance. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3(5): 553-567. Coveney, C., (2014). Managing Sleep and Wakefulness in a 24-Hour World. Sociology of Health Illness, 36(1): 123-136. Cunnington, D., Junge, M. Fernando, A., (2013). Insomnia: Prevalence, Consequences and Effective Treatment. The Medical Journal of Australia. 199(8): 36-40 Hysing, M., Pallesen, S., Stormark, K. M., Lundervold, A. J. Sivertsen, B. (2013). Sleep Patterns and Insomnia among Adolescents: A Population-Based Study. Journal of Sleep Research, 22:549–556 Kamel, N. Gammack, J., (2005). Insomnia in the Elderly: Cause, Approach, and Treatment. The American Journal of Medicine, 199(6): 463-469. Kazim, M. Abrar, A., (2011). Sleep Patterns and Academic Performance in Students of a Medical College in Pakistan. Khyber Medical University Journal, 3(2): 57-60. Kidwai, R. Ahmed, S., (2013). Prevalence of Insomnia and Use of Sleep medicines in Urban Communities of Karachi, Pakistan. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 63(11): 1358-1363. Mushtaq, A., Saqib, A., Aslam, Z., Fatima, F., Waqas, M. Akram, M., (2014). Occurrence and Causes of Insomnia in Youth of Bahawalpur Division of Pakistan. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Bio-Science, 3(2): 408-418. Mydin, Y., Almashor, S. Zaharim, N., (2012). Correlates between Insomnia, Psychological Distress and Daytime Sleepiness of Malaysian Adults with Symptoms of Insomnia. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 13(2): 122-127. Roth, T., (2007). Insomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 3(5): 7-10. Yen, C., Hung Ko, C.,Yen, J., Cheng, C., (2008). The Multidimensional Correlates Associated With Short Nocturnal Sleep Duration and Subjective Insomnia among Taiwanese Adolescents. Sleep, 31(11): 1515-1525.

Movers and Shakers in Education Essay

Trailblazers in American Education There have been several individuals throughout America’s history who have helped develop, shape, advance, balance, and reform education to what it is today. America’s educational system has a rich background from its roots of one room school houses to our current system of education which offers an array of opportunities for students to obtain a public education. John Dewey John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey is known as the founder of the progressive education movement. He argued that it was the job of education to encourage individuals to develop their full potential as human beings. Dewey’s educational theories were presented in a variety of books he authored. Several continuous themes ring true in most of Dewey’s books. They include his frequent argument that education and learning are social and interactive processes, thus school should be considered a social institution where social reform can and ought to take place. In addition, he believed that students thrive in an environment where they are allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum so all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning. He was especially critical of forms of memorization learning where repetition of facts and information was exercised. He argued that children should learn by experience. Rather than just gaining knowledge, Dewey believed that students should develop skills, habits and attitudes necessary for them to solve a wide variety of problems. Dewey’s legacy of the importance of experiential learning remains to this day. There are a number of schools across the United States that follow his theories and methods of teaching. [pic] Alvarez vs. The Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. The history of school desegregation legislation in the United States did not begin with the 1954 Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brown vs. he Topeka school board, but rather in a rural community called Lemon Grove located in Southern California. It has recently been discovered that the earliest court cases concerning school desegregation occurred in the American Southwest in the 1930s. In these cases, Mexican immigrants and their communities were the targeted groups of segregation by school officials. A significant case during this era was the 1930 decision in Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. This was the first successful school desegregation court decision in the history of the United States. It represents an instance when community members took court action and won their case, despite negative sentiment towards them, to ensure the rights of their children to receive an equal education, making it an important event in both San Diego and U. S. history. The case stands as a credit to the activism of San Diego’s Mexican community who used the public system of justice to ensure that not only Mexican-American children in California, but the rest of the United States had access to a quality education (Alvarez, Jr. , 1984). [pic] Science and Math Education Movement With the launching of Sputnik in October 1957, Americans became extremely fearful that the United States was falling behind in the areas of technology, science, and mathematics. Citizens of the United States feared that their country could see a shortage of trained teachers, engineers, and highly educated students in the near future if something was not done. In response to public pressure, the federal government passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958. The act supported efforts of academic specialists to revise curriculum according to the latest theories and methods. Improvements were made in all subject areas and institutes were held to train teachers in the use of new materials and methods (Webb, Metha, ; Jordan, 2010). In addition to enhancing the curriculum, the NDEA also funded programs that provided guidance, counseling, and testing programs for students. According to authors Webb, Metha, ; Jordan, the NDEA set the stage for the federal government’s increased involvement in education (2010). [pic] Out of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975 came the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. These pieces of legislation were a result of the earlier Civil Rights Movement in Education during the 1960s where marginalized groups were fighting for justice and equality within the education system. The federal law, IDEA, was established in 1990. It applies to all children with disabilities from birth to age twenty-one. The statue defines â€Å"disabled children† as those with mental retardation, hearing impairments, emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities, or specific learning disabilities. To receive services under the IDEA, a student must not only have a disability, but the condition also must affect the student’s education. The major principles included in the IDEA are: the right to a free and appropriate education, identification and nondiscriminatory evaluation, an individualized education program (IEP), least restrictive environment, and procedural due process (Webb, et al. , 2010). While the law has transformed and grown over the years, it remains evident in the classroom to this day. It has promoted research and technology development, details on transition programs for post high school students, and programs that educate children in their neighborhood schools instead of separate schools.

Costing Concerns in Society

In today's competitive economy, the cost structure is much more complex than that of the past, and there is a lot less room for error than that allowed in the more laid back economy of the past. Today's costing concerns arise from the growing disparity between direct and indirect product costs. American manufacturers have been pursuing a steady stream of manufacturing methods and technologies. The goal was simple and uniform: to reduce or eliminate direct costs. But as manufacturing has evolved, so has the structure of a product's cost. Direct costs, such as labor, are no longer the dominant cost of a product. The cost of indirect activities such as automation, marketing, sales, engineering, and order processing have dramatically increased. Overhead has grown to become the most expensive element of product cost structure. This might not be so bad if conventional product costing systems could handle the shift in cost structure. Unfortunately, they don†t. Most conventional systems allocate overhead based on some burdened rate (direct labor hours is a good example). This was acceptable when overhead was small and direct costs were high. But in today†s automated factory, this can lead to disaster. Conventional systems report inaccurate product costs–often grossly inaccurate. Management, in turn, makes strategic decisions based on these inaccurate product costs. Traditional cost systems assume all overhead activities are consumed equally by all products relative to volume produced. Further, all costs are allocated to products because the system assumes that current output drives current overhead costs. Overhead costs are allocated to products on the basis of the product's demand for some volume variable direct cost, usually labor hours, machine hours, or materials cost. But none of these bases individually represents the actual overhead incurred to make the product. Conventional thinking holds that the inaccuracy is not relevant because in total all costs are accounted for, and on average the relative distortion in margin reporting can not be significant. Activity based costing, by contrast, identifies what activities are performed by the overhead organization and calculates the cost incurred to perform each activity. Costs are traced to products on the basis of the individual product's demand for these activities throughout the process of converting raw materials, energy and human enterprise into the finished article. The allocation bases used in ABC, then, are the quantifications of activities performed. These might include hours of labor or number of times handled. As already mentioned, conventional costing often leads to gross inaccuracies. This is because direct costs–especially direct labor–have been minimized by automation. At the same time, indirect costs have increased dramatically. And it†s the indirect costs that get averaged across product lines by conventional methods. To see how bad the errors can be, look at the following chart. Conventional costing says that product B has a much lower overhead cost per unit ($4.80 vs. $7.20 for Product A). But this can†t be so. Product B consumes five times as much engineering change activity as Product A. Product B should cost more to produce. What has happened here is that the conventional system has averaged overhead costs across both products. The total cost of engineering changes is divided by the total direct labor hours. The result, $2.40 per direct labor hour, is then applied to each product. This overhead averaging causes Product A to carry an unfair–and inaccurate–portion of the overhead costs. Now guess what happens when these cost figures are used in pricing. Product A will probably be overpriced for the market, and Product B will be sold for less than its true production cost. Conventional costing says that product B has a much lower overhead cost per unit ($4.80 vs. $7.20 for Product A). But this can†t be so. Product B consumes five times as much engineering change activity as Product A. Product B should cost more to produce. What has happened here is that the conventional system has averaged overhead costs across both products. The total cost of engineering changes is divided by the total direct labor hours. The result, $2.40 per direct labor hour, is then applied to each product. This overhead averaging causes Product A to carry an unfair–and inaccurate–portion of the overhead costs. Now, using the ABC concept, the costs are apportioned according to a driver, the number of engineering change orders. (ECO's) The next graph shows the reallocation of overhead costs by the ABC method. Product B is now carrying its fair share of ECO processing costs. As would be expected, Product B actually costs five times more than Product A in terms of indirect activity consumption. As you have seen, activity based costing can offer much clearer insight into the operations of a business than the conventional method .of the past. When ABC is used as a management system, it is a powerful tool for rethinking and improving products, services, processes and a company's market strategies.

Research Paper Malcolm X Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1949 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/03/25 Category History Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Malcolm X Essay Martin Luther King Essay Did you like this example? Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are two of the most well-known advocates for black equality that the country has ever seen. The two fought for equality at a time when black Americans were treated with no respect or dignity and had little to no rights at all. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Research Paper: Malcolm X Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." essay for you Create order While the two men were massive proponents for the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement, each movement differed in it ways to achieve equality. Martin Luther King Jr. preached nonviolence while Malcolm X stood for the exact opposite he wanted black Americans to stand up for themselves. While both men stood by different ideologies both had a huge impact in the fight for equality. Martin Luther King Jr began his leadership at a young age of 25 years old, when he led the Montgomery bus boycott. the Montgomery movement emphasized nonviolence as a guiding credo of moral courage (Franklin Higginbotham 2011, pg. 514). King and his activists at Montgomery formed the new civil rights movement which looked to end segregation and seek racial harmony. The organization drew inspiration from black culture and religious faith with the church becoming a focal point to help strengthen and empower them in order to prevail over their oppressors. The Civil Rights Movement was centered around Kings ideology of nonviolence in the hopes it would win over the rest of America. Martin Luther King however did not start by believing in nonviolence as his ideologies grew over time. King at the age of five began his early resentment of whites when the father of his white friend told young Martin that his son could no longer play with him because he was colored (Cone 2001). In his early years he was taught to hate whites at church and at home. His philosophies began to change with better influences of religion, personal experiences, and education. Dr. King attended graduate school in which he met liberal whites as teachers and fellow students; he also encountered progressive theological and philosophical ideas that reinforced his beliefs about justice and love, integration and the beloved community (Cone 2001). None of these influences were as strong though as the faith of his parents and of his black church. What made King such a great leader and what helped start the Civil Rights Movement was that his personal experiences and journeys though life all accumulated to his ideology of nonviolence. He began as someone who disliked the whites but grew to accept them and realize we could live in peace, thats what allowed King to be such a great impactful leader. More individuals could get behind King because his message was inclusive. He spoke always of love, without b oundary of race, class, or nation. His audience, from wherever it came, could feel included (Huggins 1987). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continued his peaceful protests from Montgomery and the Bus Boycott to Birmingham Alabama. On Good Friday, April 12th Dr. King was arrested in Birmingham and this arrest spawned the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in which Dr. King famously stated, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (Franklin Higginbotham 2011, pg. 523). Dr. King anywhere he went faced constant violence from his hotel rooms constantly being bombed and relatives of Dr. King facing the same treatment. Dr. King was resilient however in his ideals and remained a nonviolent advocator through and through. Dr. King said it himself the best in that he is determined to use the weapon of love (MLK vs. Malcolm X 2008). A key factor that allowed the Civil Rights Movement and its nonviolent actions to be more supported across the United States was that the press began to cover Dr. Kings protests and marches in which photographs and television coverage allowed all of America to witn ess the peaceful non-violent protests and how they were being harassed and beaten in public. This became a huge deal for the Civil Rights Movement as it began to win the hearts of everyday American citizens who may have been skeptical of the movement. The culmination of video and newspaper coverage along with nonviolent peaceful protests and a powerful well-spoken leader like Dr. King was the reason why the Civil Rights Movement was successful. Without Dr. King and his ideologies America may look and feel like a different country still today. In saying this though I believe Malcolm X and his self-defense ideas were ahead of his time and in todays day and age I feel his ideology is more practical with all the senseless violence still being committed to black Americans. Malcolm X in 1948 sent a form letter to Elijah Muhammad of the Nation of Islam seeking to join this religious sect. At that juncture, membership was relatively small, and the Nations fiery anti-white rhetoric had failed to strike much of a chord (Horne 1993). Malcolm X began his rise starting as a minister for the Nation of Islams Mosque No. 7 in 1954 in Harlem. Malcolm X and the Black Muslims grew exponentially into the 1960s due to the electrifying presence of NOI minister Malcolm X (Franklin Higginbotham 2011, pg. 551). Malcolm was a huge public opponent to the Civil Rights Movement and spoke more on black pride and black manhood. Malcolm was a big proponent of militant self-defense (Horne 1993). Malcolm argued that nonviolence was more dangerous and unmanly. He saw black Americans go fight in the Korean War willing and ready to die for their country and could not believe that when they returned home of their refusal to fight for their freedom and instead take the nonviolent appr oach. His message was the exact opposite of Dr. Kings. Two sides working for their same goal yet enemies at the same time. By the late 1960s Malcolm X and his ideologies had spread rapidly and an armed revolution began to take hold. His philosophy on being able to protect ones self and women and children from white Americans had taken root. Malcolm X was the epitome of Black Power and he was able to internationalize the African American freedom struggle (Franklin Higginbotham 2011, pg. 554). A common misconception regarding Malcolm X is the notion around violence however. Many people including myself before I began researching this topic would believe that Malcolm X advocated for violence in his movement, when in reality it was him advocating for self-defense. Malcolm had pointed out the hypocrisy in how white Americans wanted black Americans to obtain their freedom when white Americans fought a war to win theirs. Malcolm could not stand for this inequality and thus strongly urged black Americans to act in self-defense. Malcolm stated that if you want to know what Ill do, figure out what youll do. Ill do the same thing-only more of it. He contended that blacks should use any means necessary to get their freedom and whites should be prepared for reciprocal bleeding (Cone 2001). Malcolm was painted in the face of the media however as a preacher of hate and violence (Cone 2001), his message was skewed and used against his movement and his character was slandered. He argued that white Americans would never adopt Dr. Kings ideology of nonviolence and that they more closely adhered to his own, yet black Americans were seen as the only race on Earth that has no right to defend itself and thus Dr. Kings strategy was seen as less threatening and more popular. It deplored Malcolm seeing black women, children and men who could not defend themselves being beaten and harassed in the streets by the police, dogs, and white Americans. He argued that if the government does not protect black people, they are within their right to protect themselves (Cone 2001). Malcolm X was a strong outspoken leader who wanted nothing more than to see his black brethren finally free and equal and able to live in peace. Malcolm Xs strong personality and unwilling to change his philosophy wa s why he was such a strong leader and voice for the Black Power Movement. He preached for black strength and courage and his message still stands today. Malcolm X was the face of black power and he was able to spread his message internationally which helped the movement grow and soar. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X stood on opposite sides of a movement all wanting the same outcome. While the two revolutionaries differed on their approach for achieving black equality they both in the end wanted peace for black Americans and equality for black Americans. While they differed in ideologies they were very similar through other aspects. Both gentlemen were very outspoken leaders of a movement and neither were afraid of standing up for what they believe in. Both men preached and proclaimed truths in which everyone could learn from. Non-violence at its core helps to make the world a better place yet if not, all adhere to it is when problems arise. Malcolm a strong advocate for self-defense argued that why is it not okay for black Americans to defend themselves from violence while their white counterparts could do with ease. His message was arguably ahead of its time and the message was powerful and true which ultimately led to his death. Many people see the polar opposites in the two powerful figures, but little know that towards the end of their lives they each began to accept the other ideals whether it was said publicly or not. In 1965 Malcolm X traveled to Selma Alabama to meet with Dr. King, Malcolm began to believe that King believed in what he was doing (Blake 2010). It was believed that Malcolm X may have been willing to join the civil rights cause (Blake 2010). However, this never had the chance of happening as Malcolm X was shot and killed before he had the chance. Like Malcolm, Dr. King toward the later years of his life began to shift his ideals and King became more radical as Malcolm became more reserved. Martin began moving his movement up north and with this started speaking out against poverty and voiced issue over a guaranteed annual income for American citizens, he spoke out against the Vietnam war and wanted society to be restructured (Blake 2010). His closest movement toward Malcolms ideals when h e began to preach about black self-pride and was photographed in a Black is Beautiful button and even before his death a journalist named David Halberstam stated that Martin Luther King sounded like a nonviolent Malcolm X (Blake 2010). By the times of both mens deaths former supporters had abandoned them and both died at the age of 39. While the two men differed in their ideals each ideology was perfect for the movement they created, the nonviolent civil rights movement had an articulate charismatic leader who inspired the general public of the country and the black power movement had a fearless leader who refused to back down or speak his mind about how he felt. Each man were perfect for their roles in helping to change and shift America in a direction for the better and while they may have taken different paths to do it they still accomplished a common goal. Works Cited Blake, John. Malcolm and Martin, Closer than We Ever Thought. CNN, Cable News Network, 19 May 2010, www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/19/Malcolmx.king/index.html. Cone, James H. Martin and Malcolm on Nonviolence and Violence. Phylon (1960-), vol. 49, no. 3/4, 2001, p. 173., doi:10.2307/3132627. Franklin, John Hope., and Evelyn Brooks. Higginbotham. From Slavery to Freedom: a History of African Americans. McGraw-Hill, 2011. Horne, Gerald. Myth and the Making of Malcolm X. The American Historical Review, vol. 98, no. 2, 1993, p. 440., doi:10.2307/2166843. Huggins, Nathan Irvin. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Charisma and Leadership. The Journal of American History, vol. 74, no. 2, 1987, p. 477., doi:10.2307/1900035. MLK vs. Malcolm X. YouTube, YouTube, 6 Mar. 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG_NqsBzKhE.