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Voltaire's real name is François-Marie d'Arouet. The reason he changed his name was to signify a new beginning in his career and break away from his family. He was a historian and a writer philosopher who criticized Christianity and slavery and fought for general freedom. He was born on November 21 1964, and died in May 30, 1778 at the age of 38. His most famous works included the fictitious Lettres Philosophiques which was in 1734 and the satirical novel Candide, in 1759.

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Voltaire believed that everyone has a voice and they should use it without fear, he advocated for freedom and tolerance. He participated in open debate and intellectual exchange in order to teach others his knowledge and grow his own. Voltaire's philosophy revolved around the concept of the use of reason and its efficiency. He believed that with reason, true social progress can be accomplished without the presence or influence of another power like the church or the government.

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Voltaire believed that debate should be a part of political systems so that every ones voices can be heard and expressed, he also criticized authoritarian regimes for its irresponsibility in its duty for the people. He advocated for freedom in all cases because of his tolerance and moral values especially in his books which challenged the government and church's power. This was mostly represented through his famous books which he used to convey his thinking and awaken others.

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An issue today that reflects Voltaire's ideas is the dismissal of groups of people whether it's race or orientation. Unfortunately it's an issue that has followed us from his time is ours and it's simply inhuman to even imagine. What I discuss is the discrimination and hate that people experience when they don't meet a certain standard, this standard can be seen through gender, race, sexual orientation, backgrounds and more, anything different about you can lead to ridiculing from others. Voltaires ideas were always on freedom for all, closely associated with equality so this issue is something I can see him advocating against.

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How does Voltaire impact our world today?

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How does Voltaire impact our world today?

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Voltaire's ideas about religious freedom, separation of church, and freedom of speech still influence modern day democracies. Some of the things he did also influenced French and American Revolutions. Voltaire wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and successful all around the world. He was mostly known for the fictitious Lettres philosophiques (1734) and the satirical novel Candide (1759).

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Voltaire didn’t primarily speak economical wise but his advocacy for free expression supported economic innovation for new ideas to be inspired and developed. He advocated for sedition, forms of libel and as speech inciting violence. Sedition means, telling people to rebel against the authority of a monarch. Forms of libel basically is expressing something through print, writing, pictures, signs, etc in a hateful way, its something negative.

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Jayden Rodriguez - Aidan Castillo - Samantha Jimenez

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Personal Connection and Proposed Solution

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Personal Connection and Proposed Solution

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An issue that is important to us is immigration laws. I think Voltaire would advocate for immigrants because of his tolerance and his strong feelings for freedom and having a voice in a society. This issue is important to us because of our background, we are both from immigrant families and we hold them dearly to our heart but recently they've been getting singled out and attacked. Voltaires tolerance for all is truly affiliated with this issue because he's always advocated for freedom for all and immigrants would be included in this because he would allow them to have a voice in society to be heard out and listened to, to be treated as regular humans.

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Voltaire's advocating for tolerance are reflected in today's current world diversity issues, and his belief of expressing differing opinions being fundamental to social progress can be seen as his acceptance and espoused feelings towards cultural diversity. Voltaire believed everyone deserved a voice and that they shouldn't be afraid to use it for this reason he advocated for equality and freedom of speech. This went against teachings of the society at the time and with this Voltaire challenged and belittled the Church and Political powers with his words in order to lift others up to speak their mind without fear.

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Enduring Issue: Inequality = The unjust actions towards a group of people because of a distinction 

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Current Event + Enduring Issue Jayden Rodriguez

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Current Event + Enduring Issue Jayden Rodriguez

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Mass Deportation relates to the enduring issue of "Inequality" because it's occurring because of the inequality in this world. The discrimination and unfair hate that people, my people, experience fuel actions like this to be enacted, President Donald Trump is a man full of hate and anger and we see this in his inequitable actions towards immigrants, such as his Mass Deportation plan.

Historical Connection

This has happened before in the US in June 1954, it was called Operation Wetback and it removed about 1.3 MILLION undocumented Mexican workers. It was designed to remove Mexicans from American society, and even removed immigrants who got here through legal programs that would've qualified them as citizens at the time. It was mainly influenced by labor shortage, and Mexicans got blamed and punished by the hand of a retired United States Army Lieutenant General, Joseph Swing.

Make the Modern Connection

Mass deportation is currently a very large topic. President Donald Trump has promised to “carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history”. He has already doubled the ICE arrests rates in his first 50 days in office and has no intention on stopping, he sees immigrants as no more than mere criminals, not people, simply for wanting a better life and contributing to society. Because of Trump, ICE arrests have already surpassed last year's arrests altogether which is insane. The modern Mass Deportation is only just beginning. Many immigrants, documented or not, are afraid to even go outside in fear of ICE officers being positioned all over the city ready to profile and act on it. They can even raid churches and hospitals simply on a suspicion, it is insane that this has become as big of an issue as Trump has played it out to be and outright frightening.

Voltaire would've advocated for these immigrants, he was always big on tolerance and fighting for inequality. He definitely would've stepped in and put a stop to this.