definitions

I would define serious literature as any literature that is not for the purpose of enjoyment, but rather enlightenment on a subject relating to human nature. If a graphic novel can reveal something about human nature, then I would say it is serious literature, but to say all graphic novels are serious literature is a very large statement which would need someone to analyze each and every novel and determine if indeed they reveal something about human nature.

A hate crime might be defined as a crime against a specific group of people. Burning a nation’s flag would imply that the hate crime is against that nation. Assuming of course that to burn that nation’s flag is a crime.

A royal family is one that consists of royal blood, or descended from a sovereign family line. To say that the Bushes have become America’s royal family is a fairly unsupported statement. To say that because George W. Bush and his father were president creates a sovereign family line is a slim, but valid statement, because a line only needs to consist of two points (George and his father.)

A journalist is merely someone who journals or writes about observations. To say that Matt Drudge and Larry Flynt are legitimate journalists are to assume that they legitimately wrote about their observations.

Big businesses is a very vague definition. A big business in America would be McDonalds, whereas a big business in a third-world country to could be a flee market. That is because big is a comparative term, not a definite term. You can say a mouse is big or small, depending on weather comparing it to a bug or an elephant. So to say college sports programs have become big businesses could be a valid statement, if comparing it to other businesses smaller than it.

I would define civil disobedience as willfully disobeying in order to create a point about a rule. To say plagiarism could be an act of civil disobedience could be true. If the purpose of plagiarism was to make a point that the information was already stolen, then it could perhaps be defined as plagiarism. If it were used to simply not have to write a paper, I would say it would not be civil disobedience.

A religion is merely beliefs with rules on how to live life. Saying Satanism is a religion is a proper statement, assuming that the religion has certain beliefs regarding life.

Free speech is being able to say what you want without consequences. To say campaign contributions are acts of free speech would be wrong. Campaign contributions are physical, whereas speech is audible. To say you will do something and to do something are two different things, which is presented here.

A state is simply a territory of the government. An American State on the other hand has more requirements than just the territory of the government, such as a certain number people and proper representation.

Marriage is the union of a man and a woman. To say gay and lesbian couples should have the legal privileges of marriage is a valid statement, because it does not say that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry. To be able to marry, they need the criteria of a man and a woman, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman.