Muckrakers stirred up muck (figuratively). They were investigative reporters who brought to the general public's attention social and political wrongdoings by writing articles in newspapers. You are to take the role of a modern muckraker. First identify some sort of injustice occurring today; it can be in school or in society (political or social issues). Write a paragraph exposing the injustice and then a short solution. If you post after 5pm on Friday 11/11/11, you will only earn 1/2 credit if you repeat an injustice already posted. All posts must be completed by Monday, 11/14/11 for full credit.
63 comments:
one injustice that we have is we can't drive our siblings until we have had our license for 6 months. this is an injustice because they are family they aren't as distracting as friends and it would be more convenient to the parents to have their children drive there siblings around. like to school or sports after school. one solution is to rewrite the law so teenagers can drive siblings.
There are many injustices in America, but there is only one that i would like to point out. It is the fact that in Connecticut the law states that one cannot carry a knife that is over one and one half inches in length, and they cannot be any form of switch blade or automatic release. The thing about this law is the fact that all knives are designed as a one hand open with only using your hands not a any kind of spring, and many judges and police officers have refereed switch blades as one hand opening. which is not true switch blades are automatic opening with one hand.Also Connecticut allows open carry (guns) with a permit, so we are allowed to carry a gun but not small knife. The best protection is something small and lethal. why can't they make knife carrying legal? The solution to this problem would be to lift the law or make less limits to the kinds or size of the knife you are allowed to carry. along with guns knives are a self defense tool that should be included in the right to bear arms.
Today in schools all around America there is the issue of nonaction towards bullying. Racial, gay, regular, or cyberbulling. Teachers and administration constantly overlook bullying in classrooms and hallways; and some more than others. The way I view it, anyone who overlooks this behaviour is just as guilty as the perpetrator. One solution to this problem would be to encourage teachers and others to address the problems that happen while they're around.
Something occurred to me last year when I was working on my final for sociology class (which was to document a hate crime). The hate crime I documented was about a group of four who attempted to bomb a synagogue. Looking back, though, their attempt to kill Jews wasn’t the only discrimination I found. In each of the articles I read on the subject, the writer made a point to mention the following about the group of four: David Williams IV converted to Islam from Roman Catholicism, Onta Williams, Laguerre Payen, and James Cromitie all converted to Islam in prison. In fact, in the NY Times online article where I gleaned most of my information mentioned within the first sentence that they were all Muslims. However, while it was too easy to find stories about crimes committed by Muslims, it was much harder to find stories about Christians committing crimes. This is hardly fair, acting as a subtle way to manipulate people into greater Islam-based fear. Sure, this is not a large scale injustice, but it is an injustice all the same.
The solution is simple: if a newspaper wants to publish the religious views of one criminal, they should do this with every criminal.
Here’s the NY Times article I was talking about
-Laura Hunter
Male and female students are held to different standards. In Kaplan, LA, Rene A. Rost Middle School announced segregated core curriculum classes. In the words of the principal, boys are “more likely to enjoy argument and lively classroom debate” while “females may be content to simply observe” (DiBranco). As Alex DiBranco writes, “Boys will learn to be active, dynamic participants in conversation, to be leaders and movers and shakers, while pushing girls to sit quietly and listen to what people tell them, setting them up for a nice obedient life of doing whatever their husband says and never speaking up.” In response to parent outrage, the school made single-sex classes voluntary, offering a veiled choice between coed special education classes and single-sex mainstream classes.
There is also subconscious stereotyping in U.S. schools. Girls are expected to excel in modern languages and English, while boys are thought to be stronger in math and science. Students learn very little about the history of women, and female success until eleventh grade, when the nineteenth Amendment, liberation, and World War II labor impacts are introduced. The achievements of Lucretia Mott, Jane Addams, Marie Curie, Sacajawea, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Hedy Lamarr are glossed over, a sidetrip in the journey through school.
Our education system needs to treat boys and girls fairly. Societal assumptions that technology is “manly” and poetry is “girly” need to be revised. We need to encourage all students to explore the myriad possibilities, disregarding traditional gender lines.
http://news.change.org/stories/single-sex-classes-on-trial-expect-girls-to-sit-down-and-shut-up
http://www.mi-whinews.org/node/14923
A major problem that America's youth faces is the cost of college. Colleges charge thousands of dollars for an education that is necessary for getting a job. However, in our current economic recession, it is extremely difficult to find a job if you do not have years of experience. This leaves students without a substantial income and with huge student loans.
To solve this problem, colleges would have to cut back. Unnecessary additions and constructions to schools would not happen, and colleges should fundraise through alumni and sporting events. Students as a result would be charged less, and would have an easier time financially after they graduate.
- Sally Martinelli
Something people may turn a blind eye to is homosexuality and how it is illegal in Iran. Can being born with something automatically sentence you to death? In Iran it can. People charged with this crime are given four choices of death: being hanged, stoned, halved by a sword, or dropped from the highest perch. 4000 gay or lesbian people have been killed in Iran since 1979. Even a boy as young as 16 was hung for the crime of being born gay in Ian in 2005. People are born with a gene that attracts them to the same sex and it’s something they can’t control. A solution can be America making people aware of this so we can have our government help out these people in Iran. Since America is still figuring out some of these issues it may not happen soon but it should be a case that people are familiar with so they can get word out and then a change will be made.
One injustice that bothers me more than anything else is the issue of same-sex marriage. Despite your beliefs, I think it is ironic that the United States will not allow people of the same-sex to get married. You see people like Kim Kardashian, who recently got divorced after a 72 day marriage to Kris Humphries. All of the tabloids say that it was just for money. She gets to keep a two million dollar wedding ring, she had a lavish wedding with all expenses paid, those wedding pictures earned her some serious cash, and not to mention the huge special on E! That is disgraceful. She says that she did not marry for the money, and if she didn't, then I'm sorry. But if people want to keep marriage holy because it such a special unification between two people, then why is it okay for people like Kim Kardashian to divorce for money, publicity, and fame, when people who genuinely love each other want to get married?
The solution to this is to allow same-sex marriage because it is unfair to allow people to destroy the sanctity of marriage when others are genuinely in love but cannot marry because of their sex.
There are many injustices in the world today, but one important one is happening in the U.S. today. When a man or women joins the United States army, navy, air force, marines, they sign up to fight for a country that they love and believe in. These people leave their friends and family behind to fight for our safety and freedom. We would not be where we are today without them, so the fact that any of them come back and end up homeless or can barely back it shocks me. I think that they should have a specific system for veterans financially speaking. I'm embarrassed that an American can go fight in a war or train for years, give their lives to the U.S. and when its over end up homeless or poor. It's really sad to think that we want them to protect us but when they need us to help them we aren't there. My solution to this problem would be to set up a U.S. Military run system, something like a social security for them. When they return home they should get a condo or apartment (not something lavish but practical) for 3 years so that they can get their bearings and figure out what their next step will be. The U.S. Military could pay for the rent while the individual is responsible for the bills. The social security like part would be that 25% of their annual income goes into an account with high interest which they get access to when they leave. This way they have a safety net. I would also say that for lower to middle ranking military people their salaries should have a slight raise. I think if we looked at our military budget we could find that money somewhere.
Grace Winans
Out of the several injustices currently plaguing our world today, there is one in particular that stands out at this specific time is the mistreatment of women in fundamentalist Muslim societies.That is not to say that all Muslims are bad, but there are societies where women are given little to no rights whatsoever. They are not allowed to be educated nor are they allowed to leave the house without some form of escort. These women are denied freedom,forced to do and the ability to live as human beings and no one does anything about it. A viable solution to this injustice is to mount a strike where the women refuse to do their "womanly duties" unless given rights.With the support of other countries these women may get to enjoy the freedom our women have had for so long.
One topic I see as an issue today would be why insurance costs so much for young or new drivers. Just because we are new at driving doesn't mean we are bad. I know for a fact my parents insurance will go up a lot, even with discounts, when they put me on the plan. I think that once a new driver goes on the plan it shouldn't be to much of a difference, and then it can go up when a new driver gets a ticket or gets in an accident.
something that is injustice in the school is that juniors are not allowed to leave the cafeteria during their free periods. Sometimes when I get down there and realize that I needed to get work done, the teacher would not let me leave and I am stuck sitting there with nothing to do. What I dont get is juniors are allowed to leave the library with not problem. The easy and obvious solution is to allow juniors to leave the cafe, just like they are allowed to leave the library.
Mike K Class 5
One injustice in America that I would like to point out is that medical cannabis, socially known as medical marijuana, is illegal in this day in age. Though it may be a dicey subject, the outcome of it being legalized will support the negative aspects. Not only has medical cannabis been a distinct part of humanity's medicine for as long as history has reported but has also been illegal since 1972. So if this drug has so many benefits, why is it illegal? Modern research shows that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical diseases and malfunctions with the body. These include pain relief pain from nerve damage, nausea, spasticity, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia. Research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant (diseases) and tumors. Society can fight the recreational use of marijuana, but when it comes to medical use of cannabis, it is by all means necessary. Though non-realistic, it doesn't look like this drug will be legal any time in the near future but as people, what we could do is start small to make a difference. Start a petition in a small town that could lead to a big city. Get your facts correct because it can make a huge difference. Also, we can address this problem to the government bye writing to the president multiple times. It may not be legal today, but no one can tell by the looks of tomorrow.
I think a great injustice of the World today is that some people still believe women shouldn’t have the same rights as men. Women have proven long ago that they deserve them and are capable of handling many of the same jobs as men. Yet, some people still believe a women’s job is to stay at home to cook, clean, and have children. There’s nothing wrong with believing that if you so choose, but I think it’s a complete injustice to think that because men may have superiority in strength that makes women weak. I think it’s unfair but really the only way to overcome this injustice is for women to keep fighting, and proving that they are just as equal and deserve equal rights and they shouldn’t be judged because of their gender.
As you spot mothers with their children walking the halls of shopping malls, pushing then in grocery carts or holding their hand as they glide down the slide you can't see behind the smiles of those children. You don't know how those mothers actually feel towards those children or if they have true love for them rather then the neglect some mothers show. As well brought up citizens we hope that mothers always have a paternal character when in taking care of their child some characteristics are taking directly from her own mother from what she was offered as a child, though she may not remember being offered them. And some – anger is one – will find forms of their own, of which she feels herself to be the only progenitor. Researchers blame anger in mothers on the fact that they have lost freedom in their own lives and don't live for themselves anymore but rather through their child.
Modern remedies to reform against postpartum depression or even anger management through mothers have involved medications and therapy and it seems to be the only solution to solve this horrific scale of events occurring involving abuse etc.
Women have always been looked past in our society. In history, women were just housewives who were forced to stay at home and take care of the house and family. We like to think now that all women have possiblities to do whatever they choose. This may be the case, but today there is still gender injustices going on all around the world. In the 2005 U.S. Census, it proved that males made almost 50 percent more money than women. Gender equality is something that lacks in many third world countries around the globe. Women work just as hard as men do, some even harder. Is it fair to say that they don't deserve as much money and recognition as men? Richard H. Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism said that the informal slogan of the Decade of Women became “Women do two-thirds of the world’s work, receive 10 percent of the world’s income and own 1 percent of the means of production.” Our country, and all countries around the world need to completely demolish the idea that women are not as capable to do the same things that men do. We need to establish a better form of gender equality.
Something unjust about todays society is the fact that our society lets crude and vulgar reality shows air on TV for anyone with cable to watch. Wither it be a small child an adult or anyone in between. As much as one might say they are not influenced by these ridiculous things they are, even to the minutest degree. These shows are changing our whole culture, values are being lowered and children are picking up dirty habits. It is unjust that the government is not doing anything about this, if they were to make a law against a shows that use a bleep to cover a swear or a blur to cover a nude image it should not be allowed to air on normal channels. America should not let they citizens be victims of people craving for attention. Our youth should be looked after by someone parents can’t always be there to patrol what their young child is watching and who’s to say the child will listen. Our youth should not grow up fanaticizing about how they can recreate the life of what they see on “reality TV.” When this so called reality is a mockery to our own society.
Something unjust about todays society is the fact that our society lets crude and vulgar reality shows air on TV for anyone with cable to watch. Wither it be a small child an adult or anyone in between. As much as one might say they are not influenced by these ridiculous things they are, even to the minutest degree. These shows are changing our whole culture, values are being lowered and children are picking up dirty habits. It is unjust that the government is not doing anything about this, if they were to make a law against a shows that use a bleep to cover a swear or a blur to cover a nude image it should not be allowed to air on normal channels. America should not let they citizens be victims of people craving for attention. Our youth should be looked after by someone parents can’t always be there to patrol what their young child is watching and who’s to say the child will listen. Our youth should not grow up fanaticizing about how they can recreate the life of what they see on “reality TV.” When this so called reality is a mockery to our own society.
One major injustice happening within our U.S. government is what is happening with social security. Social security is people paying a percentage out of their income over there years of work to eventually save up to retire. But what is happening is that people are living longer, and therefore more money is being used to support them. But where is that money coming from? it is coming from our modern day workers' social security. This is causing retirement ages to increase. Also the money workers today are saving up are going to pay for benefits for the unemployed. This is absurd! With today's economy being the way it is, as sarah martinelli said, this cannot be afforded. Why should our social security have to dry up just to pay for old people and unemployyed benefits? the real problem is that politician that try to change this get crushed by senior citezins who say their benefits are theirs and are immovable.
i dont know how to solve this problem, all i know is that something has to change.
An injustice that I feel is important to change is the fact that in our school when we have snow days or a hurricane the school adds on days to our school year. It isn't the students fault that we were out of school for a week. There was no way to prepare for a snowstorm that knocked out almost everyones power. The Catholic schools don't add on any extra days because it was an act of God and there was no way around it.
Taking away a break to make sure we don't go over a certain date will make everyone dread school. I love school but I know that the breaks will come, that is what keeps me chuggin along. If they don't then everyone will be stressed out and tired.
I believe that our faculty will be able to teach the curriculum even with a shortened amount of time because they are experienced and want to have just as long a summer as us kids.
An easy solution to this injustice is to not add any days on for those we have missed, or at least not count the hurricane and the snowstorm. They used to give us 5 days where we are allowed to have snow days and after that start adding. What was wrong with the old way we handled snow days? Nothing.
Unjust occurrences happen every day, all around the world. One injustice in America, which is not a major issue but can be quite irritating to many, is the law against new drivers driving family up until 6 months and friends for a year. Many families are lucky to have one, two, let alone three cars, and when parents are at work, the new driver is managing the other car. When the new driver is going to school with or near the school of a younger sibling, it is very inconvenient to not be able to drive them. Though it is true that new drivers are inexperienced and do not have much practice driving by themselves, they received their licenses for a reason, which is that they know how to drive. Back in the day, a few decades ago, when 16 and 17 year olds recieved their licenses, they were able to drive friends and family that day. So why should it be any different now? The solution to this is to adress the point, recieve support and backup, and then hopfully the law can be rewritten.
Kelsey Class 5
One injustice that I have noticed is the no use of cell phones in school other than in the cafeteria. I understand if cell phones should not be used during class because it could be a distraction to the learning environment, but I think that students should be able to use their cell phones anywhere in the building as long as it is not during a class period, like during the 5 minute break in between classes. Students that need to contact their parents will be able to get in touch with them quickly and withouth it being a distraction in class. To solve this injustice I think that students should be allowed to use their cell phones wherever they want except during a class period.
Something that is an injustice in America today is how social security works. Even though it is designed to help many people to survive once they retire, it has many problems with the way that it is run. When some people put in money, they get way more back than they ever expected to, which you would think was a good thing. But when other people don't get the social security that they deserve, even after the put in money, then it starts to become a problem. I feel like there isn't enough control in the system, not enough people aren't getting what they should be to survive, how could something like this even happen. Now they are talking about taking away social security all together which isn't going to benefit anyone. Something that could be done to change this, is have people come together and come up with some laws within social security that will help people to get what they deserve. If you are putting in money to begin with, you should get money back out, especially when you need it the most.
One injustice that I have found lately in society is the treatment of the middle and lower class. It seems that the wealthy are paying lower in their taxes then the middle class; and example of this is a man named Warren Buffett, he is one of the highest paying business men in the world and he pays a smaller percent of his income to the federal government then his secretary. He believes that the rich should be taxed more then the middle or lower class because of the more wealth they have and he believes this will help the economy and government. The middle and lower class have been pay more taxes then the rich, yet the middle class makes less money so when the government takes part of their income they are only harming the economy even more and making money more tight. This has been come to the foreground recently with the Occupy Wall Street protests, claiming that they are the 99% and the wealthy are the 1%. Now this protesting has spread to many other cities around America and has been going on for over a month. I feel that if there was a short term solution to this issue it would be to tax the wealthy a fair amount in compassion to what the middle class is being taxed. Although this solution would take some time to finalize and enforce, I think this would change how the middle class is treated.
I feel a huge injustice towards teenagers is having to be 16 to get a driver’s permit. It used to be that once you turned 16 you could get your license. I just turned 16 this October, and will not be able to get my license until spring. Then, I won’t even be able to drive friends until the end of my senior year. This is ridiculous. It is a huge inconvenience not being able to drive siblings and friends around for most of my high school driving career, especially as an older sister and an athlete needing to drive to practice. I understand people think we should wait longer for this because the younger a person is the less mature they are, but that is not true for everyone. Yes, this may be proven by science, but this doesn’t mean teenagers are completely helpless. If studies show teenagers are more likely to crash, it is just because we are new drivers, not young people. When we take the test to get a license, we are being tested on our driving. If that test is passed, and maturity is what’s needed, then how about we get recommendations. We need them for college, so maybe if someone who has very good recommendations, they could be eligible to get their license sooner. The whole teenage population should not be punished because of the other half’s mistake.
One in justice in our school today is that we can't use cellphones at all. This is unjust because for example in the hallway or frees we should be allowed to use it because it is not distracting anyone else and isn't taking away from our learning. We should be allowed to use them where appropriate if its what we want to do without having to worry about it getting confiscated by a supervisor. Furthermore, what if there was ever an emergency and immediate contact was needed. If our phones were in our locker or turned off in our backpack a lot of extra time would be wasted that could be valuable to the situation. One solution is for the administration to allow cellphone use outside of the classroom where it is appropriate.
There are many injustices that occur all over America, including in our high school. Newtown High school isn't perfect, and one if its imperfections is its enforcement of their own rules. If you create rules, you should follow them strictly; if you don't follow them you should just get rid of them. An example of this is the dress code, especially the rule about the length that your shorts have to be. The school set a rule that girls shorts have to come to mid thigh and no higher. However, this rule isn't monitored equally by the security guards/staff. Some girls get away with wearing extremely short shorts with their behinds hanging out, where others get in trouble for wearing shorts two or thee inches shorter than the school rule. If you're going to make a rule and you want your students to abide by it, then call out all the girls who wear shorts shorter than mid thigh, but if you don't call out every girl who does this then the rule becomes unfair, unequal, and an injustice.
-Brenna Whitton Class 4
There are many unjust topics in the United States and world today although I believe one injustice that sticks out the most to me is that even when school is pushed to such an extent that it seems that if a student wants to do well at all when they graduate from school that they must go to college and finish college to do well. Although at the same time it seems as though everyone is setting students up for failure. In high school students are pushed to "try their hardest" and "always do their best" although sometimes that is not good enough. Some students will try their best and received a 76 on an essay and then the teacher will not help them to improve their grade. It's unjust how students can try so hard but still fail. Also in college, students with scholarships try their absolute hardest so they could keep the scholarship and then when they mess up once they get everything taken away from them. The education for students today needs to be more inspiring and make students actually do well because students are truly beginning to struggle.
An injustice in America today that I find to be surprising is how high the drinking age is in America. While many agree that it's better to not allow teenagers to drink, many also believe it shuold be lowered to 18. I find it odd that the leaders of our country find kids at 18-years-old mature enough to go to a different country, give them deadly weapons, and risk their lives everyday, yet they're not responcible enough to handle an alcoholic beverage. The government is giving very condradicting ideas here, and to be honest, I don't believe it's right to do that.
It's my beliefe that America should lower the drinking age back down to 18. For one, kids should be able to at that age if they're allowed to risk their lives for this very country. Also, it could possibly lower the underage drinking rate. Kids won't feel like they have to wait as long, therefore the appeal of it goes away to drink sooner. This would cause a lot less trouble and should be entrusted in teenagers. It was once before, it can again.
Of all of the aspects one could criticize of our government, one seldom thinks of social injustice of our prisons. Fun fact: Staying in prison is expensive, but not for the criminal. Convicts get their meals, heat, "housing," water, etc. all out of the tax payer's pocket. Some people actually commit crimes to be thrown in jail to take advantage of these benefits. In addition, at certain facilities, an inmate can actually get an education, all paid for by taxes. They have better lives than the residents of most third world countries. This system of punishment seems rather ineffective when looked at in this light. A solution would be to actually charge inmates for the services they use. If this were the case, maybe some people will actually work and stay out of prison instead of taking advantage of this flaw in our prisons.
You can sit down and argue to no end about a million different issues with the world because it is safe to say this country is nothing close to perfect. One thing in this country that most people rely on though is our judicial system and our government. But what happens when our representatives are being influenced and democracy is being affected in result of that? A huge problem in our country today is political lobbyists and campaign financing. Years ago, when politicians ran for office they would be elected with the most popular votes because of what they stood for. Once they were elected in to office it was assumed that they would support and stand by the same things. In today’s society, we now have these groups called Lobbyist’s. These people will be hired by companies to buy votes. They would go up to a politician and would basically bribe them. They would say we’ll give you an immense amount of money if you support our cause meaning their company. Off course many people take this into consideration because the politician with the most amount of money raised, usually won the election. This happened because politicians would hold fundraisers for anyone who supported them. This of course was contrary to popular opinion. Now because of the lobbyists, our say means less. It’s like we don’t count anymore, and what happens to a democracy when the citizens feel like their voices aren’t being heard? We need to regain control of our political system by reducing the amount of influence lobbyists have and also design rules for campaign financing that would not make it profitable for these groups. We cannot let votes to be bought by powerful groups with a lot of money, whether they be large corporations or foreign governments to take away our representative democracy.
Daniella Genovese class 5
There is an overflowing abundance of injustices in America. However, one injustice that sticks out to me is how undervalued women still are in the work force, and in society. The fact that women do not get paid as much as men on the dollar is asinine. Women have proven themselves as savvy business women, women are heads of companies, innovative, and have the same utopian ideals and are capable to the same level of intelligence that men have, without a question. Society has made us believe from a young age, starting in Disney movies, that a woman is always a "damsel in distress" and needs a man to save her, or else she will perish. Women are not weaker than men by any means, so why are children taught from a young age that women need men to survive? The media has diluted children’s minds with the thought that women are only good for domestic purposes. While there is nothing wrong with having the time or stregnth to raise a child, the world needs to understand that women have a voice and are capable of so much more than that. In corrupt countries such as Iran, women are made to wear covers over their face and hair because women should not have a voice to men there, also it is okay for men to have multiple wives but a woman would be executed for cheating on her husband. Women should not be submissive to any man, and should stand up for themselves. Even though the consequences may be fatal, there should be a constant fight for women’s rights across the world and constant reminder in America that women should have the exact same rights men do. Besides, doesn't the constitution say that everyone is equal?
I think an injustice today is how common divorce is for families with children. It seems like almost every marraige ends with it. Couples sometimes divorce for the smallest reasons, and if they have children, they don't realize how it will affect them. The term "broken family" best describes their situation, and children usually grow up with only one parent, usually the mother. The father usually leaves the family and doesn't communicate with their children. The family structure is diminishing in our society, and it has its consequences. Children are more likely to be violent and feel helpless or depressed because of their living environment. They loose their sense of "connectedness" with their family. Leaving children to grow up feeling isolated, rejected, and lonely is very unjust because it leads them to have a dismal future. Divorce should only be necessary if a person is unfaithful or abusive, but a solution is for couples to try to stay together for the sake of maintaining a family structure for children, and to give them a better outlook on life.
-Amanda LoCascio, Class 6
I believe believe a terrible injustice in our society today are laws that ban gay marriage. WHile several states have opened their eyes to see how foolish it is to be against same sex marriage. Many argue that it is against religion and a disgrace. Many argue that it is not God's vision for two people of the same sex to marry. Personally, I think these people are afraid. Afraid to move society forward, to stand out and to go against society's norms. I think fellow student Sarah Hasselberger couldn't have said it any better, "But if people want to keep marriage holy because it such a special unification between two people, then why is it okay for people like Kim Kardashian to divorce for money, publicity, and fame, when people who genuinely love each other want to get married?"
A solution to this problem would be to raise awareness. If you feel strongly towards this topic, make an effort bring the topic to people attention. I think this will lead towards bills being passed that will grant same sex marriage.
In America today, our citizens rights are being violated! That's right the justice system is the target this time. Recent news such as Occupy Wall Street have videos of peaceful protesters being maced and beaten. The shocking thing about police violence is that it's not just in America. All over the world people are treated even worse, by corrupt officers. Now I'm not saying every police officer, but the amount of these kinds of cases are too much. We need an immediate change in our justice system.
Every teenager looks forward to the day the they get their driver's license. As a 16 year old, who has just completed drivers ed classes, I know I think about getting my license non-stop. I still have a month left before I can take the test, but the road to getting a license, has been a long one. Once you turn 16 it is legal for you to get a job. Having a job is made very difficult with the driving laws the state has mandated. Having to wait until you are at least 16 years old and 4 months puts quite a damper on the excitement of being able to get your license. I think it is unfair that we must wait to be 16 to get a driving permit and then have the permit for 4 months to get your license. It makes it hard to participate with after school activities (with two working parents) as well as have a job to make money for college.
Although this is one of the many injustices in our country. I think there is an easy solution. By allowing teenagers to get their permit at age 15 1/2 and have their permit for 6 months and then be able to get their license on their 16th birthday it will be more fair. This gives teens even more time to practice driving as well as being able to work and get places easier. It is such an inconvenience to have my parents drive me places, especially like work. By changing the law teens will have more practice behind the wheel as well be more independent. It is almost like a discrimination for those who want to work, but cannot because the law rescrits them from being able to drive to work as a 16-year-old.
An insane injustice in America is the fact that some children are forced to go to school on Vetern's Day. Veteran's Day was a holiday made to celebrate and apperciate all the men and woman that have fought in wars for Americans. They sign up to risk there lives, familes, everything they have just for the other people of there countries. It is common for people to die in war, not only do they lose there lives there families lose a father or a mother. These people clearly deserve a day of recognition. To have school on this day completely disrespects everything they have worked hard and risked there lives for. It is a slap in the face to all Vetern's to have school on the holiday the day recognizing them.
The Solution: School should not be held on this day, it should be celebrated at home with your family like other holidays. Or At school there should not be work done, it should be a day dedicated to remembering all those who fought for there country.
Cailah Carroll
The first thing that comes to my mind is a social issue prevalent in countries all over the world, and that is the treatment of the homosexual as well as the entire LGBT community. In certain countries, if you are in a homosexual relationship the law states that you will be jailed or, in a few areas, sentenced to death. Even in the United States, although penalties are not as severe, people are still looked down upon and bullied if they outwardly express their sexuality. In my opinion, it is absolutely horrible that people treat others with such disrespect and alienation just because of how they are born. In order to fix this issue, it is important to attack it from it's roots- the laws which restrict homosexual (and other LGBT) relationships. By doing so, it will be the first step to showing people it is not a bad thing and they will eventually learn to accept and respect these relationships. Even in the United States, we need to work towards educating people not just about bullying, but bullying because of sexuality as well because it is an issue that must be brought to attention and fixed.
I believe one injustice that we are facing in society today is a form of taxation without representation. This occurs when the government wants money, but doesn’t want to ,or have time to, pass a new tax law. Instead the government charges a “so-called” fee. This is completely unfair to citizens around the country. The reason why we vote for congress and the senate is because they feel the way we do about taxes and government spending. If they aren't aloud to have a say in what is going on then it makes the voting process worthless.
One way to fix this problem is to not allow the government to weasel their way into charging americans fees and bypassing the legislative process . Hopefully this problem will be taken care of in the near future.
An further example of the women's modern segregation posts other classmates have written is the fact that even though women are allowed in the army, it's still a very different set of rules and regulations. It's also not very well known that women are separated from men in the army. For example, did you know that women are not ALLOWED in combat? If there are combat situations, the men go ahead with their weapons to do the fighting for our nation while the female soldiers basically hide. I just recently came across this information and I was shocked that in 2011, close to a century since the nineteenth amendment was ratified, women are still separated because of our gender. There is a separate Corps for woman called the WAC, Women's Army Corps. They have different training than men. Even with sexist logic, this doesn't make sense. If women are supposedly lacking physically, shouldn't they work the same or more to be in physical shape for the army? The old issue of women's rights should not still be active in today society.
How to solve this problem is to begin by creating awareness. It's generally unknown knowledge except for within the army, and it shouldn't be. Some women enlist without even knowing this information at first. But anyway, if there is awareness and enough people protest, the government may consider amending this law to allow women to protect their country to the same extent as men can.
Many people are pro-choice and support abortions. My opinion on this issue lies on the complete opposite end of the spectrum; I am a pro-life individual who finds abortion to be the strongest injustice in our world today. It is injust in multiple aspects, both political and social.
The dictionary definition of an abortion is: "an operation or other intervention to end a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus from the womb." For various reasons, many people believe that this is okay. To me this is injust; it is my religious belief that life begins at conception. And even if that is not an individual's belief, then the pregnancy will eventually lead to the birth of a human being. Doesn't this concept go against our American beliefs? Just read the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Every individual should be given a chance to live their life once the opportunity arises; that should not be allowed to be taken from them through abortion.
Here is a statistic that supports this idea of injustice: 3,700 abortions occur in the United States each day. Among these abortions, 93% are simply because the child is an accident and are unwanted. The child has no control over whether or not they get to live.
Life is something that we take for granted, but others are not even allowed this right. This is a true example of injustice that needs to be changed. Abortion is legal in every state, so the first step to changing this deadly injustice is by making it illegal. This would significantly reduce the number of abortions every day.
One injustice that I believe should be recognized that exists in our society today is the death penalty. This consequence is a hypocrisy, because it essentially commits the same heinous crime against the convict in question. While clearly individuals who have committed horrible crimes such as murder or rape should be punished, executing them projects the wrong message. It is telling people that murder is illegal, and if one does it, it is likely they'll be murdered in return. Not only is this a contemptible consequence, but some would argue that it is preferable to the inmates. Many prisoners would rather be dead than spend the rest of their life locked up, so the death penalty acts as almost a way out of punishment. I believe that the death penalty should be illegal, because it is, in its most basic form, murder. A life in solitude and without freedom can be a more effective punishment that death. The law that allows the death penalty should be abolished, and the consequences for those who commit crimes should be rethought.
One injustice that I noticed in America was the fact that soldiers in the US military are not allowed to drink while stationed in their bases. I strongly believe this is not acceptable because these men and women are risking more than we can ever imagine, just to protect the freedom and sovereignty of our country. They all absoultely have the right to enjoy a drink during "appropriate times". The only solution I find reasonable is that soldiers can be granted permission from their officers to drink during the night or whenever they have enough free time to sober up and regroup. In moderation, this new law could protect the rights of soldiers giving their lives away to serve their country.
An interesting injustice that I recently learned about in drivers ed is that when we sign our name to receive our licenses, we sign away about half of our rights. For example, refusing a BAC test should technically be legal since it is part of our "Right of Autonomy". However, if in fact you refuse one, you are arrested on spot and your license is suspended for 18 months. A solution to this is to just offer another test that doesn't violate our rights. It's that simple.
It is apparent that there are many injustices that occur throughout the United States and the rest of the planet. But one that I would like to point out, although not as important as others, is the fact that skateboarding is completely illegal. If you are skateboarding in a parking lot, an officer will ride up and demand that you leave. Ive seen instances where skateboarders have been arrested for skating somewhere.
Police officers seem to think that damage is being done to the properties that are being skateing, which is really the opposite. By police forces putting up skate stoppers (metal bars nailed into ledges to prevent grinding) they are actually damaging these pieces more then us. By screwing these metal stoppers into the ledge, they are actually ruining the integrity of them and they will eventually crack, where as the grinds done by a skateboard do no physical damage.
And when the town decides to build a skatepark to fix this issue, they are not getting input from the skaters of the town, and usually the finished product is something that the skaters do not entirely enjoy skating, but its their only choice, because its that, or get get fined and be in serious trouble.
Its an unnecessary punishment treating skaters the way officers do, and I think that something needs to be done to make rules for not only skateboarders, but rollerbladers and bikers more lenient.
An injustice that came to my mind was how long the power took to be turned back on. I know this is a minor injustice compared to some other things that people brought up but this affected a lot of us in Connecticut and especially in Newtown. Many of us had to go to the extremes to be warm, have food and clean clothes as well as a place to sleep. I was one of the many people who left Newtown to go stay with relatives. We basically packed up our house and left. We tried staying in our house for two nights and we couldn't take it. Eight layers of blankets couldn't do it and hitting the light switch forgetting that there is no power was very frustrating. I know I am not the only one who was aggravated. Some families had trees on their cars, houses and trees laying on wires attached to their houses. Some people don't even have fire places to give a little warmth to the house. To make it worse people were dying from the carbon monoxide that was being created in some houses by people trying to stay warm. It's ridiculous that most of us had to wait over a week for power and to get back to our normal routine and this is just the residents in Newtown. What about the businesses? My Dad owns six delicatessens and three are in Newtown. Those three lost power. Every time I looked at my Dad, he was on the phone seeing what he can do for his stores and how much longer he would have to wait for the power. His phone was ringing off the hook. He had food deliveries up in the air, his employees needed to know what was going on plus we had to figure out what we were going to do about our own house. It was very chaotic. It should have never been like this.
For the solution, I think that CL&P should have been more prepared and had crews already set up in different towns before the storm hit. The staging at Fairfield Hills should have taken place before the storm. The storm had been forecasted days ahead of time. Also they should have had crews from different states ready to head to CT the first time they heard the news reports about the storm. I didn't see crews in Newtown for the first 3 days and it was very disappointing.
There are many injustices in this world, but there is one that sticks out the most to me. It is war between countries and making weapons, in particular producing nuclear bombs. We have no need to have these weapons of mass destruction. What is the point of having a bomb that can level an entire city? There isn’t one. America alone has enough nuclear bombs to blow up the world five times. That is just one country, there are eleven countries with nuclear bombs and a number of other countries that have the technology but they don’t build these weapons. Instead of promoting the production of these weapons, we should be doing something good for the world. Finding new eco-friendly power sources, feeding other countries that cannot support there people because of crop failures. Instead of hating upon each other, we should be spreading happiness and helping each other out.
Nick Busino
There are many injustices in this world, but there is one that sticks out the most to me. It is war between countries and making weapons, in particular producing nuclear bombs. We have no need to have these weapons of mass destruction. What is the point of having a bomb that can level an entire city? There isn’t one. America alone has enough nuclear bombs to blow up the world five times. That is just one country, there are eleven countries with nuclear bombs and a number of other countries that have the technology but they don’t build these weapons. Instead of promoting the production of these weapons, we should be doing something good for the world. Finding new eco-friendly power sources, feeding other countries that cannot support there people because of crop failures. Instead of hating upon each other, we should be spreading happiness and helping each other out.
Nick Busino
I think an injustice that some people face today is that some health care providers are not required to take drug tests, provide a clean record or have background checks. When companies hire these people and send them into clients' homes- homes of those with disabilities or injuries or the elderly- i think they should really give these hired hands background checks so they can be sure that they are sending competent, trustworthy and safe workers into these vulnerable homes. Otherwise, there's an easy opportunity for one of these health care providers to cause harm to the people in the homes, or to the homes themselves (i.e. robberies, home damage, etc.). I think its just common sense to do this, but still there are robberies in homes and injury caused to disabled clients do to the hiring of health care providers that were not required to provide a clean police record or a record of their past health care related jobs-you could just as easily pull a random person of the street and get the same bad results.
Everyone has seen police cars driving over the speed limit. Even though it is seemingly normal for traffic to travel 5mph over the limit, the law states that driving any faster than the speed limit specifies is illegal. A police officer’s job is to be a protector/ enforcer of the law, but there is really no one that enforces the police officers themselves. They all should have to abide by the same rules they enforce, because nothing permits them to be above the law.
A way to fix this problem is to make speed limit signs the actual speed limit of the road, which is the fastest you can go on the fastest part of the road (of course without going recklessly fast). It seems that the speed limit of a road is meant only for safely travelling through the slowest section of road, like a sharp turn, and that speed you need to make the sharp turn carries through the whole rest of the road. I feel like the speed limits are meant for the few idiots who will drive as fast as the speed limit all the time, because it is technically legal, but everyone else has the common sense to slow down if the situation requires, and shouldn’t be held up by a 25mph speed limit sign if the road can clearly allow for higher speeds. This would help out the police and everyone else because it makes for a more practical law to be followed, and would be broken significantly less. It also gives Americans more freedom.
A injustice that takes place in our school every day is that we get a 5 minutes passing time for regular periods. After a large expansion of the school some classes are up to a quarter of a mile away. With this expansion they also made the stair wells smaller allowing less people to go up it at a time. Also, then when it comes to our lunch period when we have to get back to our classes from an overcrowded lunch room, in 4 minutes. Unless you class is very close to the lunch room it is very hard to get back to class on time. To solve this we should take away time from homeroom. Homeroom is a waste of time and there is absolutely no need for it to be 10 minutes long.
An injustice present in America that is all too similar to issues of America past is the staggering void between the pay of high level executives and CEOs and their employees. Factory workers make $20,000 and $30,000 while high ranking executives make upwards of $10 million. Executives make so much that they become complacent about the success of their company as should it fail they can always retire to the Hamptons at any time. In Japan an employer can only make a set amount more than his lowest paid employee so the Toyota CEO only makes $1.5 million dollars, a humble amount in comparison to Western CEOs. The US not placing this cap has put an incredible amount of money in very few hands and weakened our economy to boot. Should the Chrysler CEO have had a little more stake in his company and a few fewer mansions scattered throughout the richest neighborhoods in the country, I think he would've acted much sooner when he saw his company on a decline. This could've saved countless jobs of those who don't make $50,000,000 a year.
Many of these post's have been about an issue, such as taxing to the middle class, or rules and regulations on driving siblings, using cell phones, etc. I decided to take a different approach, and comment on a story that hit headlines this past week, and point out the injustices in it.
The story line that hit news all around the nation is the Penn State sex scandal. While there are many injustices, and many arguments, opinions, beliefs, and sides to the issue, one injustice stands out to me greatly, and I still cannot believe it has not changed. With all of the debating about Paterno's job, as well as the University President, and other coaches and University officials, it boggles my mind that the focus is not on the alleged sex offender, Jerry Sandufsky, and his where abouts, and why he is not in jail. The media has news crews following him around, and I have seen numerous video footage of him speeding away from the media, as well as neglecting to talk to the media. He had been arrested, but is not out on bail, and is thrown back into society where he has destroyed many, many citizen’s lives emotionally. The solution is simple. Even if they let this man get out on bail, he should be in his house 24/7, with authority officials standing by. I may be alone on this issue, but the fact that he is back in the society where he has hurt, and injured the minds of many, with little security following him, just is beyond me.
Jake feinstein class 5
One injustice that I veiw as being a problem is the fact the juniors are not aloud to leave the building if they have a free period at the end of the day, or come in late if they has a free period first without serving consequences if it happens on a regular basis. I feel that this rule is not necessary, a free period is a free period no matter how old you are and if you are not required to be in a specific place then I don't understand why the rule only applies for non seniors. To fix this I would allow juniors, and even sophomores to leave the building if they have free last period or come in late if they have a free first period. It would allow for extra sleep in the morning which is crucial to a teenager fin order to function properly, as well as allow them to have more free time at the end of the day to accomplish other important things that need to be done in life besides school work.
In our world today, it is easy to say that the human civilization is far from perfect. Although many different points of injustice acts can be named, I feel that the treatment of US soldiers returning from Iraq is one of our biggest problems as a country. More and more since the war on terror started in 2001, reports have come in that American soldiers do not receive the treatment they deserve for risking their lives for our country. Some have come back during the recession and received minimum to no relief money wise for them and their families. The reason for this problem, I think, is that America doesn't pay as much attention to their war veterans any more like they used to. They might respect them, but they do not take stands to protect them when they come home. So, to fix this, America needs to advertise our war efforts more, to bring some pride to this country, because right now their are only recruitment ads everyone, but barely anything about supporting our returning troops. Through the mass propaganda, America just might be able to gain some pride for their troops, and donate to the cause.
Danny Bittman
Out of all the injustices in America, one that sticks out to me is the fact, that you have to be 18 years old to vote. In the constitution it says, that essentially we all have equal rights. Even though i'm not a legal adult, I am involved in the political part of society, just as much as a 40 year old would be. I read the papers, I see the campaigns on the media, and I wish I could be a part of choosing who will run the world. A well known transcendentalist, by the name of Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Do not think the youth has no force." After reading this quote, and applying it to our lives I feel that we are going against our constitution, and what great dwellers of society have said. I think a solution for this would be to allow high school students to vote, since we are participating in History courses throughout our four years, where we are taught about politics past and present. I feel that high school students have enough knowledge and common sense to have an active role in choosing our president. We are the future leaders of America, and our voices need to be heard earlier.
(http://quotes.dictionary.com/do_not_think_the_youth_has_no_force)
One injustice that our society faces is the fact that too many high school courses are mandatory. This corruption in the education system has restricted students in pursuing their passions, as well as withdrew more of their social adolescence. By making certain high school courses recommended, rather than making them required, the board of education can allow high school students to have more freedom to choose courses that will have a greater impact on their own, individual lifestyles.
One thing that I believe to be an injustice, although, depending on your personal views, could be regfuted, is the right to have abortion. In my opinion, abortion is 100% WRONG. Though one may argue that it's women's choice, once a women is pregnant the world simply does not revolve around her anymore. There is a child involved. And though some people don't believe unborn children are really alive, I believe they are. They require nutrition. They move. You can tell when they are happy, unhappy, or when something is wrong with them, even when they haven't been born yet. Killing them simply to save yourself should not be an option. If you thought you were mature and responsible enough to have unprotected sex, you should take responsibility for whatever may come of it. If you were raped, give up the baby for adoption. But don't kill a child just because you don't want it or it was a "mistake".
One social injustice I feel strongly about is the belief that subsidies should be given to oil companies that already make tremendous profits. It is unfair that congress is allowed to decide that not only is it okay to limit the freedom of any one group of people simply based off of their views, but that it is okay to give more leeway and freedom to huge corporations and the rich simply because they supposedly create jobs (many of which lack even basic healthcare coverage). A solution to this problem can be extremely basic, such as simply voting to end such payments to big oil or even giving the money to workers instead, but it is unfair to blame a failing economy and larger and larger income gap on anything when this type of lobbying and unfair treatment takes place on a daily basis, putting the rich before the majority.
As I look upon all that these people have written as injustices, there are few I agree with and many I disagree, yet I am still shocked that this particular one has not been adressed. It is of the highest corruption and hypocracy. It is against what America stands for. It is an injustice and is proof of how much power that we give our government and how easily it can be abused by the very ones we thought would protect us from such things. What I am speaking of is insider trading. Now, it may not seem to be much, but, it shows how politicians, no matter what party, have been abusing their power and how corrupt most of them are.
There is a law, as is known to popular knowlegde that it is strictly illegal for people to take part in and to obtain the benifits of insider trading, the knowlegde of stock and stock trading information before it is publicly known. However, it is legal for legislators and many politicians to use their knowlegde of future legislation and law to commit insider trading. So many of us "civilians", this is illegal to commit such an act. Knowing this, I get ammazed at how hippocracy has overtaken politicians especially liberals who say they want to crack down on "unfair" business pracitces and how many people have taken to Wall Street and many other places using threats and sometimes violence (no matter how rare) to stop these "fat cats" while what they want to stop is being done by those who say they support them. To solve this, the public should speak up peacefully to our representatives and tell them that we want this changed. And it will be done unless this issue somehow is unable to be brought to the public's knowlegde.
I think an injustice that our school has is having homework after school. After reading a few articles, it shows how much kids these days worry about school. Yes, school is important, but some people go straight home after school, only to find themselves drowning in homework, sometimes even until the early hours of the morning. I was reading an article in "The Week," and the journalist was saying how her own child, only in 6th grade, was coming home in tears every day because of the amount of work the teachers put out. Just think about it, colleges and business owners want students to be well rounded, but if they have no time after school for clubs and activities because of school work, how are they going to achieve their other passions and goals in life?
Of course there are too many injustices in America, too many to list and explain. One that has been strongly getting on my nerves is the driving age. I believe that it is completely unreasonable to not be able to drive family members around for six months, and driving around an individual that is not apart of your family after one year. This law seems a bit extreme to me because, personally to me, it indefinitely takes less than a year and four months (including permit) to have the amount of experience you need to drive family members or individuals around in a vehicle. In 2008, when my sister first received her license, the law was that you can drive family members when you get it, and other people who aren't your family six months later. 'Till this day, she is still the best driver in my family and she has never gotten into an accident before in her life. This injustice is outrageous.
One major injustice in society is the fact that the United States government allows the sale of cigarettes to its citizens. How is it that our government can make the sale and distribution of marijuana illegal but allow the sale and distribution of the much more addictive cigarettes? I do not agree with the legalization of marijuana but cigarettes have been proven to be much more harmful and addictive than marijuana and many other illegal substances sold. The U.S. government allows the sale of cigarettes because it collects billions of dollars from the very high taxes placed on them. Our government, which is elected and put into power by us, to protect us, does just the opposite by allowing the sale of cigarettes to its citizens, including many children. Chemical additives are manufactured into each cigarette that makes them purposely more addictive to all who smoke them. What other company could purposely make there product more addictive and harmful to its users and all around them and still be considered legal? McDonalds? Pepsi? Think about it.
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