by: Lia
Working this last semester with the topic of “Being an American,” has been a lot better then I initially anticipated. As I mentioned in my first post, I was less then thrilled when the class chose this topic.
There is a lot that can be, and has been, covered under the umbrella of “Being an American.” Good, bad, and everything in between. It’s important to open up avenues where dialogue among citizens can occur. It’s important that we listen to differing opinions, realizing we might not have all the information necessary to make an informed decision. As United States citizens we need to not only learn to critically analyze the workings of our government, but appreciate the freedoms and privileges we have.
As the saying goes, “with privilege comes responsibility.” We must be good stewards of our gifts and use them not for selfish gain, but to better the world around us. Yes, I said world. It’s not just about America and making us happy, but it’s about providing for those around the world that may be less fortunate then ourselves. That doesn’t mean taking over a country and enforcing our rules and power, but giving others the tools and provisions necessary to live a full and healthy life.
This semester as given me the opportunity to look at the world around me and realize that every thing I do, or don’t do, has an impact on others. I must be informed of the actions of my government and take the necessary steps to ensure that we are all being treated fairly. No more us and them mentality. As I think I’ve mentioned before, we are all part of the human race and we need to start acting like it.
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Monday, April 26, 2010
Prison
by: Lia
It’s interesting that here in America we so willingly lock people away in prison for crimes that they committed instead of spending less money to get them the help they need.
Let’s take someone with a mental disorder for example. Their mental disorder might not be enough to send them to a psychiatric hospital, but it’s enough to make them unable to function properly in society. According to Mental Health America, “An estimated 54 million Americans suffer from some form of mental disorder in a given year.” Yet, with treatment, “many people with mental illness return to a productive and fulfilling life.”
What about drug addicts and dealers? When they are locked in prison for their crime, do they at least get substance abuse counseling? To me, that would be the most logical step. Only 1 out of 10 drug offenders actually get the counseling they need.
Most drug abusers that go into prison end up abusing drugs there as well. When they get out of prison they do what their body has trained them to do, they use again, and then get put back in prison. It’s a vicious cycle.
In the mean time we are spending all this money to keep them in prison, when it would cost less to give them the treatment needed. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, it costs $23,000 each year to keep just one prisoner in prison.
It’s interesting that here in America we so willingly lock people away in prison for crimes that they committed instead of spending less money to get them the help they need.
Let’s take someone with a mental disorder for example. Their mental disorder might not be enough to send them to a psychiatric hospital, but it’s enough to make them unable to function properly in society. According to Mental Health America, “An estimated 54 million Americans suffer from some form of mental disorder in a given year.” Yet, with treatment, “many people with mental illness return to a productive and fulfilling life.”
What about drug addicts and dealers? When they are locked in prison for their crime, do they at least get substance abuse counseling? To me, that would be the most logical step. Only 1 out of 10 drug offenders actually get the counseling they need.
Most drug abusers that go into prison end up abusing drugs there as well. When they get out of prison they do what their body has trained them to do, they use again, and then get put back in prison. It’s a vicious cycle.
In the mean time we are spending all this money to keep them in prison, when it would cost less to give them the treatment needed. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, it costs $23,000 each year to keep just one prisoner in prison.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Pharmaceutical Drugs
by: Lia
What is it with the United States and pharmaceutical drugs?
Anyone who has to purchase pharmaceutical drugs knows how expensive they are. According to the 2002 Drug Industry Profits American citizens pay hundreds of billions of dollars every year on pharmaceutical drugs. While citizens loose more and more money as prescription drug prices increase, pharmaceutical companies get richer and richer.
Our government also gets rich off the drug industry. Since 1999, the drug industry has given more than 45 million dollars in political contributions, and it's spent hundreds of millions more on an army of more than 600 lobbyists to work its will on Capitol Hill.
I’m sure you’ve seen the drug commercials on television that show people living horrible lives until they take the magic pill and life is wonderful. Then at the end they quickly spout off the long list of negative side effects some includes internal bleeding and even death! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYwljWbg2Vs&feature=related
What is it with the United States and pharmaceutical drugs?
Anyone who has to purchase pharmaceutical drugs knows how expensive they are. According to the 2002 Drug Industry Profits American citizens pay hundreds of billions of dollars every year on pharmaceutical drugs. While citizens loose more and more money as prescription drug prices increase, pharmaceutical companies get richer and richer.
Our government also gets rich off the drug industry. Since 1999, the drug industry has given more than 45 million dollars in political contributions, and it's spent hundreds of millions more on an army of more than 600 lobbyists to work its will on Capitol Hill.
I’m sure you’ve seen the drug commercials on television that show people living horrible lives until they take the magic pill and life is wonderful. Then at the end they quickly spout off the long list of negative side effects some includes internal bleeding and even death! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYwljWbg2Vs&feature=related
There are so many different natural remedies out there that have been used for centuries that don’t have the horrible side effects that synthetic drugs have, but the pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t want you to believe natural remedies are credible, because then they’d loose out on your money.
Gender
by: Lia
No matter how far we have come, gender inequality is still alive and well. The pay gap between men and women has become smaller, but men still receive more money than women when working the same type of job with the same credentials, according to Gender Differences in Pay.
Linda Babcock, a Carnegie Mellon University professor of economics conducted a study resulting in the realization that men are twice as likely as women to negotiate a higher pay raise. This might explain why men still receive more money than women.
Why is it that women do not ask for more money? Perhaps it is because of how women have been, and continue to be, treated in society. Women are taught to be silent and demur, while men are to be outspoken and aggressive.
So we should teach our women to be more outspoken and to go after what they believe they deserve and the problem should be solved, right? Wrong. There are those in society who still believe women should be more “womanly,” meaning quiet and subdued. If women were to possess more of the typical “manly” traits of aggressions, potential employers might be turned off.
All of society, not just women, needs to realize how women have been oppressed and rethink what women and men’s rolls are. Women should be allowed to speak up and receive the pay they deserve, without being looked down upon or penalized for doing so.
No matter how far we have come, gender inequality is still alive and well. The pay gap between men and women has become smaller, but men still receive more money than women when working the same type of job with the same credentials, according to Gender Differences in Pay.
Linda Babcock, a Carnegie Mellon University professor of economics conducted a study resulting in the realization that men are twice as likely as women to negotiate a higher pay raise. This might explain why men still receive more money than women.
Why is it that women do not ask for more money? Perhaps it is because of how women have been, and continue to be, treated in society. Women are taught to be silent and demur, while men are to be outspoken and aggressive.
So we should teach our women to be more outspoken and to go after what they believe they deserve and the problem should be solved, right? Wrong. There are those in society who still believe women should be more “womanly,” meaning quiet and subdued. If women were to possess more of the typical “manly” traits of aggressions, potential employers might be turned off.
All of society, not just women, needs to realize how women have been oppressed and rethink what women and men’s rolls are. Women should be allowed to speak up and receive the pay they deserve, without being looked down upon or penalized for doing so.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Kill, Kill, Kill!
by: Lia
I finally watched Bowling for Columbine the other day, and let me say, I was quite disturbed. The topic wasn’t really anything new to me, it just brought up a lot of emotions.
The movie addressed the school shooting that occurred at Columbine High School where two teenage boys came to school with guns and shot a whole bunch of students. Many students were severely injured and some were even killed.
At one point in the movie it went through many different wars the United States was involved in and showed people that had died because of the United States’ involvement. This is the list that I copied down:
- 1953: U.S. overthrows Prime Minister Mossadeq of Iran. U.S. installs Shah as dictator.
- 1954: U.S. overthrows democratically-elected President Arbenz of Guatemala. 200,000 civilians killed.
- 1963: U.S. backs assassination of South Vienamese President Diem.
- 1963-1975: American military kills 4 million people in Southeast Asia.
- September 11, 1973: U.S. stages coup in Chile, Democratically-elected President Salvador Allende assassinated. Dictator Augusto Pinochet installed. 5,000 Chileans murdered.
- 1977: U.S. backs military rulers in El Salvador. 70,000 Salvadorans and four American nuns killed.
- 1980's: U.S. trains Osama bin Laden and fellow terrorists to kill Soviets. CIA gives them $3 billion.
- 1981: Reagan administration trains and funds "contras." 30,000 Nicaraguans die.
- 1982: U.S. provides billions in aid to Saddam Hussein for weapons to kill Iranians.
- 1983: White House secretly gives Iran weapons to kill Iraqis.
- 1989: CIA agent Manuel Noriega (also serving as President of Panama) disobeys orders from Washington. U.S. invades Panama and removes Noriega. 3,000 Panamanian civilian casualties.
- 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait with weapons from U.S.
- 1991: U.S. enters Iraq. Bush reinstates dictator of Kuwait.
- 1998: Clinton bombs "weapons factory" in Sudan. Factory turns out to be making aspirin.
- 1991 to present (?): American planes bomb Iraq on a weekly basis. U.N. estimates 500,000 Iraqi children die from bombing and sanctions.
- 2000-2001: U.S. gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in "aid."
- Sept. 11, 2001: Osama bin Laden uses his expert CIA training to murder 3,000 people.
How much money would we have saved from the deficit if we hadn't been so gung-ho about war and funding other groups to be better at killing more people?
We teach Americans that it's okay to go to other countries and massacre everyone, because they are "bad," but then we turn around and think we can punish people here for murdering someone. We don’t understand when teenagers come to a school and kill people. How does that make sense? How can't people see that it's the same thing?
I go between being saddened to enraged that people could be so heartless and cruel with no remorse, just killing and somehow justifying it!
No matter where we come from we are all human beginnings with lives, and families, and hopes, and dreams, and fears. How can we justify killing another person, no matter where they came from or what they did?
It hurts me to think that we are capable of such horrific things, then rationalizing the killing, that is unless it’s someone here in the U.S. killings another U.S. citizen. Why are our lives somehow more important than those in other countries?
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