1. Describe the major social issues in the United States that we discussed in class.
Gun Control - This is a pretty major issue in todays world because of the fact that there is more and more school and public place shootings. All of these shootings have caused the government to reevaluate what the laws of guns should be. The first side says that the amendment says they have the right to bare arms. The other side says that there is no need for assault rifles and other guns like that because they are just things that can kill mass amounts of people.
Immigration - This issue has become larger with all of the thing that have happened recently. Lately more and more things are going on in the government. People that are against it say that they came in illegally which means they should not be here they also think that they are taking jobs away from the American people. When really a lot of them are just coming for a better life. The Dream act is for people who came to the US as minors and have graduated from a US high school they then have to complete two years of a collage or be in the military for two years to become a permanent resident.
Gay Marriage - This topic has changed very much compared to where it was 15 years ago. More and more states are starting to allow gay marriage. The one big reason why it is not legal in all states is that the older generation is less accepting of gays, and the older generation is mostly in power when it comes to making laws. It looks as though gay marriage will be entirely legal in all fifty states in the future although it may take a little while.
Abortion - can be taken in two ways. People who are against it are normally people who are church goers believe it is wrong to kill a baby and that the government should step in and put a stop to it. The other side believes that it is the woman's body therefore it is her choice what she wants to do.
Marijuana Legalization - There have been more and more staed legalizing marijuana more medicinal or recreational use. Right now it is some how legal in 20 of the fifty United States either recreational medicinal or they have no laws about it. At the moment it seems like more and more states are legalising it so maybe some day if they can prove that it is not as bad as some people think it is it could be legal in all fifty states.
2. What are the main economic and political systems that are practiced in the world and how do they differ?
Dictatorship - is where one person is in charge of the entire government
Communism - is where the government has control of everything and all of the money that is made goes to the government
Anarchy - is a lack of government
Capitalism - is where the people own their own business and the money doesn’t go to the government
Socialism - is where the government is in control of all businesses and they get the money
Monarchy:
Absolute Monarchy - is where one person which a lot of times is a king or queen is in charge of the country
Constitutional Monarchy - is where the king or queen have power but it is limited by the constitution
Democracy:
Direct - is where the people of the country vote on everything
Representative - is where people of the country elect people to do the voting for them
3. What are the major differences between democrats and republicans in the United States?
Republicans are more conservative they believe that things like gay marriage abortion should not be legal. They tend to have beliefs that side with the more christian types of beliefs. They also think that gun control is not needed and that it is unconstitutional. Republicans favor lower taxes and believe in the trickle down theory which is when the government puts money into the economy.
Democrats are more liberal and favor change in society they believe things like abortion is a woman's choice because it is her body and she deserves to make the choice. They also think that gay marriage should be made legal. They also believe that the government should be involved in things like pollution control but that they should stay out of peoples personal and social life. They are okay with increasing taxes if they need to to support programs.
4. What is income inequality, why is it an issue and what can be done to help improve it?
Income inequality is when the rich control a large portion of the money in the country and the poor have barely enough to survive. People say that income inequality is not necessarily bad because it shows incentive to work hard to make money and live the dream life. The problem is when the rich have way more money than they need and the poor don't have near enough. A problem is that if you are poor your children tend to be poor and then your family could get stuck this way. One way to fix this is to redistribute the wealth. Another possible way to fix this is to increase the minimum wage but there are some problems that come with that.
5. Discuss 9-11 and the impact it had on the US.
9/11 was a terrorist attack on the United States by Al-Qaeda an islamic terrorist group where they took over four planes flying in the US and two of them crashed into the twin towers one crashed into the pentagon and another was taken back over by the people on the plane and crashed in a field. Some of the impacts it had were the Afghanistan war. Because of 9/11 we have upped our airport security to prevent things like this from happening again. Some other things are all of the debt the war costed us and all the money cleanup of all the rubble and rebuild.
6. Discuss the Iraq War and the impact it had on the US.
The US invaded Iraq in 2003 because Saddam Hussein made the world believe that they had WMD’s and had problems with weapon inspectors and how they would let them in and kick them out. They Defied the united nations many time and we considered them a threat to the United States. One major impact of the war is the cost it is expected to have cost us near $2.2 trillion. Another thing is the loss of life and all of the soldiers coming back with physical injuries and mental ones such as ptsd.
7. Discuss the situation in Iran.
Iran started a nuclear program with help from the United States in 1957. Although Iran is not the only country to have a nuclear program we are worried that they could take it to the next level and make atomic bombs. We consider them a threat because of the fact that years ago when weapon inspectors were allowed in they found uranium that had been enriched and we do not trust that they are not making atomic bombs. They made a deal with limitations on their nuclear program so that it slows them down from being able to make bombs. The deal forces them to also delut their supply that they already have and they can no longer make uranium higher than 5%. There is checkups in place to make sure that iran is living up to its part of the deal.
8. What are some of the major problems the world is facing, what are the causes of these problems and what is being done to help solve these problems. PICK 3
•End poverty and hunger
The goal here was to reduce by half the people that make less than $1 a day. That reached their goal with five years to spare. One in eight people worldwide is hungry which has only been decreased by 23 of the 50% wanted.. They have brought is down but there is still many people living in poverty. Another goal is to get productive employment for everyone and have that work be decent which is coming along.
•Universal education
In many countries people are not able to access schooling because of the fact that there is not a school or they can't go because they are not male or their family is so poor that they have to go to work instead of going to school. If you can’t get an education it is going to be very hard for you to get a good job.
•Gender equality
In lots of countries women can not go to school just because they are female. They are forced to work at home or in factories just because of who they are. In some countries women are treated more like objects than people. If women could get equal schooling it would open up things like positions in power which could change everything.
•Child health
In many other countries Children die from diseases. Last year 6.6 million children died from mostly preventable diseases. The children in other countries just don't have access to the medication or doctors that they need to get healthy. They still have not reached their goal but they are getting close.
•Maternal health
In poorer countries women do not have access to maternal care. This is help for the mother before during and after birth. In many places pregnant women are dying because of pregnancy. So far they have decreased maternal mortality by half but they want to reduce it three fourths. Last year 50,000 babies were born without skilled care meaning not by a doctor.
•Combat HIV/AIDS
HIV and AIDS infections have dropped 33% compared to 2001 they are now working on getting that number lower and figuring out how to slow down or stop HIV AIDS deaths on a mass and low cost scale. Another positive thing is that more babies are being born HIV free from positive mothers. You don’t actually die from AIDS it lowers your immune system so that if you get sick you can’t fight it off.
•Environmental sustainability
Some poor people rely on forests for food and even housing but deforestation has increased 14%. More than 2 billion people have gotten access to clean water. More than 40% of people without clean water live in Sub Saharan Africa.
•Global partnership
Is to work on a trading system with all countries. Then they want to get certain goods to certain countries that need it. They need to address the special needs of landlocked countries and how they will trade. THen they need to help countries with things that will help them trade
Sources: Daily Blogs, Assigned Blogs, Classmates Projects, Topics on the CWI Page.
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