Social Issues Essays
In Cold Blood Death Penalty
In Cold Blood - Death Penalty Capital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The Babylonian Hammurabi Code(ca. 1700 B.C.) decreed death for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer(Flanders 3). Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites(Flanders 3). However, in recent times opponents have shown the death penalty to be racist, barbaric, and in violation with the United States Constitution ...
International Law
International Law International law is the body of legal rules that apply between sovereign states and such other entities as have been granted international personality (status acknowledged by the international community). The rules of international law are of a normative character, that is, they prescribe towards conduct, and are potentially designed for authoritative interpretation by an international judicial authority and by being capable of enforcement by the application o...
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Many pregnant women are not aware of the complications that are involved with pregnancy. The greater majority of young women see pregnancy as a way of bringing a life into the world but do not use precaution in their dietary habits to prevent the destruction or inhibition of such a life. Most pregnant women continue on their drinking and drug abuse binge right throughout their pregnancy. They do not think ahead to the inexplicable damage that it could do t...
Freedom and the Constitution
Freedom and the Constitution The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. Freedom of expression is made up of the explicit rights of freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied right of association and belief contained in the First Amendment. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afford...
Freedom of Speech Censorship on the Internet
Freedom of Speech & Censorship on the Internet Introduction With more and more frequency the newspapers are reporting instances of school children distributing disks of pornographic images which they have downloaded from the net and recently a university student was found to be operating such a site for material. On November 11, an Associated Press release (Phillips,1994) reported that Carnegie Mellon University had decided to block its users from accessing sexually expli...
Freshmen 15
Freshmen 15 Imagine living in one place all of your life. In this place you have a home, a family, friends, activities that you have committed yourself to and possibly even a car. You feel safe in this place and most likely have developed an everyday rut of doing things. Change doesn’t happen often in this place and if it does the transition of one thing to the next is uneventful. Well, this is all about to change. You are now going to be uprooted from your place, your ho...
Funerary Rites
Funerary Rites In every society there exists certain customs, traditions, and beliefs associated with the movement of any given individual through life. Typically, the major events that are connected with these rituals are occurrences such as birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Each culture possesses its own set of rules and ideals to accompany the attainment of a new social status. These rituals are often called rites of passage. In his book Rites of Passage, Arnold Van Ge...
Gambling
Gambling Gambling with the Future In the last year Americans have wagered $482 billion dollars in the United States. Over eighty-five percent of this wagering took place in casinos which are now legal in twenty-seven states. In the past decade there has been incredible growth in t he gambling industry. Twenty years ago if a person wanted to gamble they had to go to Nevada. Nowadays, there are only six states in which no form of legalized gambling exists. Proponents of the gambli...
Gangs
Gangs Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today’s cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? The long range answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings’ personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end ga...
Gay Marriage
Gay Marriage Homosexuals should be allowed to marry because the disallowance of it violates their constitutional rights. Marriage is an institution long recognized by our government under the right to pursue happiness, and denying that right to any couple, regardless of gender, is unconstitutional. This argument, though, is not disputed. In fact, none of the arguments raised in opposition to the allowance of homosexual marriages takes into account the constitutional rights aff...
Gay Marriages
Gay Marriages A battle has been in progress for years over whether equal rights and equal protection against discrimination should be extended to homosexuals. Recently this has expanded into the area of marriage. The topic of homosexual marriages is a prevalent issue today. Even in the nation’s capital, representatives are finding ways to make this alliance unlawful. This topic has been debated bringing up many valid points, but the fact of the matter is that homosexual ma...
Gay Teenagers and Suicide
Gay Teenagers and Suicide Community and School Support for Gay Youth Many gay and lesbian youths are fortunate to have families that are supportive. Some are fortunate to go to high schools that have gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups that met on the premises. Some schools make outstanding efforts to be safe places, both physically and emotionally. But this is some, not all – and certainly not most. Most efforts to organize for teen gays are met with disdain in c...
Gender Socialization
Gender Socialization A baby is born and the doctor looks at the proud parents or parent and says three simple words: Its a boy, or Its a girl! Before a newborn child even takes his or her first breath of life outside the mothers womb, he or she is distinguishable and characterized by gender. The baby is brought home and dressed in clothes that help friends, family and even strangers identify the sex of the child. Baby boys are dressed in blue and baby girls are dressed in pink. ...
Genetic Patenting
Genetic Patenting We as human beings have brought ourselves into the future, being able to modify our food, our lives and even our own bodies. We have paved the road leading us into the future of being able to take life in our own hands and be able to create it ourselves. Our technological advancements in the last ten years have created an idea of mapping our own DNA and actually use it in our favor to cure disease, and understand the human body. The U.S. Human Genome Pr...
Genetic Testing
Genetic Testing At the start of the 20th century, genetic research was in its youth. Today, our society is in center stage of a genetic revolution. Rarely does a week go by without the media reporting the discovery of a gene that is believed to be accountable for some disease or some aspect of human behavior. “Genetic tests use a variety of laboratory techniques to determine if a person has a genetic condition or disease or is likely to get the disease. Individuals may wis...
Global Warming
Global Warming The main gases that cause the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane, which comes mainly from animal manure. Other gases like nitrogen oxide and chloroflurocarbons, man made gases, get caught in the atmosphere as well. The decay of animals and respiration are two main natural sources of carbon dioxide. In my opinion, we the people of the world should try to slow down the emission of greenhouse gases and/or find ways to balance the ...
Globalization
Globalization Gripping his cup of mocha as if it were a necessary drug, my friend Peppy LeHaji sternly versed his opinion at me one day, ¡§Globalization is the name of the game,¡¨ he said, ¡§In today¡¦s world, things change so fast that history is irrelevant.¡¨ After stating his opinion, he repositioned the patch on his shoulder, in hope that it would better stop his craving for nicotine, in a new position. He then stared at me with a blank look. I personally saw th...
Ethics
Ethics In today’s world it is all too prevalent to see more and more people hungry to gain success at an ever-increasing rate. Modern culture can and indeed is labelled ‘greedy’ and ‘thoughtless’. Through my relatively short time spent in business, I have encountered many of these types of people. But who are they hungry for? Who benefits from their thoughtlessness, and why do they do what they do? More importantly, who is to blame when things don’t go according to p...
Euthanasia 2
Euthanasia 2 Sue Rodriguez has reminded us all of our own mortality and our need to think carefully about the kind of society we want to live and to die in. Sue Rodriguez was known through the media, and her well spoken and eloquent speeches. People painfully in support of what she believed in, watched as her strength was sapped by the devastating disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and we were moved by her clear thought and her bravery as a person facing death. Here was a ...
Euthanasia Overview
Euthanasia Overview The term Euthanasia has become well known throughout the country. The word is derived from ancient Greek eu thantos, meaning “easy death.” Today, euthanasia is referred to as mercy killing. There is much controversy over whether or not the practice is just. Euthanasia raises many religious, medical, and ethical issues. Euthanasia can either be active or passive. Active euthanasia occurs when a physician or other medical personnel induces death. An o...
Euthanasia Response to Anti Euthanasia Essay
Euthanasia - Response to Anti Euthanasia Essay Euthanasia is a topic that provokes as much controversy as capital punishment, primarily because it is irreversible. The question of euthanasia being right or wrong is one that most would prefer left alone. However, recent publicity on changes to existing laws has ignited considerable discussion and has forced open the door to a much wider audience. The issues related to direct euthanasia have raised many questions in my mind, to wh...
Euthanasia The Right to Die
Euthanasia - The Right to Die Modern medical technology has made it possible to extend the lives of many far beyond when they would have died in the past. Death, in modern times, often ensures a long and painful fall where one loses control both physically and emotionally. Some individuals embrace the time that modern technology buys them; while others find the loss of control overwhelming and frightening. They want their loved ones to remember them as they were not as they have...
Euthanasia Today
Euthanasia Today Euthanasia has been, and always will be, a controversial moral and ethical subject. While the majority of both Americans and Canadians seem to support euthanasia as indicated by the latest polls, it is still illegal in both countries. I think it is important to first distinguish between passive euthanasia and active euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is the stopping or not starting some treatment which allows a person to die. Active euthanasia, the more controve...
Euthanasia
Euthanasia Recent debates over active euthanasia, “killing” a terminally ill patient, in Holland, has risen the question whether euthanasia is immoral or a simple human right. Doctors seem to have no doubt. They made an oath. The definition of Euthanasia depends on whether it is active or passive. Active Euthanasia i only allowed in Holland, and it means that the doctor takes direct measures to put a patient to sleep, whereas passive Euthanasia only involves stoppi...
Euthansia and Self determination
Euthansia and Self determination When speaking in terms of legalized euthanasia, and self-determination, Callahan feels that people should make decisions for themselves according to their own beliefs as to what comprises the good life. (pg. 226) He also states that we will, one way or another, die of some disease and that death will have dominian over all of us. (pg. 227) The meaning of this is no matter what we are all destined to die. In the case of death he first looks at...