16. April 2009 by student.

Drugs are defined as a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being. Usage of drugs is common in a variety of athletic fields such as football, baseball, track and field, swimming, etc. There are key drugs in sports that enhance physical well-being, some including EPO which is an artificial hormone that boosts endurance; anabolic steroids to build or maintain muscle mass; human growth hormones, and others. Why do athletes feel the need to take these drugs? They want to increase their performance, and unfortunately, sometimes cheaters get the bigger rewards. Athletes seek out to be better than their peers.   In Major League Baseball, there is good amount of steroids being taken by the professional players in order to make them more enhanced and better to play the game they love so much. This is not a recent thing; since the sport of baseball, there has been a history. In the National Football League, it seems to be more about enhancing mental well-being. Throughout the years, while I am not going to list the names, there are a lot of football players who have tested positive for marijuana. Why do so many athletes risk their livelihood to smoke drugs? My question is, what do you think the proper punishment should be, if any, for those players, in any sport, to test positive with any drug?

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

16. April 2009 by student.

When we think or capitalism, we think of your form of government and the economics that goes along with it. When we think of socialism, we think of U.S.S.R. or Soviet Russia and the economics and ways that this power came to be, BUT the reality is that both of these have things in common and things that are dramatically different.

Let us start off with the forms of government that is founded by capitalism and socialism. In the capitalistic form, it is the responsibility of the government to “protect rights that are instituted.” (Frequently Asked Questions) In that rate, the government is responsible for all individuals’ rights and the protection of those rights. These can incorporate fiscal policy, constitutional, and all actions of a country’s citizens. In the form of socialism the government “all authority originates from the workers, integrally united in Socialist Industrial Unions.” (What is Socialism?) This mean that as a common worker, you’re the one that controls how the government should be ran from every aspect, as long as it affects you as a worker. This could work for a worker in a small business, but in a larger industry based area, this could be a problem for economics.

Now let us look at the morality, the freedom to choose between alternatives without outside coercion. In a capitalistic society people have the freedom of choice which allows “the best environment for morality and character development.” (Younkins) Also in this society ALL humans have the natural rights and a moral responsibility to respect those rights. In the socialistic government morality is centered by “envy and self-sacrifice” (Thompson) This means that there is a longing for what others have and that the self must give up what it wants to get where it wants. “Capitalism is the only moral system because it requires human beings to deal with one another as traders” (Thompson) As compared to the socialistic government which uses compulsion and the organized violence of the State to get and maintain wealth.

Our next point to look at is individual initiative. “Capitalism is tailored to individual initiative rather than groupthink or community initiative.” (Noebel) That is in order for the wheels of capitalism to work, individuals must come up with new ideas for jobs and business. They must invent ideas that will propel society and continue to propel capitalism. In contrast, socialism does not support individual initiative. Individuals must work for the better of the group and the good of the mother/father land. This is an example of group initiative where the individual works for the common good of all. This can be compared to an ant colony. You have worker ants and fighter ants and each one works for the good of the colony and no one questions how life must go on, they just work for the group. This is the normal idea for the socialistic ideas, but is polar opposite of the beliefs of capitalism.

Now let us look at individual freedom. In socialism, the chief aim is to “annihilate the freedom of the individual” (Bax) In this idea, if an individual has freedoms than he or she has individual ideas, but if those freedoms are taken away for the individual, than he/she has the ability to step away from the group and become ones self. On the other hand, in the capitalistic society the individual has an abundant amount of freedoms. They have the right to self think, to fight for what THEY as an individual believe is right, they have freedom of speech and have the freedom of business choice. This BIG difference is the most observant of socialism and capitalism.

So as you can see there are many great differences between socialism and capitalism. From the individual right to the formation of their government, capitalism seems to work better for the people and socialism is all about the group or society as a whole. Now if there was only a way to blend them into a happy medium, that may solve a lot of the issues that we are having these days with the economy and medical fields.

Work Cited

Bax, E. Belfort. “Individual Rights Under Socialism.” Marxists Internet Archive. 14 Jan 2006. Un-Known. 31 Mar 2009 <http://www.marxists.org/archive/bax/1891/03/rights.htm>.

“Frequently Asked Questions.” Capitalism. 2004. Capitalism Magazine. 31 Mar 2009 <http://www.capitalism.org/faq/government.htm>.

Noebel, David A.. “How The Socialist Are Destroying America From Within.” America’s Independent Party National Committee. 16 Mar 2009. America’s Independent Party National Committee. 31 Mar 2009 <http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/onprin/v1n3/thompson.html>.

Thompson, C. Bradley. “Socialism vs. Capitalism:.” Ashbrook Center. SOctober 1993. Public Affairs of Ashland University. 31 Mar 2009 <http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/onprin/v1n3/thompson.html>.

“What is Socialism?.” Socialist Labor Party. Un-Known. Socialist Labor Party of America. 31 Mar 2009 <http://www.slp.org/what_is.htm>.

Younkins , Edward. “Capitalism and Morality .” Impact. Summer 1998. Wheeling Jesuit University. 31 Mar 2009 <http://www.quebecoislibre.org/younkins21.html>.

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16. April 2009 by student.

Webster’s Dictionary defines divorce as, a legal dissolution of marriage; the complete separation of things, a complete and legal breakup of marriage: separation, severance. In America it is not uncommon to walk into a room and roughly 50% of the people you encounter being divorced or be children of divorced parents. “Divorce is estimated 1 in every 2 marriages.” http://web.ashlandctc.org  So what is the ultimate cause for divorce? Research shows that divorce is a major option when there are common marital problems; adultery, cruelty, alcoholism, insanity, desertion, conviction of a serious crime, etc. Due to the convenience of divorce a question does arise, “is divorce a modern trend is to make irreparable breakdown of the marriage another ground.” http://web.ashlandctc.org So is divorce a major trend? Do people automatically assume that divorce is the only answer? Barbara Whitehead, author of The Making of a Divorce Culture states in her book, “divorce was once regarded mainly as a social, legal, and family event in which there were other stockholders, divorce now became an event closely linked to the pursuit of individual satisfactions, opportunities, and growth…The dissolution of marriage offered the chance to make oneself over from the inside out, to refurbish and express the inner self, and to acquire certain valuable psychological assets and competencies, such as initiative, assertiveness, and a stronger and better self image.” With the competitive workforce in today’s society, individuals strive for success within themselves, and then secondly come success within their relationships. So will the rates of divorce begin to dwindle? Deborah Goldberg, author of Parental Divorce states “There are 2.4 million marriages a year and 1.2 million divorces a year, that’s half of the U.S. marriages that fail each year.” Divorce is a social problem, and there is only one way to try and control its growth. “Divorce is not the answer, no marriage is hopeless. The mutual love and companionship you and your spouse once shared can be revived.” www.divorcesupport.com By encouraging commitment instead of divorce maybe our culture will change the trend and spread the love.   

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16. April 2009 by student.

Every since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to be a teacher. I use to always play school with my friends in the neighborhood and I would always want to be the teacher.  This semester I took an Intro to Education class and I learned lots ups and downs of being a teacher. After learning about the downs it had me thinking a lot about if this actually what I want to do. I mean every since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to become  a teacher but now after learning how little teachers get paid for the amount of work they do I’m not sure it’s the best career for me.  In today’s society I would not be able to sufficiently provide for a family off a teacher’s salary.  Although being a teacher are the best work hours in order to take care and be there for your children. Teachers are able to be there for children after school, on the weekends, during holidays and during the summer. But these teachers are able to give the children all they need and want because of the amount of money they make.  I just recently learned that the starting salary for a teacher is only ten dollars an hour and after being a teacher for so many years you may be able to work your way up to making twenty eight dollars an hour, whereas a nurse starting salary is around twenty eight dollars. I don’t believe that being a teacher for a certain amount of years should be a reason for more pay. When someone is in their first years of teacher they are more excited about their jobs, whereas teachers that have been teaching for a long time may grow tired of the everyday obstacles of teaching. One of the big talks in the education world is having teachers get paid by merit, but how could one determine how many a certain teacher could make from the performance of their students. If teachers know they are going to get paid based on their students performance may give students higher grades just to get paid more. In this society we need teachers or we won’t have: doctors, lawyers or businessmen, so why don’t we pay these crucial individuals a little more money?

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

16. April 2009 by student.

Is prostitution defined as just someone who offers sexual intercourse for pay or is prostitution simply a big social problem that is making our communities a trashy place to live in? Well many peolpe have different opinions, and mines is that even though prostitution is a horrible path to take and should not be permitted anywhere ; At times is done because it is needed to gain some money to survive. Now, don’t get me wrong ! There is no way I would ever agree to it.. not just because it is not a moral thing to do but because of the fact that there is always another way out of any kind of problems you have that can lead you to take the decision to sell your body for money. We have to see that whether is a women or a man standing in a corner trying to get in a car with some random person to have sex and get paid for it, is just morally WRONG! I mean common don’t we see that at night any kid can be driving around with their parents and see these people just standing there smoking or doing whatever they are doing, as well as wearing those clothes to attract as much atention as they can? This things are not only a bad influence and a bad image to our children, but it is of great disrespect to those who don’t like to see this things in the middle of the streets? I know there are certain places where this people stand that not many cars pass by, and those that actually pass by are the ones  that are going to pay for services, but still.. why choose to sell your body, when you can do thousands of other things.. I understand theres the excuse of “oh i’m a sinlge mother and i don’t have food for my kid” but reality is.. there are many more jobs in this world that are more decent and don’t mess up our community so much.. for example cleaning bathrooms. Yes it is disgusting and half of the people don’t really like doing a job like this.. but if you were in the right mind and wanted the best for you, your family or your environment.. you will not prostitute yourself and help stop making our communities so dirty! I really don’t mean to ofend anyone with this blog.. but let’s be real, there’s NOT ONE RIGHT excuse in this world that can be given for prositution.. unles you really like to have sexual intercourse with any random person and get money for it.. now that’s a different case… Just please try and help keep our communities clean from this type of unsatisfactory behavior!

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

16. April 2009 by student.

i have been in a broken family since i was one. i live with my mother and she was remarried when i was two. i had no problems growing up, my mom lived one place with my sisters and i and my dad lived in another…it was normal for me becuase i was so young when it happened. i did not watch the divorce, i do not remember the fights or my dad not being there, so i never was directly involved. my sisters who are older were. i do think we all grew up to be fine. divorce happens for many reasons and intergrating into life after divorce is hard but my family did just fine. because my parents have been divorced, it is more likely that i too will be divorced when i am older. there are way too many ways to look at children from divorced families. kids who experience the immature divorce where parents are constantly fighting in front of them or using their own kids against one another is so very wrong. children do not need to see their parents like that, and it is so different when they do compared to someone like myself who has no memory of my parents even being together. divorce is not always a bad thing, it can be very beneficial to the couple and also to the kids, in my case it was. my parents made the rational decision and were smart, my mother entered the world as a single mother of 3 and went to college to get her bachelors, then on to her masters and proved to us that you can do it on your own. 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

16. April 2009 by student.

       While  stumbling the internet, i came across the article, “What Marriage is for”, by Maggie Gallagher. Maggie is an advocate for families and not generally opposed to gay couples, but what the gay union would do for the safety of the children.  I begin by noting her reaction to chief legal strategist for same sex marriage in Hawaii, Evan Wolfson. Wolfson was quoted saying that family structure does not count. Gallagher stated that same sex marriage raises questions like, “Do children need mothers and fathers, or will any sort of family do?” The environment where a child is raised is what shapes a child into a better adult, not the orientation of the parents! There are many friends I’ve had that are forced to exist with horribly abusive alcoholic parents; how is that protecting the child? Again, I believe Gallagher is not against gay people, but she sees their legal union as a threat to family structure, and how it’s somehow harmful top children. She explains that “society likes to recognize expressions of love and commitment” and how if that’s the defense, gay marriage is a no brainer, but that marriage is much deeper than love, and gay marriage has the potential to hurt traditional unions.

        Gallagher notes that marriage is what brings men and women together to become successful mothers and fathers. Throughout the entire article, she makes the claim that marriage is basically the one thing that creates healthy children, and that other forms of households simply cannot work out. I disagree entirely. My uncle was gay and sadly passed away from AIDS a few years ago. He and his partner were the most loving and compassionate people I have ever, and will ever know; their children would have been happy and more cultured than most other children ever will be. The gay couples I have encountered that do have children expose them to new and exciting things throughout life; the kids seem to have more appreciation for the world and everything in it. Gallagher has a very conventional view of marriage, yet I cannot help but wonder why she does not even see dysfunctional families as a threat to children. Her motto of sorts is that “All kids need and deserve a mother and a father.” She believes that no matter the circumstances, husbands and wives should stay together for the children and that children are the only reason parents should stay together. As we all know, problematic marriages without children will not be fixed by adding tiny babies.

        The defense Maggie Gallagher gives in opposition of same sex marriage is that “ The Problem with endorsing gay marriage is not that it would allow a handful of people to choose alternative family forms, but that it would require society at large to gut marriage of its central presumptions about family in order to accommodate a few adults’ desires.” Another disturbing thought from her is, “Either we win-or we lose the central meaning of marriage.” I was in awe when I read that line, not merely because I support gay and lesbian rights, but because of her thought process on this matter. She seems blind to the abuse children undergo in “traditional” marriages, and how damaging the lack of love with a mother and father (opposed to two fathers or two mothers who actually want children) can be to a child’s psychological health. Gallagher believes “it would be morally callous and socially irresponsible” not to protect the children. Protect them from what!? I’ll never know, she does not ever specify.

        Gay marriage does not harm children, nor does it infect marriages of others. If your marriage is affected by something that does not even concern you, you should not have gotten hitched in the first place. Gay rights have come a long way, but there are still millions of miles to go. Marriage should be between two people who love one another completely and passionately, not just between a man who doesn’t care and a women who has fairy tale ideals.

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16. April 2009 by student.

“repeat after me: chug!chug!chug!chug!”….i love college?

binge drinking has become an increasing problem in our society. many people now see drinking as a norm. some as how members of our society see drinking as anything but normal when in truth everywhere you turn alcohol is being advertised… in magazine ads, on billboards, and tv commercials- alcohol is everywhere. it appears that drinking is now a measure of social acceptance among teenagers and college students.

looking at the drinking of students from a conflict theorist point of view shows that every social class drinks, regardless of their age, race, sex or income. people are now drinking more to be socially accepted. when students get to college they are thrown into a scene of drinking, parties and alcohol. students are not using rational decisions because it symbolizes college and fun. that red plastic solo cup in your hand means beer pong, keg party, or just plain alcohol.

binge drinking has become more and more popular. my experience for my first year of college dorm life was alcohol, drugs and parties. my second week of school a freshman girl had already passed away due to drunk driving, the weekend of parent weekend a son died because he choked on his own vomit, his parents came the day they found him in his dorm room bed where friends left him…3 girls hit a tree head on treeline due to alcohol…

 this is the culture of college, it’s the “college experience, the freshman 15″ college students socially integrate into college by drinking, partying and worse was when sorority and fraternity made hazing a part of getting in to the scene, binge drinking was usually involved…binge drinking causes accidents, and results in horrible things, even death

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16. April 2009 by student.

I may be what some people consider a “couch potato”, I enjoy TV and playing video games probably alot more than most people, so I am a bit more offended than most when the media attempts to portray us as the problem of society. Sexual or violent content in video games wont turn children into killers or monsters, it wont corrupt minds or break families either. Most of the time it prevents troubled teens from going out into the streets and doing something violent because they would rather sit and relax with friends. Just a few decades ago rock and roll was in the same boat, it just serves to prove that it is easier to point a finger at someone else than to recognize that you may be at fault.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

16. April 2009 by student.

Drugs are being assigned to just about every condition today, from common ailments to aches and pains, and even mental disorders. But where do we draw the line? Parents are giving their children pills for ADD and ADHD when they might not even have a problem. I mean, kids are kids, they are suppose to be hyper and playful. It seems to me that more and more people are using prescription drugs as a scapegoat for their own bad habits which don’t even need pills to change. It may be easier to pop a few pills as a magic antidote, but most of the time the side effects are worse than the actual ailment.

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