10. November 2009 by student.

 Underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country. In today’s society , approximately 20 percent of 8th graders have had at least one drink.  Underage drinking causes damages to the community and to the society.  The drinking age should remain twenty one years old for many reasons.

 According to data from the 2005 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, an annual survey of U.S. youth, three-fourths of 12th graders, more than two-thirds of 10th graders, and about two in every five 8th graders have consumed alcohol. And when youth drink they tend to drink intensively, often consuming four to five drinks at one time. MTF data show that 11 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, and 29 percent of 12th graders had engaged in heavy  drinking within the past two weeks. Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings.  

Underage drinking creates short and long term health problems.  Drinking alcohol develops alcohol abuse and dependence later in life .  Alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combine. Furthermore,  alcohol use interacts with conditions; such as, depression, and stress, increasing the chances of suicide.  Alcohol affect the brain functioning, long-term thinking, and memory skills.  A report released by the Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse( CASA) reported that 95 % of violent crime between college students is alcohol related. So, lets stop this epidemic and recognize that underage drinking is dangerous. 

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10. November 2009 by student.

Religious intolerance has been prevelent throughout the years; however, if it my belief that this has become a major issue today as it was, say, during the rise of Christianity. In the following blog I will discuss why it is important for people to respect other’s religious beliefs and how we may enbrace our differences in order to solve this social problem.

What is is intolerance of religion and why is it a social problem? Intolerance of religion is when one person or group of people see another person or group of people as being different from themselves, and usually at a lower grade of humanity, because of the differences of beliefs. An extreme example of this may be the burning of non-christians, or what some believed to be witches, at the stake. Witch-hunts were wide-spread over Europe in the 15-1600’s, but History shows large amounts of cases in Germany. One historical pamphlet exclaims the, “True and horrifying deeds of 63 witches,” in which the accused were tried, convicted, and burned to death. To drive my point home, I would like to state that many of these so-called witches were actually Christians who followed their beliefs dutifully. It was only after they questioned certain aspects of that belief, differing from the norm, that these people were often accused of witchery. Others were convicted for the practice of paganism, which is the worship of many Gods, said to be the religion of witches. This also proves that religious intolerance has shown serious consequences thoughout history.

Religious intolerance also affects those who do not yet know the difference: our children.

Children who face religious intolerance may be affected by being excluded from social activities because his or her peers make mark him/her as being different and socialbly inacceptable because of the beliefs they are taught.

Small communities with a religion differing than that of their nation’s “social norm” will also face discrimination and may be denied recocgnition as well as suffering other social consequences.

We also must not forget the wars waged over religious intolerance, such as the Islams and the Israelis. How much blood will be shed because we cannot accept that someone holds dear to their heart a different belief than everyone else?

Rodney King quoted, “Can’t we all just get along?” The sad truth is that we cannot. However, I do believe that we can live-alongside. I mean that we can live and let live. It is true, and very true in extremists religions, that one must follow the duties and rituals of their belief to be a true follower of their religion. However, it is also true that there are some amongst any religion who are not strick in following every detail of staying true to said religion. So one may ask themselves where the line differenciating each religion starts and stops. I propose that the extremists of any religion must form a sect or church in which they worship and follow their duties. It is possible that they may do so at home, as well. However, this does not mean that the world around these people must be supportive of this ideas and duties. If one wishses to remain true to their religion, then they must avoid things that contradict their beliefs. People wishing to interact with people/ideas/objects that follow or are allowed within their religion must also stop persecuting ideas/things/people that contradict or do not follow their own beliefs. I think that this is possible by forming close communities of religious groups, rather that having people of many faiths spread out and across other people of differing faiths. Many will say this is difficult, but I disagree. Those who share a common belief amongst eachother will find it most easy to see common goals and ideas. Those who work far from home will find this task more difficult, but must remain true to their belief and its’ duties, must then focus on their work-at-hand and do not allow themselves to be upset at the other beliefs their see around them.

Many forget that we are all human and it is the differences of our ideas that seperates us each as an individual. If we want to be respected as individuals, then we must respect other group’s for their indivial ideas. If we wish to be repected as a group with one idea, then we must accept that as a group, we are different from the rest, and therefore must respect the rest for being different as we are. One’s idea cannot make you better as a human being. You may believe your belief is better, but you cannot prove this by harassing or harming another to do so.

Information was gathered via websources:

http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/default.aspx

http://www.religioustolerance.org/peace.htm

http://www.scout.org/en/about_scouting/the_youth_programme/peace_education/scoutpax/social_issues/religious_intolerance

http://merlinravensong2.tripod.com/The_Burning_Times.html

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