25. April 2010 by student.

The internet has been a vast sea of information for people of all ages.  It has also been a deep dark sea of danger which has drown many of its innocent victims caught in the riptide of many controversial and devastating situations.  Many of the victims are our youth.  Our young people are being exposed to many dangers lurking out there just waiting for them to wade in.  An alarming number of kids are allowing social wesites like “My Space” to dominate their lives that they make little time for anything else.  Many adolescent children fall victim to predators and don’t realize it until it is too late.  They have no way of knowing if they are communicating with a sexual predator, a mentally disturbed person, or just a normal kid like themselves looking for new friends.  Many times children give out information such as where they live or what school they attend because they are naive and they are easy targets for these types of sick individuals.  Generally kids have the perception that all people are good and they easily trust strangers.  Some children are lonely and desperate for anyone to pay attention to them that they don’t give any thought to who may really be on the other end of the keyoard.

The internet can also be used to obtain just about anything and everything imaginable.  A serious issue that has come to light recently is how easy kids can buy prescription medications and have them delivered right to their doorstep.  This easy accessibility to drugs has claimed the lives of many adolescent kids within recent years.  This should not only be frightening to anyone out there who has children at home, but this should make you “sit-up and take notice” to what your kids are really reading about or looking at on the internet when they are not under your direct supervision.  Especially, if you are the parent of a child who is at risk for promiscuous behavior.  Don’t allow children to have computers in their rooms.  Keep the computer in the family room or a room where you can easily monitor your child. 

Bullying is another serious matter and various chat rooms and social websites is a prime place where this behavior amongst our young people runs rampant.  Kids use these sites to verbally attack and ruin other kids’ reputations.  Using these websites to socially destroy other kids has caused a number of those under attack to become depressed, withdrawn, drop-out of school, and in a few known and extreme cases it has caused kids to commit suicide.  These kids become so humiliated that they don’t know how to deal with the emotional torment or how to combat it.  Degrading and embarrasing pictures can even be uploaded to these sites for all to see.  Often times this is so damaging to a child’s self esteem that they can’t recover and it wreaks havoc with them on a personal level.  It is sad to even think that kids can be so vicious.

Adults have even been known to participate in such behavior.  There was a recent criminal case where a mother of a teenage girl posed as a young boy on “May Space” and began talking to another teenage girl whom her daughter did not get along with.  This happened to be their neighbor.  The mother convinced this girl that the boy she was posing as was very interested in her and wanted a relationship.  After months of communicating with her online, she suddently told this girl that she was ugly, and attacked her moral character, and no longer wanted anything to do with her.  The mother, posing as the young boy, said all types of humiliating things to the girl and made her feel so bad that she ultimately commited suicide.  A full criminal investigation ensued and the mother was charged and found guilty of murder.  No punishment could bring back the little girl she had destroyed.

Our youth is not the only age group that can drown in the black sea of entertainment and convenience known as the internet.  Many people fall victim to internet scams and loose thousands of dollars to the sharks circling in the murky waters.  Some have even lost their life savings.  Others have their credit destroyed because they become victims of identity theft and fraud.  Then there are the innocent victims who have found their bank accounts drained and are left penniless because some hacker managed to get  their personal information, account numbers, and passwords. 

The internet can be a very hazardous place that appears to be so inviting by all of the conveniences and abundance of information it has to offer.  Send and receive letters from your friends and relatives in a flash and save the cost of a stamp.  Balance your checkbook and see exactly how much many you have available in your accounts any time of the day or night.  Save precious time by paying your bills online with the click of a mouse, all while putting your credit card and bank account numbers out there for the barracudas to sink their teeth into.  Remember before diving into the deep blue sea of convenience to swim at your own risk. 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

25. April 2010 by student.

Death Penalty . . Who gets it? Who hates it?

Lets start out with the states who have the death penalty and states who don’t.

STATES WITH THE DEATH PENALTY (35)
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota,
Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas,
California, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Utah,
Colorado, Indiana, Montana, Oregon, Virginia,
Connecticut, Kansas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Washington,
Delaware, Kentucky, Nevada, South Carolina, Wyoming

STATES WITHOUT THE DEATH PENALTY (15)
Alaska, Massachusetts, New Mexico*, Vermont,
Hawaii, Michigan, New York, West Virginia,
Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin,
Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island
-plus: District of Columbia
*Two inmates remain on death row in NM.

The Death Penalty simply put is a sentence of punishment by execution. But what kind of person is sentence to such a thing?
WELL
Someone like Christa Pike, she was convicted of torturing and killing Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer in 1995. She was put on death row by a Knox County jury in 1996.
BUT SOME GET LUCKY
Just looking at Florida alone 23 people that were sentenced to death row have been freed after being found innocent. Talk about luck.

I don’t know what to think about this. Lets just look at Florida alone. On www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_state you can look at any state and see how the death penalty works. For Florida, yes there is the death penalty and before 1976 there was 314 executions! But since 1976 there has only been 69. Currently the state of Florida has 403 individuals on death row and believe it or not out of that 403, one of them is a woman. In Florida to get  the death penalty you DON’T have to be responsible for a murder, as said “Can a defendant get death for a felony in which he or she was not responsible for the murder?” . . “Yes.”
On a shocking note there has been a number of clemencies granted, only 6 but I still find this surprising. In the sate of Florida the Governor has the authority to grant clemency on the advice of the Board do Executive Clemency.
Most states have either injection or electrocution for the death penalty but Florida has both. The choice of which one is left up to the jury but, a judge can always override a juries decision of the sentence.

Just looking at the state of Florida the numbers are shocking. Some people might be happy that these people are but to death because of the crimes they committed, but some of you might look at it my way. I do not by any means think the death penalty is wrong I believe some people should be punished for committing horrible crimes.
BUT before this I didn’t really understand truly how someone was put on death row, after reading up on it, it is a scary thing because how do you know the RIGHT person is getting it. Like I said before 23 people have been freed from death row that were sentence and that is just in Florida, if you want to look at another state like Illinois 20 people have freed from death row that were found innocent.

To know that some innocent people were almost put to death gets me because it make me wonder how many people were actually put to death that were innocent just like them.

The death penalty is a serious thing and as you can see not everyone gets lucky to get a second chance at life. What you believe is right is not my business, it’s just something to think about.

On a side note the movie Law Abiding Citizen kinda made me think about this. Some parts in the movies are far from the truth but the aspects of the death penalty is what made me think of it. I would recommend the movie if you want to understand a process of the death penalty.

Cite:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_state

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

25. April 2010 by student.

Recycling benefits our planet, the quality of our lives, and the lives of future generations.  Mother earth has been recycling for thousands of years to ensure the continuity of survival and so should we.  The earth recycles air, water, and natural waste from plants and animals everyday.  We need to take a lesson from nature and do our part too.  Otherwise, our survival and that of our children is in serious jeopardy.

If we continue to ignore the benefits of recycling and continue to throw away our garbage, we will eventually run out of room for landfills, not to mention the pollution that landfills are already causing.  EPA officials that oversee the design of landfills say that they will break down in a 30-year period and wastewater created inside of the landfills could leach into our water supply at a rate of 0.2 to 10 gallons a day after only ten years.

Much of the garbage that is thrown into our landfills is not biodegradable, meaning it will not breakdown over time and absorb back into the earth.  For example, the same styrofoam cup that is thrown into a landfill today will still be there five hundred years from now.  Americans throw away an average of 25 billion styrofoam cups per year.  Plastic bottles will not breakdown over time either.  People in America throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.  Approximately 144 million pounds of plastic could be omitted from our landfills if only 10% of the American population used products with less plastic packaging only 10% of the time.  In 1994 the production of plastic created 111 millions pounds of toxic air emissions and 12 million pounds of chemicals which aided in the depletion of our ozone layer.  The United States produces enough plastic wrap on an annual basis to shrink-wrap the state of Texas.  Think about the amount of toxic chemicals being released into the air that every plant, animal, and human being breathes just by producing plastic wrap alone!  Should it e any wonder why there are so many cases of cancer being diagnosed every year?  Still not convinced you should recycle, read on…

If we combine the amount of waste produced by businesses with the amount of residential waste, we have a grand total of 12 billion tons of waste produced in the U.S. every year.  American businesses produce enough paper on a daily basis to go around the earth twenty times.  Every ton of paper that is recycled will save approximately 17 trees.  We need to do everything we can to help save our trees as we depend on them for the production of oxygen and the absorption of carbon dioxide.  Trees also provide shade and shelter from  inclement weather, which helps to cut down on energy costs.  Trees are also home to many animals.  If every morning newspaper delivered around the nation were recycled, it would save 41,000 trees and save six million tons of trash from ending-up in landfills.   Just think about the tons and tons, 4 million to be exact, of junk mail Americans receive every year.  Forty-four percent of the junk mail is never even opened.

There are, without doubt, many people who have the “I don’t care” or “Why should I bother” attitude toward recycling.  These people, hopefully your not one of them, are obviously not concerned for the quality of life future generations will have that will still be here residing on our planet.  They will directly be affected if we do not become more conscious of the importance of recycling and consuming more products that are made from recycled materials.  The industry of recycling relies heavily upon funds produced by consumers purchasing items that are made from recycled materials.  The recycling industry is not getting the support they need because not enough consumers are purchasing items manufactured with recycled materials.  There may be two reasons why this is occuring; either the recycled products are too expensive or they are not being made available to consumers and they are not aware that they have an option to purchase recycled products.  Nevertheless, American’s need to be more mindful of the opportunity and the benefit associated with purchasing these items.  They need to understand the impact their decision makes on the world around them, their children, their grandchildren, and so on.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certainly understands the importance of recycling.  Back in 1988 they implemented a five-year program that recommendd 25% of municipal waste be recycled by the end of that time.  A barge called the Mobro 4000 was mainly responsible for the EPA’s involvement.  The Mobro 4000 traveled up and down the Eastern seaboard in search of a landfill to unload 3,200 tons of New York State’s garbage.  Eventually the barge had to return to port with all of the garbage still on board.  There was not a landfill in all of the barge’s thousands of miles of travel that had the capacity to take the garbage!  It was not long before the media got involved and the story was front-page news, catching the attention of the EPA.  The story also made the American people question their moral conduct in throwing so much away and creating so much waste.

Thankfully many people out there take pride in their environment and make an effort on a daily basis to sort their glass, cans, plastic, and  paper waste.  Going “Green” is hopefully the wave of the future generations to come.  The continuation of life here on earth is counting on it.  Please do your part and recycle.  You can also help by educating others about the importance of recycling. 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

25. April 2010 by student.

Capital Punishment is a highly charged emotional and controversial subject.  Disagreements about whether the death penalty should be carried out date as far back as the Bible.  Early colonial settlements looked to scriptural validity for their laws regarding capital punishment.  They held the “eye for an eye” point of view found in the Old Testament to justify the carrying out of the dealth penalty when someone broke the law.  The early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony held that the “punishment should fit the crime.”  Therefore, criminals should be put to death to pay for their “sins”.  A common argument in the death penalty was and still is that a person who commits murder forfeits his or her right to live and therefore deserves to die.  However, as opposition grew and many people started to look to the New Testaments of the Bible it seemed the death penalty was going against what the scriptures taught.  The New Testament focused on forgiveness and to “turn the other cheek.”  The early settlers developed strong opinions about this issue and it became the focus of moral arguments.  Today religious arguments still play a role in the discussion of capital punishment.  Almost everyone holds a strong opinion regarding the death penalty and the arguments over it have not changed over time. 

Moral arguments both for and against the death penalty have validity.  Nevertheless, the two most important arguments have been: retribution and the sanctity of life.  These two arguments have been used in conjunction with religious arguments.  When looking at it from the “eye for an eye” point of view, the scholar Earnest van den Haag said “When murder no longer forfeits the murderer’s life…respect for life itself is diminished, as the price for taking it is.  Life becomes cheaper as we become kinder to those who wantonly take it.” (Death By Design, Haney).  Public executions were carried-out in the early days of the colonies in order to put fear into the people so they would uphold and abide by the laws set forth.  It was thought if the people witnessed the horror and severity of execution, they would think twice about the consequences before committing a crime.

People that upheld the view of preserving the sactity of life argued that the witnessing of public execution only aggravated rather than deterred crime.  They pointed out the rioting, disorderly conduct and sometimes even murder that often followed a public execution.  These were significant factors in the decision to make executions private in the 1830’s.  Although the executions were made private instead of public, it did not change the view that the death penalty does not uphold the sanctity of life, it destroys it.  Lawyer Gerald Gottlieb expressed his views on execution when he said, “This act by the state (execution) tends to cheapen the very values that refer to humanity itself, to lower the opinion of humanity regarding itself and to diminish its standards of decency, of conscience and of culture.”

Many of these same issues remain as the focus surrounding the death penalty in modern times.  Whether or not the death penalty deters crime or has a brutalizing effect on society is still being studied today.  Researchers dont agree in their findings.  There are no definitive and conclusive answers to either question.  More than likely, research will continue for many years.

Still yet, another controversial issue that has drawn attention is the potential for an innocent person to be executed.  Many abolitionists feel that the risk of putting an innocent person to death is unacceptable.  However, retentionists feel differently.  They argue that this does not warrant the abolishment of execution, they feel that the risk to innocent lives is too great if the death penalty is not carried out.  The criminal would be a danger to other prisoners, guards, and employees of the prison where they are housed.  Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens argued that postponing executions violated the Constitution because they serve no purpose.  Justice Stevens said, “Living for twenty years under the terror of a death sentence is punishment enough.  A death sentence so long delayed can have no deterrent value and therefore capricious.”  There is something to be said for carrying out justice swiftly.  However, the Supreme Court has constructed a highly complex series of conditions that must  be satisfied before a death sentence can be carried out. 

One good example of the need to carry out the death penalty when ordered is the case of Kenneth Allen McDuff.  McDuff raped, tortured and murdered at least nine women in the early 1990’s.  The actual number of his murder victims is thought to be much higher.  The tragedy is that the murders were preventable.  McDuff had been convicted of the murder of two teenage boys and their friend in 1966.  McDuff and an accomplice had forced the three victims into the trunk of a car and drove them to a secluded spot where he shot the two teenage boys in the head at close range.  He then tortured their best friend, Edna Sullivan with a soft drink bottle and a broken broom handle, finally killing her by crushing her neck.  A jury convicted him and recommended death.  McDuff escaped execution three times before the United States Supreme Court ultimately released him.  His release resulted in a killing spree, which left Colleen Reed and numerous others dead.  McDuff and an accomplice forced Reed into a car, tied her hands behind her back and repeatedly raped and beat her.  He took cigarettes from his accomplice, lit them, and stuck them into her vagina.  He finally killed her by crushing her neck.  The story was aired on America’s Most Wanted and McDuff was captured in 1992.  He was convicted and given two death sentences and finally executed in 1998.  The sad realization is the number of lives that could have been spared had his execution been carried out the first time. 

Families of murder victims are among the most ardent supporters of the death penalty.  Amazingly, no one has really given earnest thought as to whether families are actually helped or hurt by the process, especially when it is endlessly delayed.  Does watching the perpetrator die help the families reach closure, or does the frustrated hope of execution in the face of endless appeals keep their wounds open?  Not to mention their realization of the millions of taxpayer’s dollars that is being spent to fund the ongoing appeals. 

So, I am going to end this blog with a few questions for you:  (1)  Is it right to have upstanding, hardworking citizens support and keep these criminals?  This includes the families whose lives they have destroyed by taking the life of one of their loved ones.  (2)  Is it reasonable to put innocent lives at risk by allowing them to remain alive?  (3)  Are they benefiting society in anyway by their existence?  And finally, (4) How do we justify spending millions of dollars annually on these monsters and subjecting their victims families to prolonged mental anguish?   

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

25. April 2010 by student.

Obesity is on the rise in America now more than ever. Blame is being thrown in several different directions, but i believe fast food corporations to be to blame along with the consumers themselves. Corporations use their advertisements to make us unconsciously desire advertised products more than others.

 As a part of human nature we are all drawn to what is popular or advertised enough that it becomes embedded in the back of our minds. Every corporation uses unique phrases that with time become incorporated into everyday language. “They’re magically delicious”, “Have it your way”, “do the dew”, and “Billions and billions served” are just a few of the catchy propaganda phrases that corporations use.  Even though Fast Food restaurant chains exist and advertise worldwide, for some reason America is the only country with such a raging obesity problem. The book Food fight discusses the growing problems America is coming across involving obesity. The second part of the book is entitled The Toxic Environment. The section discusses the surplus of harmful factors that contribute to the obesity crisis. The slogans used by big corporations strongly affect the American public and are one of the main reasons for big chains success. “Advertising Age Magazine listed the top 100 ad campaigns, jingles, slogans, and icons of the century. Coke, McDonald’s, and Pepsi were in the top fifteen campaigns of all time” (Brownell). These statistics evidently suggest that the American public is drawn to catchy slogans and trusts the corporations that are the most popular. Advertisements such as “You deserve a break today” (McDonalds) incorporate a logic that portrays McDonalds as a friendly appealing place to dine. The American reasoning for eating such unhealthy foods mimics the words of McDonald’s advertisements. Excuses such as everyone loves it, or they serve all white meat spread amongst the public and establish an unbelievably large consumer census for corporations such as McDonalds. Another source of advertisement is the icon. “Food captured seven of the top ten icons: 2.Ronald McDonald, 3.The Green Giant, 4. Betty Crocker, 6.The Pillsbury Doughboy, 7. Aunt Jemima, 9.Tony The Tiger, 10.Elsie” (Brownell). At some point in time the American people stopped eating because they had to and begun eating because it was fun and popular. “In 1998, 89 percent of children under age eight visited McDonalds at least once a month. Their vice president of marketing said that McDonalds goal for the following year was 100 percent” (Brownell). With such outstanding numbers of children eating at McDonalds so often America’s obesity situation is hardly surprising. “A study of children ages six through eight found that 70 percent believed that fast foods were healthier than food from the home”(Brownell). With such statistical evidence conclusions holding fast food advertisement responsible for American obesity would be quite accurate. These advertisements are providing American youth with logic that begins the addiction to fast food and road to obesity.

            The successful fast food corporation appeals to all types of people. Corporation advertisements use cartoon characters and toys to appeal to children that end up attracting entire families. I remember being a child and begging my parents to go to McDonalds so I could collect the entire series of toys. I thought my appeal to McDonalds would be grown out by the time I was a teen, but I was wrong. Teenagers are attracted to McDonalds and various other fast food chains because of the unbelievably low pricing of menu items. McDonalds offers a menu that consists of food costing only one dollar. As a struggling college I can personally say that McDonalds is the most cost efficient convenient dining location. Besides the low pricing McDonalds is also the only 24 hour restaurant in the area. What they offer is just unbeatable. Despite the knowledge of how unhealthy the food is I personally cannot resist eating at a McDonalds for more than few weeks. “Poor diet and inactivity cause at least 300,000 deaths among U.S. adults each year” (Schlosser).  The danger is real and fast food corporations are still succeeding in serving billions and billions of people. “Every second in the United states about 200 people order one or more meals at a fast food restaurant” (Schlosser). Fast Food corporations provide the public with too many luxuries to turn them down. “Teens with an assigned lunch period find themselves rushing to get from classes to lockers to the cafeteria in their allotted 30 minutes. It’s easy to see why student’s choose fries and cafeteria fast food when they literally have to cram down a meal on the run between classes” (Schlosser).  It seems as if it is almost impossible for anyone to turn down the convenience that these corporations are providing. “To further accommodate life on the run, fast food has now moved outside the restaurants and drive-throughs into public schools, airports, stadiums, Wal-Marts, shopping malls, gas stations, hospital cafeterias, and college campuses”(Schlosser). To be specific college students are given very few dining options most of which are fast food. The freshman 15 is not a myth it’s the result of a fast food diet. Another reason fast food restaurants are doing so well is the American economic situation. Due to the overwhelming amounts of unemployment many Americans have slipped into poverty. Eating out is no longer an option for a large amount of the American people. McDonalds along with several other fast food restaurants provide the convenience of cost efficient meals to please the entire family. In such an economically depressed time the last thing on peoples mind is how healthy their meal is. Everyone is worried about providing for themselves and loved ones and fast food dining options such as McDonalds provide the American public with the easiest way to accomplishment.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

25. April 2010 by student.

Recently the Environmental Protection Agency went around checking the water of major cities. The EPA found traces of pharmaceutical drugs in the drinking water. These pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. The concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe. But if you knew that your water had anti- depressants in it would you drink it? The even bigger question is how are these drugs even in the drinking water. The drugs get into the water when people take their medicine and then go to the bathroom and it gets into the water all the way through the water cycle until it ends up coming out of your tap. So now the even bigger question, are Americans taking to many pharmaceutical drugs? Pharmaceutical drugs do serve their purpose, they help the sick and treat mental problems. But we as Americans have grown so accustom to every time we get the littlest scratch or bump we load up on drugs. Also the cultural norms have changed from just getting bed rest when your sick to getting a prescription for anti-biotics. And with all the flu epidemics every other year, I don’t see Americas dependence of drugs easing up anytime soon. So what do we do? Stop using drugs or just get better at cleaning water? Or do we do a combination of both limiting pharmaceuticals and start using a mode advanced filtration system for out tap water.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

25. April 2010 by student.

Unwanted pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, and cheating are but a small fraction of the corruption present day youth is involved in. Modern day schooling does more harm to moral character than good. Children spend most of their time as an adolescent in school. Instead of being taught moral lessons and proper behavior our youth is spending their day in school figuring out new ways to get away with cheating, crime, and other despised acts. In high school students should be being prepared for college and adulthood. In my high school the only preparation I observed students participating in were making cheat sheets before class. When my parents were in high school they would never think of talking back to a teacher or disrespecting the school system in any way. Previous generations seem to of gained more morals and etiquette from the schooling system than students today. Our generation has reformed to a society that uses the education system for every reason but intake of knowledge. American schooling needs to focus more on teaching life lessons and moral character and reincorporate old traditions in the classroom.

High schools around the country are breeding places for alcoholism and drug abuse. High school is one of the most difficult times in a student’s life and the American school system doesn’t teach enough morality and life lessons to help students build healthy characters. According to a survey conducted in 2005 by SADD (students against destructive decisions) 75% of all high school students have consumed alcohol by the time of graduation (SADD). An even more shocking statistic is that 41% of students have consumed alcohol before 8^th grade (SADD)! Underage drinking has become a serious problem and in several cases can lead to alcoholism. Nearly 60% of seniors in high school have been drunk at least once in their lives (SADD).

Adolescent’s getting into drugs and alcohol is a major issue, but more of a gateway problem. Following the introduction to alcohol comes driving under the influence. Such occurrences lead to the overwhelming amount of yearly deaths that are the direct result of driving while intoxicated. Children learn the majority of their life lessons during their days in school. Schools need to redesign their environment to better educate and influence today’s youth into a better future.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

25. April 2010 by student.

The Canadian unity crisis involving Quebec has been a controversialIssue since before the country’s confederation. Surrounding theSeemingly unsurpassable dilemma of unity there are three mainObstacles. The significant lack of action for Canada on the part ofMany francophone Quebecois, prevents any profound attachment to theCountry on their behalf. A mood of intransigence on the part ofCanadians outside Quebec serves to alienate and anger the individualsWithin the province. A perceived leadership vacuum throughout Canada onBehalf of its citizens contributes to a widespread feeling ofHopelessness. The complexity of, and speculation towards,the Canadian unity crisis masks the infallible truth that whilePresently, there is no solution to the problem there is some hope forthe future. Within the province of Quebec there is a significant lackof patriotism or any real attachment for Canada. In 1995, The AngusReid Group asked a national sample of Canadians to describe how theypersonally felt about Canada. Four options were given: 

* I am strongly attached to Canada-I love the country and what itstands for; 

* I am attached to Canada, but only so long as it provides me with agood standard of living; 

* I am not attached to Canada and would prefer to see it split up intotwo or more countries; and 

* I would prefer to see Canada amalgamate with the United States. 

Outside of Quebec, there was evidence of a high level of patriotismwith over 85% of Canadians saying that they are deeply attached to thecountry and what it stands for. In the province of Quebec, onlyone-third of the population and only 20% of the francophone’s, displayedthis level of affection for Canada. While there is debate over thecause for these statistics, some individuals believed that thestatistics were as a result of lingering wounded pride because of theFailed Meech Lake accord in 1991. Many Quebecois were insulted by theway that many Canadians outside of Quebec trivialized the situation,and the province’s demands. Others believe that this problem isindirectly the result of Canada’s official bilingual status. Thereasoning behind this is that bilingualism serves to even furtheralienate and differentiate the French within the country. This poses adifficult conundrum. Bilingualism cannot be abolished because while itserves to alienate, it is also perceived! by the French as preservingtheir unique culture and identity. One hope is that through Canadianmedia a new stronger more unified identity can be achieved. Arguably,the CBC is this best forum for this shift in values because of itsstatus as a Canadian symbol. This concept is further validated byGerard Veilleux, president of the CBC in 1996. 

Today in Canada, no one is sure what values all Canadians do share incommon. That uncertainty obviously makes it harder for the CBC to doits job effectively. But I would also argue that at a time like this, astrong CBC is even more essential than ever, to assist in redefiningand rebuilding the nation-to be one of the principal forums for thisnational process of soul-searching and consensus-building. It is notentirely unfeasible to think that the CBC has the potential to uniteCanada through its dedication to no particular province in Canada butinstead the entire country. The lack of patriotism within Quebec isdirectly reflected in the inflexibility of Canadian citizens outside ofQuebec. Quebecois are further alienated and exasperated by the mood ofintransigence on the part of other Canadians. This desensitization andrefusal to acknowledge the severity of the issue at hand provokesQuebec^s feelings of neglect. The Maclean’s 15th annual poll found thatin Quebec the percentage of respondents saying it is likely Quebec

will be a separate country within the next 50 years

was 56% compared to that of 38% in the rest of Canada. This startlingstatistics indicates an inability on the part of the rest of Canada toacknowledge the seriousness to which Quebecois regard the issue. Theirinability to fully acknowledge the issue severely trivializes a causeQuebecois deem most important. Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeaubelieved that a mood of intransigence provides little room to maneuverbetween a single constitution which would affect all Canadians equally,and the formation of a completely independent Quebec state with fewties to the rest of ! Canada.  This intransigence is bestexemplified in the treatment by the rest of Canada towards a proposalby the Quebec Liberals in 1991, known as the Allaire Proposal. Allairesuggested a shift in some powers from the federal government to the

province of Quebec. Under Allaire, Quebec would be solely responisble

for such responsibilities as: health, agriculture, unemploymentinsurance, energy, the environment, and language among others. Allairealso suggested a sharing with the federal government of other powerslike, native affairs, justice, taxation and revenue. Allaire wasimmediately refuted as being too generous to the province of Quebec.Many politicians and citizens spent little time on the issue of Allairebefore quashing it. Although the full terms of Allaire could probablynever have been agreed upon, it is not entirely unfeasible to thinkthat some compromise could have been reached. One which neither wouldhave insulted the Quebecois nor left the rest of ! Canada feelingviolated. Certainly what is most important is not the final result ofsuch a proposal but instead the government’s treatment of it. Thisconcept is a key determinant in the future of Quebec as a part ofCanada. If the rest of Canada can find a way in the future to show morerespect to the Quebecois there could be a way to amicably satisfy bothgroups. One barrier that prevents this process from taking place is theway with which most of Canada regards their leaders. 

The perceived leadership void throughout Canada advances the prevailingfeeling of discouragement. When those polled in the Maclean^s 15thannual poll were asked, ^How satisfied [they] are with the job PrimeMinister Jean Chrtien is doing? only 7% of Canadians were verysatisfied. As Canadians consider their potential and their futures,there are many different paths open to them- all of which appearequally difficult. Without faith in their leaders, Canadians havebecome immobilized while the rest of the world moves on. Canadians areaware of this fact and it only serves to dishearten them further. It isCanada’s leaders who are primarily responsible for all facets ofnational unity. Without effective leaders who command the respect andconfidence of those whom they represent any attempts at finding asolution will be ineffectual. Few leaders are able to have any nationaleffect because they are only seen as preachers of the biases which theyhold. Richard G. Lipse! y, a professor of Economics at Simon FraserUniversity, commented on this at the Presidents 25th AnniversaryLecture Series at the University: 

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