SEVEN MAJOR ISSUES AFFECTING US
When I started my public television series 15 years ago I opened each program by listing what I considered to be the seven major issues affecting our society. The list has not changed since I first put it together, but all of the issues have gotten worse. To address these conditions again I made a movie on youtube that lists these seven issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTqIPVwlJA0. I will make seven more movies devoting one to each of the issues. To supplement that series I will cover one of the seven issues in an essay on this website at the same rate at which the movies are made. In this essay I will mention the seven issues and give a brief description of each.
The high incarceration rate of American males is the first and paramount issue. We have 2.4 million men in prison at this time; that’s more total men in prison than China and India have combined. How can we call America the land of the free when we have the highest incarceration rate in the world?
The number of youth in street gangs and involved in a life of crime and debauchery is the second most significant issue. One million of our youth belong to street gangs. Girls are involved in sex clubs before they reach their teens. America has the most violent boys in the world.
The declining state of the well-being of American women represents the third major issue. Debilitating depression is the number one health issue of American women with upwards of as many as 10 million women suffering from that illness. They also have disproportionately high rates of breast cancer.
The high crime rate represents the fourth major issue. We have been told that crime has been reduced at most levels, which is a misleading statistic. The government has swept the streets of our young men and thrown them into prison leaving fewer around to commit crimes. Yet the number of surveillance cameras has increased, the number of security guards has increased, and the number of laws that will lead to more men in prison has increased.
The utter collapse of the educational system represents the fifth major issue. A statistic distributed by the national Association of Scholars indicates that a test given to high school graduates 55 years ago when given to college seniors five years ago resulted in lower scores by the college seniors. In practical terms that means your grandmothers and great-grandmothers who finished high school know more than you do today if you are in college.
The state of the economy represents the sixth issue. During the past 15 years we have been told that we have experienced the largest sustained growth in the economy. If this is true, why are you working longer hours and/or holding down two jobs to stay even? Why are people working into their 70’s? Why do we have an economic health care crisis? The disparity between the top and bottom of the economic ladder has increased tremendously and continues to do so.
The lack of ethics and standards of all sorts represents the seventh issue. A lack of understanding of our purpose in life and the proper conduct to achieve that purpose accounts for the first six issues and other collateral issues such as the destruction of the environment and the health and well-being of society.
These are what I consider to be the most important issues facing us and they are issues that we can do something about. I will describe these issues in more detail in subsequent essays and also recommend courses of action.
E.G.
The high incarceration rate of American males is the first and paramount issue. We have 2.4 million men in prison at this time; that’s more total men in prison than China and India have combined. How can we call America the land of the free when we have the highest incarceration rate in the world?
The number of youth in street gangs and involved in a life of crime and debauchery is the second most significant issue. One million of our youth belong to street gangs. Girls are involved in sex clubs before they reach their teens. America has the most violent boys in the world.
The declining state of the well-being of American women represents the third major issue. Debilitating depression is the number one health issue of American women with upwards of as many as 10 million women suffering from that illness. They also have disproportionately high rates of breast cancer.
The high crime rate represents the fourth major issue. We have been told that crime has been reduced at most levels, which is a misleading statistic. The government has swept the streets of our young men and thrown them into prison leaving fewer around to commit crimes. Yet the number of surveillance cameras has increased, the number of security guards has increased, and the number of laws that will lead to more men in prison has increased.
The utter collapse of the educational system represents the fifth major issue. A statistic distributed by the national Association of Scholars indicates that a test given to high school graduates 55 years ago when given to college seniors five years ago resulted in lower scores by the college seniors. In practical terms that means your grandmothers and great-grandmothers who finished high school know more than you do today if you are in college.
The state of the economy represents the sixth issue. During the past 15 years we have been told that we have experienced the largest sustained growth in the economy. If this is true, why are you working longer hours and/or holding down two jobs to stay even? Why are people working into their 70’s? Why do we have an economic health care crisis? The disparity between the top and bottom of the economic ladder has increased tremendously and continues to do so.
The lack of ethics and standards of all sorts represents the seventh issue. A lack of understanding of our purpose in life and the proper conduct to achieve that purpose accounts for the first six issues and other collateral issues such as the destruction of the environment and the health and well-being of society.
These are what I consider to be the most important issues facing us and they are issues that we can do something about. I will describe these issues in more detail in subsequent essays and also recommend courses of action.
E.G.
posted by Elder George at
7:16 AM
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