MC Sara Bielski
Problem: Mass Media Influencing Desensitization
~ We are becoming more and more immune to things that would normally be considered disturbing, taboo, or socially/culturally unacceptable. Kids laugh and joke about things like violence and theft and want to buy toy guns instead of pick up a baseball and bat and go ‘Sandlot’ style in the parks. This tunes people into their violent behaviors rather than acting politely and respectfully to others in society. Even situations such as the video release of the American soldier being be-headed and that being overshadowed by the mistreatment of prisoners by American soldiers. These kinds of disturbing situations send signals to the rest of society as to what is socially acceptable and what isn’t.
Solution: I believe an increase in censoring would be in order to stop or decrease the dramatic changes in behaviors. If this solution is not successful, then perhaps limiting the number of stations or number of TVs to a household. This may sound like a bad idea at first but there are many more productive ways of spending time that do not involved becoming infatuated with violence and gossip.
Economy: This problem could be categorized under perhaps information because it’s the release of knowledge through media to the public.
Problem: Energy and the soon-to-be lack thereof
~ We are constantly using and abusing the environment. We destroy natural resources to make room for cities and roads, basically all the empires that, once they’re built, eat up gas, electricity, pollute by means of travel in order to get there. While we go about our daily lives, we don’t stop and think about how little we have left and what we are going to do and how we are going to function after it is gone.
Solution: There are already more fuel-efficient and solar powered vehicles being made today but they are very expensive for the blue-collar working class citizen to purchase. What good is something like that just sitting in a showcase? I believe a solution to this would be balance or set a certain allowance for what is used and figure a new way to recycle products in an environmentally friendly way so we have more resources at our fingertips.
Economy: This would fall under partially manufacturing and or Urbanization due to the building and using of natural resources and having little output from what we have already used up.
Problem: Lack of responsibility and respect in society.
~ People are always complaining about things they find wrong with our country or their lives as a result of someone else being the root of their problems. Neighbors, family, friends, enemies, bosses, teachers, etc. the list goes on much farther as to who is messing up whose life. I believe the complaining and lack of respect for peoples lifestyles and cultural habits is completely overlooked. This leads to people arguing, fighting, and even killing to get around the problems that could otherwise be worked out. This is something that holds strongly in communities and smaller areas of groups of people, but at the same time can be applied globally on a larger scale to relate to relationships with other countries perhaps and even the lack of leadership responsibility in overlooking or ignoring some of this problem.
Solution: Respect others. Integrating more culturally unbiased courses in the classrooms of schools and universities. Require that it be taken as a mandatory course. Perhaps by educating and enlightening people at an early stage or the stage at which most social behavior fluctuates then we can show people that violence and hatred is not the answer but rather open minds and responsibility is.
Economy: This problem would be classified as information because it deals more closely with communication within a society to establish a sense of belonging and acceptance with no strings attached.
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