Knowing our Society
This week’s challenge assignment was to research and report on social issues that are relevant to us. There are many things that we must be aware of, as students and as members of society. Some of the social issues I believe that we should be taking more action with are being more “green” and recycling more, being more involved in LGBTQIA rights, as well as proper sex education for the masses.
Many colleges nowadays are contending to be the “greenest” campus. I think the issue of recycling and pollution is important because it not only affects people, but it also affects animals and more obviously affects our earthly home. I’ve seen many shock-value images that aim to get people to recycle and not pollute, but I think that we as society must do more to protect ourselves, the animals, and the earth.
When the Supreme Court ruled that all marriages are legal in all states, it was a major win for the LGBTQIA community! There is no doubt that this change alone has altered so many lives for the better. It is important to recognize what this community sees a lot of hate and faces many challenges, but they won something big and are finally stepping towards the right direction. However, this community still has a long way to go. The LGBTQIA community still faces a lot of discrimination and hate; they are still fighting for many rights. I believe that as a society, we must help this community in any way we can, whether it is through organizing clubs for awareness or donating to charities such as The Trevor Project. For a community that has seen so much tragedy over the decades, we must work together to achieve a place of peace.
Sexual education in some conservative parts of America is dismal. In my own health book in high school, sexual education was only two pages of information, and it still left me with so many questions. Leaving the youth with these questions does nothing to inform them of STIs as well as available methods of birth control and the fluidity of both sexuality and gender. These questions will either go unanswered, or they will be turned to the Internet which can foster a myriad of different answers that can be fueled by opinion. I understand that the “innocence” of the youth is something that people want to protect for as long as they can, however this “innocence” can turn into ignorance. In order to better educate the future of our generations, the youth, and even the adults, must be taught to the fullest extent.
These are just some of the issues that I felt most connected to, and I also believe that we can accomplish much for these issues if we really get into them and get involved instead of just reading about them.
