Wrapping Up

So, the end of the semester is finally here.
In my first blog I said that many of us would definitely have our eyes opened up to new ideas and would have a new perspective on the issues surrounding us today. I know that this has happened to me. And isn't that the point of the class? to cause individuals to become aware of facts, not just media bias, or personal opinions, but the facts. The facts are what matter.
We have covered many topics, so many that it makes me wonder how we covered it all in just 4 months. We talked about the media and power/elite and how they influences what is seen as a social issue, and to me, that is one of the most fascinating topics. Poverty and crime, divorce/marriage, education, the environmental impact humans have on the environment, and the impact the environment has on us. We focused alot of time on immigration, specifically illegal immigration. I realized that I knew very little about this topic. Coyotes gives a real insight to the world of the illegal immigrant and the discrimination against them. Almost all people have a small amount of bias or prejudice, whether it be conscious or subconscious. one way that research is being conducted is through the Implicit association test which can be taken by anyone at: http://www.understandingprejudice.org/iat/
I think that all students should take this course in order to learn about the problems that surround them today. The only way that those problems can be fixed is through collective action. Yes, one person may be able to change the world, but he can't do it by himself.

I really liked Ted Conover's book Coyotes. It was very interesting to see the other side of the coin, to really get a glimpse into the lives of not just the undocumented workers, but also their families left back home. I think that there are many gray areas when it comes to illegal aliens. One of those is the fact that they are taking jobs from American workers, but on the other hand, Americans don't really want to do those jobs. Yet, the fact is that they are taking American jobs, and illegally, and then sending American money out of America. The money part is a big problem itself.... doesn't that devalue the dollar in the long run? They send back home an estimated $6-$8 billion every year to Mexico. That makes the undocumented workers the third largest source of income for the country, behind oil export and tourism. But the funny thing about all this is that Mexico is Not a resource poor country. Actually, they are one of the most resource rich, but a corrupt government does not help at all. every time the Mexican workers (in Mexico) get higher pay wages, the value of the peso conveniently goes down. Another thing is the cost to American tax payers. There are MANY illegal alien children who take advantage of the free public education that Americans pay for... this isn't fair. Why should Americans have to pay to educate an illegal alien who has violated the sovereignty of the U.S?

I don't know what the answer to the problem is, i do feel like we created the problem in the first place with the Bracero Act. And it doen't help any that employers knowingly hire the undocumented workers anyway, but who can blame them... we all want to make a bigger profit if possible, and the illegal alien workers allow them to do that.

carbon footprints

Most people know that as a society, humans have an effect on the Earth. From deforrestation, to air pollution humans are constantly shaping their environment. Each individual has a specific carbon footprint. The carbon footprint includes things like, how much meat is in your diet, do you recycle, the energy saving measurements taken, and of course, how much you drive/fly in a year. A carbon footprint can be calculated on many sites such as on: http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
my carbon footprint is:

Emissions Comparison (in Tons of CO2 eq/year)

--Your Estimated Emissions (1 person household) 17

--United States Average per Person(1 person household) 27

--World Average per Person(1 person household) 5.5

Wow! 17 tons of CO2 per year! that is ALOT. Especially when compared to world avg. person with only 5.5 tons per year. However, i have to say that i am quite pleased that i am below the average american by ten tons. That is quite ridiculous in my opinion. I think that the difference between Americans and other cultures is that the american culture is a consumer society, but I have another way to think about it. I think that the real difference is that we are really just a Spending society. Think about it.... how many people do you know buy things that they don't really need? for instance, that extra gas guzzling car? or that nice expensive electricity using second freezer? do they really need that extra pair of fancy shoes (when they don't even wear the pair they already have)? I know a girl who was going through her closet and pulled out almost ten thousand dollars worth of clothing that still had the price tags hanging on it!! why do we do this? why do we buy things we don't need? I don't have an answer, though I wish I did because we are all guilty of this at some point or another.

One measure that a few people are taking is selling their homes and moving into these super tiny homes that are around 100 square feet, more or less, depending on the person (or persons living in it). These homes are energetically efficient and take up less land while still providing the same basic amenities/necessities that people "need" to live.

The criminal justice system has a hard time keeping up with crime. The police are seriously overwhelmed and understaffed (as well as underpaid, but that’s a different problem). The police can’t be everywhere at once and most people don’t realize that there are different divisions of police that handle different types of problems. For instance, my uncle is a deputy sheriff. While he is “allowed” to write tickets, he and his fellow deputy sheriffs are encouraged to leave that to the local police and state troopers policing the roads. The deputy sheriff office is more concerned with the more serious crimes like assault and battery, murder/homicide, drug crimes, etc. However, the fact that the policemen are able to use such discretion is not always a good thing. The person flying down I-26 at 102 mph is just as likely to kill someone in an accident. Meanwhile, the hanahan police are bringing in revenue by hiding behind the stop sign just waiting for that one person who is going 3 miles over the speed limit. THAT is ridiculous. And I’m left wondering about the person who ran through an obvious red light on purpose. The police have discretion in choosing which cases to pursue as well, and research shows that they are more likely to make an arrest if the perpetrator is of low socioeconomic standing, living in a poorer neighborhood and is a minority. Now, typically, criminals with higher economic standing aren’t committing as many highly visible crimes either. They tend to commit fraud and embezzlement, white collar crimes. But can you blame the fact that the police tend to go after what is considered a more serious crime like murder or assault? Morally and ethically, physically harming someone, or taking a person’s life is way more serious.

Lifestyles and health

So, lifestyles affect health. I can certainly believe that. From the choices that we make to where we live, our health is always being influenced by the outside environment. Industrialization makes health overall better; through better technology in medicine (saving lives) and more information about drugs and diseases. Industrialization also has its negative impacts on health as well. Factories often have seriously bad pollutants in what they emit into the atmosphere. How can toxic chemicals in the air be "good" for a person's body? (I realize that no one is saying that they are) It can't. Some cities have considerably more pollution in the air surrounding them, thus the people living in those cities are affected more than someone living in a rural area. Poverty also affects health. How can a poor person be expected to be able to afford drugs to help the random occurrence of illness? How can a poor person (or an older person who doesn't work) be expected to be able to afford Health insurance? They can't. But personal choices affect health as well, like the choice to do drugs, or drink, or smoke cigarettes. They are all extremely bad for the human body. Cigarettes is even known to cause cancer and emphysema... so why do people to choose to risk their health like that? I don't know. Did you know that scientists are now linking hair dye to certain types of cancer? I think that it is possible because the chemicals in the hair dye leach through the skin and into your scalp and possibly the brain. What about the food that people choose to eat? all fried food all the time is not healthy, and that is a choice that people make knowing the consequences if they continue to pursue these types of lifestyles.

5 person household poverty

2 Parent, 3 children household—

EPI Budget calculator: $ 59,732.

Official Federal Poverty line: $24,800.

with a whopping Difference of $34,932.

My family could not live at the government’s poverty line; more than half of the budget would go towards housing alone! At the very least, no one would have any comforts at all. My family could live comfortably on the EPI budget thought. In fact, until recently, my family lived on less than that. We couldn’t have the nicest of things, but we certainly weren’t hungry or uncomfortable in any major way. Actually, in my opinion (for the state of south carolina) the EPI budget allowed more money than necessary for food per month with $776. My family will spend on average only $100 per week, maybe $150. But we do not buy the quick-fix stuff or go out to eat on that type of a budget. We buy the ingredients to go in the meal dishes and it is cheaper. And we ate well. Really, the biggest problem was that my two teenage brothers shared a room. I feel bad for the families featured on the documentary. There is no doubt that they have it very rough. However, I do not know what exactly the government should do to fix this problem, especially when the bill to rescue the crashed big businesses was rejected yesterday. Most people want the government to keep out of their “business” and to be relatively small, and then when problems come up, they all of a sudden want the government to fix them. I do believe that the current method of calculating poverty is seriously outdated, and definitely needs to be re-evaluated. The new poverty formula should take into consideration modern day costs and concerns, such as inflation and housing costs. The average family budget is no longer simply the annual cost of food times three.

Divorce in South Carolina

The Complaint for Divorce is the initial document filed with the South Carolina court. It is in this document that the filing spouse will request the court to terminate the marriage under certain specified grounds.No divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds: No-Fault Based Grounds: (1) Living separate and apart for at least 1 year without cohabitation. Fault Based Grounds: (1) Adultery; (2) Desertion for at least one year; (3) Physical cruelty; (4) Habitual drunkenness or Drug abuse. (Code of Laws for South Carolina - Chapter 3; Sections 20-3-10).
The laws in South Carolina regarding divorce are definitely stricter than many other states, for example, Nevada where getting a divorce is so simple. To obtain a divorce when both spouses are living in SC, the filing spouse must have been a resident of SC for at least 3 months, but when only one spouse lives in SC, they must have lived in SC for one year. On top of the residency constraints, the couple must be separated for one year before a divorce is legally granted. There are only four main reasons for a divorce outlined in the Code of Laws, as stated above, but I must admit that I am surprised not to see “irreconcilable differences” as one of those reasons. I think this is good thing. Having strict divorce laws requires that both partners really think about the consequences of their decision, as well as causing them to ask themselves, “Do I really want a divorce?” I don’t see a reason why the policy should be changed. If divorce rates are on the rise, maybe one of those reasons is that people are deciding that it is too much effort to work through their problems and that it is easier to just get a divorce.We don’t include “for better or worse” in our marriage vows for nothing. I’m not married, but from what I understand, the “for worse” part is what really trips people up. Do they forget that they promised "to love and cherish each other for as long as they both shall live?” Perhaps stricter divorce laws looks to remind people of those vows. Yet I understand that for those who seek divorce for reasons other than "we just don't like each other anymore" have a very hard time during the divorce process. Perhaps the policy regarding the divorce process with special circumstances should be re-evaluated.