Solving Problems

1/3/2017

During the Gilded Age, corruption was a huge part of society. City governments would become extremely corrupt because politicians began to take bribes that desperate job-seekers offered. This corruption was what caused citizens to want to reform their government. These reformers formed a group call the Progressives and anyone who was in that group was a Progressive, obviously. This group was very successful in making changes to improve American life between 1898 and 1917. This period was then called the Progressive Era. During this time, 1901 specifically, Theodore Roosevelt became President. TR was a strong supporter of Progressive ideas. The Progressives were necessary because they helped America to get back on its feet with acts like the Pure Food and Drug Act which makes it mandatory for the ingredients of food and drugs to be labeled on the package.

Some problems in society still exist today such as the lack of employment, lack of access to healthcare, lack of access to education, racism, sexism, homophobia, gun violence, and mental illness. This is just to name a few, so as you can see, though America may seem great, there are some serious problems that need to be fixed and a lot of them have to do with getting over yourself and accepting the diversity of this country. We are all different and we need to, instead of discriminating against each other, we need to work together and accept each other's differences. I know this kind of sounds like I'm auditioning for a beauty pageant, but I'm just speaking from the heart.

So, what is a problem in society that you're passionate about? How do you think you can solve it? Comment and tell me what you think. Remember that this can be a problem in America in general or just in your neighborhood. Any who, have fun! I can't wait to see what y'all got to say. Peace!

76 Comments

Deijah PP.

1/3/2017 12:39:24 pm

A problem that really bothers me is racism. People are given low paying jobs, called dirty/mean names, given less opportunities, etc. because of their skin color. For example, people of color are seen as people that eat watermelon and fried chicken. Drink Kool Aid and are also seen as violent and animal like. This is not true. In fact, I am a person of color and I do not act like that. I like reading and watching tv, I hate watermelon and fried chicken( chicken from fast food places), and love hanging with my friends. Another problem that comes from racism is police brutality on people of color. Police are out and violently attacking and killing african american because of the color of their skin. That is not fair. People should not be treated differently because they are not white, everybody is a human and should be treated fairly.

Sadly I don’t that there is a way to solve this problem. Over the course of years, people of color are seen like this and to some people this has not changed. No matter how hard we try there will always be people that believe in all of these racist things. We may change a few peoples mind but it is unlikely that this problem of racism will ever end.

Carina S.

1/3/2017 12:51:44 pm

I agree that those stereotypes are hurtful as well as the names. But I disagree that there is no way to solve this problem. Sure, there is always going to be that one racist person and nobody can change that. But I think that we can stop the hate crimes.

Yasira P.

1/3/2017 12:53:46 pm

I agree Deijah People tend to judge one person by their race without even knowing them. In your writing you said people use certain stereotypes like that Black people only eat fried chicken and watermelon. You even said yourself that you don't like it. So those stereoypes aren't correct

Amaris F.

1/3/2017 12:54:27 pm

I really like the fact that you used an example of yourself as a person of color to show that not all stereotypes are true

Tamira L.

1/3/2017 12:57:29 pm

I like how you used a lot of examples to show what you are thinking and explaining how stereotypes are very hurtful to people and can create problems

Amida

1/3/2017 01:45:09 pm

I agree that racism is a big problem. Adding to that, Most people are unaware of what racism really. I was talking to Kiara (a 6th grader) about lack of diversity in some magazines. (We were supposed to write things that are wrong with a couple of magazines). Another girl in our group started to get nervous, and began to write 'racist' on all of the other magazines/pictures claiming that there aren't any black people in it. We had to explain to her that just because there isn't a black person in a picture doesn't make it racists, its doesn't necessarily mean there is lack of diversity either. [I hope that makes sense]

Jazzy D.

1/3/2017 01:52:09 pm

This is good one! I didn't think of it.

Carina S.

1/3/2017 12:41:45 pm

A problem in America that I'm passionate about is racism. As an African American, I have grown up hearing about hate crimes against people of color, mostly by police officers. My grandmother makes it her personal mission to educate anyone and everyone about African American history; from slavery through the Civil Rights Movement. It makes me sad to hear about the mistreatment of people of color throughout history. Things have gotten a lot better now, so I can't imagine what it must have been like fifty or so years ago. It's a bit frightening to be honest. And there are still hate crimes against us today. I truthfully don't know why there are, I guess there will always be someone with hate in their hearts. It's not just African Americans, Hispanics and Asians are faced with racism as well. It's a major problem that has to stop. But I alone can't stop all the racism infesting America; I'm just a thirteen year old girl. I can certainly do my part, but it'll take the efforts of everyone in America to stop racism. We should be teaching acceptance, not hate. And we can't let police get away with killing black people anymore. This problem with the police has been going on forever, and it's causing a feeling of distrust among the country. I want to trust police officers and I know they're there to protect us, but it's hard when all you hear on the news is about another Caucasian police officer killing another black man. It's the same story over and over again. And I know it wasn't right for other men of color to target police officers. Our country is a mess in terms of racism (and other terms) and the people who sit back and let it happen are just as bad as the people who commit the injustices. If we want peace, we have to do the work. When I grow up and have kids someday, I don't want to be afraid to send them to the store or let them go to the mall with their friends. I don't want to be in constant fear of what may happen to them if I let them out of the house. Racism is a problem that may always plague America (and the world), but I believe that with every act against it, we as a country can put it to an end.

Deijah PP.

1/3/2017 12:46:10 pm

I totally agree with you. The part I really liked was where you said that the people that sit back and let racism happen are just a bad as the people that commit the crime. That is really empowering. It makes me want to try more and make a change to solve a problem that I know is hard to solve.

Tessah A.

1/3/2017 12:55:39 pm

I have to agree with you. Racism is a very big problem. I can relate with you considering the we are both black and females. I forgot to mention hate crimes and injustice for blacks in my answer but it is also a very big issue.

Tessah A.

1/3/2017 12:44:55 pm

A problem in society that I feel strongly about is racism. Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. I feel like this definitely still exists in today’s society. It is something that will never really go away.
As a black female, I experience racism often. Many times, it’s dirty looks or stares. Some people automatically assume that because I am black, my family can’t pay for something. Sometimes when I am in a store, I feel like people are staring at me to see if I am going to steal or not. This is so deep in my head that I feel like that I actually am stealing. I know there are many ways that a person can experience racism. It happens so often that people have mastered to do it subtly. This is a big problem for me because I feel like if we continue to be racist, we will not be able to make any real progress. Like the person in the blog post said, “We need to get over ourselves.” One we have mastered this, we can realize that we are all human and very much alike.
To be completely honest, I feel like there is not much that we can do to solve racism. No matter how often a famous person or an ordinary person uses any kind of platform they have to spread the word, there will still be those stubborn old school people that refuse to be open minded. There is one thing we must all remember, people are not born racist, it is learned. So if there is one thing that I absolutely believe that we can do to help with racism, it is to teach our children that while people may have different colored skin, we are all human.

Jazzy D.

1/3/2017 01:53:10 pm

I think racism is the worst thing kids our age can experience at school.

Yasira P.

1/3/2017 12:47:13 pm

Growing up too fast:
A problem in America we see today is children growing up too fast.

Today in society we see and hear things all the time. The music today is not the same as it was in the 1900's. Messages in songs always portray women as a prize, goal and target etc. They expect women to be all this and that and that feed on to little girls and teens. The media also is showing these women/teens as so called Goals and such.
This makes young women insecure and UN-confident.

By making these girls insecure it makes them want to change to be "pretty". They go out and buy all these things even at a young age. The girls want to be "popular" and their parents endorse it. I see little girls wearing crop tops and some skinny jeans and heels. They can chill out they're only 5 or 6. One person may say "let them express themselves..."- anon, express yourself later in life. this makes them prone to kidnapping, and rape. Each day 2000 children are submitted as abducted or missing according to http://mochip.org/teen-abductions-are-most-common/\ and most of these children are girls. They tend to look older and sometimes even put makeup on. They look older which makes older boys go and prey after them. They'll get older boyfriends who may just want to use them and not even care about them.

So in conclusion it's my opinion. I think that they can tone it down. They should try to look their age and not go all out. The parents should also monitor what type of things their children do and look at to make sure the right message gets put into their mind.

Amaris F.

1/3/2017 12:53:21 pm

I totally agree with this, nowadays kids seem to be trying to act like adults way too early, they try to grow up in ways that could be extremely harmful to them, and the media seems to accept this most of the time.

Robert R.

1/3/2017 01:44:26 pm

This is very true. Back then and now is completely different. Now 13 year old are exposing themselves to the world.

Amaris F.

1/3/2017 12:50:46 pm

A problem in society that I am passionate about is sexism. Now I know that many people are probably thinking "oh, she is going to go on and on about how females are treated differently," but I want to talk about both sexes. Men are treated differently and are expected to be a certain just like women are. Society still believes that men need to be super tough and rugged, the provider and protector. Being a football player or a handy man is what shows how strong men are. It's how men are seen at their best. When you watch a commercial for a men's cologne, you don't see them as a loving father who supports his kids, or a teacher, you see some man watching a woman. You see a shirtless man doing something rugged on the beach. Nowadays, many views have changed though. Now we have a male Covergirl, we see men staying at home with their children while their wife works, and doing things that stereotypically, women should be doing. Men are discriminated just like women are.

Women have always been discriminated. All our lives, we see the stereotypical attractive female as someone smiling, bouncing around with her wavy hair blowing in the wind, skinny and tall. They have makeup all over their face and don't have a career like a doctor or lawyer, they are models. Thankfully, little by little women are seen differently. While there still are some communities who feel like women only belong at home caring for children, we have made a crack in the glass ceiling and are becoming doctors, computer programmers, and much much more. But notice how I said "crack in the glass ceiling." We still have problems getting to the place we want to, without working twice as hard as men do to get the jobs they want.

I think that we can change these problems in society by simply showing all of the possible positions men and women can fill. Lots of people never even considered a male Covergirl, but now we have one, and he is all over the television and on Youtube. Having more women working in medical fields on TV shows and online show this generation that it is possible. The media is an excellent way to spread a message, especially one as important as this one.

Chanel P.

1/3/2017 12:58:45 pm

I agree with you on many things you said. I also liked how you talked about both men and women and the examples you used.

$tephe D.

1/3/2017 01:48:37 pm

I like that you added both males and females because it's true, both are discriminated. It isn't fair though, because most people only think females are discriminated (even though they don't usually do much to fix it). I absolutely hate those commercials, because they all have a muscular man doing something that, stereotypically, they would be doing and it also has some lady in makeup acting sexy with long, smooth hair, and some people try and act like that and it's stupid.

Nicolle C.

1/3/2017 08:08:31 pm

I agree with you. Sexism is a problem. Many of the things you said are completely true. I also like how you took on both sides. People do expect men to be tough and women to be girly and wear makeup and things shouldn't be like that.

Liam S.

1/3/2017 09:32:35 pm

I totally agree with you. I think that sexism towards males isn't as talked about so I am happy that you talked about it and devoted part of your blog to it. I also agree with you how girls are stereotypically seen as a model and that people are finally starting to seem them as more than just that. I really like your blog and I agree wholeheartedly.

Chanel P.

1/3/2017 12:53:09 pm

A very big problem in America that bothers me is racism. I think it’s very wrong to treat people differently simply because of where they’re from or the color of their skin. We may look different from each other, but we’re all the same. Calling people very mean names and acting a certain way towards them isn’t right. Creating stereotypes about people because of their race isn’t the right thing to do either . According to http://www.washingtontimes.com, 28% of Americans said racism was a “big problem.” About ⅔ or 66% of African-Americans and Hispanics (64%) said racism was also a big problem, compared to 43% of Whites. Recently, I have been hearing a lot about gun violence which mostly has to do with an unarmed African-Americans. This problem also involves racism. The police should not be hurting innocent people, because not only does it affect them, but it affects families and some communities. Although it might take some time, I think the way to solve this problem is to not pay attention to how a person looks like or where they’re from, and to treat them with respect.

Jalia R.

1/3/2017 01:43:32 pm

I agree with you about racism. Treating people with respect no matter their skin tone is a great way to fix this issue. People are just stuck up and won't listen for no apparent reason.

Tamira L.

1/3/2017 12:55:24 pm

Our world is not perfect and it will never be perfect. There are many problems in society we can change. So i’m passionate about about not just one problem but three. People need to start getting into their heads that not every time you see a black person you need to point a stupid toy called a gun at their heads. The second problem is that when you hear blue eyes or colored eyes don’t think that’s a white person. Anyone in the world no matter white or black can have colored eyes. The third thing is that you need to stop saying white and black because no one is white or black. People are brown, tan, white etc. All of these ways were created by humans themselves so it’s up to them to change it. First we need to change our schooling system because i'm pretty sure when I was little coming home and saying i'm white because I was light skin and my dad was black because he is darker than me. If we keep teaching this to our future generations they will continue to grow up that only people can be white or black or when you see a black person you need to pull out a gun. This is the main reason how we learn it and continue to learn it. Ok, so i’m light skin but i’m also black what are you going to do to me. Kill me or start giving me stuff from Pink, UGGs, and makeup. No if you were to ask me what I am I would say i’m black because skin color doesn’t matter your background does.

Amahri G.

1/3/2017 12:56:10 pm

A problem in society that I wish to fix is sexism. I notice that some people just despise the thought of a woman driving or being a manager. In my own neighborhood, some people say women can't drive. A good example was the newest Ghostbusters movie with females. A lot of people were blasting all over the internet that females shouldn't be ghost busters. However, this might not be because they are sexist but rather they want to preserve the thought of men being Ghostbusters.

A way to fix this would be improving women's success rates. An example is how often they get hired or if they have equal pay as men. Their pay is often less and their job positions are lower as well. In movies the people in charge are usually men. We are slowly fixing society by giving women more positions and higher pay rates. This is a good way to slowly fix our sexism problems. However I think a little more could be done.

Jonathan V.

1/3/2017 01:36:11 pm

I liked how you talked about this because it is a very big problem and I also agree that more could be done.

Marlon M.

1/3/2017 12:56:31 pm

Many people say America is great, I don't think this way. A major problem here in the states is racism. The United States of America is a country made up of immigrants. We are not United States if we are not united. We all are different in many ways but, there is one major thing we all have in common. We all are human! Why do people have problems if someone is Black, Latino and White. We all have different ways to live. We have different traditions, that we all have to accept. We are more worried about innocent immigrants coming into the country than someone shooting people. A resolution to this is to accept who people are and just worry about each other. This is called unity and that is what USA should be.

Sebastian

1/3/2017 01:25:32 pm

Yes, I do feel this way too because with trump as our president i don't feel that he will help America by building a wall and we wont be as united as he say we will.

Liam S

1/3/2017 01:00:46 pm

A problem that I am passionate about is animal cruelty and abuse. Animals deserve to be loved and cared for, not beaten and killed or sold for money. There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the United States. A puppy mill is where puppies are produced and profit is held in a higher standard than the well-being of the animals. These dogs are housed in unsanitary conditions with little food and water. As a result they can end up with health problems. Also 250,000 animals are hoarded annually. Animal hoarding is where a person is trying to care for more animals than they can handle, which can result in death for the animals. Some signs of animal hoarding are an unclean space, many animals, not enough food or water, and fleas and vermin are present. Another form of animal cruelty is dog fighting. This is where people raise dogs to fight other dogs and then they bet on the fight. The dogs are raised in terrible conditions and drugs are sometimes used to get the animal ready for the fight. The final issue I am going to talk about is Farm Animal Cruelty. Over 99% of farm animals raised in the U.S are raised in factory farms where production is more important to the owners that the welfare of the animals. These producers say that they raise the animals humanely but they actually don’t. Animal cruelty and abuse is a tough problem for one person to solve. But if a lot of people come together and work to raise awareness for this problem we can definitely help stop abuse. Also people can help by donating to organizations like the ASPCA or PETA who work tirelessly to stop animal cruelty and abuse.

Derik T.

1/3/2017 09:37:54 pm

I agree with you completely, I feel like there should be more awareness otherwise this will continue to happen and may become worse.

Sebastian

1/3/2017 01:22:31 pm

A big problem for me in the United States is racism, people back then with different skin color were treated like animals and we have worked on it over the years but is still is a big problem. People are giving low jobs and less pay because they have a different skin color not because of how much products they produce. Black people get called names and some may end up dying because they don't feel good about themselves or they feel as they have no purpose in the world. Recently, there was people that weren't from America on a Delta Airline and they got kicked out for speaking another language. That is really bad, and it shows that white people are scared of black which there is no reason to be. Research shows that it is more likely for a white cop to pull over a black person and that is not right. Blacks are known for being wild and that's not true for all blacks.

I don't know how we can solve this problem right now. Over the years, it has gotten better for blacks but we are still at a point were whites are scared of blacks and it shouldn't be this way. I think it is improbable for us to end racism and I think people will still feel that it is okay to be racist towards others.

David G.

1/3/2017 01:44:39 pm

I agree, It is crazy that they got kicked off the delta flight when all they did was speak another language.

Robert R.

1/3/2017 02:43:58 pm

This is a major problem throughout the US. People just always assume by people's looks and the way they speak.

Jonathan V.

1/3/2017 01:33:13 pm

A problem that bothers me is when don’t accept others. This could be emotionally, mentally, or physically. One example of how people are not accepted physically is because of their skin color or how they look. This is obviously racism. This mostly happens to people with darker skin color and ends up being very mean. The lighter-skinned people call the darker ones names or make racist jokes. One common joke is that blacks eat chicken. Why would you think that? Obviously it’s not true. What if a white person was eating chicken? Would you call him “nigger” or “darkie?” These two names are what people call dark-skinned people. These are very offensive names that shouldn’t be said by anyone to a black.

If you saw a person with a mental or physical disability and could understand words, and feelings, would you call him a retard? Would you call him retarded? If you said yes (while being serious), then you are a really mean person. What you don’t know is that maybe these people actually want to be surviving or trying to get better from their condition. These people have enough to worry about and don’t need much more insults.

Robert R.

1/3/2017 01:37:04 pm

One thing that I have a problem with is how everyone in society set a standard of what someone needs to look or act like. "Some people are too tall, fat, dark, and etc." We need to accept those people and what they are. It's not like they chose to be that way. People set a standard of love for someone. For someone to be in love they need to have this and that. You should just love someone for who they are. Not by what society wants. There are some gold diggers. Only thing they want is money. They don’t care about them. They could care less about what is going to happen to them. If you like a piece of cake while other people say it's disgusting, you would still eat it right? Then why treat people any different. Society needs to stop setting standards for everyone and just start accepting people for who they are. If someone makes you happy, stay with that person. Don't just leave them because someone else said that they are weird. People need to embrace others for what they are. You should enjoy or love people for who they are.

Melanie O.

1/3/2017 01:43:25 pm

Great points made here. Thanks for bringing it up.

Nicolle C.

1/3/2017 08:12:19 pm

I agree with you. There are certain standards that we expected to follow. We shouldn't have to do that. You bring up great points.

Jaden L.

1/4/2017 12:16:20 am

I strongly agree with this. There are some many expatations that people are expected to meet and if they don't they are judged and maybe shamed for not meeting them.

Maeve C.

1/4/2017 04:16:55 pm

I totally agree Robert, we really need to begin accepting people, and try to change society.

Sophia-Joy A.

1/4/2017 10:36:09 pm

This is a great post. You made some really good points. I really like how you worded this also: "Society needs to stop setting standards for everyone and just start accepting people for who they are."

Jalia R.

1/3/2017 01:37:14 pm

I think a serious problem in society is how advanced our technology is. We let it get the best of us. Before the 2000’s, technology wasn’t so advanced. Our phones and laptops, they have voices and can literally tell you what you want to know. All you have to do is tap the screen and it’ll easily give you the information you need. Young children have their tablets speaking to them as well. I think this generation is blowing over. To be specific, technology as in our electronic portable devices, phones, laptops, tablets, iPads, etc. It has made a big impact on kids. Now that technology is growing, kids want to grow at the same rate. Kids are trying to grow up fast, honestly I wish I were a kid again. Kids want to grow up to forget about school and have their own life because maybe their mom took their tablet, iPad, or phone away. It’s ridiculous how kids can just make an account, instagram, snapchat, facebook, twitter, etc. they can just act older than they are. I think if we stopped giving kids and monitored the internet more, kids won’t be able to act grown so they won’t want to be grown. Everything is growing faster and faster and kids wants to grow with it. We need to slow down.

$tephe D.

1/3/2017 01:37:24 pm

Something that really bugs me is maybe not that big of a problem to most people, but I feel like it should be brought up because it's kind of connected to racism. The problem is people saying that a person is "white" or "black". No one's skin tone is actually white or black. Maybe it could be close to white if you're albino, but that's different. If you compare a black crayon to an African American person, it's not the same color. The person is going to be brown. Maybe not a light brown, like a Latino person, but it's still brown. A dark brown, but definitely not black. The same goes for a Caucasian person. If you hold a white crayon or a piece of paper up to their skin, it's not going to match because the person is not white. If we could stop saying that people are "black" or "white", then maybe, just maybe, we could make a small change to racism and how we address people's skin tones. It might change how we look at people, too. I think if we correctly addressed people's colors, then we wouldn't have the same amount of racism as we have today, since we wouldn't be calling anyone "black" or "white" and we could see that we all have different skin tones. Or an easier solution is to just stop addressing people with "black" and "white" and ask them what their ethnicity actually is, if you're that curious.

Melanie O.

1/3/2017 01:40:21 pm

We most definitely have to talk more about this issue. I think about the same topic so that's for putting it more out there. I feel that this could start a cycle to put a permanent end to racism.

Amida

1/3/2017 01:58:56 pm

I do feel that race doesn't add up completely either. If race is color, why do we focus so much on it. Why do we need to know the color of your skin when applying to high school? I wouldn't say that color doesn't matter completely but i do think we need to respect each other.

Melanie O.

1/3/2017 01:38:04 pm

One of many problems we have in today’s society is the right to love whoever and whatever we want. This can be seen from the scale of couple type of relationships all the way to regular interest in things. There is a lot of judging going around in the world; with social media being so commonly used, it’s not surprising to see a few hateful comments under a photo on Instagram or Facebook. We, as people, don’t need to spread so much negativity, it’s unnecessary, but some of us still happen to do it.
Going more into the topic of loving another person, many people have many opinions on it. I mean, we have LAWS talking about it, just to settle everyone because it causes so much controversy. Religions even go against same sex marriages. Many people share their opinions on it and some of them that are shown, aren’t too positive. Humans can be very aggressive. Some families will disown their gay child at times. It all can be a lot to handle for some people.
I feel that as a society in general that has the ability to so easily spread hate, that we should spread positivity instead. We need to see more positivity. "Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside,”-Lin Manuel Miranda

Irca S.

1/3/2017 01:53:27 pm

I have to agree with what you say and it's very sad that people are getting judged and being treated horribly just because of loving someone. I hope that in the future everyone will accept gay/lesbians/etc... and that it will be seen as something completely normal.

$tephe D.

1/3/2017 01:40:30 pm

I have to agree with you on how social media is helping when it comes to disrespecting other's and their love preferences. I also like that you added that quote from Lin Manuel Miranda.

David G.

1/3/2017 01:41:55 pm

A problem in society that I am passionate about is gun violence. In the US alone there are more days with mass shootings than not. Out of 365 days in 2016, 209 of those days 4 or more people were killed or injured because of a gun. It is obviously very sad but it is also frustrating because even with all the mass shootings and people getting killed politicians still refuse to make any changes to gun policies. It is crazy because the United States is one of the most advanced nations in the world and yet it is also one of the countries with the most mass shootings in the world. It is also crazy that you can go buy a machine gun on Monday and on the Tuesday you can walk away with a new semi automatic gun. They should make the process of buying all guns more thorough and especially for guns that could kill hundreds of people in a couple in minutes should take way longer to have. Also I think that automatic or semi automatic gun should be banned because there is no reason why you would need that unless you were going to kill many things at once. In hunting they are not even allowed. If all guns are not banned then the only guns that should be allowed are guns that take a long time to reload like pistols.

Quincy G.

1/3/2017 08:43:24 pm

I totally agree with you. It is crazy how politicians refuse to change the gun polices. There are some people who use the guns for harm more than self-defense, but they can still easily obtain one.

Irca S.

1/3/2017 01:45:45 pm

A huge problem that is affecting the lives of many Americans every day is gun violence. Many innocent people have died because of guns, and most people haven’t done much about it. These days, it’s very to easy to own and use a gun. Though most people might use it for safety reasons and protection, some don’t. There have been many cases where people use guns for other reasons besides protection, and simply go around shooting people. It is estimated that about 91 Americans die each day because of gun violence, and there are a total number of 12,000 gun homicides every year in America (according to everytownresearch.org). Not only are people dying because of this, but more people get injured than killed. Has anyone done anything about this? No. There are many ways that this can change, and I have some ideas. In order to stop all of this, I think the best solution for this is to make the process to get a gun license more challenging. I personally think that it’s easy for someone to get a gun license, but I feel like they should be getting heavier background checks. If we can’t make a change today, we can make one tomorrow.

Lesley Flores

1/3/2017 01:58:32 pm

I totally agree. Many innocent people are being killed because of gun violence. Its incredible how many people are being killed every year.

Kevin G

1/3/2017 09:17:31 pm

This is so true. I can't believe how much gun violence there are.

Amida

1/3/2017 01:46:06 pm

I think the biggest problem that American society has to face today is that kids from a young age are exposed to many inappropriate ideas. Kids are not trained or don’t naturally know if these things are bad or not. What I’m talking about, is kids as young as 7 being known to social media and many things on the internet. Most people think that young kids at the age of 7 won’t be interested in thing like that or are not familiar with that, which is why not much is being done about it. What this does is that kids end up ruining there future or end up not knowing right from wrong. Kids can be denied jobs and acceptances into schools because they put themselves out there negatively online. But there parents won't be able to stop them because they are not as aware of what they are doing because social media isn’t of there time. Also many people don’t take the time to check up on what there kids are doing. The way to solve is to have parents be more aware about the dangers of the internet. Kids should also be monitored on what they are searching, posting, and sending on the on the internet. I also think that social media apps should be able to monitor by limiting usage on the app based on age and should try to raise the age limit. I know most kids would be angry that their parents would be checking there phones, but if you have nothing bad on it, there should be nothing to hide. But at the same time there is a difference between checking and invading privacy.

Jayden R.

1/3/2017 05:20:07 pm

Nice points.

Kevin G

1/3/2017 09:15:58 pm

I agree with everything you say. Kids are using social media and postings they should't post and the parents aren't aware of this.

Lesley Flores

1/3/2017 01:52:51 pm

Throughout the years, racism grew tremendously. Racism is a way to discriminate someone for their color. When racism comes up I get nervous because many people take it in different ways. I feel like racism is never going to die out and it is still exists in today's society. When I go on social media there's always a video, comment, or picture having to do with the topic of racism. Majority of the time, it has to refer to African Americans. There are may stereotypes about dark skinned people and also Hispanics. As a Latina, I feel like many people feel like we're not capable of doing anything. Many times they think we can't pay for stuff and we need support from everyone. I always love to have a variety of races as friends. It is fun and interesting, finding out about their backstory and little bit about there country. No matter what color or features you have, we are all human. Today many Hispanics are trying to prove people wrong and to show others that we all aren't the same, so are African Americans.

Although Hispanic racism isn't as strong as African American’s, all sorts of racism should end. No matter how much we try to stop racism, I don't think it will end. Even if you are famous and are an inspirational person, there is no way we can get people to stop talking. We've had so many people try to stop it, but there are many stubborn people who don't understand how others feel. I think all you can do is to try to get to know someone before you can start talking trash about them and give them a chance. Also you can help raise others to not think like that and to make them understand that we are all human. No matter what skin color you are, we are all human.

Jazzy D.

1/3/2017 01:59:16 pm

A problem I’m passionate about is, drug/alcohol abuse. I picked this because, I hear a lot of people are getting seriously injured, or even die because they abused drugs, or they were drunk behind the wheel. This means a lot to me, because in the future our kids, the next generation are going to be driving, and they’re going to want to explore things. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, because it’s sad to hear that someone killed an innocent person, because they want to be irresponsible.

According to madd.org, “Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash.” By the time you finish reading this paragraph more than two people have gotten injured by an alcoholic driver. It’s not fair to the family, and the person who dies, because this person is dying, because someone else can’t control their temptations, and want to drive. Honestly, I think everyone who drinks, and drives should go straight to jail, and get their license taken away for good, because we don’t need anymore danger in this country. We already have gun violence, and just violence in general.
According to luxury.rehabs.com, “900,000 adults and young adults ages 12 and older used heroin in the past year.” These people didn’t die, but they used heroin. Which means they have a chance of brain damage. Kids younger than us have used heroin in their lives. There are a lot of different drugs, and there are a lot of kids in the world. We are very curious, and might want to try it, but when you try it you get addicted.
I think we should create some kind of technology to prevent people from going into a car intoxicated. I also think we should create less drugs, so we won’t have a problem with people getting addicted to drugs. They have a less chance of getting addicted to drugs if there are less drugs to try. Some people are addicted to multiple drugs, so that can lower the risk of a lot of different diseases.

Jayden R.

1/3/2017 05:19:27 pm

I like how you added that statistic

Jayden R.

1/3/2017 05:18:46 pm

One problem that I have issues with is racism. Racism is one of this country's biggest problems, racism affects people all over the world like China, Africa, South America, and more. I feel (and most of you probably do too) that racism has been our country’s biggest problem these past two years with the Eric Garner incident, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and tons of more. And the one thing that connects these deaths together is that they were all black and were all shot by a white man. Also these people weren’t doing anything harmful to anybody prior or when these attacks happened. I think that we can attempt to solve this problem if we can tell people to first think before you do. For example if you're a policeman or policewoman you should ask yourself “What is this person doing wrong exactly?”. I also think that if we could convince people that people of different skin color should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by their personality. Also that no matter if a person may look different from you they’re still a human being and have feelings just like you.

Gianny S.

1/3/2017 05:40:57 pm

A problem in society that I am very passionate about is is sexism. As a young female, I sometimes worry that problems happening to other women will happen to me when I am older. I sometimes ask myself if I am going to have trouble getting a job when i'm older simply because of my gender.
Although things have gotten better over time, things still aren't ok. Women have been able to gain many rights like the right to vote, but since then, other things have occurred. Many women find it difficult to find a job because they are female. Many women are payed less than males even if they are working in the same job. Many women go out to stores and have to pay more than a male for the same product. Women are treated less than men when really, they are as equal and can do equally as much.
Growing up I've always worried about what the boys would say and many times it was what girls could and couldn't do. When I was younger, I spent a lot of my time with my cousins. When the girls weren't around, I played with the boys. One of them would always tell me, "you can play with us, you're a girl" or "You can't wear that color, it's only for boys." For a while, I believed that this was true until one day, I learned better and realized that girls can do what boys do.
Even though females are most of the time the ones to do all the cooking, cleaning, and looking after the kids, they can still go out to work and get their hands dirty. There isn't really much I can do to stop sexism or make people change their mind. All I can do is stick up for myself and others and prove that I can do what other boys can, and maybe even more.

Fiona R.

1/3/2017 11:38:35 pm

I've had similar experiences. When I was younger boys would say things like "Why are you wearing blue that's a boy color." I agree with that you can't always change other people's minds, but you can always stand up for yourself.

Sophia-Joy A.

1/4/2017 11:04:05 pm

Love this part: "Even though females are most of the time the ones to do all the cooking, cleaning, and looking after the kids, they can still go out to work and get their hands dirty.... All I can do is stick up for myself and others and prove that I can do what other boys can, and maybe even more."

Quincy G.

1/3/2017 06:41:02 pm

A big problem in society today is gun violence, and there are many ways to fix it. One way this problem can be solve is to make sure people who want to buy a gun are eligible to carry one. For them to be eligible, they need to have no criminal background. Also, everyone who wants to obtain a gun should have to pass a class before they can bring home. This can make sure that people have proper safety tips and know the times when they should use it. Another way to help with this problem is making police officers learn how to handle certain situations without using force. If they use the ways they learned, they can lower the amount of gun deaths. They can also have cameras on their uniforms so when an incident does happen, we can see if they needed to use force or not.

Ger L

1/4/2017 08:38:26 pm

I agree on what you said. Gun violence is a very big problem, especially in Chicago

Nicolle C.

1/3/2017 08:02:33 pm

A problem in the world is racism. Racism has been around for a very very very long time. When someone is racist they are prejudiced and antagonizing. People have been judged by their race and the color of their skin. It doesn't matter if you aren't the way people perceive you. There are many stereotypes that follow several races and many of these are bad. Many people just look at someone and say, “Yea, this person looks like a criminal.” It's wrong to treat people differently. We are all human and just because we are of different races and because we have different skin tones, it doesn't give anyone the right to judge people by their race. This is a very important problem that has to stop. If racism doesn't stop our country will not get better. If we can stop a big problem like racism than we can fix a lot more. It will be very hard to stop racism, sometimes it feels like racism will never end. One way we can try and at least help is by trying to be more kind to one another and also by trying to understand each other. We can try and teach people that race doesn't matter and that we are all the same.

Kevin G

1/3/2017 09:11:58 pm

A problem I see a lot of these days is that lots of people are always on their phone and nothing else, just 24/7 on their phone. As I get out of school and start heading home, every time I turn my head, there are people everywhere with their phones. I see them walking and looking at their phones. They’re even crossing the street while they look at their phones. I remember this one time that a car was passing by and this stupid girl is on her phone not checking to see if their was a car coming down the street, and bam! She got hit. Luckily she wasn’t hurt or anything, just some scratches from when she fell down. But because of that phone she got hit by a car, she’s lucky it wasn’t one of those maniacs who was driving.

Another thing about phones is that it we are relying them for everything. On the Iphone you just say “ Siri, remind me tomorrow to buy eggs at 2 o’clock.” See, we do everything on these little small things that fit in our pockets. I don’t know if this is what it comes to, that no matter what we are doing are phones is now in charge of it. Another thing about these phones is that they are very addictive. At night when we’re trying to sleep and when look at it for minute and that minute turns into an hour. Phones also take precious time of spending time with your families and friends. Your family is having a nice dinner and you’re on Instagram seeing how many likes your photo got. These phones are just wasting your time. I don’t know what people find so great about them.

I have no idea how I would solve this problem because if I told people to not use their phones and spend time with their family, they would probably just laugh at me. I just hope that we stop using our phones and spend time with the people we love.

Derik T.

1/3/2017 09:34:16 pm

I think that a problem that happens everywhere is starvation or low food supplies. A lot of people around the world aren’t able to support their families or themselves with the necessary amount of food. A way we can stop this problem from continuing any further is by making sure food isn't being wasted for example out of a certain amount of food only a percentage will be eaten. The source of the problem is taking taking way more than you need. For example people may be at the store and buy a big portion of something. Let's say you wanted to buy salad, there would be multiple bags containing various amounts with one having more than the other. You would have to choose the right amount depending on the amount of people who would be eating. If there was a lot of people you would of course take the big bag but some would take it just for themselves thinking they'll eat it later or eat all of it at once. When this happens the food would usually end up being thrown away because it is either not eaten or thrown away from going bad.

Fiona R.

1/3/2017 11:33:22 pm

I think a big problem in today's society is racial stereotypes. I feel this on a personal level, but I also see this in my every day life. As ya'll might now I am a mixed race person, and people often have, well, interesting opinions. If they ever were to ask me: "What is your ethnicity?" I reply with I am a quarter german, a quarter Portuguese, a quarter Ghanian and a quarter Cherokee. This is when either the best or worst part comes. Sometimes people won't make a big deal about and will say "Oh thats cool". But a lot of the time I get answers like "Well I thought you were just a white girl" or "You don't look black" or "Well you don't act Portuguese or you don't act Black." This always offends me for many reasons. Like the first comment "I thought you were just white, they have already "Know in their heads" what I am before even bothering to ever ask me. Also, they always say "white girl" as if it is some horrible alien. Like yes I am 25 percent German, and apparently that isn't okay with you? Or the second comment "You don't look black." This bugs me too because black is such a wide term and people can look so many different ways and be from so many different areas and still all be "black". So telling me "you don't look black" means they have a stereotype of how all black women should look like, and apparently I don't fit that category. And similar to that, "Well you don't act blah blah blah ethnicity. This is completely limiting one race to a certain character. Like if they think all african american women are sassy and loud, and if you're not that way, you aren't really a black women. I think these stereotypes can be harmful in the ways people love and accept who they are. Sometimes I lie to people when they ask me what race I am and I just say white because I feel I will be made fun of. I think a way to help is really to not judge or think you know someone before you bother to ask. I think also to surround yourself with all different types of people so you won't need the stereotypes to be your only knowledge of a culture.

Jaden L.

1/4/2017 12:09:41 am

The biggest problem in American society nowadays, to me, is women rights. It's been 97 years since the women's rights movement happened, and still women don’t have equal rights. Their pay is 16% less than men's in their same field and position. Women are also judged way more then men are expected to be lady like and elegant. All of these factors are easy to fix and should have been fixed centuries ago. To fix pay problems we could either add money to women's paychecks, but if their is no money then you can subtract pay from men and add it to the women's paycheck until they are equal. Even though if the second process does deduct 8% of their pay, the in most jobs that isn’t a significant drop. The stereotypes are a bit harder to fix. Female stereotypes have been around since ancient times. Since those times, multiple definitions of “Ladylike” have been invented. The only way that i can think of to fix this would be to not follow these stereotypes and be who you want to be. I know this sounds very cliche, but it is a very good message to follow.

Marquis M

1/4/2017 07:54:30 am

The biggest problem in America to me is the Unemployment rate/Jobs. US unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in November 2016 from 4.9 percent in the previous month and well below market expectations of 4.9 percent. It was the lowest jobless rate since August 2007, as the number of unemployed persons declined by 387 thousand to 7.4 million while the labor force participation rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 62.7 percent. Unemployment Rate in the United States averaged 5.81 percent from 1948 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 10.80 percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953

Jack

1/4/2017 01:18:40 pm

A problem in society today that I am passionate about is racism. I am passionate about this because even though I have not directly experienced racism, I have heard of many stories where black people have been either stopped for no reason or assaulted in situations such as Trayvon Martin or Eric Garner. I think that we can solve this issue simply by giving everybody the same chances in the workplace, and not stopping and assaulting black men for no reason. One extreme example of racism was the white man who shot up a church in South Carolina, Dylan Roof, has still not been sentenced to jail time, and Eric Garner, an African American man from New York, was killed for simply selling cigarettes out of the box.

Aileen S.

1/4/2017 01:26:33 pm

One thing that I'm passionate about is the issue of people of color being treated differently or discriminated, specifically hispanics, considering I am hispanic. Most hispanics are treated differently because of what they look like, their traditions, where they live/lived, etc. If I could fix this problem, I would try and show the world how anyone can do anything no matter what race. Hispanics can be doctors, lawyers, etc. Also, I would try and explain how you can't judge someone by their apperance or background. You can be white and be poor or you can be hispanic and be poor. We are all different and we can do what anyone else can do. That is all.

Camren D.

1/4/2017 01:27:22 pm

A problem in society that I’m passionate about is racism. I ,and i"m sure a lot of other people, think this is one of the biggest problems in America. People are always talking about Illegal immigrants, police brutality, on the news. And I have seen people with their signs protesting at the mall. Then we have people acting like It's not a big deal. I’m sure that you’ve heard this on TV, or people say this,”It’s not america’s biggest problem,”stop being so PC”,”We need to build a wall”. But the thing is, people struggling to get here for a new life. Sending them back makes their trip for nothing. But the one frustrates me the most is,”we need to put Americans first”. This is the worst of them all because no one is truly “american”, unless you have ancestors of natives.

Abygail G.

1/4/2017 03:16:33 pm

Society has a really bad approach to mental illness and that's what I'm most passionate about. A lot of the time, people dismiss it as something lesser than it is. For example, with depression it's "oh you're just sad" and with anxiety it's "just some nerves." Mental illness is a huge problem, no matter how you try to look at it. The brain is an organ, and if the brain isn't working properly that means that something is wrong--like if a lung got injured or something.

I think that we should educate people when they're younger about all of the different types of mental illnesses. However, I don't think it should be limited to just ones like depression. Even if people say that they're “Accepting” of people with mental illnesses, they usually only mean the “common” ones—like depression and anxiety. There are a lot more—like DID and insanity—that are severe, but are marked off as things criminals or psychopaths have when they really aren't. I'm not saying that the “common” ones are invalid or don't deserve the attention they get, but I am saying that they can't be the only ones getting that attention and being sympathized with.

Maeve C.

1/4/2017 04:14:55 pm

I am very passionate about a lot of problems in our world today. Whether I have personally experienced them or my friends are experiencing them, they effect me because it hurts to see people being mistreated. The root of a lot these issues such as sexism and racism is the environment in which we grow up in. With things like social media and the way society has shifted over time, we are basically taught to be racist or sexist by what we see. Whether it's the way people act, bilboards, social media, TV commercials, we can't escape stereotypes. I do not believe that a baby is born racist, or born with the ideas about how they should look and act. As I said before they are taught to do and be those things. That they have to have a label, skinny, fat, tall, short, black, white, tan. They can't just be them, because we haven't allowed them to be.

I don't think that society can be completely changed. Because we have been taught these things for years, it's a hard habit to break. But now, I think our generation has a good shot of changing some things. Because we understand what's going on, and we know that it's not right. Otherwise, in the blogs, people wouldn't have brought up issues such as racism, sexism, not being accepted, and labels.

Ger L.

1/4/2017 08:37:02 pm

A big problem in today society is Poverty. It has run people out of homes and they have even found out what it is like to starve. Poverty in today society still continues, some of us don't have enough to pay for our taxes or monthly rent, because of Poverty. This causes us to become poor and homeless. Take me as an example, while growing up I lived in RI, until me and my family moved down south to South Carolina. The reason POVERTY. We couldn't afford to keep paying high prices, so we moved, about a year or two later we moved back to RI. This was when everything was at an average price, so my family could afford it. Poverty is running many people to the streets. We need to do something about it.

Sophia-Joy A.

1/4/2017 11:00:22 pm

One problem in society that I would want to fix is the problem of racism. Racism can unfortunately be found today whether it’s in Vines (R.I.P.), YouTube comments, advertisements, or cartoons. The idea of feeling as though every person in a specific race has the same characteristics is simply absurd. African-Americans shouldn’t be confronted for walking around just doing what they do on a regular basis while Caucasians can do the exact same thing without even being looked at sideways. Many people say that their will never be an end to racism, although this may be true, I don’t think that we should be treating each other the way we do today because slavery has been over for more than 150 years. Now, I’m not saying that blacks are the only ones who can be discriminated against and I’m not saying that whites are the only racist people out there but it is easy to use them as an example. Especially white men, since they already have a certain level of power no matter if their poor, rich, jobless, or a politician (Mr. Husband I see what you were saying now). Blacks are already looked at differently not only because of their skin color but also because of the history they have (in America at least). Now before I start rambling about stereotypes, I think that stereotypes also have a big part in today’s racism. Hispanic people only can be maids, Black men are always violent, Black women are always rude/sassy, and so on. That in my opinion is the root of the problem.

There may never be an end to racism but if we can get to a point where everyone is educated enough to know that all these stereotypes aren’t true, racist people might seem dumb and the number of racists will become smaller. I believe that it can all start with people breaking stereotypes which people are already doing. Hopefully someday humans can prove me wrong and end racism but until then, our generation just have to continue to break stereotypes.

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