Category Archives: Social Issues
COVID-19 is a Global Effort
We should approach preparations for future pandemics by forming a global consortium of nations that funds an international think tank and research center focused on the next pandemic and developing a global strategy for fighting it and finding medical solutions. … Continue reading
If Only America had taken COVID-19 Seriously
If we had quickly shut down our borders as in 911 and treated this as a national security threat or war, we could have controlled the initial spread of COVID-19. Continue reading
A Case for the Benefits of Face Masks Against COVID-19
The amount of COVID-19 exposure determines how severe one gets sick. If the exposure is light by wearing a face mask, you will get a light case of the disease, which your immune system can fight off without being overwhelmed, making you asymptomatic. You then become resistant to it because your immune system is activated. Continue reading
Posted in health, pandemic
Tagged COVID-19, disease, face mask, pandemic, protection, virus
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COVID-19: Being Our Brothers’ Keepers
We have a cultural problem in the US where the emphasis upon individual rights over what best benefits society as a whole. It is a macho individualistic culture reflective of the Wild West. There is a lack of cooperation, compassion, … Continue reading
Posted in health
Tagged COVID-19, cultural changes, pandemic, social behavior, United States
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Our Young Must Save the World from US and Enact Social Change
The needs of our young voters are not being adequately served by our government at all levels. The problem is that elected officials are mostly middle aged or older individuals who have little on common with our youth. So their needs and issues are underrepresented. Continue reading
Posted in Government, Political, Social Issues
Tagged congress, cultural changes, government, politics, United States, vote
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CARS, Cars, and more cars?
Cars have enabled most of what we enjoy today. They have given us far greater mobility than ever before and to do it in great comfort and convenience. But cars have created their on problems of traffic congestion, air pollution, and greenhouse gases. The drawbacks are starting to outweigh its benefits. Continue reading
Jobs, Housing, and Carless Urban Villages
Traffic is becoming a more prominent topic in many areas as a result of growth… Prior to the car towns were compact and centralized with a business and retail core surrounded by streets of houses. That core also had some amount of housing above the stores, what we now call mixed-use… City planners have returned to the fundamentals of how we did it before the advent of the affordable car and putting a modern spin on it… So planners came up with the idea of smaller walkable communities called Urban Villages. They are small very high density, compact, completely walkable, thus urbanized, villages designed as mixed-use communities… Continue reading
Posted in Growth, Uncategorized
Tagged affordable, American dream, city, development, Growth, housing, jobs, mix use, retail, suburban, traffic, urban
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The Anguish of Drug Addiction
Everybody has their own opinions on drug and alcohol addiction, but until you’ve been there, your opinion remains insignificant. Yes, they chose to abuse a drug or alcohol… Continue reading
Texas Woman’s Right to Choose Upheld by Supreme Court
In a 5 to 3 decision on Monday the US Supreme Court ruled against the constitutionally of a Texas law that required abortion clinics to be located in the immediate vicinity of emergency medical facilities in an attempt to stop the majority of abortion clinics from continuing to operate… Texas legislators consider abortions the murder of fetuses but cannot ban it for that reason due to the separation of church and state and the fact that a fetus has previously been ruled not a person so was not protected by the Constitution. So they cleverly figured a way to work around the constitution… Continue reading
Are Science and Religion Really in Opposition?
I recently came across an excerpt from a quote by Sir William Bragg, 1915 Nobel Prize laureate for Physics, in a Facebook post which I am stating in its entirety: From religion comes a man’s purpose; from science, his power to achieve it. Sometimes people ask if religion and science are not opposed to one another. They are: in the sense that the thumb and fingers of my hands are opposed to one another. It is an opposition by means of which anything can be grasped. Continue reading
Posted in Religion, Science & Technology, Social Issues
Tagged coexist, creation, different aspects, existence, faith, hypothesis, moral values, purpose, scientific method, Truth
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Holding Grudges
Americans have never been big on Forgiving. We simply hold on to grudges indefinitely even after the problem has been resolved with the offending party or by them changing their ways. I have been guilty of this myself and I know many people who never can let go of some grudges against someone or something like a company. I find this to get in the way of letting both offenders and offended get on with their lives and perhaps later form meaningful relationships. Continue reading
We Are Products of our Environment
It is my experience that from a very young age we are all in some way products of our environment. As we grow up our values becomes imprinted into the neurons of our minds. They say that children fluently speaking a foreign language up the age of 10 continue to speak it fluently for life. That seems the age at which our neurons become more fixed and difficult to later change. As we mature it becomes very difficult to change the responses we have towards people, things, and events. Continue reading
Posted in Personal Perspective, Social Issues, Society
Tagged biases, emotional response, homophobia, imprinted, natural response, neurons, racism, values
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America’s Most Shameful Boasts
Freedom, Justice, and Equality for all. These are values we boast to ourselves and foreigners about what is so great about our democracy. They have the presumption of equal opportunities for all. However these value are far truer for some than other. Obviously opportunities are not equal for all economically, socially, religiously, and politically. Regardless of what we claim we are clearly a nation full of paradoxes. The pursuit of happiness are only words for many who have little hope for a better life. Continue reading
Rearing Children in a Changing World
Raising children has never been easy but it was much simpler 300 years ago. Moral values and cultural norms did not noticeably change from one generation to the next. Children often grew up to inherit their parent’s social standing and professions. Families were far more nuclear and things more established when not threatened by war. Everyday life was generally far simpler and routine. That doesn’t mean it was better, just less encumbered with decisions and uncertainties. Parenting was very much along the same lines as how parents were raised as children. Continue reading
Another Shooting at a University within One Week
Another shooting, this time at Northern Arizona University’s Flagstaff campus, took place yesterday when a gunman intent on killing many more than the one student he killed and the three he injured was maced and tackled by other students while trying to reload his gun. This could have very well turned into another mass killing in less than one week after the mass killing at Umpqua Community College. Continue reading
Compassion in such Short Supply
I learned about compassion as a young kid going to Sunday school a lifetime ago. I still remember such lessons as the The Good Samaritan and The Golden Rule. Though I am now an agnostic my Christian values have changed little. In fact I feel that liberating myself from all the religious dogma of organized religion has allowed me to develop a greater sense of consistent personal responsibility by focusing upon basic moral concepts without consideration to God’s judgement or confusing Christian doctrine. It is the sense of Compassion through empathy, understanding, and forgiveness that is the overriding theme of this blog. Even this blog’s name ‘Our Social Conscience’ reflects this sentiment. I have been highly critical of government, organized religion, and society for not practicing more Compassion in our lives and in our government’s actions. Continue reading
What PEACE Means to Me
PEACE is an attitude, not a conviction. It is the will to avoid conflicts and war, not to totally eliminate it which is passivism. It is the equalizer of social and political behavior. Its fig leaf sends a signal that I am open to dialog and am interested in hearing and understanding what you have to say about yourself and about me. It is about the absence of ego, that threats real or perceived will not hinder my pursuit of a peaceful resolution and harmonious relationship. It is the fundamental basis of most mainstream religions. Continue reading
Posted in Foriegn Policy and War, Government, Morality Values, Social Issues
Tagged and Respect, compassion, ego, high moral standards, humility and forgiveness, love, nurturing lasting relationships, peace is an attitude, social and political behavior, taught by Christ, The Golden Rule, The Good Samaritan, vengeance
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A Complicated Nation in Search for Simple Solutions
Recent poles show Donald Trump by far the most popular Republican frontrunner for President. Trump presents very straight forward and simple solutions to many of America’s domestic and foreign policy issues. He is well-known for his reality shows as being quick and decisive, the sign of a good leader, at least that is the perception of many of his supporters. He reminds me a little of Ross Perot who ran as an independent some years ago. We like civil war heroes like Grant and Lee who quickly assessed a situation and decisively rallied their troops to victory even though those decisions cost tens of thousands of lives in America’s bloodiest conflict. Continue reading
Old Testament Attitudes
Our moral values of “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, retribution, and vengeance are prevalent throughout America’s history, films, justice systems, wars, foreign policies, and behavior. It is so ingrained in our culture that we are often blind to its presence within us. We call it by other names such as justice, punishment, retaliation, payback, getting even, settling a score, what they deserve, they started it, etc. Many refuse to hear the other side of the story or what effects we have on other human beings and in a sense dehumanize others as being something other than like ourselves. We are in denial of our inherent animosity towards others treating them somehow separate from ourselves. Continue reading
Posted in Morality Values, Religion, Social Issues
Tagged an eye for an eye, Arab, Christian values, foriegn policy, God, moral values, Muslim, prisons, teachings of Christ, terrorist, vengence
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Global Warming No Longer a Science Issue
In the last decade the consensus of scientific peer-reviewed papers on anthropogenic (man caused) Global Warming has rapidly gained favor. A recent report indicates 97.2% of recent scientific peer-reviewed papers favor anthropogenic Global Warming. Major behavioral and economic changes to correct for Global Warming must happen. Greenhouse gases directly or indirectly produced engage every aspect of life. This change will have huge economic, political, and moral ripple effects that will change our lives more than any other issue facing us today. The reason it is so controversial is its urgency and potential threat to our existence. It requires immediate and disruptive changes to our ways of life. Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Economy, Environment, Global Warming, Government, Morality Values, Religion, Science & Technology, Social Issues, Society
Tagged anthropogenic, behavioral change, conservative, disruptive, economic change, Global Warming, lobby congress, moralised, peer reviewed papers, politicized, Pope Frances, science is imperfect
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The Root of All Things Evil
“For the love of money is the root of all evil.” – 1 Timothy 6:10. This is a familiar quote from the King James version of the Christian Bible. But it seems to embody a universal truth. When one looks at all the crime in the world, most of it is motivated by greed and money. So if one were to remove money from society would that cause a dramatic reduction in crime? Continue reading
Idleness is the Seed of Unrest as Work is the Root of Stability
If one looks at all the social conditions that lead to crime, rebellion, and large-scale discontent, the common denominator is high unemployment where people have nothing to do but think how bad off they are and blaming it on others. In contrast employed people, even if impoverished, are far less likely to be discontent because they are simple too busy or tired to think about their predicament as well as receiving compensation to help with living conditions. Continue reading
100 Years from Now: The Complete Series
In the past year I have given some thought to what the future would look like a hundred years from now given the state of science today and the effects of global warming, diminishing natural resources, and a populations of over twice what it is today (population control will be in effect). One thing is clear, the word Sustainable will be far more than a buzzword. It will be a way of life. Continue reading
Posted in Crime & Justice, Economy, Education, Environment, Global Warming, Government, Life's Lessons, Personal Perspective, Science & Technology, Social Issues, Society
Tagged culural changes, future city design, future technology, Global Warming, holodeck, infrastructure, over population, shortage of resources
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ouR Social Conscience 