TED Conversations

Curious AboutLife

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

What are some big social issues that need to be discussed, but aren't?

There are a lot social issues, but which ones are the most un-talked about and important?

+5
Share:
progress indicator

  • joshua rogers

    • +1
    Dec 14 2012: just another thought. i believe that learning from others and taking into account others opinions and their knowledge and interpretations of things is very good but at the same time, i would argue, to truly think and consider what is real to them ,one must look around and experience and feel and test and come up with their own unique understanding of the way things are and then conceive of how they might be. an idea derived from personal experience, observation and reflection, and the process of working it out in ones own mind and testing it is the truest manifestation of learning and thought. in addition, seeing a problem and doing something about it, either by trying to influence how others think or act or just by changing how you think and act is one way of evoking changes in things you see as perhaps out of whack or wrong but the process of discovering for yourself what you believe and think and feel about things, is, i believe, what really matters most--its a process which this world and the people in it are very much lacking these days. i read through some of the comments your question elicited and it seems as though there are quite a number of problems on people's minds that they would like to change or at the least complain about--dont forget to consider both sides of an argument and to step back from the trees to see the forest when considering what you or someone else may see as a problem, and then of course, make up your own mind and think or act upon it as you, after careful thought, think best and in the way you, with originality, come up with to do so. merry christmas to ypsilanti. j
  • thumb

    Jacqueline d'Etienne

    • +1
    Dec 14 2012: The consequences of subverting natural selection, and the implications of doing so for all inhabitants of Earth and the planet itself.

  • carolyn mcauley 20+

    • 0
    Dec 14 2012: we talk endlessly,even agressively about each others perceptions,and yet we are attempting to improve ourselves and others...so now I will talk about your agression,you ,who love truth and justice unable to see merit in anothers point of veiw...in the end there are millions similar thinkers,angry about differences..this is a social issue..and the fact you wont agree...I think you are unable..and if we cant agree,our problems may increase..These are the core principals..truth,justice,righteousness,harmony,order and reciprocity...I am suspect that our inability to get things done is we wrongly have consumed false core values and collectively our resulting behaviour cannot ever operate congruently till we abandon our misguided addiction to colonial medieval values

  • MADyMADy MaryA

    • +1
    Dec 13 2012: The open robbing, lying, cheating!! Putting down people!! Bullying in school!!

  • Ed Schulte 50+

    • +1
    Dec 13 2012: This is one


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20715310
    • thumb

      pat gilbert 100+

      • 0
      Dec 13 2012: Hmm I would take that report with a grain of salt. Is it a good sign that now the people of the world can afford tobacco and alcohol? When the same report 20 years ago said the biggest health problem was starvation. Sound like an improvement?

  • Bob Stiglitz

    • 0
    Dec 13 2012: @Krisztian pinter

    "or me, it is an easy decision. any time a company does something evil, it does so with the help of government. "

    This is what you don't get, corporations _have no need_ of government they can still get away with even more if you reduce the size (and power) of government because they have the _resources_. You keep forgetting this. The problem is not an easy one because money is power in market society and markets _are not_ self correcting, people will _not_ vote with their dollars because the system simply doesn't work according to how you think it does.

    One only has to look at STEAM. Steam's success rides on the back of public ignorance of technology and general lack of intelligence in the gaming population, steam is DRM and it needed no government intervention it used propaganda techniques and a trojan horse strategy (take their popular games, forcibly embed steam within it, have ignorant unconcerned illiterate public buy/use it). Steam needed no help from government to get away with taking away your rights to own your own software because _they don't need government do this_ they can come up with all sorts of loopholes to get away with it with or without government because technology allows all sorts of shenanigans (like taking computer code hostage, see: Diablo 3 auctionhouse)

    The company can create and invent around any attempt by redefining rights removal in language.

    Another good example is pollution, modern multi-nationals and businesses are always looking to externalize and offload risk (cost) onto either 1) environment or 2) people and people simply will not react fast enough or with enough numbers because there are huge confounding factors like: awareness, intelligence, education, etc.

    This is why markets are not self correcting and trying to apply ideological principles to a reality that does not work according to them will always end in failure.

    • John Frum 30+

      • +1
      Dec 13 2012: Having resources is no guarantee of anything. Microsoft had all kinds of resources, and still they are taking a beating in the phones marketplace these days. Apple and Microsoft are acting like a** ****s now only because they get to enforce injunctions for their silly patents WITH government assistance.

      What Steam does is not propaganda. That's not what the word means. You don't have a right to software or games. Steam is not taking away your rights by enforcing some prerequisites for playing their games. Don't like it? Don't buy their games. As simple as that.

      Contrast this with the Apple tax that other phone companies have to pay. You, the customer, pay that tax even if you have sworn off Apple.

      Pollution: many companies abuse lax laws in other countries and pollute them. They are able to do so because the governments there don't do their only legitimate role: protecting the rights of their citizens. I have a right to clean air in my own house. And yet, if I were to stay in some polluted Asian country, the big industry next door spews chemicals into the air, and the government does nothing to protect my rights in my own house.

      Good ideology is the only way out. Make sure you understand capitalist ideology before you embark on debunking it. Otherwise, we sink deeper and deeper into the mess we are making all over the world these days. How did this mess happen?

      • Bob Stiglitz

        • 0
        Dec 13 2012: "Having resources is no guarantee of anything."

        You're wrong and an idiot, the fact that we already have these companies infringing on our rights is proof that you're wrong.

        Just because you want to allow people to sell themselves into slavery doesn't mean it's ok or a good idea.

        Just because something is entered into does not mean it is good.

        • John Frum 30+

          • +2
          Dec 13 2012: @Bob Stiglitz:
          Don't mistake your pathetic reading comprehension for a reflection on my intelligence.

          "the fact that we already have these companies infringing on our rights is proof that you're wrong."
          What the heck are you talking about now? Steams activities are not an infringement. Companies dumping chemicals into rivers IS an infringement. But first of all, do you understand what "private property" is? You can understand infringement only if you comprehend private property. The game company did not sell you a game. If it is really yours, don't you think you can make copies of it and sell that to other people. Do you understand what "license" means? All they ever sold you was a license to play a particular game. There were terms and conditions to the license which you could reject, and thus, not sign up for the license.

          "Just because you want to allow people to sell themselves into slavery doesn't mean it's ok or a good idea."
          Now THIS is a reflection on your intelligence. What next? I am a slave to my local cinema just because they have made restrictions on what I can bring with me to the cinema?

          "Just because something is entered into does not mean it is good."
          I asked you how this MESS happened, and you're telling me not to assume it is good. Is there such a thing as "good mess"?
        • thumb

          Krisztián Pintér 200+

          • 0
          TED Translator
          Dec 13 2012: "and an idiot"

          where would you place that argument on the argument pyramid?

          http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/wp-content/blogs.dir/377/files/2012/04/i-5d00a8cff5a51e29765c72572386b44a-Disagreement-hierarchy.jpg
        • thumb

          pat gilbert 100+

          • 0
          Dec 13 2012: This is where that thumbs down icon would come in real handy.

  • Bob Stiglitz

    • 0
    Dec 13 2012: Debunking capitalist ideology and market economics as a sham. If there is one thing america needs, it's that the 'free market' has created huge amounts of un-freedom through abusive laws and monopoly privileges backed by the force of the state. Because money = power to buy the government and have it do your bidding.
    • thumb

      Krisztián Pintér 200+

      • +1
      TED Translator
      Dec 13 2012: " 'free market' has created huge amounts of un-freedom through abusive laws"

      since when market creates laws? since when the market creates privileges? since when market creates the state? if the government is on sale, don't you think the government might have something to do with it? they bear, you know, some responsibility about it? just sayin

      • Bob Stiglitz

        • 0
        Dec 13 2012: The two things cannot be divorced from one another, governments and markets are not seperate entities since the government is rule by the most monied interests (historically) and hence there has never been a 'market' in which the rich did not abuse their power and create un-freedom by giving themselves special legal privileges in law

        Copyright law is one good example of monopoly rich members of society vote themselves, the problem is in historical practice, rich people always expand and abuse their power by buying up congressmen and spreading propaganda and leading astray the public to protect their interests.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act

        See more here:

        http://homepages.law.asu.edu/~dkarjala/opposingcopyrightextension/default.htm

        Copyrights and intellectual property are restrictions on freedom. We don't have a software repair industry for instance (even though we should) because copyright allows one to lock away source-code permanently when things like games should be going into public domain and libraries (as works of culture). Corporations are allowed to confiscate cultural works by fiat because they can simply buy lawmakers.

        DRM in video-games is a perfect example of this confiscating your right to own the stuff you buy. Works of culture and people are controlled by authoritarian rules enacted and influenced by corporations.

        People are not free to create or re-create works (that they built entirely themselves) and are not selling because of legal con-artists.

        http://www.opcoder.com/projects/chrono/

        Once monied interests buy and create laws you have anonymous dictatorship of corporations just as unfree as totalitarian regimes because no one can check their power effectively because they have all the money and incentive to defeat regulations.

        The below should be able to be done with every game we buy:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhAR8rWPluQ

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeSpace_2_Source_Code_Project
        • thumb

          Krisztián Pintér 200+

          • +2
          TED Translator
          Dec 13 2012: you have correctly identified the situation, namely that as long as a strong government and rich companies coexist, rich companies will buy themselves power from the government. it is not self-evident, one could write books about why that is. but at the end, we seem to agree that this is the case. from that on, we seem to diverge.

          you conclude that we need to put an end to companies. i conclude that we need to get rid of government (anarchy), or at least not allow it to interfere with the economy (minarchy).

          for me, it is an easy decision. any time a company does something evil, it does so with the help of government. without such a help, companies don't engage in horrendous acts. on the other hand, governments commit most terrifying crimes all the time. who locks up millions of young black people in jail for possessing drugs? who bombs countries, killing innocent people day by day? who maintains a police force that routinely violates the rights of citizens? who disregards human rights on daily basis, detaining people without court order, claiming the right to look into any database, search any house without due process? who maintains an army capable of destroying all the armies on the earth combined? who uses the control of the money supply for its own advantage, essentially robbing every citizen in the country? who claims the right to confiscate any land as they see fit?

          if you get a letter from walmart, what do you feel before opening it? and if you receive a letter from a state department? who is to really fear?

      • Bob Stiglitz

        • 0
        Dec 13 2012: When you get the time watch the following, there's a good part where he mentions regulation and how industries are all interconnected and what actually happens in reality, rich have political power, so a reduction in their power is not an acceptable political outcome.

        http://fora.tv/2010/03/03/Richard_Wolff_Capitalism_Hits_the_Fan

  • carolyn mcauley 20+

    • +1
    Dec 12 2012: education flaws are numerous,social construct flaws are also plentiful...so now what...I watch cartoons,read childrens books and interview children all the time...and they are filled with the duplicate thinking patterns of old in many respects as most teachers are limited in their views of life..the industry attracts a group often of good natured limited thnkers..which means recreating learning is not generated within the system,so what does this yield? again,an unequal amount of evidence that only Europeans were clean,scholarly,observant,inventive,and sincere in their family relations...no other culture had white mans depth...that men only created medicine,habitats,art,and reasoning...still in this day no one elses culture is given real credibility in American schools...Other societies that had governing systems based on values such as generousity(not aristocratic hoarding) co operation(not militeristic competition) are displayed as naive ,and unrealistic(for who) An easy example to show how tainted your view of the world is...Do you think pirate costumes at halloween are cool? why? for which group? If your answer is Yes...you are deep in a system that you are incapable of viewing objectively..which is why you cant fix it

  • joshua rogers

    • +1
    Dec 12 2012: perhaps before asking the question--what are big social issues we should think about, we should consider how our society is organized in general and whether or not we agree with the basic tenants of this society and then if not, work our way backwards to how we can change the basic beliefs and suppositions our societiy is based on. for example, i find many flaws in the generally universally now accepted idea that every person should be considered equal to every other person-ie we're all human. pretty much our whole way of life now is based on this idea. i think it is a good one, and it suits me just fine as i am not a great contributor to socieity and thus maybe would be one of the unequal ones in another society that didnt believe it, but is it a scientific law of nature and thus can never be questioned. i guess what i am saying is, so often call words of the people who created the system in whatever generation are used to block true thought and exploration into alternative ideas about what life and living are about and how societies should or could be set up and run. until we consider whether our basic society is "right" , how can we really efficiently deal with the problems present in them? not trying to over complicate an answer to the question but just trying to shed light on the idea that any system , when analyzed by the parts of it for ways to improve it, may fall short of perfecting it purely because we are a part of it and cant think outside of it enough to consider what it might be without our desires or our preconceived beliefs. that being said, i would argue the biggest social problem our current system faces is its own parts inability to consider "messing" with the basic principles it is founded on. after all, what is society but likeminded people, at least to a degree? glad to see a young person such as yourself delving into thinking about big things and asking about things that are un-talked about. very inspiring!
  • thumb

    Henry Woeltjen 10+

    • +2
    Dec 10 2012: I think many of the issues we are concerned about are being discussed. Many of the big think tanks are well informed about the issues we face as a society.

    One of the larger issues is k-12 education and our lack of resources in that regard. Many of the universities and secondary schools are well funded and do function very well. However, I think we can all agree that K-12 education has seriously failed.

    We haven't really chanced things in decades. Children are coming back with the same test scores we saw in the 60's. So we haven't been able to develop better teaching strategies.

    I think the biggest problem we face is education...and making sure people are able to realize their potential...not drown in life before that can happen.

  • Don Anderson 20+

    • 0
    Dec 10 2012: Mexico’s lack of development:
    The most developed nation in the world should not ignore its next door neighbor’s economic hardships. It fact the US should feel ashamed of itself.

    Instead of only discouraging illegal immigration, we should also encourage Mexico’s development and thus giving a encouragement to stay. America needs to shut-up and listen, and give them the help they want. micro-loans, agricultural, police, military, trade improvements, economic-zones, or pink bunny rabbits, whatever they say will help.

  • Dan Geurin 10+

    • +2
    Dec 10 2012: Type 2 diabetes is going to be the biggest health concern for the western world in the next 20 years. The cost of medical treatment and declining healt due to diabetes is going to be unlike anything we have ever seen. People are getting diagnosed younger and younger and our diet continues to get worse. I think that in 20 years, millions will be treated for the disease.

  • shawn disney 10+

    • +1
    Dec 9 2012: We westerners have had a pretty civilised life for over a hundred years, mainly because of cheap energy, from first coal and then oil. Now the rest of the world wants to share it, just as the cheap stuff runs out. But due mostly defects in our educational system, the main efforts to deal with this are misdirected. Most of the money spent on "Green energy " is either an outright scam, or else inadequate, such as windmills and solar power. By that I mean that even if the wildest dreams of "sustainables" are carried out, it will not enable a life on a level higher than the classical Amish have. (Speaking strictly about "stuff" of course, which corresponds to "civillised life", i.e. surpluses which enable leisure, "useless" activiites such as Art, Culture, Education, Travel, and Fun. We can survive on windmills and solar panels, but it won't be fun )Luckily, a solution is in the cards, if we choose to play them. A Cold War secret nuclear aircraft engine was invented and demonstrated 50 years ago, then forgotten for dubious reasons. This alternative type of nuclear fission does not have solid fuel rods, water, steam, high pressure, or unmanageable radioactive wastes. It is referred to as Thorium Liquid Fueled reactor (LFTR). The Manhattan Project geniuses who dreamed this up, and made it work, preferred it greatly to the Fukushima type Uranium reactors which are so troublesome. Alvin Weinberg, Edward Teller , and others explained what was wrong with Uranium reactors, but they were pretty much ignored, at the time. In 2012, we had better take up these questions again. Thorium has a million times the "Energy Density" of coal or oil. And this type of reactor is potentially cheaper than coal. So this needs to be "talked about". One pothole in the discussion : it is possible to use Thorium in a Fukushima type reactor, but it isn't very satisfactory , for the usual reasons. The elephant in the rooms is that with Uranium, you can make bombs.

  • Richard Krooman 50+

    • +1
    Dec 9 2012: I almost forgot one of the biggest major issues of our time.

    People should be less concerned about money and more concerned about value!

    Rather than becomming a rich person you should aim to become a person of value.

    A person of high value has a lot of virtues as well as knowledge. This will often lead to much prosparity for both him(/her) and the surroundings.
    While a person can become rich by showing an extreme lack of virtue crippling the surroundings by abusing his knowledge.
    We are confusing them way too often.

  • Richard Krooman 50+

    • +1
    Dec 9 2012: One of the major things is how science works and what it's influences should be.
    For instance I wrote a topic on TED about how using the concequences (concepts) of the "law of preservation of energy" should affect our thinking but doesn't.
    (short version "energy non-efficient lightbulbs" are mainly light producing heaters so using them as lights in cold environments (inside homes which need to be heated) 'wastes no energy')

    There are many more scientific findings which are just being ignored.

    Also a LOT of effort is being made into deepening research on topics but never into combining research.
    For instance we've just now succeded in finding the 'higgs boson' which would radically change our views of physics in the next few years.
    But if you would ask a physics student how a chemical reaction works he'll be almost completely clueless compared to the chemics student being asked the same question. While if you ask a chemist student how the universe works it'll be the other way around. Even though the subjects are so closely related that they should actually almost merge (given all the data we have at this point in time there is no real use in seperating the 2 anymore imho).

    Another major issue is how we "do not discriminate being different". According to our education system and according to all other people... YOU MUST BE AVERAGE!
    If you're not good at math you have to study it more, if you're not good at sports you have to work out. When you're extremely good at math you don't get it taught as all efforts go into making those bad at it average.
    If you REALLY love cleaning... you are still required to have ambitions to become the next president. Because hey if doing what you love doesn't make you at least 6 figures it ain't worth doing.

    Being introverted is not acceptable to society.
    Being too extroverted is also a no go.
    etc.etc.
    The goal of society has become to create people that pass standarized tests. And fit into predefined boxes.
  • thumb

    Curious AboutLife

    • +2
    Dec 8 2012: I think another issue is the lack of innovation in America. it's like we only have/had one Steve jobs, and no one else is bothering to contest, to come up with something better and smarter. In any field. What happened to things such as the Manhattan Project? Building nukes? Nukes aren't good, but we got scientists from around the world to work on them. I like the history lessons that tell of people coming together and building great things. I feel like we're missing that now...
    • thumb

      Krisztián Pintér 200+

      • +2
      TED Translator
      Dec 8 2012: how can you get every single thing wrong? steve jobs was not an innovator. he was a designer. he just put together parts that already existed in the industry.
      • thumb

        Curious AboutLife

        • 0
        Dec 9 2012: How can you be such a total anal orphus? He used the the things already there and put them together and made something that worked and did not really exist before hand. Can you build a rocketship with out parts that don't exist? Or, if you wanna get technical, and instead use something that doesn't exist, how about.. a 'portal'. Any kind that you have to build. Can you do it without metal that already exists? nuts and bolts that haven't been used before? Think on that, Mr. Sophist.
        • thumb

          pat gilbert 100+

          • +1
          Dec 9 2012: Do you kiss your mother with that mouth young lady? Besides it is Mr Sphincter to you.

          America has raised the standard of living of the world more than any country in the history of the world through American inventions.

          If this wasn't true everyone would descend upon me as they hate acknowledging that this is true.

  • Prakar Jeevan

    • +1
    Dec 8 2012: Wastage
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • 0
      Dec 9 2012: That is very true. All developed countries creates much more waste than otherwise healthy for the environment.
  • thumb

    Salim Solaiman 50+

    • +1
    Dec 8 2012: Depends on which socio-cultural background we are talking about....... well intolerance to diversity can be the biggest single social issue which applies in all socio, cultural , economic , geo , political situation..

  • nick haagsma

    • +1
    Dec 7 2012: Rampant consumerism. Growth comes only from increased consumption. At what cost? The real cost is time. When we measure our consumption in time rather than currency we will realize the real cost of the things we buy. Every purchase costs us time. Time that can`t be replaced. Do we really need a newer car, a bigger T.V? Or would the time taken to pay for that be better SPENT with family,friends etc. Our needs are small, our wants huge. The real price is the time we spend on enriching our masters rather than spending it on raising better kids. The most valuable thing we can give our kids is our time. Better we think in terms of do we really need it....or are there better things we can do with the time it will cost to pay for it?

  • Jan Bull

    • +3
    Dec 7 2012: What are the issues most UN-Talked about:
    1) Aging population and explosive, untenable health care costs and provision: We MUST MUST MUST, change the nature of the conversation from preserving life at All costs, to one of quality of life and conversations about the End-of-Life. We need to facilitate Advance Directives by tying them to applying for Medicare and/or having primary care doctors initiate this important conversation. Life and death is a "conversation" according to Frances Norwood who stuided euthansia in the Netherlands. There, the practice does NOT increase the incidence of physician assisted suicide, but it DOES promote these dificult conversations (see The Maintenance of Life: Preventing Social Death Through Euthanasia Talk and End-of-Life Care - Lessons from the Netherlands by Frances Norwood (Aug 15, 2009)

    2) What will the Jobs be for our Children in a HIGH Tech world?

  • Jo Morrissey

    • 0
    Dec 7 2012: Substance Abuse Prevention talks are not found via key word search. In particular, prevention talks using evidence based practices and philosophies which are proven to inspire behavior change at the community, family, and individual level. This is NOT the "I'm an addict in recovery, don't make the same mistake I have." talk. These are inspiring to those overcoming adversity, but are not proven in research to prevent youth substance use. In fact, those types of talks have been shown to have either no effect or worse. They are often stories so out there that they only serve to show youth they can still drink or do drugs just a little and they don't have a problem. BUT THAT IS THE PROBLEM. Adolescent neurological development is tender and is adversely affected by drug use at this tender age. Adolescent judgement is an oxymoron and only gets worse with using inhibition lowering substances. I hope you consider seeking Talks on this subject. There are some good conversations going, actual talks would be a great next step. Thank you. Jo Morrissey, Program Manager, 21 Reasons. www.21reasons.org.

    • richard moody jr 10+

      • 0
      Dec 11 2012: I wished I'd known of the dangers of alcohol at age 13, maybe I might not have tried it. It certainly had a long-term negative impact on my brother and me. Fortunately at a young age I tried smoking and detested it! Unless we can generate risk averse youth it is tough to get them to get "real" when it comes to drugs, alcohol and sex.

  • Ramaro Barnes

    • +2
    Dec 7 2012: the fact that there are more african americans in jail than it is in college. As a minority college student, we need to let this be know and we need to find ways to get other minority students on the right track and into college

    • richard moody jr 10+

      • 0
      Dec 11 2012: What is just beginning to seep into public consciousness are the jail terms for smoking crack cocaine a "black" problem and powdered cocaine a "white" problem. Until recently the former got 100X the jail time of the latter; now it is "only" 17 X.

  • max golding

    • 0
    Dec 7 2012: race. especially in the ted community. the lack of antiracist white people and the lack of education in what antiracism is, is awful.

    white people of ted, start here immediately:

    http://www.amazon.com/Black-Kids-Sitting-Together-Cafeteria/dp/0465083617

  • andrew jones

    • 0
    Dec 7 2012: The overpopulation of the planet by humans. Our species' reproductive success is destroying our environment. But everyone adores children - as they should. So our global population - over 7 billion today - will continue to grow franticly, and in an undiscussed manner.
  • thumb

    Robert Winner 50+

    • +1
    Dec 7 2012: CAL, All issues. The problem, in my opinion, is that issues are discussed but never confronted. Go to a beauty shop or a barber shop and the issues are discussed loud and clear among members of the same neighborhood, ethnicity, etc ... The problem has always been that if you are not with me ... you are against me. A real discussion stopper. In the last election how many issues were there ... the election is over ... how many issues still exist. If the issue of economics becomes resolved then there would be few issues. All the rest are political platforms that still exist from the 2008 election.

    What I am saying is that much of what we see as issues really aren't issues at all. They are wants, desires, goals, dreams, etc ...

    Do wrongs exist. You bet. There are good people who are working to resolve them as best as possible. There are bad people who keep the pot stired up as much as possible. Each generation has made progress. Cultural change evolves over a long period of time.

    What is most important is really each persons call. What is important to me may come way down the list for you if it is even on your list.

    What IS important is that we do not sit on the sidlines and remain part of the problem. We need to become involved and become part of the solution.

    All the best. Bob.
  • thumb

    Tao P 50+

    • 0
    Dec 6 2012: That we are working for machines rather than the machines are working for us.
    • thumb

      Krisztián Pintér 200+

      • 0
      TED Translator
      Dec 7 2012: you are using a machine right now, reading this. can you name a single machine you have ever worked for?
      • thumb

        Tao P 50+

        • +1
        Dec 7 2012: You've taken my statement too literally, though to answer your question, I worked quite hard to purchase the computer I am typing on.

        My original post was more in reference to the constantly increasing length of the work week. The promise of machines that make our lives easier is a the ever larger carrot being dangled in front of us. We work so hard to keep 'the machine' of the World economic system marching forward but to what end? More of the same it seems.

        Perhaps if the aim of our society was something other than economic growth we could better improve the quality of life for the citizenry of the World.
      • thumb

        Tao P 50+

        • 0
        Dec 8 2012: Well 50 years ago a family generally only needed one working parent. Now most families have 2 working parents. I'm not sure if the work week is going up in the last few years as there is now widespread unemployment and underemployment. One of the problems with the current system is that most people are cogs in a Fordian machine. If machines were working for us we should see our required working hours dropping with the increased productivity we've attained from these machines.

  • carolyn mcauley 20+

    • +2
    Dec 6 2012: fear...in the elevator,underground parking,in schools ,the workplace,amongst races,between men and women,in our telling the truth about our historic actions,about status,about failure,about sex,and or love,about losses...ect. Fear,an emotion weilded by social scientists about other races,by media about status,newspapers about who we are...all this fear churned up into our psyches everyday,every where..block it out,rather then remove its cultural myth...revisit the initial site for its creation,and teach every child the same false truth..because its your culture...imply all evidence proving it not to be universally true,and the truth is belittled by those who reap rewards from your fear..of job loss.,of death,of others,All the great truths of social justice plastered over by fear ,so now you think that no culture ever could not be warrior like,or women always were support for male led societies...fear generating the winner take all mentality that will eventually diminish our self evolution...speak truth to power...but how much truth can one know if your entire education was second hand from books? also a generative source ,Unfortunately,for fear

    • richard moody jr 10+

      • 0
      Dec 11 2012: Be afraid! Be afraid! That is the mantra of the media. Fear sells.
  • thumb

    Maaher Sayeed 10+

    • +3
    Dec 5 2012: This could be an exhaustive list.

    I would say Quality Education.

    This is an "unbiased and fact based" education system. The education system can be flawed and it is so in many countires in terms of what is being fed into the growing and learning minds. Schooling is an essential part of personal development. Hence it is imparative that the quality of the lessons and the "educational expereince" is clear, without prejudice, fair and fact based. And most importantly a system that educated an individual about global development and cultures is essential in todays progressive world.

    Edcation shoudl not be about just passing grades or ranking systems. It needs to be a developmental expereince that encourages critical and analtical thinking at all levels. It should encourage sharing ideas and learning from others beyond the classroom or country.
  • thumb

    Emily Blegvad

    • 0
    Dec 5 2012: In the United States, to me, it's gun control. Mostly all of the Political leaders have not really directly addressed the issue, and still to this day we have problems with it. For instance, the young NFL football player who killed his girlfriend and himself, leaving their child behind. Also, the movie theater shooting, the Wisconsin mosque shooting, and the Gabrielle Giffords assassination attempt. Our political leaders, local and federal address it, but do not really get into it and do anything about it.

    • shawn disney 10+

      • 0
      Dec 9 2012: You really need to think this through. Suppose you have your every wish, and you were the Dictator, to boot. Can you imagine the depth and scale of the Police State you would have to build to actually carry this out?! It would have to be much more stringent than the Soviet Union. The program would certainly force you into police state activities, such as midnight "searches" and confiscations which would rapidly become not only Uncontitutional, but wildly unpopular. All the while, giving the worst kind of criminals free rein, since they, of course would have guns. This idea that guns have a malign influence on people's brains is a holdover from the primitive idea of "Sympathetic Magic", ie. if you do "Rain Dances", it will rain. Sorry if I seem harsh, but how would you explain the Swiss? They have a Militia Army (machine guns and ammo in every home, but they have so few shootings that they don't bother much to keep track.).
Load more comments…