5. Obesity
Our kids are fat and getting fatter. Recent numbers show
that 20% of American children are obese. Not chubby – OBESE! Video games, TV,
the internet and fast food are partly to blame. Kids are spending more time
sitting in front of a TV/computer screen than running around outside. This
sedentary lifestyle has consequences. Socially, it’s no secret that overweight
kids are going to be subject to ridicule from their peers – it’s sad, but
nevertheless true. This can result in such issues as low self-esteem,
depression, etc. Then there are the health concerns. High blood pressure,
diabetes and other maladies that is associated with obesity. Psychologically
and physically, obesity is an issue that can be resolved with a simple increase
in activity and awareness.
Education is important. Few people would dispute this well
regarded fact. A good education (in comparison with a bad one) will provide a
child with an increased chance of taking advantage of opportunities to be
successful in life. Unfortunately, some people have it better than other. This
is not an issue of just one school being better than another school. Rather we
are talking about whole classes of American children being denied a proper
education that will prepare them to compete in a job market with their peers
and have the same access to the American Dream. Disparity in educational
quality is delineated by race and financial status. If you live in a poor
neighborhood or are a minority, there is a good chance that the schools you
attend are lacking many necessities. While Asians and Whites enjoy high
graduating rates, African American and Latinos continue to lag behind. Not
surprisingly, because job opportunities are lessen for dropouts, these two
groups have the highest incarceration rates.
3. Shifting Economy
America
used to sustain itself with making its own products through manufacturing and
then turning around and selling those products. The economy is shifting to more
of a service industry versus a manufacturing industry. In order to cut costs
and keep product prices down companies are forced to outsource manufacturing to
other countries. Other countries can produce products at much lower labor
costs. Some companies have even begun to outsource call center jobs to keep
labor costs down. Not only is America
now having lower paying service jobs than the average blue-collar job with a
sustainable income but our economy is now a global economy. For example, what
happens in Japan or Iraq can
drastically alter prices for our stock exchanges, gas/oil, and many other
products. What exactly does this mean for our youth? The youth cannot graduate
or even dropout of school without going through the pains of a low-income job.
The jobs offered with no experience pay very little with very little room for
pay increases. In fact, the competition to get a promotion can be fierce. In
the past, your high school senior could graduate and go work at the local factory
for the rest of his or her life and make a good living. They would not
necessarily need to have a college education to survive. In fact, youth today
will graduate from college with multiple degrees and still cannot find work
that pays enough to sustain a decent lifestyle.
2. Poverty
The federal poverty level is $22,050 for a family of four.
This equates to 21% of all children (15 million children) are considered in
poverty. Just to cover basic expenses for a family of four you would need to
have a salary of $45,000. This means that nearly 50% of our children are living
in poverty. Half of those kids receive no government assistance because their
parents earned more than $22,050 that year. According to the National Center
for Children in Poverty (NCCP), that poverty is the single greatest threat to
children’s well-being. Poverty impedes learning and contributes to social and
behavioral problems. And guess what? There is no income to counteract these
problems. Mommy cannot afford a tutor or Daddy cannot afford a counselor. There
is a huge opportunity for society to stop being so materialistic and in turn
poverty wouldn’t be such an issue because most children will all have the same
things – things they need instead of what they want. This would decrease violence
in schools because fewer kids would be teased.
1. Erosion of National Pride/Identity
If every year the Olympics were held, this probably wouldn’t
be a problem. This list is indicative of the fact that America (like
any nation) has problems. The issue at hand is collective though amongst the
people affected about how to deal with them. Unfortunately most folks tend to
focus on their self and not the whole. We see these problems as affecting
“them” and not “me/us” When we hear that America’s children are the fattest
among Western nations, this doesn’t sting. When we learn that America’s
children lay educationally behind other industrialized nations, we don’t
cringe. There is very little sense of collective identity of people, as
Americans. This is a result of our children not being properly educated and
guided. There was a time when every child would begin the school day by
standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Children were taught the
significance of the 4th of July (besides fireworks). These practices are long
gone and so is our sense of common destiny. With so many diverse nationalities,
races, and ethnic groups that comprise America, the one common bond we all
have with one another is that we are Americans.
Source : http://top5s.net
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