Social Problems

On the first day of Social Problems class we were introduced to Charles Dickens’ phrase, “Power in itself is not a bad thing, its how we use that power, whether to help or destroy”. Governments and government related jobs hold utmost power when it comes to managing issues that are referred to as actual social problems. I feel this is where Canada really distinguishes itself from the U.S., deciding to be more of a righteous/peace keeping country, rather than a selfish/intimidating super force. The U.S. invests astronomical amounts of money into the military and defence, when issues like crime, health, and poverty are spiralling out of control. Canada realizes its citizens deserve universal healthcare and our control of crime and serious criminals stems from funding and our incarceration rates. A dilemma that is incumbent in both countries is modernization and the ripple effects like high unemployment rates, which in turn creates higher crime rates, and so on. A research article on Karl Marx deliberated the idea that a, “countries unemployed are an asset in the sense that they are a reserve army of labour” (Hill:2007). Since the ‘war on terror’ began 6 years ago, Canada and the U.S. military have used this reserve army of labour to stockpile military personnel. The social issue that is made most evident by mass media outlets is war and terrorism. Three friends in my Police Foundations program 2 years ago were frustrated with the lack of jobs and difficulty to attain the better ones, resorted to joining the Canadian military. They are enjoying their tours in Afghanistan; although, are greatly missed by family, friends, and lovers who constantly worry about their safe return home. Acts of terrorism are becoming an everyday news headline in our culture and terrorism has been associated with a certain race/ethnicity. I have a few friends whom are Muslim and were born in the Middle East. They say that it is not uncommon for people to snicker discriminating comments

References: 1. Hill, Lisa. (Nov 2007). Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, and Karl Marx on the Division of Labour. [Journal of classical -sociology]. Vol 7, Pg-339. 2. Callanan, G., Greenhaus, J. (Feb 2008). The Baby Boom Generation and Career Management: A Call to Action. [Adv in developing human history]. Pg-71. 3. Hauptman, A. (Jan 2007). Post-Secondary Education and Success. Retrieved April 3rd, 08. http://www.wiche.edu/Policy/Changing_direction/documents/student_success.pdf 4. Turner, H. (Dec 2007). Significance of Employment for Chronic Stress and Psychological Distress among Mothers. [American Journal of Community Psychology]. Pg-181. 5. Cook, P. (2007). Paying the Tab: The Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Control. [Princeton University Press]. Pg-262.