Social Problems Facing the Contemporary United States Essay Example for Free

Social Problems Facing the Contemporary United States Essay Homelessness is a social problem in the United States. Homelessness defined according to the National Health Care for The Homeless Council (2011), â€Å"is a person or individual that lacks housing†. Homeless do not have permeant residents. They may live on the streets, shelters, missions and under freeway overpasses. They also occupy facilities of abandoned buildings, vehicles, and campgrounds. They can be found sleeping behind buildings, sitting against a building wall or digging in a trash can for food. Homeless people are human beings without shelter. They often fall victim to infections, frozenness, diseases, and assault. Homelessness does not have prejudices; it is an equal opportunity social issue. It is seen in every major city in the United States. This paper will describe the social problem of homelessness, analyze how it affects the United States and explain one sociological theory to explain a cause of homelessness. Homelessness in the United States is a large problem. It is hard to determine how people in the US are homeless, but they have a profound economic effect on society. There are few support services available for homeless, such as shelters, soup kitchens, which come in the form of taxpayers’ dollars. Homeless do not have cars or control over their daily lives. They depend on the daily grind of shelters, soup kitchens, and minimal jobs to meet their basic survival needs and are socially abandoned. The homeless lack medical health insurance. Hospital emergency departments are used as a community resource for the homeless, regardless of their ability to pay. So the expense falls on the taxpayer. Surprisingly, about one-third of emergency room visits are by homeless people. The needs of the homeless are vast. They typically have chronic medical conditions, multiple psychosocial risk factors, like substance use disorders and mental disease.  Their social support system is nonexistent. Most, emergency departments are not set up to meet the psychosocial needs of the homeless (Additional Medical Concerns, 2015). In addition, homelessness can advance to other social concerns like the illegal sex trade and crimes. With essentially no home and no money to purchase food, homeless people re sort to becoming prostitutes or engaging in criminal activities to get money for food or shelters. Some homeless become beggars. Food will commonly be the greatest importance. Individual states are affected by the amount of homeless people they have. Read more:  Essay on Social Issues Some states, like New Orleans, report decreased revenue from tourists who do not want to visit. Most people consider places with high homeless dirty and unsafe. New Orleans, is one example of how homelessness gives the area a bad reputation and results in decreased revenue from tourists. Our government spends millions of dollars on the homeless. The active assistance the government provides is seen with rental assistance, food stamps, and welfare. This support although positive still affects the taxpayers. On the negative side, many homeless are picked up for loitering, sleeping in cars and begging resulting in millions of dollars spent on law enforcement like prisons and jails. There are many sociological theories that relate to homelessness. One theory is conflict theory. Since its beginning, the conflict theory has been used to define certain groups including the homeless population across the United States. The conflict theory provides a perfect mapping as to how people have become homeless due to a single life event, causing them to adapt to the situation. People change to the homeless lifestyle instead of taking steps to return to traditional society. (Calhoun, 2002). The behaviorism of a homeless individual begins to change as they start to work to survive. Shortly after this survival mode the homeless person accepts the battle of being homeless as a societal norm and believes himself to be a regular part of that society. The conflict theorists look at the society from an impartial view. This viewpoint looks at individuals and sees them as inferior to society. The groundwork of societal structure is power or enticement and the only way to advance within the societal structure is through a power struggle. In this power struggle, there is much competition. Social class is intensely valuable in this mindset for it characterizes your place in the monument of authority. Wealth and assets are limed significantly in society, and people  are constantly in competition for these goods and prosperity. Conflict theorists approach the issue of homelessness just like an emperor approaches his subordinates. They see the homeless as people that are too fragile and unable to rise up the societal ranking. They see the homeless as individuals unable to reach the goal of greater social status. Conflict theorists identify themselves as the emperors of mankind and consider the homeless as insignificant people because they are unable to do anything. Essentially the conflict theorists see themselves as the ones with all the skill. They are masters in political, economic and social assets. The homeless are dominated by the higher social class. (Calhoun, 2002). Homelessness in the United States continues to be a social problem. Thousands of people still meet the characterization of homeless. It is a social issue that has existed for years. It does not have prejudices; it is an equal opportunity social issue. It is seen in every major city in the United States. Homeless are the abandoned people. References Additional Medical Concerns The State of Connecticut (n.d.). Retrieved from http://examguidelines.connsacs.org/additional-medical-concerns/_br Why Sony Should Screen â€Å"The Interview† | SeegitzWrites.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seegitzwrites.com/?p=232_br HOW CONFLICT THEORY APPLIES TO THE HOMELESS POPULATION essays. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/202384.html?page=2_br Example research essay topic: Homelessness And Sociological (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.essaychief.com/research-essay- pic.php?essay=2764827title=Homelessness-And-Sociological- Perspectives_br Calhoun, C. (2002). Dictionary of the social sciences. New York: Oxford University Press. Home. (2011, October 7). Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.nhchc.org/

John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men :: Essays Papers

Of Mice and Men - Critical Evaluation ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a book, which deals with the issues of loneliness, dreams and friendship, the author of this book, is John Steinbeck and it was first published in 1937. The story this book tells is of two friends who travel together looking for work during the recession in America in the 1930’s. The men are George and Lennie. George has to look after Lennie because he is a bit dumb and gets into trouble a lot. They both have a dream of owning their own farm one day. All the characters in the novel show aspects of the main themes, the two main characters, George and Lennie, illustrate these themes throughout the book. They travel together for companionship and for someone to talk to. George and Lennie have nothing in common and therefore the only reason they are friends is to stop each other from becoming lonely. Lennie isn’t all that smart and he worships George utterly, but sometimes George gets annoyed with Lennie’s stupidity and shouts at him, for example, in the first chapter when Lennie was annoying him about ketchup he shouts â€Å"God a’ mighty if I was alone I could live so easy†. Deep down George knows this isn’t true because he doesn’t want to be alone. Also, George cares about Lennie and tries to make sure nothing bad happens to him. Another Character that shows these themes is Crooks. He is isolated from the rest of the workers due to racist prejudice. He lives alone in a shed beside the barn and has very little contact with other people. He is probably the loneliest person on the ranch because know one will speak to him apart form Lennie. He is so lonely he is going insane which is shown when he says â€Å" a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya†. This really sums up Crooks feelings, all he wants is someone to talk to. On a broader scale the whole structure of the book gives the impression of loneliness. For example, the story is set in a town called Soledad, which is Spanish for loneliness. Also the first chapter starts by giving you a detailed description of the surroundings, the landscape of the Salinas River and â€Å"the strong and stony Gabilan mountains†. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men :: Essays Papers Of Mice and Men - Critical Evaluation ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a book, which deals with the issues of loneliness, dreams and friendship, the author of this book, is John Steinbeck and it was first published in 1937. The story this book tells is of two friends who travel together looking for work during the recession in America in the 1930’s. The men are George and Lennie. George has to look after Lennie because he is a bit dumb and gets into trouble a lot. They both have a dream of owning their own farm one day. All the characters in the novel show aspects of the main themes, the two main characters, George and Lennie, illustrate these themes throughout the book. They travel together for companionship and for someone to talk to. George and Lennie have nothing in common and therefore the only reason they are friends is to stop each other from becoming lonely. Lennie isn’t all that smart and he worships George utterly, but sometimes George gets annoyed with Lennie’s stupidity and shouts at him, for example, in the first chapter when Lennie was annoying him about ketchup he shouts â€Å"God a’ mighty if I was alone I could live so easy†. Deep down George knows this isn’t true because he doesn’t want to be alone. Also, George cares about Lennie and tries to make sure nothing bad happens to him. Another Character that shows these themes is Crooks. He is isolated from the rest of the workers due to racist prejudice. He lives alone in a shed beside the barn and has very little contact with other people. He is probably the loneliest person on the ranch because know one will speak to him apart form Lennie. He is so lonely he is going insane which is shown when he says â€Å" a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody, don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya†. This really sums up Crooks feelings, all he wants is someone to talk to. On a broader scale the whole structure of the book gives the impression of loneliness. For example, the story is set in a town called Soledad, which is Spanish for loneliness. Also the first chapter starts by giving you a detailed description of the surroundings, the landscape of the Salinas River and â€Å"the strong and stony Gabilan mountains†.

Civil War Reconstruction

America between 1865 and 1876 was very broken and disunited due to the obvious Civil War. There was much effort put in my various powers to put together America again and attain the unity preferably desired by the central governing body. Both the Congress and the Citizenry participated to remedy the discretely disunited states. President Johnson, who took office right after Lincoln against the radical republicans to piece together America, is a perfect example of Congressional effort put into the problem. As for the citizenry putting in effort, the Freedmen’s Bureau and sharecropping both showed a different paradigm of the problem on a level in which the average citizens could assist in unifying America again. Through examples we will soon see exactly how the two entities combined forces of the government and the people to fight for a common goal. After the conclusion of the Civil War with the defeat of the Confederate states, an organization by the name of Freedman’s Bureau was composed to give abandoned or confiscated land to freed African Americans to live on. This land was given to them in the form of grants that were approximately 40 acres, give or take, to live on for three years. After these 3 years, they would be able to purchase the land at a very low price. This organization helped put America together again because it shows the co-op method in which the Congress set up an establishment to give freedom to the black and then the people were readily agreeing to it, not rebelling. This also changed the Citizenry’s view of slaves in a certain way. As the Dread Scott case mentioned that slaved were not people they were property, well, now they were able to purchase land. This meant that since property can not own property and only another person can own property, that people must soon see slaves as reasonably people and not property. Although not revolutionary since segregation was very common amongst both North and South states, there was still a new perspective offered to people to accept slaves as people themselves. This would soon help bring the South and North closer as they would begin to begin in soon the same ideology towards people of different colors and cultures. Another factor important in tying together America was sharecropping, which however was not as good. Sharecropping meant that a squad or family could work independently for a fixed share of crop, around ?. The positive side to this was the fact that there was no expenditure in advance of harvest. The tenant had to share the risks of crop failure or a fall in cotton prices. Blacks believed this to be helpful to them, and since it was the Citizenry who decided upon doing this, we can see that the not only the government, but all the way down to the individual person we can see that citizens would put forth effort to cooperate with the new system of social life considering slavery was no longer an option. Although in the 1870s it became a servitude type instance in which croppers lived on credit until the cotton was sold. This was en route back to a modified adaptation of slavery in this time period. However until then, it was a vital key to show the vast effort put into the bringing together of America. The president also played a vital role in the bringing together of America. President Johnson wanted to reprieve the formerly Confederate states. He believed in organizing a new government and electing new representatives for states. This was contrary to the bringing together of America. Thus his opponent, the Radical Republicans came into action. Their plan was to fully represent the southern states’ government and also used military force to do so. They also passed the Civil Rights Acts to give slaves full rights. They wanted to grant suffrage to freedmen. This political party of republicans showed that the president was overpowered and thus could not disagree otherwise as the republicans fully gained the support of the people in their cause. Because of their success in this, they were able to put together America by the use of military force, which almost always does the job as we can see the Civil War settling any social issues about slavery. The fact that people began to not only include slaves as people, but to give them rights as well was a leap for American men, especially in the South. This was all part of the effort for unity. So as we can see from the efforts of the Radical Republicans and the Freedmen’s Bureau, there is much cooperation between the Citizenry and the Congress in the unity of America pose-Civil War.

Exploring The Depth Of Romance And How Coppola s Dracula

Rationale: My feature article will be exploring the depth of romance and how and why Coppola decided to develop theses deep ideas of love. I will also be discussing Coppola’s decision to use very old film techniques. This is will allow the reader of the feature article to further understand why Coppola did the things that he did and therefore allow them to have a better understanding of the film. I will also be exploring the attitudes, values and beliefs that were held in the time period of the original novel and how Coppola developed and presented that to a modern 90’s audience. TRUE LOVE’S DARK BITE Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 hit, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, reimagines the timeless Dracula tale and creates a twisted love story that allows contemporary audiences an insight into a surprisingly relatable fable, as Taylor Ellison explores†¦ Bram Stoker’s Dracula Love is not black and white and Francis Ford Coppola’s ageless classic Bram Stoker’s Dracula epitomises the many layers that come with romance. The dark love story highlights the romance of the gothic horror and still manages to convey the fear and terror that cemented the original novel as an iconic and memorable classic. Coppola’s imaginative view of a timeless tale embodies the gothic genre, with strong themes of romance, sexuality and lust, as the complexity of love is exposed. Coppola allows us an insight into his processes when creating this epic narrative. Why did you decide to establish a backstory for