Important Current Civic Issues to Me

My name is Rose Van Hemmen and I am fifteen years old. I am going into grade 10 at Our Lady of Lourdes. I chose to take this course for eLearning because I wanted another elective for grade 10. I have just finished taking careers online, so I am comfortable with D2L and e-learning. I enjoy the arts, especially music. I am the secretary for arts council executive and I play trombone in concert band. My strengths are that I am a fast learner and a leader, as I can work both independently and with others. My work ethic is strong and I try to complete tasks to the best of my abilities Here are the three most important current civic issues to me.

Gun Control

There is a saying: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. While this statement is true, I firmly believe it is an important social issue in many countries. The United States of America, for example. According to the 2014 survey by Bureau of Alcohol, there are over 54,026 federally licensed firearms dealers in the United States, and all states allow carrying concealed firearms in public. While in Canada, all firearms must be registered and gun owners licensed, in the United States federal law does not require licensing of gun owners. In Canada, the average for mass shootings is one every two years. In the US, there is one mass shooting per week. Therefore, while some argue that these deaths are caused by the person, not the gun, would so many attacks be happening if firmer gun laws were put into place? Most likely not.

Racism

While more empowering movements have occurred supporting minorities in 2018, racism is still a prominent issue in many societies, both in North America and worldwide. In Southern Italy, 70 African farm workers were attacked and injured after working in intense, laborious jobs in which they earned barely enough to survive. In short, they were exploited because of their race. In Australia, the party leader of a nationalist party said that Australia was in danger of being swamped by Asians. She proceeded to question the special welfare benefits given to Australia’s Aborigines. Finally, in the United States, children are being separated from their parents and being kept in cages. In less than five weeks, 2,300 children were separated from their families under the Trump Administration. This is an attempt to stop illegal immigration. The president is essentially threatening parents with the possibility of losing their children, and using these families as human pawns. Overall, minorities are constantly being dehumanized by majority groups.