It is assumed that our lives and the lives of our families could ultimately be at risk without the regulation and authority of our government. The same government which protects us, also damages us, and others from countries around us. It is more than apparent that in our world suffering does exist. However, outlining suffering goes beyond the physical pain. To a degree there is a level of suffering that most of us (U.S. Citizens) can never relate to. There is a suffering unbeknownst to us; because we have never been subjected to it by our governments and institutions. We are a free people, entrusted to ourselves that we have the capacity to take care of ourselves and our own. Others aren’t so lucky.
Violence is in itself brutal. We identify it, we react to it, and it virtually always gets our attention. Structural violence is quite the opposite. It is almost invisible, and impossible to contain. It is rooted in global social structures, long-standing, and frequently puts people at legal, cultural, and economic disadvantages. Nonetheless, both forms of violence produce death and suffering equally. Although through structural violence the damage is more subtle, and a lot more difficult to mend. In cases as drastic as the one Farmer introduced us to about Yolande Jean, who was a Haitian refugee who was detained at our United Stated naval base in Guantanamo Bay for nearly two years because she tested positive for HIV. Yolande, as I’m sure many others have, shown to be a direct victim of structural violence. Whereas our Government held her against her will in a place where she was beaten and neglected simply for testing positive for HIV. What is drastically undeniable though is that at the time of capture herself and other refugees ...
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...ke sufficient changes to our health care system? The answer seems to be more difficult than we could ever anticipate. It is our rights as human beings, to have basic human rights. Those are rights to an adequate life, rights to security, not to be subjected to cruelty, and more importantly the right to a standard of existence suitable for our own health and welfare. On the other hand we risk the safety and lives of people through questionable actions. Yolande should never have been subjected to the cruelty she endured, and Juan should have been given choices.
Works Cited
Crisp, Nigel. Turning the World Upside Down: The Search for Global Health in the Twenty-first Century. London: Royal Society of Medicine, 2010. Print.
Farmer, Paul. Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Right, and the New war on the Poor.
Berkeley: University of California, 2003. Print.
In Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck, the protagonist is caught in his class position, which brings hopelessness and despair. We see a similar class struggle in Waiting for Lefty. How do both playwrights portray the lower class and their struggle with their daily life?
In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer supposed to retain knowledge on a factual basis but to observe the problems and challenge my own thoughts, values, and beliefs. Challenging these aspects lights the fire that creates the ability to use working sociological terms in my analyses. Through my analyses of the authors in the course I developed questions about the particular readings that we were assigned. The questions I present from these authors are on the basis of learning and seeing the macro picture from micro events. The authors that we read from were: Allan G. Johnson, James W. Loewen, Jonathan Kozol, David Nibert, Arnold Arluke, Clinton R. Sanders, and Elie Wiesel. From each one of these authors we are able to relate a theme of sociology to what is happening in their books, which results in the discussion questions.
As a member of the dominant race in America, I know that I possess certain unearned privileges that allow me to be more successful overall. I was raised with the mindset that racism doesn't affect me because I am white. The U.S. education system taught me about my racial and ethnic history, but it is likely that my classmates of different races could not say the same. I learned about racism in school but not to view whites as privileged or degrading towards subordinate groups. My group was never seen at fault for oppression or took any responsibility for it. Myself, nor my peers, were ever seen or viewed as unfairly advantaged or privileged. I grew up under the impression that any person could achieve what they wanted if they simply worked hard
Since the beginning of American history, citizens who resided the country lacked the basic civil rights and liberties that humans deserved. Different races and ethnicities were treated unfairly. Voting rights were denied to anyone who was not a rich, white male. Women were harassed by their bosses and expected to take care of everything household related. Life was not all that pretty throughout America’s past, but thankfully overtime American citizens’ civil liberties and rights expanded – granting Americans true freedom.
Structural violence knows no geopolitical borders. The complex interweaving of law, policy and stigma that buttress imposed social structures and the harm it does to individuals can be forced on a population from within or abroad. The former colonies of the developing world were a playground for imperial powers during the age of exploration. Sub-Saharan African nations are complex communities characterized by Western media as corrupt and war-torn. They are the victims of this interweaving, defined by anthropologists as structural violence. Many of these battles were physical and within their own borders, as seen in the trials and tribulations of Agu — the child soldier in Netflix’s Beasts of No Nations. But war is not the only playing field
In the modern day, health care can be a sensitive subject. Politically, health care in America changes depending on whom is President. Obamacare and Trumpcare are different policies regarding health care, which many people have passionate feelings towards. However, not many Americans are informed about Norman Daniels’ view on health care. Throughout this paper I will be outlining Norman Daniels’ claims on the right to health care, and the fundamental principles in which he derives to construct his argument. By means of evaluating Daniels’ argument, I will then state my beliefs regarding the distributive justice of health care.
In “Sicko,” Michael Moore presents the flaws of America’s health care system that has been in continuous debate for many years. Despite the government’s obligation to help people, there are nearly 46 million Americans without any health care coverage, because they either are not able to support such costs or have been rejected by the health insurance companies. Thus, Moore claims that because America’s current health care system is incompetent and morally corrupt, the federal government should provide universal health care for all citizens, since America’s health care companies do not consider the rights of American citizens and make fraudulent decisions to make profit. Throughout his film, he also uses ethos, logos, and pathos to highlight the necessity of America’s private health care system to be replaced with universal health care.
1. (a) Privilege is defined as a favor or right granted to some people, but not to everyone.
Singer, Peter. “Famine, Affluence, and Morality.” Current Issues and Enduring Questions. 8th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 7-15. Print.
In most developed nations, observers would likely see young children and even babies, with technology. They are even applications that appeal to infants and toddlers who live in undeveloped nations. However, for many poor people, especially younger kids, technology is not a part of their lives. Survival is the most important for them. There are many people in the world that do not have much and are more focused on survival. Some privileged children do not even notice some other children that are not as privileged. In the painting of two children found on the blog Muslinah Blogens illustrates the disparities between poor and wealth within the world.
Globalization influences almost all spheres of human life. Public health has been affected by this phenomenon, both pos...
There are many burdens and there are many privileges that I encounter everyday. Some of the privileges that I encounter are more dominate than some privileges. And there are burdens that I encounter on a day to day basis that hinder me from saying my true feelings or saying my point of view in certain situations. These types privileges and burdens I believe can be a bad thing because you don’t experience apart of life that can be a great teacher and teach you many lessons that you cannot learn without experiencing some type of hardship.
Fort, M. M., & Oscar, G. (2004). Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health. Cambridge: South End Press.
This report is based on the major and specific global health problems in the world. Global health refers to the health of all people in the world which concerns about the health issues that go beyond the borders of each country due to the globalization ( Dyar & Costa, 2013). As well as health issues are referred to the health problems created due to this globalization.
Money can give people a lot opportunities and privilege. Financially privileged people have no trouble getting materialistic things such as big houses, expensive cars, and jewelry. Being privileged can also provide better scholastic education as well as respect. On the other hand, a lack of money, as a person might guess, limits opportunity and lower a person’s status on the privilege pole. In order for an underprivileged person to have all of those things, they have to work hard to get to get the luxuries of nice houses, cars, and jewelry. As far as education goes, the underprivileged might not go to the best schools but they get an education that will prove to be more valuable in life; they learn to earn respect, appreciate what they have and how to survive with just the necessities and what’s really important in life. So when a person looks at each group and tries to decided with one gets the most out of life, they will see that underprivileged individuals get so much more out of life than a person who came up in affluence and privilege.