Social Problems free essay sample

Social problems, also called social issues, affect every society, great and small. Even in relatively isolated, sparsely populated areas, a group will encounter social problems. Part of this is due to the fact that any members of a society living close enough together will have conflicts. It’s virtually impossible to avoid them, and even people who live together in the same house don’t always get along seamlessly. On the whole though, when social problems are mentioned they tend to refer to the problems that affect people living together in a society. The list of social problems is huge and not identical from area to area. In the US, some predominant social issues include the growing divide between rich and poor,  domestic violence,  unemployment,  pollution, urban decay, racism and  sexism, and many others. Sometimes social issues arise when people hold very different opinions about how to handle certain situations like unplanned pregnancy. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Problems or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While some people might view abortion as the solution to this problem, other members of the society remain strongly opposed to its use. In itself, strong disagreements on how to solve problems create divides in social groups. Other issues that may be considered social problems arent that common in the US and other industrialized countries, but they are huge problems in developing ones. The issues of massive  poverty, food shortages, lack of basic hygiene, spread of incurable diseases, ethnic cleansing, and lack of education inhibits the development of society. Moreover, these problems are related to each other and it can seem hard to address one without addressing all of them. social problems are caused by society itself. people do bad and good to each other. its a war between good and evil. why do we have criminals or cruel people? f you are poor or rich, you can do bad things or good things, but the point is humans always do it to another human, not to a rock or non living thing. The very nature of social problems suggests that society itself is a problem. No country has perfected a society where all are happy and where no problems exist. Perhaps the individual nature of humans prevents this, and as m any people state, perfection many not be an achievable goal. Revelations about Social Issues in Todays Society Health Issues As can be seen from the above list, the social issues can affect it on a number of levels. Also, some of these common issues in society are inter-related. For example, there are health issues, which arise due to the increase in number of people detected with life-threatening diseases like cancer and AIDS every year. This social issue can be handled only if another issue i. e. health care reform, is dealt with appropriately. Teen Issues There are plethora of teen issues which society is facing today, right from increase in alcohol abuse to eating disorders to high stress levels amongst teens. According to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving website, around eight teens die every day due to drunken driving in America. Violence faced by teens is startlingly high too, with as many as one in every two rape victims being under the age of eighteen (Statistics given by Department of Justice) Gender Issues Womens issues, such as equality of rights, privileges and pay-packages similar to those of men, breaking the glass ceiling with regards to their jobs are some of the gender specific social issues which are faced by American women. According to department of labor, USA, 46. 8 percent of the total U. S. labor force consisted of women and it is projected that by the year 2018, 46. 9 percent of the labor force will be women. Speaking of gender issues, there is a huge debate going on in America whether same-sex marriages should be legalized or not. Although, some states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, have legalized gay marriages, there are many states which are still contemplating this social issue and decision is awaited. Economic Issues In the current economic recession, according to the United States Department of Labor, the unemployment rate has gone up to 9. 60 percent, as of September 2010. On an average, the unemployment in America has remained 5. 0% from 1948 to 2010. Thus, there has been a considerable increase in unemployment rate in recent months, making it one of the burning social issues in society. International Issues Internationally , the most important issues today are terrorism and global warming. Global warming, as everybody knows has resulted in change in weather and temperatures all over the world. United States itself has felt its fury by way of the ferocious hurricanes in the past. Islamic terrorism, particularly handing the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, is another social issue plaguing the world. Some of the issues and their solutions are discussed below: 1. DIVORCE: One of the major social and economic issues in our society is increase in divorce rate. Divorce, or dissolution of marriage means the marriage ending. It can be contrasted with an annulment which declares that a marriage is invalid, though the marriage effects may be recognized in such unions as spousal support, child custody and property distribution (â€Å"Divorce. †). Divorce is like an epidemic in our society that is spreading very quick, and the offspring are most affected in this epidemic (Chandler). According to facts one out of every two marriages ends in divorce (Chandler). It is very bad because many children are raised in single-parent families, and this has a negative impact on their development. Effect of Divorce on children In the biggest countries of the world such as the United States, Japan, Korea, Canada, the members of the European Union, the United Kingdom and some other developed Commonwealth countries divorce rates have increased essentially in the last half of the twentieth century and divorce has become commonplace in them (â€Å"Divorce. ). It is considered that the divorce rate in the USA is the highest in the world and it was primarily caused by the changing role of the husbands and wives in their household, early marriage, infidelity, additional marital affairs, domestic  violence, unstable financial situation and psychological incapacity. All this has the negative effect on social stability in the whole and, of course, it can be the reason of social change and social conflict among people. That is why divorce problem is also the social problem and the impact of divorce is not limited o couples and families, their actual interactions. he theme of divorce as a social phenomenon is an essential research topic in sociology. A new understanding of the real causes and effects of divorce on the families and society began in the mid-1980s (Crouch). Sociologists reported that the incomes of women and children lost after divorce. Economists and legal researchers outlined that the current divorce laws cause far more divorces than it would be economically efficient for the people who are going through the process of divorce, because these laws allow wife or husband to divorce for any reason. This is a stimulus for people to be prepared for the ending of marriage and to search their own self-interest in the process of divorce, rather than live together all their life in a marriage which has no legal  protection. Many other scholars pointed out that divorce has all kinds of negative influence on child. The divorce may cause the risks of emotional problems of children, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction, smoking, crime and poverty (Crouch). The custody issue on who is going to be responsible for the children care is also an important one for many people each year. Women also generally suffer financially after divorce because of the lack of equal pay for equal work in many countries and that is why many women stop to work after marriage to bring up their children. They are often left with the big responsibility and the burden of looking after their childs after the divorce while they have to find low-paid jobs. Child support collection is the most important problem because many fathers do not want to be obliged towards their children. In turn, many national and local governments help divorced mothers and their children providing some kind of welfare system. Marriage is a very happy event in the life of many people, however divorce in our culture is also a common reality. SOLUTIONS: To decrease the divorce rate: Our society needs to be supportive and caring; not punitive, biased, accusatory or self-righteous. Divorce will not go away himself. Unless much can be done in order to redefine the status of what marriage means and what it is for people, divorce and other marital problems will extremely arise. To have a peaceful, happy and healthy relationship, either spouse must be patient, strong, trustful and they have to love each other. Marriage for our life is an ideal of God, but divorce is an unpleasant reality in our society. 2. HONOUR KILLING: Honour killing, the name given to murders done in name of so called honour. Honour of family or clan or village. The crime which does exist since thousands of years and still refuses to die down. Honour Killing is not heat of moment reaction but well planned murder and often it involves more than 2 murders and often it is done by blessing of entire village!!!!!!!!! Generally targetted towards couple who get married and in eyes of society , they live in , the marriage is considered to be not acceptable. â€Å"Honor killings are acts of vengeance, usually death, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an  arranged marriage, being the victim of a  sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an  abusive  husband—or (allegedly) committing  adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that dishonors her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life. † Men can also be the victims of honor killings by members of the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship. The loose term honor killing applies to killing of both men and women in cultures that practice it. Some women who bridge social divides, publicly engage other communities, or adopt some of the customs or the religion of an outside group may be attacked. In countries that receive immigration, some otherwise low-status immigrant men and boys have asserted their dominant  patriarchal  status by inflicting honor killings on women family members who have participated in public life, for example, in  feminist  and integration politics. First Let us see types of honour killings 1) Marriage In Same Gotra : Gotra or same clan marriage often sees verdict being passed by villagers to get the couple murdered. Quiet often murder is executed by brothers and father of bride or groom. Now India being ancient civilization same gotra means lineage claimed from some ancestor who lived 3000-5000 years ago. The bride and groom might not be linked directly but have lineage from common ancestor. Now this is prohibited among many communities and if line is crossed , honour killing occurs. This is most common type of honour killing seen in India. 2) Inter Caste Marriage : Caste is huge social issue in India and honour killing in some parts of India due to inter caste marriage is second most common type of so called honour killing. 3) Inter Religion Marriage : Religion is very sensitive issue and riots have been seen triggered in smallest incidents between various religious communities and sects. Inter religion marriages are rare and some of them see honour killing too!!!!! Indian constitution doesnot prohibit any of above marriages and marriages are perfectly legal as per law but social norms finds somethings objectional and they themself turn judges and order killings , all in name of so called honour. Indian government and supreme court has taken strong stand against this social evil and in future more stricter laws are expected to deal with so called honour killing. Firstly, the mentality of the people has to change. And when we say that the mentality has to change, we mean to say that parents should accept their children’s wishes regarding marriage as it is they who have to lead a life with their life partners and if they are not satisfied with their life partner then they will lead a horrible married life which might even end in suicide. Secondly, we need to have stricter laws to tackle these kinds of killings as this is a crime which cannot be pardoned because. Humans do not have the right to write down death sentences of innocent fellow humans. . SATTI: Sati (suttee) is burning alive the widow of the deceased man in the funeral pyre. In Hindu religion the custom is to cremate the dead body after one’s death. Since it is a male dominated society the men thought that the wives are their property. So if a man dies then it is obligatory for the widow of that man jump into the fire of her dead husband and die. It was considered to be a holy act until some sensible people looked into the matter and tried to reform this social evil in the name of religion. If the woman dies the man could live on and marry another. Many thought that widow burning was inhuman act and tried to bring some changes. The recent case was on 4th  September 1987 at Deorala in Sikar Dt. , Rajastan. Roop Kunwar a young Rajput girl committed sati at the funeral pyre of her husband. Some people wanted to stop the glorification of this evil. The government promulgated Sati prevention Ordinance on 1stOctober 1987 stating that sati is a crime. But some youth took out a procession favoring the act of sati. Some traditional groups who wanted sati to be prevalent instigated them. Hinduism is a nonviolent religion. How can it be so violent with human beings in the matter of Sati? Lord William Bentinck was a social reformer and so he wanted to abolish this social evil during the British rule in India. To some extent he succeeded in doing so. Sati literally means a good woman or widow and Sattee means sahamarana – dying together, Ammarana – without dead body. In fact we cannot trace the beginnings of this practise in the Hindu Scriptures. It comes from the social life and tradition of Hindus. There is no vedic proof and even in Ramayana and Mahabharata no woman laid down her life for her dead husband. In Russia among the Volga tribes this tradition was present also in some Egyptian and Chinese tribes. Mount Stuart Elphinston was then governor of Bombay had a decisive voice in the formation of policy on suttee. He was held in high esteem for his statesmanship and mature understanding of Indian life and customs. The rite of suttee originated in the upper strata of society amidst the kings and aristocratic people. However once custom takes root, it becomes a part of social order. A widow seldom inspired any sympathy and had to lead miserable life. She bore the insults and taunts of the relatives. She was held guilty for the death of her husband. She suffered social ostracism. She had to go about without ornaments, broke bangles, shaved her head, move around with white sari, and sleep on the floor. Women were socially dead after the death of their husbands and were thought to be polluting. Hence the concern was for purity. The priestly class, the Brahmins encouraged and motivated this social evil to exist for their livelihood. After this dramatic crime the Brahmin would look for the melted gold, silver and copper, which was their earning. The widow was utterly in a helpless state. They were hardly cared for and there was no maintenance for the rest of their life. Many also had their eye on the property of the widow. To understand how and why woman burnt herself it is necessary to reconstruct the circumstances under which she was rushed to the pile. When the man dies, there is gloom. The widow suffers the most. She is stricken with grief. She is unable to cry and absolutely dumb. She has no time to think or reflect. On this occasion, the family members Brahmins and crowd take advantage of this helpless situation. They push her into the fire. If she cannot bear the heat and tries to come out of the fire then the family members beat her up and push her back into the fire. She was the easy target of abuse, fun and disparagement. It is a pity that often the children lose their both parents and become orphan. In this way this inhuman act was performed in the name of religious tradition. It was an instrument of the priestly class such as Brahmins in order to make a business out of it. This deprives of women their human dignity and right to live. The glorification of sati is a crime. If out of love for husband wife has to die, why not the husbands die? This is very vivid witness for the inequality and male domination. The question to be asked here is whether she would become a good wife by dying? Is she not forgoing or forced to forgo the responsibility of taking care of her children? Does not the society commit a crime in making the children orphans? There are some good Hindus like Swami Agnivesh work for this cause. Thanks be to some good people that they work for the dignity of human person. We can end these type of rituals from our culture by educating the people, giving them awareness about these things that they are wrong and must not be followed. We must tell the people about the women’s rights that they should not be murdered because they have to pass their life according to their own consent. If we people come to know about the women’s rights then we will surely remove these rituals which are against the freedom of woman.