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Feedback ForumWhat’s the most pressing social problem in the world and what will it take to solve it?Submissions for this question are no longer being accepted. Previously submitted comments appear below. Comments may have been edited for content or space. Poster: Pam Comment: The War on Drugs has destroyed individuals, families and communities. We have disenfranchised MILLIONS of people who are not allowed to participate in the democratic process. We have become the incarceration nation as we choose to not deal with the effects of poverty and addiction. Using punitive measures as deterrents has never made us safer. We are using billions of dollars to lock people up while our schools and health care suffer because of it. Poster: James Comment: Immigration is a world wide problem. Nations that are poor send their surplus population to Europe and America and bring with them their religion and politics which proven to be a bane for the West. Poster: Sharon Comment: Drug addiction and the resulting War on Drugs combine to form the world's worst problem. Criminalizing drug use does not work and will never work. It creates far worse problems than drug use, which is bad enough. Drug legalization, like alcohol legalization, would allow to focus to be on substance abuse treatment and anti-drug education. Legalization would immediately put violent drug dealers out of business and defund terrorist organizations. Poster: Edith Simmons Comment: World Health...that covers climate change and all the rest. America needs to lead in this...we don't lead in much anymore and this would be the perfect place to start. Poster: Lauren J Sullivan Comment: I think the most pressing social problem in the world is the behavior of my country, the United States of America. It has become an outlaw nation, a deadly dangerous renegade in the community of nations on planet Earth. It breaks my heart to say it, but it threatens the viability of the entire globe with its refusal to cooperate in matters of utmost importance, like global warming, ending war, combating poverty, hunger and disease, eliminating nuclear pollution, and so much more. If the resources being thrown away by the U.S. on weapons of mass destruction were instead to be turned to constructive purposes, so many of these problems could be resolved. At present, the only solution I see is some kind of revolution -- and the American people will have to wake up to Reality and see what we have done before that will happen. Poster: Elaine Trogman Comment: I feel climate change is because it touches many aspects of existence. It will depete the amount of water that citizens in many countries will be able to access. It can help to spread tropical diseases. I even heard that when ice from the artic melts it can release methane that is much more poisonous that CO2. Climate change can also flood low lying countries which will cause mass migrations. Poster: Andy Galligan Comment: The most pressing problem in the world is, in my view, poverty and its attending evils: starvation and/or malnutrition, lack of education, lack of shelter, and lack of medical care. The solution is what is called political will of the people. It will take grassroots protests and leaders who can constructively and effectively encourage and channel such energy. I don't hold out much hope for such action anytime soon. Such political will and wise leadership seem far too scarce. Poster: Sylvia Comment: I can list three: Overpopulation, poverty, and climate change. By far, however, overpopulation is the most serious problem because it is the root cause of all of the other problems. Poster: ilof musich Comment: Most pressing Social problem? In the world? Where to start...? Basic human rights violations against the poorest and weakest of us. Uncontrolled disease and hunger. Abuse of power by those who have it (teacheers, priests, doctors, clergy, police, parents, and political figures to start with), against those who don't - the rest of us. Uncontrolled greed, with its resultant abuse of air, water, earth, and populations. The question is too huge to address adequately using a single example. Poster: Jack Attack Comment: The most pressing social problem is Global Warming. Prompt actions in the short term are needed. If we do not take significant steps to halt the increase of greenhouse gasses within the next decade, and to further reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 we may see our planet heat up by 10 degrees F by 2100. Poster: Audrey Cozzarin Comment: The steady erosion of courtesy and ciizenry in the United States, as evidenced by road rage, poor service at the retail level, corporations discounting the worth of employees by sending their jobs to India and China to bring in short-term profits which I find traitorous and a practice that should be illegal, everyone running around like chickens with their heads cut off to chauffer their kids around to endless activities, children feeling pressured to succeed on a level never seen before--a general breakdown of our society is in force right now. Economically, socially, the citizens of the United States are too busy, too stressed, and are getting more isolated by the day as TV, the Internet, a lack of the federal and state governments to uphold social safety nets, and more people working from home or 2 to 3 jobs have created a society of people who are disconnected from each other, from their families, from their country in terms of the duties of being a good citizen. I think civility and courtesy are an example we set for the rest of the world as Americans, and particularly now when we are in the business of war instead of diplomacy, we fail to set the high standard that I, for one, lament as missing from my country right now. Poster: Renee G. Comment: Biggest social problem? ACCOUNTABILITY. How to fix it? Being the EXAMPLE. If accountability could be viewed as a fad - it should catch on quickly. The oil industry would sponsor contests for new alternate energy innovations; the chemical and pharmaceutical industry would financially support and encourage education on organics and natural medicine; the government would be inclined to safeguard (in all ways) the people they allegedly represent; and, perhaps our congressman would learn to listen to the people who make their salaries and perks possible. With accountability - comes responsibility; thusly, problems of poverty, global warming, health care, war (and peace) - become easy to solve and gets solved. Poster: Sonal Comment: There are many pressing problems facing the world today - Poverty, hunger,population, war in Iraq & Middle East, access to affordable health care, global warming, environment. The world has plenty of resources - food, money, etc. to resolve htese problems. The political will is lacking as Corporations control the money and politics. Media is mostly propaganda of the Corporations that own them and polictics that govern. People in general are complacent, especially in the US. there is no public outcry. Where do we begin? With each one of us. Poster: Murray Comment: The most pressing problem is the unaccountablity of corporate power. The legal personhood and limited liability of corporations allow the corporate structure to have legal rights intended for people andindividuals can escape reponsibility for the actions of the corporations they run or invest in. Poster: BUTCH Comment: I HAVE TO AGREE WITH GEORGE. CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOW IT CAN AND WILL EVENTUALLY CHANGE THE FACE OF THIS PLANET......FOR THE WORSE!!!!! A COMPREHENSE WORKABLE, DOABLE PLAN FOR THE LONG AND SHORT TERM TO CUT EMISSIONS, GREENHOUSE GASES. GET OFF THE OIL ADDICTION. DEVELOP USABLE, INEXPENSE NEW ENERGY SOURCES!!!!! TO MENTION JUST A MICRO AMOUT. THANKS Poster: Adele Caruthers Comment: Poverty is the most serious problem, poverty and the unwillingness of the super rich to help those in need. By poverty I mean not just a scarcity of food, but of opportunities for the poor to change their destiny by education, medical attention, or freedom to work for what they need. Poster: Karras Comment: The most pressing problem in this world is ignorance. One way to deal with this is already here: the Internet. Next there must be an expansion of teachers who do not teach a dogma or challenge local beliefs. Enhanced awareness is the beginning. Poster: Jackie Raven Comment: I think the most serious problem is overpopulation because it's at the root of so many other pressing problems, and now with an increase in consumption taking place in densely populated countries like China and India, problems such as increased animal consumption, increased pollution, global warming, destruction of natural resources, food and water shortages, etc. will only increase. And, with the 18% of global warming attributed to animal agriculture being generally ignored by environmental groups and the press, it's a problem that will only worsen. Though it's a problem that can be dealt with if we were all willing to make a commitment to reduce our consumption of animals, along with our efforts to reduce consumption in other areas. But, it has to be worldwide effort. Poster: alma andrada Comment: POVERTY!!!! Poster: Sherman R. Comment: I think the most pressing social problem facing the world today is EDUCATION! People who have little or no education cannot understand the real reasons for events occurring today. Better education will help people resolve their other problems of war and hunger. Poster: J. Pat Comment: The planet's destruction lies in its overpopulation. The air and water cannot long sustain the current population. and we continue to multiply ourselves. We are heading for an unimaginable disaster that will kill billions. It may even mean the end of our species along with the flora and fauna. Poster: Grace H. Comment: Fanaticism and Corporate Greed and Greed in general causing so few to have so much while so many have so little. Poster: Stacy G. Comment: I think poverty is the biggest problem, and the most untackled , in world history. Even with great leaders like Bill Clinton and Bill Gates trying to find ways to combat hunger, it persists like a plague. We are all just too comfrotable in our hopmes and our lives. I think it will take a major catastrophe for people to rally together to force a change, but we can all act independently by donating food and money to real, worthy causes. Of course, thinking about people besides ourselves is not exactly a quintessential American trait... Poster: George Comment: The most pressing problem is, by far, climate change, because our entire future hangs in the balance. It will take everyone to WAKE UP before we even begin to work on a solution. And for that to happem we need a wholesale change in political leadership. |
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