Although everything we have learned this year
is always related to each other in one way or another, there are three
particular events I believe hold much significance today, in 2012. These three
important issues are:
1. Arab-Israeli Conflict:
This conflict has been occurring for decades
now are particularly highlighted still in our news today as a huge problem in
our world. The Arabs and the Israelis are the primary rivals in this issue and
have been struggling to find a solution or compromise to the correct land
ownership. The problem is difficult to find a solution primarily because of
their religious views, which has caused a considerable amount of tension and
violence. This continuous political friction has not only caused tension within
the specific desired land but has become an international conflict as well.
This is where I believe it is one of the most important world issues of 2012.
For example, America’s involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict has caused a
lot of citizens within the country as well as other citizens who’s country is
allied with America to question their bias and future decisions America could
step in on.
Hopefully we will see peace between the
Arabs and the Israelis within the next few months or years but until then we
need to continue to brainstorm solutions so this issue will not be ignored.
2. National and International
Disparity: After discussing many issues in class, such as poverty, debt,
violence etc, I have realized that a central reason to this is the disparity we
have in our world today. This
division of the rich and the poor has been happening for centuries, and yet it
only seems to be getting worse. On a national scale we can see it in our
communities, as some people only get paid the minimum wage while others get
paid the ten times the minimum in one hour. On an international scale, we see
countries like Canada and America who are culturally, socially, and
economically rich from the resources and opportunities we have been given while
they’re countries such as the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that face extreme
poverty and are in endless debt from the lack of resources and a successful
economy. Although many people have tried to speak up for this issue, such as
the Occupy Wall Street protests, there is still a huge gap in our world. This
will be a very tough issue to fix in our world because we will want individuals
to work hard and be rewarded for their hard work (through income) but we also
need to ensure individuals are not being taken advantage of by these higher
paying individuals. (e.g. sweatshops)
3. Global Supply of Fresh Water: After
I did my presentation on this topic, it has come to my attention as one of the
most important problems our whole world faces. Considering one in six people do
not have access to a fresh water supply really sparks my attention that we need
to fix, considering water is one of the essential elements to survival. As
Canadians I believe we need to firstly recognize water as a human right, and
secondly considering sharing our water with countries in the world that do not
have the access to it. It is essentially luck of the draw that Canada ended up
with this amazing resource and it should be our duty to share it with the rest
of our global community.
Though two of our issues differ, I still see the validity in what you are saying. Disparity is one I didn't really think of when I wrote my blog. Disparity is a huge problem and will continue to be a bigger and bigger problem as globalization increases. With globalization will come the decline of small business and the increase of big companies like Wal-Mart. This will further the disparity gap internationally.
ReplyDeleteAll of my top issues were pretty much the same as yours, so I completely agree with what you are saying. I believe that the fresh water issue is an especially pressing one, after all we all need water in the end just to simply survive. Disparity is always a sad one because it's hard to think of having a life of despair.. A cycle that is very hard to escape.
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