By popular demand (in so much as a singular request, actually;-)), I seek to make good on my initially stated intentions in this thread's OP, and lend some quantitative accounting and assessment to the tendered responses herein (despite the lacking fact that my hoped-for foundation of a minimum of 20 distinct replies to work from was not entirely met); and, as promised, afterwards - my own "top five" priorities (which were not included in the quantitative tally).
Some caveats are in order:
1) The catergorzations/characterizations (of "issues") lent are my own, simply to qualify the broader (or more specified) thrust of a particular issue. Quibbling with such characterizations are expected, and certainly open to debate. Greater specificity in initial responses would have mitigated the need for such summary characterizations...but that's OK. ;-)
2) The sum total of the enumerated/qualified issues exceeds the number of lent replies because (in my sole estimation) some issues are intermixed or transcend distinctive boundaries.
3) No intentional/personal bias/preference was lent to individual issues with identical accountings in the listing below. It just worked out that way. Really. ;-)
4) I'm only human, and predisposed to error. Previous contributors to this thread may feel that their particular issue was unfairly/inappropriately categorized, or unaccounted. As always, I invite correction as due.
"Top 5 Issues to fix in the world (so far_)"
Education enhancement/reform - 5
Health/medicine - 5
Environmental issues - 5
Darfur/genocide - 4
Governmental fiscal accountability/tax reform - 4
Clean water - 4
Alternative energy/Oil dependency - 3
Sexual exploitation/abuse - 3
(World) hunger - 3
(World) poverty - 3
Iraq War/War - 2
Religious tolerance - 2
Human rights - 2
Equal (civil) rights - 2
Ignorance/Fear - 1
Overpopulation - 1
Greed/Capitalism - 1
Political corruption - 1
Homelessness/Shelter - 1
Tibet - 1
Political oppression/persecution - 1
Decriminalization/Legalization of personal choices - 1
Nuclear proliferation - 1
"World Peace" - 1
Observations:
Again, I confess disappointment that greater specificity was not especially lent to individually proffered "priority issues" (though some folks did, thank you). Perhaps the opportunity to do so will be engaged in the auxiliary/concomitant thread entitled "
Your Top 5 legislative proposals to 'fix' the Top 5 Issues of the day" (Coming soon to an REF thread near you).
It is often both heard and said, "
Somebody needs to do something about that!". Well,
be that somebody.
Do something about it.
Input:
I'm going to cheat (or rather, indulge) my own instigated thread a bit.
Here are
my "
Top 5 issues to fix (and why)"
nationally; and then, (soon to follow) internationally.
In the U.S.
1)
Nationalized (federalized) "free" health care for every citizen.
Why: Nearly 10 million children under the age of 18 have no health coverage.
*More than 90% of them have one or more parents who work.
*60% live in two-parent families.
*70% have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level.
*They make up 70% of all newly uninsured Americans, while the number of children without private insurance grows by roughly 3,000 every day.
For the "wealthiest nation" on Earth, this is a readily preventable and needless moral abdication of a civil society's responsibility.
Infant mortality in the U.S. ranks amongst the likes of Croatia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Estonia. "Developed nations" with "socialized medicine" like Cuba(!), Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, the U.K., Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore (some of which have nearly one-third lower rates of infant mortality) rank far above the "wealthiest, most Christian nation on Earth".
Source: CIA - The World Factbook
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html
2)
Federally-provided (free, or subsidized) shelters/domiciles for all homeless U.S. citizens.
Why:
*2.3 million to 3.5 million people experience homelessness in America each year.
*23% of the homeless population are military veterans
*Families are now the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, accounting for almost 39% of the nation's homeless.
*The average age of a homeless person in the U.S. is 9 years old.
*Nearly 20% of homeless children lack a regular source of medical care.
Our veterans are the ones that sacrifice their life priorities to secure the liberties, opportunities, and freedoms we all enjoy.
Homeless children have no say or influence upon their situation; they're not "lazy", "drunks", hobos", or crazy. They're just children.
Why would such a moral, compassionate, and generous nation choose to ignore our most courageous and defenseless citizens in their greatest time of need?
3)
Vastly expand the scope and funding of scientific research, discovery, and exploration.
Why:
Global warming; Alternative fuels; Medicine; knowledge, enlightenment, revelation, and inspiration.
There is an expectation that "science" (that amorphous entity of mystery and magic) will somehow "fix" or "cure" all of our contemporary ailments or environmental challenges...just so that we may painlessly and mindlessly continue to enjoy our iPods, TiVo, and front-door refrigerator crushed ice. We get scientific discovery and revelation on the cheap in the U.S. Most medical research is motivated by corporate profits, not some beneficent or selfless greater good.
Discovery
alone promises
nothing. The overwhelming amount of the technology that we enjoy today was the byproduct of unforeseen or unexpected consequences borne of experimentation. The only thing that surpasses current human understanding and knowledge...is what we have
yet to explore and discover by purposed intent...or complete accident. Innovations, and competent explanations, are fueled by the available resources (and guile) of those willing to ask "
why not this?"; instead of the timid and vapid souls that seek abject ignorance and regression to "simpler" times.
4)
Mandate the instruction of critical thinking into every public school curriculum from grade 7 upward.
Why:
Critical thinking does not abide - nor long tolerate - facile appeals to emotion, bias, fear, or ignorance. From: political corruption; to national debates of civil/constitutional/human rights; racial/religious/gender/national/sexual orientation tolerance/oppression; and purely for the sake of reasoned, rational, and logical debate/discussion - critical thinking is imperative to any sustainable and worthy self-governing people. If reason is universally taught, then reason can ultimately prevail in any given scenario.
Ignorance, apathy, ennui, and indifference are all borne of a conspicuous absence of critical thinking,reflection, and examination. Time to seriously think about how to teach children how to think for themselves.
5)
Environmental responsibility/accountability/preservation.
Why:
Well...
duh.
We are what we eat, breathe, and drink. No other species on this planet has the power either to utterly destroy, or ultimately preserve, the ecosystem in which we all coexist.
Humans were not the
first species to inhabit this planet, and it's pretty well assured that humans will not be the
last to do so. We abide amongst temporal grounds, utterly dependent upon the mechanisms of life itself; and the consequent repercussions of our own craft. We don't own the natural world or cosmos. It's neither ours to specifically bequeath to a certain "chosen" few, or presently claim as our own to squander and defile as we please.
In most vile terms, it's bad form to "sh*t where you eat", and our species has been dumping in it's own dining room for a long, long time. Time to get potty trained, and learn where that defecated crap really goes after we blithely flush the toilet into some hoped-for oblivious destination.
Do you feel like sh*t sometimes? Maybe it's because you are breathing, eating, and drinking someone else's sh*t.
