Question for flist!

[guingel]

Helloooo, friends list! (Or anyone else who stumbles across this entry!) I have a question for you.

What issues are important to you? There are so many things that need changing, cos, you know, that's what humans do when they interact - get screwy. ;) But what are the MOST important things to you?

I'm partly thinking about, like, what causes would you donate money to or protest about, but more precisely and practically, what sort of legislation would you like your government to pass?

For me right now, in the U.S., the things that come to mind are:

-Health care (haha ::sigh::) and particularly child mental health care

-The environment, preventing global warming

-Pro-choice legislation

-Better public schools

. . .But I know there are loads more. Gay rights of course, reform in the military and our international policies, food and farming reform (if I knew more about that, it might be in my list above), campaign finance reform (ha!), stem cell research, loads of others that I can't think of. Please share yours! Maybe your country has different issues of import?

And on a more international level, international adoption reform, improvement in the state of women's rights across the globe. . . I also have many concerns about violence, starvation, and certain government regimes. Haha, there's so many things. I guess there are some things that seem systematic - that I want to "change" - and other things that I want to "fix" or "end". Slightly different feeling, different way of thinking about it. Some problems primarily require money, others require new ways of thinking.

And on a more social changes rather than legislative changes level, I'd like some changes to our rape culture, more complex and non-sexualized portrayals of women in the media, more women and POC behind the cameras in the media, and overall a greater ability for people to empathize with and care about those not in their demographic group. That's just a start! ;)


I ask because I always come across different issues and I'm like "OH MY GOD THAT'S SUCH A BIG DEAL" but then I forget and the next thing I see is a big deal. So I guess I want to be able to see what other people are thinking. (And yeah, all my suggestions are probably from one side of the political spectrum, but. . . that's what being a progressive is about, right? Wanting change, rather than the status quo? Also wanting the government to have more spending power. >.>) [edit: Have realized that when I say "come across different issues" i mean "come across different guests on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report who have written books about solving the issue that they think is SUPER IMPORTANT - and they all are. But how do people process these different needs? Actually a quick look at this list has me adding "fiscal regulations" to my list of potential concerns.]

So, I know you're not a particularly political bunch, but is there one or two (or more - as many as you want!) things that really concern you, that really get your goat and that you'd really like to see change? That you want your government to get on top of?

Comments

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Actually, campaign finance reform is #1 on my list because with it, several of the others (such as health care and the environment) would be non-issues, as lawmakers would be making decisions based on their constituents' wishes and not what would make them more money.

After that, for me:

--Health Care
--Gay rights
--Environment

I put these above pro-choice legislation and education because I feel like those are things that need more fixing on the state level. Some states do better than others, and part of the problem with NCLB was trying to mandate the same thing for every state, and catering to the lowest common denominator. While I think there are some Federal guidelines that need affirming in both cases, I would like to see these things worked out by individual states because I think that would be the ideal scenario. Do I think they all will? No, but I'd like to give them the chance with minimal federal interference. Obviously that doesn't go for some of the more recent Federal legislation on abortion which needs to be fixed, or NCLB, which also needs to be fixed, but I feel like part of the problem is that in both cases the federal government made restrictive mandates on things generally left to states to regulate, and the federal government shouldn't be restricting more than any given state in these cases-- it should be setting the boundary for what may not be restricted. But that's a completely different issue and more my personal opinion on how the federal government should work when telling states how to make laws that are regulated by individual states-- they should be about affirming individual rights across the states, not taking away individual rights across the states. (Or in the case of schools, affirming a guideline for what is expected in the best interest of children, not telling schools what they must and must not do to get there).

And gender & race in the media is one of my big sticky issues too.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree that having people who are elected because their campaign message and policies appealed to people rather than because they were able to flood their constituents with literature and ads would hopefully help the other issues significantly - reducing the impact of lobbyists and (::sigh:: again) corporations on lawmakers. I probably have it as a lower priority because I'm not particularly optimistic about it. . . Or maybe because I live it and therefore don't need to put it on my "issues to care about particularly" list.

Hmm, I guess I wasn't really thinking about state level vs federal level. Actually, I rarely think about states rights at all. And yet, for some people that's probably their big issue. XD I like your thoughts about affirming individual rights across the states, though!


You know, I guess what was kind of in my head when I made this entry was guests on the Daily Show and Colbert Report. They have all those authors, right? And each of them has written a book about some subject that they feel madly passionately about, that they desperately want fixed. And they all seem urgent to me! I need to make a list of them somehow. XD

[zukkii.livejournal.com]

Gosh, I can't tell you how many times in the last few days I've opened tabs (especially to one of your recent entries) and then work has swamped me so much I don't get time to comment SO I am hitting this entry right now, work be damned.

1) Gay rights, period. I've been watching avidly the case with Prof 8 in California right now. Houston just elected a gay mayor (largest city in the US to do so), and openly so, and we haven't imploded. (Oh boy that race was kind of scary.) This is something seriously dear to my heart.

2) Pro/Anti-abortion issues. This actually was re-sparked this morning in fact. Have you seen the to-do about the anti-abortion ad CBS is going to run during the Super Bowl? The largest Planned Parenthood is being built LITERALLY next to my campus and there are constantly streams of protestors. The issue is really hitting close to home. I don't care necessarily which side of the spectrum you fall as long as you can argue - without religious hogswallow and blasphemous accusations of going to hell - your side with intelligence and proven facts.

3) Rape Culture. This is something I don't think is ever well addressed and I'm glad to see someone else recognizing that!

4) I'm not sure what you'd call this, but the state of affairs in the world - in the US especially - that more or less morally penalizes those who do not attend college. The stigma of it all is painful for me to see. I mean not only the older generations, but those in their late teens to maybe early 30s. It's nearly impossible to have a job now without that stupid piece of paper. You can't even flip burgers anymore without one, which is kind of disturbing to consider. And furthermore even if you do get a degree, if you go through even higher (Ph.D, Masters, etc.) education, you're TOO qualified at this point except in a narrow field and cut your chances of employment. In an economy needing more jobs, not necessarily specialized ones at that, it concerns me that we're focusing too much on getting the education and not applying it, not using it to better our infrastructure and social constructs and instead are making a society of educated but not necessarily smart individuals. I don't think this is being given enough mention or consideration!

...I honestly wish this semester would calm down for me, because I'd LOVE to go back and discuss/debate with you on many of your topics especially those in which you touch on heavy feminism! It's something I'm not really knowledgable about and am ALWAYS excited to learn.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

An excellent list! It will obviously not surprise you that I hadn't really thought about item #4 before except in vague ways. Do you prefer the European system, where (in many countries) it seems you're sort of. . . shuttled down a particular path and trained in a career?

Yeah, people need to approach abortion from a practical perspective. What is your goal? What would you like to happen? Would you like there to be fewer abortions? Healthy, safe women? A decrease in teen pregnancies? And then think about what's the best way to go about reaching those goals. I'm very into the practicality approach to legislation - what will this actually DO, how will it affect people in practice, not how good (or "moral") it sounds in theory.

Awww, I wish things would calm down too! Both so you, you know, wouldn't have to deal with the crazy stuff but also so I could hear your thoughts on these ideas! Thanks for taking the time to respond to this one! :D If I ever see you post an entry like "ahh, I have so much free time and mental energy" (haha) I will be all "SO. MY ENTRIES."

Was there anything in particular that struck you? Especially if something stuck out as crazy ridiculous, I'd love to know! XD I'm also always interested in how "heavy feminism" comes across to people who don't think about it much.

Aaaand another split. I get the feeling I'm working on some kind of record here

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Issues that are important to me are definitely those that affect me personally or that I encounter in my everday life. (I'm mentioning this, because most of my "issues" may seem kind of ...smallish compared to the big concepts that you think about.) So because of that, my list consists of the following stuff:


1.a.) Gay, or rather Queer Rights - people's right to live the sexuality they want, as long as they don't hurt anyone else with it. It's something I still struggle with, sometimes, because I have to admit that stuff like BDSM and S&M still freaks me out a bit, but it's definitely something I think about. Especially with "gay" still (or again) being a swear word for most kids. That the government accepts the changes that have been proposed to give better legal protection to GLBT / Queer people is something that I really hope for. (We have, I think, an overall slightly more tolerant legislation when it comes to gay rights than the US, for example, but we're far from perfect.)
1.b.) More asexual characters on TV / in movies. OK, not really a goal or something I want to work at, but that's something that would be kind of nice. ^-^ At the same time as this, I want to see more POC, openly homosexual people and more interracial couples on TV, but that's an issue I can't really do much about, because the only TV I still watch are American crime series (like "Bones") and documentaries, and the former, though they vex me, I can't really change. (Though seriously, Disney - please work on your interracial couples a bit more? High School Musical was OK, I guess, but why exactly did the two most prominent black students end up with each other again?)
Especially in media for children and young adults, I want more heroes and heroines that even "non-mainstream" kids can identify with. We have strong heroines in children's literature (and movies / series made from that literature) thanks to authors like Astrid Lindgren and Cornelia Funke and we even have one black child hero in Michael Ende's "Jim Knopf" ("Jim Button", though the depiction of Asian folks in that book / TV series is something that's best left alone); but we don't have clever heroines who wear a headscarf or are from clearly muslimic families; we have few heroines and heroes in children's media who speak a different language and live a different culture at home, or who're gay, lesbian or transsexual.

Part 2!

[kegom.livejournal.com]

2.) Inclusive school system for children with disabilities and/or a migration background. Germany has such huge problems with the inclusion of both still, and it's such an important topic, because it's not acceptable that children are put into special schools when they don't even need special facilities (I understand that a special school that offers physical and/or psychological therapy sessions and comes equipped with all the stuff that blind/physically handicapped students need might be the best solution sometimes), just because their teachers don't know how to deal with them and have no person they can talk to, because the school system still segregates students into different schools according to grades and there are just too few specialists (like special needs teachers) employed in normal schools; and it's also not acceptable that the job a child's father has, and the question whether this child has German parents or not, is basis for the decision of which school to put the child in. - Inclusion is actually a global theme, of course, but I mostly want to change my own system before I tackle any other system. ^^" We're in the middle of trying to get my city to accept a six year primary school instead of the (still normal in Germany) four year one, and it really is a huge issue for me, because there are so many (blindingly STUPID, if well meaning) parents who're afraid that their children might "suffer" from spending more time in primary school. (Damn you, German school system and your roots in 19th century that are still in people's heads!)

3.a.) Fair prices and work for local farmers, especially dairy farmers who often can't keep their farms because they get less for the milk they sell than they need to feed their animals. Coupled with this, a "Local Products" section at at least the better grocery stores, especially for meat, because I don't have a problem eating a dead animal, but I feel that it's my duty to at least honor the animal in question by making sure that it had a halfway decent life before it died for me. I can't do that when I can't visit the farms the animals came from.
3.b.) A big "NO" to gene-altered food, especially corn. I want Monsanto to stay away from our fields. That's one of the things that I want the goverment to be very clear about.



There are more issues, other issues both in my country and internationally that are very important, but those are the ones that I'm involved with myself, at the moment. As you know, I read your posts on feminism and racism, and they have made me more aware of what I say, do and think; but they're really huge concepts and I mostly tend towards the smaller stuff that I can ...tackle, somehow. Not very political or grandiose, I guess, but I always feel that someone has to be concerned over the little things as well.

Re: Part 2!

[guingel.livejournal.com]

it's also not acceptable that the job a child's father has, and the question whether this child has German parents or not, is basis for the decision of which school to put the child in

Whoa! What? That seems kinda blatant. Which school how?

I wonder what these inclusion issues are like in America. Probably not great although I know some kids with disabilities had an individual "assistant" sort of person. Or there were special ed classes within the school. . . I don't really know anything about it, though, and I come from a moderately wealthy area.

I think it's smart to focus on the smaller stuff. A lot of it is like focused versions of the big isms - (2) is about ablism, (3) is about concerns about corporations (ok, not an ism, but I think of it like one) and who our economies really help, and also health issues! ((1) is obvious!) So breaking it down into one issue that you can focus on and change seems smart! Much more practical and effective.

edit: Also! Thank you for responding! My answer is so short. XD But you know, it's cos I pretty much just agree with you!

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Courtesy Tara Livesay (http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2009/03/stand.html): (she says she gets emails asking her to care about these things. It was a good sample for this entry.)

the killing of harp seals in Canada, abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, poverty, the changing curriculum in the public schools, the endangered rain forest, AIDS in Africa, the persecuted church, child abuse, boycott this and boycott that, the global food crisis, the dust on the top of pop cans is going to kill us, the changing face of modern culture, environmental causes, politics and more politics ... and on and on and on it goes.

Katie and I just thought of something else. What was it? Shoot. I'll ask her.

It was tort reform!

[shadowflute.livejournal.com]

So, I know I'm a little late to the party, because I haven't been reading LJ. But, I am currently quite concerned about childhood obesity. I will admit straight away that my concern is based on my own experiences with it. I don't know what to do about it, though. I've been eating better myself, and when I have children, I intend to feed them healthily, but I just don't know what I can do on a larger scale. I've been reading a blog in my spare time, http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/ written by an elementary school teacher who has decided to take pictures of, and eat, the lunch provided to the students everyday. All I can say is, this is the same food that I was offered when I had "meal assistance" in elementary school. And looking at it then, that's all I knew to expect for lunch, but looking at it now, I can't imagine it does any of the students any good to eat some of this stuff.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for participating! :) This is an interesting one - definitely a major concern. I'm always more interested in things that affect children. :/

I'm almost afraid to click on that blog, but I will. D: Have you heard about Michelle Obama's new thing, she plans to work against childhood obesity. Not sure about the specifics, though.

Hey, so. . . you had a car accident? D: I'm glad you're okay!