Whoa, the 1960s 	
Edward Jackson 	
10/22/2011 5:46:26 PM	

	
Discussion Question #1: Choose any current social problem that interests you and explain it from each of the sociological perspectives as explained in the two part presentation and the assigned article. 

My social problem is war.

War as defined under the sociological perspective of functionalism – is that wars exist for many reasons and serve obvious functions. One is to protect American society as we know it. Without the ability to go to war, there is a good chance that other power hungry countries would invade America. Two, wars exist to stop tyrants from taking over the countries of our allies. Many wars that America has been involved in have been out of loyalty to our allies (which did not directly impact the safety of our own country). And three, wars exist to satisfy the needs of power hungry countries. Unfortunately this is the worst kind of war where tyrants invade weaker countries just to prove how powerful they are.

War under the Conflict theory can be (for me) the very definition of conflict. There always seems to be a good guy and a bad guy in war. The problem is, sometimes it isn’t so obvious. Each side believes they are doing the right thing. Power struggles can definitely lead to conflict. But I think the conflict theory, in a more general view, would include ideology like the rich controlling the poor and the powerful controlling the weak.

The symbolic interactionism of war can take on a few meanings. First I believe it can easily mean freedom…meaning “We the people won’t let you invade our country, we want to be free—and we’ll go to war to keep it.” Secondly, the mere thought of war can bring tears to a mother’s or a father’s eyes. War can be equal to the loss of human life; devastating families, changing the lives of the wounded forever.

Discussion Question # 2: Choose any event from the 1960 Timeline under Reading tab. Explain how you think that event influenced our lives in today's global society. 
The event I have chosen is the election of President John F. Kennedy. I think Kennedy had true vision and leadership skills; he was wise beyond his years. He set forth ideology that America could be a better America, and that we could embark on a new frontier. Statements like “"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country", reverberated throughout the decade; even now it’s practically a household phrase. President Kennedy launched our space program into hyper drive when he announced that we would put a man on the moon. NASA as we know it today was really started by Kennedy. I think he was a great President and his good will towards America and even globally was boundless.

Reference:

Kelly, Martin (n.d.). John F. Kennedy - 35th President of the United States. Retrieved (10/22/2011), from http://americanhistory.about.com/od/johnfkennedy/p/pkennedy.htm

Dennis, Steve (08/31/2010). Barack Obama officially declares the Iraq war over in his Oval Office speech (10/22/2011), from http://mpinkeyes.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/iraq_soldiers.jpg 

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Eddie Jackson
GOK - Liberal Studies/Philosophy Major
http://eddiejackson.net	

RE: Hello Class 	
Edward Jackson 	
10/22/2011 6:05:17 PM	

	
It's so true, as important as birth control is, the education about diseases is equally important. I can remember in school that we had a class about sexual education. 90% of the class was about birth control, the body, and social settings. Maybe only 10% was about the many diseases are out there. I think the 1960's were an interesting time because of the idea of free love. Of course that was before AIDS.

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Eddie Jackson
GOK - Liberal Studies/Philosophy Major
http://eddiejackson.net

	

RE: 1960's census 	
Edward Jackson 	
10/22/2011 6:37:41 PM	

	
It's funny you should mention iPhones, I'm an IT guy and don't even own a cell phone at all. I wonder what that says about me? Cell phones are great for communication, and have made it easier to reach loved ones and do business. But I also think they can be a huge distraction. From people driving while talking on cell phones, to people texting while driving, it's all very dangerous. I think cell phones sometimes are used to avoid actually speaking with a person face to face...but I'm rambling now. 

The 1960s census was really a great idea. It led to computers providing innovative solutions for population metrics. It also allowed us to build important databases that led to providing better economic systems, educational systems, as well as gauging the cultural needs of different races of people.

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Eddie Jackson
GOK - Liberal Studies/Philosophy Major
http://eddiejackson.net 	

RE: Main Post-William J Gawors Jr. (Bill) 	
Edward Jackson 	
10/22/2011 7:01:04 PM	

	
It's true, our economy has been an ongoing problem, from decade to decade we continue to have issues. What's really interesting is that we continue to do the same things over and over again. And it's no coincidence that we end up in the same place. I think at one time in history America was the industrial powerhouse to the entire world. We provided steal, ships, cars, and planes to much of the world. It seems though that the global economy has changed America's circumstances. It looks like China is now the powerhouse and even we go to them for everything. 

So I wonder what new economic strategies we'll come up with that will allow America to compete on the world stage? During the 1960's the space race gave Americans something to dream about, I think we need to capture that spirit again...and perhaps it would be the catalyst to innovation that is needed in our country right now. Where have all the scientists and engineers gone?

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Eddie Jackson
GOK - Liberal Studies/Philosophy Major
http://eddiejackson.net 	

RE: Unit 1 Discussion 	
Edward Jackson 	
10/23/2011 6:00:40 PM	

	
I totally agree, violence is so prevalent today, that it makes me wonder what we're doing right. I mean humans have always had an aggressive nature to them, but when I was a kid, other kids weren't coming to school with knives and guns. There was no Columbine; my school didn't even have a single gang. I wonder why we are letting such aggression bleed into our schools?

I know in the 1960s many Universities were marching for peace...and violence broke out because of that (Kent State in 1970 actually had shootings). But for our young children (all the way down to elementary schools) to have to deal with such negative ideology just seems like a travesty.

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Eddie Jackson
GOK - Liberal Studies/Philosophy Major
http://eddiejackson.net

Columbine High School

Reference
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm	

RE: Intial Post 	
Edward Jackson 	
10/24/2011 8:19:01 AM	

	
Experimental drug testing, that's a tough one. On one hand you have the benefits from the testing, and on the other hand you have the possible negative effects. Personally I believe that the benefits would outweigh any possible negative effects; my view is more of a utilitarian viewpoint, in that you must do what's best for the majority --- and experimental testing has rendered amazing results.

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Eddie Jackson
GOK - Liberal Studies/Philosophy Major
http://eddiejackson.net