Friday, December 30, 2011

Liberal Bias


Lately I’m sure you have been hearing a lot about the presidential debates and GOP candidates. The media has been ruthlessly attacking them, calling their bluffs and not letting them get away with lies or slander. I have to admit, it is refreshing to see the media have more of a skeptical attitude towards the candidates. We tend to glorify the leader (or potential leaders) of our country. They seem to be able to get away with more, a prime example being that Richard Nixon was never charged and eventually pardoned for his actions. Any normal, average citizen engaged in such activities would probably have never seen outside the inside of a jail cell.

Now, this isn’t to say that the media isn’t at all biast. That is not true in the least. If anything, most news sources take somewhat of a liberal bias. Right? Acually, no.  According to Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. “Despite research to the contrary, the general public and a significant number of politicians are convinced the U.S. news media have a liberal and pro-Democratic bias.  Findings based on two large national surveys suggest that audiences' ideologies and partisanships affect how they view the media.” (Lee, 2010). I think that from this we can realize that the conservatism that we sometimes try so hard to deny is still with us. While the crackdown might be more harsh, we still aren’t living up to our full journalistic potential. We should demand that we have a more fair representation of ideas, and not focus on ideas that ensue intolerance or hate. Conservatism could be the death of America, but not if we stand up and fight.


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Why Contraceptives Should be Free


Birth Control Pills can cost up to $50 a month. $50 a month to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy. $50 a month to get one of the most effective methods of contraception available.  $50 a month to lookout for your own wellbeing. Is this not outrageous?
                The fact that birth control pills, as well as other methods of control, are very costly is no secret.  In fact, a lot of young women face tremendous financial stress when it comes to getting birth control. Just look at this story from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2007/10/11/the-pills-price-on-campus.
                When Malia Mason went into her university health center last December to refill her birth control prescription, she got some shocking news: She'd soon be shelling out $42 for each four-week pill pack of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, she was told, instead of her usual $14. The 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh filled the rest of her yearly prescription at the old price, but she finally ran out this month and will have to come up with an additional $360 a year. "That's the cost of my yearly electric bill or half my books for a semester," she says. "I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do."
          Is this what we want young women to face? The choice between either having electricity or protecting herself?  Unfortunately, this is what we face in modern day America; the war on sex. Conservatives are so determined to deter people from having SAFE sex just because they aren’t married. In fact, birth control JUST got covered by health care in August- a law that should have been in place a long time ago, considering Viagra has been covered since its introduction in 1998. This is the result of women’s sexuality not being viewed as legitimate as men’s- men are sexual beings who can’t get enough, while women have no sexual tendencies at all.
          Ultimately, the decision to protect one’s self from STD’s and pregnancy should be rewarded, NOT punished. We should be encouraging women to learn how to protect themselves and to understand the various methods that can be used to do so. By making these methods free of charge, we can get more women to use them and ultimately make ourselves less vulnerable to dieses and unwanted pregnancy.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Stop Sex Trafficking



            What comes to mind when you think of slavery? The Atlantic Slave trade that took place in Europe and the America? The Ancient Greek and Roman societies that had slaves as the majority of their populations? POW’s who often experience torture and are forced to work in labor camps? What I bet you didn’t think of is women being forced into prostitution. Sex slavery today is one of the BIGGEST realms of exploitation in human history. In fact, there are more slaves today then there ever were in any other period of time. The difference? Instead of being forced to do hard labor or work the land modern day slaves are forced into sex.
            The industry itself came about with the rise of prostitution in the modern day era. Since the sex industry is often legitimized, it is easier for thugs to take advantage of the harsh barriers being broken down around this. Women and children in poor countries are often coerced into the business with promises of a better life, a husband and wealth. The amount of people trafficked every year ranges from 700,000 to 4 million (1)  With these promises in mind, they themselves or their families often willingly take their control and give it to the pimps trying to exploit them. Soon after they will usually find themselves forced to work in a brothel for dozens of hours on end, with little to no food, clothing or protection.  They are forced to sell themselves for sex, but they don’t keep any of the money; the pimps do. 
            The pimps are very clever, and find many ways to keep the women in this system. They charge them for their supposed care, as well as for their “program “itself; they then create a “debt” the woman has to work off. She only makes pennies off her work though, and the debt will grow even if they are “working it off”.  It is by these means that the industry survives- women are falsely lead into it through slander and pimps will use these tactics to keep them in.
            Now that we’ve explored how the system itself works, the question is where does this happen? Certainly you don’t hear stories like this on your local news. You may wonder why this is. The fact is that sex itself is still taboo and isn’t talked about much in Western culture. In this country, between 14-17 thousand women are trafficked into our nation every single year. (2) People are often misinformed about prostitution as well, thinking that the women involved in the business are sex-crazed nymphs who will take it wherever they can get it. While there are women prostituting themselves by free will, many out there are forced or coerced into the business because of their poor financial situation, or by pimps with promises of a better life. They are promised jobs, and then forced to work as prostitutes, facing violence or possibly death if they refuse. No nation is unaffected. The countries classified as “very high” in demand for trafficking are Belgium, Greece, Israel, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and the US (3).
            This industry generates around 7 billion dollars annually (4). That is why it thrives; it is low risk, high profit. Most in the sex trafficking industry are either working with a corrupt police force, or if prosecuted do not face heavy sentencing. In fact, the average sentence in the Netherlands for sex traffickers is 14-15 years (1). Also, many times the victims will actually face jail time, and instances of coercion, violence or force must be proven.
So, how can you stop this? One thing you can do is educate, educate, EDUCATE! Talk about these issues openly with your peers and create a platform to discuss the results of trafficking. You could also join the Not for Sale Campaign which seeks to end sex trafficking. They seek to end trafficking through a variety of campaigns, resources, and tools for people to use/facilitate.
And remember, the violence ends with YOU.


Sources: