Technology affects our society in both negative and positive ways. Through technology we get social media which can bring light to important issues and can easily sway people's opinions. Also with social media we get bullying and a constant stream of negativity. There are some people in this world who refuse to watch the news simply because the bad news brings them down.
In both The Wave and Animal Farm, the newly formed group or society is presented as a superior alternative to the one that preceded it. The leaders of both causes used language when establishing a group chant or motto. Mr. Ross from The Wave created a salute that went along with the saying, "Strength in discipline, strength in community." The use of this exclusive saying makes members feel special, as if they are apart of something others, who are less privileged, will never get to experience. This use of unity through language can be mirrored in Animal Farm whenever the animals sing Beasts of England. The feelings established in those who are apart of the groups are feelings of belonging. The group members are completely committed.
War is fighting between two or more countries for control or power over a situation.
War can be unjust, or it can be necessary. What we don't realize is the amount of innocent people being slaughtered intentionally and unintentionally during these conflicts. Take the Syrian War for example. Russia bombed innocent bystanders, claiming they were trying to bomb ISIS. Regardless of what we think about it war is always going to be around. As long as the nearly 8 billion people on this planet have differing opinions, conflict and fighting is going to continue. War changes us by showing us how privileged we are to live in a place like the United States. It helps us realize that even though it's not happening here, it's happening somewhere and children just like us are having to experience it first hand. Capital punishment in the United States dates back to the early 1600s, and since then, eighteen states have abolished its use. It arguably goes against most major religions, including Christianity, and in the past has been ruled unconstitutional. The death penalty has always had its faults, and even after hundreds of years of innovation, we still have not gotten much better at it. From its extravagant costs to the number of botched and wrongful executions, it is evident that the death penalty should be a thing of the past.
Each year, the government wastes millions of dollars to fund the death penalty. The “slow, inconsistent, and inefficient” system costs at least 6 times more than its life-without-parole alternative (Drehle par. 41). A professor from Duke University studied the amount of money states would save without the penalty, and he concluded that the savings would be in the millions. North Carolina alone would save around $11 million, while bigger states such as California would cut out about $200 million in death penalty related expenses. This definitely isn’t being overlooked. Even in Texas, a state known for its vast support for capital punishment and for holding the top ranking in number of carried out executions, officials are recognizing the dramatic costs. Texas prosecutor Stephen Taylor told reporters that cost is indeed a factor in deciding whether or not to once again abolish the system altogether. Taylor says, “You have to be very responsible in selecting where you want to spend your money” (Drehle 43). If people in Texas, who widely support the sentence, are realizing this, imagine what smaller states who aren’t as wealthy are thinking. Not only is capital punishment expensive, it is not always as painless as it is made out to be. The numerous stories of botched executions prove that we truly still have not found a humane way to end someone’s life. In April of 1983, John Evans was executed by electric chair. During the fourteen minutes it took to kill Evans, there was a malfunction, and despite the pleas from his lawyers to stop the execution, more electricity was applied. By the time officials announced Evans deceased, his body was left charred and smoking. Since the innovation of lethal injection, other methods of execution such as the electric chair are not commonly used. Though the deadly combination of drugs has been praised, it still has been the cause of suffering in the last moments of inmates’ lives. The most recent case of complications comes from December 8, 2016. Ronald Bert Smith, Jr. was not pronounced dead for over 30 minutes. It is reported that for thirteen minutes gasped, heaved, and coughed. During one point he even “clenched his fists and raised his head” (Radelet par. 52). Thought lethal injection is considered the most humane way of execution, it is responsible for the most botched executions. There are hundreds of horrific stories about careless executions, and there are even more regarding those who were proven innocent after being sentenced. For some, their innocence was not recognized until after they were put to death. Since the 70’s, 144 people have been exonerated. While only 1.6% of all inmates on death row have been proved guilty, it is believed that around 4.1% of death row inmates are innocent. Of the over 3,000 inmates who have been sentenced to death, around a third of those people are African American. Like many government related issues, a lot of evidence points towards capital punishment being arbitrary. Since the penalty’s reinstatement in 1976, several studies have been conducted regarding the system’s racial bias. A University of Iowa professor, David C. Baldus, published one of these studies. Him and his colleagues found that African Americans are 1.7 times more like to receive the sentence, and the odds were increased to 4.3 times more likely when a white man or woman is killed rather than an American American. In “a mostly white America, significantly more blacks than whites are put to death” (Drehle par. 36) The system has always been this way. At one point, it was used as a “powerful tool of white supremacy” (Drehle par. 35). In the days of slavery, capital punishment was used as a threat in order to decrease the likelihood of a slave revolt. It was actually a viable sentence for slaves who hit their owners hard enough to leave as much as a small bruise. Some of the most heinous crimes don’t result in the death penalty, while less severe crimes do. Two crimes of the same equivalent could result in completely different sentences. The inconsistent and unpredictable nature of the death penalty is yet another reason it is unjust. In the years since capital punishment has been reinstated, the crime rate has plunged dramatically, and it is clear that we no longer need this incompetent system. The cruel ways of capital punishment leaves inmates unsure of when their lives are to end, and executioners suffering from issues as severe as PTSD. Improvements in maximum security facilities ensure better options as to how we can punish someone for their crimes. With a system as corrupt as the one in place, the people of the United States are seeing the consequences. Works Cited Dow, David R. "Death Penalty, Still Racist and Arbitrary." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 July 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. Drehle, David Von. "Here's Why The Death Penalty Is Doomed in America." Time. Time, 8 June 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. Radelet, Michael L. "Botched Executions." Botched Executions | Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. |
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