module 4 discussion 6

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Hello Class,

It is time to post your answers to all discussion questions for the Module 4 Discussion.

Please number the questions. Do NOT write the questions out. I just want to see your answers. Be sure to post your word count. It must be 500 or more words. Peer posts must be at least 100 words. Again, be sure to post your word count for both postings.

Dr. M

Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss how does religion affect the way people behave politically, economically and socially?
  2. Some would argue that religion is a form of social control. What is meant by this? Give specific examples.
  3. How often do you vote? If you do not vote, what accounts for your apathy? Are you too busy to register? Are community issues uninteresting to you? Do you think voter apathy is a serious social problem? What might be done to increase voter participation in your age group and community?
  4. Would you vote for a female president of the US? Why or why not?
  5. How has your home community (your city, town, or neighborhood) changed over the years you have lived there? Have there been significant changes in the community’s economic base of its racial and ethnic profile? Have the community’s social problems intensified or lessened? Is unemployment currently a major problem? What are the community’s future prospects?
  6. What are some of the current problems and issues facing Americans who live in central cities, suburbs, and rural areas.
  7. Choose one social movement that has occurred within yours or your parent’s life time and discuss it.
  8. You have just gone out to eat with 3 close friends. As one is looking over the restaurant’s menu, they exclaim, “Just look at all this veggie stuff…what ever happened to plain old beef?” Since you just read about social movements, you decided to argue that vegetarianism is a social movement like many others. What specific things about social movements would you link with vegetarianism? What specific characteristics of vegetarianism would you include to support your contention that it can be thought of as a social movement?
  9. What did you like best about this class? What was the most important piece of knowledge you learned?

PLEASE REPLY TO THE FOLLOWING PEER POST (100 WORDS MINIMUM):

1. Religion may affect the way people behave politically, economically, and socially because religion acts as one’s base of behavioral choices. For example, if you are a Christian you may not vote for or support someone politically if they are supporters of abortion laws. Secondly, if you are a Christian you may give tithe (10% of your income) to your church whereas a Muslim will give 2.5% of income annually. Furthermore, if you identify with a certain religion you may be more enticed to give to organizations who share your same values and beliefs. Lastly, socially your religion may persuade who you decide to hang out with or talk to. Some people may decide that their peers’ values and morals do not align with their own so they may choose to no longer communicate with them. For instance, some people believe talking to people are living in ways that do not reflect their religion will taint their “holiness.”

2. Some people may argue that religion is a form of social control because it can greatly influence your decisions and behavior. The “rules” religions have set in place influence how a person may act because usually religions have consequences for not abiding by the rules. As an old example, it is said that slave owners would use the Bible as an excuse for slavery. They would tell the victims of slavery that it is in God’s will, therefore if they act accordingly they will be punished on Earth as well as in the afterlife by God. The goal of the slave “owners” was to constrict the victims to behaving in a way they wanted. (This may be a poor example, but I believe this correlates to the question.)

3. I try to vote in every election, local and national. Although I do vote, I must say that if people find it a bothersome to vote or are too busy, I recommend getting mailed ballots. That way you can vote for issues important to us and future generations, but at the comfort at your own home.

4. I would vote for a female president because woman are just as capable of men. I find it sad that since the late 1700’s when the first president was elected and until now in 2020, we have not had a female president. Americans should look to other countries where woman presidents are common. Woman can do the job just as well as men and to be quite honest they haven’t done the best job so far. I hope to see a woman to get elected as I know it will make history and she will make our country proud.

5. I haven’t recognized any economic, racial, or ethnic changes over the last few years. However, recently my community has became more consciously aware of plastic use and caring for the environment. As of January 1st, my community has banned the use of plastic straw use. Now, all businesses no longer carry plastic straws and only offer paper straws if you wish to have one. Next, there is efforts to stop the use of all single-use plastics.

6. Some issues facing Americans who live in central cities, suburbs, and rural areas include rapid population growth, overdevelopment, and lack of resources, respectively.

7. A social movement that occurred within my lifetime is the Me Too movement. It is a movement started by a woman named Tarana Burke that gives support to woman who have faced sexual harassment in any form. The movement’s goal was to show the vast number of women who were subject to sexual harassment, which shows how big the issue truly is. The Me Too movement put a social emphasis of why all of women are sharing such a horrific commonality. What is the root of the vast number of sexual harassment and how can it be stopped?

8. Some specific things about social movements that I would link with vegetarianism or even veganism includes the effort to bring about change in society. For example, many vegetarians/vegans try to inform the public about the benefits of making the lifestyle change. These benefits may include improved health, supporting the animal population, and climate change. More people are becoming aware of the importance of their health and the health of our planet, so more and more vegetarians/vegans are willing to fund campaigns/organizations that promote this change within society.

9. I liked our discussion post question and your (Professor McDonnell) weekly/bi-weekly videos explaining the assignments. The most important piece of knowledge I have learned is the many different variations of family in different cultures. I noticed that each culture may define family as different or may view the family unit as different. This had me more conscious of other’s view of family. To be honest, the entire class has transformed my mind to think outside of box. This class has helped shaped my mind to not only think about things “my way,” but other ways as well.

Word count: 830