Staying "Current"

When brainstorming of what I wanted to write about, I started thinking what actually was the center of "Mass Media" and its role in modern American Politics.  As I thought for a few days, the answer of my self posed question seemed to change.  Every news source or broadcast that I would view, so would my level of "importance" I would place on an issue or story.  I came to believe that the center of American politics and the media that is so closely associated with it, is spurred by current events.  With the speed and efficiency of Social Media increasing by the hour, our definition of current events is evolving as well.  We, Americans, are apart of a generation that truly lives in the moment.  I now believe that it is essential that we assess the mood, significance, and the facts of current events, because of the power the American people have on affecting public opinion.   That opinion is closely related to the mood and how we analyze current events.  I came across this article on the New York Times, and found it helpful and enlightening on the topic itself.  Thank you for your time!

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/50-ways-to-teach-current-events/

Affirmative Action

To start this post, I would like to pose a question.  Is it possible that Affirmative Action will one day run its course and will no longer be necessary?  Ideally, our country will one day reach a point where legislation can in fact be "color blind", but that simply cannot happen until our society ceases to associate certain thoughts or social preferences based on color.  That being said, because our world is not perfect and because of our past racial discrimination made by our government and society, there is no doubt that Affirmative Action was and is necessary. Affirmative action is  legislative policy that aims  to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American society, being minorities and women.  It has done wonders for minorities and women in the realm of opportunity for professional, educational, and social opportunities, but has it done enough?  Well we must decide how to determine when is enough.
  
Where Affirmative Action has been very beneficial in most aspects, there are some complaints about the constitutionality of the policy itself .  Some argue that causes a form of reverse discrimination by favoring one group over another, based on racial preference rather than academic achievement. This point of view outlines my projected point of when Affirmative Action outlives its purpose, but I do not quite think we have gotten there yet.  Of course there have been some publicized incidents of where this type of complaint occurred, but that is a part of a very small number. Affirmative action policies do not necessarily help economically disadvantaged students. This is my only personal problem with Affirmative action. 

The point of this policy is to increase opportunity, yet the lower-class is still lacking in the category. In my own opinion, the topic should be re-visited to really see who are the most disadvantaged at this point in our society.  Affirmative Action is still needed and beneficial in our society, but inevitably it will outlive its purpose or it will need to be tweaked in order to help give all Americans the opportunity to succeed. This too should be a color blind discretionary policy, that simply helps those in need.  I think it is possible, but we as Americans, have a long way to go.

Mental Health Evaluations in exchange for Firearm Liecensing

This whole Oregon community college shooting has me questioning my own stance on this topic. Public shootings have become all too frequent for Americans over the past few years.  This has spurred a lengthy, complex debate over the 2nd amendment rights of American citizens.  Pro-Gun right activists have grown over the past few years as well.  After reading an article on NBC news, I learned that the violent crime rate in this country has actually dipped to just under half the rate was in the early 1990's. That alone shocked me.  The question that has been bouncing around my head is why does it seem so much more prevalent than it did then?  This may be in part to the fact that I was still a child and the news did not interest me, or could it be in part that these kind of occurrences are just so much more publicized now that various forms of news media have become more readily available to the American people?  Although I believe in the benefits of the 2nd amendment and support it, I believe there has to be some sort of structure given to the process.  I believe that there should be a background and mental screening prior to obtaining a license to own a firearm.  I also believe that a gun owner's educational course should be administered prior to obtaining a license.  We have to attempt to educate gun owners about safety, use, and even how to secure your firearms from your children.  If we look closely at the public shooters of late, we can see a common trend of confused, delusional, and irresponsible young men.  Many of who would have been denied access if a parent did not allow the possession of the firearm or if a simple mental health screen would have certainly denied their ownership.
There is no doubt that my suggestions on this topic will certainly receive many rebuttals, and understandably so. Any time our government seems to be taking away our rights, we as people tend to get really pro-constitution.  We fear that more is to come, and resist.  This being said, we have seen throughout history that we have a choice we make in regards to our safety in this country. Is the sacrifice of a small amount of liberty worth a safer environment for us to live in?  To me, it is.  I'm open to all forms of aiding this problem and understand fully that this may not be the correct method, but I do believe we have to start somewhere.  This does not infringe upon rights, this would just aim to add responsibility, aim to make sure that guns are in the hands of mentally healthy owners legally, and potentially could lessen the possibility like the tragedy in Oregon.  May God Bless those people, their families, and the family of the shooters.  May all of you receive some type of peace.