Week of February 5th, 2007
Recently, there have been some extremely important discussions about global warming and the adverse effects that we're implementing against the earth. Scientists basically revealed (with relatively substantial proof) that humans are one of the leading causes in the climatic changes that have been happening for the past century (Rosenthal, 2007). Consequently, we're going to have to deal with increasingly severe weather and the melting of the polar ice caps. Issues such as this make me feel guilty to be destroying the earth. It brings consumption into ethical realms and makes you realize that using too many polluting resources might be inherently wrong. By the same token, there's not an incredible amount that we can do at a personal level. Society itself needs to have a paradigm shift on the entire issue. Hopefully these new conclusions will yield more awareness to our problem.
Especially in today's world, it seems to be increasingly uncommon that cutbacks are practiced on the executive level members of a given corporation. American Express Co. is a company that is putting this into practice in order to give into the shareholder's requests. Apparently, the company was not factoring in the benefits packages as part of the overall equation (Sidel, 2007). At least to me, it seems that this kind of thinking would allow for the redistribution of wealth, which is an odd move for many large companies. Most executives seem to be aroused by their large salaries.
And last (but definitely not least) we have the issue of DNA sampling. A new law has been passed so that DNA samples can be taken from criminals and illegal immigrants. The functionalist perspective on this is that we are able to collect more information on people who commit sexual crimes, and also information on criminals who cross across borders (Preston, 2007). However, this brings other issues to the table. We've briefly discussed the whole issue of privacy and the violations brought about by the patriot act. This is somewhat similar in nature, because it allows the government to keep more of an eye on us. However, I don't think that this is as serious as tapping into phone conversations, internet, and shopping habits. This looks to be a legitimate way of helping track crime. I doubt that the government will violate our privacy by using this method, unless they highly suspect that we're up to no good.
Rosenthal , E. & Revkin, A. Science Panel Says Global Warming is 'Uneqivocal'. (2007, February 3). The New York Times, p. A1.
Sidel, Robin (2007, January 28). Top Executives at American Express Will See Retirement Benefits Shrink. The Wall Street Journal, p. B3.
Preston, Julia. U.S. Set to Begin A Vast Expansion of DNA Sampling. (2007, February 5). The New York Times, p. A1.
Especially in today's world, it seems to be increasingly uncommon that cutbacks are practiced on the executive level members of a given corporation. American Express Co. is a company that is putting this into practice in order to give into the shareholder's requests. Apparently, the company was not factoring in the benefits packages as part of the overall equation (Sidel, 2007). At least to me, it seems that this kind of thinking would allow for the redistribution of wealth, which is an odd move for many large companies. Most executives seem to be aroused by their large salaries.
And last (but definitely not least) we have the issue of DNA sampling. A new law has been passed so that DNA samples can be taken from criminals and illegal immigrants. The functionalist perspective on this is that we are able to collect more information on people who commit sexual crimes, and also information on criminals who cross across borders (Preston, 2007). However, this brings other issues to the table. We've briefly discussed the whole issue of privacy and the violations brought about by the patriot act. This is somewhat similar in nature, because it allows the government to keep more of an eye on us. However, I don't think that this is as serious as tapping into phone conversations, internet, and shopping habits. This looks to be a legitimate way of helping track crime. I doubt that the government will violate our privacy by using this method, unless they highly suspect that we're up to no good.
Rosenthal , E. & Revkin, A. Science Panel Says Global Warming is 'Uneqivocal'. (2007, February 3). The New York Times, p. A1.
Sidel, Robin (2007, January 28). Top Executives at American Express Will See Retirement Benefits Shrink. The Wall Street Journal, p. B3.
Preston, Julia. U.S. Set to Begin A Vast Expansion of DNA Sampling. (2007, February 5). The New York Times, p. A1.
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