Discussion

Sociology: Discussions

Connie Reyes

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Author Note

5 Questions in essay format

Poor Man’s Stake in Society

Almost seven years ago, the commission was set under the chairmanship of Dara Singh, an official in the United Kingdom Government. It aimed to study the root causes of the summer riots of 2012. Its findings were related to the fact that the youth of the state did not have a significant stake in society CITATION Joh \l 1033 (Gunn). This coupled with several reasons like lack of opportunities for the youth, failure of the judicial system to assimilate offenders, poor parental attitude and an astounding rise in materialism fueled the riots among the youth. The chairman of the commission himself laid stress on the fact that the youth do not feel a sense of belonging to their nation. To avoid such a situation again, the people had to be deeply accumulated into society. Children have to be groom to feel a sense of belonging to their communities, a fact reinforced by the commission by ordering harsh punishments to schools that fail to teach their students to read and write properly. Furthermore, the family support program was implemented so that the environment of the homes of the general population was kept calm, as troubled families are often the cause of a disturbed and sometimes violent youth. Last but not least, employment opportunities were generated for the youth, as it is the most commonly cited problem that drives them towards activities against the wellbeing of the state. Furthermore, these unsettled youth with no bread and butter can end seriously damaging the state by conducting terrorist activities. Society also plays its part in the collective wellbeing of itself and the general population. Businessmen can involve themselves with local charitable organizations especially regarding educational matters for the poor so that they are not left out. Also, the government should guarantee employment opportunities for the youth so that they do not end up as puppet in the hands of their rivals, causing serious damage to the state.

Recidivism: A Revolving Door?

According to the US Department of Justice, almost seventy-five percent of the individuals arrested in one criminal felony or another end up in jail again within five years. This is a huge concern for any government as keeping criminals locked up provides a huge strain on the taxpayers CITATION Pat07 \l 1033 (Conway, 2007). Therefore, addressing this issue is always the top priority of any government. Many difficulties are faced by the authorities in this regard. The first challenge faced by the released criminals is the difficulty in finding an honest source of income. Without a stable source of income, the ex-inmates would face homelessness, trauma, and drug addiction. They might even relapse into their old criminal ways that had landed them in jail in the first place. Many employers are suspicious of hiring ex-convicts which further adds fuel to the fire. Finding honest work opportunities for ex-convicts can greatly jam the revolving door of recidivism. Another situation that greatly increases the chance of recidivism among the ex-criminals is health issues. Inmates often experience mental illness due to a stressful environment. In addition to that, they may suffer in a variety of ways like substance abuse, infectious diseases and sometimes chronic health issues. When the cons do not find solutions and funds to solve their health issues, they are tempted towards the old ways. This is observed particularly in the cases of substance abuse, where it is the hardest for the convicts to control themselves. The research community has documented these issues in explicit detail and managed to come up with a lot of creative solutions like the Milwaukee Prisoners Release Initiative. Other than that, numerous other solutions can be implemented like giving convicts false identities and repopulating them in the regions where they can be easily watched and monitored. The business community can also be encouraged in the form of special concessions in they employ a specific number of convicts for respectable and honest jobs.

Likelihood of individuals without pre-existing vulnerabilities succumbing to long-term addictionDrug use is very common. We use a variety of drugs to cure several diseases. It's the drug addiction that we need to watch out for. In England alone, there are under three million people that are drug addicts. There are short-term risks associated with drug abuse, and long-term risk too if they are used heavily. For example, prolonged use of cannabis can lead to lung cancer. However, we also observe people that learn to incorporate a specific drug in their life, adjusting their social patterns with their use, as they do with the use of alcohol. It is due to the less likelihood of people without pre-existing vulnerabilities to cave-in to drug addiction CITATION ADR08 \l 1033 (AD Redish, 2008). We can observe that the heroin or crack addicts have several problems like, but not limited to, little or no employment records, offending, mental illness, or declining physical health. Most drug users are multi-talented people with good and loving families that help them to get on their feet should they start to take the toll. In contrast, people with drug addiction are often alone and penniless. They lose hope in their lives, believing that the problems that they are facing are insurmountable, and they are loved by no one. Their decision-making is focused on short-term and immediate events rather than the long-term ones. The turmoil in their lives give little room or incentive for them to seek help to overcome this barrier. Unfortunately, these people are not viewed by politicians and media personalities as a serious problem, even though they serve as a clear-cut indicator of social distress. Not only that, but these people are often a serious burden on the society as they increase the state's medical expenses while not adding to the workforce that gives the state revenue in one form or another. Until we revisit our policies, we are doomed to redirect our precious resources towards their rehabilitation which should be directed for the economic stability and the protection of the state's hardworking and productive individuals.

Poverty and Mental Health

Mental health is a collective benefit that we all share. Good mental health helps us all to reach our goals, both independently and jointly. The Mental Health Foundation has claimed that mental health is a facilitating aspect between financial and societal conditions CITATION JKB15 \l 1033 (Burns, 2015). Poor psychological health of an individual is a vital indicator of wide-ranging problems, as well as low levels of educational accomplishments and working efficiency, poor community interconnection, high levels of physical health problems, untimely death and relationship failures. Contrary to that, Good psychological health leads to improved lifestyles, healthier body, better educational accomplishments and efficiency, and lesser incidents of violence and crime. Poverty and mental health problems are not different and distinct experiences of an isolated group in society: anyone can suffer from either throughout their lifetime, and there is a clear connection when mental health and poverty are concerned. Whether or not someone suffers from mental health problems or turns poor monetarily, how long this lasts for and its cruelty, and if and how an individual recover from their mental health or manages to climb out of poverty rests on their access to suitable number and kind of resources, and the appropriateness of this access. Poverty's ever-changing form also means that the danger of suffering from mental health is present for more people that are in poverty. This emphasizes that thwarting poverty should be the priority if we are to steer clear of both mental and physical health problems.

Drug abuse and Social Media

Young people trying out alcohol and drugs is nothing out of the blue. However, with the current boom in information technology, social media networking sites are opening up new and more hazardous prospects for the youth to be introduced to drugs CITATION DTh16 \l 1033 (D Thanki, 2016). Teens are distinctively exposed to the effects of social media, as teenage is extremely vulnerable to peer pressures. Networking sites like Facebook and Instagram expose the teens to an atmosphere where they view both celebrities and regular joes alike, doing dangerous things involving drugs and other contraband narcotics. Celebrities constantly post pictures of themselves "getting high" on several social media platforms, and that is what makes the young people attracted to drug usage. Additionally, the youth are also exposed to their friends and families doing such kinds of acts. This kind of content idealizes behavior such as illegal drug use making teens believe woefully that it is acceptable to do the same kind of behavior. In addition to being introduced to drugs via different forms of advertising and marketing, social media is an active promoter of many mental health problems, which if left unchecked, can lead to drug abuse and severe substance addictions. Social media continues to do all sorts of social contrasts in a world where everything is imaginary, which is highly challenging for teens who are more susceptible to depression due to social comparisons. Even if the effects of social media evade the youth, there is a high chance that social media itself would become an addiction, rendering youth infertile and unproductive in the modern world.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY AD Redish, S. J. (2008). Addiction as vulnerabilities in the decision process. Cambridge.org.

Burns, J. (2015). Poverty, inequality and a political economy of mental health. cambridge.org.

Conway, P. (2007). The Revolving Door: Duration and Recidivism in IMF Programs.

D Thanki, B. F. (2016). Social media and drug markets.

Gunn, J. C. (n.d.). Gunn's Domestic Medicine: Or, Poor Man's Friend.