GNH - The Media

America's media has become filled with harsh criticisms regarding everything from the president to American ideals. Not that this is a new thing, but it seems to be getting more and more extreme as time goes on. When a president is republican, channels such as CNN or MSNBC are called out. Should a president be democratic, channels like FOX and radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh are brought to attention. No matter who makes the radical connections of any president to things such as racism, illegal matters, or-in Glenn Beck's case-oligar_hy, there is no excuse. The controversy this creates is inexcusable, and it needs to be stopped before it goes completely out of control. What it creates is a nation full of people angry at each other for no reason.

The easiest way to solve this crisis is to prevent people with extreme and false ideas from professing their beliefs on the television or radio. Though this may be received with complaints regarding the first amendment, its eventual products will far outweigh this con. Should the media be prevented from spreading false ideas, conveying thoughtless comments, and forcing anyone who listens to believe, America can become a bipartisan happy country.

-But wait! There's more!/Billy Mays

GNH Immigration

The immigration problem in our country is huge, it is constantly being debated. It seems unsolvable, I have a solution to this "unsolvable" problem. Our government should offer citizenship to immigrants and their families (no bigger then 5) in exchange for a member of their family doing a ten year term in the military. If the family is larger then 5 people multiple members must do ten years as well. The Roman empire did it for hundreds of years and when they offered citizenship to everyone the recruitment drastically dropped for their army. Which directly contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Mao Zedong

legal adult at the age of 18?

The law says that when you turn 18 you are a legal adult. If you are arrested it goes on your permanent record that follows your whole life and when you are 18 you are allowed to fight and die for your country in a war. Though the government has made another age limit for drinking and smoking. You must be 21years old to drink and or purchase alcohol and you must be 19 years old to buy cigarettes. Why is it that the government has made a age limit of 18years old to fight in a war (something that benifits them) and makes the age limit of 21 to consume alcoholic beverages? If you are old enough to be given the responsibility of becoming a legal adult at the age of 18 you should be responsible enough to choose if you wish to consume alcohol or smoke.

-Amelia Earhart

Marijuana The Economy Saver?

After reading another students post on this topic, i got a bit interested and decided to do a bit of research on my own. We have all grown up to think of marijuana as evil and that it is harmful to the body. Really? From what I've gathered there are much more harmful things on the market that do a lot more to your body. Lets take alcohol and tobacco. Each of these products are linked to causes of many types of cancer. However, marijuana hasn't been linked to cancer. How does this make since? So why are these two products legal and pot is not. Now lets take this to a fiscal prospective. Alcohol and tobacco are a huge part of our economy because of the ability of the Government to tax them. Marijuana is being sold all over the country, but the government cannot tax it because it is illegal. Think of the profit the government could make if they were to legalize this. In an article in the Time paper of California, Allison Stateman, the author contemplates this. Pot is responsible for $14 billion a year in sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity — milk and cream — which brings in $7.3 billion a year. However, since it’s not legal, the Gov. cant tax it. Marijuana is just the thing the economy needs. If the gov. could tax this, the article predicts that the taxed amount would come out to be 1.3 BILLION or more. Country wide we are looking at 10's to maybe 100's of billions of dollars just for taxing a plant that is already being sold anyway. This natural plant is far less harmful then the two current leading "legal" products (alcohol and tobacco) and could help the economy tremendously. SO wheres the problem? If you're interested in the article

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1884956,00.html

Morgan Freeman

Protect the sanctity of marriage!

We are fundamentally a Christian nation. Therefore we must adhere to our Christian values and protect the sanctity of marriage by prohibiting divorce. Currently, about 50% of all marriages end in divorce. If divorce was illegal, then the sanctity of the traditional marriage would be protected.

Divorce should be illegal, despite the fact that there are couples in our country who are unhappy with each other; just as gay marriage should be illegal, despite the fact that there are homosexual couples who are unhappy with the fact that they cannot get the same tax benefits, hospital visitation rights, immigration and residency benefits, child custody rights, insurance benefits, and other various benefits and rights that heterosexual couples receive.

Approximately 75% of our nation is Christian, which is why adhering to our core Christian values would make the majority of Americans happier. Jesus makes the prohibition of divorce clear in Mark 10:9-11:

9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.

(I would stress this point by making another comparison to gay marriage, but for some reason I’m having trouble finding any scripture where Jesus even mentions homosexuality – weird!)

When the sanctity of marriage is threatened in some marriages, it negatively affects all marriages and, in effect, the entire nation. This is why prohibiting divorce (and gay marriage too while we’re at it) would greatly increase our country’s GNH.

We should all follow the example of John Marcotte, who is currently fighting to make divorce illegal in California: http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/divorce/divorce.php

~Mohammed

GNH-The War in Iraq

The war in Iraq is one of the most pressing issues of the day. There are strong arguments supporting remaining in Iraq, as well as pulling our troops out. However, according to a poll on www.pollingreport.com, 64% of Americans do not approve of the war, and would favor pulling our troops out of the country. The majority by far do not want American troops to remain in that country. So if the government were to pull the troops out of Iraq, the GNH in America would go up.

However, we need to be careful about how we exit the region. If we left en masse there would be chaos and anarchy, since the Iraqi government is not stable enough to function without our help yet. So we need to begin to pull out slowly, making sure that the region is completely stable before we leave the country completely. That is something we owe to the Iraqis. We destroyed a stable (if tyrannical and dangerous) government, and implemented a new one, which will take time to stabilize. We as Americans need be concerned not only with our own GNH, but also the GNH of other people in the world. The Iraqi's GNH would not be very good if they're country fell apart when Americans left. We should focus on the GNH of the world, not the GNH of America exclusively. We have created a very difficult and delicate situation in Iraq, and we must be very careful about how we go about fixing it.

-Napoleon Bonaparte

GNH - Gay Marriage

Gay marriage has been a pressing issue in the world, mostly the United States, for a while now. The two sides of the conflict are either all men are created equal, and love is love no matter what, or the opposite, that homosexuals are an abomination of God and it is morally wrong for two people of the same sex to join in matrimony.  

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts was the first state in the USA to legalize gay-marriage. However, it was not the first place in the world.  Belgium, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, and South Africa are other countries around the world that allow it.  Since the legalization of gay marriage in 2004 in MA, other states have followed the example. Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and Massachusetts are the only states with it legalized. Maine was supposed to have gay marriage legalized by September 11, 2009 but a people's veto had it postponed.  A vote will be held in November.  New Hampshire will have same sex marriages legalized as of January 1, 2010. 

California formally had gay marriage legalized between June 16 until November 4, 2008 when Proposition 8 was put into practice.  Proposition 8 says that marriage between a man and a woman is the only legal marriage allowed in the state of California.  All other marriages are morally wrong/illegitimate.  In 2010, there will be a vote to overturn this law.  However, all marriages that were held between June 16 and November 4 are still recognizable. They are not void.

The State of New York and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriages, but do not have it legalized yet.  So, this is to say, that if a person got married in Massachusetts, their marriage is still legitimate in these two areas, whereas it would not be legitimate in Nevada or a state without it legalized.  

Homophobes claim that gay people are searching for 'special rights' by asking to get married.  

Marriage should be a right given to all people.  Whether it be a lifestyle choice or they way a person is born, they should not be denied the right to get married with whom they choose.

America has gotten far with acceptance, but not far enough.  Crimes against gays and homophobia are still everywhere.  

~ Benjamin Franklin

GNH- Racism is the Problem?

In recent and past history a common topic continuously appears in the news. Racism is consider African American's "biggest problem". People claim that Barack Obama is disliked because he is black. This is absurd. It seems every time a black person is criticized it is racist. It doesn't seem to be a possibility that people do not share his views. That would be crazy talk, and the person that spread that opinion, would be called a racist as well. There is no end to what area racism covers. If a black man is arrested its racism. If a black man interviews for a job and doesn't get it its racism. If a black man's views are not accepted it is apparently racism. The words against people like Obama are not racism! These words are people's opinion. I see many people who just don't agree with his health care plans or with what he is doing to the economy. This does not make them racists. Their ambitions are not fueled by this man being black. These people might be selfish, greedy, and might have just wanted their party to win, but what they are not is racist. The term is becoming overused. The word racist is losing its meaning each time it is said, because it is said too much. Not all people with opposing views are racist. In the case of GNH, the American people would be happier if the majority of us aren't called racists every time we speak against some one of a different race. Race should not be a factor. Everybody would be happier if race was a forgotten factor. Without race their would be less arguments and less fighting between the races. We are all one people. We are all Americans.
-Ho Chi Minh

Legalization Marijuana and its impact on the economic crises

The medical marijuana business is booming and with Barack Obama trying to keep the government out of this topic who knows what will happen. All that is known is that some believe that it will be legalized in numerous states in the next decade. Some also think that with the legalization of marijuana it could help the economic crisis. In California there are legal cannibus shops that are make millions and they think if it was legalized corporations could makes billions off this product. They also believe that it could stop crime. if you want to find out more about this subject go: -Charles Barkely http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/11/magazines/fortune/medical_marijuana_legalizing.fortune/index.htm

Gun Control

American should have the rights to own firearms. Many arguments against this right concern the amount of gun violence in certain states. However one should look at both sides of the argument. Illegal possession of firearms is what causes many many gun violence crimes. There is an old saying that when guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. An example of positives in gun control can be seen by looking at Texas, a state where gun control is as lenient as possible however they have little gun violence because everyone else has a gun. One needs to look at the news as well for example the story about the World War II veteran who defended his house from a burglar with a gun, nobody was killed but because of his registered firearm his house was not robbed and he was safe from any injury. (aside accidentally shooting himself in the foot when police arrived). Gun rights should be allowed and with less restrictions, it should have ever be mandated that all gun owners take a gun safety class after purchasing a firearm, so that accidental shootings like this one do not happen.

Vlad Puntin.

Los immigrantes

The debates about immigration may never cease, but the fact of the matter is that immigration is something the US needs.The main argument in the immigration debate rests on the fact that immigration effects the American wages. People believe that by allowing immigrants to work in the country they are lowering working wages and they are taking jobs away from Americans. In reality, this is not true at all. For one, American laborers and immigrants dont compete for the same level of jobs. This is because of their levels of education. Also, the majority of immigrant workers are concentrated at the lowest of occupations. Immigrants choose this type of work because it is available to them in high demand and the money they are getting is most likely better than that of their previous work. These jobs, like dishwashing in restaurants, landscaping work, construction work etc..... are occupations that U.S.-born people find unappealing and unworthy. So when it comes down to it, immigrants do not hurt American workers, rather they supply labor that is essential to the American way of life. So when you look at it, the competition is between immigrants themselves not immigrants and american workers. Personal anecdote, I lost "TO BE" my summer job to an immigrant .... pretty funny actually... but maybe he deserved the job because he needed to take care of a family or maybe because he would have worker harder than me but at a lower wage. Im not being racist, thats just the truth.

- ming dynasty

Healthcare Reform: The Secret Plot to Spread Lies

Healthcare reform: the most pressing issue in Washington today. There is no doubt about that. So, one would logically think that facts were important in this radical debate, right?

Right??

Well, apparently they're not. Reform in the healthcare system, according to the late Ted Kennedy, is the great unfinished business of our society. It is truly a matter that should transcend partisan lines and should be a moral responsibility in an attempt to supply the American people with the best possible healthcare coverage. Sadly, the debate has turned into a survival game for the fledgling legislation. Many in Washington, including Republicans and Democrats, are set against reform, for they believe that the system is not broken. Yet despite engaging in true debate with their own arguments, they are using scare-tactics and lies to kill any chances the reform bill has of passing.

The many lies regarding healthcare reform all contain a similar trait: the idea that it will target a specific group of people and refuse them care, thus killing them. For example, reform has been labeled a secret plot to: kill old people (pull the plug on grandma), set up "death panels", target women with breast cancer, deny treatment to Republicans, and decrease care to children with disabilities. It is not difficult to realize how ridiculous these allegations truly are. These lies have been born and spread by those who are set against any type of reform.

Lies like these have two main effects: one, they halt any actual and productive debate, and two, they instill a sense of incredulity among Americans listening to this so-called debate. I would hope that, faced by these absurd accusations, the majority of U.S. citizens realize what is really going on behind the scenes regarding the movement against healthcare reform. Scare-tactics and lies cannot create a basis for argument, and I do believe that Americans are beginning to uncover the truth behind the heated debate.

Those against healthcare reform must realize that when they oppose the legislation, they are leaving nearly 50 million American citizens without health insurance to fend for themselves in a system dominated by private corporate healthcare. The system is broken; the evidence for this claim is overwhelming. The lies spread by those in opposition to the reform have created a system of scare-tactics and fear which has turned Washington into a stagnant cesspool brimming with deceit. I do believe it is time for the American people to engage in true debate and face the issue which so plagues those many citizens of our country. They depend on it.

~Charles Bronson

Ridiculous Accusations That Get US Nowhere

A nation's people are most happy when topics of actual importance are debated and discussed. The politics of America have been reduced to ridiculous accusations that have little to no basis and in truth effect nothing. Recently there was a scandal regarding ACORN, an institution that has supported and worked with Barack Obama, which was discovered to have had members giving advice for prostitutes on how to obtain tax advantages. Now, without a doubt, this means that because Obama has worked with this organization, he is the head of a prostitution syndicate. Fox News has been especially proactive in getting this information out to us, to protect us from Barack, who will soon send all our children to sell their bodies on the street. This is the unfortunate truth about our country. Rather than opposing a party because of difference in opinion, they oppose a man because of outlandish claims. Not too long ago these same brainwashers were screaming out that the candidate Obama was a muslim, as if that really mattered or had any relevance as to whether or not he would be a capable leader. Now this is not an article promoting Obama or any party, it is just saying that one should oppose a man for the right reasons that pertain to the greater good of the country, not oppose him for ludricrous charges. It would greatly make this nation a happier place if we could focus more on debating the truth and what is revelant to bettering this country.

-King Arthur

GNH - Drug Policy

United States drug policy is ineffective and hypocritical. We chose to prohibit some substances, while outlawing others. Our "legal" selections of drugs do not seem to be based largely on medical information, abuse potential, but more on historical use, and where we have traditionally garnered money.
Primarily, the war of drugs is a waste of money, it has not really helped, and has only exacerbated the problem, by compelling drug producers to find more addictive and powerful substances. To enforce drug policy the government violates posse comitatus, which holds that the United States Armed Forces cannot be used to police U.S. territory. Also, due to the harsh penalties for drug offenses many people are forced to accept plea bargains. The government can seize your assets if they believe they you are producing drugs, without a trial. Finally, this also bends the fourth amendment (unreasonable searches) as what is reasonable in a drug search has become quite broad.
The drug was has also caused prisons to fill up with people who have not committed violence offenses. A prisoner costs the taxpayers $22,000 a year. I am sure we would all rather we paid less taxes and had reduced penalties for crimes. It would be much cheaper to flog them and let them go. Or better yet, to make them pay a fine, and then let them go, that way the government will be able to pay for rehabilitation programs.
If the government did legalize certain drugs, it could tax them in order to pay for other government programs.
Tobacco and Methyl Alcohol have shown to be more dangerous to people than Marijuana, and psychedelics. Yet they are legal while Marijuana is illegal. Not to mention, Hemp's value as raw material has been ruined by being classified as an illegal substance. Smoking and Alcohol kill many more people than pot does. This may due to the fact that it is near impossible to overdose of THC. Marijuana is schedule I which means that the Federal Government believes it to have no medical uses, and a high potential for abuse. This is simply incorrect.
The pre-1972 substance control policy was constitutional, the current policy is unconstitutional. It is also unclear as to whether or not the Federal Government even has the right to make drug policy and enforce it at a local level. Previously, the government restricted substances by making the laws about their trade so complex that they were impossible to carry out.
In terms of Gross National Happiness, the current drug war isn't helping anyone, it is an ineffective waste of money. Legalization has shown to lower the amount of people who use drugs, and reduce their impact on society. Directly in terms of GNH, why make something illegal that is for making people happy?

~Timothy Leary

GNH-Health Care

The debate concerning if and how the health care system of the United States of America continues to rage on. Which is the best way to go? This must be solved using the principle of “gross national happiness” because in a society structured like the United States, the government’s primary goal should be to keep the people happy in order for the government to keep control and for the values it endorses to remain viable. According to the Pew Research Center…
· 53% of Americans want the debate to end and think the debaters are crude and disrespectful.
· 59% of Americans believe that the people opposing the legislation for a new system are causing most of the rudeness in the debate.
Therefore, if we want to keep the people happy, a bill that is agreeable enough to be passed is necessary. What constitutes as agreeable enough? According to Pew Research…
· 76% of Republicans oppose health care reform 12% support it, and 12% do not know, while 20% of Democrats oppose the bill, 61% support it, and 19% do not know.
· People who oppose the bill primarily oppose it because they think it will cause a raise in taxes. People who support the bill primarily support it because it will offer universal coverage.
Generally, the public opposes new healthcare primarily because it costs too much money, and having enough money is crucial to happiness. However, which makes people happier: good health or money? Assuming that the coverage covers the basic health needs of the human species, it seems more important to be healthy than to be rich, especially since dead people cannot spend money. How many Americans are uninsured? According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation…
· About 50 million Americans (around 17%) are uninsured. 20% are children.
If the bill is not passed, 17% of the population will be very unhappy and unhealthy, while about 60% of the population, which does not support or is not sure of the reform, will be somewhat happy. Those who supported the bill but were not uninsured make up the rest of the population, or 23%, and are somewhat unhappy. Although the population is generally in favor of the status quo, more unhappiness comes to the side that does not get a bill passed, and, as previously stated, the opposition to the bill makes more than half of the population less happy. Therefore it is important that a bill be passed to provide healthcare to the uninsured, even if taxes have to be raised, for the overall GNH of the nation to increase.
Links:
http://covertheuninsured.org/content/snapshot-us-physicians-key-findings-2008-health-tracking-physician-survey
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1343/health-care-debate-seen-as-rude-disrespectful-high-interest
http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=1562

-Socrates

War in Iraq

The war in Iraq is obviously a big factor in determining the GNH. As it has been with all of America's past wars, there is always a pro-war side and an anti-war side. In this case the very formidable and significant anti-war side is very upset which drastically lowers the GNH of the United states.

-Aristotle

Gross National Happiness

During his coronation address on November 7, 2008, King Khesar of Bhutan made the following statement: "Yet we must always remember that as our country, in these changing times finds immense new challenges and opportunities, whatever work we do, whatever goals we have – and no matter how these may change in this changing world – ultimately without peace, security and happiness we have nothing. That is the essence of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness."

Your assignment is to post either an entry or a comment in which you discuss the principle of Gross National Happiness as it applies to the United States. Select an issue from the news and comment on how you think the issue could be resolved in a way that makes the greatest number of people happy. You can include links to videos, websites, articles, research, cartoons, images, anything. Just make sure it's appropriate for school, and use your APWorld name.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your ideas!

Oh, and please tag your entries as GNH. That will help me keep them all together.

Enjoy!!

And!! I've also found a BBC site about happiness. It includes a quiz to find out how happy you are, links to articles about the science of happiness, and an article about why the British are not as happy as they were in the 1950s. :D

Driving

I think that the age for students to receive their drivers license should be younger then 17 years old. It's important to have good driving skills before you enter college and leave home. Getting your license before the age of 17 will give people more time to master their driving skills. Hopefully, this would reduce the number of accidents. When new drivers park their cars in school parking lots, there tends to be many accidents because the drivers have not been driving for a long time. By making the age to get your license younger, I believe that the effect would be positive.

- Christina Aguilera

Leviathan

Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes, is a riveting novel which depicts the argument that civil peace and social unity are achieved by the establishment of a commonwealth. Hobbe's perfect commonwealth is ruled by an almighty power which is granted absolute authority to do everything in its power to protect for the security of the commonwealth. His system to ensure peace and prevent civil war is called “Leviathan”. “Leviathan” is portrayed as an enormous human created of the bodies of its citizens. This image represents a metaphor for a perfect government for a perfect society. There are four books to the series. The first book contains the philosophical framework and is given the most attention. The following three books just elaborate on the general ideas talked about in the initial chapters. Hobbes begins the novel by describing the make-up of mankind from the beginning of external bodies all the way to the reason why man has a constant need to conquer. Men will never be satisfied with what they have and will always have the need to gain more. However, Hobbes still attempts to prove the necessity of the “Leviathan” for preserving peace and preventing civil war.

~Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson

NAZI GAMES

This book describes the 1936 Olympic Games that took place in Berlin Germany. At the time, Berlin was under Adolf Hitler's control, which made for an extremely interesting yet controversial Olympics. Many countries (United States included) tried to boycott and even move the Olympics out of Germany because they knew what Hitler was doing and felt that competing in the games would be supporting Hitler and his followers. Hitler however was one step ahead of the world. He made many public statements promising that there wold be no discrimination at the Games, and even put a few Jews on German teams to prove to the world that there would be in fact no discrimination. By studying the 1936 games in the present time, it is very clear that Hitler used the games as  propaganda, and tried to present his beliefs on the world stage. This was a very dense and difficult read and I would only recommend it to those who are extremely interested in this time period and specifically Hitler and his followers. 

-Cleopatra