Hillary Clinton has not stopped voicing her opinion as to why she lost the previous election. Personally, I believe that she is being a sore loser, and although Trump has not been the best president, he was still the winner in the race. She needs to accept her loss and move on.
0 Comments
Although our current president has been widely criticized for his social remarks, the positive impact that he will have on the economy will be hard to ignore for the majority of Americans - at least in the short run. However, the Joint Committee on Taxation has stated that the tax bill will, in fact, bring a tax increase by 2027.
I cannot make a well-educated decision as to whether or this tax plan will work. However, the immediate effect will definitely take place, and that will help boost our economy until the next tax crisis erupts. After the yearly airing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on cable television networks, people have taken to social media once again to state their grievances against what is supposed to be a kid's fable. They claim that the movie gives the wrong message to children: if you are different, then you are to be punished - unless you can be exploited.
I have always had a problem with Rudolph since the first time I watched it. It reminded me of the times that kids would make fun of my Spanish accent, but then they would beg me to say their name or simply talk in Spanish. Santa even reminded of my teacher; on one occasion, she yelled at me in front of the entire class for taking a test home despite my explanation that I never knew that the word for examen was "test". The movie certainly has a sore spot that even a child could point out, so I agree with the fact that the movie is problematic. However, this was a movie made in a different time, a time in which people were hesitant to call bullying for what it was - bullying. I am sure that the theme for this movie was supposed to be along the lines of being unique is okay, but the movie could certainly be interpreted to have a darker undertone. There has been an uprising among the American people, both digitally and socially. Many people, specifically women, have taken to social media to expose men with power who used their influence to keep them hushed. While the women deal with the embarrassment and the humiliation of their assault, rape, etc., the person keeps on being successful. Take Harvey Weinstein, for example: he has had dozens of women recount their experience as he assaulted them. Legally, little can be done because the women have exceeded the statute of limitations for sexual crimes. However, as we know, the court of public opinion will inflict a punishment onto a man greater than any legal court will. Women who have been assualted started the #MeToo tag on Twitter in order to expose their attackers. Now, men like Weinstein are being fired left and right. I believe that although the punishment that they are receiving now is certainly unorthodox, it is what they deserve. No man deserves to destroy others' lives and live his own without a care in the world.
Ever since Maj. Lisa Jaster and two other female comrades were awarded the Ranger Tab at the Ranger School graduation ceremony in Fort Benning, the debate over whether or not women should be put in combative roles has been fueled once again. In 1917, women were allowed to join the military, mostly out of need for nurses on the battlefield, and full integration was granted through the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to serve as members of the armed forces with full veteran benefits. Today, female American soldiers are deployed and complete tours just as men do, but many elite schools of combat, such as the Ranger School, have been almost exclusively male. It is my belief that women should be able to serve in combat just as men as long as they prove themselves to be as capable, if not more so, than their male comrades.
2015 and 2016 were tumultuous years for not just Americans, but for the world as it watched along and saw the train wreck that was the 2016 federal election. The biggest contenders ended up being Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, so it clearly felt like choosing the lesser of two evils. I could not convincing side with either candidate because although some of their policies were agreeable, their conduct throughout the election season was abysmal. All in all, I did not end up siding with either "big" candidate" and instead favored a combination of both of their policies.
Ever since Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games, other players have followed suit in order to express their solidarity with social movements. This act has sparked a debate on the ethics of one's conduct during the national anthem, leading people to take sides on the matter. I believe that kneeling during the national anthem is not disrespectful, whether it be directly or indirectly. The players are not walking off the field, nor are they laughing. They hold their heads up high, and they force us to read their message: "we stand with the oppressed". Taking a knee is meant to disrespect American ideals or beliefs, but rather to force people to realize just how many are impacted by social injustices.
As for football ratings, I have no doubt that they will go back up. The American public enjoys the pass time entirely too much to completely cut it out of their lives over players kneeling. Climate change is a highly debated topic in today's news. People tend to take one of two stances: they believe that it is real and we are being affected as we speak, or they believe that it is not real and just a pure waste of time. I believe that climate change is real because in recent years, our climate has become hotter and hotter. For example, for the last hundreds of thousands of years, carbon dioxide concentration has been between 180 and 300 parts per million (ppm). However, at the Mauna Loa Observatory readings have been measured at closing in near 400 ppm. Ice shelfs near the poles have also been collapsing for the last 30 years. Sea levels have been rising as a result at a a rate of 10 millimeters per year.
Climate change is definitely here, and unless we do something about this immediately, we will have to face the consequences and leave our successors in a world where they can't enjoy the world as we knew it. The death penalty is a highly debated topic between those for and against it. I am personally against the death penalty because I do not believe that a person should hold the power of life or death in their hands. The death penalty is a practice that stems from times long ago in which the adage "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was the way to live by. Although it has definitely evolved past the barbaric rituals in which a man would be tortured to death, no governing body of fairness and equality should play God with someone's life. Also, there has been a track record in the United States for death row inmates to be discriminated against by their background, and some may even be innocent. I do not believe in the practice of death row because one person should not be in charge of another person's life.
In this day and age, the debate over gun control has become increasingly heated due to incidents such as last week's Las Vegas Strip Shooting. Most Americans regard this issue as completely black and white. You're either for gun control or for gun rights. Personally, I am for gun control, but not as in everyone should get their arms revoked. I believe that assault weapons - such as the semi-automatic rifles that are used in many mass shootings - should completely be banned from civilian life. Rifles should be limited to people who use them daily, such as hunters. Everyone should be able to own pistols and handguns. This way, we can limit the danger of guns out there while upholding the constitution.
|
Gracemarie Cepero-LopezJust a high school senior trying to pass with all A's. |