Social Issues Affecting America for the Last 50 Years - Essay Sample

America despite being a first-world country for the last 50 years or more is always hit by several social issues affecting its citizens. The government however has been showing greater effort in dealing with the social issues affecting its citizen, especially in this 21st century. America is becoming better with the adoption of advanced technology in handling these social issues. This paper, therefore, discusses some of the social problems affecting America which include but are not limited to terrorism, racism, immigration, police brutality, gender inequality, public health, housing problems, and poor education.

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Immigration as a social issue has been a challenge in American history as the country has been experiencing a high level of illegal immigrants. Most of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico, and they sneak to America to look for livelihoods. The high number of illegal immigrants strains the country's resources and some are involved in smuggling illegal drugs and weapons. In 1996, President Clinton signed the illegal immigration reform and responsibility Act that increased fines for illegal entry (Roark et al. 2007). Trump renovated the Mexican border and improved its security and this has led to the reduced illegal immigrant like most of them are documented, (CNN, 2020) Compared to the past the laws of immigration have improved and America has fewer illegal immigrants.

Racism has been a social issue affecting non-native Americans especially African-Americans. Blacks are more likely to be arrested and detained compared to whites, blacks recorded more killings and torture than whites, and blacks are less likely to be employed. However, the situation is improving as people are embracing equality and eradicating racism, as in the election of Obama as the first Black President. Americans are now joining their fellow African-American in a demonstration against racism. The recent unjust killing of George Floyd by racist police saw protesters of various races taking to the streets to seek justice for the racial discrimination of blacks, (BBC NEWS, 2020). Although racism hasn't stopped in America as opposed to the past, racial discrimination is slowly declining.

Gender inequality is a social issue as women face injustices in workplaces, politics, and at home. Historically, women have faced discrimination in chauvinistic societies and America is not an exception. There is less representation of women in leadership positions, few women occupy the congress and the same in managerial positions. Women are harassed by their male workmates, at home women face domestic violence such as battering and sexual harassment (Roark et al. 2007). Women are also less likely to be employed especially in a technical occupation like engineering. However negative attitude towards women has changed as more women have joined formal employments and are taking leadership positions. Today, women occupy 26% of the congress, 25% in the senate, an improvement of the past, (CAWP, 2020).

Terrorism is a social problem to America and the world as it involves violence, intimidation, and instilling fear in citizens and governments. For the last decade, America has experienced more attacks of terrorism and threats of attacks. 2001 famous 9/11 in New York is the deadliest attack resulting in nearly 3000 fatalities, (BBC NEWS, 2019). There are several documented Islamic Jihadist suicides bombing by American citizens either inside America or in other countries. There are several threats of attack by the right-wing extremism who claimed responsibility for most of the 2020 attacks. The government is working to reduce terrorism by eliminating key terrorists like Osama, Saddam Hussein, and Qassim Suleiman, improving security, and use of artificial intelligence.

Inadequate affordable houses in most of the American cities has left many American homeless. House rent and the cost of buying a house in the 1980s wasn't as expensive as it is currently. The population of people living in urban areas is becoming even higher compared to that of the late 19th century making affordable houses more scarcity, (Freeman, 2002). Most of the low-income earners cannot afford good houses and the covid19 pandemic has worsened the situation. The government had the subsidized housing scheme to make houses cheaper but again this could not house the large population in urban centers. People are forced to live in houses with shared resources like common kitchens and bathrooms to reduce the rent.

Police brutality in America has been a social problem for a long as the body that is entitled to protect citizens are now brutalizing them. Police brutality takes the form of extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests and detention, racial discrimination, and general torture. Compared to the 1980s, the current citizens held more protests against police brutality the recent one being the protest seeking justice for the murder of George Floyd, (BBC, 2020). The advanced technology in the 21st century makes police brutality more visible compared to the task. Smartphones, and CCTVs help in recording live scenes of police cruelty. Videos of police brutalizing Floyd were shared on social media, groups organized riots, and the same was used as evidence in court.

Most people from poor backgrounds are not accessing quality education in public schools in America. Education in American is underfunded and as a result, there are fewer classrooms and teachers to accommodate a large number of students in public schools, (Coughlan, 2017). Teachers are underpaid and consequently, they are less motivated hence delivering low-quality services to students. Students from poor families perform poorly because of the challenges they get from home. Some students from poor families are forced to drop out as a result of a lack of funds to further their education and this raises the illiteracy level. However, the literacy level is increasing as more people are accessing education compared to the past due to increased donors and government support.

Public health is a social issue that has affected America over a long time as it has witnessed several outbreaks of diseases ever since. Major outbreaks of diseases in America over the last 50 years include measles in 1981-1991, HIV/AIDS from the 1980s to the present, and the 2020 covid19. Covid19 is one of the most fatal diseases that has attacked a large global population and America records more than 2000 fatalities daily. Other illnesses include the 2009 swine flu which witnessed more than 12000 deaths and 60.8 million infections. Compared to the 1980s, the 21st-century response to outbreaks is better as there are better health facilities and improved technology to help respond to pandemics. ( Robinson, 2020)

In conclusion, social problems facing the American people can be solved if the government adopts the proper interventions. The government should increase its budgetary allocation to public schools, and health services, and more subsidized houses should be constructed to cub housing issues. There should be police reforms to ensure no brutality to citizens and more punitive laws should be enforced against racial and gender discriminations. The government should enforce the third gender rule and encourage more women to take a leadership position.

References

Roark, J. L., Johnson, M. P., Cohen, P. C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., & Hartmann, S. M. (2007). The American Promise: A Compact History. Bedford/St. Martin's.

Freeman, L. (2002, May). America's affordable housing crisis: a contract unfulfilled. American journal of public health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447149/.

Coughlan, S. (2017, February 17). Is school funding the next crisis? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/education-38993715.

BBC NEWS. (2019, September 11). The US commemorates the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54123146.

Robinson, D. (2020, March 24). The Worst Outbreaks in U.S. History. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/worst-disease-outbreaks-history.

BBC NEWS. (2020, May 30). George Floyd's death: Clashes as protests spread across the US. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52857334.

CAWP. (2020, December 3). Women in the U.S. Congress in 2020. CAWP. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-congress-2020.