Contemporary Sociopolitical Issues

The following list of contemporary sociopolitical issues was generated during an in-class brainstorming session on Thursday, Sept. 8th, 2022. It is a good start, but is by no means complete. Please e-mail Professor MacDonald with your suggested additions and modifications.

SOCIAL JUSTICE / SOCIOPOLITICAL ISSUES

  • Socio-Political: involves both social and political factors

– Political factors: economic development, well-being of citizens…
– Social: poverty, unemployment, housing, discrimination, child neglect/abuse

  • Social Justice: fairness for all

  1. Environment

    1. Climate change and denial
    2. Global warming
    3. Carbon Footprint
    4. Loss of Natural Habitats
    5. Clean water, air
    6. Industrial waste
    7. Natural Disasters – Wildfires, Floods
    8. Deforestation
    9. Environmental conservation
    10. Oceans, whales
    11. Acidification of Coral Reefs
    12. Wildlife
    13. Oil – pipelines, spills
    14. Corporate responsibility
    15. Racial injustice and climate change
    16. Green energy
    17. Impact on health – respiratory health

  2. Voting Rights

    1. Voting restrictions: bans 24-hour voting, bans drive-thru voting, poll watchers, vote by mail mandates, etc.
        1. Heather Cox Richardson‘s Substack daily e-mail newsletter  – good source w/ historical insights & comparisons
    2. Voter ID laws
    3. Gerrymandering
    4. False Information
    5. Education
    6. pork barrel spending

  3. Immigration and Refugee Crisis

    1. Nativism and Xenophobia
    2. Mass migration. Refugees.
    3. The wall
    4. ICE agents’ brutality
    5. Family separation. Detaining children.
    6. Challenging unjust government policies, outdated laws
    7. Dreamers
    8. Boarder security, militarizing the border
    9. Understaffed immigrant-processing systems
    10. Cages
    11. Travel bans
    12. Unequal pay, undocumented workers, U.S. needs workers
    13. Forced hysterectomies
    14. Migrants in need of safety (seeking asylum from violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras)
    15. Cruel political stunts:
      1. Governors Greg Abbot (Texas), Ron DeSantis (Florida), Greg Ducey (Arizona) transporting immigrants to northern states — lured with false promises of work & housing.

  4. Racial Injustice

    1. Groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinx, Hispanic, Indigenous communities, Muslims, Jewish, Sikh
    2. Police Reform, Police Brutality
    3. Working against discrimination
    4. Equity (goes beyond equality. Eliminates societal barriers.)
    5. Lack of resources (clean water on reservations)
    6. Segregation
    7. Civil rights
    8. Removal of Confederate statues
    9. Stereotyping
    10. Black Lives Matter
    11. Asian Hate
    12. Mass incarceration – zero tolerance, war on drugs, profiling, school discipline policies (school to prison pipeline)
    13. Death Penalty
      1. Bryan Stevenson – Equal Justice Initiative (Just Mercy = book and movie)
    14. War on Drugs
    15. Housing & Socioeconomic status
    16. Military Targeting
    17. Xenophobia
    18. Unconscious racism

  5. Sexual Orientation

    1. LGBTQ+ rights
    2. Discrimination, harassment, violence, oppression
    3. Marriage laws
    4. Employment Non-Discrimination Act (yet to pass)
    5. Supporting LGBTQ+ youth (bullying, harassment, dropping out, homelessness, suicide)
    6. Pronouns
    7. Athletics
    8. Bathroom accessibility
    9. Stigma

  6. Body Autonomy

    1. Drug tests
    2. Euthanasia
    3. Vaccinations
    4. pro-choice vs. anti-choice
    5. Transgender Issues

  7. Education

    1. Access to computers
    2. Segregation/integration
    3. Access to education for female students (Africa, Afghanistan, etc.)
    4. What is taught vs what is omitted (CRT, etc.)
    5. Misinformation

  8. Increased Political Violence

    1. “justified” by religion?

  9. Labor Laws

    1. Worker’s rights
    2. Occupational health/safety
    3. Income Gap

  10. Human Trafficking

    1. Forced child labor
    2. Sex trafficking

  11. Civil Rights for Exceptional Students

    1. ADHD
    2. Autism
    3. Laws: no child left behind, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

  12. Human Rights for All

    1. Genocide

  13. Sexual Assault

    1. Abuse in the Church
    2. Cover-ups
    3. Genital mutilation

  14. War

  15. Healthcare

    1. Insurance
    2. Coverage eligibility
    3. Affordability/cost
    4. Access

  16. Gun Violence

    1. Gun Control
    2. 2nd amendment rights
    3. Background checks
    4. Banning certain weapons
    5. Mandatory training – use and safety measures
      1. “Beating Guns” by Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin — RAWtools.org (guns to garden tools)
    6. Teachers with guns? School security guards?
    7. “Pipeline”
    8. Open carry laws

  17. Feminism

    1. Equality
    2. Wage gap
    3. Stigma around the word
    4. Reproductive Rights
    5. Violence
    6. Intersectional feminism

  18. Hunger and Food Insecurity (poverty)

    1. Homelessness
    2. Wage gap
    3. Inequality of wealth distribution

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