What about drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What about drugs - Essay Example Substance abuse is frightening and I pride myself on keeping my body as healthy as can be. Recreational drug users are filling certain needs when they take drugs and this is directly related to the addictive nature as well as the chemical properties of certain drugs. Accordingly, recreational drug users who need their â€Å"fix† are actually filling a need which they themselves have created. We are not born with addictions, such as an addiction to tobacco or cocaine, these addictions are created by us and they become self-fulfilling prophecies. It has been medically proven that physical activity helps people overcome the issues associated with drug use and chemical dependency. Promoting activity, whether it is going to the gym, going for a run or playing a sport, can help people overcome the challenges associated with drug addiction. Children need to know that drugs are out there but that there is a fundamental difference between drugs which are legal and drugs which are illegal. I will talk to my kids about drugs and aim to provide an open forum for them to ask any questions they may have about drug use. Children are naturally curious and many teenagers experiment with drugs in high school. It is important to keep them knowledgeable about the effects of drugs so that they are aware of the ramifications of drug use. Kids should not be encouraged to experiment but they should be given opportunities to ask questions about drugs and expert an honest answer in return. My personal opinion is that alcohol and nicotine are dangerous and that both should be illegal. More people are killed by alcohol related violence or accidents than those cause by drugs such as marijuana and we as a society should not be promoting alcohol as a good thing. Smoking as kills millions of people but it remains legal and the government continues to earn tremendous revenue from the sale of tobacco products. Dangerous drugs

A Critique of Taylor's Concept of Multiculturalism in Relation to Essay

A Critique of Taylor's Concept of Multiculturalism in Relation to Nation Building - Essay Example The society is a framework within which different people interact to create various inclinations and trends which define the culture3. The world is a dynamic place and as changes occur in societies, there are numerous tendencies that makes it impossible for cultures to continue to be transferred from generation to generation. This therefore brings to play the concept of â€Å"cultural survival† which is concerned with the ability of a given culture to stand the test of time that comes with modernisation4. Professor Charles Taylor supports the communitarian school of thought which claims that the idea of individualism evolved as a consequence of some failures in the development of the modern Eurocentric society5. Due to individualism, the risk of cultural survival is now higher than it has ever been in the past. He holds that the replacement of communal structures with individualism is gradually causing the human race to lose important morals and values. As an antidote to this, communitarians believe that the social structures should be rebuilt and this can be done through enhancing different cultures in a given nation. This idea has become popularly known as the recognition of culture. Recognition of culture therefore refers to the respect of people's distinct cultures and allowing different people to practice their different cultures in a given nation. ... Taylor's argument, called the politics of equal respect implies that distinct cultures will have to be respected and allowed to thrive in a nation, even if it comes with wide differences. Theoretically, the recognition of culture means that if people from extremely different ends of the world come together in a given geographical area, they should be allowed to maintain their unique values, irrespective of how different they are. It is therefore obvious that this position of Taylor gives room for a wide diversity of possibilities which cannot go unchecked. In this paper, I examine the key debates of Taylor in relation to the concept of the recognition of differences in cultures. I will critically assess the validity of the communitarian views on the subject by comparing them to counter arguments and criticisms of his ideas. I will utilise various philosophical positions and ideologies of various thinkers and theorists and use them to validate or reject various propositions presented by Taylor and other communitarians. The paper argues that the idea of communitarianism is the best way for the survival of today's society and although there are some inherent challenges in it that threaten to prevent cohesion it is the only viable option in socializing children. The Basis of Taylor's Argument Taylor, in his book Ethics of Authenticity built a strong case against the existing systems and structures in the modern society. He identifies that there are three main 'malaises' or cankers in our modern society that are potentially dangerous to the current society7. The first malaise is the concept of individualism. People tend to have the freedom to decide what is right and choose to do it for themselves. Thus, whatever is convenient to an individual