Discussion 1
Social movements are planned efforts by a group of individuals to initiate reforms in major facets of the community. As a young man, I have been a part of a social movement in my society. Worried about the controversy that was surrounding the legalization of marijuana, a group of young people got together to push for the legalization of this drug. This came after we observed the positive changes that the drug was bringing to people suffering from chronic diseases like cancer and HIV.
The group’s motivation also came through the realization that marijuana was not as dangerous as many people portrayed it to be. It was interesting for us to learn that tobacco smoke was more dangerous compared to smoking marijuana. What we wondered as a group was why a substance like tobacco that was proved to be more dangerous should remain legal while marijuana which was proved to be helpful to patients should remain banned. (Marshal, 1998)
Having observed the caution that Americans approached the marijuana issue, we knew that individual efforts would do little to push for the reforms we wanted. This was why we decided to form a group to educate people on the benefits of legalizing marijuana. Through mobilizing, we were able to influence the city of Washington to make it legal for people with chronic ailments to be able to access medicinal marijuana.
Through our efforts, the society is slowly beginning to understand the numerous benefits that the society can derive if marijuana was legalized. Through the influence of this group, different states are considering legalizing marijuana to become their newest avenue for revenue collection through the sale of legal marijuana. To us, this group is a real example of a social movement in the society. (Marshal, 1998)
Discussion 2
Terrorismhas become the concern of every person across the world. This has made many governments to take drastic measures meant to curb this evil. Despite these measures, I do not think that America and the rest of the world are winning this war against terrorism. The reason for my observation is that this war has turned from fighting terrorists to hunting down Muslims.
Although I agree that Muslim extremists lead most terrorist groups, it is quite wrong to treat every Muslim as a potential terrorist. By doing this what America and the rest of the world are doing is seeking to win the war and effectively losing the battle. If the world is truly to win the war on terrorism, there is the need to stop focusing on fighting religious convictions and start fighting the real criminals. (Cline, 2010)
Although terrorist’s acts might have ceded in American soil, they are very active elsewhere. Terrorists have realized that it is impossible to carry attacks on American soil and instead decided to attack American interests elsewhere. In the recent months, there has been a series of attacks targeted at Americans in different parts of the world. A good example of this was the attack on a World Cup crowd comprising mainly of American sympathizers in an East African city known as Kampala in Uganda.
Although terrorists might have reduced their attacks against America, they have instead been attacking those nations that are believed to be supporting American interests and those seen as sympathizers of the nation. By considering this new development, it would be a lie to claim that America and the rest of the world are winning the war on terrorism. (Anthology of Ideas, 2006)
References
Anthology of Ideas. (2006) Is the US Winning The War on Terrorism? Web.
Cline, A. (2010) Weekly Poll: Is Al Qaeda Winning the War on Terrorism? Web.
Marshal, G. (1998) “Social Movements”. A Dictionary of Sociology. Web.