Income Inequality

Many of my readers will be surprised by my stance on this subject. Until now, all of my views have been extremely liberal but I'll go a more conservative route by saying that there is nothing wrong with income inequality. The inequality of income is one of the reasons people come to this country in the first place. The promise of the American Dream: that you can start with nothing and through hard work and dedication rise from the ranks of the poor to provide a better future for yourself and your family. 

The Environment

In my home state of New Jersey, we are coming to the end of one of the snowiest winters in recent memory. Most of the United States was covered in snow including places ill prepared for it (read: Atlanta, GA.). The large amounts of snow throughout the US have prompted many to say, "I don't see global warming, I see snow." Did you know, however, that this was one of the warmest winters ever throughout the world? Sure, much of the US may have been under snow but the winter Olympics in Russia were interrupted by a heat wave that saw snowboarders and skiers taking trips to the beach to relax. This January was the 4th warmest we have ever recorded.

Corporations

I have had conversations with many people about whether companies are inherently evil or not. I have heard both sides of the argument, done my own research, continue to hear about company’s lack of social responsibility, and have come to a conclusion.

Immigration

I always find it amusing when a people who once fought for rights themselves stand in the way of the rights of others. You see traces of this today in our society as Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, German-Americans and even Japanese-Americans - all once on the wrong end of the immigration argument - fight to deport our newest immigrant population, Hispanics.

Guns

There have been 80 school shootings since 2010 and more than 10 in the month of January 2014. 90 people have lost their life in that time frame, another 94 were injured, and a countless number of people will have to live with the memory of those events for the rest of their lives. In the month of January 2014, there were at least 30 gun deaths a day all across the country. In comparison, the Vietnam War saw 11 deaths per day, the American Revolutionary War saw 11 deaths per day, the War of 1812 saw 15 deaths per day, the Mexican-American war saw 29 deaths per day, the Philippine-American war saw 3.8 deaths per day and our current war, the War on Terror, is averaging about 1.57 deaths per day.

Outrage for Coke commercial

When I first saw the Coke commercial in which America the Beautiful was sung in several languages, I thought it was a touching and beautiful representation of the diversity inherent in this country. When I heard the next day the amount of hate and disdain for this diversity I was mortified. I was going to write about my feelings towards this outrage but then came across a video clip that says it much better than I ever could.

So I leave you with this video after the break.

Addiction

I wasn't going to cover this topic so soon because I didn't want to seem like a pro-drug advocate and lose readership before I gained any, but after Phillip Seymour Hoffman's passing and the subsequent barrage of hateful speak about a "useless junkie," as some have put it, I feel compelled to speak up on the subject of drugs - or more specifically on addiction. I'm not here to say that drugs are good and that everyone should give them a chance. I don't believe that all drugs are good and I especially do not believe that they are for everyone. It is a choice to try a substance for the first time, even one that is dangerous and could eventually kill you. Addiction, however, is not a choice.