Contemporary Sociopolitical Issues

The following list of contemporary sociopolitical issues was generated during an in-class brainstorming session on Thursday, Sept. 9th, 2021. It is a good start, but is by no means complete.

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. Voting Rights
    1. Texas voting restrictions: bans 24-hour voting, bans drive-thru voting, poll watchers, vote by mail mandates, etc.
      1. Heather Cox Richardson – good source
  1. Environment
    1. Climate Change and denial
    2. Clean water, air
    3. Industrial waste
    4. Wildfires
    5. Deforestation
    6. Environmental conservation
    7. Oceans, whales
    8. Wildlife
    9. Oil – pipelines, spills
    10. Corporate responsibility
    11. Racial injustice and climate change
    12. Green energy
  2. Healthcare
    1. Insurance
    2. Coverage eligibility
    3. Affordability/cost
    4. access
  3. Immigration and Refugee Crisis
    1. Nativism
    2. Mass migration
    3. The wall
    4. ICE agents’ brutality
    5. Family separation
    6. Challenging unjust government policies
    7. Dreamers
    8. Boarder security
    9. Cages
    10. Travel bans
  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 (George Floyd), Stop Asian Hate
    11. Mass incarceration – zero tolerance, war on drugs, profiling, school discipline policies (school to prison pipeline)
    12. Death Penalty
      1. Bryan Stevenson – Equal Justice Initiative (Just Mercy = book and movie)
  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
  1. Body Autonomy
    1. Drug tests
    2. Euthanasia
    3. Vaccinations
    4. Pro-life vs. pro-choice
    5. Transgender Issues
  2. 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
  1. Feminism
    1. Equality
    2. Wages
    3. Stigma around the word
  2. Hunger and Food Insecurity (poverty)
    1. Homelessness
    2. Wage gap
    3. Inequality of wealth distribution
  3. 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.)
  4. Increased Political Violence
    1. “justified” by religion?
  5. Labor Laws
    1. Worker’s rights
    2. Occupational health/safety
    3. Income Gap
  6. Human Trafficking
    1. Forced child labor
    2. Sex trafficking
  7. Civil Rights for Exceptional Students
    1. ADHD
    2. Autism
    3. Laws: no child left behind, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  8. Human Rights for All
    1. Genocide
  9. Sexual Assault
    1. Abuse in the Church
    2. Cover-ups
    3. Genital mutilation
  10. War

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