Problems...

1. Abuse of Human Rights
2. Loss of Opportunity of an Education
3. Child Labor
4. Inaccurate Media Coverage (Bias)
5. The Loss of a Childhood
6. Diamond Exportation
7. Bureaucratization of War
8. Physical Damage of War on Humans
9. Corrupt Politics
10. Psychological Modification (Conditioning)
11. Ecological Effects of War
12. Ignorance
13. Separation of Families
14. Breakdown of Communal Values (Mistrust)
15. Economic Effect of War on the Standard of Living
16. Decline of the Credibility of a Country
17. Illegal/Underground Trafficking
18. Exponential Growth of Refugees
19. Cost of Poverty
20. Conflict Oil

The above list is a compilation of problems that author Ismael Beah presents in his memoir A Long Way Gone. I have roughly listed the problems in order from "most pressing" to "least pressing". The second half of the assignment for this week called for me to write a short response where i would pick one of these issues and discuss possible solutions. I reviewed my list and Ignorance stuck out the most to me. However, when i went to discuss possible solutions to this problem, I found myself having a very difficult time. After a good deal of thought (and about a half hour) I have concluded that not all problems have a definite solution. I believe we need to realize that some people are in fact ignorant, and unfortunately, always will be. There is nothing we (as a society) can do to change this. It is simply just the way things are. Don't get me wrong, the whole idea of "changing one life at a time" or other slogans similar are great, but I must confess, unrealistic. I feel the best that can be done to combat ignorance is to raise awareness. The true story must be told. The problem is, we can't force people to listen.
((Alan))