Homeless Essays - Homelessness, Humanitarian Aid, Socioeconomics

Homeless What has been done to decrease the problem? One of the largest growing concerns in Toronto is the constantly increasing number of citizens who are finding themselves living on the streets. With the decrease in the number of available jobs, the population of homeless people has literally boomed. My questions are not as simple to answer as they may appear. Why is a large portion of our community forced to live on the streets? What has be done to decrease the problem? These are the questions I will confront in my essay. With the economical wealth attributed to the name "Canada", one would have to wonder why there is a homeless situation at all. This problem is especially evident in Canada's wealthiest city, Toronto. When it comes to the affairs of the people, it is the government who should intervene. When I look at what the government has done with regard to the homeless problem, I have to doubt that everything is being done to eradicate it. The United Nations implemented a universal d eclaration of human rights. Article 25 Section 1 of this declaration states: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and to the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. This is a step in the right direction. However, this is not enough. These rights are subject to the discretion of the government of the country who decides to obey these universal rights. How much is "adequate"? The government, both at the federal and municipal levels, is currently working on new spending cuts. These cuts also include spending on welfare, unemployment and social services that are geared towards helping the homeless. Spending cuts can be seen as a necessity to maintain the country economically, but the reason for having a government i n the first place is to take care of the people. How can this be done when money is being taken away from those services that are necessary to uphold this obligation? Simply put, it cannot. Those obligations are served by nonprofit organizations who depend on government grants to maintain a standard of care for those who need the services. The blame cannot be placed only on the government. Such a system of assistance depends on its beneficiaries to be honest and have some integrity. Many recipients of these services attempt to "cheat the system". With no will to search for work many of these recipients remain at home and reap the benefits of their weekly cheques. This causes the government to create other services to control the amounts of money being distributed to those people. This process is costly and would be unnecessary if all of the recipients decided to take an honest approach to this service. What can the government do to decrease the homeless population? Although there is no quick and easy answer to solve this difficult problem, Toronto has the means to attempt economical ways to research and come up with ideas to solve it. Here in Ontario we have many excellent universities and colleges with equally excellent students who are taking courses in the political sciences. If the government were to cooperate with these universities and colleges and have them work in conjunction with the current research groups, then the answer to decrease the homeless population would be effectively answered. The government would encounter little expense and at the same time give the students a chance to implement what they are learning into real life situations. Everyone benefits from this idea and there are no losers. In conclusion I think that our homeless problem could eventually be rooted out entirely if everyone were to take part in the care of their fellow neighbour. If we were to stop being self-centered and start thinking about the other person who has less than us, I am sure that we would benefit from it. It isn't all that hard. A few advertisements on the television and radio, a little push from our society's leaders

Multiculturalism Essay Example

Multiculturalism Essay Example Multiculturalism Essay Multiculturalism Essay Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is brought by the existence of multiple cultures in a society. Every culture has different practices, but it is possible to have common practices in different cultures. Multiple cultures are brought by immigration of people. The different cultures are expected to coexist in the same society and live harmoniously. Multiple cultures have both positive and negative effects on the people. It has brought the introduction of homogeneity, where groups of people adopt practices from different cultures. They do not identify themselves with any culture since they have borrowed from many cultures. According to my observation, it is agreeable to say that people are a product of multiple cultures. People of different culture living in the same society have influenced each other in many ways. Global changes have also contributed to changes in cultural practices. The new technologies, as well as policies in different countries, have enabled people’s exposure to different cultures. For example, trade policies enable people from different cultures to interact and exchange knowledge. Traveling makes people visit new places where they learn different cultural practices. I feel I am a product of multiple cultures in different ways. In my learning institution, there are many students from different cultures. They have taught me many things in various aspects. My friends come are from diverse cultures and they have introduced me to many practices in their cultures. It is a brilliant idea to borrow from other cultures because their practices may be a solution to some of my problems. For instance, I have a friend whose culture believes in consuming vegetables. My friend has a lot of knowledge on various types of vegetables, and he assisted me to choose the most nutritious ones. Another friend comes from France and is proficient in French language. He assists me to learn French and soon I will be multilingual. We form study groups and assist each other with course work. I have learnt many effective study habits form my friends. It has even been reflected in my school results. I have improved in the way I understand concepts in class. For example, I learnt that it is essential to ask questions after the teacher is through with the lecture. It does not only help me but also other students to learn more. Being an Arab, I have always believed my religion is the only right one. After interacting with other people from different cultures, I have learnt to accept and respect other religions. I was made to understand that people have the freedom to join any religion. It is unethical to criticize other religious and assume mine is superior. Multiple cultures have influenced me to respect other cultures and practices. I have also noticed some foreign students have converted to different religions because of multiple culture influence. Other people have persuaded them to join those religions, and they have accepted. Multiple cultures enhance cohesion in the community. I have learnt to live with other ethnic groups in harmony. Initially, I had negative perception about some cultural groups. After living in a community with diverse people, I have changed my attitude and towards people. Mainly, I had a problem with other races. Dubai has many immigrants from African, Asian, South American and other countries. I feared they would control the country and overthrow the government. Today, I have come to realize that they are beneficial to the state in many ways. I appreciate their contribution in all the aspects they have helped improve. I have an interest in traveling, and I have visited many places outside Dubai. For instance, I have visited United States of America with my family. During the visit, we stayed with American families who shared many ideas about their cultures. My mother learnt how to cook different meals. I ate new snacks like burgers and pizza. These foods do not belong in cultural Arabian foods. They were introduced by the western culture in Dubai. Today, my mother prepares some of the foods she learnt, and they have become part of my family’s culture. The internet has significantly changed people’s ways of life and beliefs. This is mainly observed in young people because they have fully embraced the new technology. The internet contains all sorts of information about different topics. Social networks are being used as a medium of interacting, and this is an opportunity for people to exchange cultural practices. I belong to several social sites, and I have made friends with people from all over the world. By chatting and other forms of communication, we have learnt ideas from each other. Computer technology has changed by culture of learning and doing research. Initially, I only used physical libraries and books used in class. It was difficult to carry out research because I had to consume a lot of time looking for relevant books. Today, I just use my laptop to search any topic from the internet. It has a broad database of rich information in almost all the topics. I can also access electronic books and save time looking for them physically. The lecturers have an easy time marking essays because there is software to assist them. Apart from positive influence, there has been negative influence. The greatest negative influence is from the media. Many movies have several negative themes. According to Arab religion, people are expected to remain chaste until they are married. Contemporary movies are encouraging young people against these values. I am among some of the students who have acquired a more liberal perception to life. This is a choice that I have to make on my own. Some people from foreign countries came to introduce unacceptable practices in the community. For instance, in Jamaica there is the culture of consuming Cannabis sativa. Immigrants from that country have introduced it to others. There are other hard drugs, which have been introduced into the country because of having multiple cultures. People have made it a business to sell these illegal drugs, and they are making money. The government has a hard time trying to fight these illegal practices. Another notable change is the music I like. Western music has taken over local music and people seem to enjoy it more than local music. I like listening to hip-hop, jazz and classical music among other categories. I only listen to local music occasionally. With all the changes that have happened, I feel I am a product of multiple cultures.

What issues were resolved by the Compromise of 1850 Who benefited more Research Paper

What issues were resolved by the Compromise of 1850 Who benefited more from its terms, the North or the South Why - Research Paper Example By 1847, however, the Courts of the United States were declaring that the Constitution was ultimate, and that slavery was a political, not a legal issue (Jones v. Van Zandt, 1847: General History of the United Sates Supreme Court, 2011)). The Missouri Compromise – which declared that Congress could exclude slavery from Missouri Territory north of the 36-degree, 30-minute line – meant that the political, rather than the legal battle about slavery had started. The Southern States, represented in the feelings of John Calhoun, felt as if they had been disadvantaged: â€Å"†¦ the fact that the equilibrium between the two sections in the government as it stood when the Constitution was ratified and the government put in action has been destroyed.† (Calhoun speech, 1850). He continued: the Southern States of the Union were extremely dissatisfied with conditions as they were and that this dissatisfaction had been growing since the question of slavery had arisen. The point had been reached at which the Southern States could not remain in the Union with â€Å"honor and safety† (Calhoun speech, 1850) if things remained as they were. Slavery was, of course not the only source of the dissatisfaction: the imbalance of power between North and South was also unacceptable. According to Calhoun, the North exercised far more political power than the South. In addition, racial attitudes in the North and South differed so widely as to be irreconcilable. For these reasons, the South was left with few choices. These States would have to agree to the abolition of slavery, or secede from the Union. Calhoun proposed that the North would have to hold the Union together by force and its superior numbers and wealth. The Northern States had more voting power, and Southern States had become increasingly geographically isolated from the rest of the Union. The Southern States with direct access to ports, for example, could afford to secede, in the hope that they