Solutions to Social Problems Essays

Solutions to Social Problems Essays Solutions to Social Problems Essay Solutions to Social Problems Essay In Solutions to Social Problems From the Bottom Up: Successful Social Movements by D. Stanley Eitzen and Kenneth Stewart, a light is shone on how incredibly powerful social movements may be. The United States has been no stranger to social movements and the influential leaders that have made them known. The novel describes in detail the various accounts that African Americans, women and other minorities fought for equal rights in the United States and even around the world. The first three chapters of the novel reveal a few articles that expand on a few of the major social movements in the United States and exactly how they have affected modern day. Direct action today may not always be as obvious as the actions taken during the early social movements but they are constantly present in our everyday life whether it is realized or not. It is clear through the reading that the actions during these movements were life altering for not only that time but for the future. The direct actions of our generation will shape those generations ahead of us. In the novel the first three chapters introduce some of the most powerful and successful movements in the United States. The first chapter breaks down what a social movement is and how an issue can become a social movement. It also reveals why social movements are actually necessary for society. The chapter explains how people of the minority, whether it is race or religion or sexuality, have constantly fought with the oppressors of society for equal rights. It defines a social movement as the collective attempt to promote, resist or reverse change. It goes on to explain that the key to any successful social movement is ideology. The ideology provides the goals and rationale for the movement, brings together minorities for a common cause and brings the action to attention for all individuals who believe in the fight. The chapter also breaks down the three types of social movements. There are resistance movements which resist change, for example the anti-abortion activists. There are reform movements that want to change a specific part of society like women’s rights or gay rights. And there are revolutionary movements who are looking for radical and drastic changes like the situation with Fidel Castro in Cuba or the American Revolution. The chapter also reveals the steps of a social movement. The first step is to attract members for the cause; second step is to focus on the fight which usually takes place after an outrageous act is performed against the group. The third step is to become an organization, with leaders and roles for the members. The final step may or may not occur. The fourth and final step is to integrate the movement into society. This will only happen if the movement has been successful however. In the chapter Howard Zinn and David Meyer give both past and present day examples of successful social movements. Zinn looks into those who protested the war in Vietnam. He focuses on the May 1970 sit down protest where activists sat down in front of the buses deporting soldiers to make a statement. Meyer gives an example that more recently occurred. In January 2003 tens of thousands of people marched into Washington to protest the invasion on Iraq. Both Zinn and Meyer explain that even the smallest actions can change the world. By coming together and taking a stand it may make the government and the rest of society take notice and make a change. The second chapter gets into more detail about some of the history’s most infamous and important movements. It focuses on the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Rights Movement and the Gay Rights Movement. The first article in this chapter by Taylor Branch gives an example of a peaceful protest during the Civil Rights Movement. In Greensboro, it began with black college students sitting at the white counter refusing to move until they were served, and ended up a nationwide action with groups all across the south imitating them. It often resulted in the arrests of many black people but they were determined to be heard and often many of them chose jail over community service. Their actions may not have made a drastic change then, but the impact it had on the future is astounding. The second article by Charles Wilson reveals the struggles of the disabled people. In September 1984 a dozen men and women in wheel chairs rolled in front a city bus and refused to move. They were trying to bring attention to the lack of transportation for disabled people in the city. The article reveals how many people wait hours and hours sometimes in the cold or rain to be given a ride somewhere they need to go. The protest occurred in a few city buses, determined to make their voices heard. Each member of the protest wore a name tag that read: Hi My Name is Rosa Parks. This small gesture proves that the actions taken by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and so many other activists made an immense impact on the future. The third chapter focuses on the effects of these movements and how people are still benefiting from them today. In this chapter examples of the Dorr Rebellion and how women won the right to vote are discussed as well as the Mississippi Freedom Summer. The main point of each article in this chapter is to show how much of an impact people in these movements and in the past have had on our future. Without Dorr’s fight for the equality to vote among the white men it would not have led to African Americans earning the right to vote or women’s right to vote. Women’s right to vote is also due to the strong fight of Susan B. Anthony. It is a ripple effect. Each movement made strides and changes in society only to raise the awareness of new ones to improve on. The tragic losses of the Freedom Summer in Mississippi revealed to the North and the rest of the South how horrific the tension between whites and blacks was becoming and it made people realize it needed to be stopped. Without the fearlessness of people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. , Susan B. Anthony and many more activist leaders our society today would have a lot more social problems. Direct action can be defined as any action seeking to achieve an immediate or direct result, especially an action against an established authority or powerful institution such as by strike or picketing. Direct action can be anything from a peaceful march to protest, to angry picketers chanting and refusing to work or support the issue they are protesting. An example of direct action could be the picketers and protesters that stand outside of Women’s clinics where abortions are performed. In extreme cases, girls and women that go into the clinic get screamed at and bombarded with accusations and threatening words telling them not to kill their baby. On the other hand you may find pro choice activists arguing back, holding signs and protesting for women to have their own choice. One of the most well known forms of direct action occurred in the Civil Rights Movement. It began with a woman named Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat for a white person and snowballed into a social movement that would change our country. The leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. believed in non-violent forms of direct actions which is why a majority of the protests that occurred in the Civil Rights Movement were sit-ins or peaceful marches and rallies. Direct action has been around as long as there have been struggles in world. It can be violent or non violent and focus on a broad range of topics. In his book, Direct Action, William Mellor believed that direct action occurred between the workplace and employees. He gave examples of lockouts, strikes and picketing and even sabotage in order for workers or employers to get what they want. U. S. anarchist and feminist Voltairine de Cleyre on the other hand believed that direct action focused more on civil rights. As it turns out, they are both correct. Today you see workers going on strike for better wages or better treatment and you also see people demanding for civil rights. The most popular and controversial protest of modern day is gay rights. Even in such modern time there are still many people who oppose homosexuality. The struggle for equal rights, mainly the right to be married, is still ongoing for homosexuals. They have not given up the fight however, even making progress in the few states that have legalized gay marriage. Today there are vast numbers of activist groups that are taking direct action to make changes in society. Even with all the hard work from Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Susan B. Anthony there are still social problems today. With the change of one thing comes an issue of another. Today there are the social problems of the War in Iraq, the abortion dilemma, gay marriage dilemma, health care reform and so much more. No matter how far in the future we go, there will always be a social problem that will require the direct action of those who strongly believe in it. After reading this novel by D. Stanley Eitzen and Kenneth Stewart, I was once again amazed at the brave actions taken by the leaders in our past and present. I never realized the importance social movements have on our society. The Civil Rights Movement led to African Americans earning equality, the Dorr Rebellion earned all white men the right to vote which led to the movements of Women’s Voting Rights and African American’s voting rights. With these movements resolved the nation looked more closely at how it can change and the workplace was improved as was the equality of women and men. Today without these movements the world would be a far less amazing place. Today thanks to the bravery of activist leaders and members who took a stand on the important issues and refused to back down, men and women can work the same job, they can both vote in elections. African Americans are part of our society and we now embrace minorities as regular people just like anyone else. We were able to make historical changes then, and I hope we are able to make them now as well. There are still important issues that are being raised. It is time for our generation and future generations to step up and follow in the footsteps of those before us. The War in Iraq needs to be resolved, the abortion dilemma needs to end and what about global warming and our quickly deteriorating environment. Most importantly, gay rights to need to be recognized at last. No one should be able to say no to a gay couple who wants to get married. A gay man should be able to fight for his country and still be proud of his partner or sexuality without having to hide it as part of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. This issue is important to me and if we were able to change this then it would have a huge impact on the future. Reading this novel, I felt inspired to make a change. Everyone needs to take a stand for something they believe in. If everyone were to do so, the world would be a much better place, and who knows, maybe one day far in the future we can all live peacefully and happily without any more social conflicts. Direct Action. N. p. , 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. . Eitzen, D, Stanley, and Kenneth Stewart. Solutions to Social Problems from the Bottom up: Successful Social Movements. Boston: Pearson, 2007. Print. Social Movement. N. p. , 2 Apr. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. .