Sociology - Democratic and Republican Views on Social Problems - Research Paper Example

? Democratic and republican views on social problems Insert Grade Introduction Like any other developed economy, the United States suffers from myriad social problems inherent in the present world. According to Dunlap and McCright (2008), the country has always been committed to promoting democracy, regional stability and economic development. Many of these problems arise from urbanization and globalization which usually come with many related issues. These issues should be dealt with in order for the country to maintain its prestige, power and fame. This paper focuses on three major social issues that the states face. It seeks to give the republicans and the democratic views on the issues and compare and contrast their stand on them in regard to the causes and solutions. This paper will conclude by stating its position on the issues and give the reasons as to why such a stand was taken. The social issues that this paper seeks to discuss include: unequal distribution of wealth, crime and abortion. Discussion One of the social problems that the country faces is crime that is observed both in the streets and people’s homes. Crime rates in the United States rose after the Second World War and they are normally divided property crime and violent crime. The frequent ones are murder, rape and theft. Statistics show that crime has become an epidemic that victimizes one family out of four in each year. Both the republicans and democrats view crime as a national problem that needs immediate solution and have a high opposition towards it. The democrats however believe that crime is brought about by poverty and arrogant policies while the republicans believe that it is due to low morals (democrats, n.d). Among many solutions, the republican view the best way of solving crime as enforcing the existing laws and laying tough penalties to anyone who commits crime with a gun. Crime is taken seriously to the extent that they support death penalty as a solution to murder and crime. They support the notion that there should be harsher penalties for certain crimes (GOP, n.d). Democrats on the other hand don’t support the death penalty and they are for the stand that it should be abolished. The reason behind this is that it is a cruel and unusual punishment. To the democrats, the solution to crime and murder is imprisonment because they believe that execution is a risk to killing an innocent person. The republicans however see execution as an effective punishment of taking an innocent life. Similar to democrats though, republicans support imprisonment for lesser crimes such as theft. In order to enhance security, democrats believe that disarmed citizens are safer from criminals who are armed (democrats, n. d). They oppose that owning guns should be subjected to regulations so that the guns don’t end up falling into the arms of the criminals. Republicans on the other hand support owning of guns if it is to be used in protecting oneself from criminals and terrorists. To them, an individual’s life matters and has to be given priority. Another social problem that is faced by the United States is unequal distribution of wealth. The similarity that exists between the democrats and the republicans is the acknowledgment that wealth is unequally divided. The democrats believe that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that every person is well taken care of through provision of welfare, education and food (Dunlap & McCright, 2008). It believes that the government should offer equal opportunities regardless of the power and wealth. This means that the democrats view unequal distribution of wealth as a problem that is brought about by lack of a responsible government and the fact that some people have more power compares to others. To them inequality is perceived to be unjust which also applies to the gap between the rich and the poor. The republicans on the other hand believe that the government does not have a responsibility of caring for each individual. It focuses on personal responsibility claiming that each person determines how they want to live their live. This only means that to them, unequal distribution of wealth is a problem that is brought about by the amount of effort that one puts in acquiring it. It is a personal problem that is determined by how people live. The lesser the hard work the lesser the wealth. Abortion is another social problem that affects the country which has contributed to poor health among the women (Claude, 2002). The democrats view the cause of abortion as a woman’s personal choice with regard to their own body and how they feel. They do not view a fetus to have life and claim that it can be done away with. To the democrats, abortion become negative when it is unsafe and suggest that women have a right to affordable, legal and safe abortion. They suggest that the solution is for the government to offer taxpayer funded abortions to those women that are not able to afford them. Contrary to the democrats, the republicans view abortion as the murder of human beings because they believe that life begins at inception and that each unborn child has a right to life (GOP, n.d.). They believe that the cause of abortion is having pregnancy at a late stage and therefore propose that late pregnancies should be avoided because they present complication that lead to abortions. It is considered to be illegal and is for the view that it should not be accepted at any circumstances (Claude, 2008). Other republicans even go further to oppose the contraception mandate that require the health insurance paid by the employer to cover contraception. They are of the opinion that abortion can be solved by putting more strict bans and severe consequences to those committing the crime. Another solution they offer is to avoid giving support to those organizations that support it. Position on the views This paper supports the views of the republicans because they seem to be more reasonable with regard to all issues. In the problem of crime, they support tough penalties for anyone who commits crime. Such penalties are the ones that can lead to the reduction of crime. For example if a person knows that committing murder will lead to execution, then they are more likely to avoid such a crime than when they are aware that the punishment is only imprisonment. The idea of owning a gun to protect one’s life also makes a lot of sense as compared to democrats’ idea that disarmed citizens are safer from armed criminal. When one is unarmed, then they have no means of protecting themselves which translates that they are not safe. The republican view on each individual taking responsibility of what they have is also plausible. As much as the government may contribute to unequal resources, a person’s hard work plays a great role in determining the amount of resources one has. This therefore promotes the spirit of hard work in individuals without having to wait for the government to provide for them. It is clear that as much as it may be the government’s role to take care of each person, the task may be far too heavy for it to provide for masses of people. Even if the resources may be unequally distributed, they can as well be gained through a lot of efforts rather than waiting for the government to provide for them. On matters of abortion, the paper supports the idea that it should a woman should not abort unless exposed to health risks. It supports the republicans that the unborn child has a right to life. The democrats’ idea that a woman has a right to abort is more likely to increase the number of abortions committed rather than solve the problem. This will even increase the number of unwanted pregnancies which will create more need for abortions. Conclusion In conclusion, the social problems stated above can be solved if right measures are put in place. The republicans and democrats should put their differences aside and set common goals which will lead to them coming up with effective and unified way of solving issues. References Claude, R. P. (2002). Comparative human rights. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Democrats.org. (n.d.). Democrats.org. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from http://www.democrats.org Dunlap, R. E., & McCright, A. M. (2008). A Widening Gap: Republican and Democratic Views On Social Issues. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 50(5), 26-35. GOP.gov - The Website of the Republican Majority in the House of Representatives. (n.d.). GOP.gov. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.gop.gov Read More