Those "Hot Button" Issues...

There are times I can't help but wonder about the country in which I live...

You might be wondering why I put it that way, and the answer is actually fairly simple, though it reaches back pretty far into the history of civilization for my unease.

It happens pretty frequently that certain issues come up in the news... Especially during election campaigns, which are full of empty promises and a lot of hot air.

So where is the historical tie to this? Think back to Rome... The phrase "panem et circenses" might not mean much unless you know Latin, but you might recognize "bread and circuses."

What does this have to do with elections? Then let me ask you, "What do the so-called 'hot button issues' do?"

They galvanize people because of their emotional impact but they can also be used to mask integral problems because of that emotional impact.

Thus, bread and circuses.

In Rome, the whole idea was to keep the masses happy with cheap wheat (bread) and entertainment in the form of games in places like the Coliseum (circuses). So what does that have to do with heated or controversial issues being tossed into the ring?

Distraction. (To quote a song from "Chicago" - "Give them the old razzle dazzle!")

The whole point behind bread and circuses, and also quite likely the "hot button issues," is to keep the people focused on something other than real, tangible concerns. Basically it is creating public approval through diversion!

So what are some of the hot button issues that so rile the people as to mask integral problems within the system by keeping them fired up about something else?

There are several I can think of, though I am sure there are others to which other people would apply this status. Some of the ones I'm thinking of include abortion, gay equality/marriage, and nuclear power/green energy.

For those first two, some people protest against them based on their religion. But since the United States doesn't have, and doesn't need, a state religion, I find those arguments to be somewhat spurious.

However, such people as do use these topics to rally the religious sector to their cry don't seem to pay much attention to such historical precedent. They are so busy prating through certain catch phrases like the sanctity of marriage, pro-life and whatnot that all they hear is the roars of their faithful. I don't think any specific names are needed here from the current campaign trail.

To me, it seems these people are taking a secular event and turning it into a fanatical zealots ball.

The heat surrounding such issues as abortion, or as certain people put it, the murder of innocent unborn children... That fire blinds the people to whom the arguments are made. For when there is a fire before your eyes, why look into the shadows to see the dangers that readily lurk?

I know you are not necessarily interested in my opinion with regards to this issue, but it is almost physically impossible for a fetus that has not gestated for six months to survive outside the mother's body. So, for me, that means a child before that point is not yet an individual.

And I can't help but be quite disturbed by some of the arguments thrown out there for public consumption, especially considering that some pregnancies end naturally with miscarriages, accidents and still births. Why? Because these instances seem to be completely ignored.

Then there's the whole debate surrounding the various forms of birth control. Some religions are diametrically opposed to birth control in any form. But part of what many forms of contraception do is make the woman's uterus inhospitable to a zygote, a fertilized egg. So that could be considered a form of abortion by certain groups as noted in news last year out of Alabama regarding "personhood" legislation...

There is so very much to this issue, I could probably keep on going... But there are other points to make at this time.

Of course, the whole issue of religion in this country is another hot button issue through which people can get quite riled and even turn violent. People have used religion for centuries as a prop, or even a ruse, to get a rise out of others.

But even history shows that religions rise and fall, just as Christianity was once nothing more than a heretical cult that was not well accepted by the culture of civilization at the time.

So Christians may call me a heretic or claim that I am a member of a cult, or even insult me by proclaiming I must worship something I don't even believe in. But it is only if I rise to those goads that I give their attacks any credence.

And even in Rome, Christians were once the source of the circuses, or at least the poor bait thrown into the ring to distract the people from their pressing concerns.

So they thump their Bibles, proclaiming that such things as allowing two people of the same sex to express their love for each other are wrong. I believe that two people who love each other in that way should be allowed to be together as long as it is not incest, rape or abusive.

However, the issues that pull religion into them are among the most heated and thus the most distracting. Which is why they are the most frequently pulled cards out of the deck of potential stumping ideas. What tattered Jokers are these...

When it comes to these sorts of instances, they are so frayed from overuse, I can't help but be sometimes surprised at how vehemently people continue to rise to them. Still, if you feel that strongly about a particular issue or you prattle about it enough, I guess anyone will "rise to the occasion" in support or opposition of any idea.

Still I say that using religion and/or other hot button issues as a rallying cry is a little hypocritical, especially on such issues as abortion.

Abortion has existed for as long as civilization, if not longer. And it will continue to exist no matter what laws are passed supporting it or making it illegal.

It is a hot button issue because the people make it one, and politicians can make all the promises they want regarding it... Unfortunately for them, they can't legislate morality, no matter how much they try.

So, in my opinion, it would be better and safer to legalize such things. That way they can be regulated and monitored. Otherwise, we have people "breaking the law" to prevent an unwanted pregnancy... And we certainly don't need a resurgence in "red blanket" calls in area emergency departments.

The same could be said for something like gay marriage. Regulate it, through such things as marriage licenses, tax filings, divorce lawyers, health coverage and everything else that goes into the supposedly "sacrosanct" marriage the people who use this as a hot button issue profess to be protecting. All you have to do is look at cultural history to see how "recent" a development truly monogamous marriage is...

And don't get me going on the whole push to keep gays out of the military through the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which I was so very glad was repealed. Or on the opposition to allowing gay couples to adopt children... In short... They care enough to try! So let them!

People sure do get loud when they get riled up about some topics.

Even something like "green energy" can bring out some people that just get absolutely insane about it. Especially those people who are against it, like the ones who protested the restarting the North Anna nuclear power plant following the earthquake that rocked the region in August 2011.

I think part of this argument is just the money involved, especially regarding political campaigns and lobbies in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, it will be the people who pay in the end, not the politicians.

I'm not saying that coal power is necessarily bad, especially in a country like the U.S. where power plants are required to have all kinds of scrubbers on emissions. Most of the time, when you see a cloud coming up from a U.S. coal-fired power plant, it's nothing but water vapor thanks to improved technology.

However, I don't think hybrid and electric cars are going to really help all that much. Why? Because most of the electricity in this country still comes from fossil fuels. So if you are using an internal combustion engine car, a technology that has been around for a very long time and is somewhat better known, or an electric car, which must be plugged in and is a less well known technology, you are still using a fossil fuel.

Fossil fuels are by their very nature limited resources. We cannot use them indiscriminately and injudiciously. Do people even realize how many products they use every day that are derived from or contain ingredients from fossil fuels like petroleum? Plastics were an accidental discovery, but there are ingredients all around us including in makeup and clothing.

Fossil fuels will eventually run out, any version of them that is being used including oil sands, natural gas and coal.

So while some people will use this as a hot button issue, it's going to become an imperative, not for environmental extremists or oil barons, but for the people.

And it an expensive issue because of what it will take to reduce reliance on ALL fossil fuels and their products, but in the long run, which a lot of people appear to be ignoring for immediate comfort, something will have to be done about energy needs and meeting them.

For many so-called hot button issues, they boil down to nothing more than money. Who has it? Who is spending it? Who is spending the most for or against a particular issue?

That's what people need to be paying attention to, not the political or religious hyperbole.

I'm not even just talking about the U.S. on some of these issues. Europe and Asia are also dealing with them.

Some countries in Europe provide power for citizens through trash incinerators that have requirements similar to coal-fired power plants in this country.

And don't forget about the "Third World" countries, also known as developing countries, that are not yet regulating how their people affect the environment, from power production to water purification.

In Europe, some countries have legalized abortion and made it part of the health care system. But then again, they tend not to have rabid religious voices we have here...

The issue of gay equality is also a global one. I have seen stories out of several countries regarding it, including this recent one out of Russia.

In the end, we ourselves must make these issues into something other than triggers or switches that can be hit to get people emotional. When we are emotional, we are less rational and can thus be distracted from other matters.

These kinds of issues don't need to be emotional in public. Keep that private.

Nor do they need to be religious. You don't want to use birth control? Fine, don't use it. But please don't try to make it that women who do want to use it or need it to handle health issues can't.

The same could be said for gay marriage. You don't want homosexuals to have the right to marry? Then don't marry them. But if someone else does want to let them marry, don't make it so that person or group can't.

I feel and I hope that we will someday be able to look at issues like the ones I have discussed and others I haven't mentioned without getting so riled up. Until we do, they will continue to be hot buttons that are pounded by people trying to get a rise out of the general public for a given purpose. That could be a distraction, like the bread and circuses, or just for passion, a rallying cry at a stumping event.

I can't say I don't get upset about certain things, especially certain issues. I do, because I am a passionate person. However, I try to learn as much about the issue as I can before coming out with my own hyperbole. I like to use facts when ever possible, not buzz words.

Social Networks and Social Change

All during 2011, there were dramatic changes wrought in many regions thanks to massive protests. And it was thanks to various social media that much of this occurred.

Protests and the resulting changes they may bring about have a deep historical background. Though the people didn't have social media back during the French Revolution in 1789 or the Russian Revolution in 1917, the word still got out. For an example in this country, the Boston Tea Party was one of the best known protests near the beginning of the American Revolution in 1773.

Indeed, the colonies declaring their independence in 1776 was the first time a colony did such a thing, especially against such overwhelming odds as the impressive British military force.

There have been many protests over the centuries, as well as many coups, and untold people have lost their lives protesting a cause they hold dear. Depending on the reason for the protest, and the passion of the people involved, the word would get out through the people themselves.

These days, social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Google+ among others, provide an opportunity to get a message, just about any message, out to lots of people in a fast manner.

Take for instance the birthday party in Germany that was supposed to be a small affair. However, the girl who was celebrating messed up on her privacy settings on Facebook, which meant the message got out to way more people than she wanted. So the police were called in when more than 1,500 people showed up! To see a YouTube video of the party run amok, click here.

In just a few short years, social media have become a daily, or even hourly, ritual for many people. These include teens, college students, young professionals, journalists and so many more. Even older people, the ones who may have once had problems even using a keyboard, are venturing into the realm of social media (by 2009, reports were coming out about more people over the age of 55 turning to Facebook).

I have already discussed some views on social media, specifically if they are helpful or harmful for news organizations.

In this instance, there are both benefits and banes, and there has been bloodshed in many areas.

Massive uprisings and resulting changes erupted first in northern Africa and the Middle East.

The "Arab Spring" as it came to be called, also known as the "Arab Awakening" as well as other similar names, began in Tunisia, which just marked the first anniversary of its change in government brought about by the protests. This first uprising actually began in mid-December 2010 following the self-immolation of a man protesting police corruption.

According to a story I found on NPR, Mohamed Bouazizi was trying to earn some money for his mother and siblings but he lacked a permit to sell goods and was "publicly humiliated" by the police.

By the time the uprising in Tunisia started to wind down, the country's government had been overthrown and it's president forced to flee.

But it didn't stop there. Protests began in other countries throughout the region including Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Algeria and Oman.

In Egypt, social media played a huge role.

It was partially because of a social media page dedicated to an Egyptian man beaten to death by police that the protests spread and gathered momentum. And a Google executive ran the page. For more about this man, his role and the upheaval that overthrew another government, here is a a blog post on the Arab Awakening.

Perhaps the most scandalous thing that occurred during this phase of the Arab Spring was the various attempts of the Egyptian government to stop the spread of the protests by shutting off access to the Internet. The whole idea was to keep the protesters off social media! Didn't work very well though...

In Egypt, and later in Libya, the governments were overthrown. Should ongoing protests in Syria hit that sort of level, then similar may happen there as well. Indeed, Syria is well on its way to following in the footsteps of Libya where an all-out civil war erupted. Many died in that and many have also paid a high price in Syria.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of these various protests across the mainly Islamic region is the role women have played. Women in many of these cultures seem to be placed on a much lower rung of society than they are here in the United States. This includes views on marriage, clothing, property, even prayer. I saw a news report inside a mosque in which the leader of that mosque commented that women could pray, they just had to do it in a "special corner" away from the men.

I truly hope that the new rights the women are gaining in the region will not fade again! Though stories like this one I found on NPR out of Saudi Arabia show that "progress" is still limited. I feel Islamic women shouldn't have to hide themselves away and be reclusive wall flowers. They think, they feel and they should have choices in their lives. If they choose to continue living as they always have, that is different from being made to live that way.

Women in Egypt are continuing to protest because of abuse of women by military personnel. I am glad to say they are standing up for themselves. Here is a story from The Telegraph from January 8 about it.

Even today, uprisings continue to occur in several countries in the region. A lot of attention is currently focused on Syria, which has seen some of the most virulent response to those protests from the current regime. Here is a BBC video talking about the violence involved in these protests.

The Middle East is by no means settling down. In this BBC article, there are details regarding some of the protesting in Yemen. This is another situation that is still underway, so it is hard to say just what will happen.

These protests haven't been the only ones. The Occupy Wall Street protests across the United States, and even internationally, gained quite a bit of news coverage, especially concerning police actions against some of the protesters.

These protests specifically used social media to get the message out and to get more people to gather in different cities across the country.

This whole series of protests wasn't even an American idea when it first began. It actually started with a Vancouver-based company. Here's an article about how a single blog post started a wildfire, partially based on the protests occurring in Egypt.

I have to admit, I'm not really sure what the OWS protesters exact reasons were behind their gatherings. I have heard so many conflicting ideas, though I believe one of their driving forces was wrapped up with the bailouts so many huge financial organizations received that did absolutely nothing for the "little people" who really needed the help during the recession. This article from CBS talks a little about the beginnings of the movement.

There are articles out there about the demands of these protesters, including this one from CNN Money. But there are many conflicting messages, perhaps because the protests are so spread out, reaching across the entire country.

However, all of this huge movement occurred thanks to social media. I know Wikipedia isn't the best, or most reliable, resource for information, but sometimes even I will turn to it to look things up. In its article on the OWS movement, there are references to an an online specific group, Anonymous, calling for action as well as a specific Facebook page and many Twitter tags that helped spread the word.

I found it especially fascinating when similar protests broke out in Italy, England and a few other places in Europe. These protests were obviously not as well covered here in the U.S. as one might wish, but the simple fact that they did occur and that they were specifically modeled on the OWS protests drew my attention, even as the OWS protests were initially modeled on the protests of the Arab Spring.

These protests gathered in many areas, from city parks, including smaller places like Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, to in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. They even protested in front of political campaign headquarters.

It seems like many of OWS protests have been disbanded, but it may simply be that they are not in the news as much now. As far as I know, the movement is still active.

However, these are still not the last protests that occurred in the last year.

Though less covered in the U.S., there have also been protests, or at least incidents, in Latin America, Russia and China. These may develop even further as time passes, though they are again calling for changes in the status quo.

By the time 2011 came to an end, Time magazine went so far as to honor protesters by making them its Persons of the Year. Many of these protests are ongoing or the situations through which they were precipitated are still developing.

However, there are still concerns. Take a look at this article talking about how repression is expected to continue in the Middle East in 2012. Even the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has spoken up about the protests, specifically violence in Syria.

And all of this can be placed upon the shoulders of social media. It is possible these protests would have occurred either way, but I can't help but wonder if some may have failed because they didn't get enough support or enough people didn't come out to rally.

It was also though the auspices of social media that the news organizations around the world were able to get as much information about the protests as they did, from on-the-scene imagery to inside information.

However, as any social media network is set up by a person or an organization, that perforce means any information on that network will be slanted toward said individual or organization. Thus, should a news organization wish to use any of that information, it must consider that bias.

It shall be interesting to watch as these things progress into the future.