Welcome Back! New Controversy!

Hey y'all! Sorry for the extremely long hiatus, for anyone who's still following this. Our excuse would be that this blog is pretty much run by two high school teens, and we just entered junior year. Isn't that exciting-- SATs, hard-ass classes, so forth.

In any case, we have a new controversy for you guys to ponder!

This is a bit different from our other posts/debates in that it involves a hypothetical situation, but we'll throw it out there anyway:

Imagine you have two (or more) children (if you do in real life, even better). Assume one is, say, kidnapped, and in order to get him/her back, you have to sacrifice the other child. Offering yourself up does not fly. ;D What would you do in this situation? What would run through your mind as you make your decision?

Now, we realize that this is a very general and broad question, with no specifications. Feel free, then, to create your own, more narrowed scenario, and answer based upon that. In fact, if you have the time or wish to, answer using multiple scenarios. This question is more of an experiment than a debate, so to speak.

If you're a bit confused, here's a list of some applicable situations:
- a brighter child vs. a favored child
- one child had run away to escape a fate, and the other child was taken in his/her place (should the original child be returned, the currently-captive child will be returned)
- a mentally-unstable child vs. a younger child
- a child who is more likely to escape vs. a less-favored child
- a girl vs. a boy
- a charismatic child vs. a mature child.
As stated before, it's very much open to interpretation.

But we also have some follow-up questions!

In a similar vein--
You are with two friends.
1) One person must die-- either you or one of your friends. You get to choose the survivors. How would you pick?
2) One person must die-- one of your friends. You are not allowed to sacrifice yourself for their sakes' (assuming you had wanted to, in question 1). How would you pick?
3) [If you're not bored yet...] Two people must die. How do you pick?

Again, very general. Possible scenarios:
- Two very close friends.
- One friend is very altruistic
etc.

So yeah-- enjoy?

Summer Break Over!

Okay guys, I'm here to admit it. I was lazy. I was procrastinating. I wasn't really up to writing blogs over the summer. Not too many people were sitting in front of their computers, willing to think about issues that needed thinking about- me included. But, school's coming back now. I'm hoping to get a fresh start on the school year with some interesting topics, and, hopefully, some interesting comments. I plan to bring you information on new topics, both impartial and my personal views, as well as waiting for your own. Hopefully, more people will begin to read this blog and join in for bigger and more enlightening conversations. (I understand, for most of us, it's junior year. Tough times. But we can spare a couple moments, right? :D)

Upcoming discussions:

1. Hindsight- The War in Iraq
2. Current Issue- The Health Care Debate
3. Ethics- Abortion
   
4. Current Issue- Immigration Reform

Pornography

Well, this will be a hard topic to use as a controverial post, simply because the majority of my friends, I believe, are one-sided, all favoring the revealing nature of our cyber-society. However, since I did say that the poll would decide the next topic, I'll try to keep this working. I bolded certain questions that I think are interesting, and that some of you might respond to.

Now, the controversy lies on several levels. Firstly, there is the initial debate about pornography, sex and ethics. Certainly, times have changed. Earlier in history, people weren't as open about sex as we are now, but why? Why were people so uptight and secretive about a common activity that most people participated in?
Another question to look at is why children are shielded from sex. Obviously, parents (Well, some of them) have the "birds and the bees" conversation, but the awkwardness of talking to your child about sex seems to counteract the purpose of the actual conversation. My parents never gave me the lecture, and I'm sure others leave their kids to find out on their own. But why are some parents overprotective, not willing to let their children near the concept of reproduction? Why are some people against sex ed being taught in schools? (Of course, I have a possible answer for it, but I can't just tell it to you, or else you won't think, and this will all be for naught.)

Now, for the second part, let's look at the definition, or, one of the definitions, of pornography.

Now, I remember a story of a town trying to get a judge to ban the sale of pornography in their area, but they came up to the problem of defining porno. What's the difference between a nude modern woman, and the nude women in ancient masterpieces of art? These paintings and tapestries are considered masterpieces, such as The Birth of Venus. How can one call one dirty without slandering the other?

Well, if you're still reading, kudos to you. I probably wouldn't have bothered reading through that short, pointless post. Anyways, the last controversy that could be stated about porn is the age limit to viewing it. In the U.S., depending on what your local/state legislature is, you have to be 18 or 21 to view sexually explicit content. Is this legal, or fair?

Now, what you all plan on replying to:

• Do you agree with teaching kids about sex? And at what age should this be done?
• Do you think that pornography should be allowed to exist?
• How do you define pornography? Do classical paintings count as porn?
• Can you come up with a definition of pornography that doesn't incorporate the previously stated paintings? (Don't cheat and google up for one, use your head >.> That's why your here. It's all part of the fun.)
• Should there be an age limit to view porn? An explaination would be appreciated, for this one. And, if yes, how rigorously should it be enforced?
• Does erotic literature count as porn? Should it be regulated like its visual counterpart?
• What is your favorite position? (I had to throw a joke in there. Answer if you want to ^^ )

I did not address child pornography in this post. I do not feel that it should be talked about at this moment, I will address it in the topic "Legal Sex Age", when it comes up.

Gun Control

Background:
The Second Amendment of the United States of America gives citizens of our country the "right to bear arms", but over the years legislature has come out limiting both the types of guns one can own, and who can own them. These types of legislature come from all levels of the government, federal, state, and local. The main distinction between laws is between each state, where some have strict gun-control laws, and others have very lax ones. The ban of "cop-killer" bullets, ones capable of piercing bulletproof armor, was done on the federal level, while bans on automatic and semi-automatic weapons was done on the state one, starting with California.

The Issue:
How far should gun control laws go? How hard should it be to obtain a gun? Where on the spectrum do you fall?

• Would you rather make it impossible for anyone to gain a gun, thus an attempt to prevent violent crimes, or would you rather be more lax, allowing people to defend themselves with a weapon?
• Assuming one legally owns a gun, do you support their right to Concealed Carry, the act of concealing a weapon on one's person in public? Or do you believe that if one has a gun, it should stay at home?
• Do you believe that assault (Automatic, Semi-Automatic) weapons should be banned?
• Do you believe that a wait period for a gun purchase should be used? The most recent legislature designates that, after applying for a gun, there is a five-day wait before you may receive your weapon.
• Should private militias be allowed to stockpile weapons? (This does not apply to gangs, or militias engaged in illegal activities)
  

The First Post

If there is any comment you'd like to make about me or the blog, post 'em here. Also, if you'd like to suggest topics, they're also very welcome. The more, the merrier.
Although everyone likes Anonymity, you can use the "Name/URL" button to type in your name or pseudonym so I can easily identify who's replying to what.

Ah, the blog I was waiting so long to make. URLs are so hard to find, Blogger really needs to clean up all the old blogs. How annoying, to want a URL, but to be unable to use it because someone 5 years ago decided to publish a single post, and got bored afterwords. But, nevermind that, this isn't the time for that argument.

Incase you can't figure out what I want with this blog, I'll tell you now. This is a blog to collect the opinions of my friends (and other, slightly random people). To narrow down what I want to see, and hopefully to organize them, I'm going to post about a specific Controversial Topic every so often, and I'll ask you for your thoughts on it. I'll provide you with research and arguments, although if I'm dissatisfied with the discussions, I'll withhold these (Please continue commenting, though!).

Although my more pessimistic side predicts this to be a horrid failure, I'll try to keep the discussions up and questions pouring, and hopefully you guys will like talking about these problems. Argue, not just with me, but with each other!