Deviant Acts In Society Essay, Research Paper
In modern day society, people have yet to overcome the primal fear of what is different or not a norm. This cause a great controversy over deviant acts such as abortion, capital punishment, suicide, premarital sex, and drug use. Deviance is defined as the violation of rules or norms. The result of being apart of a close-minded society causes the deviancies to be inherently wrong in many people s opinions. While on a different level these acts can bring about positive aspects to our society.
First off, abortion to many people is moral wrong, some go as far as to say murder. We have all heard the excuse that a woman s body is hers to do as she pleases, but what about looking at abortion from an economical point of view. Perhaps even as a human right from a different side. Our nation currently contains a great deal of poverty and homelessness. Abortion may allow for a decline in these current statistics. If a child is destined to a life of this magnitude, should he be terminated? Abortion may also allow for a cut down on welfare. Al Gore in his presidential campaign of 2000 offered the idea of government funded abortions. This allowed impregnated women who were already poverty stricken to prevent their children from a lifetime of suffering.
When the subject of abortion is approached from the human right aspect people merely discuss the ideas of murder and is a fetus a human. This deviant act can also be looked at from the view of is it this child s right to live a life of poverty and illness. If a child s mother cannot adequately raise the child in a healthy environment should its destiny already be set? What if the child is diagnosed with a terminal illness or mental retardation is it his human right to once again suffer through his entire life?
Abortion non-the less is immoral and wrong. In 1997 the banned the partial birth abortion because of its cruelty in thirty states. In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that the fourteenth amendment gave women the right to have an abortion. Because of the cases in 1989 against Webster and in 1992 against Planned Parent Hood allowed the states to regulate abortions. Non the less there is always the argument of when is the fetus alive. A fetus s heart starts beating between the eighteenth and twenty-fifth day. After forty days brain waves can be measured. (Ironically someone is also considered dead when their brain waves cease.) After a full two months the entire baby s body is fully functioning. Recently the Supreme Court decided that after the twelve week period is when life beings. Non the less, should our government play God with life and our morals.
Capital punishment is another deviant act that is often times only addressed inherently. A majority of society feels no one has the right to take another human being s life, regardless of their crimes. If we look at capital punishment from an economical aspect we can see some positive aspects. Our nation s prisons are grossly overcrowded. Our tax dollars are poured into new and larger facilities. For crimes of extreme prejudice or of a horrific manner, the death penalty can help make room in our prisons, especially for the large amount of people sentenced for life. Criminals are still humans and do not deserve to be jam together like herds of animals. A more strict and upheld law on the death penalty could help reduce our crime rates over all. If all sentenced to death our particular crimes, it would set an example, and strike fear into criminal s hearts. Thus hopefully reducing the crime rate. This has proven to be effective in other countries as well.
Capital punishment may also help from a mental perspective. The friends and family of the victim are somewhat put to rest, knowing this person will never be released from prison. How could one peacefully live out the rest of their life knowing the brutal murderer of their son or daughter is still alive and kicking?
Non the less, who are we to play God? Capital punishment may be helpful to our society, but it still boils down to murder. No one on the face of this earth has the capacity knowledge or authority to condemn someone to death.
Drug usage is another deviant act, which is once again denied by our close-minded society. Drugs can release people from problems, pain, and certain can even expand ones mind. Victims of terminal illness, or glaucoma can find serenity and peace through drugs such as morphine, cocaine, and marijuana, but since they are illegal they must continue to suffer. Marijuana has even been medically proven to help glaucoma and cancer patients. Since are society cannot accept them as a norm, people must illegal obtain and use certain Substances.
The legalization of drugs could also greatly reduce crime within our nation. Countries such as Amsterdam have government funded drug houses. Those who are addicted to drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine can go to the house uses the drugs, but must stay there until the effects have worn off. This allows the government to control the flow and distribution of drugs within their countries, and have drastically cut down the drug related crimes.
Drug usage, at least until our government regulates it, has a major downside to it. People often-loose control of their life and obtain serious addictions. Violent acts and robbery are often the result of people doing anything within their power to obtain drugs. It physically and mentally alters people, and has the power to destroy them and their friends and family.
In conclusion, these arbitrary thoughts on deviant acts do offer positive outcomes for our society. I personally am against everyone deviant act discussed within this paper, but the alternate aspects of it are a painstaking reality. They do have positive aspects to them, but is it morally right? Overall, until with live in an open minded society in which we do not fear what we do not understand; a variety of these alternative proposals cannot be effective. As a society we must strive to better ourselves and learn to understand what we do not know, instead of merely judging them.