Alcoholism

The definition of alcoholism can be described as a chronic illness, which is marked by uncontrolled
consumption of alcoholic beverages that interferes with physical or mental health, and social, family or
occupational responsibilities. This dependence on alcohol has only been diagnosed as a medical disorder
recently in the medical field. Like many other diseases, it has a predictable course and is influenced
environmentally and sometimes genetically.

The disease can also be called progressive and fatal which means that the disease can persist over a long
period of time, bodily changes progress as the drinking continues and can cause premature death
through overdose, suicide, motor vehicle crashes and complications of the brain, liver, heart, and other
organs. Alcoholism can be detected by four basic symptoms, they are tolerance which is the increasing
need to drink excessive amounts to feel its affects, also impaired control which is the problem of not
being able to stop oneself from drinking at any given time. Craving is another symptom characterized by
a strong compulsion to drink, and the last one is physical dependence which shows withdrawal
symptoms such as anxiety, sweating, nausea or shakiness. Some other common minor symptoms would
be solitary drinking, making excuses to drink, episodes of violence while under the influence,
unexplained mood swings, neglect of physical appearance, and hostility when confronted about
drinking. Also, one can have what is called preoccupation of alcohol which means excessive focused
attention given to the drug, its effects and its use.

Causes of Alcoholism

There is no definite cause of alcoholism, however, many factors can play a role in the development of
the disorder. In a family with an alcoholic parent, a child is more likely to become an alcoholic than a
child without an alcoholic parent. Alcoholism can be inherited genetically from parent to child. An
alcoholic disorder can occur if one or both parents drank alcohol at the time of conception or the
mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. A women drinking during pregnancy can also cause several
other complications besides a drinking disorder. In a study done it concluded that if one person in a
family was an alcoholic that nine out of ten times alcoholism will be reported in two or more family
members. Environmental causes can occur such as the influence of friends, the easy availability of
alcohol, the social acceptance of alcohol and a life containing high stress levels. Also alcoholism can
occur when his or her parents did not teach or treat their child right causing frustration and anxiety to
the child later in life. Or the family teaches the child to drink such as if the father drinks then the child
follows the example set by his father. That child can learn from observation that alcohol may be used to
cope with problems such as fatigue, stress and depression. Also the values of a family can include the
encouragement or acceptance of alcohol which both promote drinking. Psychological factors also
include in this such as a need to be relieved of anxiety, conflicts within a relationship which are
unsolved, or a low self-esteem.

Phases of Alcoholism
 There are four phases of alcoholism which take a period of five to seven years to develop. Some of
these stages can be skipped or not gone in the same order depending on the person. The first stage is
called the warning stage. It happens when the user consumes alcohol as a form of relief for tension to
make them feel better. The persons drinking habits can increase from often to daily or regularly in which
he or she will seek more reasons and occasions to drink. Lastly during this stage a tolerance is built from
the larger consumption of alcohol. The second stage is dangerous to the person. The drinker has larger
quantities of alcohol to obtain relief. More frequent and deeper intoxication are part of this phase.
Drinking alone, blackouts and gulping alcohol are symptoms to stage two. The third stage of alcoholism
is the most crucial phase of all. The drinker loses all control of the amount of alcohol that was intended
to be consumed. Withdrawal from social environment, neglect of responsibility, and the hiding of
alcohol occur during phase

Affirmative Action is Wrong

America was known as the Land of Opportunity. Then it became evident that "opportunity" was only

available to white men. Later, laws were passed to ensure equal opportunity regardless of race, sex, or

religion. These Affirmative Action laws were set in place by our government with the intent of
correcting

the social evil know as prejudice; but in doing so, they created a monster. Affirmative action has
become

an ineffective, outdated, and socially harmful policy that is weakening our great nation.

"The adoption of Affirmative Action programs in the 1960s reflected our national aspiration to

overcome long-entrenched injustices and become a society where equal opportunity, or at least a fair

opportunity, was a reality for more of our citizens. These programs were a response to economic,
political

and cultural circumstances that demanded, then encouraged, and then tolerated widespread
discrimination

on the basis of such factors as color, gender and ethnic background. The common hope was that these
programs would be transitory in nature and would enable us as a society to reach a point, at some
future

date, when they would no longer be needed" (Shapiro). It is my opinion that we have now reached that

date. Continued use of the policy is much like continued use of a strong medication. When a patient is

suffering from a terrible disease, as was the United States suffering from discrimination, strong
medication

is sometimes needed to cure the problem. But once the disease is taken care of, further use of the

medication does not help the patient, but actually weakens them.

Supporters of Affirmative Action feel that the problem is not taken care of. They feel that prejudice

and discrimination is not eradicated and therefore continued use of Affirmative Action is required. They

are only half correct. Though it is significantly less than what it was twenty or thirty years ago, the

problem of prejudice and discrimination is not completely gone. Continued use of Affirmative Action,

however, will not eradicate the small amount of discrimination and prejudice that is left; it will only add
to

it. Most of todays adults and young adults are not prejudice. These two generations are significant

because one is our current work force and employers, and the other group will soon take their place.
The

people of these generations did not grow up in a house that was prejudice so they did not learn to be

prejudice as children. But when a young adult white male does not get the job he applied for or did not

get accepted to the university of his choice, and finds out that his spot was filled by a less qualified or

even equally qualified person of minority status, because a quota had to be met, resentment and ill-will
is

sure to set in. Had he not gotten the job simply because someone else was hired instead, who
happened

to be a minority, he would not have taken it so personally and would have continued his job search, but

when he finds out that he did not get the job because he was not a minority, then the seed of

discrimination begins to grow within him. The policy is trying to create a color-blind society by giving

special treatment to certain groups of people at the expense of other groups of people. Could the policy
be any more hypocritical?

An intent of Affirmative Action was to provide special help to groups that had been deprived equal

treatment prior to the implementation of the policy. It gives minorities access to jobs, universities, and

other institutions that they would otherwise not have access to. While this is a good intent, it may not
be

the right thing to do. When a person is only expected to meet standards that are less than what the

majority is expected to meet, it can cause a inner feeling of inferiority or insecurity. This same conflict

can be applied to those members of the majority. Members of the majority who meet the requirements

set forth by an institution are not going to value a member of a minority who receives equal reward for

achieving lower level requirements.

Lowering requirements is not the answer; working harder is. This statement can be applied to a broad

spectrum of topics throughout all of our lives. Lowering requirements only lowers performance.

Lowering performance weakens us all.

Elections

Cada elección tiene mucho que ver con la situación política y económica del país durante y mucho antes
de la propia elección. Cada evento que sucedió antes se convertiría en un cambio de camino. Las
elecciones de 1986 no fueron una excepción a esta regla histórica general. El candidato republicano a la
presidencia, William McKinley, obtuvo una gran victoria en el Colegio Electoral, con 271 votos
electorales frente a los 176 de Bryan. William McKinley recibió la nominación en la primera votación en
la convención republicana de St. Louis, en junio de 1896. En la campaña Bryan fue descrito como un
"radical y socialista", mientras que McKinley fue llamado una "herramienta de negocios". Pero si
miramos la historia desde 1865 hasta las elecciones de 1986, es fácil identificar ciertas regularidades que
conducen a la victoria de los republicanos.
Estas fueron las premisas formadas por una mezcla de diferentes reacciones a la depresión masiva, una
mezcla de actitudes raciales, los problemas de la Guerra Civil y otras motivaciones. Las elecciones de
1986 mostraron brillantemente la división política del país debido a los hechos enumerados
anteriormente. Mostró una marcada diferenciación entre los votantes de la "metrópoli" económica, el
noreste y las áreas industriales y los de la "periferia", el sur y el oeste. La sociedad estadounidense ha
experimentado muchos cambios en 1896 desde 1856 y eso realmente causó muchas discusiones, que se
concentraron en torno a las elecciones. La Guerra Civil dejó una huella profunda en la memoria de los
ciudadanos estadounidenses y aunque el prejuicio racial se redujo debido a la valentía de los soldados
negros durante algún tiempo, pronto se renovó. En la década de 1890, la situación en Estados Unidos se
acercaba al pico de las relaciones raciales entre blancos y negros. El número de linchamientos en 1892
fue de 230 personas y continuó. Los estados del sur inventaron nuevas medidas para privar del derecho
al voto a los votantes negros. Además de eso, el país ha pasado por una fuerte depresión en ese
momento y tuvo una gran influencia en la población. Durante las depresiones económicas de las
décadas de 1870 y 1890, la cuestión de la moneda se planteó mucho. Los estadounidenses de diferentes
ingresos experimentaron la depresión de formas muy diferentes. Una cuarta parte de los ferrocarriles
del país quebró. En algunas ciudades, el desempleo entre los trabajadores industriales superó el 20 o
incluso el 25 por ciento. La tasa de suicidios era muy alta y se publicaba casi a diario en muchos
periódicos. Fue parte de la enorme crisis económica mundial. La gente se sorprendió.

La depresión aún era severa en 1896, lo que convirtió las condiciones económicas en un punto crítico de
la situación política. El presidente Grover Cleveland no pudo lidiar con la depresión de la que eran tan
conscientes los ciudadanos estadounidenses. La sociedad estadounidense necesitaba cambios; se
requería la mano dura de un político sabio. Durante los dos primeros años de la presidencia de
McKinley, la nación volvió a la prosperidad. La elección de 1896, como dicen los historiadores, fue una
"elección de realineación". Los resultados de las elecciones de 1896 revelan que la sociedad
estadounidense necesitaba dejar de "llegar a fin de mes", pero tenía una necesidad en progreso en
todos los campos políticos, industriales y sociales nacionales vitales.