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Regulating Hate Speech

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Liliana Segre is an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor who has shared her experiences with numerous children to reiterate its brutality. One would imagine someone who has witnessed so much death, hate, and cruelty in WWII would have an oasis of peace in the modern world. Yet, death threats and racial insults are common for Ms. Segre in Italy. There is no questioning the rise of nationalism and anti-Semitism in Europe. In countries such as France and Italy, there is a resurgence of the discriminatory ideals of Mussolini and Hitler. With this resurgence, there also comes a flood of hate speech. The analysis of the context of hate speech reveals the ethical dimensions that are apparent in the intention of hate speech and with its regulation. Mario Balotelli's Response to the Racist Chants; source: Allesandro Sabattini The actions of the right-wing in Italy displays the unethical nature of hate speech. Most people would like to go about their day without being racially demeaned. Ho...
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Humanity V. Trash

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There is no ignoring the climate change happening around us; the strength of hurricanes is picking up wind and are getting immensely stronger; entire coral reef ecosystems are withering away, and Earth is experiencing another mass extinction. The evidence is heavy and concrete, but the preventative measures taken by world superpowers to reduce this change are frail and ambiguous. It seems the focus of countries such as China is more on growing economic systems and not preserving the existing ecological systems.  Jiangcungou Landfill; Source: ImagineChina/Rex/Shutterstock China's Garbage Problem In 2015, there were 723 deaths due to an avalanche that occurred in the southern city of Shenzen. This was no ordinary avalanche though, a landslide at a 160 meter tall garbage dump was the cause of all these deaths. Straight away one can see the unethical consequences of a country producing so much waste and improperly managing it. Lives were lost due to the the government ignor...
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Immigration Crisis or Bureaucratic Crisis?

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In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, physiological and safety needs are the foundations for an individual to develop and achieve self-actualization. In a perfect world, these needs would be satisfied for everybody to ensure prosperity for ALL of humanity. Yet, in many European countries such as the U.K., these necessities are being denied to immigrants as a result of measures taken to prevent illegal immigration. This war against illegal immigration has impacted hardworking legal immigrants caught in the crossfire of the government and illegal immigrants.  Picture of Asiya Islam; source: nytimes.com United Kingdoms' Injustice Asiya Islam, a legal resident of Britain for a decade and a junior research fellow at University of Cambridge, was rejected for permanent residency on account of her spending too much time outside of the country. The premise of the rejection defies ethical reasoning and puts Islam at a disadvantage. The British government allows for "540 days ...
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Dealing with Chaos Ethically

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Imagine living in an area where chaos and riots are plentiful, yet access to the media is completely blocked off or severely limited. I believe that this is far from the American lifestyle we are accustomed to; we have so much media freedom that we even have terms such as "fake news".  However, this reality is a mere fantasy in countries such as Iran and China who have limited privileges in terms of internet access, unbiased media, and protesting rights. The citizens of these countries have been ethically violated through their respective governments oppressing the freedom of expression and free speech. There is no essence of discretion in their actions as Chinese President Xi Jingping asserts, "All the work by the party’s media must reflect the party’s will, safeguard the party’s authority, and safeguard the party’s unity,” (Albert & Xu). Essentially, the Chinese government is putting a premium on unity with the price being access to unbiased media outlets. The e...
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