My preliminary report will explain as much as possible about the characteristics of marijuana users and how these characteristics differ from nonusers of marijuana. I’m sure you are asking yourself “Why do people use marijuana in the first place?” This is a difficult question to answer in one sentence, but my report will simplify that question by explaining as much as possible about what motivates marijuana users to start and continue using the drug.
From my readings so far, there has been a continuing trend that marijuana users first turn on to the drug by tremendous pressure from their friends or peers. The peer group has a powerful influence on the nonuser because of the nonuser wanting to feel accepted by the “in” crowd. The trend of wanting to be “accepted” by a group of marijuana users is the major reason why marijuana use begins. Individuals usually find themselves in situations that promote marijuana use, such as parties, or within a group of acquaintances. The biggest age group that falls within these “acquaintances” seems to be from 18- 20 years old, but marijuana use falls sharply after the age of 22. Young people within the 18- 20 year old range seem to be looking for new and different experiences. The idea of being high also appeals to many young marijuana users- a temporary way to forget about the problems associated with youth.
Marijuana users tend to constitute a majority of the white, middle class community, which may be a shock to some Americans. My reading found in most cases that being black or oriental decreased the likelihood that a student would use marijuana. It seems that the sociocultural circumstances of the individual has a lot to do with marijuana use, not the race of the individual.
A great proportion of college students use marijuana, 25% of students or higher according to some findings. This may not be too much of a surprise to us. What I was surprised to find in my readings is that chronic marijuana users are, as a class and individually, high academic achievers. Furthermore, they are achievement- oriented and even some chronic marijuana users even intended to go on to graduate school at a higher rate than nonusers in a particular study I read about.
There were no differences from what I read, between marijuana users and nonusers, in the number of probations, suspensions, disciplinary actions, or expulsions from school.
Swifts’ Powerful Message in A Modest Proposal
Swifts’ Powerful Message in A Modest Proposal
In the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ states that there will always be poor, pathetic, struggling masses and nothing we can do will ever completely eliminate this element. Swift also acknowledges the homeless people, but in a different vein than Christ. In “A Modest Proposal,” the narrator expresses pity for the poor, but at the same time he strives to maintain his social dominance over them. According to Swift, the English-Irish common people of the time exist in a disgusting state, a fact that he attempts to make the English Parliament aware of. The poor that Swift refers to are Catholics, peasants, and every homeless man, woman, and child in the entire kingdom. Swift is worried that the Parliament is ignorant of the fact that there is a great socioeconomic distance between the increasing number of peasants and the aristocracy, and that this distance has powerful repercussions. Swift conveys his message in essay-form with satire, humor, and shock value as his weapons.
Swift pursues his main point in the first paragraph:
It is a melancholy object to those who walk through [Dublin]
. . .when they see . . .beggars of the female sex, followed by
three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every
passenger for an alm…
… middle of paper …
… in Irish affairs, and furthermore, the expanding British Empire. Thus “A Modest Proposal” does not present an answer to the societal problems of its day, but ultimately raises more questions. Not questions of fact, but questions of a profound socio-philosophical nature.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.” 1729. Rpt. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston, MA: St. Martin’s 1996. 111-117.
“Johathan Swift.” Bookshelf 1996-1997 Edition 1996. CD-ROM. Redmond, WA: Microsoft, 1996.