Capital Punishment

Conservatives say that the death penalty is a punishment that fits the crime; it is neither ‘cruel' nor ‘unusual'. Executing a murderer is the appropriate punishment for taking an innocent life.
Liberals say that we should abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is inhumane and is ‘cruel and unusual' punishment. It does not deter crime. Imprisonment is the appropriate punishment. Every execution risks killing an innocent person.
Personally, I have nothing wrong with capital punishment. If you killed someone, it should be the consequence for you as well. As well as a consequence, it is a detterence for criminals. The days of the Godfather are over, and murderers get caught with the aid of forensics.

Gun Control

A conservative would argue that the Second Amendment gives anyonel the right to keep and bear arms. Gun control laws do not stop criminals from obtaining weapons. You have a right to defend yourself against criminals as well as own a gun. More guns mean less crime. A liberal would say that the Second Amendment gives no individual the right to own a gun, but allows the state to keep a militia (National Guard). Guns kill people. Guns kill children.
Personally I believe the only defense against criminals is an armed populus. Someone will be able to stop an evildoer if they are there at that moment, which in most cases, the police who have guns arent.

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage from a liberals prospective is a step forward in equality. A liberal would say that the sexual orientation of people should not have to be kept a secret or shunned. A conservative would say that gay marriage is against all religion, and a disgrace to society. Some go on to say that gay marriage doesnt provide a safe enrivonment to raise children.
I believe that in a world where people can be anyone they want, gay marriage should be legalized. I think it is wrong to say that having heterosexual parents would provide a bad household, as there are many marriages that provide bad households for children. There is no reason for the criminalization of same sex marriages, when there are options such as civil unions to mask the relationship.

Abortion

Someone who has a liberal point of view on abortion would say the choice is in the mother's hands; people do what they want. Conservatives would say that there are other options, including adoption, and that facing the consequences of your actions would show your responsibility toward the situation. Also, a conservative would argue that a fetus is considered living and that aborting it would be considered murder. As well as getting into legal trouble, emotional trouble may follow an abortion; mothers who have had the procedure have been statistically proven to have emotional issues post-abortion.
Personally, I believe that it is the parent's choice whether or not they would like to keep the baby. It may be a complete accident, or it just may be bad timing, but the decision to have a baby is life changing, and shouldn't have to be forced either way. I think that legalizing abortion was a smart move for women's health and safety. Sometimes its just not an option to keep the child, in which case an abortion would be an acceptable alternative, and it is good to know there are professionals that provide the services you need.

Authentic or all the same, who cares anyway?

What is authentic about YOUR teen subculture? Does your generation have anything that it can call it's own? If there is nothing authentic about your culture, discuss how you feel about that. Does this even matter to you?

I feel that nothing is “authentic” to my subculture. To me, nothing can be labeled as one person’s generation. I feel as though the closest thing we could label as ours would be technology, or specifically use of computers. This is only because no other culture had this technology before. We as people are too diverse and vastly different to say that any particular activity, product, idea, clothing, sports game, etc. is a specific generation’s. I feel as though not much can be authentic our culture anymore because we will follow what the media displays on T.V. as “cool” or is new trend, and not what we actually chose as ours. Honestly, I could care less if our generation didn’t have anything that we could say we owned, it doesn't make us any greater or worse people.

Its a capitalist's society

"It's a shame that the people who are listening to you the most are only interested in you because they want you and your peers to buy their product."

The people who listen to us most carefully want only enough information out of us to market their products more efficiently. There are no laws or regulations against this, and I believe this is an innovative yet deceitful way of solving the problem of advertising. It doesn't really affect me as a consumer when I see and notice ads or marketing campaigns geared specifically toward certain groups of consumers. If the main purpose for a company is money, why wouldn't they take every step to make the odds for selling their product greater?

Times have changed

It's amazing to see where roots of the music I listen to began. Who would have guessed that using elements of blues and gospel could create rock and roll. Although it seems like this progression was inevitably going to happen sometime, it is weird to think that the music I listen to today may not have been created if not for previously created genres such as jazz or funk. Today because music has so many upcoming and new genres, its hard to say where the next decade of music will take us. It seems music is becoming more diverse and unique, which forces new hit bands to add originality to their music when they are in the spotlight.

All Killer No Filler

In the 6th grade, my favorite band was Sum 41. I liked every single song on their first CD I bought. A year later, they came out with Does This Look Infected?, which only made me like them more. Within a short period of time, my taste for music changed. This was my first introduction to punk rock. As I grew older I didnt enjoy their music as much as I used to, and I began to get into rap and other types of music.

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