CONTEMPORARY ISSUES – JOURNAL QUESTIONS

Fall 2011

Journal Questions (JQs) must be a minimum of 3 lines of writing in complete sentences (unless otherwise specified), and are worth up to 3 points for each entry. Since you are given in-class time to work on these each day, they will only be accepted for up to one week after their due dates.

1st Quarter

In progress – not yet collected

Collected 9/9 – will NOT be accepted after 9/16

8/29: Hurricane Irene wasn’t as bad as forecasters predicted. Do you think that when storms are “over-hyped”, people tend to ignore warnings of later storms? Explain.

8/31: Very often, wildfires begin because people are careless or intentionally start a fire. Should they be punished? If so, how? If not, why not?

9/1: Presidential debates have already begun for the election of 2012. Do you think there should be limits on the length of the campaign season? Explain.

9/6: Some people believe that Americans are starting to forget about the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and that people should be reminded by watching videos each year. Do you agree? Why or why not?

9/8: Do you think our government “goes too far” in the interest of “national security”? Explain.

Collected 8/26 – will NOT be accepted after 9/2

8/22: Temperatures in July were the hottest on record in Missouri since 1936. Dozens of heat-related deaths have occurred in Missouri. St. Louis news stations reported the thefts of air conditioning units of several homeowners. If someone living in one of these homes dies because of the heat, should the thief be held responsible for causing the death? Explain.

8/23: When faced with pending natural disasters (such as hurricanes or wildfires), should residents be forced to evacuate? Why or why not?

8/24: Imagine that we have just now experienced a major earthquake. What are your immediate concerns and plans of action? Explain.

8/25: Do you think that people whose homes are destroyed by natural disasters (flood, tornado, wild fire, earthquake, hurricane, etc.) twice within 5 years should still be eligible to purchase insurance? Why or why not?

8/26: Do you think that our society focuses more on protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens or the rights of criminals? Explain your answer, giving an example (or examples) to justify your opinion.