Speaking topic: Modern Society

a lonely boy who start communicating with a cute girl in next building using written signs and eventually they met each other. Love doesn't always talk, sometimes might be expressed even from a piece of paper. In a world of social networking and cellphone, signs are still powerful as long as they mean a lot

Summary:

All the problems mentioned:

Social problems - fundamentally, it is due to the fact that any members of a society living close enough together will have conflicts, even people living in the same house don't always get along seamlessly.

In US particularly, some predominant social issues include: the growing divide between rich and poor, domestic violence, unemployment, pollution, urban decay, racism, sexism.

Strong disagreement on how to solve problems is also roots that lead to social issues. For instance, different opinions about how to handle unplanned pregnancy.

Other issues arise in developing countries like massive poverty, food shortages, lack of basis hygiene, spread of incurable diseases and lack of education. They all inhibit the development of society. Moreover, these problems are related to each other and it hard to address one without addressing all of them.

It would be easy to assume that a social problem only affects the people it directly touches, but this is not the case. Unemployment in America for instance doesn't just affect those unemployed but affects the whole economy.

It's also important to understand that social problems within a society interfere its interaction with other societies, which may lead to global problems or issues.

Countries that allow multiple political parties and free expression of speech have another issue when it comes to tackling some of the problems that plague its society.  this is because the country cannot commit to a single way to solve an issue. There may be some people who are unhappy and this discontent can promote discord. On the other hand, countries where government operates independently and free speech or exchange ideas is discouraged, there may not be nough ideas to solve issues. Therefore, the government may persist in trying to solve the problems in wrong-headed ways.

All and all, society itself is a problem and no country has perfected a society where all are happy. Perhaps, as many people state, perfection may not be an achievable goal.

Questions: 

1. Do you understand all the problems mentioned in this article?

2. Which of these problems also exist in your country?

3. Which of these problems directly/indirectly affect you?

Social problems, also called social issues, affect every society, great and small. Even in relatively isolated, sparsely (thưa thớt) populated areas, a group will encounter social problems. Part of this is due to the fact that any members of a society living close enough together will have conflicts. It’s virtually impossible to avoid them, and even people who live together in the same house don’t always get along seamlessly (một cách liền mạch). On the whole though, when social problems are mentioned they tend to refer to the problems that affect people living together in a society.

The list of social problems is huge and not identical from area to area. In the US, some    predominant social issues include the growing divide between rich and poor, domestic violence, unemployment, pollution, urban decay, racism (sự phân biệt chủng tộc) and sexism (sự phân biệt giới tính), and many others. Sometimes social issues arise when people hold very different opinions about how to handle certain situations like unplanned pregnancy. While some people might view abortion (sự nạo phá thai) as the solution to this problem, other members of the society remain strongly opposed to its use. In itself, strong disagreements on how to solve problems create divides in social groups.

Other issues that may be considered social problems aren't that common in the US and other industrialized countries, but they are huge problems in developing ones. The issues of massive poverty, food shortages, lack of basic hygiene, spread of incurable diseases, ethnic cleansing, and lack of education inhibits (kiềm chế, ngăn cấm) the development of society. Moreover, these problems are related to each other and it can seem hard to address one without addressing all of them.

It would be easy to assume that a social problem only affects the people whom it directly touches, but this is not the case. Easy spread of disease for instance may tamper with (can thiệp vào) the society at large, and it’s easy to see how this has operated in certain areas of Africa. The spread of AIDs for instance has created more social problems because it is costly, it is a danger to all members of society, and it leaves many children without parents. HIV/AIDs isn’t a single problem but a complex cause of numerous ones. Similarly, unemployment in America doesn’t just affect those unemployed but affects the whole economy.

It’s also important to understand that social problems within a society affect its interaction with other societies, which may lead to global problems or issues. How another nation deals with the problems of a developing nation may affect its relationship with that nation and the rest of the world for years to come. Though the United States was a strong supporter of the need to develop a Jewish State in Israel, its support has come at a cost of its relationship with many Arabic nations.

Additionally, countries that allow multiple political parties and free expression of speech have yet another issue when it comes to tackling some of the problems that plague(/pleig/: quấy nhiễu) its society. This is diversity of solutions, which may mean that the country cannot commit to a single way to solve an issue, because there are too many ideas operating on how to solve it. Any proposed solution to something that affects society is likely to make some people unhappy, and this discontent (sự bất mãn) can promote discord (sự bất hoà, xích mích). On the other hand, in countries where the government operates independently of the people and where free speech or exchange of ideas is discouraged, there may not be enough ideas to solve issues, and governments may persist in trying to solve them in wrongheaded (đường lối chính sách mù quáng) or ineffective ways..

The very nature of social problems suggests that society itself is a problem. No country has perfected(làm cho hoàn thiện) a society where all are happy and where no problems exist. Perhaps the individual nature of humans prevents this, and as many people state, perfection many not be an achievable goal.