Rohan Peramsetty, Junior
Child Abuse
Child abuse should not be tolerated. It is wrong in every instant, yet people continue to do it. Nelson Mandala says, “ The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children.” However a society treats its next generation is how the society will be when the children grow up. You should not be able to beat your kids until they turn another color, but unfortunately, some people do. They sexually, physically, and emotionally distress their children. Because of this, organizations like “childhelp.org” have sprung up to protect the children in need. Childhelp.org tries to bring light into the kids life and nurture them better than the abusers ever could. Without these types of organizations, the children would not have anyone to turn and aid them.
Child abuse can happen to anyone, male or female. One in four girls and one in eight boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. One in twenty children are abused each year. The Bible says, “see that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my Heavenly Father.” (MT 18:10). Jesus is saying that those who hurt children will be in trouble with God. On NSPCC.org, a little girl shared her story of child abuse. This child, by the name of Leila, was born in Palestine and moved to England when she was eight. Her mom was a strict Muslim, and when Leila was 13, she argued with her mom a lot and ran away often. Some nights she would stay with strangers. As the arguments with her mom got worse, she stayed away for longer periods of time. She was eventually referred to the NSPCC Protect and Respect service when she was 13 by a school mentor. The organization gave her a home to turn to during times of distress. Like Dave Pelzer says, “Childhood, should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” Our children should not have to be worried about their parents abusing them if they do something wrong. They should not have to fear their parents.
“Childhelp.org” is a organization created to shelter the abused children. They are located in Scottsdale, Arizona but have helped kids from all over the United States. They provide child help advocacy centers, group homes, treatment programs, and intervention programs. They have helped 10 million kids across America and continue to find kids in need every day. Child help has also assisted countless people and heard their side of the story, and a child named Georgie is one of them. She was born into a family whose mother was addicted to drugs and prison-bound. She was neglected on a daily basis. She had no where to go except for foster homes where she was assaulted and abused. She was eventually moved at the age of ten to Merv Griffin Village where she learned to open up and is happy there.
Child abuse is never the “right thing to do.” Take care of your children and raise them the right way,” Jodi Picoult says, “ I understand how a parent might hit a child- it’s because you can look into their eyes and see a reflection of yourself that you wish you hadn’t.” The parents that physically, sexually, or emotionally abuse their children are taking the anger inside of them out onto a person who does not deserve it. The parents think they are serving justice by beating their children for accidentally breaking a vase or getting a bad grade on their math test, but they are not. All they are doing is making their children grow up to hate them and the world.
Works Cited
1. https://www.childhelp.org/
2. https://www.azquotes.com/author/9365-Nelson_Mandela/tag/children
3. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/child-abuse
4. https://www.nspcc.org.uk
Child Abuse
Child abuse should not be tolerated. It is wrong in every instant, yet people continue to do it. Nelson Mandala says, “ The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children.” However a society treats its next generation is how the society will be when the children grow up. You should not be able to beat your kids until they turn another color, but unfortunately, some people do. They sexually, physically, and emotionally distress their children. Because of this, organizations like “childhelp.org” have sprung up to protect the children in need. Childhelp.org tries to bring light into the kids life and nurture them better than the abusers ever could. Without these types of organizations, the children would not have anyone to turn and aid them.
Child abuse can happen to anyone, male or female. One in four girls and one in eight boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. One in twenty children are abused each year. The Bible says, “see that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my Heavenly Father.” (MT 18:10). Jesus is saying that those who hurt children will be in trouble with God. On NSPCC.org, a little girl shared her story of child abuse. This child, by the name of Leila, was born in Palestine and moved to England when she was eight. Her mom was a strict Muslim, and when Leila was 13, she argued with her mom a lot and ran away often. Some nights she would stay with strangers. As the arguments with her mom got worse, she stayed away for longer periods of time. She was eventually referred to the NSPCC Protect and Respect service when she was 13 by a school mentor. The organization gave her a home to turn to during times of distress. Like Dave Pelzer says, “Childhood, should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” Our children should not have to be worried about their parents abusing them if they do something wrong. They should not have to fear their parents.
“Childhelp.org” is a organization created to shelter the abused children. They are located in Scottsdale, Arizona but have helped kids from all over the United States. They provide child help advocacy centers, group homes, treatment programs, and intervention programs. They have helped 10 million kids across America and continue to find kids in need every day. Child help has also assisted countless people and heard their side of the story, and a child named Georgie is one of them. She was born into a family whose mother was addicted to drugs and prison-bound. She was neglected on a daily basis. She had no where to go except for foster homes where she was assaulted and abused. She was eventually moved at the age of ten to Merv Griffin Village where she learned to open up and is happy there.
Child abuse is never the “right thing to do.” Take care of your children and raise them the right way,” Jodi Picoult says, “ I understand how a parent might hit a child- it’s because you can look into their eyes and see a reflection of yourself that you wish you hadn’t.” The parents that physically, sexually, or emotionally abuse their children are taking the anger inside of them out onto a person who does not deserve it. The parents think they are serving justice by beating their children for accidentally breaking a vase or getting a bad grade on their math test, but they are not. All they are doing is making their children grow up to hate them and the world.
Works Cited
1. https://www.childhelp.org/
2. https://www.azquotes.com/author/9365-Nelson_Mandela/tag/children
3. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/child-abuse
4. https://www.nspcc.org.uk
Victoria Whitehead, Sophomore
Dolphin and Marine Life Exploitation
Dolphins are extremely intelligent, social, and emotional beings. Scientists have done research studying bottlenose dolphins and their ways of communication between each other using burst pulse sounds, whistles, and body language. Each animal has a unique, signature narrow-band vocalization. Numerous investigations of bottlenose dolphin intelligence have been conducted by scientists examining mimicry, use of artificial language, object categorization, and comprehension of symbols for various body parts, comprehension of pointing gestures and gaze, mirror self-recognition, and numerical values. Dolphins have been known to show curiosity towards humans in or near water. Occasionally, they have even been seen rescuing injured divers by raising them to the surface. They also do this to help injured members of their own pod or species. In November 2004, a dramatic report of dolphin intervention came from New Zealand. Four lifeguards, swimming off the coast near Whangarei, were approached by a shark (reportedly a great white shark). Bottlenose dolphins herded the swimmers together and surrounded them for 40 minutes, preventing the shark from attacking, allowing them to swim to shore.
In the United States, we are exploiting these beautiful creatures by using their intelligence for our own entertainment. In Taiji, Japan Bottlenose Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Stripped Dolphins, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, and many others are hunted yearly. In 2009, an estimated 50 whales and 100 dolphins were captured to be sold or killed for consumption in only the first hunt of the season, as the hunts have been known to bring in up to 100 dolphins from the drive per day. For the 2019-20 season, the drive fishery quota based from previous years hunts is estimating a total of 1,749 marine animals to be captured. Marine aquariums and facilities such as the “Swim with the Dolphins” institutes are paying as much as $152,000 each for live Bottlenose Dolphins, and up to $875,000 for killer whales from the dolphin drive hunts. In U.S. waters, hunting and harassing of marine mammals is forbidden in almost all circumstances, from the passing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. It’s ironic how as a country, we agree that this process is wrong and have passed laws to protect our waters from the slaughter of these creatures but still support it in other parts of the world. In a way, we are responsible for these hunts, and we are one of the main sources of fuel to keep the hunts profitable. From the amount of money spent by the public to attend aquariums, and attend swim exhibits, a single dolphin can produce around $1 million a year. As the public, we are the root of fueling these vicious hunts, as well as the abuse shown towards the dolphins while in facilities like SeaWorld, or dolphinariums in the United States.
After the dolphins are caught, they are kept in small highly chlorinated pools, and are kept from food in order to be trained. A pod of wild dolphins can travel up to 100 kilometers a day in the open ocean. Each member of the pod has a role to ensure the health and well being of the group. In captivity, they are placed with unfamiliar groups that are not adapted to one another, which makes communication almost impossible, leaving them isolated and out of a family group. The space in their pools is very limited, causing anger, frustration, and confusion. Most captive dolphins are regularly given anti-depressant medications to alleviate their mental frustrations with overall captivity. Interactions with humans is only achieved through food deprivation training, which is the only way dolphins can be trained to comply with commands from their instructors. Dolphins are kept hungry enough to be so desperate for food, they are willing to do any thing for dead fish, which they have to adjust to as well. A wild diet includes living fish, never dead or frozen as they are given in captivity. After enough time of this abuse, the dolphins start to show self-harming behavior such as running into the walls of their tanks over and over again, refusing to eat, and becoming aggressive towards humans. The Humane Society of the United States is strongly opposed to captive SWTD attractions and believes that, even if strictly regulated, they pose an immediate threat to the safety of both human and dolphin participants. To keep these dolphins happy and in their natural environments, we can prevent captivating these creatures by not supporting or buying tickets to see shows or attending SWTD attractions.
The only way this cruel process can be stopped is for us to stop funding it. It’s our job to enjoy the beauty of these animals. Sadly, we have become so self consumed with our enjoyment, that we are willing to sacrifice the lives of the animals for our own good. We are caretakers of God’s creation, as we have to see the value in their lives to truly appreciate them. Job 12:7-10 states, “And the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know what the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” We have to put their need before ours. Philippians 2:4 states, “Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” In order to help or get involved with a non-profit organization, you can donate to projects such as the Ric O’Berry’s Dolphin Project, Empty the Tanks, and the Human Society of the United States. Many of these organizations provide sanctuaries and work to free marine life from harmful captive situations and to get them back home. Opportunities to travel to Taiji and contribute by taking pictures of the hunt are also a possibility through the Ric O’Berry Dolphin Project.
We can also help these creatures by keeping their home environments clean as well. Using plastic and polluting the oceans is also a selfish act we can work to prevent together as well. Using reusable water bottles and eliminating everyday waste such as not using plastic straws or plastic dish ware, could make a huge impact in keeping our oceans clean. There are also organizations we can support to help with this issue as well, such as 4ocean. This company makes bracelets out of recycled glass and plastic they pull from the ocean. Your purchase of one bracelet pays to remove one pound of trash from the ocean in places like Bali and Haiti. You can also support this movement by attending beach cleanups hosted in your area.
In conclusion, please think of the lives of the animals you are seeing before you buy tickets or support marine life held in captivity. Together, we can work to make a difference in benefiting and protecting the lives of these creatures by changing our way of thinking and making a few small changes for the better in our everyday lives.
Works Cited
Dolphinproject.com
Emptythetanks.org
Jackson Killen, Junior
Food pantry
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Hunger is one of the biggest problems in America today and is often overlooked. Approximately one in eight households have trouble maintaining a steady food supply. To put this into another perspective, if you took one hundred people and interviewed them, 12 or more would be in a constant struggle to put a meal on the table. While this seems like a daunting statistic, we are blessed to live in the United States. Unlike many other countries, the United States has a major outreach program and works with many pantries on the state and local level, to provide food for those in need.
I am very blessed to have worked firsthand with one of these pantries. Saint Mark United Methodist Church has a food pantry that serve hundreds of people. Every Tuesday or Thursday I go and help my grandparents who are the directors of the pantry. There are countless examples of what it’s like but only one seems to fit the situation. Every month, a man comes in with his wife. His wife has cancer and lung disease, making her have to carry an oxygen tank. The man is a Vietnam war veteran with impaired sight and too many back and knee injuries to walk straight. They are the kindest and most sincere people I have ever met, and you won’t understand the pain this people are going through until you are there to lift them from the pit they are in.
The pantry would never survive from just the church’s donations. People donate money and food, but that wouldn’t feed more than two our three families. The majority of the supplies we get are from the West Alabama Food Bank. Believe it or not, but the government is the one who keeps the shelves stocked. Pastries and bread are donated from Publix whenever they have a surplus. We have a rack of shoes that come from donations. Every little thing helps these people, who need it so much more than we do. Gandhi once said, “There are people in the world so hungry, that a god cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
There are over 60,000 food banks in the United States feeding over 46,000,000 million people.
Hunger is one of humanity’s oldest and must violent problems. Wars, disease, starvation, invasions, and genocides can all be attributed to the problem hunger delivers us. We are a species that is never satisfied and only want more food and wealth. We don’t care about the man starving tonight with his wife and kids, wondering when they will eat again. Jimmy Carter says, “We know that a peaceful world cannot exist when one third are rich, and two thirds are hungry.” Hunger is not just a physical issue, but a mental one as well. When someone is struggling to even eat once a day, and they see the more fortunate taking for granted all that they have, it grows to resentment in our country. It leads to riots and protests. No person who has a full belly and warm home ever started a revolution.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how much you make or how much you give. What matters is what can you give. If you can’t make a donation of money, donate some food. If you can’t donate food, donate your time. If you can’t donate your time, donate a prayer at night for all of the people out there that are praying just like you for a meal. The biggest gifts you can give are the ones no one can see. Don’t flaunt your generosity. Do it for yourself, not others approval. God sees all knows not just what you did, but what you could have done. “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).
Works Cited
https://www.saintmarknorthport.com/foodpantry
https://www.feedingamerica.org/about-us/press-room/new-data
https://newfoodeconomy.org/food-banks-hunger-board-members/
Food pantry
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Hunger is one of the biggest problems in America today and is often overlooked. Approximately one in eight households have trouble maintaining a steady food supply. To put this into another perspective, if you took one hundred people and interviewed them, 12 or more would be in a constant struggle to put a meal on the table. While this seems like a daunting statistic, we are blessed to live in the United States. Unlike many other countries, the United States has a major outreach program and works with many pantries on the state and local level, to provide food for those in need.
I am very blessed to have worked firsthand with one of these pantries. Saint Mark United Methodist Church has a food pantry that serve hundreds of people. Every Tuesday or Thursday I go and help my grandparents who are the directors of the pantry. There are countless examples of what it’s like but only one seems to fit the situation. Every month, a man comes in with his wife. His wife has cancer and lung disease, making her have to carry an oxygen tank. The man is a Vietnam war veteran with impaired sight and too many back and knee injuries to walk straight. They are the kindest and most sincere people I have ever met, and you won’t understand the pain this people are going through until you are there to lift them from the pit they are in.
The pantry would never survive from just the church’s donations. People donate money and food, but that wouldn’t feed more than two our three families. The majority of the supplies we get are from the West Alabama Food Bank. Believe it or not, but the government is the one who keeps the shelves stocked. Pastries and bread are donated from Publix whenever they have a surplus. We have a rack of shoes that come from donations. Every little thing helps these people, who need it so much more than we do. Gandhi once said, “There are people in the world so hungry, that a god cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
There are over 60,000 food banks in the United States feeding over 46,000,000 million people.
Hunger is one of humanity’s oldest and must violent problems. Wars, disease, starvation, invasions, and genocides can all be attributed to the problem hunger delivers us. We are a species that is never satisfied and only want more food and wealth. We don’t care about the man starving tonight with his wife and kids, wondering when they will eat again. Jimmy Carter says, “We know that a peaceful world cannot exist when one third are rich, and two thirds are hungry.” Hunger is not just a physical issue, but a mental one as well. When someone is struggling to even eat once a day, and they see the more fortunate taking for granted all that they have, it grows to resentment in our country. It leads to riots and protests. No person who has a full belly and warm home ever started a revolution.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how much you make or how much you give. What matters is what can you give. If you can’t make a donation of money, donate some food. If you can’t donate food, donate your time. If you can’t donate your time, donate a prayer at night for all of the people out there that are praying just like you for a meal. The biggest gifts you can give are the ones no one can see. Don’t flaunt your generosity. Do it for yourself, not others approval. God sees all knows not just what you did, but what you could have done. “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).
Works Cited
https://www.saintmarknorthport.com/foodpantry
https://www.feedingamerica.org/about-us/press-room/new-data
https://newfoodeconomy.org/food-banks-hunger-board-members/
