Bullying and it's terrible effects

A example of bullying

Bullying is the epitome of defensive behavior. It stems from the insecurities and bottled up hate of an individual to be expressed as a menacing attack upon someone else. Bullying, especially in schools can cause much traumatic damage to kids. The harassment can get so extreme that students feel unsafe in the school environment. One high school student named Delaney Escher got on the bad side of a group of classmates when she failed to invite them to a party. They began sending Delaney hateful texts and harassing her at school. She was so emotionally distraught that she had to go seek help from a therapist. Eventually, the problem toned down a 

bit but she still gets mean looks and hurtful things said to her now and again. Fortunately, some bullying situations end happier. For six years Jim Harold Jr. was relentlessly bullied at school. His parents would get frustrated with him because he failed to report the incidents every time they occurred. It wasn’t until his parents took him to see a mental health specialist that they found out he had Asperger’s, a mild form of autism. This turned out to be the reason he could not communicate his bullying. After being diagnosed and changing schools, Jim found a circle of friends that helped develop his social skills. Now he is a senior at Webster Thomas High 

Jamey Rodemeyer

School and happier than ever before. Administrators from several Rochester area districts said that more bullying incidents are being reported than ever before. This may be the cause of the awareness bullying programs have given the public or possibly the economic decline of our nation is cause for more stress at home and results in kids acting out at school. States are beginning to pass legislature in order to reduce and prevent bullying and that’s good news for kids like Elise Groth, a 12 year old who was bullied relentlessly on the bus and at school. The emotional and physical attacks became so bad for Elise that her mother took her out of school and homeschooled her for the remainder of the year. It’s tough for schools to regulate disciplinary actions because it can become difficult to discern who is lying and who is telling the truth. The reoccurring failure of schools to prevent bullying and the additional stress of cyber bullying often leads to kids taking drastic measures to end their suffering like Jamey Rodemeyer. Jamey was endlessly harassed online by kids from school about his sexual orientation. It became so bad for him that he committed suicide. Lady Gaga, his idol, even dedicated a song to him and took a moment to remember him. She also started an effort on twitter to raise awareness and attempt to form a bullying law.

Kids preventing bullying

     Bullying is an issue that many young people deal with everyday. Bullies often get their personality due to some form of traumatic experience or insecurity. Dan H., a classmate of mine said “It is unfortunate that bullying has to be a part of school but it represents the insecurities of youth”. And Dan couldn’t have been more correct unfortunately. Bullying is the cause of many kids’ lifelong struggles. Joe W. stated that “it ruins people’s lives and should be prevented more” while Chris D. responded with “it can be very difficult to near impossible to end bullying, but we can try”. Bishop Kearney, my high school, enforces a fairly strict code regarding bullying and retains the opinion that any form of harassment can be bullying and that the offender will be punished accordingly. Mr. Miller, our schools dean of students, came to speak to us and said this inspiring quote: “Bullying is bad, don’t do it”. Prevention and awareness are vital to minimizing and ending bullying. Change begins with the individual.

First Article    http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250359/Hateful-texts-voicemails-end-after-visit-school-psychologist
Second Article http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250357/It-wasn-t-fear-kept-bullied-teen-from-talking
Third Article http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250354/Bullying-leaves-tormented-students-helpless-parents?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Separation of Church and State

     Our nation was founded upon the very principle of freedom. We have unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness among others, our protected constitutional rights. One of the things about the new world that appealed to so many early settlers was that it was a place to start anew. Where one could live their life as they pleased without the threat of religious tyranny destroying their way of life. As our nation grew and gained its independence, these rights became ingrained in our society to be protected and most importantly, respected by both government and citizen alike. Fundamentally, our nation was constructed by religion but that does not mean that we are a nation of religion. The purpose of granting religious freedom to citizens was to remove the issues of religious differences from ever entering the realm of debate. If everyone can believe what they want, what is there to ever disagree about? Keep to yourselves and do not force beliefs upon other people and little problem will be had. The issue of the separation of church and state is a dangerous thing to dabble in. The real problem is that eventually, the state religion might not be your religion. Terrible things tend to happen when people become heated over topics and the fact that most religious people are not true followers in that they are not loving and kind as they are taught, could cause much conflict. We are not a nation under god. We are a nation where we are free to practice anything we desire or abstain from the evils of religion all together. Religion is the wall between progress. Religion is the one thing that has caused more discord in the world than anything else. Why jeopardize the remaining rights we have by essentially giving one away? Why disgrace our constitution by soiling it with the idiocracy of people who believe in creationism, that our planet was created 2,000 years ago by a creature in the sky. Let's be realistic. Religion is the barrier to all that can be accomplished.By letting it be officially incorporated into our society is a step back and a threat to both our nations intelligence and prosperity.