Foreign Intervention in Syria

The conflict in Syria has been going on for more than two years now. It has become not only a political conflict, but a humanitarian one. Syrians have been forced to flee their homes to neighboring countries in search of safety.

Now the main issue in the US is, should we intervene?

Foreign intervention could prove to be detrimental, and increase conflict instead of establishing peace. Bashar Al-Assad, the leader of the government, has a lot of allies. For example, Russia regularly provides the government with weapons and arms to fight the rebels with. If the US were to intervene and help the rebels, that could cause the allies to not only increase their aid to the government, but become enemies of the United States.

Also, there are many rebel groups linked with Al-Qaeda, and in aiding the rebel groups with supplies it would be almost impossible to avoid helping these groups. The US could then be helping their enemies.

On the other hand, the conflict is pretty much going nowhere, and peace must be established as quickly as possible. People are dying. There is evidence of chemical weapons being used against the rebels, and that in itself is a huge crime against humanity.

Civilians want to go back home. Conditions in camps are far from being good-- there are not enough basic resources for everyone, such as food, water, and clothing. They just want to go home and lead normal lives.

Do we have the moral obligation to intervene?

We are a very influential and powerful country with the means of helping Syria. We have the "white man's burden" to help less powerful countries in their time of need. The people of Syria have often asked, in their cries for help, "Where is Obama?"

And the answer to that question is, behind a podium, talking to the American people about intervening, and doing little else.

Although we should NOT be intervening militarily, we need to aid them with resources that will help them survive, such as food and water. We need to be doing more of that, giving them hope for a better future, and hope for survival.

Thank you and have a great day.

America's Overcrowding Prisons

Prisons in America have been overcrowding. It's a known fact. And with overcrowding comes problems with security and lack of resources for every prisoner.

Prison isn't just a place for punishment. It's a place for criminals to learn a trade that will sustain themselves in society, and to rehabilitate. It's a place that gives them a second chance.

Well, it should be a place for those things. But the issue with overcrowding is that prisoners don't have access to all the resources they need, and security is dwindling. With so many prisoners to look after, security guards can overlook crimes that occur in prison, like rape and abuse among the prisoners.

Prisoners can also more easily escape with less security watching them.

Overcrowding prisons are a serious threat to society. But what can we do about them? Well, there's no easy short-term solution. Overcrowding has resulted in the early release of some prisoners by the government to make room, which can definitely cause problems. These prisoners may not be ready for a release yet.

Some criminals with an extensive criminal record do not belong on the streets. Yet they are there, free to commit more crimes to society. They are there because of overcrowding prisons.

We can't just make more prisons-- those will fill up eventually, too. And what does that say about the US as a country? That we'll simply contain crime, not do something to prevent it?

Besides, we don't have the money to make more prisons. It takes about $80,000 to maintain one prisoner every year, and if you take that amount and multiply it by the thousands, it really adds up. That is our tax money, going to give criminals a place to live.

Instead, we could take the $80,000 a year and put it into education. We could use it to create better environments for the next generation, to make them more successful so that they won't commit as many crimes because they don't grow up in an environment riddled with crime. This is only a long-term solution, and we'll have to wait for the next generation to prove it to be true.

For now, our prisons stay overcrowded and dangerous. For now, there is a higher risk of prisoners escaping. For now, prisoners are released early and before they are ready to create more room for others.

I just thought that would be something you'd want to be aware of. The reasons there is so much crime in the first place, is that people with extensive crime records are our streets. Those people should be locked up.

They should be, but it's not that simple.

Thank you and have a great day.