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Liberal Representative Democracy
Liberal Representative Democracy
Considering the representative democracy, it may be termed as the type of democracy in which the citizens vote for a representative who shares in their ideologies (Urbinati, 23). Once voted they form a body that rules independently and has the responsibility of acting in the peoples interest. On the other hand, liberal democracy is where the said representatives are voted in free and fair elections. These elections are to be held in a given time frame, through a secret ballot in multi-party elections (Urbinati, 12). Theoretically liberal representative democracy is seems to achieve the required stability in a given country. In the following paper I will give information that contradicts this assumption.
Liberal representative democracy is highly assumed to be the key to the needed stability in terms of equity and freedom. However, what the fanatics of this democracy fail to tell us is the fact that there are assumptions to be made for this hypothesis to be attainable. It is assumed that all the parties involved in this process aim for the stability of their country. The reasons given in support of this notion are highly unrealizable (Croci et al, 33). One of the reasons is the assumption that a political party will act to the interest of the people since the citizens are wise and are able to easily identify the party that addresses their interest in the best way. However, demerits exist in this given the assumption that the public will be able to discern the political party with ill motives. This is not possible in an ideal world. The other assumption is that the opposition between the political parties will aim at determining which party addresses citizens’ interest the best way (Croci et al, 56). This is not true and very difficult to achieve especially in democracies like the United States where there is only two political parties. In totality it’s very difficult to achieve the assumptions laid down by the liberal representative democracy foundations.
Initially, it was universally thought that representative liberal democracy was the best. This was due to what it stood for. In liberal democracies all adults who are citizens of a given nation were granted freedom of speech, freedom of association and so on. These rights according to liberal democracy were national and each citizen was entitled to them regardless of their political affiliation, race, gender or even social status (Salvadori, 34). However over the decades realization has dawn on many that though there is this freedom it had exemptions. It was realized that the freedom granted was limited in some way and one could not exercise them fully. The limitations were in the initial stages accepted however the public has learnt that at times they will go too far causing the lack of fair and due judicial process. Those for these limitations argue that they are needed in order to guarantee that there is the existence of a democracy. This means that a minority of people are excluded from this freedom due to the limitations. This shows that this kind of democracy is only quantitative rather than qualitative by the persecution of opponents. In theory those who advocate that liberalism promotes freedom they argue out that the persecution of opponents follow the rule of law. However, it is unfair to be persecuted by the very same law that you are opposed to. Hence it’s clear from the issued arguments that while a democracy grants rights to the majority making it does not safeguard the interest of minorities.
Giving credit where it’s due, liberal representative has gone a long way in ensuring that the freedom of people is granted. Records indicate that an act of terrorism which is in most cases instigated by the feeling that one’s freedom or right has been violated has in most cases been reported in illiberal democracies. Famine also has mostly been reported in countries that do not support this democracy. In most of those countries that exercise liberal democracy accountability and transparency are common. Liberal democracy has been credited with ensuring the freedom of media. The freedom of media is highly recommended due to the reality that once the media is free it acts a watchdog for other rights. This means that the freedom of speech is upheld together with other scores of rights. Liberalism has had a lot of critics on its compatibility with the freedoms even though it’s the very same foundation that it stands on (Salvadori, 112). However, over the decades records have continually showed that the countries that uphold this principle rarely face humanitarian crisis. This leads to a conclusion that liberalism is partially compatible with freedom given the facts that while on one hand records shows that the principle is one of the best politically and on the humanitarian scale questions always arise about the interest of those who holding different opinions.
The issue of equity hangs on the balance; I will start with facts that show how it supports equity. The first and the most solid of all the arguments is the inclusion of all in the election process. The principle advocates that all adults who are citizens of the country should exercise their right to vote. Each and every adult citizen is entitled regardless of their wealth, skin color, or even political affiliation. This promotes equity in that it ensures all citizens are equal their background or even your present notwithstanding. This system has also supported federalism in that power is divided vertically. This ensures that dictatorial regimes are avoided. This only means that the resources of your country will be brought closer to an individual regardless of the area they reside in. Another implication is that your local leader that you voted for gets to rule your locality. This individual is more likely to understand the needs of your locality to greater lengths as opposed to individuals from other areas. The voting according to the system should be free and fair. Furthermore it should be conducted in a secret ballot and participated by multiple political parties. In the end, we see that liberalism partially seems to promote equity within a society.
However, even though the outlined reasons outlined in the previous paragraph suggest that liberal representative democracy promotes equity critics of the same exist. The support of the system in this issue has been dwindling over the decades (Pennock, 32). This is due to the fact that even though the system advocates for voting by every adult not all adults take part in this process. This only means that only the adults who choose to vote get to decide leaders of the country. Another limitation is that most of the self proclaimed liberal democracies do not have the required resources to exercise this democracy (Pennock, 78). These democracies lack franchise such as a ballot box. Another way in which the system fails in promoting equity is by its failure in democracy. It’s noted that the citizens exercise democracy only when voting for the representatives. After the voting is over all the major decisions are made by the voted ruling body. The citizens are not engaged in major decision making. Supporters have cited the impossibility of involving each and every person. However this is violation of democracy where everyone should be involved to promote equity in the decision making. This should be achieved by holding public forums and having referendums on vital issues. Finally, it can be seen that while liberalism tries to promote equity it fails on the major issue, hence it should modified to fit in democracy.
In conclusion it has been seen that liberal representative democracy fails to bring the correct combination of freedom and equity. However it has tried to address the issues remotely which has mainly lead to its failure in this endeavor. Countries are coming up with strategies of trying to fix the system so that it acquires the right proportion. However, it has been seen that though it fails on some part it has help to uphold many aspects in democracies. The granting of human rights has seen the system prevent humanitarian crisis. Finally, a lot needs to be done to improve the status of liberal representative democracy.
References
Mintz, Close, and Croci Osvaldo. Politics, Power and the Common Good: An Introduction to Political Science. Toronto. Ontario: Pearson Education publishers, 2011. Print.
Urbinati Nadia. Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy. Chicago: University of Chicago publishers. 2008. Print.
Pennock James. Liberal democracy: its merits and prospects. Virginia. University of Virginia Publishers.2008. Print.
Salvadori Massimo. Liberal democracy. Michigan: University of Michigan Publishers. 2006. Print
LGBT Health Issues
LGBT Health Issues
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Minority groups have come a long way in their efforts towards being accorded equal rights as any other person. Members of the LGBT community fall into this category. With the legalization of same sex marriages in some states and general accord of equal rights, we have come far but have yet a ways to go. People from the LGBT community still have many challenges facing them and this includes discrimination especially from ignorant people who do not understand that everyone is different and is allowed to live life however they may choose, as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others (Herek, G. M. 2016). These challenges do not just come from outside the community but some are unique to the members of this community. Health is one of such issues.
There is quite a significant disparity when it comes to healthcare access to healthcare. The main cause of this is that they feel they are discriminated against by healthcare workers. Discrimination is a commonplace occurrence. This spreads to the workplace and provision of health insurance by employers. The issue is further made worse by the fact that some healthcare workers are not well trained on how to handle issues concerning minority groups and may handle them in a way that is insensitive and discriminatory.
Family and social support will go a long way in helping young people identify with their sexual orientation. The fact that parents and guardians sometimes do not accept their children for who they are will lead to adverse effects. This lack of acceptance on coming out might exacerbate an already volatile situation and make the young people who are already fragile to sink even further and they may eve commit suicide. They might even be thrown out of their homes and this will leave them on the street and they can resort to other dangerous behavior such as prostitution. Lack of family support will make the young people feel hopeless, anxious, suicidal and depressive.
Some health issues include cancer, hepatitis, mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, drug and substance abuse as well as discrimination in the law and in access to healthcare. These healthcare issues stem from the fact that members of the LGBT community suffer from identity issues and hence find it difficult to seek care for whatever they may be suffering from. They usually feel discriminated against by healthcare providers and institutions and this homophobia or transphobia leads them to delay or even refrain from seeking treatment for any illnesses.
Research into health issues affecting LGBT members may be affected by biases such as heterosexism (Keuroghlian, A. S et al, 2017). There may not be much funding into research into health issues regarding LGBT members who are considered a minority. Mental illness is the first kind of health issue that plagues the LGBTs. They first begin to suffer from a lack of identity since they often feel that they do not fit into what the society considers to be normal. Sexual identity crisis usually begins at the teen years which are the formative years. At this time, teenagers often feel confused and wonder why they cannot be like their peers. Some of their different behavior may lead to them being ostracized by their friends and even family.
This leads to anxiety, depression and a general feeling of being lost. This situation will be made worse of the parents or guardians are not well versed in issues of gender identity and may feel that it is an anomaly of some kind that their child is suffering from. It is important during this time of confusing that young people be made to feel comfortable and to embrace who they truly are. Lack of acceptance and the feeling of being different may make the LGBTs to turn to drug and substance abuse to deal with discrimination and forget their problems for a while. Seeking help for this mental illness may prove quite difficult also because of perceived discriminatory practices among healthcare providers (Herek, G. M. 2016).
Mental illness among the LGBTs means that they are two to three times more likely to commit suicide that the general population. Depression and anxiety also affects them, with the young people sometimes opting to stay out school as they are bullied by their peers for appearing to be unusual. This feeling of being different starts early on in life and will remain with the LGBTs for a long time after. Mental illness stems mostly from the lack of validation by family, peers and the community as a while. On a personal level, the LGBTs struggle to come to terms with their own sexual identity and during this time it is important that they take part in activities that make them feel that they are a person like any other. This includes taking part in sport activities and other leisure activities so that they can focus on other areas in their lives apart from just their sexual orientation.
When HIV/AIDS was first discovered, it was considered to belong only to gay people. While this may not have been the case exactly, there are many factors that make the LGBT community uniquely predisposed to health issues that other members of the general population may not suffer from. There are conditions that are more prevalent in some groups within the LGBT community. When it comes to lesbians, they have a high rate of breast cancer which can be attributed to not doing regular screening for the condition. Anxiety and depression are also very common. Physical fitness is also a challenge among lesbians as the rarely exercise and some may be obese. Drug and other forms of substance abuse are more prevalent among lesbian women.
Gay men also have conditions that are unique to them such as anal cancer and a higher likelihood of HPV than women. Depression and anxiety that may lead to suicide are also very high among gay men, this is especially true if the men haven’t come out as gay yet and feel that they have to keep their sexual orientation to themselves. They may fear being judged and such feelings may overwhelm them and eventually lead to suicide especially in the more conservative settings. Anti gay violent threats are very real and life threatening and this is one of the factors that may keep gay men closeted and living a lie that conforms to other people’s opinions.
Eating disorders are also very common among LGBTs especially the gay men, they are highly likely to suffer from disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Sexually transmitted infections such as hepatitis mean that gay men should get vaccinated and practice safe sex to reduce the risk of contraction. Annual screening is highly recommended for other infections and diseases such as Chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea. HIV is a major area of concern for the LGBT considering the fact that gay men are about sixty times more likely to contract HIV than their straight peers.
Bisexual individuals are even more likely to commit suicide than gay men and lesbians. They are also more likely to take part in activities that may cause them harm when compared to lesbians and gays. Drug and substance abuse are common among bisexual women. Studies have been done mostly in the area of gay men and HIV than the same studies on lesbian women. Lesbian women who were pregnant are generally very open to discussing their lifestyle by tot is common practice that the forms to be filled out when seeking healthcare tend to mention fathers and mothers. This should definitely be changed as both are equal parents to the child. It may be a bit difficult for workers to come up with gender neutral language in order to make the whole practice as inclusive as possible.
Transgender people perhaps face the greatest hurdle of all when it comes to seeking healthcare. There are usually no insurance plans for gender reassignment surgery and many healthcare workers treat the Trans gender people with bias and discrimination that make the whole process of self identity incredibly painful for the patient. Transgender people have actually been denied healthcare by doctors and other medical practitioners after identifying themselves as transgender. They are less likely to be uninsured by their employers. When a transgender person did not have reproductive organs such as uterus and breast remain with the risk of cancers in those organs.
It is essential that the mental health of transgender people be closely watched as they have a high tendency for depression and anxiety especially before and after gender reassignment surgeries. They may have lost friends and family in the process so those treating them have to do so with the utmost levels of sensitivity. Eating disorders and self harm are still prevalent among the transgender population. When transitioning, transgender people have to use hormones that are specific to their new gender and these hormones have serious side effects such as dehydration, low or high blood sugar, blood clots, liver damage as well as significantly higher risk of heart disease.
Trans women may desire a certain physique and use silicone implants to achieve this. The process may be expensive and without a proper doctor to place the implants, it may lead to disfigurement and even death. Some silicone implants used are not medical grade and may cause serious complications. Trans people have to work as sex workers in order to earn a living and this should make the HIV prevalence very high but surprisingly, research has found that this is not the case. They have the lowest prevalence among the LGBT community. Drug abuse is still a major concern with smoking of marijuana being most likely in order to maintain weight loss. Other drugs that are misused include cocaine, heroin and crack. Research has shown disparity between LGBT Caucasians and those of color.
Members of the LGBT community may also find it quite difficult to get healthcare advice from social workers as they may feel discriminated against (Martos, A. J. et al, 2017). The forms that they may have to fill out when they visit healthcare facilities may not designed for inclusivity and this feeling of discrimination may make them feel like outsiders. They would therefore rather stay away from healthcare providers and self medicate, creating serious problems.
Use of drugs predisposes LGBT members to risky sexual behavior. When high on drugs, there tends to be diminished decision making capacity hence may lead to unprotected sex and other risky behavior that can lead to spread of infections and diseases. The problem of substance abuse has not been adequately tackled. This will give insight into the reasons as to why the rates of substance abuse are higher among the LGBT community, as compared to the general population. Funding for research into LGBT issues by the National Institute of Health makes up less than a half percent of all its funding (Cahill, S., & Makadon, H. 2014). The bulk of this funding mainly goes to sexual risk and HIV. Substance abuse therefore almost has no funding set aside, and this makes it quite difficult to get accurate statistics on the prevalence of the problem.
Intervention may be in the form of prevention measures as opposed to just reactionary treatment measures. Research has shown that tailored prevention programs achieve more success rates than just using a general program. However, this has to be done with care that the patients seeking treatments do not feel any more isolated than they already do. LGBT people living in rural areas are at a disadvantage as there may not be a gay-friendly center where they can seek the help they need.
Social workers that treat LGBT groups also have to be equipped with special know-how in dealing with these minority groups. Gay Affirmative Practices (GAP) provides guidelines to social workers on how to deal with LGBTs. Some of these practices include not assuming that all clients are heterosexual. It is common that if one is used to being around and treating heterosexual patients, dealing with LGBTs demands for a change in attitude and also ensuring that the language used in treatment facilities is friendly to them. Bias is a common factor in any situation that must be dealt with. Social workers must learn to recognize any biases that they might have before they commence treatment of gay people (Carabez, R. et al, 2015). If the patient can feel some kind of bias from the social worker, this can make them feel discriminated against and may put them off from seeking treatment.
In case the social worker has any kind of homophobia and heterosexual biases, this must also be addressed beforehand. The social worker should accept the individual as a positive outcome of the helping process among others. Identification and location of LGBTs who need treatment for substance abuse are particularly difficult. It is therefore important that social workers be trained so as to handle them in a way that is non- discriminatory and non-stigmatizing. Healthcare is a basic human right and no one should feel ostracized or discriminated against. Training and awareness will go a long way in ensuring that the general population is more accepting of the LGBT community and do what they can to support them. The families, friends and general community should offer support to LGBTs as they go through the motions of self identity.
References
Cahill, S., & Makadon, H. (2014). Sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in clinical settings and in electronic health records: A key to ending LGBT health disparities. LGBT health, 1(1), 34-41.
Carabez, R., Pellegrini, M., Mankovitz, A., Eliason, M., Ciano, M., & Scott, M. (2015).“Never in all my years…”: nurses’ education about LGBT health. Journal of Professional Nursing, 31(4), 323-329.
Herek, G. M. (2016). A nuanced view of stigma for understanding and addressing sexual and gender minority health disparities.Keuroghlian, A. S., Ard, K. L., & Makadon, H. J. (2017). Advancing health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people through sexual health education and LGBT-affirming health care environments. Sexual health, 14(1), 119-122.
Martos, A. J., Wilson, P. A., & Meyer, I. H. (2017). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health services in the United States: Origins, evolution, and contemporary landscape. PloS one, 12(7), e0180544.
LEVIS STRAUSS & CO. JEANS
LEVIS STRAUSS & CO. JEANS
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Levis Strauss & Co. Jeans
Denim jeans are some of the types of jeans that are very common in the United States of America due to their quality over a very long period. Levis Strauss & co. have developed in 1853 and the brand has acquired a lot of trust over that period.it can be classified as respecting most of the fair trade regulations and therefore it is part of the international fair trade as well as the fair trade of the united states. The company after it was founded specialized in making jeans for those who were highly involved in activities that were rough and therefore needed clothes that could withstand those conditions and at the same time protecting them. Therefore the founders got a solution to this problem by coming up with denim jeans which helped the workers especially those who worked in the mining industry very much. However, with its development, the company has become a fashion company with a lot of people desiring jeans and putting them on almost daily. This paper, therefore, discusses Levis Strauss and co. history, how they adhere to fair trade, and the type of jeans they make(Downey, 2007).
In 1853 Levis Strauss was a German immigrant into the US and hoped to open a branch of their brand. Therefore he went to the United States and tried to open the branch in San Francisco. However, when he was going on with his business he realized that there was something which was lacking among the individuals and that was strong enough clothes to make the workers be able to push on without the worry of their clothes. Therefore this was the birth of levis denim jeans as he decides to come up with clothes that could support the workers and enable them to do what they needed to do without the stress of clothes being unable to take them through. He came together with Jacob Davis from Nevada and who was a tailor to come up with the first pair of jeans made up of brown cotton duck and blue denim. Therefore they began making jeans and enabling the workers who were doing their jobs in difficult places or in places whereby it was not easy for a person to go with a soft cloth to begin working normally without the worry of the clothes (Preece et al, 1995).
They met in 1872 and after they had worked for this for a year they decided to begin a company and patent their product. The first jean they had made was called xx and it was what they presented to the US patent and trademark offices at that time and therefore they were approved as their own. They were known for the kind of quality and strong clothes they were making. Therefore patent number 139,121 was granted to Levi Strauss & Co. the logo of the company was first used on their jeans in 1886 and it is still used even up to today. In 1890 they had their original denim jean and it was one of the most famous jeans even up to the present date. In 1895 they introduced bicycle pants just before the p[assing on of Levis Strauss. After his passing his 4 nephews took over the business. One of the main activities of the company at this time was serving the poor and helping the needy and this was a very noble thing to do as it was the wish of the founder of the company (Olson, 2006).
After a while, there was an earthquake that destroyed its headquarters. They continued with their operation normally by opening temporary offices and the salaries of their workers continued normally. With time they opened new offices in Valencia. In 1908 they had the horse trademark registered and they began their global reach with sales in Australia and South Africa. During the 20th century, their development was very vast and fast. During its first quarter, it registered so many different types of trademarks. However, the main question comes into how they transitioned from work clothes to being worn as part of fashion (Downey, 2007).
One of the major contributing factors towards this was cowboys in the 1930s whereby authentic cowboys were wearing these jeans and therefore from then people began accepting these types of jeans as completely okay and normal to be worn as part of fashion.
However, all the time before 1930 jeans were only for men. therefore all the jeans which the company made in the period before 1934 none of them were for a woman. However, in 1930 the first pair of jeans for a woman was made. It was made with pre-shrunk denim and it consisted of a lot of men’s features. The company also got into some kind of problems during the war which was happening from 1941. This is because the company had to obey the war production board. This alongside other factors made the brand experience different environments(Vrontis, & Vronti, 2004).
In the 1950s however, the company experienced down moments as denim jeans were banned in schools. This was because denim was portrayed as juvenile delinquents in movies and tv shows. Therefore it was not allowed for the jeans to be worn in school because they were believed to show the bad influence and that every person who worn them was to get into the same bad behavior which was portrayed in the TVs and shows(Vrontis, & Vronti, 2004).
In 1954 with the introduction of the levis family line there was a huge transition as now what was once known as work only wear was turned into casual wear. This was very much welcomed by different people. The company continued with its efforts to provide clothing to all types of people and not only those who were working. Therefore in the 1980s they even made sports clothes for athletes in the Olympic Games.
History is something of great importance to Levis Strauss and co. for example in 1989 they documented the 150+ of the company and kept it neatly in their archives which are at the headquarters in san-Francisco. In 2011 the company introduced levis waterless which is a far much better type of jeans since the amount of water it uses in cleaning is very little as compared to other types of jeans produced before 2011. The company continues to exist and it was be stated to be one of the best companies when it comes to jeans (Olson, 2006).
The mission of the company is sustaining responsible commercial success as a global marketing company of branded apparel. The major tenets of the mission statement are balancing profitability and return on investment, they also enhance leadership and try as much as possible to make their products and services of the best quality. The vision focuses on informing people that they are the embodiment of their energies and events of their lives, it also states something to do with pioneering and therefore they can be stated as pioneers of jeans (Vrontis, & Vronti, 2004).
The first product made by the company was called blue jeans which currently are known as denim jeans. It was made from denim and it was riveted clothing. Most of the jeans and almost all the products of Levis Strauss and co. are qualified for fair trade. This is because the manner of making doesn’t hurt the people making them and it also appeals to the international regulations of production like creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers, transparency and accountability, fair trading practices, payment of a fair price for their products, ensuring no child labor or forced labor, commitment to non-discrimination, gender equity, and women’s empowerment, freedom of association, ensuring good working conditions, providing capacity building, promoting fair trade and respect to the environment.
Economically disadvantaged producers in this case can be referred to as the producers of cotton whom the company has to treat well. From history, the company has always treated the suppliers with maximum respect and especially those who are of lower economic ability and groups as long as they provide quality cotton to the company for the making of jeans. The company is also widely known for its accountability and openness. This means that statements and all other types of transactions are made one especially when accounting happens within the year. The company is also involved in fair trading since it does not hate or destroy competitors but rather competes with them favorably and the company that appeals to those it appeals to sells to them without much influence on the other small companies by such a big and old company (Costello & Reddy, 2020).
There is no reported instance of child labor in the work of this company and therefore it upholds children’s safety and protection. The costs of the jeans are fairly priced and therefore affordable to a large group of individuals.
In conclusion, this is one of the companies with the highest fair trade ranking. Even though every company has its own mistakes and negativities this company has tried to work and reduce that with time. Therefore it is one of the best apparel companies and specifically jeans.
References
Costello, M., & Reddy, S. L. (2020). Sustainability efforts of denim brands Mud Jeans and Levi Strauss & Co. Sustainability in Fashion, 1(1).
Downey, L. (2007). Levi Strauss and Co. Arcadia Publishing.
Olson, N. (2006). Levi Strauss and Blue Jeans. Capstone.
Preece, S., Fleisher, C., & Toccacelli, J. (1995). Building a reputation along the value chain at Levi Strauss. Long Range Planning, 28(6), 88-98.
Vrontis, D., & Vronti, P. (2004). Levi Strauss: an international marketing investigation. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.