LiberalOrConservativeQuiz.org

9. Drugs

A. Though many drugs should remain illegal, some drugs including marijuana are already used so widely and responsibly that they should become legal. Marijuana use has fewer negative effects than alcohol use, with many people finding this recreational drug helping them cope with various problems and conditions. If adults want to use marijuana, they should have the liberty to do so without fear of legal prosecution, whether they get a slip from the doctor or not. When drugs are made illegal, the market for them is unregulated and untaxed, which puts users in greater danger and leaves government without needed revenue. Using police and courts to fight a drug problem that is defined to include drugs that are not truly problematic is to waste valuable public resources. Let adults do what they wish, and punish those selling drugs to kids just like we do now with alcohol.

B. From crime to addiction, damaged health to damaged relationships, drug use is a costly and debilitating problem widely prevalent in modern societies. If any drugs, including so-called “soft drugs” like marijuana, become as available and as legal as alcohol, this will undoubtedly result in many more people, including many teenagers, using drugs. The effect marijuana has on the body and mind of a teenager is far greater than it has on adults. In many cases, marijuana is a gateway drug to more serious drugs. Though medical marijuana should be legal and punishments for personal drug use should be reduced or eliminated under certain circumstances, making drugs including marijuana legal will only serve to make our society more addicted, more apathetic, and more fractured.

Which argument is, overall, more persuasive to you?
A
B

10. Debt and Spending

A. Our nation is nearing economic collapse due to out-of-control increases in government spending. Our budgets are not balanced, our expenditures far outpace our revenue year after year, and the interest we pay on our debt is crippling our economy. Fiscal responsibility is lacking in our government, and politicians are all-too-eager to offer more entitlements to voters, not realizing that we are burying ourselves and our children under a mountain of debt. The size of government is growing every year, more and more areas of our economy are intruded upon by politicians, and fiscal responsibility is not in sight. There is waste, inefficiency, and fraud wherever government takes over areas better served by the private sector, with public programs promised to cost a certain amount ending up costing multiple times the initial estimate. Unless we run our public finances more like a responsible household or business, we will soon be experiencing financial meltdown.

B. Alarmist predictions about our nation’s financial health only serve to enable some politicians to cut back on social and environmental programs. The national debt would be much smaller if rich people were made to contribute more of their earnings to help support these vital programs. There is room for spending cuts, but not in programs that help those in need. Government should not be analogized to a business—spending on health, education, courts, the environment, etc. can’t be compared to the expenses of a private business. Much of our spending actually consists of investments in our country’s future and the well-being of our people, and when you invest you often have to borrow and carry a debt. When government increases its involvement in healthcare, education, job training, research, infrastructure, etc. all of us end up benefitting in the long-run, as does our economy.

Which argument is, overall, more persuasive to you?
A
B

11. Race

A. The evils stemming from our nation’s long history of discrimination still plague us today. Though we have come a long way toward greater equality, there is much work to be done before racism is eradicated. We know this because there are many lingering socio-economic differences between various ethnic and racial groups, with some groups faring much better than others. We also know that in the criminal justice system whites fare better than members of other races. We see as well that in many businesses minorities are not being promoted to management positions nearly in the percentage indicated by their presence in the general population. Even at top colleges and universities, we find that diversity is on the decline now that schools are doing away with affirmative action. Our nation has a great debt to pay for the many years of oppression against people of color, and until we see more equality of outcomes, it is not time to let our guard down against the insidious disease that is racism.

B. Certain racial groups have endured widespread legal and social discrimination up until a few decades ago. Since then, however, effective policies have been in place to remedy such discrimination, to great success. While no society is made up of individuals who are all entirely free of discriminatory or prejudiced views, a person who labels our current society as a “racist society” is clearly slandering it. The fact that, on average, not all ethnic and racial groups enjoy the same level of success and achievement is not due to any discriminatory laws, policies, or views held by other groups or the country as a whole. Rather, the breakdown of traditional social institutions, increases in out-of-wedlock births, the absence of responsible fathers in the home, and a subculture espousing a value system that distances such groups from a sensible course of social integration are all far more explanatory of disparate outcomes than any perceived discriminatory policies. Giving preferential treatment to members of groups whose ancestors were discriminated against long ago serves to discriminate against all those who are now competing for the same positions and are more qualified. A soft bigotry of low expectations is created when we lower standards for various minority groups, which also renders achievement by all members of such groups suspect. We should all focus on our shared humanity and our universal values, and otherwise be race-blind and color-blind.

Which argument is, overall, more persuasive to you?
A
B

 
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© 2016 by Dean Michaels