The Big Question

Recently I was assigned Assistive Reproductive Technology for a science projective. I've been researching it, and to my surprise, it's actually quite interesting. Some of the articles I've been reading raise interesting ethical questions, like, " Does everyone have the right to have biological children? If they do, should we pay for them to have those children?".  I started thinking about that question a lot, and because I'm me, I veered off topic a little bit. Suddenly the question turned into "What should the government pay for so that its citizens are happy?  Do we as a country have a responsibility for everyone to live a healthy and happy life?"

It would be nice to say that the answer is yes, but as usual, money and politics complicates things. For one, not everyone has the same idea of happiness. To some people happiness might involve everyone who wants an abortion to have one, but to others it might mean an abortion-less world. Also, if the government pays for everyone to receive free assistance with their reproductive issues, we could become entangled in a religious and ethnical issue. 

That said, I still believe that everyone has the right to free healthcare. Healthcare doesn't have to provide coverage for IVF, but it should at least cover yearly doctor's appointments, live-saving surgeries, etc. I understand that the right to free healthcare comes at a cost, however it's a cost that we're already paying for. Despite the fact that America doesn't provide free healthcare for its people, it spends more money than any other country on health care. 

Image courtesy of www.impactlab.net
Poor little fella doesn't understand it either

Think what you want to think, but I'm set in my opinion on this issue. I'm lucky enough that I have really good healthcare, however not everyone is. I don't believe that it is at all fair or right for someone to die because they can't pay for medical care.

Image courtesy of annarose.net.au
Everyone loves cute things

See how cute those penguins look, huddled for warmth, supporting each other? If only society could be like penguins. 

The article that sparked my idea for this post: Penn State: Probing Question

Happy Thanksgiving & Around the World With Photos

Happy Turkey Day!

I suppose by now most of you have figured out that I'm not really blogging about international politics. I'm just blogging about... well, I really don't know. Life? Random events? Poverty. 

Eh. Doesn't matter. 

Have a turkey: 

Image courtesy of  Earth911.com

Don't you think those little turkeys are adorable? I think it would be cute to do something like that for Christmas too, except with reindeer or elves.

Anyways, I didn't come here to write about turkeys. Instead I'm here to talk about things I'm grateful for. Whenever I can't get to sleep my mum always tells me to count my blessings. Last night, curled up in bed, I did just that. I came up with quite the list (okay, not really. I went to sleep after about two minutes). 

1. My brother

He might be really annoying, but sometimes he does the sweetest things. Take last night for example. We lay on his bed and read our books together (Nick's reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer and I'm reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell). When I proceded to leave to go finish my homework, he jumped off the bed and attached himself to my leg, making it almost impossible for me to leave. I love siblings. 

2. Books

Anyone who knows me knows that I love reading. Without books... I would be lost. Books are just amazing. They take you different places, they give you new experiences. With that said, some books are not just my cup of tea. Cough, the Outsiders, cough, cough. 

3. Smartphones
I don't know how I ever survived without my iPhone. I love using it to quickly Google things, read books, check the news, etc, etc. I know people believe that iPhone's are silly, but I think that in today's world, they are a necessity.

In other news, I thought that it would be fun to show you some of my favorite photos from around the world. I find that looking at these photos gives me a better world perspective (and no, none of them are not of starving Indian children).

Image courtesy of Vijugi
Beautiful German castle near Munich

Image courtesy of Telegraph
Beach in Australia, near where my Grandmother lives

Image courtesy of National Geographic
Afghan girl 

Image courtesy of Carhoots.com
Iceland in the wintertime 

There you have it! Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving week.