What Types of Social Conflict Exist in American Culture Today?
In America today, a slew of social issues including police brutality, racial equality, gender inequality, classist and LGBTQ rights challenge millions of people. Many of these problems have been ongoing for decades but are only receiving the awareness they deserve in the 2010s.
Currently, police brutality (specifically against Black Americans) is filling up most news headlines. All over the country, there have been cases of police officers shooting and killing unnarmed citizens, usually of African American descent. Over the past few years, more and more sources have been covering this issue. With the tragedies in Ferguson still fresh in the minds of many, in 2014 there were riots and protests in major US cities, resulting in arson, destruction and officers leaving their positions.
Feminist issues are also on the uprise, with recent tragedies such as female celebrity nude photo leaks, the Santa Barbara shooting (#YesAllWomen) and the Steubenville rape, to name a few among many.
LGBTQ issues have been growing more widespread over the past decade as well, with same-sex marriage being a leading factor in governmental elections. Today, fourteen states in America are still struggling to have same-sex marriage legalized.
Recently, the battle for cannabis legalization has increased as well. With medical marijuana now legalized in 23 states, the rest are slowly catching up with anticipated laws to decrease punishments (fines instead of jailtime in some states, for example) for possession of the substance.
