Racism A Social Issue in the USA Essay Example

Racism A Social Issue in the USA Essay Example Racism A Social Issue in the USA Essay Racism A Social Issue in the USA Essay Essay Topic: African Religions and Philosophy In the Us Social Issues My Ideological Perspective: Disaffected Comfort Dondo-Dewey SOWK 281 December 5th, 2013 Dr. Katharine Hill Introduction The purpose of this paper is to critically identify and analyze how the multiple influences have shaped my Ideological world views on important social issues such as, poverty, racism, classism,immigration,obesity,crime and the Justice system as well as health care disparities. In this paper, I will identify how these worldview perspectives relate to some of the principles listed in the NASW Code of Ethics; Social work for social Justice and also the UN Declaration on Human Rights principles. Lastly, this paper attempts to identify any conflicts and or harmonies I possess towards the professional frameworks of social work. Religious and Socio-economical Perspectives Based on my responses to the political typology quiz, I am Disaffected, along with 11% of the American public. The Disaffected are a group of individuals that is highly critical of both government and business, while sympathizing with the poor by supporting social welfare programs. Immigration matters are a strong concern for this group. For the most part, the majority of this group believes that the country annot solve many of its important problems and they are conservative both religiously and socially. This group of people is comprised of people who are mostly financially stressed; nearly half describe their households as struggling and about two-thirds only have a high school education or less. 26% possess a US passport, which is below the national average. Interestingly, 23% of this group of people follow NASCAR racing compared to the national average of 33%. More disaffected is parents (44%). To a larger extend, the typology quiz was somewhat accurate; I do sympathize ith the poor and also support social welfare programs. On the contrary, however, I do entirely believe that country can solve its issues and I believe that I am a liberal socially and religiously. I believe my Ideological perspectives and values have been greatly influenced my religious and social upbringing; born and raised in a conservative, rich and very traditional family, I grew up looking at life from the lens of a socially, religiously, conservative and privileged perspective. Having said so, however, I have not always agreed with my fathers involvement in Zimbabwean politics and the corruption that specially the unequal distribution of wealth between those in politics and government and the average person in Zimbabwe. I have always had my own disagreements with the institution of dictatorship and patriarchy; I still believe that most of my young adult life, I have looked at life from a more conservative lens, but also questioned inequalities in my community. Changes in Perspectives Immigrating to the United States at a very young age forced me to live and experience other cultures and religions, especially while attending the College of Saint Catherine. Upon arriving at the College of Saint Catherine, my life changed ecause I was given the opportunity to gain exposure to life experiences that were taboo to my belief systems, including exposure to the LGBTQ community and other religious practices other than the Christian practice that I am familiar with; I have been exposed to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Atheism to name a few. Being a minority woman, for the first time, it was easy for me to associate with others from different cultures who were similar to myself; hence my ability to change my perspectives on some social, religious and also socio-economic issues. My views and my definition of poverty have changed since I moved to the United States. I used to have a limited knowledge of what it meant to be a minority group or to be poor. Having to deal with the triple Jeopardies of being female, black and an immigrant, I have endured issues like discrimination in the work place and realizing obvious income disparities and this has pushed me into the marginalized groups. Iceland and Wilson (2009), state that areas segregated by race and class frequently saddle poor people with high rent burdens, lack of access to housing, wealth, and housing health risks. All of these factors, as well as historic disenfranchisement, contribute to higher, largely entrenched poverty rate. Every year I have lived in the United States, I have encountered multiple experiences that have changed my perspectives on economic, socio-political and religious perspectives. My views on racism, poverty, and class to name a few have changed as I gain better understanding of my position in a society in which I am a minority. I used to believe that everyone can make it in the idea of the American dream if they only worked hard; in this same mindset, I used to think that those people who were living in poverty, were not trying hard enough but these views have changed with my own personal experiences. I now understand the systematic ways in which minorities are marginalized and are often under- represented in policy making and are somehow held back from higher paying positions making it difficult for certain populations to advance. NASW Code of Ethics UN Declaration of Human Rights According to the NASW (2008) value for Social Justice, the primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human wellbeing and to help meet the basic human needs of all people with a particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty. This is ne of the most important roles that social and poor while supporting social welfare systems, therefore agreeing with the NASW mission for the social work practice. This is accurate because I do sympathize with those who are less fortunate and the marginalized and vulnerable members of the society. According to the United each person needs for a healthy and comfortable life, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and other social services. People have the right to help if they are unable to work. Mothers and children should receive special care and help. This supports my views on those who are poor, vulnerable and marginalized. I believe that it is important to be an advocate for those who do not have the means to speak for themselves and become the middle -man between the resources they need to get and assist them getting those resources. As stated by the United Nations, I believe all human beings deserve an access to basic lifes needs like food, shelter, clothing and medical care. Conflicts Harmonies with professional frameworks of social work According to Stuart (2012), social work draws from many frameworks for practice, but some of these frameworks have had more influence on the profession of social work han others. Among the many different types of frameworks are the Ecosystem perspective, the Strengths perspective, cultural competence perspective, social work ethics and values, social work licensure, and social work practice expectations. Among these many frameworks of practice, I lean towards the strengths perspective and the social work ethics and values more than the cultural competency and the Ecosystems perspective for several reasons. In applying the Strengths perspective in social work practice, the assumption is that every individual, family, group or ommunity has some strength and focusing on them leads to growth and overcoming difficulties. I am in harmony with this perspective because it empowers the clients who in most cases do not have that sense of empowerment. I believe a long- term solution to helping others is not to simply give resources but to teach them how to access them and the strengths perspective seems to draw off of this thought. I do not strongly agree with the cultural competency perspective based on how the NASW defines it; Social workers should understand culture and its function in human ehavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures (NASW 2008). This idea seems to contradict the concept of social workers being learners from their clients. I do not believe that culture is stagnant, it keeps changing as suggested by Laird (1998bbecoming culturally competent is becoming increasingly challenging, he questions whether one can become competent in a culture that is going through constant change. For instance, trying to comprehend the culture of African American individuals, whose culture was defined through slavery, present day African Americans are trying to redefine their own culture based on the present day situation where we have the first African American president. This school of thought argues that instead of becoming competent in their clients cultures, social workers should be aware of their own cultures and be the informed not knowers, so that they can learn about their clients culture from that clients perspective (Laird(1998). I agree with the fact that one cannot learn about other peoples culture or traditions from simply reading or researching about it because within each culture, there are eparate individual families with diverse norms, therefore I disagree with the Cultural Competency based practice. Mo Ye Lee (2005), states that often in social work practice, there is a tendency to pathologize clients, requiring a diagnosis as part of the helping relationshiop. Lee suggests that as we go out to practice, it may be good to assume that not all the clients you will encounter have problems but maybe wrong. I agree with this idea because it seems like a powerful insightful philosophy. This is in essence the strengths -based approach and I am in agreement with this ramework of social work practice. Lastly, I am also in disagreement with the Ecosystems perspective in social work practice; it focuses on the interplay between the person and his or her environment. It seems to focus on the present environment and I think that a persons past experiences play a huge role in their present environment. Although it is true that an individuals environment influences their whole being, the Ecosystem theory seems to ignore the fact that people have a past and that may be the causative agent of the present environment and personal traits. I believe in a holistic approach to social work practice because people are complex and have different needs and wants. Conclusion In conclusion, my religious and cultural upbringing has greatly influenced how I look at the world, but I now must add my own personal life experiences how they can change ones worldview. Although I was raised in a privileged, politically and religiously conservative background, these views have changed over the years as I have had my own personal life experiences which have changed my definitions of some social issues like racism and poverty. As a result, this has increased my illingness to work towards the elimination of some of these inequalities in the society. As Nelson Mandela stated in his popular Long Walk to Freedom Speech, people are taught to hate but they can also learn to love and love is easier than hate so people can easily learn to do the right thing. I was raised in one way that molded my perspectives on so many topics, but I also learned from my environment over time and this has changed many of my world views. References Dean, R. G. (2001). The Myth of Cross-cultural Competence . Families in Society:The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 623-625. Marla-Berg-Weger. (2013). Social Work and Social Welfare. New York : Routledge. Nations, U. (2013, August 23). www. unitednations. org. Retrieved from www. un. org/humanrights/clause25: http:// unitednation. rog Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 623-625 Dean, R. G. (2001). The Myth of Cross-cultural Competence . Families in Society:The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 623-625. Marla-Berg-Weger. (2013). Social Work and Social Welfare. New York : Routledge. Nations, U. (2013, August 23). www. unitednations. org. Retrieved from www. un. org/humanrights/clause25: http://unitednation. rog