Contemporary problems of mankind

Intro: I would like to talk about global problems of today. Global problems are problems, which are common for all people in the world. There are many global problems all over the world. I think that the biggest problems are issues of the environment, but environmental problems are next final-exam question. Other big problems are problems of society – unemployment, homeless, drug and alcohol abuse, racism and so on.
Problems of society Firstly, we live in a society that promotes materialism and so we perpetuate this particular malady by instilling bad habits into our children. People teach their children that the measure of success and happiness in life is how much stuff you have, which I don’t like. Kids naturally want things – especially if their friends have something similar and mainly small kids can be very aggressive. Kids are also fat and getting fatter. Recent numbers show that 20% of American children are obese. Kids are spending more time sitting in front of a TV/computer screen than running around outside. Because of shifting and unstable economy, people can lose their job even if they are good in it and graduates fresh from university cannot actually find it. According to International Labour Organization report, more than 200 million people globally or 6% of the world’s workforce were without a job in 2012. Unemployment is one of many reasons of homelessness. Homeless have no home, family, money, they live in a street, a lot of them are able to find the job but they don’t want it. Many of them are alcoholics or drug addicts and they only beg for money, but some of them play for example music in the street to earn money. However, drug addiction is problem especially with teenagers. It usually starts as fun or a new experience but sometimes it finishes as horror. Drugs are very expensive and the „victims“ have no money so they have to steal, women have to cruise. It’s very tough to stop it. Most of them are not able to do it. We can meet it also in small towns, such as Poděbrady. Only a few weeks ago, the gang of pervitine and heroin makers was arrested here in Kluk and in Milovice. Human rights are basic “privileges” that everyone should receive. Not being discriminated because of your race, gender or religion, and living free from torture are a few basic human rights. Primarily Muslim countries like Iran are often accused of not granting rights to women and countries with an indigenous population like
Australia often have conflicts over the rights of the natives versus non-natives. Countries that have problems with human rights include North Korea, Sudan and China. This is problem also in our country. The Czechs have prejudice against Vietnamese and gypsies (Roma population), but to be honest, I also thing that many of gypsies are only lazy bums. Poverty is a worldwide problem that is the result of, and produces, many other problems. Countries with a poor educational system often have poorer residents. People living in poverty often commit crimes to support themselves or their families, which leads to unsafe cities. Poor people don’t often have enough to eat, which leads to malnutrition (getting sick from not eating the right types of food) and starvation. Poor countries also may not have a good health care system, which leads to a population that is ill and has many diseases. We see these problems in many African countries like Chad and Nigeria, as well as in Central American countries like Guatemala, South American countries like Brazil, Asian countries like Nepal, and countries closer.
Wars and terrorism There are different reasons for war: sometimes two groups are fighting for control of a country and sometimes their dispute is based on their religions. We are all familiar with the problems in Afghanistan and Iraq. Fighting between the government and militias is occurring in Somalia and innocent civilians are being killed in the fighting or are forced to leave their homes for safer areas. We’ve seen a rise in terrorist acts committed by people who believe they are defending their religion. The attacks in the US in September 2001, when the buildings of the World Trade Centre were crashed by 2 airs and about 3 000 people died, or in Britain in July 2005 are two examples – but people in Indonesia, Spain, Israel and the Palestinian territories also have suffered from terrorism.
Illnesses Modern medicine has done much to eradicate and cure disease, but it has failed in some areas. Of those areas, many people in the world suffer at least one disease that cannot be cured every year – the common cold. However, many illnesses that are more serious are incurable, too. Cancer refers to a group of more than 100 distinct diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer affects one in every three persons born in developed countries and is a major cause of sickness and death throughout the world. Significant improvements in cancer treatment have been made since the middle of the 20th century, mainly through a combination of timely and accurate diagnosis, selective surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapeutic drugs. Such advances actually have brought about a decrease in cancer deaths (at
least in developed countries), and grounds for further optimism are seen in laboratory investigations into elucidating the causes and mechanisms of the disease. However, radiation therapy and chemotherapeutic drugs aren’t perfect solution, because they very often damage peoples in other way. AIDS is the byname of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome – a transmissible disease of the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV slowly attacks and destroys the immune system, the body’s defense against infection, leaving an individual vulnerable to a variety of other infections and certain malignancies that eventually cause death. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection, during which time fatal infections and cancers frequently arise. Present medicine cannot cure AIDS, it can only extend period between infection and outbreak.