Personal Blogs

  Well my journey into Social science has ended for the time being. It has taught me so me much.

It has taught me that, societies needs structure  but how we implement them, is  a complex task and there will always be winners and losers. It has also assisted me with my understanding of context perceptions and how words play an enormous part with our understanding.  It has challenged me with how l feel about society and here are some of the  questions and thoughts that have sprung into my mind on this  wonderful journey.

 Rights, a good  example, how do we perceive what is right  ? We all have different assumptions and perceptions of  rights. This is because we are shaped by culture, beliefs, division  and status.  

What right do others  have  to decided that all those that cannot work should  be penalized by sanctions ?  What right do others have to decide  what entitlements and benefits should be given or taken away to those  wanting to educate themselves?   What right   do companies and institutions have to use closed questions within surveys to get the desired outcome ? What right do  Dr's have  to make people feel inadequate  in relation to knowing  their  own bodies when  unwell ? What right do we have to assume that  people with wealth have it all ?   And so the list goes on. As human beings it is in our nature to be inquisitive, it is also in our nature to feel indignant for someone else to decide for us, it is also natural that we  judge and presume instantly, what we are not good at is accepting  criticism or accepting our  point view can  be challenged, how do we or can overcome this  as a society ? 

 Society today feels like it is in a rush to dismiss, assume and blame so that we can continue with our own agendas, and that all adds to the health and well being of  society. We  are all individuals  and although  there needs to be structure which can be done collectively, in society, we also have to be mindful that there a certain issues that cannot be determined by  the collective.   We all have varying circumstances yet it is assumed for convenience we can all be categorised, into perceived pigeon holes that appear to be outdated and not fit for purpose. We need to be able to come together to discuss with those that are effected by the issues and try to create a new format. We need to be able to educate in a structured way so that there is a better understanding of society past and present . Society has to be more tolerant of the past and try  to gain a perspective of  past through the eyes of the past and not the present.  Constant, criticism of the past will not let us move on,  but keep us going round  in a never ending circle. We need to stop being abhorrent about the past. WE need to understand  that  issues are generational. Issues  that surround  the  stigmas of the past  are still present due to generational beliefs  and the consequence of the  past still has a bearing on them today.  It is great that we are more open and can talk about these issues, however the stigma  still remains for some and to progress there needs to be discussion about what resources are  need to be implemented to assist with moving on.  The words we use have such an effect on us , they can promote ,fear, anger confidence and happiness , this can and does effect our well-being depending on our perception and the  context. that they are used in.

It appears to me  the use of the word 'Well- Being' has become the ' in' the  word, that is manipulated  by some to sell products  for a quick fix, and  used by some  companies for a patronizing stance by issuing a phone number for employees to call .  Well- being can not happen with quick fixes . Society needs to change to benefit all. As with all good things it can take  time but perhaps we could start by actually  alleviating blame culture, having job roles that are  defined and specific to their role and not encompassing everything else including the kitchen sink.  A few to kick off with, teacher = teaching, police= policing delivery driver =delivery driver, not responsible for being , policeman social worker etc. catch my drift ? 

 I have found it interesting also to see how much we do not take into consideration past history when it come to the welfare of our aging population. We totally assume and connect their behaviour to the present and although we are good at referring to the past with the older generation, when it comes to them  needing help we can assume that we can if they say they are are ok we have to accept it.   However being born at time when the cultural landscape and society had different values , many have come from a background where asking for help was demonised and considered a weakness and of course stigma ruled the day.  We need to explore how we can overcome this and to able to find a way to say it is good to ask for help.

 Class division, exploitation, power, status, equality, diversity and stigma  will never be eradicated because we are all individuals and that is human nature, however we  need to educate to understand, we need to talk  to those that are effected by the issues,  to be able to understand and discuss, to create surveys that are open and spend the time  to actually understand issues. We need to tolerate and  be more tolerant . There will never be a specific answer to any question and we may not get all the things we want  but we can educate to understand.

So many questions still !  Back to European History next, . Good luck  to all with EMA's and Exams, onward and upward !