In times of tragedy, what role can social media play? That’s an especially pertinent question for those doing social media marketing.  For advertisers, what should be done after a tragedy like the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon…or the October storm that took lives and devastated communities across the Northeast?  According to one media expert, “Sometimes, saying nothing at all speaks volumes.”

In a 2009 Rasmussen poll, Americans under the age of 30 were almost evenly divided as to whether they preferred capitalism or socialism.  What that survey may point to is an America that is not dominated by giant corporations, but at the same time is not dominated by socialist bureaucrats.  One political economist and historian feels we can deal with the problems we face as a society.  We just have to think out of the proverbial box and go beyond traditional capitalism and traditional socialism.

Almost a quarter of the jobs in the United States pay only $22,000, which is below the poverty line for a family of four.  At the same time, the income of the top one percent went up 275 percent between 1979 and 2007, and the income of the top one-tenth of one percent increased 390 percent.  What that means is that in 2010, the average salary for CEOs on the S&P 500 was over $1 million – and it was over $11 million when all forms of compensation are examined. The question that poses is how can some be so rich, while others are so poor?

The toxic effects of lead have been known for some time.  Despite that knowledge we still have some half a million children in this country affected by lead.  Out of this emerge two questions…why has this been allowed to happen and what other toxic substances are doing the very same thing?

In 1920, W.E.B. DuBois wrote an essay called The Souls of White Folks.  Within that early exploration of race, DuBois said: My poor, un-white thing! Weep not nor rage. I know, too well, that the curse of God lies heavy on you. Why? That is not for me to say, but be brave! Do your work in your lowly sphere, praying the good Lord that into heaven above, where all is love, you may, one day, be born--white!  On today’s Perspective program a look at just what it means to be white today.

Every four years, the United States chooses a President and Vice President.  But what many tend to forget is that when we go to the polls to cast our ballot we are not actually electing the President and Vice President.  The popular vote simply picks electors for the Electoral College.  Critics of the College say it is simply undemocratic and using it gives swing states, the smaller states, unequal influence in the election process. The flip side is that the winner-take-all process favors the larger states.

Few Americans realize that the United States doesn’t do very well when ranked against other developed countries around the world for its standard of living. In fact, the U.S. ranks 17th out of 22 countries in what is called the Human Poverty Index. Sweden tops the list, while the U.S. follows such countries as Finland, Canada, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Many Americans see the U.S. Constitution and issues arising from it in black and white.  They often insist the writers of that hallowed document are on their side…that the document has all the answers for today’s problems.  One author and historical researcher says that is simply not the case…that what many folks want bears little relation to historical facts.

Over 100,000 people die every year in hospitals from preventable medical errors or infections – and at least one-and-a-half million are somehow hurt. A journalist and healthcare expert says those numbers could be changed dramatically if the medical community adopted a system used by the airline industry…Crew Resource Management.

At the height of the anti-communist hysteria in the 1950s, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case from Oklahoma involving a loyalty oath for public employees.  In striking down the oath, on what were technical grounds, the high court said it was simply too broad.  It was a ruling that came at a time when the court was rejecting nearly every First Amendment challenge to the ongoing political witch hunts.  However, the crushing of political dissent at the time can still be felt today.

Despite the fact that the United States has a Black president, one scholar and civil rights expert says remnants of our racist past continue to have an impact on much of what we do today.  We tend to forget or cover-up the fact that slavery was at one time official policy of this country.  We also tend to ignore the fact that segregation in housing and schools still exists.

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard arguments on the constitutionality of "preclearance" standards mandated by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Preclearance mandates contained in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act still require U.S. Department of Justice approval over voting law changes based on discrimination witnessed during the 1964 election.  The challenge to the 1965 law is not the only problem confronting the voting rights enjoyed by citizens of the United States…voting rights that helped make this nation what it is today.

Knowing what to do during an emergency is an important part of being prepared – especially when seconds count.  Every year Kansans start preparing for severe weather season and the threat of tornadoes.  Yet, tornadoes are not the only danger and are not the number one killer.  Besides tornadoes, severe weather season means Kansans need to be on the outlook for lightning, straight-line winds, floods – especially flash floods – and hail.

Education officials around the country have tried in various ways to improve the education received by American children. They have done such things as increasing the number of charter schools and using standardized test scores in evaluating student performance. These policy changes are also advocated by a group called Students-First. In a recent report released by the advocacy organization, they graded the various states in how they fall in line with Students-First’s goals. Kansas got a D-minus – and the State Commissioner of Education is a little frustrated with the grade.

Just before the inauguration, House Republicans backed down from their hardline fiscal stance. They said they would agree to lift the federal government’s statutory borrowing limit for three months, but with one requirement – that both chambers of Congress pass a budget during that time to clear the way for negotiations on long-term deficit reduction. This move by Republicans seemed to significantly reduce the threat of a federal government default in coming weeks, but the United States remains mired in a fiscal morass.

Bullying does not have to be an inevitable part of growing up.  The results of a University of Washington effort may give school officials across the country hope, since a program the university developed seems to counter a number of different kinds of bullying behavior.

Capitalism has always been seen as one of the great strengths of the United States, stimulating productivity and innovation.  However, one legal expert feels that unless capitalism is reformed and controlled, the rich will simply get richer and the poor will get poorer and the United States will continue down the current road of economic malaise.  He proposes an economic rule of law to displace crony capitalism.

The United States seems to be mired in many different arenas.  The U.S. faces challenges in joblessness, failing schools, healthcare, poverty, income inequality, indebtedness, and war…to name just a few.  The United States has the world’s highest Gross Domestic Product.  Despite that we have one of the world’s worst infant mortality rates, students don’t compare well with comparable nations, and one out of six Americans is poor…truly poor. The question this country is confronted with is twofold: how do we face all of these challenges and how do we fix all these challenges?

Despite what many believe there is a racial schism in American society.  It is a schism that hits hardest on society’s most vulnerable citizens…Black women in abusive relationships.  The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world.  Of the women incarcerated, over 80 percent have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, incest, assault by a police officer, or assault by a co-defendant who uses that violence in various ways against them.  And Black women are a population where violence, in one way or another, has been concentrated.

Nationwide, nearly 8 million of America’s children currently live in high-poverty areas.  The numbers come from the Annie E. Casey Kids Count Data book, which was released earlier this year.  In Kansas, according to numbers released this past November, child poverty is also on the rise.  According to data from 2011, about 21 percent of Kansas Children live in poverty…which is up from some 18 percent four years earlier.

At one point full employment was one of the mainstays of economic policy in much of the industrialized world.  One economist believes the United States, which is confronting the highest level of unemployment since the Great Depression, needs to return to full employment as government policy.  He says we have got to get over the idea that the most important issue in the economy is the fiscal deficit…the so-called fiscal cliff.

When it comes to healthcare, the attention of most Americans is on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, perhaps better known as Obamacare, and its future impact on their lives.  But there is another aspect of healthcare that ought to be of equal concern and that is patient safety.  A study done a number of years ago found that there were some 100-thousand deaths each year in hospitals that were attributable to medical errors.  In addition, there were one-point-seven million adverse events.

There have always been criticisms of the nuclear power industry for being too costly, dangerous, and unstable.  But now some unfamiliar criticisms are coming to the surface.  Such things as seismic risks, solar flares, impacts on indigenous lands and people, and a Nuclear Regulatory Commission that seems to takes its lead from the nuclear power industry.  One critic says it is time to replace nuclear power with a “Renewable Renaissance,” combined with conservation programs that can help clean the air and cool the planet.

Estimates say that some 29-percent of women in Kansas have been the victim of sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.  The fact is that women are disproportionately affected by domestic violence.  Earlier this year, a report was released that documented that local domestic violence programs are meeting the needs of the vast majority of those seeking their help.  At the same time, the study also found the state of the economy continues to have a negative effect on survivors.

For over two decades, Kansas has been working to change the way the Cooperative Extension Service in the state is organized and run.  It is an effort to make the organization, which is often stretched thin, more efficient and more effective in bringing educational programs and services to the people of Kansas.  To do that, the Extension Service has assisted in the consolidation of some County offices into District offices.

The United States has almost continuously been involved in some kind of conflict since the beginning of the twentieth century.  One expert says much of the time this country was involved in a war it was enabled simply by the inattention of the American people.  In addition, because war is thought of as exceptional and temporary, certain aspects, such as torture, detention without trial, and a loss of civil rights are more easily justified.

Most societies place some kind of value on skin color.  It has not always been that way, but increasingly over the last millennium, skin color has taken on more and more social meanings. Meanings that have become the basis for labeling, judging, stereotyping, discriminating, and enslaving.

Today’s immigrants face tremendous challenges…and unlike many of their predecessors are having a great deal of difficulty integrating into American society.  A recent study of the lives of thirty-seven foreign-born Dominican and Colombian parents and their sixty-seven adult offspring found that most parents were optimistic that they would succeed in this country, but worried that they might never be accepted as Americans.

Flu season is upon us, and one medical expert says just about everyone needs a flu shot. We need that shot to not only to protect ourselves from a serious disease, but to protect those around us. The flu affects everyone differently and ranges from a simple fever and body aches in one person to death in another.  And, as a general rule, it takes about two weeks for that shot to become effective.

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving affirmative action in higher education. One legal expert says in Fischer versus the University of Texas there is the potential to undermine efforts to increase diversity on college campuses nationwide.  In fact, he says this is not just bad news for racial diversity on college campuses; it is bad news for all types of diversity on college campuses.

Mammograms have been viewed by many as the silver bullet in the fight against breast cancer. However, one expert says women and the medical community have got to weigh the benefits of early detection of aggressively malignant tumors against the risks of unnecessary treatments that result from the identification of slow-growing, non-life-threatening cancers.  He says there is something very wrong in the way we have been thinking of mammograms as a preventative tool.

We often hear how poorly American students fare when compared with kids from other countries.  However, one educator says trying to compare ourselves with other countries is very problematic, and in most cases simply not valid.  But having said that, there are major problems in the American education system, and his answer is the multi-year elementary classroom.

Americans have long-term savings worth some 30-trillion dollars.  Those savings are invested in everything from stocks and bonds to mutual funds, pension funds and more.  But one economist and attorney says that not even one percent of that money is invested in local small businesses.  And the small business sector is where roughly half the jobs and half the output in the private economy comes from.  He says investors can put money into local businesses and regional economies and still profit in the process.

In a society where many are living longer, the question of retirement is an important one.  What plans are being made for retirement?  And is retirement really necessary?  If not, what jobs are available and can the retiree do them?  One company in Massachusetts offers some interesting lessons about the value of older workers…a company where the median age is 74.

Overall, the state of Kansas ranks 16th on the well-being of its kids.  But according to the 2012 Kids Count Data book, the state ranks in the bottom half of states in the number of kids who do not have health insurance. In fact, 60,000 Kansas children do not have health insurance…putting the state 30th in the nation. In addition, 18 percent of Kansas kids are living in poverty – a 20 percent increase from 2005.