Believing and Doubting

I will explain the Believing and Doubting assignment in class on Wednesday, but below are the statements you may choose from. (Note: You may also write your own statement as long as it is problematic, significant, and interesting.) This assignment (2 pages) is due on Friday when you come to class.

1. Home schooling is just as beneficial to a young person as public schooling.
2. It should be illegal to use a cell phone while driving.
3. To help fight terrorism and promote public safety, individuals should be willing to give up some of their rights.
4. College students who know what they want to do for a career should be able to skip general education requirements.
5. Students and teachers should not be allowed to communicate with each other via social networking sites like Facebook.
6. In recent years, advertising has made enormous gains in portraying women as strong, independent, and intelligent.
7. There should be a tax on unhealthy foods, similar to current taxes on tobacco and alcohol.
8. Potential employers should be able to reject job candidates because of tattoos, piercings, or extreme hairstyles.
9. Drivers of high-consumption vehicles (SUVs, muscle cars, big trucks, etc.) should pay an energy tax.
10. In order to decrease our dependence on foreign sources of oil, we should increase drilling off-shore and in the ANWR province of Alaska.
11. If there is a law I believe to be immoral or unjust, I should refuse to follow it.
12. High schools should censor what kind of reading material is available to students.
13. Performance-enhancing drugs should be legalized and regulated in professional sports.
14. Grades are an effective means of motivating students to do their best work.
15. Child vaccinations for measles, chicken pox, hepatitis, H1N1, etc. should be mandatory.
16. We should be able to adapt the United States Constitution to meet the needs of the 21^stCentury.
17. Illegal immigrants should be deported.
18. Testing medications, beauty products, and weapons on animals is cruel and should be banned.
19. Whoever gets the most votes in a presidential election should be elected. We should do away with the electoral college system.
20. In order to save money, we should cancel the space program and focus on our own planet.