Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero [84]
Yale University's Dr. José Delgado dramatized the effectiveness of electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) as a means of controlling behavior. He demonstrated that by "wiring" the brain of a fighting bull and merely pushing a button that transmits an electrical charge to the animal's brains, he can stop it in the middle of an enraged charge. He also established that repeated electrical stimulation diminishes a bull's natural aggressiveness. Similar experiments have shown that chemical stimulation of the brain (CSB) by the strategic placement of tiny tubes of time-released substances is similarly effective. Some people believe it would be desirable to use these techniques on criminals or mental patients or student with certain impediments to learning. Other see any such use as an Orwellian nightmare. What might be the dangers of the use of such techniques on humans? Might their use be regulated to minimize abuses?
Should the parents of students who attend private and parochial schools be allowed to deduct tuition expenses from their federal income tax returns? For several decades advocates of the idea have argued that fairness demands it because such parents already support the public schools through taxes and must at present bear an additional financial burden for exercising free choice over their children's education. Opponents argue that the proposal violates the principle of separation of church and state (at least in the case of parochial schools) and would harm the public school system.
the question of when, if ever, the government should have the right to remove children from their parents' custody without the parents' permission has long been a thorny legal and moral issue. Some believe there are many situations in which the state has that right; others believe there are few, if any, such situations. Should the government ever have that right? If so, when? If not, why not?
Top executives of large corporations often earn millions of dollars a year in salaries, bonuses, and benefits, while the vast majority of people who work for them earn modest wages, sometimes no more than the minimum hourly amount the government requires they receive. Some people believe that an economic system that permits such disparity to exist is wrong and should be changed. Others argue that no change is possible without stifling human initiative. How might the economic system be changed? Should it be changed?
In 1982, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that current and former presidents enjoy "absolute immunity" from lawsuits seeking monetary damages for misconduct in office. Justice Byron White, one of the four justices who opposed the decision, wrote this dissenting opinion: "[As a result of this decision] a president acting within the outer boundaries of what president normally do may, without liability, deliberately cause injury to any number of citizens even though he knows his conduct violates a statute or tramples on the constitutional rights of those whoa re injured."2 Do you share Justice White's opposition to the decision?
Because journalists serve the important function of collecting information for public dissemination, they have traditionally claimed the right to keep their sources of information confidential, even from the courts. That claim has been challenged many times in the courts, and reporters have on occasion been held in contempt of court and sent to jail for refusing to divulge their sources. In taking such action, judges have not denied the basic principle of confidentiality; they have merely asserted that it has definite limits. Do you agree with them?
Are video games harmful to young minds? C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general of the United States, believes they are.