Monthly Archives: December 2019

What is the Brian Drain

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The brain drain in its simplest form is the movement of intelligent educated people from one country to the other, leaving that original country without that individual who could have made a difference or improved society there. This is a problem that first came to my attention when I was able to meet the president of Slovakia and at this event, there was a young girl giving a presentation on this topic. I suddenly became very intrigued because of the personal connection it ensued. My dad immigrated from Slovakia to America in the 80s and depending on your standards, I would say that he is a fairly successful person. Raising a family of 4 and living in Naperville cant be easy. As soon as I made this connection to what the speaker was telling me, I couldn’t help but think that my own father might have contributed to the brain drain in Slovakia. It’s not like I’m holding it against him or anything, I love my life and everything I get to do, but this was just fascinating. 

I was able to use this connection that I made in my final project first-semester junior year, I loved what I was learning and was very motivated to work on it, figuring out more and more of what I could do and the origins of this problem. 

What I learned when doing my research was pretty fascinating. As I defined earlier, the problem is that people are leaving the country, without making any sorts of economic improvements. According to the Slovak Spectator, “‘more than 300,000 Slovaks work abroad either short or long term, while an additional about 30,000 Slovaks are studying abroad’ (Slovak Spectator). With this many educated people leaving the country, there is no certainty that they will come back. Joining the workforce is very common and ‘almost 70 percent of the respondents are preparing to stay abroad indefinitely’ (Slovak Spectator)” (Jakub Siska). Because all these intelligent working people are leaving the country, they won’t be able to contribute any growth to the country, and that’s really a shame. I’m all for people going on and creating the best experiences for themselves, but it’s just sad to see a whole country take the consequences. 

The main solution that I have come up with is to spread awareness and promote business exchange from Slovakia to other countries. This way, there will be more people getting better jobs and opportunities in Slovakia so there will be no need to move. There’s a ton of resources there and plenty of space so land isn’t the problem except that it is landlocked. But Slovakia’s lead export is automobiles and they build for tons of different companies like Land Rover, Jaguar, Kia, etc so especially with the uprise of electric cars, Slovakia could fit pretty well into this system. 

But on the other hand, this is an almost unsolvable problem, people are going to chase their dreams and its unfortunate that people are leaving their home country, but it’s hard to put myself in those shoes since I was born and raised in America, the place where most people want to end up.

 

“Brain Drain Of Slovakia Goes On – Spectator.Sme.Sk.” Spectator.sme.sk. N. p., 2019. Web. 14 Dec. 2019.

 

Book Review: We All Looked Up

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We All Looked Up is a fiction piece written by Tommy Wallach which explains the deep underlinings of life of how most people don’t fulfill it because of their misunderstanding in what to appreciate and what’s important. The book makes the characters in the book and the reader answer hard questions for a teenager. Like, what would you do if the world was going to end? This is something everyone has thought of but never that seriously because it seems so improbable. But Wallach makes us think about this question and dive into it even deeper. What’s even important? Were not going to live forever. Is it worth it? These are the scary reality check moments that you’ll get reading this book. 

The characters provide an almost cliche feel to the book. There’s Anita the goody-two-shoes who grew up perfect with rich parents but wants to break free. Eliza the more rebellious, socially unacceptable girl who does not have a good image in the eyes of parents. Peter, the perfect jock, whos looking for something different in his life. And Andy, the slacker who doesn’t seem to care about a thing but has something more to him. All these typical high school stereotypes coming together because of one event, the world ending. It’s really predictable but the way they interact and all become friends under one reason is quite interesting to follow.  You could make a comparison to any other high school book or story but this one’s different, because it’s so dark. Most stories are meant to seem perfect but this one is full of chaos which I find refreshing. 

For my review, I decently liked this book. I came in knowing nothing about it because it was recommended and loaned to me. But I wasn’t a fan of how “girly” it felt at times. I’m usually not a fiction person, I like reading about real things that have happened or are happening. But I gave this book a shot and was not disappointed with the thinking it made me do. Sometimes taking the pessimistic view on certain topics like a living, for example, can be interesting if you’re not afraid to think about it all. So for my purposes, it served itself. I really do think anyone can read this book and find something that they enjoy from it, but it also takes a certain taste to follow through with the whole book, for me, I kind of got exhausted by some of the themes and reoccurring ideas. It just felt a little long for 370 pages. 

Overall very interesting book, I’ve never read something that encompasses the pessimistic view on life so well and in such a way that high schoolers can relate. As sort of mentioned earlier, this usually isn’t my style but if you interpret it in your own way you can have fun with the deeper meanings.

Should we Keep the Death Penalty?

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The death penalty, a very controversial and important topic nowadays. With more and more people speaking out against the moral issues with taking any person’s life, it’s hard to stray away from the idea that it might actually be necessary. I understand that this is a sensitive topic, but there is no use in ignoring it. So I’ve been compiling facts and ideas to figure out where I stand on the issue. Whether it’s for or against it. 

First, it just seems wrong. Taking any person’s life is a hard thing to wrap your head around. Even with these serial killers, I still can’t figure out if a person deserves to die. I want to say that they do but that is a big decision to make. There also is a misconception with the “satisfaction” that the family of a victim might feel when their family member’s killer is put on death row. It would seem that the family member would reach a place of peace knowing that the terrible person that took everything away from them is now gone for good and can’t hurt anyone else. But that’s not the case. Research by Marilyn P. Armour and Mark S. Umbreit states that “family members of a victim experience higher levels of behavioral, physical, and psychological health when a perpetrator is given a life sentence that is enforced instead of the death penalty” (Armour, Umbreit). This means that families suffer less trauma when they see the killer of their loved one in prison than seeing them die on death row. This makes a good amount of sense because decent people will sympathize with anyone’s death, and no one wants to see another person die, no matter what things that person has done. Death is sensitive to everyone. 

One major reason why the death penalty could be a beneficial option to keep available is because of the overcrowding in American prisons. The United States has the highest population of people in prisons. Whether it’s for petty drug offenses or assault and murder, something needs to change.  And the reality is that the death penalty can and has reduced some of those numbers with good side effects. 

Americas “occupancy level nationwide [is] standing at 103.9 percent” obviously meaning that there are too many inmates in prison at the moment, a lot of the cells are actually filled with petty crimes by first-time offenders like possession of marijuana. (McCarthy). Yes, there is no excuse for deviance and breaking the law, but that cell should be saved for serious offenders who pose a physical threat to society. 

From seeing the benefits and drawbacks of the death penalty, I’m still not sure what I would want to do if I had a decision about the death penalty and how it can be used. Controversial topics like these provide good thinking points, but when putting these ideas in practice, It seems impossible to create the best answer.

Chief, E. Chief, Editor. “15 Biggest Capital Punishment Pros And Cons.” Vittana.org. N. p., 2019. Web. 11 Dec. 2019.

The World’s Most Overcrowded Prison Systems [Infographic] “The World’s Most Overcrowded Prison Systems [Infographic].” Forbes.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 11 Dec. 2019