• A responsible society respects diversity.waiting room image by Przemyslaw Moranski from Fotolia.com
  
  Lady Bird Johnson once said, "While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many." Today, people have many opportunities to demonstrate the same spirit but there are issues that prevent them from doing so.
  
  

Political Correctness

• Political correctness has been the subject of debates on television and other media outlets. Even in schools and universities, educators are divided about the issue. Professor Marilyn Edelstein, from Santa Clara University, wrote an article in defense of political correctness. She said, " To encourage more conscious, self-reflective, sensitive language and behavior is not to tyrannize." On the other side of the aisle, conservative speaker Bill Lind said, "For the first time in our history, Americans have to be fearful of what they say, of what they write, and of what they think. They have to be afraid of using the wrong word, a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic." While everyone agrees that it is every person's responsibility to try to live in harmony with his fellow human beings, issues on political correctness will not go away soon.
  
  

Welfare and Entitlement

• The United States government runs 70 different welfare programs that provide cash, food, housing, medical care and social services, according to data collected by the Heritage Foundation. In 2010, the federal government spent more than 50 billion dollars to support 40 million people on Food Stamps alone. Though politicians acknowledge the need to continue unemployment compensation as the economy struggles to recover, skyrocketing debt is also a growing concern.
  
  

Religious Intolerance

• A statement issued by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says, "All are free to observe the practices of their religious faiths so long as the rights and integrity of others are respected. No one is required to participate involuntarily in religious observances." Even a society as diverse as the United States often fails to practice this principle. In New York, the controversy regarding the building of a Muslim neighborhood center near ground zero persists. Every year, the debate over the "Merry Christmas" greeting comes out. Despite the campaigns on religious tolerance, it is easy to forget the social responsibility to accept the differences of every faith.