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Aaron McGhee
Mrs. Watkins
Comp 1. 11:30-12:20
April 24, 2015
Small Issues First
There are many people who would say America is the greatest nation in the world;
obviously everyone in America thinks so because its our nation. There are a lot of opportunities
in America. Even though most of us feel great about our nation there are a couple of facts that
say otherwise, and we must ask ourselves the main question. Is America a great nation? Martin
Luther King Jr. even spoke on the issue in his I Have a Dream speech. He explains that if we
truly want to be considered the greatest nation then we must keep true to the laws and solve any
problem that comes our way.
In order for America to become a great nation I believe that we must start with our
small problems first. I would like us to do something more with the issues of bullying in
America. Bullying is a problem that isnt highly regarded because people dont feel like it is as
big as an issue; just because people dont see it as a big issue doesnt mean that it doesnt cause
problems. Bullying is a relatively smaller issue in America compared to our other issues like
Government spending, politics, and state issues. But if America cannot start with the emotional
problems and help people lives then I find it hard to believe that we can solve any problem at all.
Bullying is using force or threat to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The
behavior used in bullying can include verbal harassment and physical assault direct towards a
specific person. The people that experience and are a victim to bullying go through things like
depression, lower self-esteem, and anxiety (Vessey 245). The kids that show any abnormal
behavior in the smallest way seem to have an increased chance of getting bullied. Schools must

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find a way to show that being different doesnt make someone a so called weirdo.
When people hear the word bulling, they immediately think about little
kids on a playground and one kid pushing another kid into the sand box. Bullying can also exist
in the workplace between adults. Bullying happens all the time in jobs and corporate offices, but
the only difference is that they use the word harassment. Harassment and bullying are two
sides of the same coins. They can co-exist, or one can be dominant (Nazarko 14). This type of
bullying is the worst because not only are they doing a childish act, but they are also messing
with adults self esteem. Some people think its easier to control bullying in the workplace and
that it never happens at all. In most cases workers and staff members just keep their heads down
and watch their own back. Bullying and harassment can damage the organization, making it very
difficult for a person to do their job. The difference between bullying in schools and bullying in
the workplace is that most adults know how to talk to each other. Adults handle situations and
keep their emotions in check. However, the fact that bullying even happens between adults just
shows everybody that some people in America dont know how to accept other peoples
differences.
There are many different types of bullying and many different and various situations that
people go through. Researchers have identified four main types of bullying: Physical, verbal,
relational, and cyber (Brank 214). Out of all the types of bullying that there are the one that
usually catches eyes the most is cyber bullying. The thing that makes cyber bullying so scary is
that it allows bullies to taunt anybody at any given moment from afar. Eliminating something
like cyber bullying will not be an easy task. To take away cyber bullying, we would have to go
through many generations before we finally got a generation that isnt raised on judgment and
how a person is supposed to look, a generation that actually accepts other peoples cultures.

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Society has set a certain emotion and body type for each gender and we cant blame anybody but
ourselves. Giving children a magazine and telling them to look like the super model on the cover
isnt right. Children ingest so much of what we teach them, and giving them a certain look is
helping them bully the other kids who cant look like that super model. A lot of research and
study has gone into children and on why they bully. Research has demonstrated that children
who are high on hyperactivity and impulsiveness are more likely to become bullies (Brank
217). These children who have these attributes might not be able to understand that their actions
are hurting other people. Even though children sometimes cannot control this impulse, it is our
obligation to do a better job a controlling these children.
Most schools try to do a good job at controlling bullying but it is said that other
schools dont even pay attention to it at all. The delay or ignoring of bullying behavior boils
down to money. It is expensive for school officials, administrative, and teachers to take extra
time to investigate complaints (Mansbacher 24). We dont even want to pay attention to the kids
sometimes because it would cost too much money to help them. I understand that some schools
just dont have money to spend, but at some point its all about priorities and apparently money
is at the top of our list.
There can be a couple of counter arguments with the fact that Im making
bullying such a big deal. People can say that they dont see much of bullying anymore in todays
society, but kids around America are still committing suicide because of the bullying they went
through. Other people could say cyber bullying shouldnt be a problem because the victim can
just turn their computer off. But what has to be understood is that they these kids that are being
cyber bullied want to be on social media just like any other person. If the victim is a 16 year old
boy it is a little harder for him to just get off of Twitter and Facebook. Social media is a big part

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of these kids lives and to have them just get off of it would be a big blow to them.
Bullying isnt a problem that can be solved overnight and it most definitely wont
automatically make America the greatest nation in the world, but it is a step in the right direction.
Children are the future of America and if we cant help them then who will help us in 25-30
years from now?

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Citation Page
Brank, Eve. M. (2012). Bullying. The Annual Review of Law and Social Science.
Vol. 1, No. 8. Pg. 213 217.
Mansbacher, Jordana. (N.D.). Bullying. Pediatrics for Parents. Vol. 28, No. 8, 9.
Pg. 24-25.
Nazarko, Linda. (2001 April). Bullying and Harassment. Nursing Management.
Vol. 8, No, 1. Pg. 14 15.
Vessey, Judith. A. (2012). Bullying: A pervasive Malignancy. Journal of
Pediatric Oncology Nursing. Vol. 29, No. 5. Pg. 245.