Organ Donation

In my speech class, we were supposed to give a persuasive speech. I was unsure about what I wanted to persuade people to do. Then I thought about organ donation. According to ordandonor.gov, there are approximately 101,685 people on the natinal waiting list. Even though organ donatin can be a very hard topic to talk about with your family, if it is something that you want to do then you must let them know.

I am an organ donor and I know that if I was in an accident and was declared "brain dead," I would want to give someone another chance at life. Most people do not know how to become a donor. I am just going to briefly explain what needs tp be done. First, you must go to your state registry and register to become a donor. Second, you need to put your decision on your license. People usually have the bright orange sticker on the donor circle. Third, you need to get a donor card and sign it, that shows that you are willing to be a donor. The last thing you need to do is talk to your family about your decision. Once you have completed all four of these steps, you then can consider yourself an organ donor.

I feel that being an organ donor can be a very good thing. It can give joy to both the donor's family and the person receiving the donor and their family. Even though it is sad that someone died, that person(from being an organ donor) can save up to 3 lives from just 1 person. The donor's family has the joy of knowing that the person they loved gave other peole the chance at life. Then the person receiving the donation is very grateful because they are able to go on living their life. Just remember organ donation is a very good thing.

Smoking

According to a online site titled "Smoking facts," Smoking related diseases cause an estimated 440,000 American deaths each year. Why do people smoke when they hear of facts like this? Do they think they are cool when they first try it? I believe that many people who try smoking for the first time say to themselves "I will not get addicted because I am only going to try it once." The people who think this are usually the people who get addicted and can never get themselves to quit. Little do they know that once they try it, they want to try it again and again. Then, the addiction happens.

At my off campus job, I know a lot of people there who smoke. These people always have to take extra breaks unlike other workers, just so that they can smoke. After they are done smoking, I always go up to them and say "smoking is bad for you." They respond either with "I know and I plan on quitting soon" or "Yeah, everyone tells me that." Well, if everyone tells these people that they need to quit, why don't they listen? There is one particular worker who I am very good friends with and he always say "I am going to quit by the time that I am 25." How come 25 is the magic number? Why can't he quit sooner?

There are also people that I know who, from smoking, have gotten diagnosed with cancer. Someone at my church, just got diagnosed with lung cancer. He says that it is not from smoking, but he is a chain-smoker and I have a feeling that is why he has cancer. I only have 2 smokers in my extended family so I feel that I am not as exposed to smoking as those people who may have parents as smokers. If someone would be able to explain to me why people can't even try to quit smoking, I guess i would be able to understand just a little better.

Racism

Why is it that people are racist? Are they trying to make themselves feel better while making others feel inferior? Racism is an act that we encounter everyday, whether it is with a family member, a friend, an aquaintance or even people that we may not know. Acts of violence may be a cause of racism. When racism is acted upon by a group of people, things do not just become dangerous, they become deadly.

I have personal experience with have someone that is racist in my extended family. When we are at family gatherings, he always brings up situations that he has had with black people, even if it happened 15 years ago and also tells obscene jokes. He is someone that will not change even if you try to change him. You try to talk to him and he just says some stupid comment back to you to make you feel stupid for even saying anything at all.

I am embarassed that I have a family member who is like this. I know that he has no reason to even think like this. Nothing has ever happened with him and a black person, because he does not even want to go near them. Is it possible to change someone who is racist? I have been wondering this ever since I knew what racism is.