Reply to discussions Discussion 1: Plato’s allegory of the cave gives the reader an insight of how when one opens their mind to the world and the various options within the world, ignorance can be defeated. Plato’s cave could be compared to how an individual may grow up their whole life with one view that may be shaped by family, environment and culture (“Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave: Meaning and Interpretation,” n.d.). As this individual goes through life with this single view, they are chained to ignorance and are unable to truly enjoy life as they only believe things could be a certain way (“Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave: Meaning and Interpretation,” n.d.). The perception of the world that this person may have will only expand once they let the walls down to their own consciousness, bias, and views go (“Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave: Meaning and Interpretation,” n.d.). Once they open their mind to what the world has, they can truly experience the world as it is. This allegory is relevant to the state of the World now. When you look at the World now including our own government, ignorance is still present. A specific example is the issue with allowing Syrian refugees to enter the country as safety from Syria and the displacement they have faced. Our previous president understood that these refugees had no place to go and in the bigger picture human life is human life; if we turn our back on these refugees, we are on the road to reliving the rejection the Jewish refugees faced in World War II. Our president now is impervious to the reality of the World. His ego is the primary goal in his actions. The ignorance that shrouds our country and government at this point of time is devastating. If we can take a step and look outside of our own actions, our own bias and beliefs, we might be able to move our society in the right direction. Answer: Discussion 2: In Plato’s cave allegory it tells a story of prisons chained up from the time of their birth with all they can see is the wall in front of them and the shadows cast on that wall from the light behind them. Since they have been there since birth this is the only reality they have ever known. What they see is what they believe is real, they know no other form of life. There is no telling what they would believe those shadows really are, they would know nothing of god, family, or friends. They light might give them comfort because it is all they have ever known. The shadows may tell a story in their eyes. In the allegory it tells of one of the prisoners escaping and going to see the world. For this prisoner must be terrified, if someone was to rip you out of the only home you have ever known and put you in an environment that was completely foreign to you, you would probably be frightened. But after time and adjustment you would start to learn that what you always thought to be real was just your perceptions and that others have different life and experiences. You would learn all these knew things, see a whole new world far from what you ever knew existed. When this prisoner tried to return home to the cave to free the others they are not going to understand what he is telling them. He would be describing a world that they could not yet imagine because all they have ever known is the cave wall. I feel this theory fits into our lives. You are raised in your own environment with people telling you what to believe and the way the world is, you have no choice but to believe them. As you grow older and reach out on your own, travel, you see the world is not always the same as what you were lead to believe as a child. You see that not everyone’s life is just like yours was. Being from a small town I fell that a lot of people believe the whole world should lives as they do. All they know is life they have lived. People leave and discover new and great things then come home to tell those they know about these discoveries and it hard for them to comprehend if its something they have never experienced on their own. Answer: Discussion 3: Classical liberalism drew on the principles of John Locke is a political ideology that values the freedom of individuals. This includes freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and markets (Roskin, M. G., et al. 2014). Classical liberalism is referred to as the fundamental believe in minimal government. Classical liberalism emerged and focused on individualism, natural law and civil liberties, free markets, economics, property rights, freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of the press, right to privacy etc. Modern liberalism was introduced in the 18th to 19th century with the goal to find a balance between individual liberty and social justice. Modern liberalism is a progression of some values over other values. It is an extension of the civil rights in which more rights were seen as necessary for the people e.g. the right to economic well fare, public education and healthcare. The goal of modern liberalism was to use the government to combat poverty, joblessness and disability as well as to pass laws to protect people Etc. “Classical liberalism expelled government from the marketplace; modern liberalism brought it back in, this time to protect people from a sometimes unfair economic system. Modern liberals champion wage and hour laws, the right to form unions, unemployment and health insurance, and improved educational opportunities” (Roskin, M. G., 2014). Classical liberals is similar to conservatism today as they wanted government to stay out of both economic and personal lives. Individuals and businesses should be free from undue regulation by government. Both classical liberalism and conservatism believes that the individual is more important than the collective and the interest of the individuals should not be sacrificed for the common good. That the individual is the best judge of their own interest and should not be forced to do things that they do not want to do. Answer: Discussion 4: Classical liberalism was introduced in the United States in the early 19th century. The foundation of classical liberalism is the belief that the people of a community or nation should regulate the economy and everyday life. The government should not be involved in the regulation of goods and services or control of trade. Classical libertarians believed that governmental involvement hampers growth. When the economy could develop through supply and demand production, the economy would prosper, trade would increase, and new business would develop to meet the needs of the consumers. One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, stated that “The government is best that governs least” ( (Roskin, Cord, Medeiros & Jones, 2014, p 37). Classical liberalism did not survive the 19th century due to monopolies created by successful companies and the emergence of a class of under privileged citizens who where denied the advantages of the rich. Modern liberalism developed with the goal of protecting the less fortunate from poverty and economic uncertainty. For this to happen, government must be involved to enforce wage and employment standards, greater taxation for the wealthy and standardized education opportunities for all. Modern liberals feel that the government must have more control over the economy, mainly finance and banking, to promote a stable, prosperous financial environment. Classical liberalism and modern conservatism have several similarities. Today’s conservatives believe in economic freedom, the free market thinking of the classical liberals. Business owners and manufacturers should be allowed to control their own destiny. Conservatives believe in less government involvement in such things as healthcare and banking. They believe that private insurers and providers should control the care provided to patients. Our text tells us that several respected and successful politicians were conservatives, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (Roskin, et al., 2014). Answer: Discussion 5: I live in Sarasota Florida which is on the south-west coast. The most up to date statistics for my area state that we currently have a population of 56,610 people. 16.8% of those are under 18 and 22.4% being over 65. Although it is almost split even, Sarasota has a slightly higher number of females that is 51.4% of the population. There are no statistics listed showing race and origin. We have 4,341 Veterans in our area and 17.9% of our residents were born in a foreign country making this a diverse group of people. These statistics show that while 88.7% of the population have a high school diploma or higher, only 34.0% have at least a bachelor’s degree. I was also surprised to find that 26.6% of the population under the age of 65 are without health insurance! 19.6% of our population is in poverty and the median yearly income is $43,477. While 95% of the population has access to exercise opportunities, 21% are considered obese. Heavy drinking and drugs are also a big concern in this area. The air quality disease risk shows that risk of getting cancer in Sarasota is 58.1 and risk of respiratory disease is 68.2 (bestplaces). I believe healthcare team members can help this population who have a large number of uninsured people who are in poverty by giving free health assessments and health education. I think it is important to make these residences aware of the risk of drinking and using drugs, as well as taking advantage of the access to exercise that this community has to fight obesity. Answer: Discussion 6: This was a very intriguing assignment. It was interesting to see the information about the demographic characteristics of the population of my city, Tampa, Florida. According to the information produced by U.S. Census and the Hillsborough County Health Department, I have determined and identified several priority health concerns for my area. Currently, the population estimate for Tampa, FL as of Jan 2017 is 377,165. Of this population 6.4% is under 5, 22.6% is under 18 years of age and 65 years old and above is 11.0%. Of this population 51.1% are female. 39 % of children are living in single-family households. 21% of children are living in poverty. Severe housing problems are at 21%. The health concern arises when there are so many children living below what is considered poverty line along with 18% uninsured, 9% low birth weights and 5,650,451 are total healthcare and social assistance receipts. Preventable hospital stays are at 60%. With these numbers and statistics, there are several priority health concerns in the area of Tampa, FL. There is a big risk for uninsured citizens. With the median income at $45,000.00 that is considered low for a family with multiple dependents. With the lack of insurance, there is a lack of routine office visits for the children and parents of our communities. Which in return can cause a rise in uninsured hospital ER visits and admissions. Which cause a spike in healthcare cost. This area has many neighborhoods with families 39% of single-parent homes are left struggling to provide meals and a decent living for their children. Many of these single-parent households are of women. Which of the total civilian workforce of 64.4 %, 60.6 % are women. With poor and fair health at 18%, there is a high risk for chronic, uncontrolled, noncompliance health concerns. Community health nurses should dedicate some of their time in a positive manner by performing physical examinations, promoting client self-examination, or conducting screening programs in schools, clinics, or community settings (Nies, 2015). If working in the community care setting it is very important to understand the community in which you are working. There has to be an understanding of the whys and hows of the citizens of that community. Without this understanding, there is a lack of compassion, empathy, and concern every nurse should have towards their patients. Answer: