Social Problems in America Many Americans today do not take the time to realize that our nation is gradually falling apart. Our leaders are corrupt, our environment is being destroyed, and thousands of children are born every day. The three major social problems facing American citizens in the 21st century are births to unmarried women, the ability to trust government and/or leaders, and finally, the destruction of the environment. The first major social problem facing America today is the crisis of unmarried births. woman. In “Straight Line to Calamity,” George Will writes, “the rise of illegitimacy is a self-reinforcing trend due to the multiple mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of poverty. The main one is: people tend to be parents as they have been parents.”(228). In the 60s and 70s many people had unprotected sex. At this age most people were not worried about getting pregnant, so they did not wear a condom to terminate the pregnancy. This has led to many unwanted pregnancies at an early age for girls. They were raising children when they were just out of adolescence. As the children grew up, as Will states, the children followed in their parents' footsteps. Most young parents don't really understand how to raise a child properly, which means they would raise them the same way they were raised in the 60s and 70s. Later in the essay Will states; “Two supposed signs of the “crisis” are the high infant mortality rate in America and the low vaccination rate of preschool children.”(228). Many of the babies being born were underweight or not strong enough to survive. The use of drugs during this period was heavy and this resulted in many infant deaths. Large-scale infant deaths were due to large numbers of teenage pregnancies, many of them “stillborn.” It is difficult for a doctor to save a child who weighs less than 2 kilos and cannot breathe on his own. Due to the increasing number of teenage pregnancies, population growth occurs in America. In “Divine Revolution” Vaclav Havel writes: “Humanity today is well aware of the specter of threats hanging over its head. We know that the number of people living on our planet is growing at a dizzying rate and that in a relatively short time... half a sheet of paper... identify and understand a problem you need to address before you can take action against it it. The three social problems America faces in the 21st century are the birth of unmarried women, the ability to trust government and/or leaders, and finally, the destruction of the environment. As an American citizen, everyone has a responsibility to do their duty to help our nation do better every day. By volunteering for special interest groups, not buying products that harm the world, and being a little kinder to people, the world will be a little kinder. WORKS CITED1. Havel, Vaclav. "The Divine Revolution" McGraw-Hill Reader. Gilbert H. Muller, ed. Boston McGraw-Hill, 2000 (337-341)2. Machiavelli, Niccolo. “The Circle of Governments” McGraw-Hill Reader. Gilbert H. Muller, Ed. Boston McGraw-Hill, 2000 (230-233)3. Muller, Gilbert H. Ed. The McGraw-Hill Boston Reader. McGraw-Hill, 20004. Will, George. “Straight Line to Calamity” McGraw-Hill Reader. Gilbert H. Muller, Ed. Boston McGraw-Hill, 2000 (227-229)