Feb 23 hw (Mercury News response)(tobacco funds)

I found an article in the Mercury News relating to the use of tobacco funds in San Jose. Since the city has suffered through budget cuts, and the already dwindling funds due to national budget cuts, the debate is basically what is most important way to use the money? In the beginning, the money was supposed to be used to help keep middle school crossing guards in certain areas in work, because their funding was being cut, and thus they were losing jobs. The debate made by some people now is, other things like tobacco prevention, and other causes should get some of the money from tobacco taxes because they are just as important. Many have expressed their opinions with this issue, and this can be looked at in a variety of ways, which is what interests me, and is the reason why I am writing about it and considering it as a research topic. When reading this article, one thing really popped into my mind, and that was advocacy. All the people involved in this have their opinions and beliefs, and are stating claims because of what they value, and think is most important. And in this situation one thing that seems to come along with advocacy came up, argument. They are locked in an argument for what they believe in, and it is the system that will ultimately decide the fate of this issue and where the majority of the grants will go to. But nonetheless, people will fight for what they believe in, and that is a common situation we first think of when we think of advocacy.