What will the world do without the splinters of controversy? This Buzzle article brings you a list of issues which have managed to spark debates among Americans, whenever they have been discussed.
As a country that prides itself on its citizens’ right to freedom of expression, America has its fair share of controversial issues. In fact, the people here love to discuss and argue about the various issues that make a difference to their lives, both past and present, a fact which is indeed the hallmark of a democratic society.
The list of controversial topics mentioned here covers a wide range of issues – from gender equality to political scandals, from racism to literature and entertainment. The intensity of each topic will vary from person to person, as each one of us will have a perspective on its relative importance. Keeping this aspect in mind, our list follows an alphabetical sequence.
List of Controversial Topics
*The topics that are presented have been collected from multiple sources and are not the author’s personal choices. Depending on which topic you’d like to work on, alter the subject accordingly.
A
- 2004 U.S. Presidential Election
- 60 Minutes [news program]
- A Million Little Pieces [James Frey]
- Abortion
- Acesulfame Potassium [artificial sweetener]
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Mark Twain]
- American Psycho [Bret Easton Ellis]
- And Tango Makes Three [Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell]
- Animal Testing
- Anthropogenic Climate Change
- Arsenic in Drinking Water
- Aspartame Controversy
- Assessing the New Federalism
B
- Black Friday
- Bush White House email Controversy
- Busing to Desegregate Schools
C
- California Electricity Crisis
- Capitalism
- Capitol Hill Police Incident [March 29, 2006]
- Censorship
- Charter Schools
- Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
- Chip Implants
- CIA & Drugs
- Clean Up Texas Politics
- College Drinking
- Comedian and Actor Andrew Dice Clay’s Controversy
- Corporate Crime Reporter
- Corporate Crimes
- Covering the Uninsured
D
- Death Penalty
- Democracy for the Few [Michael Parenti]
- Doctor-Assisted Suicide
- Domestic Violence
E
- Environmental Health
F
- Fascism
- Flag Burning Amendment
- Freedom of Religion or Belief
G
- Genetically Modified Foods
- George W. Bush and the War on Women
- Global Warming
- Government Regulation of Food Consumption
- Gregory Lee Johnson’s Burning of the Flag of the United States
- Gun Control
H
- Hackers
- Hemp Clothing
- Human Rights
- Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States
I
- Illegal Immigration
- Independent Media Center
- Internet Governance
J
- John F. Kennedy Assassination [1963]
- John Kerry Military Service Controversy
- John McCain Lobbyist Controversy
K
- Kurt Cobain’s Death
L
- Leo Frank, Murder of Mary Phagan [1913]
- Lindbergh Kidnapping [1933]
- Lobbying
M
- Male Bashing on TV
- Male Rape in U.S. Prisons
- Manipulation of the Media
- Marijuana for Medical Use
N
- Naked Lunch [William S. Burroughs]
- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
O
- O.J. Simpson Murder Trial [1994]
- Outsourcing
P
- Piss Christ [1987, Andres Serrano]
- Plagiarism
- Police Brutality and Accountability
- Poverty and Welfare
- Project SHAD [Shipboard Hazard and Defense]
- Public Opinion Poll Database
Q
- Queer Theory
- Quiet Censorship in Hollywood
- Quran Oath Controversy of the 110th United States Congress
R
- Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems
- Racism
- Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994
- Repression of Political Dissidence
- Reproductive Rights
- Reproductive Technologies
- Right to Die/Euthanasia
- Ron Paul Newsletters
- Rumors of Walt Disney Being Anti-Semitic and Racist
S
- Safeguarding the Vote
- School-Choice Vouchers
- Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning
- Scopes Monkey Trial [1925]
- Sex Education
- Sexual Harassment
- Sexual Orientation
- Sexual Victimization of College Women
- Sexuality of Abraham Lincoln
- Slavery
- Smoking
- Social Security
- Street v. New York Case [1969]
T
- Teaching of Evolution in Schools
- Texas Freedom Network
- Texas Toll Roads
- The Alger Hiss Controversy
- The Anarchist Cookbook [William Powell]
- The Color Purple [Alice Walker]
- The Condon Report on UFOs [Unidentified Flying Objects]
- The Controversial Lisl Auman Case
- The Controversy of the Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys
- The Controversy of the White House FBI Files
- The Controversy Surrounding George W. Bush’s National Guard Service
- The Da Vinci Code [movie]
- The Federal Budget
- The International Lesbian and Gay Association Controversy
- The John W. Hinckley, Jr. Trial [1982]
- The Killian Documents Controversy
- The Last Temptation of Christ [movie]
- The Lizzie Borden Case [1893]
- The Montebello High School Flag Flipping Incident [2006]
- The Pentagon’s Spies
- The Samuel Holmes Sheppard Trial [1954]
- The Scottsboro Boys Trial [1931]
- The United States Presidential Election of 2000
- The USA PATRIOT Act
- Tobacco Control
- Travelgate Controversy
- Tropic of Cancer [Henry Miller]
U
- U.S. Political Prisoners
- Universal Health Care
- Use of Cell Phones While Driving
V
- Vaccination
- Violence Against Women
W
- Walmart’s Gender Discrimination
- Walt Disney’s 1933 Mickey’s Mellerdrammer
- War Crimes
- Wearing or Buying Animal Fur
Some of the topics presented in the above list may not be considered to be associated with any controversy whatsoever, to some readers. But above all, it is the facts and figures associated with each of these topics which are more important to perceive, understand, and make a presentation of, if anyone should.
