blog post #2

Within our society there are laws and policies put in place to not only protect us, but to protect our beliefs and our values. That being said, who makes these policies and how do they decide what policies to make? While there are many individuals who are in fact responsible for creating policy, very few of them, if any at all, are sociologists. According to Orlando Patterson, "sociologists have simply become spectators within our society" (2014). This statement simply means that sociologists are not used to their full capacity any longer. Currently in our society, it appears that it is simply the job of the sociologist to observe and report rather than to take a hands on approach and help to achieve new policies and laws.

Numerous individuals have tried to explain what sociology truly is and how it can be used to influence society. Sociologist Patricia Hill believes that in order to influence society, we must take either one of two roles. She states that one must either "try to speak the truth to power" or "speak the truth directly to people" (Hill, 2013). By this she means that it is the individual's responsibility to either take the ideas and values of the more powerful or by gathering with those in the same "circle" and discussing the negative behavior and actions of the powerful and what to do about it. Sociologist Fabio Rojas states two of the most important things in society is academics and activism. According to him, although the two are important, they are very different.

The role of sociology is to examine society and all the different aspects. By doing this, we can tell how the world works and how our social interactions can affect not only our world the world around us. Sociology can be used by any different field, to examine any kind of interaction as well as any kind of system within the world. By doing this, we are able to determine how even the smallest social relationship or interaction can influence Society around us.