My ideas for public controversies that can be discussed revolve around the medical field. My first, CRISPR and gene-editing technology, is more technical and can be applied to the sciences as a whole. My second idea is to focus on the controversy of universal healthcare. These are relevant controversies that arise in daily discussions as they affect everybody.

There is a heavy focus on the rise on gene-editing technology. More and more people are becoming interested in this transformative technology, and they are trying to find answers to the many questions that remain at the forefront of the scientific community. As it grows and people try to grab all the information they can, they begin to question what can happen next. This presents a controversy before us. There are technical controversies in the true efficiency of gene-editing and making sure that there are minimal unforeseen consequences. There is also an overarching controversy that affects all of society, and it deals with the genetic modification/engineering of humans.  There are questions about how much the research will impact human evolution and to what extent will society allow applications of gene-editing to reach. Scientists are still trying to figure out answers which renders this as an ongoing controversy that will be interesting to research.

My second idea focuses on healthcare coverage in the United States. There have been many calls for reform in this industry, but there isn’t any progress or agreement on how we should move forward with this topic. There are many factors that people want to consider that attribute to the controversy. There is debate on how to handle high insurance costs, the bureaucratic obstacles of the industry, and the socioeconomic issues in society. A commonly proposed idea is through universal healthcare coverage. Proponents of this would argue that this is a right that should be granted to every citizen, allowing for, supposedly, fair access to healthcare. Opponents argue that it interferes with the capitalistic ideologies we have in our economy. They argue that the governmental powers would stretch too far, and it is unnecessary for them to step in. We are still trying to find the best method to handle the situation. It is very relevant in our society, and as college students who are becoming independent of our families, we need to understand what our next step is for our healthcare.

Introduction: In my intro, I am going to attempt to include subtle moments of humor and comedy. From here, I am hoping to effectively transition into the details of my speech.

• Do you remember that time when the president only had three cabinet departments? Or maybe that time when nobody really wanted to run for president? No? Huh, I thought it just happened yesterday. I must be thinking of some other time period. Today, we see a different state of the presidency, right? It seems that we always hear of some form of coverage of what the president has done each day. No matter the platform, the presence of the president is always around. So, how did we reach this state compared to when the country was still growing and developing? There must have been some sort of shift.

Main Points: In addressing the major factors that created the shift, I will provide context in the form of a timeline. This timeline will cover the presidency from the administrations of Presidents Theodore to Franklin Roosevelt. I will address how these two Presidents shaped the presidency in their respective manners and how it has only led to expansion from that point forward. The factors I aim to cover are:

• Increased presence in global affairs
  • Panama Canal
  • True following of Monroe Doctrine
  • World Wars
• Increased immigration which led to increased domestic issues
  • Influx of immigrants in search of jobs
  • Industrialization
  • Labor management
• Aggressive policy campaigns
  • New Deal
  • “Alphabet Soup”

Conclusion: In the conclusion, I aim to sum up the factors that contributed to the shift in presidential power. I will then expand this to how it has lead us to believe that the president is becoming more important because they are more influential. To demonstrate the significance and connect it to the audience, I will relate it to voting and the focus of that for newer generations.

• This class and other newly turned 18 year olds will finally be able to practice our civic duty in voting, especially for the general election in which the president is elected. As I demonstrated, we can observe that the presidency has become more and more powerful. This translates into greater influence over us, the population. This correlates with the importance and coverage we associate with the president. It is important that we recognize this and continue to pay attention to the powers exercised by the Oval Office. We can recognize this, and we will be able to make a proper decision of who we believe is best to be the President of the United States.

Stay tuned for the final product.

Many of us have recently turned 18, and we have been granted a power that we have not been able to exercise until possibly this month. Many of us will probably wait another three-six months for the primaries to come around, or maybe some will wait one more year until the general election of 2020. Regardless of the timeline, it is approaching very quickly for all of us. It is seen as an exciting time as we first step out to exercise, what is argued to be our biggest power, the right to vote. My paradigm shift topic will allow for the audience to be engaged because of this direct connect. As I discuss in my paradigm shift, the president is increasingly being seen as more and more influential. They are holding several powers in their executive branch due to the expansion of departments and personnel in the branch. There are a myriad of factors that led to this, but the most interesting aspect of the shift is the general increase in the presence of the president. The president has broadened their global presence and takes part in greater issues of foreign affairs. There are many global dealings occurring everyday, and with the president as the representative of America, we want to ensure that the we are being represented appropriately. There is growing stress on the president to act in line with American ideals, and it stems from the people. We want to ensure that we are getting the right person to represent America in these dealings. So, we see this rise in importance of the president. Consequently, we see the rise in importance for people to get involved and vote. We are the next group of kids that can become involved and it is important that we understand why we are doing this and that we have all of the information necessary. In my TED talk, I aim to focus on these direct connects of how the president’s powers and presence have grown, and how we have become more focused on them because of the global representation aspect of the presidency.