Question

Identify at least one personal trouble that is commonly associated with city living, explain how and why this personal trouble might become a public issue and offer a solution to address this problem.

Answer 1

Let us have a look at the basic difference between these two compound words- Personal trouble and Public issue.

Personal trouble are the problems that impact an individual to a personal level. A public issue is any problem that causes trouble in the lives of a large community, at minimum.

In city life, traffic congestion is a common problem. Suppose a person reports late at work on most of the days in a month due to traffic issues, then it his his/her personal problem. If this continues to happen for long, the person may be fired from the job. The issue is still at a personal level. Now, if the joblessness of the person compels him to commit crime for meeting his/her both ends, then the issue no more remains at personal level. The society starts facing problems from this person. Hence, entire community runs into a public issue.

This is how a small personal trouble gets converted into severe public issue.

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The solution

​​​​​​There are two possible solutions to the problem.

1. People in city life are so engrossed in their daily lives that nobody is interested to listen to somebody else's problem. Being empathetic and receptive makes life easier. Management at workplace needs to be farsighted and help their employees reach to a solution which should be a win-win situation for both the parties.

2. The person can be offered a different slot of working hours that may help him avoid peak congestion time.