Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Connie Doonan
The Ideal Society
By Mallory Koster
12th Grade
Is creating an ideal society realistic? Is it even possible? When the Founding Fathers of the United States created the Declaration of Independence, they set out to try to make an almost ideal society. They had a goal to try to create a world of equality among people, a strong sense of community and individualism, and a world with morals and values. They wanted to create a world where people could live together in harmony and not have to worry about drugs, violence, abuse, and vulgarity. Their vision centered on freedom and equality of all people. This country’s forefathers laid before us the components to build an ideal society. Even though Americans have come away from this plan in many aspects, I think that there can never be a perfect society because it is something that in no way can be physically identified. Everyone has his or her own opinion of what an ideal society is, so it is almost impossible to try to please everyone and have one ideal society. If it is possible to resolve some controversies and still have freedom and independence, then the society would not be far from an ideal one. The people of America need to work together and put forward a huge effort to try to make improvements in the world today, and they could achieve the most ideal society possible.
Improving the entertainment industry would be a major change to make for an ideal society. When comparing past television and movies to today, there is a major difference. Old sitcoms were all about family and getting along. Children didn’t fight very often, or disobey their parents, and if they did, they soon would feel bad and have to apologize. Spouses were faithful to each other and their homes were loving and warm. Neighbors were friendly, and families enjoyed each others company. When compared to today’s society, you can see that entertainment has gone downhill. Many of today’s movie and television shows are all about sex, drugs, violence, and filthy language. Television has gotten so bad that it is sometimes necessary to put locks and passwords on the TV to shield children from seeing those kinds of shows. Even though some of the old TV sitcoms may have been not always realistic, and sometimes corny, they had valuable lessons and showed a little bit more of how life should be.
Having equality for all people would be a step towards having an ideal society. We live in a world that separates people by being judged on their race, sex, sexual preference, disabilities, and religion. All jobs should have equal pay for equal work. Each person is equal and should have equal rights, especially in the work force. If they do as good of a job as another person and work just as hard, they should get the same amount of pay. The amount of money paid to an employee should depend on their work ethic, not their race or ethnicity.
A distribution of wealth would help make an ideal society. Lots of people make a ton of money each year, yet many people are living on the streets and struggling to make it and find a job. Famous movie and television stars, or music artists can make an obscene amount of money in a short amount of time. It is almost unfair that some people have so much money that they have almost no use for it. Why is there so much poverty and starving people in the world, and yet so many people are living with such an abundant amount of money and nothing to do with it? By sharing their wealth with those less fortunate, the world would be much stronger.
A strong sense of community is a major aspect of an ideal society. If people are willing to help others and not always worry about themselves, a society would become much stronger. Today people are very concerned with making themselves better and having a better life. They don’t care who they hurt or how it affects others, they only care about themselves. When people are like this a community falls apart. If people would stick together and do what’s best for the community, everyone could get along better and work towards having an ideal society.
Every ordinary person makes mistakes. If we can learn from our mistakes and the bad choices we have made in the past, we can work towards a closer version of an ideal society. By encouraging people to do what is right for the right reasons, everyone can help improve our society. Maybe at one time there were hopes of having an ideal society, and we might have even been close to that notion. But having an ideal society is an unrealistic idea. There is no way that there could ever be an ideal society because there are so many different versions of what an ideal society is. If people could work together and try to resolve their differences, then the world could be a better place and be close to becoming ideal.
Answers To Questions Re: The required Reading
Q1- Number the “fault lines” mentioned in paragraph one, #1 to #7 according to your personal priorities
1. health care
2. abortion
3. welfare reform
4. role of government itself
5. gun control
6. environmentalism
7. taxes
Q2- In paragraph three, what is meant by “defeat of community”?
- It means that people aren’t as friendly to each other anymore and don’t do very many things out of the goodness of their heart. Most people would want some sort of reward for doing a good deed and so the world is becoming more and more unfriendly. People change their ways and beliefs to try to fit in with everyone else, even though they know it isn’t always right.
Q3- Do you sense “the pain of isolation” in the adults in your community? Explain
- I think that there are some people in my community that feel isolated, but as a whole I think that we are a very small community so everyone knows everyone and if someone has a problem then there is always someone there to try to help. People care about each other and want to help and give to others in any way that they can.
Q4- Discuss your feelings about the SAT in light of paragraph six.
- I agree. A person can be a strong student and still struggle with standardized tests. I think they do not measure the true abilities and knowledge of a person.
Q5- In considering a future career, what are your “prime motivations”?
- My prime motivations are knowing that I want to have a successful life. I want to be happy and work my way up to be as successful as I can be. I would love to find a job that I like doing and it pays well. I also will consider how much schooling having that career takes. Everyone has goals and everyone wants to get exactly what they’ve always dreamed of. In today’s world anyone can reach their goals and do anything if they really want it and set their mind to it.
- I think that is a good idea. I think that each crime that is committed for different reasons should be treated differently. I think that people should care about one another and want to try to help each other and do whatever they can. All over the world there are blood banks, asking for people to donate their blood to people they don’t even know and help save someone’s life. There are many charities and homeless shelters that help people in need. There are many ways that people are trying to help, there just needs to be more people that are willing to lend a helping hand and go out on a limb for somebody else.
- I definitely consider myself an idealist. I know that there is a lot of things that go on in this country that people don’t know about. There are also things that do go on behind closed doors that people know about and do nothing to try to help. I have always been taught to do what is right and strive to do your best and help people out in any way I can.
- The biggest idealist that I know is Tim Baak. He has a very opinionated point of view and is always looking on the internet for articles about things happening in the world. I have been to their house and heard him talk about things like the war and the news and how he feels about it all.
Q9- How does Scruton describe the differences in political culture of Islam and the west?
- He says the political culture of Islam consists of religion and government being one. The law revolves around their religion and everything they do is to benefit their church. The western civilization is different. They have religion and government being totally separate. They believe their religion should be separate and they should be able to worship freely.
Q10- What does Scruton suggest are the prerequisites in Western societies for citizenship?
- A sense of patriotic public spirit, and a commitment to the commitment to the social contract. He thinks that a person should have a sense of pride in their country and have respect for the people within it and all get along.
Q11- What is the danger to the western social contract that Scruton identifies in the last paragraph? Do you think the Western social contract involves “patriotic self-sacrifice”? Should it do so, in your opinion? Why or why not?
- If everyone doesn’t acknowledge that they are part of the same country and get along and respect each other, then the nation can be torn apart. Yes, I think that people should make sacrifices to try to help other people. If someone has enough of something, then they can always afford to share with someone in need.
Q12- Comment on the quote taken from Ayn Rand’s book, Atlas Shrugged. Do you agree with it? Why or why not? Have you read Atlas Shrugged?
- I think that it has some good points of view, but when I read this I feel like it is from a selfish point of view. They say she does things only to benefit herself and not for the good of mankind. I do not agree with this. I think that it has a you have to fend for yourself attitude and I think that the world has become too much like this and it’s not helping. No one can rely simply on themselves. I think that if people tried to work together and help others out the world would be much more successful. No I have not read Atlas Shrugged.