Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Connie Doonan
The Ideal Society
By Kristine Devereaux
12th Grade
The ideal society is something that each of us sees in our own way. We all have different views and things we want from life. I believe the ideal society is something that each of us pictures in our minds as the perfect way to live our lives. No one is wrong with what they believe; it is simply a matter of differing opinions. That is why we all don’t get along in the world or even just in the country for that matter. Our values are assessed at by our own personal importance. In an ideal society, we would work for the people we care about, people would be accepted as they are, and the government would not be too controlling.
In his reading, Peter Gabel talks about the “pain of isolation” in adults. I think this comes from having special people in life. Having meaning in your life is one of the most important things there is. Without it, there is really no purpose for living. One of the basic needs of human beings is having people in our lives that we care about, and vice versa. This can get lost in the want for materialistic things. People often base their lives around their success from their jobs, especially for the purpose of money. No matter how much someone builds up their career, there will still be an emptiness at the end of the day without having something else that will give purpose to his or her life. Healthy motivation for doing well would be actually enjoying the job and having something, or someone, to work for. Family is a key to a happy life, and something that is worthwhile to work for. They give meaning when you think there isn’t any elsewhere.
In the ideal society, people would not be ostracized for the color of their skin. Many still consider race a key factor in developing an opinion about another person. Some people won’t even talk to a person if they have a different skin color than their own. Many conflicts have taken place over this issue, but it is not completely gone from our society. Accepting other people now will teach the future generations that it is okay if someone looks different; it doesn’t change his/her inside. The skin color of a person does not tell anything about what the person is like on the inside. We would be in a much more peaceful place if people could look past the skin color and accept the person for who they are as a real person. It will be difficult for us to move on and be satisfied with other aspects of our lives if we cannot be accepting of other people, even though they may be different from us.
The government plays a huge role in the extent to which people live their lives. We have one of the most powerful governments in the world, but it may be going too far. The government shouldn’t have power over the way people live their personal lives, as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else. A perfect example of this is with gay marriage. Whether or not the government says gay couples can get married, they are still going to be together no matter what. It breaks up our society even more when the government says that it’s okay not to accept these people into the community. The government is set up to take away anything that they think is not good for our communities. I think there are more important issues our government should take care of than gay marriage. One of these issues would be poverty in our own country. We spend so much time looking at the big issues in the news at the moment that we often forget about things that really need our attention. The government should first focus on the things that absolutely need help, then deal with those issues they believe will harm us in our communities.
An ideal society would consist of people that work for more than money, everyone would be accepted with no consideration of skin color, and our government will not overuse their power. Jobs and money will not take priority over having special people in our lives. Those two things can only take someone so far in life, no matter how much a person tries to deny it. People should be accepted, even if they do have a different skin color. I think we are at a point in our country where that should no longer matter. The government is becoming stricter as we move forward. In my mind, they are taking away some of the basic freedoms that were given to us by the Constitution. The ideal society is far from our reach and may never be obtained because our views of the ideal society change as the world changes around us.
Answers To Questions Re: The Required Reading
Peter Gabel
Q1- Number the “fault lines mentioned in paragraph one, #1 to #7 according to your personal priorities.
1) the role of government
2) abortion
3) taxes
4) health care
5) welfare reform
6) environmentalism
7) gun control
Q2- In paragraph three, what is meant by “defeat of community”?
- I believe that “defeat of community” means that we fight against each other in our lives for power, the fact of being right, etc. Our motives cause us to not act as one community working together to accomplish things that are good for us. It is more about who is more right than the other. The need behind having other people is selfish sometimes. Some want to be the sole person in charge, so they don’t work for anyone other than themselves. We need to concentrate on what is really important. For example: help the less fortunate. It we don’t work as one, we will be defeated.
Q3- Do you sense “the pain of isolation” in the adults in your community? Explain.
- I don’t think that is so much the case in our community. We have a very realistic and family- oriented small community. But, I do think there is a lot of it out there. Many people are out there that have spent their lives working there way to the top in society or a job, but they themselves are not satisfied: people get married for money or status and they work for a great job instead of looking for the important things in life like love and a good family. Many people cannot find meaning in the life they thought they wanted and would so desperately love.
Q4- Discuss your feelings about the SAT in light of paragraph six.
- I never really thought of
the SAT tests and other standardized tests like that before now. That paragraph
opened my mind to a new thought that I am finding myself agreeing with. Those
tests do not tell one’s true intelligence. I think a person’s true intelligence
lies in something they are passionate about. If they don’t care about certain
subjects, then it will be hard for them to motivate themselves to do good at
whatever is being asked. The tests won’t tell what someone is truly good at.
Q5- In considering a future career, what are your “prime motivations”?
- My prime motivation in considering my career is that I will be able to enjoy my job and live a happy life while doing it. I think it would be pointless for me to put myself through something that I dread getting up for every morning and not have the energy to go out and do it. It wouldn’t be fair to me or the people I am working for and/or with. We have one chance to do our life right, and that’s what I am going to try to do with mine.
Q6- What do you think about a less “objectified” legal system?
- I do think that our legal system has become very powerful and has a certain order to it. I think it has helped our society out by being strict and enforcing rules. An exception it present to every case those. The legal system is very book-orientated and I think it could look into the background and motives of people more. However, that would take time and money that is presently not available.
Q7- Would you describe yourself as an idealist? Why or why not?
- I think there is a little bit of an idealist in everybody. I believe I am an idealist to a certain point. There are always things that I wish were better, or that I could change. But I realize that things can change at the snap of a finger. I am almost always seeing something in our society that I think could be better than it is now, but when it is out of reach for that to happen, I know that it is. Good things only come with time and patience.
Q8- Share as anecdote about a local idealist over age 40.
- I believe that my aunt is an idealist. She is always looking on the good side of things and is seeing things that could be changed. She believes that there is a good ending to everything and that everything in life is always going to be okay.
She lives her life always looking on the good side of things rather than on the bad that is sometimes easier to accept.
Roger Scruton
Q9- How does Scruton describe the differences in political culture of Islam and the west?
-He says that the citizens in the west are bound together in the national state. They work together to form the community that they have. Ethnic backgrounds of people are not a consideration in treating people differently. Religion is kept as a personal matter to the individual. The church governs its own affairs and is kept separate from the government. On the other hand, Islamic culture and government is all about their religion. Their obligations are to the church. This includes giving up their life for religious struggles and the holy law, sharia.
Q10- What does Scruton suggest are the prerequisites in Western societies for citizenship?
- Scruton suggests the prerequisites for citizenship in Western societies are a sense of patriotic spirit, and a commitment to the preservation of the social contract. This means that we follow our country and work as a community to be one. We follow what was put forth by those that are now gone and those that were put in place to enforce what the others have set in place.
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?
- The danger to the social contract that Scruton was talking about was that if people were given all freedom to do everything that they want and go against what is now in place, we will not be anything. We will give up the sense of unity and commitment that we have to each other. People will not care about their country anymore and will not work for improving it. I do believe that Western social contract involves “patriotic self-sacrifice.” The society is based on doing things for your country and the people in it. I do believe Western culture should involve this. If it didn’t, then we would all be separated and their wouldn’t be a sense of national unity.
Ayn Rand
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?
- This quote taken from the book is another person’s opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and to be different from everyone else. He is saying that he gets his happiness from his own hard work and what he deserves. He does not desire another man’s life more than his own. There is absence in a life that is spent looking for rewards for every little action. I do agree with him. I believe that there is more to life than satisfying yourself. You must help other people along the way also. I have not read this book as of right now, but it might be something I have to check in to.