Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Mrs. Doonan
Tim Seagren
12th Grade
The ideal society is that perfect world where everyone is happy with no worries in the world. Our society today is not perfect by any means, and people try to envision what it would be like to live in a perfect world. When people imagine that perfect place, they think of everything that they want for themselves because why would they want something in their perfect world that doesn’t matter to them. My ideal society would be very different from today’s world, especially in areas like personal traits, finances, education, religion, and the government.
My ideal society would contain all types of people with different backgrounds, life goals, and characteristics. If every person was the same, then what fun would it be to live there? People would always be working hard, but wouldn’t worry about competing to always out-do the other person. They would be satisfied where they were at and not always worry about what the other person is doing. People would not be judged the way they can be in today’s society. They will get to know each other before they start labeling them as this or that. There won’t be racism or prejudice against different groups because no one will look at it like that. The ideal society will be able to recognize that everyone has the opportunity to be an individual in whatever way they choose to be. Individualism is what gives people character and makes it worth living.
Financially everyone would not make the same amount of money, but everyone would be employed. They would be doing well enough to not have to worry about making more money all of the time. A doctor and a janitor can’t make the same amount of money for obvious reasons, so incomes would be regulated to the type of work people do. It gives people motive to work harder if they know that they have a chance to make more money. It gives them something to wake up and work for each day. Nothing would be easy because if it was, the accomplishment doesn’t seem as big when it is achieved. People would have to earn what they get so that they are thankful for more of what they have.
College would be affordable, and everyone would go so that our society would be made up of well-educated people. Too many people in our society today don’t go to college, and it is essential for the future generations that they go. In the ideal society everyone will go on to some form of secondary education after high school, so they can be specialized in at least one field. I believe that the more educated society is, the less problems we will have concerning drugs, alcohol, and violence. If some of the people would go to college and get a good job, they wouldn’t have time to do all of the illegal things that are bringing down the society, and they wouldn’t want to.
Religion of all types would be welcome, and people wouldn’t have a problem if someone wanted to go to a different church or believe in a different faith. That is someone’s own personal beliefs, and in society people shouldn’t be forced into believing something that they don’t want to. The ideal society lets people believe whatever they want to while others believe in their own opinions. People wouldn’t scrutinize others for being Jewish or a Buddhist while they are Catholic. The ideal society is accepting of every type of faith, and in times of hardships, everyone comes together as one.
The government would be run more efficiently and work more towards benefiting society as a whole. Taxes would be high enough so that we can take care of what we needed to, but they would be low enough so that people don’t have to struggle through life. Health care would be provided for everybody at a reasonable cost, but it would be affordable and people would stop having to worry about being able to pay all of the other bills while still paying their health care. The elderly could get more help on their healthcare if they needed it, for the simple fact that it isn’t good to have people living miserably in a place where they should be getting help.
Overall, My Ideal Society would be a great place to live and raise a family since it would be different in many ways from today’s society. People would care for others no matter what color their skin was or where they came from. Financially everyone would be employed and making enough money to live without worries on. Everyone would be very well educated, so that our world becomes a more intelligent place. All types of religions would be accepted, and the government would take a larger role in certain issues to make sure people could live happily and affordably. It’s something our society should work towards. It may not be obtainable right away, but hopefully down the road our society becomes more of the ideal place we all want to live in.
Q1 Number the “fault lines” mentioned in paragraph one, #1 to #7 according to your personal priorities.
A #1 role of government
#2 taxes
#3 health care
#4 gun control
#5 welfare reform
#6 environmentalism
#7 abortion
Q2 In Paragraph three, what is meant by “defeat of community”?
A It means that we have gone away from the type of community that used to be. People today are more concerned with how everything benefits themselves, they quit thinking about other people around them. People are constantly competing against each other to get a higher social or financial status rather than being satisfied with where they are at. That, as a result, has defeated the helper-friendly community and created the new competitive self-interest community.
Q3 Do you sense “the pain of isolation” in the adults in your community? Explain.
A No, I don’t think that my community isolates adults because people are all in the same situation. No one is extremely rich and very few are extremely poor, so financially everyone is in the same class. They don’t have to feel isolated from anybody; they can feel free to talk the way they want to talk and act the way they want to without feeling a different way internally.
Q4 Discuss your feelings about the SAT in light of paragraph six.
A I would have to agree with Gabel. I feel standardized tests are used too often to judge kids on their abilities when they really can’t take into consideration important factors that go into
Q5 In considering a future career, what are your “prime motivations”.
A My prime motive is what is going to make me happy. I want to do something for the rest of my life that I will wake up and want to do every day. If I don’t like what I’m doing than it is’nt the career I should be living and working in. Smaller factors also are motivators like getting to work with people and I want to be recognized as someone who is successful in life.
Q6 What do you think about a less “objectified” legal system?
A I disagree with that thought. I think that the legal system should be based on concrete evidence that proves that things happen one way or another. IF people start taking in emotions and other factors, then decisions could be biased. People on the stand for trial could also start acting in ways to influence the jury one way or another. Of course there might be certain exceptions to that in certain cases, but for the most part decisions need to be based on the presentation of concrete evidence.
Q7 Would you describe yourself as an idealist? Why or why not?
A Yes I like to think of myself as an idealist. I like to dream of things happening and hope for goals and dreams that I can obtain. Many things happen in life that could never have happened if someone didn’t dream of it. A practical person might have thought that it would be impossible, but the belief and support of something so strong keeps people moving forward to obtain things that could have not been reached by others.
Q8 Share an anecdote about an idealist over age 40.
A My grandma was definitely an idealist. She would always tell me that I could do anything I wanted to do. It wouldn’t matter if what I said had never been done, she would continue to tell me to keep trying and someday I could do whatever I wanted. That was her outlook on life for everything. It was the same for every person, no matter who they were. She always told me of what big dreams she had for me and pushed me to accomplish them.
Q9 How does Scruton describe the differences in political cultures of Islam and the West?
A Scruton argues that the foundation for rule of law in Western Civilization is the social contract, a pact that hold together all citizens within a regional jurisdiction. Religion is accepted as a right and people must comply to the laws of the state over the laws of the church. The traditional Islam society however shows no distinction between “The Mosque” and the state. In other words, there is no difference between civil and religious laws.
Q10 What does Scruton suggest are the prerequisites in Western societies for citizenship?
A He believes that the prerequisites are a sense of patriotic public spirit and a commitment to the preservation of the social contract.
Q11 What is the danger to the Western social contract the 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?
A He thinks that an erosion of national unity endangers the preservation of the social contract. Yes I believe it involves “patriotic self-sacrifice”, because the people have to be willing to stand up and fight for their right to live. If they truly love the place they live and the freedoms they have, then they will have the courage to stand up and protect it in times of need so that future generations can share the same quality of life the previous generations had.
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?
A I disagree with this quote. Everyone does support their own life; however, a person does need to take into consideration other people in the way they live their lives. Otherwise there is no reason to live, because they wouldn’t have anyone to share their achievements and dreams with. Of course everyone wants to do what they want to do, but if they start acting without thinking what will happen to other people then the world will turn into an ugly place. I have not read Atlas Shrugged.