Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
We Are Responsible
By Kelly Lanier
12th grade
Some would say that liberty is our constitutional given right, and that it should be preserved at any cost. What about when our liberty affects the freedoms of others? How do we keep everyone happy without taking away the rights of other people? What can we do to make sure that our actions are for the good of everyone?
In order for the common good to prevail, each person needs to be able to support himself and not rely on the government for income or entertainment. Currently, millions of people are living off of welfare and are demanding that the government create new parks and entertainments for the people. The government’s income comes straight out of the pockets of the workers of America. Its income is not limitless, but so many seem to think that it is. Welfare is a good idea and it works, but maybe it works a little too well.
The government should not be responsible for keeping the masses entertained either. Entertainment for the people should be bought or paid for by the people who want it. The government should not have to pay to support and keep a public park just because the residents of a city think they need one. If the people living in a city think they need something for everyone, then it should be directly paid for by everyone. Is it really that hard to raise funds for something if it is for all of the people that live in that community?
Now, back to liberty and freedoms. Even though everyone is born with the same rights here in America; sometimes a person can step on or take away the rights of another person. We have a right to bear arms, but if one person bears arms and shoots another person, he or she is taking away the other person’s right to live or to be free from harm.
What we have to do, as citizens of the United States of America, is learn how to exercise our rights and keep them, but not to where they take away another’s rights. This requires quite a bit of thinking on everyone’s part, but does one person really have the right to have more freedoms than someone else?
If we all try to keep from taking away the rights of others, then we would be doing our part in trying to make our nation one of the best places in the world to live. It is better than most countries, but it could stand for some improvements in areas.
Many history teachers tell us if we learn the mistakes of past civilizations, we are more likely to succeed where they failed. Though that is true in most cases, Rome and the United States have a creepy amount of occurrences in common. Rome was the major super power of the time until its people started realizing that they did not have to work so hard, and that the government would help them get what they needed. More and more of the population started living of the government, which caused stress on the government and the people who were actually working to support themselves.
Rome started taking more and more money away from the working class to give it to the ones who needed help, until the working class itself could no longer support itself. When this occurred, Rome began to decline sharply; people could not or would not sell their goods in market places because they would not sell anywhere near their worth. The economy failed and soon the civilization did, too.
Right now Americans are having money taken out of their wages to help pay for those who are out of work or are retired. At first glance this seems okay, until we look at the sheer numbers of people that the working class is supporting. This seems unfair to people, that even as they are working themselves to the bone to barely scrape by, others are lying around at home watching TV and eating government financed food. If a person could truly not find a job, and was out looking for one nearly every day, most people would have no problem helping him out a little. But right now, there are so many unemployed it’s mind blowing, and it seems as if most of them are not even trying to get back on their feet again.
It is our duty to protect ourselves and our future. In order to do this, everyone needs to help out the government, and at the same time, make sure aid is given to those who really need it, not just the ones that think they do or just want it because they are lazy. I do not know how to go about making everyone do their part, but I know that this is our responsibility as residents and citizens of the United States of America.
Answers To
Questions Prompted By The Required Reading
Welfare State on the Street Where You Live (Tibor Machan)
Q1- Why does Machan use "steal" in his statement: "Private property solves this problem, but was abandoned a long time ago when taxes reached the point where we can steal our way to being provided with all sorts of things we desire, never mind thinking about paying for them or long-range budgeting."?
People have found ways to get around paying taxes to where they make money, but pay nothing to the government and yet get handouts and benefits provided by the money others did pay. They are stealing from everyone.
Q2- Machan said: "For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it." Give two examples of this from your personal experience.
If there are a lot of people doing one thing, eventually the majority decide that just as much will get done if one or two work on a project as five. Chores are also the same way, if two kids are assigned to do a few things each day, and rotate, then one may decide that he or she does not have to do them, and waits for the other person to do the chores.
Q3- Do you agree with Machan that "...everybody is more inclined to neglect the duty which he expects another to fulfill; as in families many attendants are often less useful than a few."? Give an objective example of this.
If there are only a few attendants with assigned tasks to do, then they will do those tasks and only those tasks. If there is a large group of attendants, some may decided to take it easy and let others do the work, with out letting anyone else know, so work gets neglected.
Are
We Going the Way of Rome?
(Lawrence Reed)
Q4- State Kershner's First Law. Do you agree or disagree and why?
“When a self-governing people confer upon their government the power to take from some and give to others, the process will not stop until the last bone of the last taxpayer is picked bare.”
Yes, I do agree with this, because already people are trying to live off the government and other peoples tax money. People will keep trying to live off others until they are forbidden to.
Q5- What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?
Welfare or relief for people who cannot afford food, or are unemployed.
Q6- Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.
Cheapened money is the outcome of inflation. Inflation is when there is more demand on objects than there are supplies, so the value of money is less than the value of the object.
Q7- How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome's economy?
It ruined it. Since people could no longer get a decent price for their goods, they stopped brining them to market to sell. So many people died that eventually the law was laid aside.
Liberty and Individual Responsibility
(Dwight R. Lee)
Q8- Lee claims that individuals could be "entirely independent of others" except
for what? Explain.
The rules of social conduct, when there are rules for people to follow that involve the interaction with others, then a person cannot do anything without consulting a person on whether or not something can be done.
Q9- Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.
Rules make life more consistent and secure our everyday life, but at the same time they are taking away some of our freedoms for the sake of equality or freedom.
Q10- Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?
Being able to own land, or have something that another person cannot legally take a way is a right that guarantees you have a right to do things in the world
Lawrence Reed's testimony before the U.S. Senate Budget Commtitee.
Q11- Argue both
pro and con that in his testimony Lawrence Reed was advocating compassion and
aid for the poor.
Lawerence Reed wants to help people who are poor, but he does not want to do it in a way that causes stress or other complications for other people. If the government can give people a little help, then it would not be as much of a drain on the economy. Lawrence Reed does not to help people that are having difficulties with income. Too long have people lived off the government just because they can. People need to be able to support themselves, and not drain the economy that others have been working to support.
Q12- "If people are free, they will not earn equal incomes; conversely, show me a people who have equal incomes and I will show you a people who are not free." Explain in your own words Mr. Reed's meaning.
If people are free than they are able to do what they want without have to answer to anyone other than the law. A person can get a better education than others, and become more skilled in one profession than another person, so they will not have to be paid the same wages as a person with no talent or extra schooling. People who are not free would not be able to get the extra schooling, and if they did it would because they had no choice in the matter, it was mandatory. There for everyone would be paid the same wage because no one would be different from another person.