Camden Central High School

Camden, Tennessee

Mrs. Wanda Allen

Common Responsibility

By Travis Laha

Grade 12
 

Civic virtue is an abandoned Roman idea that deserves to be thought about a bit more. Most people in today’s world will only look out for their own personal interests, and sometimes they won’t even look out for themselves. The United States of America has installed government programs that help this newly developing attitude of idleness. Each of us needs to work to our full potential in order to achieve a balance with common good.

 

A balance with individual liberties and the common good may be achieved if our government would retract some of its “financial aide” programs or at least have a stricter application policy. Society of the new millennium grows lazier by the minute and the future of our country may be in jeopardy if newer generations don’t begin to take responsibilities for themselves.

 

When Rome began to provide government bread to the starving masses, more citizens were unproductive, lethargic, and a growingly obese pattern was observed. This pattern is eerily similar to what happened in America after the government programs of the Great Depression took effect. People see that they can make a better living by leaching off everyone that works hard and pays their taxes. In turn, those who work find it hard to pay their monthly bills and are slipping further into debt. This vicious cycle must be stopped.

 

If the government continues to use its programs to take pressure off the “burdened masses”, budgeting will fail and, as a people, we will have to start over or fall into another depression. An example of a Great Depression program failing is the Social Security Program. The ratio of people paying out to paying in has lessened; for every one person receiving social security there are two people supporting him or her. This statistic is staggering compared to the sixteen people per person ratio when the program was originated.

 

Crime rates in America continue to rise as well, because of the attitude of complacency to frail or unused punishments. People under the age of eighteen, until recently, were not held to the punishment of severe crimes such as murder, arson, etc. Children saw that others committing death penalty crimes were getting off on an insanity plea due to video games, or having a short stay in juvenile hall, or simply community service. These young criminals were not held accountable for their actions. School shootings in recent years have increased and every violent act can be blamed on someone else. We must remove all scapegoats.

 

“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime, the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” No one is responsible for these people’s criminal actions but themselves. Our judicial system has made it far too easy for criminals to walk the streets unsupervised, free to break the law again.

 

To plead insanity is to plead guilt. There should be no acquittal in these situations. If you are insane enough to kill someone, what is stopping you from doing it again a second time? We must inflict punishment and use our constitutional rights to their full potential.

 

Turn on the television and you will see episodes of Cops replayed frequently. For some reason the society of America today finds humor in the stupidity and violence of others. Suddenly a high-speed chase is turned into a comedy club show that you can’t get enough of. This is what is called the “Train-crash Complex”; when driving by a fatal accident, humans cannot help but gawk at the suffering of others.

 

Reality television has synthesized our society to all kinds of malicious and promiscuous behaviors. Think about it, years ago when television had just begun,  TV couples slept in different beds; now sex scenes may be found habitually.

 

It is our human right to see what we wish, but the government censors some television still. So as a society, we have become lazy, dirty, and irresponsible for our own actions. No longer is it our own fault that we can’t read or write. If our children cannot comprehend the three R’s, of course it’s the teacher’s fault. It couldn’t be that our own children are growing lazy without restrictions set within a household.

 

So our children see us set back, open a cold one, and watch a little Cops. They couldn’t be learning from our example? What happens when little Johnny has career day at his elementary school and Daddy can’t appear at the class for lack of a job. Should the father present to the class a speech on welfare and social security withdrawals. Little Johnny could tell his class that his father is a “professional leach”. Whatever happened to pride in a hard day’s work?

 

These non self-reliant programs continue to push us into deeper financial and moral debt within our own nation. If everyone suddenly applied for unemployment payments, our economy would collapse. This system of taking from the “rich” and giving to the “poor” is communist in nature. As we have seen, communist countries classically never survive substantial periods of time.

 

How do you balance individual liberties with the common good? Simply by making individuals responsible for themselves. Alleviate our country of these independence inhibiting programs and show us the darker side of human nature, which we should avoid; eventually you will see a lift in spirit and a return to social responsibilities, such as Roman civic virtue.

 

Questions

 

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."?

 

Steal in this instance refers to welfare families. He uses the word steal to show that this money is not earned and will not be paid back, and therefore, is stolen from the hard working citizens among the working class.

 

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.
 

·        There are many children in our country’s educational system. Many are passed through as to not waste time of our tax money. The more children there are, the less one-on-one attention a student can receive.

• There are numerous roads within a city, county, state, etc. The major thoroughfares get the most attention while the back-roads are often neglected.
   

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.

 

Many parents feel that discipline is the responsibility of educators. Parents today want to be a friend to their child before an authoritarian. So the children loose out and have no clear-cut boundaries.

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.” I agree with this statement. Social Security is a perfect example. The program is running dry and is going down hill fast. My generation may never see a Social Security payment.

Q5- What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?

The transportation industry. Romans first build a complex system of roads, while Americans built the systems of railroads. Both did so to connect the expansive nation.

Q6- Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.

The cheapened money is the cause of inflation. Because the money is cheaper to produce, there is more of it in circulation at one time. Prices will begin to rise and the value of money in foreign countries will lessen.

Q7- How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome's economy?

It made the marketplace a battle zone. Suddenly there was no more free market and if you did not listen to the emperor’s commands, death was eminent. The economy dwindled and most Romans were dissatisfied.

Q8- Lee claims that individuals could be "entirely independent of others" except for what? Explain.

Scarcity. If there were no scarcity, everyone could do what he or she wanted. In our world of scarcity however we must interact with one another in order to obtain what we desire.

Q9- Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.

If there were no rules, people would have to find a way to control one another by force. In this system a person would have to use supreme strength to get what he or she wants. This is a lot like a system of slavery.

Q10- Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?

The concept of private property helps one feel like an individual.  It gives a person a reason to live and strive to obtain more.

Q11- Argue both pro and con that in his testimony Lawrence Reed was advocating compassion and aid for the poor.
 

·        Pro- Reed says the liberty is a necessity for human life. All humans deserve the same treatment.

·        Con- The government can only aid the poor if it first steals from the pocket books of other citizens. Without force the government would have no money to give.
 

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.

No one is the same as another person, so no one is equal. People are talented in a variety of different areas and therefore have different vocations. Different vocations pay different salaries. Therefore not everyone can make the same money, because everyone will not put in the same work.

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