Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Mrs. Devra Parker

Easy Concept, Complex Words
By Blair Paxson
12^th grade

 The three concepts personal responsibility, individual liberty, and the common good are easier to define separately than they are to explain in relation to each other. The ideas are more of a given in the society of the United States, a given but yet not always fulfilled. It’s about whom you are and your duty as an American. As a citizen of the United States, you should uphold these ideas every day. By going forth with this perception about life, the nation would be better off; it’s what our Founding Fathers wanted for our country. If everyone accepted this, the people of our nation would work better together by [striving] for the same goal.

What is personal responsibility? Personal responsibility is about your contribution to society, your contribution to the people and the environment around you. It’s about following all federal laws as well as the unwritten moral standards of society. You are not to litter, not drive over the speed limit, not talk back to your parents, or look down upon someone because of his/her appearance. Everyone has his/her own responsibility as a human to play nice with those around him/her. Peace among everyone is an ideal [for the] world. It is your personal responsibility to be all that you possibly can be in every task you are given each day. By doing so, this affects everyone around you, making the world a happier place.

What is individual liberty? Liberty is freedom. Liberty is about having the privilege to be able to do what you choose to do. In America especially, we as humans have many opportunities to demonstrate our liberty. This is the reason America was founded--because immigrants wanted freedom. They wanted and they established freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and much more than most nations have. These liberties are often taken for granted. We are free here, in the United States, to do what we choose, and many of us have not experienced anything different.

What is common good? Common good is society; the world around you. It’s the town you live in, the state you are a citizen of, the country you represent. The common good relies on each person, as a part of that culture, to complete his or her duties.  

Now, how do all three of these come together? You have an obligation as an American to support the common good. There are times when liberty gets in the way of personal responsibility and the common good. Our world is not equal by any means and we, as Americans, have it pretty good compared to most. [Sometimes] we forget to share the wealth with [others]. Because of the many options we have, we tend to only think of ourselves, which is the exact opposite of what…being an American is about. If everyone, every day, lived up to his or her own responsibility as a human being and an American, the world would be more like the place it is meant to be.

Can you image life without these concepts? We have definitely grown over time, as a nation, to open up our freedoms to more individuals, from different races, to genders, to religions. We seem to take advantage of it now; especially my own generation. We’ve never really seen anything different.  But the truth is, our lives are much [better] than we [realize].

As part of the United States, we see freedoms everyday. We are members of a very prosperous country. We have opportunities here that most nations don’t [comprehend]. For instance, in most Middle East countries, the women may not have the chance for an education, the chance to speak out about what they believe, or a chance to hold a job. American women have had these liberties for many years now, every day, everywhere.

We have a responsibility as part of the United States to take advantage of all we are given. We also must see that this is something not everyone gets; we are incredibly lucky to have all that we have in this nation. … We live together, so we should work together.  Its a domino effect: you do your part and others around you are more likely to do theirs, which makes for a better world, everyone contributing.  We have it good here, now we all just need to realize it.

Answers to Questions Regarding the Required Reading

 Q1-What do you think Justin Reiter meant by including the following in his essay? “…if the people are not accustomed to the freedom they will be angered by the inequality.”  Were you angered by some of the things Justin said in his essay?  Did you agree or disagree?

By including the above sentence Justin was trying to explain that by America allowing its citizens to have freedom makes up for the fact of the inequality in the country. I was not angered by any of the things Justin said in his essay, rather I was confused by his points that were not thorough. I believe there was nothing of substance to agree or disagree with in this essay.

Q2- Explain: “He felt that the common good could be served by each individual pursuing self-interest.”  To whom did Chris Carney attribute these feelings?

Chris thought that James Madison felt this way about everyone. He was trying to express how most people, by human nature, mainly think about themselves first. But Chris believed what Madison was saying by this was that Madison knew people of the United States, even those who tend to be self-centered, could improve the common good of everything around.  

Q3- In the next to the last paragraph in her essay, Faith Doyle discuses Emperor Diocletian and his Edict of 301. Relate that to the essay topic.

Through this example of Doyle’s she shows that by the Emperor restricting prices and wages it restricts the whole community. The community became very unhappy. She’s trying to prove that people should not be restricted in any way from any available opportunity.

Q4- Kelly Lanier says in her essay: “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.” Relate the example she gives and give us another one of your own.

This shows that when one person abuses a privilege it affects every person, because that privilege, whatever it may be, can be taken away from everyone. An example of this could be when a whole class does a group project, and one person adds an inappropriate sign to it, the whole class gets into trouble and loses their privileges.

Q5- Explain what Joshua Spencer means when he says that “individual liberty is a fragile, yet powerful, asset.” How does he relate individual liberty to dictators?   Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not? Be specific.

Spencer relates individual liberties to dictators showing that when one person gets too much power he/she may take over a country, meaning most everyone else’s individual liberties are taken away. I do believe this is very true for dictators. Many dictators instate a ruthless society by them control everything and everyone in the country.

Q6-Luck Hall asked “Will we maintain our freedom or destroy it to be safe?” How would you answer that question?

I do not know what we will do in the future about our freedoms, but currently we are destroying some in order to be safe. Many would argue that the Patriotic Act instated in the United States right now violates our privacy, one of America’s freedoms, when the wiretapping began.

Q7- Some people, according to which student essayist in 1999, suggested that “the Constitution's framers might have 'put greater emphasis on the protection of the community over individual liberty', had they seen the world today.”? She doesn’t agree.  Do You?

I disagree with Molly McGlone in her essay. I believe, as does Schoenbrun, that there would be much more to cover for today’s society. The doors have been widely opened since the creation of the Constitution. The founding fathers had no idea what was to come. If the Constitution would be different perhaps there would not be such controversy as to how the founding fathers would have wanted things to be, instead of the interpretation that many people gather from their words today.

Q8- “Just because a law may achieve desirable results, it should not take precedence over the Constitution.” Do you agree or disagree?  Aaron Traffas, discusses the Ban on Smoking in Public Places and the Gun Free School Zones Act.  How do you personally feel about these two issues?

I believe the ban of smoking and guns near schools does violate what the Constitution says exactly. At the same time I do believe it necessary for the rules to be instated in today’s society. It may not be what the Constitution states precisely but for the safety of our people I believe they would agree.

Q9- Annie St. Romain referred to a book in her essay where “the government regulated every possible aspect of human life from profession to family to emotions.” What was the name of that book?  Have you read it?

The book St. Romain quotes is from Lois Lowry's The Giver; yes I have read this book before.

Q10- “As nations grow in size and social complexity, governments claim greater powers to restrain individuals and groups.  Those who criticize this development believe that it has gone so far as to threaten the existence of individual liberty.  Others believe that only if government is granted such powers, can complex problems be solved.” This quote can be found in Jessie Veit’s essay.  Which side of the issue do you support and why?

I believe the government should have a line that it should not cross as to how much power they have over everyone’s individual liberties. That line tends to be stretched in certain situations these days.

Q11- Give three examples where personal responsibility would replace the need for laws. Do not duplicate those found in Patrick Karcher’s essay.

Three examples of where personal responsibility would replace the need for laws would be if people would be so kind to throw their trash away in the proper places, there would not need to be a law for littering. If people would keep themselves safe by wearing a helmet on motorcycles then there would not have to be a law and fine for not wearing a helmet. If people would stop at stop signs for the safety of themselves and others there would not need to be a fine for those that do not.

Q12- It is obvious that Benji Lehman is idealistic.  In his essay he claims when the founding fathers “wrote the constitution they put a great emphasis on each person having personal rights as well as individual liberties. The true strength of each and every community falls on the individual. Believing each man, woman, and child will, and can recognize the importance of good responsibility. … These were laws that gave each and everyone of us the opportunity and self-respect to do the right thing.”  Benji believed that people would make choices that would serve and benefit their communities. Do you believe that? Please explain.

I believe there is a natural human problem that tends to led toward benefiting that one person. Thinking morally, people should be able to make choices that help the places around them. I think without some of this enforced people tend to only think of themselves.

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