Burlington High School

Burlington, Kansas

Teacher:  Devra Parker

 

Lending a Helping Hand

By:  Megan Schmidt

12^th Grade

 

When the framers wrote the Constitution, they were thinking about everybody’s individual liberties.  The framers wanted everyone to be born equal and with the same rights.  As a person grew up, it would be his/her choice as to how he/she lived his/her life.  Some people choose to be successful and other people just want things handed to them.  So, what is the role of balancing individual liberty and the common good?

 

Communism was meant to be a positive way of running a government when it first started, but as we now know, it [is] a form of government that does not do the people any good.  Kim Jong-il of North Korea runs a communist government and half of the country’s population is starving.  He makes sure most of the food goes to the military.  This is a prime example that communism does not help the common good or the individual liberty.  

 

I think that communism needs to be done away with and a new government formed.  … I think that is good.  In a democracy, everyone is born with equal rights, and he/she has the chance to fail or succeed.  The people have the right to choose who they want to run the government.  This type of democracy is good because it makes everyone in society feel like they are important.

 

When it comes to balancing personal decisions, I think it has to do with what type of society you grew up in.  Some societies are more giving than others.  How many people would honestly give up their personal liberties and give them to someone else?  Not many people would.  I think it is kind of sad how society has become.  People have become more selfish in today’s day and age.  When it comes to making a decision, most people are thinking of whether or not it will benefit them but not giving a second thought to weather  it would be good for society.  

 

For example, when somebody wants to buy a car, most people are probably not thinking about the pollution it gives off, which is helping to deplete the ozone layer.  I also understand that not all cars run on gas, but the majority do.  Another example of choosing personal liberty over the common good would be gun free school zones.  Some people believe that it is their own individual right to carry a weapon, but is it okay to carry it on school property?  Some people would use that to their advantage and do awful things with it.  

 

Another problem that society ignores is when they see the elderly lifting or doing something they should not be doing.  People walk right on by them without a care in the world.  No wonder they think this generation is rude.  I think if everyone would just stop and help someone else out occasionally, this world would be a much nicer place to live.  Sometimes people simply do not have the time to stop and help someone else out, but maybe society should make the time.  

 

People need to learn how to be courageous and stand up for what they believe in.  This is what America is all about.  We must make the effort to make a change because helping society is simple.  We could join clubs.  Most, if not all clubs, do some type of community service.  Another thing we could do is when we have a free weekend, go up to a nursing home and visit with the elderly.  The older people love it when they get visiters.    

 

We, the community, have the right and obligation to help people.  When you go to get something, think about if it is benefiting you or is it benefiting the community?  I attribute some of the not helping others to pure laziness.  Let’s face it; we were born into a generation of lazy people.

 

As the framers were sitting down to write the Constitution, they were just thinking about everyone’s individual rights.  They simply wanted everyone to be as equal as possible.  By insuring that they were all born equal, that gave everybody rights that we are born with.  Some people may consider these rights privileges because they can be taken away if we do not use them correctly.  The framers were also worried about protecting our country from tyrants.  To this day, about 200 years from when the framers wrote the Constitution, we are still dictator-free, and we are still using the Constitution that they created.  I do not think the framers thought at all that we would still be using their Constitution, which they fought over for months, and that they worked so hard to achieve.    

 

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?

 

A1 – I think he was referring to people in other countries who have never experienced anything but dictatorship.  People move to America to become free, but then they have a problem when they realize not everyone is equal in this society.  He is saying that the people can’t have both.  They have to decide if they want freedom or if they want everyone to be equal.  

 

 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?

 

A2 – In his essay he is saying this is how James Madison felt.  It was James Madison’s hope that while people are making decisions that will benefit themselves, he hopes that they will also find some way to give back to the community.

 

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.

 

A3 – Emperor Diocletian was trying to help people for the common good.  He wanted everyone to have something to eat.  He just went a little too far.  When leaders start taking away individual liberty, before long, the entire country will be relying on the government as a life line.  The people of Rome was fine, before the government started interfering.  Maybe this should be a lesson to other governments that you have to let the people make a living for themselves instead of having the government control their lives.

 

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.

 

A4 – Everybody has the right to bear arms, but it takes just one person for our right to be taken away.  Another right that everyone has is to dress however they like.  That right is beginning to slowly dissolve in some places though, because some people are abusing that right.  

 

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.

 

A5 – Some dictators take advantage of their individual liberty and go on to make sure they are the most powerful person in the country and take away other people’s liberties.  I agree with his assessment, because if you look at Kim Jong-il of North Korea, he has everybody worshipping him.  He has everyone thinking we, the West, are the evil people just because everyone has relied on him so much.  

 

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

 

A6 – I think we can maintain our freedom if we approach it the right way.  I do not think it needs to be destroyed.  One of the biggest freedoms that we have is the right to bear arms.  If we set up the appropriate laws, I think we can protect our freedom, without giving up any of it.  Another freedom that the government is infringing upon is wiretapping to help unfoil terror plots.  I think this is a necessary infringement because it is keeping the American people safe.

 

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?

 

A7 – Molly McGlone wrote this.    I think the framers still would have put individual liberty first, because of what they went through with the British.  Protection of the community is important, but I think individual rights is more important.  With individual rights you can help make a safe community.

 

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?

 

A8 - If it is for the good of the people, then some laws need to take precedence over the constitution.  The constitution was written a long time ago and times change.  The framers did not anticipate half of the challenges going on in today’s society.  The Ban on Smoking in Public Places should be lifted.  I understand some people do not want to smell smoke when they are in a restaurant or some other venue, but I also believe they have a right to leave.  The writer made a good point that some people believe it is a health concern, but I believe it is taking away somebody else’s personal right to smoke.  It is the person’s right to smoke if they are of the legal age.  I think the Gun Free School Zones Act would be a good way to protect the young people of the community.  It would help to prevent shootings and other acts of violence.  It may violate the constitution, but this is a law that would be for the good of the community.     
 

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?

 

A9 – The name of the book was The Giver by Lois Lowry.  I have never read the book, but I think it would be a great book to read.

 

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?

 

A10 – I think that the government is trying to keep the nation from getting out of control.  They are infringing upon our liberties in order to try and protect us in today’s society.   Without the government having power to restrain some individuals, this society could become a disaster.

 

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

 

A11 – I believe that having laws on cell phones is unnecessary.  The person(s) should be responsible enough to know that it is unsafe to text while driving or to talk on the phone while on the road.  Another personal responsibility would be loitering.  If everyone would just through their trash in a trash can instead of out their car window, this law could be eliminated.  One of the other laws that we do not need is a law on curfew.  Parents and teenagers should be responsible enough to get home before their child’s curfew.

 

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.

 

A12 – I think everyone has the choice or duty to benefit their community, whenever possible.  It would be nice to think that everyone would do something to help someone else out, but today’s society is getting more selfish.  I believe when most people make decisions, they are probably thinking of how it will benefit them personally and not the community.