Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
We Need New Morale Standards
By Neal Lewis
12th grade
Individual liberty, what in the world is that?…. Does anyone have individual liberty anymore? Would you call someone who has only, say, about three months to live someone with individual liberty? No, that was taken away from him and there is nothing that anybody can do for him. I know. I was one of the people that had to sit on the side and just watch as he slowly faded away from me. Is that what our country is turning into though? I mean, honestly, I had a great person right in front of me and never got the real chance to take advantage of it. You go to a game and you see all those dads cheering for their kids and encouraging them every step they take. Well, they better cherish every moment that they get with him, because I know what it is like to have a dad die.
Is that what this country is coming to through? Honestly we have a great country if we would just put something into it. It’s like I said before I had something great right in front of me; we cannot let this country slip through our fingers like I let my father slip through mine. Just take a look around any big city today; what do you see at almost any corner? I guarantee you that you would just see someone down at your feet begging for just a little bit of spare change. Just something that would hopefully get him something to eat. What makes him any different than you or me? Sure, he may have not led the best life that led him to this, but why? I’ll tell you why. The parents or their parents before them had something to do with it, along with the person. They came over to this country with nothing but hopes and dreams. What did we do to them? Strip them of their dreams, hope, and dignity.
Why, why must we always think to the lower side of ourselves when someone we do not know or trust comes here? After all, our forefathers did so [much to ensure] this country would survive…. Is that what we call individual liberty? For your sake and mine, I hope to God that one day He can forgive us all. Honestly, why, why must we always say to other countries that they should come over here and benefit us…? What common good are we talking about? We show them all the high life and what it is like to lead a successful life. We never show them what the immigrants that come here are doing. Why? They would never come here, that is why. You just want them so they can work in your shop and slave away for a few dollars a day to feed their families. What common good is that for?
Sometimes someone should just take a trip to New York and visit the Statue of Liberty. What does it stand for? Hope, change, a new beginning, everything to someone who has nothing. Ever since we were just little kids, we have had a specific lifestyle…. Well, look at ourselves now we are all doing well. We are what some people would say living the American Dream. Some people just wish for maybe an eighth of what we have. Look over at some of the third world countries that have absolutely nothing but maybe a few articles of clothing to their names. They are over there starving to death and being forced to fight for their freedom. Freedom, freedom, is that what they call freedom? Going back to absolutely nothing, they fight and kill so they can go on living the same life.
So, why is it that whenever they turn to us to help them out, we just give them the cold shoulder like they are nothing? If you just take one look at them and see what they could see or do what they do would you still feel the same. I mean, when they are starving and we are suffering from obesity, is that really for the common good? Or, is it just for the nature of making yourself feel like you are actually important to someone.
Honestly, just take a second out of your oh so busy lives and just stop. Just look all around you and notice how much different everything is. You are willing to shun someone out who looks up to you. Why? Why is this world turning into a bunch of self centered people? I mean, if that is what this country is going to become, the country that we have fought so hard and so long to keep ours, then I would almost rather live over with the starving people. We have no conception of what the common good is. We are being so selfish with every last thing that we do. If we do not [stop] what we are doing, I think that, [this country will deteriorate].
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?
I was not really angered by what he said there because it is the truth. People come over hear with not a whole lot to there name and then they complain about inequality. When all the other citizens hear have had to work for what they have now.
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?
He attributed these feelings to James Madison when he was talking about civic virtue. Madison knew that he was going to have to modify it, but with each individual having a different self-interest it would be a little easier.
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.
It goes extremely well with the topic because he was extremely hard on Balancing Individual Liberty and the Common Good. I mean how is raising the prices and taxes on everything for the common good.
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.
She makes an extremely good point; I mean what gives one person the right to kill someone else. Say if you were born an American but had a very strong Hispanic heritage people are going to look down on you almost your whole life. No matter what you do you will be lower class to them.
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.
He relates it that if you look of how a dictator comes to power is he manipulates the people to his side. I strongly agree with his assessment, if you look at us today if we had not of made the government for the people we would be like North Korea.
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 how to answer that because he sounds like Thomas Jefferson. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
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?
Molly McGlone, I agree with her. The framers did what they thought was write and left a big basically loop hole for what the future could bring us.
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 do agree with that statement, the constitution wanted us all to have civil liberties. Even though some of the laws are good they infringe on our constitutional rights. Well I think it’s great what they are doing about the smoking just because I don’t smoke and I hate it. But he is still right that it is violating that person’s constitutional right; same for the guns.
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?
Lois Lowry’s The Giver, no I have not read it.
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 have to agree with the side that is backing the government. Honestly for the other people without giving the government the power to fix the problems who is going to fix them, you?
Q11- Give three examples where personal responsibility would replace the need for laws. Do not duplicate those found in Patrick Karcher’s essay.
I think that the law of someone cannot drink until they are 21 should be lowered to 18 like it used to be if they were smart enough to be responsible so are we. This one mainly permits to California, if almost every other states driving age is 16, why make yours 18 what is so different about you?
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.
Yes, I believe that each and every one of us was given a choice. Key word there though is choice, not every one wants to make the right choice or is raised to.