Calvert Hall College High School
Towson, Maryland
Teacher: Mr. Kropp

 

The Individual’s Responsibility to Contribute to
and Promote the Common Good in Society

 

By Stephen Greene

11^th grade

 

 

What responsibilities do I have as an American citizen to balance my individual liberties with the “common good”? Many people in today’s society struggle with this question everyday. We hear people talking about it, but many people fail to understand what the phrase “common good” really means. The “common good” is defined as “the sum total of social conditions that allows all the people in a community to reach their full human potential.” So in order for us as a people to balance our individual liberty and the common good, we must utilize our individual freedoms in such away that we do not impede upon the rights of others and we must also work to support and improve our communities. By improving our communities, we create a society that allows people to reach their full potential and exercise their individual liberties to the fullest of their extent.

 

Many people just sit at home, only showing concern for their own families and affairs, and they wonder why the world has become an unsafe place. Rather than utilizing our right to bear arms in order to protect our right to life, and possibly killing someone and impeding upon their right to life, we need to attack the heart of the problem, which is our deteriorating community. These communities are weakening both economically and morally.

 

Our communities have been getting worse because we fail to give back to them. There are many young men and women who grow up in single-parent homes and because of their lack of a mother or father, they fail to learn what it truly means to be a man or a woman. Or they grow up in an abusive home where they pick up on the abusive behaviors that their parents or siblings exercise. This perpetuates and creates more men and women who will abandon their families and more men and women who will abuse their children and spouses.

 

The abandonment of the father or mother in a family, often also creates a single-parent home, which is usually strained economically. This economic strain often causes the adults or children to turn to alternate forms of income such as drug dealing and stealing. This eventually creates a violent and dangerous community. These communities are…bad environments for the youth and because of this fact the youth grow up and become inefficient members of society who work only for themselves and not for the common good. These people become the various criminals, murderers, and thieves of society who believe that as they pursue personal happiness, they have the right to impede upon the rights of others. They disregard the fact that other people have the right to life, the right to live without fear and so on. These people become products of poor communities, both economically and morally, and hinder the pursuit of the common good for others.

 

The individual’s responsibility now comes into play. There are a variety of ways to give to and support the communities that struggle with these issues of poverty and violence. [For instance] people  can…become mentors for those who lack a father or a mother. This can be done through organizations such as Big Brother Big Sister non-profit organization. Through programs such as this, men and women can give back to their communities by teaching young men without fathers how to be amen of integrity, how to be providers and how to treat women. While the women can teach the young women without mothers how to be women who nurture, who respect their own body, and who carry themselves with dignity. By teaching these boys and girls how to be real men and women who don’t have to join a gang or hide behind the barrel of a gun to feel like a real man or woman, we can create a safer and more efficient society, bent on providing for the common good of all. A place that’s safe and full of men and women who possess values and concern for not only themselves, but for others as well.

 

We can also support our communities by giving supplies and goods to families that are less fortunate. This can be done by donating non-perishable foods, various old or new jackets, sweaters, hats and other clothing to your local Salvation Army or any non-profit organization, which then distributes these items to the less fortunate.

 

All people have the inalienable right to pursue happiness. Well, this is best done by giving back to the community and society as a whole because you receive the greatest happiness by giving to and helping others. Not only that but you also are able to learn more about yourself as an individual when you give back to others. By giving back we are able to support the “common good” of all by creating safer environments in which to live. Thus, allowing us to live to our fullest potentials,. Meaning, that the “common good” goes hand in hand with the protection of our individual liberty.

 

 

Answers to Questions Regarding the Required Reading

 

Q1-What do you think Justin Reiter meant…in his essay?

 

1.                 I was not angered at all by any of the things that Justin mentioned in his essay. Rather, I firmly agree with his belief that even though we are a free people, we do not possess societal equality. The fact that we are a people who live in a capitalist society, rather than a society based on socialism, is the reason why we do not possess equality.

 

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 Carney attributes these feelings to James Madison.

 

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.

 

 In her essay, Faith, discusses how when people are free they do not receive equal wages, and that people who do receive equal wages sacrifice their freedom. Emperor Diocletian and his Edict of 301 are related to this topic because it is this edict that set wage and price controls in Rome. This led to the Roman people’s enslavement to its government, which directly agrees with her argument.

 

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.

 

 The example that Kelly Lanier uses to represent how people are able to strip others of their rights is how a person has the right to bear arms. This right can conflict with another person’s right to live and be free from harm if the person with the weapon shoots and kills another person. Another example, of how people are able to strip other people of their rights is when are unable to exercise their right of freedom of speech. This occurs in many places such as schools where children have their paintings censured by the school’s administration because they believe that the paintings are inappropriate.

 

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.

 

 Joshua Spencer believes that dictators gain control by taking away individual liberty from the people. They do this by taking away the peoples drive to compete and [encouraging reliance] on others by feeding people for free and by taking control of all the lands. This takes away individual responsibility. Then a dictator makes all wages equal, saying that it’s for the common good. By doing this, dictators take away the people’s individual liberty, which is the driving force for revolution.  I do not completely agree with Joshua because all dictators do not utilize this strategy. For example, Hitler utilized the political strategy of totalitarianism in order to come to power. He did not uniformly seize the lands of all in Germany; rather he just seized the lands of the Jewish people. He also didn’t make everything equal, as is seen through the fact that he killed and abused those who he ostracized or who weren’t of his chosen Aryan race.

 

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

 

 I believe that we will maintain our freedom because the elites and aristocrats of society still currently run our country. They are elites because we are a free people and because of this fact, as Faith Doyle argues, they posses an income that is greater and unequal to that of the common man. It is because of this fact that our government, in light of this self-interest, will protect our freedom and theirs.

 

 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 agree with this statement because during the time when the framers of the constitution had created it, they had never had to deal with a child bringing a weapon to school and shooting other students, or a terrorist flying a plane into a building. The times have changed since the Constitution was drafted, and so would the Constitution if the framers had seen the world 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 disagree with this statement because if a law impedes someone’s right to bear arms by restricting it, it may very well protect the lives and rights of many others who may be potentially assaulted or even shot by those carrying the weapons. I personally feel safer with these two policies in place because both smoking and bearing arms in school or near a school is dangerous. Second hand smoke can damage your lungs and guns can kill and injure people.

 

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 that Annie describes is Lois Lowry's The Giver, which is a book that I have read 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 support the government in its restraint of certain individuals and groups. I believe this because as nations grow, so does the violence and organized crime. The government, in order to protect its citizens, has the responsibility to restrain these groups and individuals who pose harm to others.

 

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

 

 Personal responsibility could often times replace some of the laws that are in place. Child support laws, truancy laws, and child abandonment laws could be replaced with personal responsibility.

 

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 am not an idealist like Benji and I don’t believe his argument. The fact is, that many people do not choose to better their communities when given the option. Many just care only about their own individual well-being, and others choose to act against their communities by stealing and killing.

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