1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Responsibility, Who Has It and Who Doesn't and What That Means For The Nation

Teacher: Linda Williams

Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

   1st Jeff Garner  2nd Eileen Huston 3rd Alice Elizabeth Juvenal

They "goofed" -- Someone Else Pays
"A Chicago man left a party intoxicated and stumbled off the road to urinate. He passed obvious warning signs, climbed through boards used to keep out intruders, and was electrocuted when he relieved himself on the 600 volt third rail of the Chicago Transit Authority's Ravenswood line. His family sued the CTA for negligence and was awarded $1.5 million."
Alice Elizabeth Juvenal, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"A man in New York received $650,000 in a legal battle. He purposefully jumped in front of a subway train and was mutilated by its wheels. He sued the city of New York claiming that the train should have stopped before it hit him."
Keli Crane, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Blamed if they do:
"A school administrator told me about a pregnant woman who sued a bar because they would not give her alcohol. It was responsible of the bar to observe her condition and stop her from possibly harming her baby. If the bar had served her alcohol, the baby could have suffered from several alcohol-related birth defects, such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome."
Regina Austin, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Perhaps an even greater victory for the attitude Tom Moore refers to is the acquittal of the Menendez brothers. The Menendez brothers were mentioned frequently in student essays. In the excerpts that follow Mandy and Jeremy echo much of what other students expressed:
"The Menendez brothers testified that the murder of their parents was committed in self-defense. At the time of the [Menendez] murders, the parents were sitting in their den eating ice cream. How can this trial be based on self-defense when the parents were not presenting a danger at the time they were killed?"
Mandy McCormack, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

However, blame seems to be a national past time:
"Everyone seems to have a "reason", I would call them excuses, for everything that goes wrong in his or her life, and the "reason" is never personal blame. Most people find a way to shift the blame to someone or something else."
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"I heard about a rapist that sued a wine company because the intoxicating substance caused him to rape a woman. Also, when Dan White murdered San Francisco mayor George Moscone, he argued that he was a victim of temporary insanity brought on by eating Twinkies."
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Commit a crime---Sue the victim! It's catching on:
"Also in New York, an armed robber was shot and injured by a police officer. The robber sued the police claiming that the officer had no right to shoot, even though he (the robber) was in the act of committing armed robbery. He (the robber) came out of court $4.5 million richer."
Keli Crane, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"People sue companies for not putting common sense warning labels on their appliances. This was the case when a refrigerator company was sued for not putting a warning label on the refrigerator that carrying it on one's back could be harmful. How stupid can people get?"
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"In California, four people were awarded more than one million dollars because living near a polluted ground water supply had given them 'cancer phobia'.
What about the case of Marc Christian, former lover of Rock Hudson? He was given $14.5 million because, even though he tested negative for the HIV virus, he suffered from fear of AIDS. Have fears and phobias become a substantial reason for law suits?"
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"A woman being tried for murder escaped sentencing by testifying she had a severe case of PMS (premenstrual syndrome).É In another example a man was fired from his job because of his many tardies. He not only regained employment from the company after suing, but also claimed he had the 'late syndrome' and received compensation for being fired in the first place. To get back on the right track as a kind and caring society, we need to stop inventing new syndromes on which to blame our problems."
Mandy McCormack, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"A fireman, who is also my father, told me about a story he read in which a man was sued for saving another man's life. . . . Apparently the man in danger was trapped in a cave of falling rocks. The rescuer went in to save him, and was sued because he did not bring an extra hard hat."
Regina Austin, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"Many people may think protesting isn't a form of exhibiting responsibility, but it is."
Jeff Garner, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"In my opinion, responsibility is knowing what you did wrong and trying your best to make amends."
Melanie Griffin, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"Responsibility is a must in any society. People must take responsibility for their actions and not blame other people."
Cary Brown, Blue Ridge Hig School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Back