1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

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

Teacher: Jane Ellen Stritzinger

Demopolis High School, Demopolis, Alabama

1st Melissa Wendt   2nd Blythe Sullivan   3rd Dana Jones

" Moral hazard is the danger that a policy will encourazge the behavior, or promote the disasters, that it insures against. this means, (1) That people will be less careful in preventing hazardous situations if they know they are insured... (2) Many abuse their insurance policies by insurance fraud. A cause I studied in government exemplified this problem when two furniture dealers set their store on fire in order to claim their insurance money. Even worse, there are cases everyday where spouses and even children are killed so that the survivors can collect money from insurance policies. These abuses of insurance cause everyone's premiums to rise, proving that society's lack of morals and princples hurts us in many ways."
Gina Maise, Demopolis High School, Demopolis Alabama

"Until you are eighteen, you cannot be tried as an adult. ... This and the Youthful Offender Act, that allows anyone up to the age of twenty-one to have sealed records, are but two ways that teenagers can escape the responsibility for their actions."
Pam Courtney ,Demopolis High School, Demopolis, Alabama

"Today youth value self-expression over self-control. We are, in fact, more self-expressive than the hippie generation of the 60s and early 70s. Although, many disagree, and see this era as worse, this is an illusion. The reason they see the situation in this way is because the people of the 60s and 70s were not so accepting of these radical forms of behavior.  Now, although we are much worse, our behavior appears normal because society is accepting of so much. People yearn for the shock factor, becoming expressive to the point of vulgarity, exemplifying their lack of self-control. A prime example is the fascination with women like Madonna and Roseanne Arnold. In fact, for many, this fascination has evolved into admiration, which in itself explains the fall of moral America. Madonna is a vulgar, rude, sexually loose woman, yet she is idolized as she performs sexual acts with males and females. Roseanne is also admired and she too is vulgar, rude, and grossly unpatriotic---which was proven when she grabbed her crotch while performing the national anthem. What do these examples say to our youth?"
Gina Maise, Demopolis High School, Demopolis Alabama

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