1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

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

Teacher: Debra Blunier

Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

1st Michael Gammon   2nd Darrell Stoller  3rd Jerry Schreck

"The lawsuit is [the largest] example of irresponsibility in our society today. This function of our court system is so often abused, it nearly ceases to serve the purpose for which it was introduced."
Darrell Stoller, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"Anthony Jones is suing because the state will not allow him to wear a bra, panties, and mascara in jail. The thirty year old convicted murderer feels he has every right to wear a dress if he so pleases."
Darrell Stoller, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"A woman took a birth control pill, from Johnson and Johnson company, for three years. She then had a stroke. She sued the company, because the label didn't list strokes as a side effect. The company claimed it did through common sense. The label said that the pill may cause fatal clotting, and a stroke fits under fatal clotting. The jury found the woman correct and awarded her 1.75 million dollars."
Brent Bill, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"A woman sued the apartment complex because her husband drowned in the swimming pool. This sounds pretty normal until all the facts are brought to light. These facts are, that the husband on his birthday got drunk, then with his wife and fifteen friends went to the pool. During the night he decided to walk all the way across the bottom of the pool. His friends and wife watched as he walked to his death underneath the surface. The wife won."
Brent Bill, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"The body of a man who died of cancer was given back to the son of the deceased because he could not pay the price of the cremation. The price of the cremation was six hundred eighty three dollars, and he only had two hundred seventy nine. The son said he wanted to discuss some kind of payment plan; however he was told he had to have the payments the next day. Newell Evans, who was the owner of the mortuary said he did not just dump the body with intentions to make the son mad. He just returned the body."
Jeff Hershberger, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"Another example of irresponsibility is the case of Warren S. Graboyes, a Philadelphia orthodontist. He was charged with fondling a teen-age girl who was under his care for years. When the girl complained ... he claimed he had a sexual disorder. This allowed him to get off with a revoked license, and four years probation, and one month in a hospital therapy program for problems such as his. After this, Graboyes claimed the insurance company owed him sixty thousand dollars a year because his illness rendered him incapable. This is a good example of how people become rich off infamous doings."
Jeff Hershberger, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

The excerpt that follows shows that occasionally judges give in to their own personal feelings. The laudable desire to be helpful is often subjective. As Michael suggests below, this gives mixed messages, especially to young people:
"[A] judge by the name of Robert Schillberg released Leroy Kelley who is a convicted thief, violent offender, and rapist with a $1.00 fine which the good judge paid himself, after Kelley was caught stealing cigarettes from a grocery store. The judge said that the store was more at fault than poor Leroy [because the store] provided the cigarettes. The officer who arrested Kelley was obviously upset and felt that the judge's reasoning was unfair. This judge is sending a message to society that if you commit a crime against those who do legal but somewhat socially unacceptable things, you do not have to pay for it."
Michael Gammon, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"One of the greatest problems in American society is people who want to victimize themselves. They do this because they know that we will surely reward them or they will gain something."
Andrew R. Schertz, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"In our society there are many responsible individuals. However, there are also many who avoid taking responsibility. This problem has been created because, as children, people are educated with differing ideas of what responsibility is. Some children are raised in an environment that teaches them to take responsibility for their actions, but others grow up in an environment that teaches them to pass the responsibility on to someone else. They are brought up to believe that the world is against them. They are poor because no one wants them to succeed. They live in slums because they are from the wrong country. And they are in jail because nobody wants to help them. All through life, they act irresponsibly because of the ideas they are raised to believe. The solution to this problem may seem to be impossible, but it only seems that way because that is what we are brought up to believe."
Jerry Schreck, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"Many people find it easy to fake injuries. Some people even self-inflict themselves with minor injuries so they can collect insurance. [A] way to prevent this is to quit handing out settlements for more than the victim's costs."
Andrew R. Schertz, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"T. Gary Freas has cerebral palsy (which) kept him from finding work. He purchased a shoe shining kit, and (took) it to the mall every morning. Nearby workers noticed how reliable Gary was, and built him a shoe shining shop of his own. Now he has his own shop because he took responsibility for his life."
Jerry Schreck, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

As I left the bus, I asked the driver why he could not discipline the troublemakers. I remembered an incident of my past, where my riding privileges were suspended for a week. I had broken one rule to receive this punishment. I counted seven rules that were posted in the front of the bus that were all broken in fifteen minutes. To me this looked like a case where some severe disciplining was needed. It seemed that some other people felt the same way as I did. However, they intended to punish the other party. My driver told me that he would have to change routes in a couple of weeks. If he did not do this, he faced a possible dismissal. It seemed that the parents of the culprits had complained to the principal of the school that their sons were not receiving fair treatment on their bus route. They felt the driver was at fault, and they urged that he be fired. I found this to be absurd. These children had obviously had very little disciplining done by their parents in their upbringing. Now that they were being exposed to what they deserved, their parents viewed it as unjust. The threat of a lawsuit may cost one man his bus route, and  his riders may lose a good driver."
Darrell Stroller, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"Whether or not you are appreciated publicly, your own soul will know the difference. Responsibility will make you feel better in the long run, and probably someone else, too."
Kendra Smith, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois


"A high school girl was suing another girl because she got sick and vomited on her new jacket. Cases such as these, when the court system is being used for means of entertainment or personal gain, diminish the power of the system as a whole."
Kendra Smith, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

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