1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Responsibility, Who Has It and Who Doesn't and What That Means For The Nation
Teacher: N.D. Kelso

Hereford High School, Hereford, Texas

1st Chris Lyles   2nd Kathleen Cooper  3rd Kelly Kelso

"In the end, we, ourselves, have the responsibility and the duty to care for our country."
Robert Jimenez, Hereford High School, Hereford, Texas

If people are faced with having to pay the other person's legal bills, as well as their own if they lose, they may be less likely to take their claims, which are in some cases absurd, to court. The implementation of this system would not be good, however, because it places too many positive incentives on litigation. Many people are trying to make themselves out to be some kind of victim so that they can blame things that they did on other people. They are hoping to be compensated for [misfortunes] which are really their fault.

Another evil of this system is that it makes victims of many businesses. These businesses automatically lose when they are sued.

"I personally think that the implementation of such a system in America would be a good idea. The system would eliminate many cases where the person that is doing the suing does not have a legitimate claim. Such cases are needlessly overcrowding today's courtrooms. By placing [a higher degree of]  reparation on the loser,    more  room is left for legitimate cases."
Chris Lyles, Hereford High School, Hereford, Texas

"Kids today live in a world full of moral and ethical confusion. The line between right and wrong gets hazier every year. I believe that down deep they want to do well and act responsibly, but the real world is not showing them how to do that."
Caressa Noyes, Hereford High School, Hereford, Texas

"I believe that young people value self-expression over self-control in cases when they feel they are not getting their point across to the older generation. When a young teenage boy committed suicide because he thought the song he was listening to encouraged it, or a group of drunk fraternity brothers lay in the middle of the highway to imitate a movie, or [teens] engage in unsafe sexual practices to 'fit in' or rebel against their parents, it is a cry for attention that is being heard too late."
Kathleen Cooper, Hereford High School, Hereford, Texas
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