1993-1994 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

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

Teacher: Michele DeMaio

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New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

bd07219_.wmf (14350 bytes) 1st Stephanie Brown  bd07220_.wmf (15782 bytes) 2nd Jong-Hyuk Woo bd07220_.wmf (15782 bytes)3rd Josh Talmud

 

"How about individual responsibility? One example I thought of is Bernard Getz. Because he was mugged once before, he decided that he should carry a gun with him at all times; that he should be responsible for his own safety. His decision came in handy because one day he was jumped by five guys. Using the gun to defend himself, he shot one of his attackers. Because he felt responsible for himself and because he knew he was responsible for his actions, he admitted to having shot one of his attackers. In my opinion, Bernard Getz is a good example of having individual responsibility because he had a very good reason for carrying a gun and for using it. He also took the blame for his actions."
Raluca Preda, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"There is a story in the Bible about Nehemiah, in the Old Testament. One day, the king granted him permission to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. When he got there, he saw that there was much work to be done. Day by day, little by little, the people began to lay down bricks to build the city walls. One person would start here, and another person would build there. Eventually, each individual wall met to become one huge wall that was to be the city walls of Jerusalem. That is how responsibility works. It lies within the individual. We may say to ourselves, 'How can I make a difference in this world? I'm only one out of billions!' But, if each and every one of us tries to show responsible actions, they will all build up, like the individual walls that finally produced the one great wall."
Jong-Hyuk Woo, New Providence High New Providence, New Jersey

"Responsibility is a hard thing to possess. To have it, one must work hard. And to keep it, one just works harder....If everyone was responsible for himself, the United States of America would be the greatest country in the world!"
Dave Svach, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"It takes a lot of caring and hard work to stay responsible."
Rusty O'Brien, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"There are a growing number of commercials on television advertising accident lawyers who promise that their client will receive a settlement or that the lawyer will not bill the client. It seems impossible that they can promise these results even before they hear the circumstances but they have found a way and are not being stopped by the judicial system. This is because lawyers have become so experienced they can lay the blame wherever they wish."
Kerri Dodd, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"A burglar, while stealing a television set, accidentally tripped, fell, and severely injured himself, so what did he do? Why, he simply sued the family and won. Since when is it a homeowner's responsibility to furnish a safe home for burglars?"
Andy Chen, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

The ones who put the blame in these two examples were actually to blame themselves. Adolf Hitler needed a scapegoat for the hardships in Germany. When he made an error in battle strategy, he blamed the Jews. This irresponsible behavior cost millions of innocent lives and his eventual downfall. In the second example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States government should have taken the blame for that day at Pearl Harbor. But the blame was put on one man who was completely unaware of the attack. This irresponsible behavior on the part of the Roosevelt administration destroyed the career of one man who had devoted his whole life to serving the very country that betrayed him."
Jong-Hyuk Woo, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

 


          

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