Carrollton High School

Carrollton, Ohio
Teacher: Carol Wilking

 

 

 

The Importance of Personal Responsibility

By David W. Weber

Grade 12

 

Everyone these days is concerned about improving the quality of life in our communities.  One of the best ways by which to accomplish this is to emphasize the importance of personal responsibility.  The meaning of personal responsibility can be broken down into three parts.  First, one should take responsibility for his or her actions.  Second, problems in a community should be solved by individuals caring enough to come together for the common good.  And third, the well-being of a person should be up to that person, not anyone else.  Applying the three parts of personal responsibility can play a role in improving our communities by solving many of the prominent problems that we face each day. 

           

Many of the problems that plague our communities could be solved if people would be responsible for their actions. A few examples include the divorce rate and the number of ludicrous lawsuits that people file. When a man and a woman say their vows, they should be committing to each other no matter what happens. This means that the couple will have to face many problems. Humans are selfish by nature.  It is easy for one to blame his or her spouse for all of the problems that arise in the relationship. But, if that person would just be willing to say that he or she is wrong, then the path to a successful relationship is paved. Instead of working out problems and sticking to their vows, people in our society just get divorced. As for the lawsuits, it all comes down to the same thing. When a person is too ignorant to be careful with his coffee and gets a little burn, he or she can call up a lawyer and sue the company that sold the coffee. Instead of saying "Well, that was stupid, I should have been more careful," this person will blame someone else and become rich for being ignorant.  There is nothing wrong with punitive damages as long as they are legitimate and someone really has been hurt or cheated. In a society where people are responsible for their actions, ludicrous lawsuits would not be a problem.

           

Amazing things can be done when people come together.  Take natural disasters for an example.  In these times of emergency, people forget all of their differences and work together to survive.  The same idea could be applied to improving our communities. When a whole bunch of people take personal responsibility for the problems in their communities, great things can be done, in a sense, for their survival. 

           

A couple of the problems that plague all communities include the crime rate and the need for charity volunteers. If everyone in this country were responsible and took pride in himself and his community, there would be no crime rate, but it would also be a perfect world.  In the real world it's average people, not cops or priests, that make the difference.  Everyone needs to make it a point to watch out for one another and guard his community as if it was his own house. Programs such as the Neighborhood Watch Program were thought up on the basis that people would take personal responsibility for their communities. Volunteering is another way that a person can be personally responsible for his community. Also by volunteering, a person's mental and spiritual health are better because he or she will have a sense of doing something worth-while and good.  Many problems such as poverty, hunger, and teen pregnancy can be curbed if people will give a few hours for the cause. When a lot of people donate a few hours it becomes a whole lot of hours and things start to get done. So by volunteering a person can be personally responsible for his or her health and the well-being of the community.

           

Welfare and what the nation should do with it is one of the biggest issues of today.  Taxpayers get very angry when they are paying for lazy people to get a free ride, and rightfully so. These people are not only taking advantage of taxpayers but of the system that keeps certain reliant families off the streets.  If welfare is abolished, then those families will perish.  Once again, there would be no problem if those lazy people would be personally responsible for their own well-being. It is fine to use the system as a cushion, but people have to make an effort to get off welfare and get back on their feet.  If they do not, then they are not being personally responsible for their well-being.

           

If all of the three parts of personal responsibility were to be upheld, then many of the problems that plague communities today could be solved. Being accountable for one's actions, coming together for the common good, and being responsible for one's own well being are good morals that all community members should possess. There probably will never be a perfect world where everyone is personally responsible. But if there is a way to better all communities, it has to lie within the morals of the communities themselves. Personal responsibility is the first step to improving communities around to world as well as right here at home

 

Answers to the Questions for the Required Reading

 

 

1.In the USA, marriage is becoming less and less common and/or successful.  Couples just live together and do not worry about the tax hike or the legalities of the whole matter.  In Manus "investors" rely on the stableness of a marriage to gain goods.  These people literally invest in a marriage.

 

2.# of marriages            # of years in current marriage    Words of advice

            1          27        It is never 50/50.

            1          35        Be flexible and communicate.   

            1          10        Marriage is not as easy as it looks.       

            1          28        Be honest.

            2          10        Compromise.

            1          17        Be sincere.      

            2          6          Skip the first marriage, the second time you know what is what.

            1          1          Communicate and ask about their day.

            1          27        Make a commitment, compromise, and communicate. Make sure you                                        are in love first!

            1          38        Cooperate and listen.

 

3. Richard Eckersley believes that we, as a race, should not "abandon growth" but "move beyond growth." We need to see what is changing and the effects of these changes.  Alternatives then need to be considered as means to a better life under different standards and measures.

 

4.A worthy goal for my community would be to pass a school levy or bond issue.  Carrollton Schools have not passed a levy in about twenty years.  If we expect to better our communities, our children need to be educated.  They need to be taught right from wrong and have their eyes opened to good morals that will better our society.  In school, such morals can be taught to all children.  A levy would make teaching these morals much easier because of the visual aids, technology, and hands on learning tools that could be bought.

 

5. In the excerpt about the toy industry it states that "The (toy industry) may come to the rescue of lonely kids." It has been shown that children that have more intimate relationships with their parents and/or caretakers have higher IQs than children who do not. Without being talked to or read to, these children have a handicap before they even have a chance to compete.

           

As far as the minorities, I hope that the gap between the races closes.  It will be high time by 2050 to put our differences aside for the sake of our well-being. Also, there really will be no choice in the matter.

 

6. According to Kathleen Sulivan, there are four characteristics of the American Government which make lawyers useful.  These four things are the democracy, diversity, wealth, and size of our country.

           

In our American democracy people tend to distrust large governments.  We cannot make solutions to our problems through the government because of this distrust.  So, instead, we have lawyers and a legal system which help us to solve our problems and present us with opportunity without involving the government.

           

The United States is very diverse compared to many of the other countries in the world.  In less diverse areas, religion and race set a social custom that people live by.  Because of our diversity, the United States needs lawyers and law to settle discrepancies. 

           

The United States is also a very large and wealthy country.  When all of life's necessities are satisfied, other things have to be improved to make our lives better.  One such thing is protecting the environment.  Without litigation it would be very hard to improve these parts of our lives.  As for our size, lawyers are needed to close the huge gaps made by many transactions among many people and companies. All of these companies and people cannot see the national view of things.  Lawyers act as a peace-maker between us even though we may be miles apart.

 

7. I prefer punitive damages even though the reasons for some lawsuits are ludicrous.  But, if companies know that they can be sued without mercy for a silly little thing such as too hot a coffee, then they have to consider what would happen to them if they did something really bad.  If we just had regulations without the fear factor employed, companies would have no problem with breaking those regulations.  By allowing us to sue a major company, lawyers help us to come together for the common good of the people and make sure that the companies that provide goods and services for us are kept in check.  I cannot think of a better "scare" system that could be employed in the United States today.

 

8. There are at least three ways that society will benefit from the retirement of baby boomers.  First, these people are good workers and very highly qualified; therefore, many will start up their own businesses after formal retirement. Second, elderly people that stay home will provide opportunities for young entrepreneurs. These people will need many services that can be some young person's "great idea."  Third, not many retired baby boomers are going to be happy with staying at home.  After a lifetime of work, they are going to need to do something useful and will be the ones that run our volunteer services.  Because of the accomplishments of these elderly people throughout their lives, the services that they provide free of charge will be very successful.

 

9. President Clinton's anti-poverty policies will make an impact in America. What is yet to be determined is how much of a positive impact these policies will make. One reason that the plan will be successful is the fact that there is not going to be a better time.  The economy is great right now so why not try and purge America of poverty immediately? Second, to keep the economic expansion from stopping, new markets and new pools of people must be utilized. The only resource left is the poor. Lastly, over the years there has been other attempts to stomp out poverty, but they have all failed. The government has learned from its mistakes and is now putting the plan in the hands of the private sector.

 

10. Both Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis were entrepreneurs that wanted to do something useful with their lives. Also, they both had an idea that would help children.  Lastly, both men were very persistent even during the hard times.