Rockridge High School

Taylor Ridge, Illinois

Teacher: Barbara Downey

 

 

Personal Responsibility

By Erin Frakes

Grade 12

   

 

While running down the gravel back road I frequently take, my mind is clear and there is room to collect my thoughts. What am I going to write for that essay? How am I supposed to know about personal responsibility and improving life? I am still in high school under the careful watch of my parents. A lonely car passes by and I wave, but the driver speeds past in a hurry kicking dust in my face. I start to get angry and suddenly it comes to me: my essay kind of fits in here. My percolating goes into top speed. It was that driver’s responsibility to help my day be better by waving back. We, as a society, need to work on not only improving our own

lives but others’ lives as well. This responsibility is interwoven among all parts of society including adolescents, adults, senior citizens, and government.

   

First, we have the adolescents of our time. On the front page, teens are applying for scholarships and college, instilled with the desire to achieve. But if a person turns the page and reads deeper, he/she finds there are other teens screaming for attention. Drug deals are being handled during class - some kids just do not care anymore. School violence is making the biggest mark with students whipping out guns all over the nation in hopes of "accomplishing" a repeat Colombine incident. We have lost the values of achieving and striving for success. If teens can form their own opinions, then they have something to stand for, work for, and believe

in. By setting good examples, adults, senior citizens, and government officials can be role models for struggling adolescents today.

   

Next, adults are wedged right in the prime of their lives, not yet experiencing all of life’s times but having passed through the "growing up" stage. There are the minority of good parents, hard workers, and those pushing to reach their potential. But for the most part, immature and lazy adults flood the earth. Parents still promote hate by using racial slurs in their everyday conversation. Some allow their kids to go to school with Confederate flag bumper stickers on their cars and swastika symbols marked on their book bags. The unemployed are no longer ashamed either. In fact, there are popular songs that include lyrics like "...Wake up! It’s the first of the month..." telling of the excitement of receiving the monthly welfare check. Is "waking up" opposed to sleeping in and not going out to look for work? Adults too have lost the value of love and marriage. Divorce is as easy today as returning a torn sweater to a department store. Maybe we should worry more about attaining higher levels of education, volunteering, incorporating morals, discouraging discrimination, and making stronger commitments to family.

   

Senior citizens run on different levels of motivation. The "young-old" that make up the newly retired population still want to stay active and feel like they are accomplishing something. They volunteer, get involved in church activities, and make businesses out of their lifelong hobbies. At the same time, others remove themselves from society by staying cooped up in their homes, sitting on their couches, and being grouchy. The younger generations often relate to their elders with fear, thus allowing our elders’ true knowledge and worth as living history to be overshadowed. By taking the time to bond with our older relatives and friends, we give them something to look forward to. Just because their lifestyle slows down does not mean they should be deprived of a normal one. In addition, the best thing senior citizens can do is mentor. My friend first worked at a nursing home, and through her experiences I have come to know it as possibly the most rewarding of jobs. While going through a hard time in her life, an elderly woman reached out to her and truly touched her heart. By setting up programs where children can bond with senior citizens, the gap of loneliness can be filled for both. Not only can senior citizens help kids build self-esteem, but they can realize their own importance at the same time.

   

Finally, government and public officials have a part to play too. They have tried programs and have supplied support and funds, but in small amounts. There is a growing resentment toward crooked politics and beliefs that the government officials are there to advance only themselves. Kids look up to government and public officials and follow their examples. While driving behind a marked cop car with my mom, my little brother witnessed the cop throwing a sucker wrapper out the window! Don’t cops charge fines for littering? How are kids supposed to react to that? We need to follow our own rules and the rules we enforce. Everyone nationwide needs to give support in trying new programs and trusting the government. The government, in turn, needs to make a conscious effort to be sincere in making our nation a safe, healthy, and thriving place to live.

   

In conclusion, society needs to collectively work together and encourage each other in improving the quality of life in our communities. It is each and every person’s personal responsibility to make a difference and take the extra step. Wouldn’t you agree that the quality of your life and your day would be better if everyone would just take the time to wave?

 

Questions

 

Q1-How does society invest in marriage in the USA and in Manus?

In Manus, marriage is valued and invested in both emotionally and financially. They realize the importance of family units. In the USA, society does not really invest in marriage. People are actually penalized by a marriage tax and there is no free counseling. Society does not even seem to look down upon divorce anymore.

 

Q2-Interview 10 married people (no names). State the length and number of each one’s marriages and a line or two of advice from each on how to maintain a long, happy relationship.

*18 years/1 marriage--Have patience and know that marriage is a lot of work. Don’t give up easily.

*15 years, 2 years/2 marriages--Dream it, work it, and believe it.

*21 years/1 marriage--Be sure of what you’re getting into before you get into it. Give each other time and support.

*2.5 years/1marriage--Share the same interests. Communication is a big thing!

*18 years/1 marriage--Both partners have to give a little to take. Give in sometimes.

*14 years/1 marriage--Have honesty, communication, good companionship, and a monogamous relationship.

*23 years/1 marriage--Listen to each other, have a great deal of respect, and be willing to give each other a certain level of freedom by building trust.

*15 years/1 marriage--Never go to bed mad. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

*30 years/1 marriage--Always put your partner first-even ahead of your children. Be sure your partner loves his mother well.

*13 years/1 marriage--Communicate, share your thoughts, and never go to bed angry.

 

Q3-According to Richard Eckersley, what should our collective goal be?

Mr. Eckersley thinks we need to assess what improves life and decide what really makes us happy. By changing directions from monetary progress to progress within the environment and our persons, we can make life better-the right way.

 

Q4-Write a worthy goal for your local community.

The residents of Edgington and other families of Rockridge School District could clean up the town. We could start by getting a recycling program going. Possibly promoting the reestablishment of a gas station would improve the traveling circumstances for visitors and locals. By planting more flowers and trees also, our environment could become one we are proud to show off!

 

Q5-Comment on the excerpts from "Tomorrow’s Child."

"Tomorrow’s child" will hopefully be less prejudiced and will be in a community where everyone treats everyone else with the respect they deserve. In addition, we cannot let our communities lose sight of family values because of fast-paced advances in technology. If we cannot support and encourage each other, then the less fortunate will remain poor and the winner-take-all society will prevail.

 

Q6-How does the fact the USA is a democracy make lawyers particularly helpful, according to Kathleen Sullivan? How does our diversity, wealth and size make lawyers particularly helpful?

Lawyers protect us from being outnumbered. Because lawsuits are "decentralized" and "competitive," lawyers are there to be the experienced mediators. With diversity, they protect us from discrimination. Then, in matters of wealth, they help fight for economic progress. Finally, with size, they deal with the "dirty work" of business matters and actually help you save money.

 

Q7-Ms. Sullivan claims bad practices are changed either by regulations or punitive damages. Which do you prefer and why? Can you think of an alternative?

Regulations take care of a problem from its roots. By writing off claims resulting from punitive damages, unaffected people are still at risk. Taking care of the problem right away is the way to go. It is "better to be safe than sorry."

 

Q8-Briefly describe three ways society would benefit from the coming retirement of baby boomers, according to the required reading.

The most important thing to come out of the retirements is mentoring! Mentoring helps shape troubled children by giving them time and someone to confide in and look up to. Retirees also head volunteer organizations and help baby-sit grandchildren (which is cheaper than paying day care centers). By becoming pre-experienced business owners, they provide jobs and are "entrepreneurs."

 

Q9-Evaluate the likelihood of President Clinton’s anti-poverty program making a real impact. Give at least three reasons to back up your conclusions.

I do not think the program will work. It mentions nothing of giving the unemployed necessary training; so they cannot acquire jobs even if they are available, because they lack skill. Discrimination will not likely disappear, but it is all too necessary for the plan to be successful. Because the poor cannot qualify for bank loans they cannot repay, that aspect will not work either.

 

Q10-Name three things Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis have in common.

Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis both act as mentors. Throughout their lives they have persisted with great determination. They have helped children, too, by setting up places for them to be educated and where they can grow safely without negative pressures. They are great men who have taken it as a responsibility to do more than the average person in improving the lives of others and theirs as well.