Valley Springs High School

Valley Springs, Arkansas
Teacher: Lavina Grandon

Taking Back the Community by Being Responsible
By Becki Nichols
Grade 12, Age 18

860 words

In American communities “how we respond in seemingly little ways today could have big outcomes tomorrow, and how we choose to live affects the world: there is no escaping that we should choose to live to change the world,” writes Richard Eckersley in The Futurist.  How do we change the world?  It starts on an individual basis.  The world is made up of societies that are each made up of communities and communities are made of individual people.  Each individual must assume certain responsibilities in order to improve the quality of life in his or her community.  Each person must be a responsible worker, a responsible family member, and a responsible member of society.

               

First, each and every individual citizen must assume his or her role as a responsible worker.  A person must be responsible on the job no matter what type of job he performs.  Whether it’s a factory worker or a large corporation CEO or even a student that has a job responsibility by attending school, everyone must perform his own role.  Each worker needs to have his own set of work ethics.  If an employer cannot trust his employee to be at work on time, to perform his job correctly, or to be polite to the people he has to work with, then what good is that employee to that employer if he’s just taking up the company’s money?  Would the employer not see it fit and right to fire that worker?  This causes the person to be fired and out of work. How is he helping to benefit the community?  The worker now becomes a leech on society by sucking money out of the community where it might be put to better use.

 

Each worker also needs to have the skills necessary to work in a business.  It doesn’t matter what type of job is performed but that each worker learns the proper skills that are needed to perform the job. He needs to be prepared before going on the job site.  He can do this by getting a college degree if the job requires it or simply learning the job from someone who is very skilled in that area. The worker should acquire a job where he is capable of supporting his family, so that others in the community will not have to support it for him.

 

Second, each person must assume his or her role as a responsible family member. To accomplish this task, parents must first become responsible to each other. They need to be committed to their relationship to one another so that the children will not have to worry about whether or not Mommy and Daddy love them or if they were the reason for their parents’ fighting or potential divorce.  Parents also need to realize that simple cohabitation with a person is wrong. “The average live-in relationship lasts only about 18 months, that means that about three quarters of all the children born to cohabiting couples will see their parents split up” states Larry Bumpass in Newsweek. Cohabitation leaves the parents as well as children confused about what a stable relationship means.  Also, children need to perform their role as responsible family members.  Exodus 20:12 states, “Honor your father and mother.” This is one of God’s most crucial demands to have peace and harmony within a family so that it might carry over into society.  It’s the child’s responsibility to obey his parents and contribute to the smooth functioning of his family by cleaning his room, taking out the trash, or helping with other household chores.

 

Third, each person must assume his or her role as a responsible member of society.  In order for a citizen to become a responsible member of society, he must first become responsible to himself.  He needs to have enough confidence in himself to know that he is a member of society and that he can make a difference.  He must first take responsibility for his family, so that the government does not have to raise his children for him. In today’s society, due to lack of parental responsibility, more families have gone on welfare, and unemployment in the United States has not dropped below 5 percent since 1975.  What does this mean?  It means that parents who do not accept the responsibilities of their families partake in a welfare system that “breaks up families, produced 7 million illegitimate children, and created a pathetic underclass that will never achieve what we like to call the American Dream.”  Next, he needs to be a friendly neighbor. Mark 12:30 states, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” If everyone obeyed this command, would people not be nicer towards one another? The family member also needs to contribute his time or money towards others that might not be as fortunate as he is.  Therefore, in order to be a responsible family member, one needs to be responsible to oneself, to one’s family, and to others.

               

How do we change the world?  It starts with the individual. Every citizen must assume his or her role as a responsible worker, as a responsible family member, and as a responsible member of society.

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References

Eckersley, R.  (1999).  Is life really getting better?  The Futurist, (February).

Reese, C.  (1997).  Welfare reform is a con game.  Conservative Chronicle, 12  (10), 18.

Schlafly, P.  (1996).  The liberal fraud and failure called welfare.  Conservative Chronicle, 11 (6), 10.

Wingert, P.  (1998).  I do, I do-maybe.  Newsweek, 133 (19), 58.    

 

 

Answers To Questions To Required Reading

 

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

Society invests in the Manus and U.S. marriages when they uses money to have a wedding ceremony, and both hope that the marriage is successful so that they did not waste their money or investments.

 

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

Married for 3 years.  Advice is to look for the humor in a tense situation.

Married for 8 years.  Advice is to have a group of close friends to turn to.

Married for 6 years.  Advice is to have God first in your lives.

Married for 11 years.  Advice is to compliment each other every day.

Married for 9 years.  Advice is to follow God’s will in your marriage.

Married for 2 years.  Advice is to know that your partner will have faults, and don’t think that he or she will be perfect.

Married for 16 years.  Advice is that if you’re fighting do not try to bring your partner down.

Married for 21 years.  Advice is to allow each other your own space and time.

Married for 13 years.  Advice is to remember the good points in each other and why you love that person.

 Married for 24 years.  Advice is to know that you can’t love your partner too much and that laughter is the best medicine.

 

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

According to Richard Eckersley, it should be our collective goal to demoralize society without reducing our quality of  life.

 

Q4- Write a worthy goal for your local community.

A worthy goal for the local community is to be rid of latchkey kids.  The community and parents should unite to find a safe place for kids to be after school, and where children do not have to watch other children alone.

 

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

The excerpts from “Tomorrow’s Child” point out a fact that how we raise our children today will determine the outcome of tomorrow.  If children have to find a human connection through a doll, then they will not be taught how to deal with people of a different culture background.

 

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?

The fact that the USA is a democracy make lawyers particularly helpful because the United States is based on a person’s individual rights, and lawyers help resolve conflicts between people based on these rights. Lawyers are also helpful with the Unites States diversity, wealth, and size by being the mediator between different cultural groups, the rich and the poor, and the local and national governments.

 

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

I prefer that bad practices are changed b punitive damages, so that the one business that is doing wrong has to suffer the consequences, rather than all businesses getting punished by regulations.  No, I can’t think of an alternative, because I believe this is a good idea.

 

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

Three ways that society will benefit from the retirement of baby boomers are by becoming entrepreneurs and making their years of experience and business contacts highly competitive. Next, they help benefit society by providing services to the Generation X’ers who will be having families. Finally, they help benefit society by providing opportunities to teenage entrepreneurs such as nanny services and running errands for the elderly that stay home.

 

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.

President Clinton’s anti-poverty plan can make a real impact in helping people rise above the poverty line.  One reason why the plan can work is because the time is right for reducing the number of poor. Another reason why the plan can work is because the unemployed are an untapped pool for companies and can provide workers for jobs that are not being filled. The last reason why the plan can make an impact is because minority groups are rising and creating new companies and revenues for people.

 

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

First, they both believe that hard work is what will take you places in life and increase your standard of living.  Second, they both wanted to help children whose parents were not there for them.  Lastly, they both used their own money to buy buildings to house kids and to give them an education, they might not otherwise had.