Valley Springs High School
Valley Springs, Arkansas
Teacher: Lavina Grandon

A Person's Responsibility to Community Improvement

By Jacqualyn Avery

Grade 12, Age 18

790 words

 

Should a person take on the responsibility for the community?  If so, how far does he take it?  A community does not involve one person living his own life and ignoring the rest of his surroundings.  It is a place of diversity and it plays a vital role in American society. A person should first take care of himself and then he should step over the drawn line of selfishness to reach out.  He has to visualize the world around him and see that he has a place everywhere.  He has a responsibility to his family, friends, church, and school. To meet all of these responsibilities, though, he must first start with himself, then move on to his family, and then expand his efforts to the rest of his habitat.

           

First, a person has to be accountable for himself.  To build a strong social commitment, a person first has to evaluate his or her own life, and build himself into the type of person that he wants to be. Most people believe that if they are wealthy, then they will be happy.  But that theory is wrong. Wealth is poor predictor of happiness. Without properly stabilizing their own identity and morals, when they try to help others, they cannot feel true happiness. For example, if someone gives an enormous amount of money and time to a charity, but does not fully believe in what that organization represents, then their time has been wasted.

           

Second, a person has a responsibility to the family in which he or she developed.  Jesus stated: "Every kingdom that is divided against itself will be destroyed. And any city or family that is divided against itself will not continue". Families have to stick together no matter how hard life gets. Under whatever circumstances a person was put into a certain family, it is vital that the person takes on his role in that family with the right attitude, love, and the willingness to take on the job of supporting every member.

 

Third, a person must put out the hand of friendship to his neighbors. Friendship builds love, trust, and bonds that last forever. C.S. Lewis describes friendship as two people walking side by side toward a common goal. Their mutual interest brings them together.  People are more comfortable and are more willing to open up to others if they know that a person is a companion and will not forsake them. This brings about a new type of community. It is filled with an aura of good feelings. A community is built around people. A community without friendship is like a war zone rather than a nurturing environment. Communities cannot stand without the joining of everyone together to support and help each other.

 

Fourth, a person has a responsibility to his or her church. The church is a place where people gather to worship and fellowship. These two basic elements bring communities together. When a church fellowships, people that would never meet under any other circumstances become friends. Also, a person must be active in the church because it strengthens the community spirit and touches the lives of many needy people. A church is a group that is full of love and generosity. They reach out to people in the community to help build them up to have better lives. This betters the less fortunate person, the church, and the community.

 

Fifth, a person has a responsibility to the school.  School is where almost everyone grows and learns the basic fundamentals that get them through life.  When a person helps to build the school up, then that person is helping thousands of children and families.  The school provides a place for children to mature and strengthen the skills that they already have.  Tom Lewis, The Fishing School president, once stated about his students, "No matter what they are seeking, it will only come true if they work hard and respect themselves and those around them".  This is exactly the kind of morals the children need to learn at school.

 

Community involvement first comes with a person taking on responsibility for himself.  After this, he will want to reach out and take on the challenge of his surroundings.  A community is a joining of people of different ethnic backgrounds, races, and genders.  The recognition of the responsibility of each of these people brings about a social and loving community.  As people begin to realize that it is necessary for them to work at improving their communities, then that will start them going.  This will eventually bring about a change in American way of life.  Hopefully, people will turn away from money and power and back to the truly important things in life: family, friends, church, and school.

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References

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

The fishing school.  New York:  Philanthropy.  (1998, September/October).

Harris, J.  (1997).  I kissed dating goodbye.  New York.  Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

 

 

Answers To Questiions For Required Reading

 

1Q. How does society invest in marriage in the USA and in Manus?

1A. Society invests in marriage in the U.S through expenses of the wedding ceremony and through the giving of gifts.  Society invests in marriage in Manus by exchanging gifts during a betrothal depending on whether they believe the marriage will work and how many marriages the betrothed has been through.

 

2Q. 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 haw to maintain a long, happy relationship.

2A.

Ø      1st couple-This is their first marriage and they have been married for three years.  They believe that honesty and trust are the key to a successful marriage.

Ø      2nd couple-This is their first marriage and they have been married for five and a half years.  They think that unconditional love and understanding has kept them together.

Ø      3rd couple-They have been married for six months and this is their first marriage.  They believe that loving each other brings them happiness.

Ø      4th couple-This is their second marriage each and they have been married for fifteen years.  They believe that patience and being truly in love is the way to a perfect marriage.

Ø      5th couple-This is their first marriage and they have been married for eighteen years.  They think that trusting in each other is vital and that forgiveness is very important.

Ø      6th couple-This is his third marriage and her first and they have been married for nine years.  He says that the right person has alot to do with a marriage working and she believes in true love.

Ø      7th couple-This is their first marriage and they have been married for twenty-three years.  They think that enjoying each other and having patience and respect has gotten them through the tough time.

Ø      8th couple-This is their first marriage and they have been married for twenty-one years.  They believe that unconditional love is the way to happiness.

Ø      9th couple-This is their only marriage and they have been married for thirty years.  They think that forgiveness and patience through the hard times is the key.

Ø      10th couple-This is their second marriage each and they have been married for eleven years.  They believe that loving someone unconditionally is the only way to a successful marriage.

 

3Q. According to Richard Ecersley, what should our collective goal be?

3A. According to Richard Eckersley, our collective goal should be to dematerialize society without reducing quality of life.

 

4Q. Write a worthy goal for your local community.

4A. A goal for my community is to raise their children in loving homes.  Alot of my friends come from divorced homes, but those that are still shown love live happier lives.  Despite the circumstances surrounding the break up of the parent's marriage, it is vital that the parents' main concern be to show love to their children.

 

5Q. Comment on the excerpts from “Tomorrow’s Child.”

5A. "Tomorrow's Child" shows us a harsh reality.  Technology now allows humans to accomplish such mother toys.  As the world becomes more and more focused on monetary gain and hatred between people grows, the children of the world are taught that that sort of behavior is okay.  This article shows a chilling reality that the world is becoming more self-centered.

 

6Q. How does the fact the USA is a democracy make lawyers particularly helpful, according Kathleen Sullivan?  How does our diversity, wealth and size make lawyers particularly helpful?

6A. Democracy makes lawyers helpful because they help protect us from the danger of tyranny of the majority.  Lawyers are also helpful because of diversity, wealth, and size because they help mediate diversity of custom.

 

7Q. 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?

7A. I believe that there is no better way to change bad practices then by regulations and then punishment.  Regulations set the standard and whoever breaks those standards should be punished.

 

8Q. Briefly describe three ways society would benefit from the coming retirement of baby boomers, according to the required reading.

8A. Society would benefit from the retirement of the baby boomers because they offer services to the large number of Generation X'ers, they will provide opportunities for teenage entrepreneurs, and they will start highly competitive businesses of their own.

 

9Q. Evaluate the likelihood of President Clinton’s anti-poverty program making a real impact.  Give at least three reasons to back up your conclusions.

9A. I believe that the plan will work because the time is right, the economy is booming, and the policies are better than in the past.

 

10Q  Name three things Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis have in common.

10A. Cathy and Lewis both believe in helping children who come from unfortunate circumstances, they both believe in the importance of education, and they have strong beliefs in God.