Individual Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Individual Responsibility Essay So this is the deal: society today frowns on giving the individual responsibility. We are governed by a set of rules that limits the ability of any individual to make a choice, because we believe that the individual will make the wrong choice, for either himself, others, or both. For example, take traffic rules. Rules such as stopping at stop signs and not running red lights should be entirely optional. A cop should not have jurisdiction or the responsibility to enforce such rules; they should merely be considered as social recommendations. You are recommended to stop here, but you may proceed without stopping at your own risk. Sitting at a red light when no traffic is coming makes one feel like a fool and a cog. Why do we sit there, comfortable in our upholstered seats, staring at a red light waiting for the green when we can obviously see that there is no cross-traffic and that it is safe to cross? Because we are scared that we will get a ticket. Why are we scared that we will get a ticket? Because we are scared of what others may think when they find out that we got a ticket for running a red light. Because we will be ostracized by our peers, and considered an unsafe driver. Because we are scared that it will go on the infamous, anonymous record and that we will be scarred for life as if with a scarlet letter. Why do we respect the record? Why do we place such value in not even making a single mistake if we can help it? Because society values its existence as a whole over the existence of individuals. Individuals are valued only so far as how they can contribute to the creation and maintenance of a society, and beyond that, all their individual needs must be satisfied on their own. We choose to restrict the choices that individuals can make because we dont believe that they will make the right choice, whatever that may be. As a result, we feel demeaned and stupid, sitting at a red light at 2am, waiting to cross as the city sleeps. In New York they apparently run red lights en masse, even in the presence of cops, but Ive never experienced this directly so I dont know for sure. In any case, it is time for individuals to take responsibility for their own actions, and for society to risk losing a few more individuals for the sake of maintaining individual identity. And without individual identity, the individual will no longer wish to be a part of a society that treats him like a suckling child. How can you expect to have any self-respect if you work everyday in a job where you dont make decisions, but decisions are made for you by a few words in a manual? Where people value not what you believe and say, but what happens to be written? I guess talk is cheap, but whos to say that writing isnt? When employers watch their employees with video cameras, when employers cannot even trust their employees to not steal from a cash register that they are operating, something must be wrong. Either the employee isnt getting paid enough to work, or the job shouldnt exist in the first place. By not showing trust, youre only asking for an even more disgruntled worker to rob you. And look at the options that an individual has in society today. You have two basic options. Option One: Spend your life in school educating yourself for a job that you dont really want to buy the stuff you dont really need to pass the time until you retire to pass the time until you die. Uh-huh. Tell that to a kid when theyre growing up, and theyll call you crazy. And we think the people who opt-out, such as homeless people, constitute societys insane. But wait, there is hope. Option Two: Understanding this sad fate, you instead sue a large corporation, such as McDonalds, for causing your child to be fat or for causing your own heart disease. You threaten to file a class-action lawsuit that will rival the Big Tobacco suit, costing McDonalds billions of dollars if you win or millions in lawyer fees if you dont. But you also give them the option to settle quietly out of court for an undisclosed sum worth several million. Being a financially-focused business, McDonalds will of course choose to settle. In effect, by threatening to sue and destroy McDonalds reputation, you have earned yourself a living that, if well-managed, could last you a lifetime. And you feel little guilt because McDonalds is not your neighbor whom you see everyday but some faceless corporation consisting of thousands of employees that would rather work elsewhere. Even though what youve done amounts to extortion, blackmail. And McDonalds has chosen business over ethics, without missing a beat. If youre smart, you choose option two. If youre ethical, you choose option one. If youre smart and ethical, you choose a third option, yet to be conceived. But right now, option two seems like the definite way to go. In fact, society recommends it, because of course your childs obesity or your heart disease could not have been in any way under your control as your responsibility, because you, the consumer, are not to be trusted with something as important as RESPONSIBILITY. Who knows, you just might hurt someone. And thus, we have a cycle of lack of responsibility that is self-perpetuating. Society doesnt think we can take care of ourselves, we begin to believe this, and then we act on it to benefit ourselves. Because we really can take care of ourselves, no matter what restrictions society places on us. Our most recent outlet has been litigation; in fact, if you want to get a safe job today, become a lawyer. Just dont expect to succeed if you actually have morals and care about the cases you fight. Just be a shrewd businessman. And dont feel bad when you do the wrong thing, knowing full well that the right thing is going to cost you. After all, you can work for the plaintiff for free; just be sure to ask for a 30% cut of whatever McDonalds gives them. Why do we make a society where doing the right thing is expensive? Who designed this damn thing anyway? Its design by committee, and hence the design sucks

The Importance of Education Essay -- Papers School Learning University

The Importance of Education Education has always been a crucial part of society for the past centuries. Some believe that our education is a privilege. Some believe that our education is a right. Some believe that our education is an obligation. The only obligation we might have towards education is to treat it as a privilege as well as a right, but certainly not an obligation to have an education. Education has been the basis for the success we see in our parents, our teachers, and more importantly, ourselves. Over time, people have considered and concluded that education is a privilege. Education is a privilege because not many people can afford an education, and we should be grateful that we have this opportunity that many do not have. I personally have seen that education is a privilege here at State University. This school is composed of people who aspire not to attain the idea of individuality, but rather to aspire to become one with their students. That is just one aspect of this school that makes the idea of education being a privilege more evident. Many schools do not offer such attention and caring. Many schools do not have the resources that State University attains. There are certainly people that are unable to even attend a community college because of financial difficulties. Such a disadvantage should make students, such as myself, realize what a valuable and powerful thing education can be, and it has. In some parts of society, families struggle to even put clothing on their children. Education to them is nothing but a mere image and fantasy. There are many reasons more than I have showed you to prove that education is a privilege. However, if I were to list them, the list would go on a... ...h. This happens because the student may feel as if what is being taught has no importance or any benefits. When the student is motivated and doesn?t feel obligated, his performance clearly displays such an attitude. They are more willing to learn and understand subjects that are being presented to them. By thinking that education is an obligation can have a definite negative effect on the student?s motivation and attitude. As you can see, education is not an obligation. It is, in essence, a right as well as a privilege. These remain evident because you cannot be denied an education based on your physical features, and your education is something that many do not have; therefore it is also a privilege. Education has been the backbone for the success of our parents, our teachers, and will be the backbone for us, the students; the future of this country.

Pop Music Magazine Comparison

The magazines that are being compared are two different styles of magazines. One is a pop band magazine and the other is rock. The people in these magazines stereotype the word â€Å"HAMMER† it shows the long hair and shouting into the microphone. The other magazine stereotypes nice clothes and nice hair. The people who read this magazine are emulators they look up to these people and will go at and wear what they wear. They act how they act. The aim of the magazine is to persuade the readers to go out and buy their CDs. The large hammer font connotes heavy metal and banging. They use hooks to try and get the buyers attention like ‘free CD' or ‘free posters'. The use of language is completely different, one says ‘SCREW THE CRITICS' and the other is ‘BLUE ARE BACK' This shows one that is abusive and the other is more formal. There is a close up on blue then there is a long shot of Gareth Gates. The Brat Awards. The institution is â€Å"The Brat Awards†. Presenters where Rob Carpenter and Ashley Curtis, Rob Carpenter represented himself as a typical presenter. He was slick and cool he kept the show moving he was very confident. The audience where famous people they were drunk. Rage against the vending machine too cool to come up and collect their award. The genre was rock. If I was too improve the award ceremony I would have a different location. Pop Band Comparison. The ‘Big Brovas' are attracting a teenage audience. They connote ‘gangsters', ‘ghettos' and ‘rude boys'. They are doing this to attract a certain type audience e.g. ‘townies'. The institution of ‘Big Brovas' is Top Of The Pops. They represent themselves as rude boys when they are probably not at all like in real life. Compared to the ‘Darkness' they are a lot in my opinion because the ‘Darkness' uses high-pitched voices. The tight trousers they wear connote this. ‘Big Brovas' convent swaying and bopping up and down. The ‘Darkness' convent jumping up and down and a lot of movement. The ‘Darkness† institution is Top Of The Pops. Their audience would be older than teenagers. They represent themselves as scruffy people e.g. ripped vests long hair and tight trousers. Pop Music The name of the act is ‘Girls Aloud'. They are a group of young women who came from the institution of pop stars. The name of the song is life got cold. They use white clothes and white make-up to connotes the word cold. They are a pop band whose audience is mainly young girls. They represent themselves as very nicely dressed attractive women. The name of the act is ‘Good Charlotte'. The song name is ‘The Anthem'. The audience is gothic people, he attracts an audience with a rebellious look. The institution is Top Of The Pops. The genre is punk and rock. The act is ‘Lemar'. The song is ‘dance'. Lemar is a male pop singer. His image is clean cut and nicely dressed. The audience varies. The institution is pop stars. Radio Advert. Client's Name: Woolworth Writer: Steven Briesner Duration: Unknown Music Bed: Whistling from Ed, Edd n Eddy SFX: Door Slamming SFX: Footsteps Male Voice: Perfect boys you've just recorded your first number one. Now lets show the people out there this brilliant song. Music: Loud Whistling MVO: That's Brilliant. MVO2: Your Right and it's available now at Woolworth's. MVO3: At the great price of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.49 MVO4: Woolworth's we're worth it. Popular Music This magazine aims to entertain people as David Bowie is a singer from the older generation older people who look at this may laugh from fond memories of their youth the magazine does this well with the main feature of David Bowie. The genre of this magazine is heavy metal/rock this was the fashion when David Bowie was a popular singer. This magazine would be for people with special interests in this sort of music. The font and style of writing tells the audience what sort of genre this is has a black background and a man with white make-up on which signals a genre of the gothic nature. It hooks are things that are on in today's magazine like ‘Brand new collectors record section' I don't think they use hooks very well in this magazine because it isn't really anything good in the offer. the only main colours used is black and white, the white make-up connotes the gothic genre. The main feature is a close-up (c.u) of David Bowie. He is stereotyping the typical grunger who is always in a depressive state. The ideology of the magazine is they believe in sucide and stuff many famous gothic stars have been known to go into a depressive state and commit suicide.

Urban Legend of the Drugged Perfume

A scary story making the rounds on the internet since 1999 claims that criminals in the U.S. and elsewhere are using perfume samples spiked with ether  or some kind of knockout drug to render victims unconscious before assaulting them and/or stealing their valuables. Versions of this urban legend continue to circulate via email and social media. A Twitter message from 2015 reads: Pls if anyone stops U and ask if youre interested in some perfume and gives u a paper to smell, pls dont! Its a new scam, the paper is laced with drugs. Youll pass out so they can kidnap, rob or do worse things to you. Knockout Perfume Scam The closest any of these reports have come to being confirmed was apparently the case of Bertha Johnson of Mobile, Alabama, who told police in November 1999 that she was robbed of $800 after sniffing a cologne sample offered by a stranger and subsequently passing out in her car. Toxicological tests, however, revealed no foreign substances in Johnsons blood. Although the details morphed over time, later versions of the story echoed early news reports about the alleged Alabama incident. Instead of cologne, the tainted sample was said to be perfume; instead of an unknown soporific substance, the knockout drug was said to be ether. The moral of the story, originally Beware of parking lot scammers, has evolved into If I hadnt read this warning, I could have been a victim too. And so could you! Its typical for rumors, hoaxes, and urban legends to change as theyre passed from person to person or inbox to inbox. As anyone who ever played the childrens game Telephone can attest, perception and memory are fallible. Its in the nature of storytelling to enhance a yarn to give it more impact. Alabama Police Get involved In 1999, the Mobile, Alabama, police department issued this press release: On Monday, November 8, 1999, at approximately 2:30 p.m. Officers from the Third Precinct responded to the World of Wicker, at 3055 Dauphin Street. When the Officers arrived the victim, 54-year-old Bertha Johnson of the 2400 block of St. Stephens Road, advised she was rendered unconscious after smelling an unknown substance. Johnson was approached by an unknown black female...After the victim regained consciousness she discovered her property missing from her purse and her vehicle. Local media jumped on the story. A Nov. 10 article in the Mobile Register quoted Johnson as saying that her assailant offered her a $45 bottle of cologne for $8 and talked her into sniffing a sample. She detected nothing odd about the aroma. But when she sniffed it a second time, she said, she lost consciousness. The next thing Johnson knew, she was sitting in another parking lot miles away from where shed started, dazed, confused, and missing $800 in cash. I feel like I got flimflammed out of something that I should have known better than to even look out the window at her, Johnson told the Register. Within days of the incident, Johnsons parking lot misadventure was all over the internet. No evidence ever verified her story. Anonymous Email Warning Johnsons firsthand report of her alleged run-in with a cologne scammer inspired an anonymous email cautioning all women to beware of parking lot vendors offering samples of cut-rate cologne. While it repeated some of the reported facts, it omitted others: the name of the victim, for example, and the name of the city in which the incident supposedly happened. These omissions may have dampened the emails credibility. In general, narratives are more believable the more specific they are. But minus some of the particulars, the story took on an air of universality,  as if to say: This could happen to anyone, anywhere, even  you, in your hometown. I just heard on the radio about a lady that was asked to sniff a bottle of perfume that another woman was selling for $8.00...She told the story that it was her last bottle of perfume that regularly sells for $49.00 but she was getting rid of it for only $8.00, sound legitimate? Thats what the victim thought, but when she awoke she found out that her car had been moved to another parking area and she was missing all her money that was in her wallet (total of $800.00)...Anyway, the perfume wasnt perfume at all, it was some kind of ether or strong substance to cause anyone who breathes the fumes to black out. Variants appeared almost instantly, usually localizing the story in places where no such crimes had been reported. In early December a lengthier version emerged. A woman was approached in a Walmart parking lot by two young men hawking designer perfume for only $8 a bottle. In this variant, the potential victim is said to have declined to sniff the product and escaped unharmed. The email strongly urged that it be passed on to friends, loved ones, and co-workers. The Rumor Spreads The Walmart version was still going strong when another variant appeared describing yet another incident that allegedly occurred in the parking lot of a Plano, Texas, Target store. In this rendering, disaster is once again averted when the would-be victim rebuffs the salesmans advances before he tells her what hes selling. This warning gives the impression that similar crimes are being perpetrated all over the United States. Come April 2000, a report of an incident in a Walmart parking lot is appended to the foregoing version. The two males described in this variant are neither hawking perfume nor asking anyone to sniff a sample. They merely ask what kind of perfume the narrator is wearing: I just wanted to pass along that I was approached yesterday afternoon at around 3:30 p.m. in the Walmart parking lot at Forest Drive by 2 males asking what kind of perfume I was wearing. I didnt stop to answer them and kept walking toward the store...I stopped a lady going toward them, pointed at them, and told her what they might ask and NOT to let them get near her. Three Versions in One The knockout perfume legend took the form of an omnibus version in 2000, including a new scenario that supposedly took place at a gas station in Des Moines, Iowa, followed by two of the previous versions. I was pumping gas at the Texaco station at Merle Hay and Douglas approximately a week and a half ago and a young girl walked up to me and asked if Id like to sample some perfume scents. She said that they had all the latest fragrances. I looked over at her car which was a turquoise sub-compact and her boyfriend (?) was rooting through the trunk. I declined, saying that I had to get back to work...She said, Thanks anyway, and went back to her car. The Storys the Thing Following the original Bertha Johnson report, not one of these anecdotes is supported by anything more than anonymous hearsay. It doesnt necessarily follow that every report is false, but skepticism is in order. The moral people are conveying by amplifying and spreading this legend is familiar, amounting basically to little more than common sense: Be careful out there. Thats a wise policy, but repeating frightful stories with little or no  factual basis might not be the best way to inspire prudent behavior. Urban legends often take the form of cautionary tales, but it would be wrong to assume that they always function as such. Urban legends thrive mainly because theyre emotionally gripping. To the extent that they serve any social purpose, its probably more catharsis than anything—providing a belly laugh when were blue or a bone-chilling scare to release pent-up tension. Theres an all-too-human pleasure in provoking these reactions in others. In days gone by, people sat in the glow of a campfire, scaring the pants off one another with horror stories for no other reason than that they enjoyed it. Human nature hasnt changed. We still enjoy scaring each other, only now we do it by the glow of a computer screen instead of a crackling fire.