Communitarians And Obligations

Alexis de Tocqueville (1835), a French political thinker, stated that individualism is not mere selfishness, but is “a mature and calm feeling, which disposes each member of the community to sever himself from the mass of his fellows and to draw apart with his family and friends, so that after he has thus former a little circle of his own, he willingly leaves society at large to itself […] individualism, at first, only saps the virtues of public life; but in the long run it attacks and destroys all others and is at length absorbed in downright selfishness”. In this sense, the relationship between the individual and community is seen as a negative one, with individualism being a selfish time-bomb that explodes and destroys the collectiveness needed to

“Acknowledges the fact that in individualistic cultures, ‘people are supposed to look after themselves and their family only’ while in collective cultures, ‘people belong to groups or collectives which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty’”. (Theriault, 2016)

In the society we are brought up in today focuses on being your own person, following your own path and making your own choices but how much of that is hindered by those who brought us into this world? Parents have a tendency to be extremely involved in every step of our lives as they have the right to do so but is it in their jurisdiction to control who we are and who we want to become? In the novel Bless Me Ultima by the author Rudolfo Anaya the debate of how much jurisdiction a parent has over their children is brought up within the reader. In the novel which is told from the perspective of the character Antonio, Antonio’s parents known as Maria and Gabriel have set their eyes on what they want their children

When in the course of human events, it is a great travesty and woe when a time comes for a child to dissolve the family ties to his or her parents, the ones that have supported them in this world. However, it becomes a necessary action when parents begin to over-manipulate their children, or become controlling in a way which suffocates. It would be a disrespectful act to assume such things without facts and evidences demonstrative of the necessity of these children’s action of separating from the control their parents hold.

A lot of children grow up without a parent in my case I didn’t really have either. When I was fifteen years old my mom and I were in a different place than where we are now. At the time she was working two jobs and was always gone. My sisters and I took care of ourselves. We learned how to be very independent, self-efficient, and responsible. There was this specific situation when she was dating this guy, and she gave my sisters and I a choice to either move in with her boyfriend and her or live on our own. My older sister and I decided to leave and live elsewhere. In this specific situation my actions disobeyed authority, but didn’t go against my own morals because I did it for all the right reasons for myself at the time.

We don’t value community since we don’t make decisions for the whole group we make them for ourselves only. In our jobs we only do what will lead us to a higher paying position, and if our position is in jeopardy we will do what ever it takes to keep it even if it means going against co-workers. This leads many people to ask the question “do I act selfishly or do I cooperate?” (Innes 2) The ways in which we raise our children has a significant affect on how they will act. If they put themselves before others constantly and think only of their own benefits, it can make them become a selfish person which will lead them to be seen as an outcast by our society. In “Behind Grandma’s House” Gary Soto shows us this when he tells us:

All individuals have a right to participate in the education, politic, economy and cultural life of society (Catholic Charities, 2016). It is a fundamental demand of justice system and the requirement for a human dignity that is assured for everyone in society to participate in the community (Catholic Charities, 2016). Moreover, it is wrong for someone or group of people to be excluded from participating social activities, treated unfairly or not be able to participate in society (Catholic Charities, 2016). When every individual participates in society, it will flourish.

Nicole Rodriguez July, 10, 2016 Fox, C. (2012). Three worlds of relief: Race, immigration, and the American welfare state from the Progressive Era to the New Deal. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Ch.11.Only). Analytic Summary

This second part of the essay it will explain what is meant by the term mutual constitution of personal lives and social policy. Mutual constitution is a term used to describe the reciprocal way in which a person’s personal life influences and affects social policy consequently influencing and affecting a person’s personal life. So varied and complex is this process that it is sometimes almost impossible to distinguish who is ultimately influencing who. However, the way in which one influences the other can be related to the time and place, individual and collective biographies, class and age just to name a few (Fink and Lewis et al, 2009 pg30). For example when a particular policy is implemented the individuals that are affected by that policy are not simply passive subjects. Their personal experiences and knowledge will provide “the framework through which they will give meaning to and negotiate the relation.” (Fink and Lewis et al , 2009 pg 40) This could mean the rejection of policies that do not fit with the subject position of such individuals. Thus, the way such

The book Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro presented many intriguing and complex portrayals of a distinctive world. While not a major fan of the writing style, it is easy to admit the author did a great job of presenting complicated concepts for the audience One of the major concepts that interested me is the role and definition of individuals within the society. The major focus will be a more in depth and complex analysis of the donors and their gated community. With these factors set it will eventually derive into one of the more important questions proposed in the literary world: Who is responsible for defining the meaning of life and humanity a specific individual or the society itself? To look at this it is best to first define the meaning

Community is built of two main elements. First, community requires communal caring. Members need to put themselves in positions where they are able to relate to other members and does everything “within reasonable limits of self-sacrifice” (65). The second is communal reciprocity. Individuals will serve other members of the community, not for exchange of goods, but to provide generosity and support. These elements of community appear in the lives of all individuals, even the most capitalist ones. Humans are entirely capable of these.

The role of a parent is a strange, yet all too familiar tradition that is the same within every culture. A child is born from procreation, and then raised within a family system usually made up of the biological parents. The goal as a parent is to raise this infant into adulthood by providing them encouragement, support, and teaching them the necessary skills for life. Seems very black and white, correct? What happens when a parent knows they cannot provide these necessities for the child? In the novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, Anney knew she could not provide a secure life for Bone, and therefore abandoned her child to live her own life.

In Charles Derber’s “The Good Man Fills His Own Stomach,” Derber refers to two very different communities. One is the Ik who lived in Uganda and were described as “unfortunate people expelled by an uncaring government.” The other, was an imaginary community from the Woody Allen movie Crimes and Misdemeanors. This community seemed to resemble a community from our present day upper class with only the best hotels, restaurants, and symphonic recordings. Although these two groups are very different, they each still follow the criterion of a community. Each are groups of people who have formed a sort of bond with each other because of a certain lifestyle, interests, or beliefs.

Being a daughter is an important role that I have. Daughter is an ascribed role, and I know this because I did not have to work for it. I

- An obligation is nothing more than the duty of a person (obligor) to satisfy a specific demandable claim of another person