Why Are Personal Responsibilities More Important Than Social Responsibilities?

“Although humans exhibit strong preferences for equity and moral prohibitions against harm in many context, people’s priorities change when there is an ‘us’ and ‘them’” (Saxe). Within society, many individuals are beginning to identify with various groups that begin to tear each other down, rather than lift each other up. The urge to fit in eventually overpowers the mind of one’s independence. The need to be accepted and to have the approval of others ultimately conflicts with one’s own morals and beliefs. Although individualism is highly praised, one’s surface attributes and appearance may have a negative connotation in that they are categorized as a specific stereotype, therefore these ideas will turn toxic as one is automatically grouped

Our identity is comprised of inner qualities and outer representations of self. It consists of innumerable defining characteristics that make up the whole of who we are in any given moment. These fragments of self include our sexuality, gender, and sense of belonging to a particular culture, nation, religion, family, or some other group. Our identity includes our looks, personality, beliefs and fears. Each individual in society assigns themselves a particular role, whether it be as a mother, brother, retiree, performer, sportsman or as a part of their occupation, a doctor or lawyer. Often one’s entire sense of self is consumed by

How one should live his or her life is a concept that has been discussed for centuries. It is debated, written about, argued over, killed for, and envied. Advice is offered at every turn. Parents, family members, elders, friends, teachers, athletes, authors, politicians, all have their say. But only one’s self can decide how they want to live life. After a year of reading, discussing and arguing this point in English 9 Honors, it can be determined for person to live their best possible life then they should make the world around them a better place by treating others as they wish to be treated, doing everything to the best of their ability, and loving.

The main idea of the article, “Ending the Blame Game”, is about how people have to take responsibility for their own happiness and how they must stop blaming other people if they aren’t happy with their own life. The author begins by stating that one person does not know how another person feels or what they need. She says that only the person themselves has the chance to take specific steps to make changes for themselves if they are unhappy. The author says that it is important to take an active approach instead of a reactive approach to other people’s behaviour. She suggests that one example of how people can take an active approach is to ask themselves what they need, want and are willing to do. The author also points out that other people

“When it comes to interpreting other people’s behavior, human beings invariable make the mistake of overestimating the importance of fundamental character traits and underestimating the importance of the situation and context. We will always reach for a “dispositional” explanation for events, as opposed to a contextual explanation”. (160) As mentioned before, just because someone comes from the slums, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are more likely to be troubled or commit a crime than someone who comes from a well-kept upper class community. How these two people act, see, think, and feel come from all environments - ranging from home, to school, to after school activities, to where they hang out, to what they watch or listen to. These daily sights, sounds and interactions shape the person that they become. “Character isn’t what we think it is or, rather, what we want it to be. It isn’t a stable, easily identifiable set of closely related traits, and it only seems that way because of a glitch in the way our brains are organized. Character is more like a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstance and context”. (163) So how much and to what extent does their environment dictate their behavior? “The features of our immediate social and physical world play a huge role in shaping who we are and how we act” (168) Whether consciously or subconsciously, willingly or unwillingly, the every day choices we make or don’t make help to shape our character and define our patterns of

Personal responsibility to me means taking accountability for your own actions, Making a commitment and sticking to it. In order to be a success in college, you have to apply your life learned lessons to the equation, to balance both school and out of school priorities. Because You are responsible for the choices you make, you are ultimately responsible for your success. Becoming a master organizer and learning how to manage your time efficiently, will help you achieve your goals. Taking responsibility for all that happens while you are in college will help you prevail in areas, where you may have lacked confidence. Critical thinking and a desire to succeed will help you accomplish your goals.

Mae West, an American actress and screenwriter, once said that “you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”. However, people have different philosophies of what the “right” way to live life is. Priorities and routines differ for most people and some believe that because the way that they live works for them, they should encourage other to live in a similar way, like Thomas Jefferson, Machiavelli, and Pema Chodron. While Jefferson and Machiavelli exhibit strong arguments through their use of argumentative strategies, Chodron’s document “Start Where You Are” is the most effective of the three in terms of evidence-usage, connecting to the audience, and overall

There are many factors that shape us into who we are, and who we will become. Some of these factors we can control, while others we cannot. While we are born into many traits of our identities, much of our other behavior is learned. My identity, for example, is “based not only on responses to the question ‘Who am I?’ but also on responses to the question ‘Who am I in relation to others?’” (Allen, 2011, p. 11). My identity and the question of who I am, are both influenced by many aspects of my life, including my hometown, my family, my friends, and my beliefs and moral values.

There are many situations that inspire people to challenge themselves to become a better person or a successful person in life. In the two articles we read in class, both authors were inspired and passionate about finding ways to be successful and have a better life. Baca was inspired to learn how to read and write, so he could express his ideas, beliefs and how he felt in life. Baca stated, “Writing bridged my divided life of prisoner and free man. Writing was water that cleansed the wound and fed the parched root of my heart.’’ For Baco, writing has helped him get justice and becoming a better person. On the other hand, Dr Steve Wright was inspired to find success and happiness by doing activities that have ‘’Flow.’’ Like the two authors,

A society’s perception of someone significantly affects the self-identity of that human and their self-esteem. Society often judges people through their upbringings. A child may be raised in challenging situations and not have the same opportunities compared to another child. Friends and family tend be a major factor in a person’s life. The way friends and family interact or how society judges them can make them incredibly self-conscious of themselves. The social position of a human can critically affect how someone interacts in society and how they perceive themselves. In The Great Gatsby,by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and Night by Elie Wiesel all depict how society affects an individual 's self - identity by how one perceives someone. Society’s perceptions make people feel obligated to compare themselves in one’s upbringings, friends and family and social position.

According to Lee, the key social problem is “reconciling principles of conformity and individual initiative, group living and private freedom of choice, social regulation and personal autonomy” (Lee 5). She explores how we as individuals are usually in one social structure or another; but we do not get the freedom we as individuals

In today’s world, people deal with the constant struggle of finding whose needs are more important. Individuals, and individualism itself, claim to have their life be there’s, and they can do whatever they please, however, when people put society’s needs before theirs, they are doing their good for society, and everyone around them. Society’s goal is to move the human population forward in a positive direction, and to help everyone instead of just one person. In today’s world, individuals must look at society, and social needs to fulfill their own needs, giving the needs of society more of an importance to all.

It is important to note that personhood is not a heterogenous concept and varies considerably across time and space. Furthermore, how individuals define themselves will be dependent upon overlapping domains, such as culture, history, and politics. According to Decosta, one way personhood can be defined is by the ways in which an individual functions within a given society. This type of personhood entails the societal roles that must be performed to contribute to the social order. Moreover, fulfilling these social roles determines whether or not an individual can claim a space in that society(Decosta, Krysta). For example, in the current globalized economy, as an adult one might be expected to have an income to support the basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter and clothing. As well, they might have to pay taxes, which will pay for social structures that are needed in a society. Therefore, an individuals sense of personhood is linked to the roles that they perform in society, which are intrinsically related to notions of social identity and belonging. If an individual deviates from these social norms or roles, they can easily be

This may be done by helping the poor or encouraging someone after a bad day. People have the choice to create a life they want to live. They can choose to abide by their passions and desires or by acting just to others by living a moral life. As people, we have the ability to do what we want, however, it is crucial to note that an individual’s actions are a reflection of that person. These obligations are innate in each person and are one aspect of the universal law. However, each person uses these universal laws to decide what values or people they want to further pursue.

Firstly, in this section, the study will communicate various aspects of the way social personas work, as compared to each individual self and how they can cause a blurring of the definitions, as one begins to affect the other. Secondly, the consequences of these situations will be discuss, as well as to offer certain pop culture references and other examples of these occurrences in a manner that allows the reader to understand the true depth of the situation, and assess it for themselves, in their own context. Lastly, the next few sections will investigate why personas in society are necessary, and attempt to imagine a world without such social constructs, where everyone can precisely be what they want to be, with no discouragement or expectations from society with regards to their choices in