Washington's View of the Future

Booker T. Washington envisioned a future where if everyone worked hard, quickly and efficiently in a field and most of all, do their absolute best, there would be no racial discrimination.  I only partially agree with this theory.  Why?  Because although many people would be impressed with a certain person’s hard work and perseverance, there will always be people who won’t buy the product because it was made by a person of a different skin color or culture.  So yes, they may be working harder and better than most people, but that’ll NEVER take away all racism.  One other theory he brought up was that if a black man was a better plumber than a white person, people would go to the black man and not the white man.  I would agree with this statement one hundred percent…  BUT unfortunately, like I stated before, there is always going to be racial discrimination no matter how good you are at your field of work.  It’s just how the human race works.  The better the worker, the worse the haters.

Free Market VS the Welfare State

Which promotes greater personal responsibility, the free market, or the state?  The free market gives you the most personal responsibility.  In the free market, there is no legal pirating, and morality is highly considered and respected. Not only does the free market encourage personal responsibility and impedes legal plunder, but it produces momentous results: personal responsibility/gain, wealth, and better morals.  Contrary to these wonderful gifts, the welfare state results in a decline in personal responsibility by maintaining/controlling the people’s lives. People usually think that it’s not worth the hard work if they are taken care of by the government. They decide that having personal responsibility is worthless. Either way, these lead to a decline in personal responsibility and immorality.   So the free market allows much more personal responsibility than the state because it forces people to work hard and efficiently to provide a living and get resources for their family in return.

Is the State the Source of Human Rights?

Is the state the source of human rights?  No, the state isn’t the source of human rights because they don’t know what’s best for the people.  Imagine that you just met a person and only after like a day of knowing them they ask if they can rule your life.  Would you say yes?  Most likely not!  Unfortunately though, that’s how we treat the state.  Our hour of knowing them is the presidential debates/campaigns we watch!  But magically we somehow expect them to be mind readers and do everything that we want and need.  The worst politicians are the power hungry people who run for office because they want control of everyone.  They get on your good side in their campaigns and say that they only want what’s best for the people when in reality, once they’re in office, they throw all of their staged morals out the window.  Our problem is that even though we have many politicians like this, we still want the state to have total control over our rights.  In conclusion, if we just stopped giving the state control over our rights, then, we wouldn’t have to worry about complete, power hungry, strangers taking away our rights and destroying our morals.

Booker T. Washington's Elitist Program

I think that Washington’s program was an elitist program because he truly believed that for blacks to become accepted by all whites and to be respected by all whites, blacks must learn how to work hard, well, and better.  In Washington’s program, one of the many things he teaches his students is how to make bricks.  Because of this, his program soon becomes one of the largest brick manufacturers in the south.  He taught them how to create their own successful business.  Washington was convinced that if his students listened and followed his teachings, they would become extremely successful in business and would be able to live with knowledge that he believed to be very important (how to make goods people want and need).  I believe that Washington’s program was an elitist program.  Why?  Because he taught his students that if they learned hard work and were willing to dirty their hands they would be successful in life.

Memorable Story from Washington's Autobiography

The most memorable story from Booker T. Washington’s autobiography Up From Slavery that sticks out in my mind is when he was helping with missionary efforts in Alabama.  He visited black families and he was astonished to find that they had practically nothing.  Their living conditions were completely unsanitary.  They had to use their hands to cook, clean and eat because they had no utensils or cookware.  They lived in broken-down old homes, barely making a living.  What was insane was that these people were so poor and in debt because rather than spending what little money they had on food, clothing and the necessities of life, they spent their money on practically useless things like organs, clocks or sewing machines and other expensive items that they never really used.  This is memorable to me because many people are like that today, getting in debt for things they rarely use or cannot really afford.  For example, some people just have to have the latest and greatest new iPhone, video games, computer, electronic device, etc.  Or they have to have a really nice car or expensive clothes.  Why do they do this?  Because they want to look good.  They want attention and respect from others around them.  But that false respect comes at a very great price (pun definitely intended).  It is amazing how people are willing to basically sell their soul for anything to make them look better.  Having lots of stuff, even if it is “cool stuff”, won’t make you happy.  If anything, it makes you more greedy, less grateful, and stressed about how to keep affording a lifestyle you really can’t afford.  It is a vicious cycle that has existed probably since the beginning of time.

Restitution vs Jail Time

I believe that criminals should not be put into jails.  Instead, they should have to make some sort of restitution to the victim or the victim’s family to pay off the debt or make amends for what he or she did.  This would be better for society because the victim would get something out of it and the criminal would learn to do good, pay for his or her mistakes and to work hard.  When a criminal goes into jail, the victim does not benefit, nor does the prisoner really learn anything.  In addition, jails require tax payer money.  This is a drain on society.  If a criminal had to make restitution, it would not cost any tax payer money.  The criminal may never completely “right the wrong,” but he or she would be forced to face their consequences and would have to face the person or family they hurt and actually work for them and serve them.  This could teach the criminal hard work and patience.  It could also teach them how to fix mistakes and become a better person.  It could be a very powerful and transformative experience for both the criminal and the victim.

Washington’s Arguments Against the Slave System

What were Washington’s arguments against the slave system?  Slavery is immoral and undermines people of their work ethic while giving the receivers of this work luxury and ease.  Though the majority of the slaves didn’t loathe their owners, they wanted their freedom back.  They missed being able to choose and think for themselves.  The slave system often kept them from practicing their religious beliefs and from voicing their thoughts and concerns out loud.  Though where housing and living facilities were concerned, the slaves were able to survive and live, not in comfort though.  If there was bedding, it was often just a lump of hay or they’d sleep with the animals in the barn if the outside was  way too chilly.  There was also no way of cooking food, making Washington’s mother think of creative and not so sanitary ways of preparing and cooking food for her children and the other slaves.  Washington believed that slavery was immoral and undermining; it brought egos up and harmony down.  He rejoiced greatly when the fight for the slaves' rights was over.

Monitoring Politicians

Should the group in the legislator’s district that got him elected monitor his votes and recruit someone to run against him in the next primary if he starts voting wrong?  Yes, I believe that the people do have the right to monitor the politician.  After all, they did vote for him to speak for the people and if the politician decides to start voting against what’s best for the people, then the group that voted for him should be able to send in someone to run against him, a person that will make better decisions for the public than what the person before him made.  In conclusion, I believe that the group that voted for the politician should be able to monitor his votes in case he votes against what he promised and, if necessary, recruit someone to run against him if he doesn’t vote on what’s best for the public.

No Police for Politicians

I do not think that a politician has the right to use police force to stop people from filming him at a public meeting.  Because it is a public meeting, everyone should have access to it, so a video reproduction should be perfectly fine.  The police are not some special force for politicians.  They are employed to help enforce the law.  A simple, verbal request is not a law.  Politicians are supposed to be representing the public.  If they are truly doing that, why would they be compelled to use the police force to stop people from recording them?  The only reason they could possibly not want any video recording, is to protect themselves if they say something offensive or contrary to what the people want.  They should not be using the police force to protect their jobs.  They should be using their own words and actions to keep their jobs.  A true public servant has nothing to be afraid of.

Books That Have Impacted My Life

I really enjoy reading books.  Ever since I learned how to read I have been drawn to books and seeing how characters handle situations and change over time.   There are three books that stand out in my mind  that definitely have molded my future.

The first book I ever tried to read on my own was Eragon, by Christopher Paolini.  As I read it, I realized I really love reading fiction.  I enjoyed creating the voices of the characters in my own mind, rather than being limited by the voices my mom would create whenever she read to me.  I could also visualize the characters and plot better because it was like going to the cinema in my mind.  It was all my creation.

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan is probably my all-time favorite series.  The characters have had to deal with heart-breaking and life-threatening situations.  They always seem to come out smiling and happy, although they may be broken on the inside.  They also seem to find some sort of humor in every situation.  They have taught me to be loyal, brave and to face my fears.  They made me learn to accept myself even though I might not be satisfied with how I am at the current moment.  They have taught me to take serious situations more lightly and that I  should never have to grow up too fast.  Even if times are rough, I can always do it with a smile. 

Last but not least, Edgar Allen Poe has given me a love for reading and writing horror.  I think I’m a fairly happy person, but his gruesome, twisted stories fascinated me.  His frighteningly vivid imagery creates much anxiety within my soul, but at the same time it creates an apprehensive anticipation, and I find myself lusting for more.  I never would have supposed I would ever love reading and writing horror when I typically get scared easily.

            I think all three of these pieces have affected my personality and my outlook on life in very different ways.  They have greatly impacted my life.

Volunteers Vs Robin Hood

How could voluntary arrangements solve the problem of taxing the rich to help the poor if the state did not impose the politics of plunder?  When you tax the rich to give to the poor, you take are taking the hard-earned money of the more successful and hard-working people and giving it to the not-so-successful or not-so-hard-working people.  It sounds like a really nice thing to do, but it takes away the freedom of the “rich” to choose whether or not they want to give to the “poor.”  The “rich” would probably give to lots of “poor” people, but they should be free to choose who they want to help.  Very few people are going to just watch others suffer and not do anything to help.  Most people are happy to help when they see others in need.  The government does not have to be the one to take care of everyone because, contrary to “popular belief,” rich people aren’t just stuck-up jerks who want to keep all the money for themselves.

Price Controls

Price controls control people.  The price of goods should be a reflection of their true value.  If the government is controlling the prices to make those goods more “affordable,” the price no longer is a reflection of what it truly costs to produce or its true value.   This results in it seeming like it is a better deal when really it is just a fake “value.”  For example, what if the government put a price control on all shoes?  Say all shoes had to be $20 or less.  All buyers would cheer and rejoice!  Yay!  Cheap shoes!  BUT, the shoe companies, especially high-end shoe manufacturers, would be losing money and probably go out of business.  So, the result could be junky shoes and less jobs because the quality of all shoes would plummet so that the companies could afford to stay in business.  Those companies who cannot or will not lower the quality of their shoes will dwindle and all their employees will be out of work.  This same scenario happens today in oil and gas, buying homes with fake interest rates, education, and so on.  Price controls control people because there is no easy way out of that vicious cycle because a fake value was set.

Helen Keller's Freedom from Prison

Helen Keller began her journey out of her personal prison when a teacher came.  The teacher, Miss Sullivan, would write a word in Helen’s hand and then would give Helen the object she wrote in her hand so that Helen would make the connection that D-O-L-L was a doll, et cetera.  Pretty soon, Helen was ready to learn to talk vocally.  Miss Sullivan would have Helen rest her fingers on the teacher’s mouth to feel the position of her lips and tongue as Miss Sullivan would say a word.  Helen would then try to copy those same movements.  After much hard work, Helen was able to speak, though a lot of the time you could not understand what she was saying; she could talk, nonetheless.  I think it is amazing that a woman who’s blind and deaf could do such amazing feats as learning to speak and sign so quickly!!!  It’s astounding.

Autobiographies and Succintness

Out of the three main parts that make up an autobiography: accuracy, succinctness, and liveliness, I believe that succinctness is the most vital element to an autobiography.  Sure, accuracy is needed because acts are there to support and build the story.  Liveliness keeps the story from being boring and bland.

Succinctness is what keeps the story short, sweet, and to the point.  It’s what keeps the story from being billions of pages long yet paints a better image in your mind.  It’s often used in poetry to create a feel of artistic flare.  It’s what makes the story more unique and creative.  For example, this is a sentence without succinctness: The grass is long, wavy and green; I liked it a lot, and it made me feel good.  First off, this sentence just sounds lame in general…  Let’s spice it up: The luscious, green grass tickled my nose subtly.  See?  Pretty much the same sentence, just in a less amount of words, and a more vivid picture is painted in the reader’s mind.  In conclusion, I believe that out of the three main parts of an autobiography, succinctness is the most important part.  It gives the story more flavor yet keeps the story short, sweet and to the point.

Free Markets vs the State

I believe that the free market should be in charge of setting the prices of goods because it’s much easier to control how much money goes into one business than another because one has better quality products than another.  On the other hand, the state tries to make every business the same with the pricing.  The problem is that the quality of workers goes down and less and less real jobs become available.  Not only that but there also become less businesses because the state sets up so many laws and expectations that each one has to achieve.  So, if the free market was in charge, then more and more businesses would appear, making more and more real jobs available.  Also, prices would be lower because each company competes with one another to have more consumers for the best price possible giving them more publicity and income.  In conclusion, I would rather the free market be in charge of pricing because the free market can be localized, the quality would go up while pricing goes down, resulting in more businesses becoming available.

Kourdakov's Use of Contrast

Kourdakov creates contrast in his story by unfolding emotions that the reader can truly understand and relate to.  This strengthens the story because readers love realistic contrast.  Not only does it make the story more interesting but the story also becomes more relatable and the quality rises.  For example, Kourdakov started out thinking that Natasha was stupid and hated her very much because she was a Believer because he had been convinced that Believers were enemies of the state who brainwashed people.  Within a short period of time, however, Kourdakov began to develop a deep respect for Natasha because no matter how many harsh beatings they gave her, she still would never miss out on one of her precious sermons.  Because of Natasha’s extreme and undying faith, Kourdakov began to wonder whether or not God was real.  Although he never read the Bible, Natasha, with her unconditional faith,  was able to light a small spark of wonder in his impervious, pitiful soul.  There are many more stories which demonstrate contrast, but I feel that this story is the best of them all.  Why?  Because it is jam-packed with emotional contrast; this story clearly shows a change of heart for Kourdakov, even if he’s doesn’t outwardly show it.  This complete mix of emotions makes the story more interesting because it shows the complexities of life and inner turmoil, something we can all relate to.

State Subsidies and Control

Is it possible to have state subsidies without state control?  No.  Whenever the state gives out money in the form of a subsidy, it expects something in return.  The funny thing about it all is that the government does not make money.  It steals from everyone through taxes and then tries to “be nice” and give some back but with a whole bunch of strings attached.  For instance, the state provides “free public education.”  What is annoying about this is that it is all paid for by taxes.  Some people pay a lot more to support it than others.  In return, the state promises to educate all children, leaving no one behind and unlearned.  The problem with it is that the state can then control all thought processes and teaching/indoctrination and parents no longer are the main providers of that information.  The state controls what is taught, how it is taught, which curriculum to use, etc. and all students are forced to learn in the same way.  This is not the most sufficient or efficient way to teach children.  Nor does it really teach every child because everyone learns differently.  This is pretty much the same formula for every subsidy.  You want government help?  Here, take it but only if you are willing to give up a lot of control over yourself and your family.  So the best way to stay free is to not take the “free” handouts.  There is no such thing as a “free lunch.”

Choices that Led Kourdakov to Failure

Kourdakov was given a special assignment while he was serving in the Russian Navy.  His orders were to bring in two men who were leaders of the Christian Believers (those who believed in God) during a religious meeting.  They were considered hostile to the government because they were “poisoning the minds of the children.’  When Kourdakov and his men arrived at the small cabin where the meeting was taking place, they were politely invited in.  Kourdakov announced that he had the names of two men who needed to go with him.  The pastor asked why and Kourdakov replied that they were breaking the law.  The pastor informed him that they were not breaking the law according to the Constitution.  He even quoted part of it.  Kourdakov felt completely confused because he knew what the pastor said was true, but orders were orders and he had to follow them.  On his way out, the pastor asked everyone to pray for him.  Kourdakov took them to jail without any brutality.  Nikiforov, was furious that Kourdakov didn’t use force or brutality on the men.  On future assignments, Kourdakov fulfilled all his orders but always felt guilty afterwards and drank away his feelings.  His feelings towards the Believers changed and he stopped seeing them as criminals, but his drinking increased his aggression towards them as he fulfilled his assignments.

Lesson 25- If the State is Strong Enough to do Something Good for You, It Can Also Do Something Bad to You3

The State controls its people through providing good sanctions and bad sanctions.  Unfortunately though, many "good sanctions" such as Civil Rights, public education and gun control can eventually take away people’s rights or money.  For instance, Civil Rights are a great idea.  I believe that everyone should be treated equally.  However, the “good sanctions” the government has imposed actually take away our freedom of speech.  One could get into big trouble by making a simple, careless comment or joke, not intending to make it offensive.  Public education is not a great sanction because it forces everyone to pay for schools whether they are a part of the system or not.  Elderly people are taxed to pay for public schools.  Parents who don’t send their kids to public school still have to pay into the system.  In addition, people who own a second home have to pay taxes on all properties they own, even though their children will never go to those schools.  It is not fair to force people to pay for something they will never benefit from.  Also, public schools are basically a one-size-fits-all program.  It is geared to be pretty much the same everywhere you go.  If a child does not learn the way the schools teach, that child is bound to not succeed and may be labeled an idiot even though he or she may be a genius and simply learns differently.  Finally, there comes the fun, interesting topic of gun laws.  These are set up as bad sanctions.  But why?  Just because someone owns a gun does not mean they are going to kill every person on site.  Think about it, if everyone owned a gun, there would probably be tremendously less shootings than we see today.  In fact, the states with the most crime problems are the states with the strictest gun laws, while the states with the least amount of gun laws tend to have a much lower crime rate.  If you were a robber, would you target someone with a gun or go for the helpless person without one?  This is a complete violation of the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms!  In conclusion, it can become extremely frightening once the state has enough power to do "good" things for you because they always have unintended consequences or  require plundering one group to benefit another.

Major Turning Point In My Life

Ok so here's my essay for Lesson 25 in English, hope y'all like it...

ALLONS-Y!

There have already been quite a few turning points but, one of the most prominent ones that sticks out in my mind is when my childhood best friend (let’s say her name is Em) left.  Now my best friend and I knew each other all our lives.  Now when I say we’ve knew each other all our lives I mean that literally!  Our dad’s were best buds since high school and once we were born our parents would always set us up on play dates.  We were inseparable.  Everyday after school, Em and I would play and do homework together.  As for summer vacation, if one of us left, we’d talk on the phone to one another for hours at a time.  We were sisters born of different mothers.  We had each other’s backs and if someone hurt one of us, that person was asking for an early death.  I distinctly remember that cursed day, the day when we got the news; we were around nine years old.  Em and I had just finished our homework and had decided to make us an “un-birthday” cake, We had just pulled the scrumptious cake out of the oven and were waiting for it to cool when Em’s mom walked in looking really solemn.  She sat us down on and explained that Em and her family were going to move soon to a house far away from where I lived because their dad thought it’d be best.  I was heart broken, that night I cried myself to sleep and actually wrote in my journal complaining about how life was so unfair and that Em and I didn’t deserve this.  Two moths passed and I barely got to see Em except for at school because she was helping her family pack.  On the third moth, school ended and Em and I were in tears as we said our goodbyes to one another, I cried myself to sleep that whole, lonely, summer.  I haven’t seen Em since.

Bastiat’s Concepts on the Politics of Plunder

Bastiat’s Concepts on the Politics of Plunder

            The government is supposed to repress private assaults on personal liberty and property, only imposing certain negative sanctions to ensure safety and peace.  However, the government often takes the role of a “beneficent, inexhaustible being” that believes in equality for everyone.  This sounds great in theory: bread for all mouths, work for all hands, giving capital for all enterprises, and salve for all wounds.  However, this means they also take credit for all projects.  To accomplish this “equality,” the law is used to plunder the masses and take control of everyone.  Politicians, whether elected or self-appointed, often think they are of greater importance than everyone else.  We human beings like to plunder because we get to enjoy the labor of others.  We like people working for us!  We like to throw trouble on other people and enjoy keeping the satisfaction for ourselves.   Politicians are no different.  They just have more highly regarded views than everyone else.  Or they use their power to force their will on others.  They plunder the people by taxing every little thing.  Then they take the role of the “beneficent, inexhaustible being” by giving the people work, food, and whatever they need to live so that they are all “equal.”  Unfortunately, because of this, the people who don’t work hard will receive a lot for their little effort, while the hard workers receive little for their great sacrifice.  Meanwhile, those at the top who are plundering the people glut themselves on everyone else’s labors.

My Favorite Jim Lehrer Story

My Favorite Jim Lehrer Story

My favorite story that Lehrer told in I Bought a Bus is his pinball story at the beginning of the book.  When he was twelve years old, his dad gave him a nickel to play the pinball machine at the arcade while his dad got a coffee.  Lehrer was playing really well and kept getting new balls.  Eventually, he heard “Mother Nature’s call” and had to go to the bathroom.  However, he really didn’t want to stop and go to the bathroom because if he left, he would lose the game.  Soon he had to go so badly that he decided to relieve himself just a little bit.  Unfortunately, what was meant to be just a little trickle became Niagara Falls.  His dad got mad at him and told him to go clean himself up.  Lehrer felt really embarrassed.  I found this story so interesting because you wouldn’t think a famous reporter would actually do that as a child, so it is really funny to hear about such an embarrassing moment about him.

Good Results from Lehrer’s Heart Attack

In English I'm learning about Jim Lehrer.  So I had the assignment of writing about the pros to his heart attack he had...  ALLONS-Y!!!

Good Results from Lehrer’s Heart Attack

Lehrer gained quite a bit of wisdom while recovering from his heart attack.  In fact, because of his experience, Lehrer was able to give advice to people about researching whether or not any of their families have had any past heart attacks.  Because of that, he was able to save a few people’s lives because they took his advice.  When they felt their chest start to hurt, the victims were able to rush to the hospital before anything serious happened.  For instance, one lady felt her chest start to hurt.  She immediately rushed to the hospital and actually collapsed right in front of the reception desk.  The doctors were able to save her life because she had acted so quickly.  In addition to teaching people about heart attack risk, he was able to make a bucket list of things he wanted to do.  When he was in his twenties, he collected his father’s old bus signs.  Now he had time to collect an entire arrangement of different bus signs.   This was something he did not have time to do while he was working as a reporter.

Stories of My Life: Autobiography

Sooooooooooo I was given the prompt of writing down three stories I could potentially write about in my autobiography (if I ever write one)...  ALLONS-Y!!!

Since the day I first learned how to talk I always wanted a brother or a sister so whenever I got the chance to say the prayer I’d ask for one.  Anyways, that process continued on and on until I was nine and a half years old.  As you could probably guess, I was beginning to loose hope that I was EVER going to have a brother or sister.  But one magical day a miracle happened…  WE ADOPTED A LITTLE BABY GIRL!!!  And the next year we adopted a baby boy!!!

A few years later I became a middle school student.  Back then, my I-Q was about knee-high to a grasshopper and I had no concept of what an attention span was.  My mother, being concerned of my well being, was kind enough to homeschool me for middle school.  I may have been a bit lonely but at least when I finished, my I-Q had become HUCH larger.  In fact, the grasshopper was now knee-high to my I-Q and not the other way around.

I got smarter as I homeschool but my loneliness skyrocketed.  So, I turned to a writing site called FanFiction for comfort.  FanFiction is a site in which you can write stories about your fandom.  While on that site I made quite a few friends.  Pretty soon one of the writers and I became so close that we started skyping, emailing, and face-booking one another.  We always talked about meeting in real life some day.  Just this summer our wish came true.  I flew out to visit my online friend; to say I was nervous was an understatement!  Fortunately, my family came with me, it conforted me to know I had support.  My penpal and I became best friends in the week we spent together.  In fact, when I left I cried the most I’d ever cried in my life!  I missed my new friend so much!   My penpal and I still talk to each other non-stop.  In fact, we’re already planning our next visit already and are already planning out everything we're going to do.  We've been trying to schedule it so that maybe we could spend more than just a week together.

Online Schooling isn't bad for Society... Will it Put Teachers Out of Work

Let's just pretend that everyone decided to do online schooling for this prompt thingy...  ALLONS-Y!

Online schooling is not bad for society; though it will put teachers out of classroom work.  The good thing about online schooling is that you can choose your curriculum, and a teacher you can connect and maybe even relate to too make the subjects more interesting and bearable.  Also, there is the amazing feeling of working in the comfort of your own home.  Lastly, you can re-watch or re-read parts of the lesson that didn’t make sense.

Now like I said, online schooling will put teachers out of their classroom work.  One solution to this is that teachers make their own online curriculum.  Teachers don’t have to worry about being fired or teaching what the government wants them to teach because they get to teach what they think is best.  Though in this case, only the best teachers will succeed.  Kids like finding teachers who make a super boring and lame subject interesting because they can learn it and remember what they’ve learned while enjoying it as well.

One of the best parts of using online classes is that you can work in the comfort of you own home.  Who doesn’t dream about working on classes that have somehow become interesting while sitting on a comfortable couch sipping their favorite beverage?

Last but not least it is so very helpful when you’re using an online curriculum because you can re-read or re-watch any and all parts a lesson that don’t make sense to you unlike in a regular classroom where you listen and hopefully you remember what the teacher says.

So yes, maybe a few teachers would loose their jobs but they can go into other fields of work.  Not only that but children will be able to pick and choose curriculums and teachers according to their needs while being able to learn in the comfort of their home and have the ability to re-read and watch anything that doesn’t make sense to them.

The Family Government

The Family Government

The family is a form of government.  It has all five characteristics that a government needs to even be considered a form of government: sovereignty, authority(hierarchy), law, sanctions, and succession.

The family government has sovereignty.  The parent or guardian is person in charge and is responsible for the children or other members of the family.  Families have the right to exclude others from entering their home or becoming a part of the family.

The family has a sense of authority; the other members report to the one in charge (parent, guardian, etc…).  This isn’t something one member can do, but the whole family needs to have some type or form of self-government to establish some kind of peace throughout the household.

The family needs to have law (rules).  In other words, the family needs rules to live by.  Without this major component, a household is utter chaos because no one would know what the boundaries are or the consequences for their decisions.

Also, the family imposes sanctions to reward those who obey the rules set before them and discipline those who don’t obey.  This also keeps order in the home because then members realize what they get if they obey and disobey.

And last but not least, the family must have succession to thrive.  One member might decide not to have kids, which brings up the risk of the family name dying out.  Perhaps that person has siblings, which then brings the likelihood of the family name continuing for more than one generation down, the process is continuous and is forever lasting.

Is the Family a Legitimate Form of Government?

Heh, heh...  Hi guys!  So I am now starting to use this blog to post all my school assignments.  So sorry if it's super-duper boring...  I don't like boring stuff...

So, here is the first one:

Is the Family a Legitimate Form of Government?

The family is indeed a legitimate form of government.  It acts as a sort of sovereignty as it does fit the requirements to be one.  The family expects obedience from its members.  The parents are the ones in charge making the rules.  Parents also set up sanctions, there are consequences for when the members obey or disobey.

Families are established by oath (marriage), which is enforceable by the courts in a church or state.  These give both positive and negative sanctions for the family to endure.  Some of the many positive sanctions are: financial support, emotional support in times of need, allows education, and is enabled inheritance.  In contrast, the negative sanctions include: the discipline of children and the exclusion of invaders such as: violence, theft, slander, and fraud.

Since a family acts a sort of sovereignty, members have to ask the questions: how can we settle disputes regularly?  How can boundaries be established?  How can sanctions be made fair? And finally, how can predictability (consistency) be maintained?

Families can settle disputes peacefully if they give one another emotional support.  Parents and their children establish boundaries and consequences.  If they do so and are consistent in keeping those boundaries and sanctions, they gain a sort of predictability.