I agree with Tim O’Brien that very little changes about a person from birth to death other than superficial attributes and physical things. Much of who we are as people is formed from early childhood lessons that stick with us forever. Physical things may change. Opinions may change. Friends may change, but a person’s values and key characteristics, what defines us, do not.
As a small child, I always wanted to keep up with my older sister. My Mom told me how I used to get out of my play area to follow my sister when she would leave the room because I wanted to play with her. I was fairly stubborn and determined then, and I still am today.
My parents taught me to be honest and work hard. They used to have to make me do my homework and do chores to earn my allowance. Now, I do all my school work on own and work for things that I want. Work is my addiction. I always take on a lot of responsibilities and commitments, and it does not appear that the status quo will be changing soon.
While my situation may not provide the most credibility because I have only lived seventeen years, a look at my grandfather’s life provides a much more convincing argument. My grandfather grew up on a farm and bought it from his parents. He grew up working hard every day and was taught not to waste anything. Even in his later life, after he sold the farm and took a job in industry, he still lived fairly simply an acted the same way. There were few occasions where he would buy frivolous items or take a day off, even when he could.
Someone can change their physical appearance, find new interests or friends, or even change an opinion, but they never truly change their basic values; as O’Brien writes, “But the essence remains the same,” (236). Values and characteristics that all people gain early in life become foundations for everything life presents. These characteristics and values become twisted into so many aspects of life that that to escape them is a near-impossible feat. Values are like the footings of a building; even after the building has been torn down, the evidence of where it stood still remains.
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4 comments:
SFD, I disagree. Values can change. We see it in the classics such as A Christmas Carol. We also can be raised to adhere to particular values only to learn that they are not the values we want to follow. Prejudice comes to mind. If people had not changed their values, would we have desegregated our schools our neighborhoods? Segregation and prejudice remain today because some people have not changed their values, but many people have changed. Today a mulatto runs for president and may well will the election. People's values had to change for this to happen.
You changed your behavior because your personal values changed. Yes, your parents taught you the value of hard work and honesty, but you initially did not see either as a value you could adopt easily. Then you changed your mind. You could have continued your slothful ways, but you chose not to.
Your parents could have taught you greed, and you could have resisted and embraced other-centered behaviors. If we cannot change our values, how can we change the world?
We have two candidates running for president. Each call for change, but which one will we believe and vote for? They are asking us to change our values in a way.
I really like the way you connected O'Brien's passage to your life and provided examples. It shows that no matter what age you are, you're still the same person. Good job!
theteach, what does SFD stand for?
Your argument is valid, but not without holes. Prejudice is less common because it is socially unacceptable. All along there were people who felt segregation was wrong, and there are people today that would still be for it. You are taking an argument about a population and using it discuss individuals. In A christmas Carol the story ends happily, but the audience does not see Scrooge after the fact. He sees the error in his ways, but the we do not follow him the rest of his life and see his behavior.
I don't follow your comment about me not being able to adopt honesty and hard work. Where did I say was I lazy or "slothful" as you put it? If you are referring to my comment about having to be told to do my homework when I was little, I know of few, if any, little kids that would rather do their work than play. C'mon. That doesn't make me lazy. Think back to your childhood.
I don't think voting for a Presidential candidate is picking a new set of values. The entire point is to pick someone whose ideas your agree with because you think they will make the country better. If you don't like either, you don't have to vote for anyone. Your vote does not necessairly mean your candidate will win. You don't have to agree with the decisions that are made by our executive. You are only required to follow them by law. Just because you follow the law so you don't go to jail doesn't mean you've turned over a new leaf.
Thanks for challenging.
I have posted my responses at:
http://www.theteachonline.net/mh/sfyd.rtf
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