Persuasive Essay 4

To Serve or Not to Serve?

In some countries, citizens are required to serve in the military for a year or more. Do you believe the United States should implement a similar policy? Why or why not? Use specific examples to support your answer.

         

          The United States of America has the world’s most powerful military. But has anyone ever stopped to think as to why that is? I’m not talking about statistics or facts; yes they are important, but I believe there is something deeper than that. I believe one of the main reasons our nation has the best military in the world is because our troops have heart, willingness, pride, and drive. Never are you forced into the military (well not since Vietnam), you enter on your own will and from the gratitude of your own heart and pride. Not many other countries can say the same for their troops.

I do not believe implementing policies that force U.S citizens to serve their own country will be beneficial to anyone. If such policies are put to effect I do believe our nation’s validity will be compromised. Not only will the government have a boat load of law suits, petitions, and protests, but also the military won’t be as strong as it could be. I feel doing this won’t promote a better military, but instead bring about a weaker one.

            When you force a young child to do something they oppose, you find yourself met with a lot of apprehension. Even if they do complete the task, they do it unwillingly and the job is usually, as my mother so eloquently puts it so often, half-assed. On the flip side if you show them the importance of the task first and then coax instead of force them into the assignment, you find the child is much keener to comply.  I feel this is the same with the military, if you force your citizens into defending their country when they really don’t want to they aren’t going to do it wholeheartedly. But just as with the young child, if you emphasize the importance of a strong military to protect our country and then you instill in their minds the glory of being in the military, you have more willing volunteers.

             Protecting your country should be a personal decision that you make based on your willingness to give back, not an obligation or requirement. I believe that tasks like these are done best when left up to an individual choice, not some law. If we put to action a policy that pressurizes, better yet obligates, our men and women to serve, I assure you the title of the world’s most powerful military will no longer belong to The United States of America.

           

Prompt 16

We Must Work Together!

In kindergarten to about second grade you are taught sharing is caring, from third to around sixth grade you are coached on working together skills, from seventh grade on up you are know expected to  work with other people respectfully and cooperatively. Cooperatively being the key word here, meaning no outrageous arguments and getting the work done in a timely manner while incorporating everyone’s input.

Cooperating is a simple skill taught and instilled in us from childhood, but it is one of the most important lessons every to be taught. Without the skills to cooperate you will make it no where in life. It’s that simple. No one will like you because you are so disagreeable and teachers and bosses won’t put up with you, because you slow up production by being such pain.

To me cooperating comes easily, I can adjust to working with just about any group. But keep in mind cooperating isn’t a one person task, especially when having to do group work; you have to learn to cooperate with complete a-holes. You have to be able to adjust to other personalities, ones that probably won’t be as adjustable and willing as you. And of course there will be times when you have to cooperate with people who just aren’t cooperative people, but hey what can I say except life isn’t fair and that’s just how its going to be at times.

Prompt 15

Can You Hear Me Now?

Twenty years ago we were in the 80’s. Before I was born, both my parent were still young adults and the world was nothing like it is today. Among the drastic changes in the way we dress, the music we listen to, the way we talk etc., from the 80’s to now we have changed radically in how we communicate.

From big blocky 1hr battery life phones, to pagers, to two-ways, to smaller more convenient ones that really couldn’t do much, to what we have now. It is amazing that what once was the size of a small book and didn’t really do much, now can be as small as the palm of your hand and do pretty much everything a full blown computer can. With this advance in the way we can communicate there has been a change in the way we communicate. What I mean by this is back in the day there weren’t very many ways to keep in touch, other than by phone call, letter or in person. Yeah online was an option but it wasn’t as advanced as it is today. Now we are literally a click away from anyone in the world. If I want to talk to my friend on the other side of the world, all I need to do is press and hold C on my cell-phone. Another thing we can do in 2010 that we couldn’t do in 1980 is text! I text so much that it has become the main source of how commune with basically everyone in my life. I can count the times I am actually on the phone in one month, but when it comes to texting I can literally send dozens of messages a day. Another form of communication that is rampantly growing are sites known as social networks, recently most popular being Facebook and Twitter. I think if Facebook keeps going like it’s going, in a few years more than half the population will be “connected”. No where else in the history of the world has the entire human population been so close to almost all being together like that.