Freedom vs. Survival

#1
Freedom and Survival can sometimes go hand and hand. The United States in general allows people the freedom to do what they want to do and does not have any constant major security threats. However, there are times when one must choose between freedom and survival, and for me, the choice is clear. It is just plain dumb to choose to fight for freedom rather than guarantee yourself survival. Risking your life for a cause is very brave, but when you can just as easily surrender and be guaranteed life, fighting is just a waste.
Death is the biggest fear of the majority of the people in the world, mostly because of the uncertainty death brings. Depending on what a person’s beliefs are, he/she might believe that there is life beyond death and that God will grant them eternal life. But no matter what happens when one dies, it is never a good thing for the family and friends who are left behind. To even think about willingly giving up your life no matter what the reason is shows a lack of respect for your loved ones. What if you lose? What if your death does not affect the course of things and your family still loses their freedom? They could even be killed because of what you did. Death also puts a big stopper in your helpfulness to the community. It is very difficult to help others with their problems if you are dead. Living creates the opportunity to do more good for the world and gives people the chance to try to improve their situation and the situations of others around them without the loss of life. No matter what the afterlife may bring, your death does not help the people still living and can really hurt those you love.
However, I do realize that there is an upside to risking lives for freedom. Take for example the American Revolution. If George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and co. had decided to take abuse from the British so they would ensure their survival, we would not be the country we are today. Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life while creating social change to make sure that “All men are created equal” really meant what it said. But If General Washington had decided to look at the position he was in, considered the probability of success, and made a rational decision; he would have laughed at himself for even thinking of leading an army in a revolution against Britain. In most cases of freedom versus survival, the odds are so overwhelmingly against you that fighting is just silly, but that slim chance of success drives individuals to fight. The American made an incredibly high risk move that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone, and it happened to work out for the best.
As I have said, the risk of fighting for freedom almost always outweighs the reward. Being cautious doesn’t always create an Oscar winning movie, but it also will never create an obituary. And as the old saying goes, if you give up and run away, at least you live another day.

Vincent

Imagine being in a world where you struggle to do things others consider routine and simple. You can’t learn like others can, can’t communicate well with your friends and family, and totally depend on others to feed you and take car of you. And to top it all off, you have a job that you hate. That’s exactly how Vincent felt when he quit his job at Concord Support Services. He was tired of the tedious work that he was required to do at his job, which is something that anyone could easily feel. However, due to his disability, he was unable to clearly communicate that he had no desire to continue doing what he was doing. The thing that struck me the most was how Vinnie, someone who is treated and looked at as different, felt about the situation he was in. Nothing was different about his boredom that came as the result of an unchallenging workload. Nothing was different about his nervous reunion with his coworkers, where he felt uncomfortable and insecure. Before I read this story, I never really had much exposure to Down syndrome and other such diseases. Because I had never had direct contact with someone who had such a debilitating disease, I had a closed minded view of how to interact with such a person. I thought they were just like children and should be treated as such. But when I saw how frustrated Vinnie was when he was talked to as a child, I realized that each individual person has his or her individual needs and should be treated with respect, no matter how disabled they are.

When listening to this story, I looked at the way Vincent made decisions. Emotions played a large part in Vinnie’s decisions throughout the story. His intellect was not at a level that could be used to help him with decision-making, so he relied almost totally on how he felt. In the situation he was in, he quit his job because he hated it. If I were to make that kind of decision, I would have to take into consideration how I would make money, what I would do to replace this, and what my friends and family would think. Knowing the consequences of one’s actions can further complicate the issue, and many times, the emotions involved in the decision are ignored. Vinnie took no consideration of what the consequences would be, like a small child. This is one of the reasons people with Down syndrome or Vincent’s are treated like children no matter how old they are. However, in Vinnie’s case, he was aware that he was an adult, but he knew that people were treating him like a little kid. When he caught his mom and sister talking about him behind his back, he was very upset because in my opinion, he didn’t feel he was getting the respect he deserved.

People with disabilities, whether mental or physical, are treated differently than “normal” people. This is good to an extent, as people with disabilities can’t function without the support of others. However, nobody wants to be thought of as being a “degenerate” or “retard.” Although they don’t always get it, people with disabilities deserve respect and should be thought of not as a disabled person, but as a human.