Let go of your Crutches! A persuasive essay on personal responsibility
GEN 200
January 23, 2012

Let go of your Crutches! A persuasive essay on personal responsibility

The lack of personal responsibility in the United States is mounting in epic proportions continually putting a strain on our social and economic foundations. Some people search for any and every excuse to try and gloss over their poor decision making. Excuses such as poverty, education disadvantages, and deprived childhood rank as the top three. I will briefly discuss these topics and give examples of successful people who overcame these difficulties and much more to become great.

Many people like to use the crutches of financial inequality, academic shortcomings, and absentee parents as excuses for their own personal bad decisions (or for criminal acts) to remain wards of the state. Instead of pulling themselves up “by their bootstraps”, they continue to receive government hand-outs, reside in government funded housing, and collect government subsidies. There are many examples of people who have overcome these and even greater hardships; here are three.

Poverty: Oprah Winfrey was born to an un-wed teenage mother who was in such grave poverty, that she had to give her up to her grandmother to rear. Her grandmother was also impoverished and at a later date was returned to her mother. Oprah was somewhat of a rebel, going against the social and racial norms of her time, but still was an excellent student. She triumphed over her paucity stricken childhood to become who she is today. Education: Leonardo da Vinci was a great scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and author. He conceived the ideas vastly ahead of his time, conceptualizing the helicopter, tank, concentrated solar power, and the calculator. He accomplished all of this while suffering from dyslexia. Childhood: Johann Sebastian Bach is considered as one of the greatest composers of all time, but he endured a very tragic childhood. His mother died when he was only 11 years old and his father just a short eight months later. He was reared by his eldest brother until he was sent off to boarding school to perfect the music that we all know and love.

Each of these examples overcame their adversities to become very successful people and each has made enormous contributions to societies around the globe. Use these famous histories as motivational role models to pull yourself out of the mire self pity and governmental dependency. Quit using excuses for your bad decisions and take personal responsibility for those actions.