I'm suppose to respond to this quotation making it both personal in nature and argumentative. Draft - help/comments appreciated Thanks!
Quote: "It seems to me incumbent upon this and other schools' graduates to recognize their responsibility to the public interest... unless the graduates of this college... are willing to put back into society those talents, the broad sympathy, the understanding, the compassion... then obviously the presuppositions upon which our democracy are based are bound to be fallible."
Generosity used to mean giving money to a foundation or donating items to Goodwill in exchange for a sense of self satisfaction. At those moments, I felt powerful, like I had changed a little part of the world all by myself. Perhaps I did help a few people, but I have yet to make a difference. I haven't discovered the cure to breast cancer or the answer to global warming, and I don't think I can at this exact moment. But if I had the knowledge, the talent, and the compassion to solve such issues, then it is my responsibility and anyone else's responsibility with those opportunities to try and do it.
One of the most important lessons I learned during my trip to New Orleans came from a framed quote upon one woman's trailer wall by Lill Watson: "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is tied up with mine, then let us work together". While I believe that the actions such as the ones of those around the nation donating money to help others in such disasters are important, the reasons behind such actions make up one's role within the rights upon which our democracy is based on. In turn, every room I helped to drywall was not for a house. Rather, each one was for the home to which each individual has an equal right to.
Generosity, as a result, becomes much more than simply giving up money. It means dedicating one's time and ability to recognize the rights that everyone is born with. It means giving up an afternoon to tend a community garden to provide food, or developing alternative energy to provide a future. It means sharing one's culture to provide diversity, or becoming a professor to provide education. Whether it's small or big, generosity becomes equality and social justice.
It is imperative, then, for everyone including graduates to recognize their responsibility to the public interest. Though knowledge, talent, and compassion can come in a variety of ways, as long as they are put back into society, then they will strengthen the foundation upon which our democracy has been based on.
I like your concluding paragraph, short but concise and it ties back to the quote.
The flow is there but I don't know, it's a bit general? Like I can substitute someone else in it and it'll still be a fine-flowing piece...
Well, just my opinion...
