Ch. 8

To the first question, how much are we responsible to our success, I would say that we have mostly full responsibilty. I think that those who are born into wealthy poor families are likely to stay in that social class, and it is easier for those who are born wealthy have an easier time moving up, but it is not impossible to come from poor circumstances and to take yourself to the top. There have been numerous stories of people over the years who started out in poor circumstances. They somehow found the drive to push forward and move on and up from where they came. A lot of these people are very successful today.

No doubt there are difficulties for people who want to move up the social class latter, but it can be done. It is not always easy to move up, which is the second part of this question. Although it can be done, the easiness is not always there. Some people run into good luck, winning the lottery, having a million dollar idea that catches on and makes you money, these experiences are the exception and not the norm though. For anyone trying to work their way up, they will most likely be met with many obstacles.

Personally, I would like to move up from middle class, I don't know many people who don't want to move up and make more money and have better things. But I have experienced the obstacles of climbing up the latter. Just when I have thought my husband I and I were getting ahead and building a savings for us then something unexpected comes along. Cars have been stolen and broken down, teeth need to be fixed without dental insurance, etc. Also, school is my vehicle right now to getting to a career to make more money, but school has been slower than planned because of lack of financial aid and not being willing to go into debt paying for my classes. It will now take me 6 years instead of 4 to finish school. Being in my late 20's this is not ideal because these are the years when I should be in a career, buying a house, and getting ready to start a family.

So while it may be possible to move forward, it is not always easy. Those are very much two different things.

Ch.7

My opinion about making prostitution and drugs legal is that they shouldn't be. I am against drugs for Biblical reasons and personal reasons. I believe that our body is something that should be stewarded with care, from what we eat to everything else. I do not like the fact that cigarettes are legal and alcohol, biblically is OK but not in excess. Drunkenness is not OK, but Jesus even shared wine with his disciples. Wine is actually supposed to be beneficial to the body in small amounts. That leads me to the marijuana issue. I have no biblical basis for saying that marijuana is OK and I have had personal experience with it taking over my life to the point where I drop out of high school. Weed was my first drug, and when that was no longer enough I moved onto bigger and better things. My life was completely taken over by hardcore drugs by the time I was 20. This is why I cannot condone the legalization of this drug. People then argue with me and tell me then we should make cigarettes and alcohol illegal, my response is this: we tried that once and it didn't work. We have to lay in the bed we made in regards to cigarettes and alcohol, but why add to the problem we already have by legalizing another drug? Just so we can save money by not arresting so many people for petty pot dealing? It's just not worth it to me.

The positive consequences (if I look objectively) to legalizing pot are things like saving money state wide because we are not arresting so many people for pot. Another positive may be the medicinal side of it. Easier access for people with chronic illness.

Negative consequences: More people driving high and smoking it in the car. More people being led to other drugs because pot is not getting them high enough anymore. Lung issues and much much more.

Prostitution has no positive benefits the way I see it. When there is prostitution there is violence, rape, drugs, and lifestyles that do not add to society but take away from it. I have known prostitutes personally and have seen first hand the emotional destruction it can do to a woman and even men.

Gambling to me is not an issue, I know that some people end up being addicted to it but I have no basis for saying its 100% wrong.

In connection to the book, making things legal or illegal impacts our jail and prison systems. We either lower the amount of people in the jails or we increase them with the decisions congress make things legal or not. Sure states may save money with less prisoners, but what will be the social consequences for making certain things legal? Are we so concerned with "MY" freedom that we are willing to sacrifice the health of our nation?

Ch.5

The social statuses that I found for myself were as follows:

1) Wife

2) Daughter

3) Sister

4) Nanny

5) Student

6) Caucasian

7) Female

8) Middle income

My achieved statuses are wife, nanny, student, and possibly middle income. I believe income status is both achieved and ascribed because you are born into a certain financial status but you can also achieve a different status later on. It is something you can change, although many people stay in the class they were born into because that's all they know. I was born into a middle class/income home, I have stayed there into my marriage and maybe someday it will be different. I am a first generation college student and because of that I may break the generational status quo.

My ascribed statuses are female, Caucasian, sister, daughter and middle class. These are the things that I have been born into.

The roles I am expected to play as a consequence of these statuses:

Wife- As a Christian woman I am expected to be submissive to my husband when the decisions he makes are not against what God would want. I am expected to be selfless as a spouse, to spend time with my husband.

Student- I am expected to get good grades, be attentive, present, and respectful.

Nanny- Follow the parents wishes, attentive to children, helpful, productive (making sure child's duties and my own get done).

My role as a student and a nanny conflicts with my role as a wife a lot. I have to sacrifice time with my husband at night because I get home from work at 6:30 and then I have homework to do. This takes up a lot of time and sometimes I don't get to see him until 10:30. My role as a wife tends to take a back seat when I am in school. I am constantly thinking of ways to bring balance into school, work, marriage, and all the other roles I hold. This is role conflict at it's best and it is not easy to prioritize sometimes.