1.1.4 Perspectives on Beliefs and Values - Example
Completion requirements
1.1.4 Perspectives on Beliefs and Values - Example
What do I believe? As an American I believe in generosity, in liberty, in the rights of man. These are social and political faiths that are part of me, as they are, I suppose, part of all of us. Such beliefs are easy to express. But part of me too is
my relation to all life, my religion. And this is not so easy to talk about.
Adlai Stevenson
What ideas about values and beliefs are presented in the source? Explain the author's ideas in your own words.
To what extent do you agree with the perspective presented in the source? Support your position using evidence from what you have learned in Social Studies, what you believe about human nature, your own experiences, and your understanding of the world around you.
To what extent do you agree with the perspective presented in the source? Support your position using evidence from what you have learned in Social Studies, what you believe about human nature, your own experiences, and your understanding of the world around you.
This source presents the idea that the author and all Americans share certain beliefs and values, in particular a belief in being generous, in being free, and in having certain human rights. These key values are an important part of his own identity and that of other Americans. He also feels that there are other beliefs, especially religious beliefs that are individual and difficult to describe.
Do I agree with his perspective? I agree in some ways but not others. As a Canadian, I suppose I am also an "American" and I think Canadians really do believe in liberty and human rights. In fact, it was a Canadian who drafted most of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While Stevenson suggests Americans believe in generosity, Canadians take that further- that justice and equality are a human right, not something offered out of the generosity of others. For example, we believe everyone is entitled to free, good quality public education and health care. So I would say Canadians may value the needs of all people as well as individual freedom.
In my own life, I see this on a daily basis as I go to school and visit the doctor. Stevenson also talks about his relation to all life and his religion as being topics that he finds hard to discuss. For myself, I don't find those values too hard to talk about. I believe that I am connected to all life and that I have a responsibility to act responsibly to the environment and my fellow man out of my religious beliefs. Those values are probably more individual and may not be shared by everyone because we live in a multicultural nation where we believe people have a right to their own beliefs.