Sarah Weisberg

Ms Roughton

British Lit/ CCB

Due: 2 September 2011                     

For Free: Pleasure— Can I Handle the Guilt? (492- 500 with title)

Human beings want a little bit of everything – willing to trip up, and beat down everyone else to get it— I believe in self-sacrifice. If I lost sight of this principle, of self-sacrifice, I’d be adding to almost every one of these problems. I have needs and desires just like everyone, but I know that I have to be the one to earn them for myself. I won’t be escaping the zombie apocalypse, because I tripped my friend.

            I could accredit my so called philosophy to any number of things. There are the books I whole myself up into instead of paying attention in class, my mother working at an abuse rehabilitation center, being the “sacrifice” for my acquaintances one to many times, any number of things. However, I wouldn’t be quite so hell bent on my morals if it weren’t for my dogs.  I started out with a beagle, when he passed away the family adopted a pointer Dalmatian mix, and when he died of cancer we went right out and brought home two more beagles to help us through the grieving process. I currently have four dogs, those two beagles and two pointer mixes, because when the pound gets full I swoop in for the rescue. I love my dogs. It started with a love for my dogs, even though I know not every animal is a pet, because I love my dogs, when I first learned of animal testing, forest depletion, oil spills, and all the rest of the ways nature suffers at the hands of people it broke my heart. Nature, animals, friends, and strangers suffer from other individuals unconscionable urges to over indulge. I try to minimize my impact on the above. I believe in self-sacrifice.

            Flip on the news and the current or upcoming story is stealing, murdering, war, or one person just tearing someone else down. Beyond the everyday incessant bull of the news, there are current events: quote on quote random pat downs at the airport, or a “random” person citizenship is questioned along with a speeding ticket (immigrants), animals are tested on so the “average person” can compare to their favorite zit commercial celebrity, the environment falling apart because no one wants to begin to think about the tragedy of the commons…

So I sacrifice. I don’t just take whatever it is I want the first minute I want it—and not just because I can’t afford it. It’s not always easy to give things up, but not everything has to be a big deal. For instance, I wanted to dye my bangs white, but I haven’t found a brand of such a product that doesn’t test on animals, so I settle for green. I walk almost everywhere aside from school, every now and then I fast, or give up a pack of soda and donate to charity instead. Instead of letting someone else suffer to fulfill my guilty pleasure I practice self-sacrifice.