The value of hard work…
“In the long run, hard work usually brings a better life. It sounds wrong for me to agree, but I am. I have known/met many individuals who never tried in school or tried in college (or never went to college,) and life was not easy on them when they entered the real world. I believe that with time and effort, you will succeed and accomplish many things that you may not have known were possible. So to summarize, work hard, show up (no matter the situation) and do not give up on what you believe in.” – Alannah Olson
“I believe people who work hard are rewarded in life more. They aren’t always rewarded with money but when you work hard you learn to enjoy the little things a lot more in life. My grandparents work on a small farm and they enjoy the little things a lot more. My grandparents feel very blessed with all of their kids and grandkids. My grandparents don’t have fancy cars or a big house but they are very grateful and blessed with what they have.” – Spencer Cohen
“I agree with this one because life doesn’t come easy for many people. You need to work to accomplish your goals and for your future. And work for what you want. Things in life are always not just handed to you, especially when you become an adult and father in life.” – Sawyer Olds
“I totally agree with the belief. I believe that if you make a goal for yourself, commit to it, work very hard to achieve it and never give up, then you will become successful. When you achieve your goal you are now able to achieve true happiness. Then, in the future you can help out your friends and families with their problems, and make them successful too.” – Gunnar Wierzba
Making parents proud….
“This is one of my main goals in life. They have spent so much time and money making me into who I am, because of this I feel like I can’t afford to fail in life. Adding onto this belief I want to get ahead enough in life later on where I can repay it all back to them in any way I can.” – Hunter Biadasz
“I disagree, because I think that you should be doing what you think is best for you. You shouldn’t be doing something because you think it’ll make your parents proud.” – Max Bosket
“I think making my parents proud is a big thing for me. I feel I was raised better than most kids in this generation. I was raised to respect my parents and respect who respects me. I think by going to college and making a future for myself is making my parents proud of the daughter that they have raised. I think making my parents proud is making them proud of their children they raised.” – Laura Krupka
Money, money and being rich…
“Being rich is very important is something I also strongly believe in. Being rich is something everyone dreams about and trying to find a career that offers the most amount of money to you. People use their whole life trying to add and add money to their name. With the more money, the easier your life becomes which is why I believe it is important.”- Jaren Alfuth
“I believe that you have to have at least some money to enjoy your life. You don’t have to be the richest man in America but at least afford good food, shelter, and running water. You also should buy things that make you happy like a cool new thing like a car or fishing rod or something you enjoy. I believe you have to make enough money to at least to survive in order to try to be happy.” – Landen Prescher
“Education should focus on getting people higher paying jobs because money makes the world go around. Without good paying jobs people won’t be able to spend which won’t help the economy.” – Eathan Paulson
“Disagree. I believe that being rich makes you a fundamentally worse person especially if you were born rich. Someone who has always had everything loses touch with reality and what its like to have nothing. The best example I can think of is an old interview where Bill Gates had to guess grocery prices. He did not guess that anything was under 10 dollars he genuinely fully lost touch with how most people survive.” – Kenny Collins
“Being rich can be both important but also not necessary. That is because people who are rich/wealthy can be happy but also can be depressed. You can buy nice things but also lose money doing those actions. Being rich is essential to pay for basic necessities and amenities, which may be easier for people in financial trouble, and having money and a good amount of money is always good to have in the back of your head.” – Sawyer Olds
“I somewhat agree because you need money to live but you do not need to be rich to live life. Money is nice but if you are rich you have less time at home and will spend more time working for your money.” – Ethan Egbert
“I feel that in life it’s how much you accomplish that matters. If you’re rich and have done nothing with your life your life was meaningless; you did nothing. Now you can strive to be rich or also be rich and do something with your life that will impact others which is important.” – Cayden Wright
The role of government…
“Government should keep their hands out of helping out people. It is their responsibility to be able to keep themselves stay afloat. The government helps people out to much and it lets people think that there is always a back stop.” – Eathan Paulson
“I believe there has been no good government made and democracy is the best out of the evil. I believe even if the government had the power they would still not care. It is in the good will of the people to band together and help each other and stick by each other to get through hard times. I believe the people who will help you most are good people who live in a community who can see a struggle.” – Landen Prescher
“Our government is not doing a good job with its responsibilities. Right now in the world, the U.S. government is currently helping bankroll Ukraine, Israel, and other countries out of conflict. But, in the U.S. we have bad gas prices, high taxes on food and property, and we are currently $34 TRILLION in debt. I believe that the U.S. should take responsibility and fix our current debt problem, help the people who are struggling financially and physically, and lower our food prices.” – Gunnar Wierzba
It’s okay to make mistakes…
It is okay to make mistakes is another statement that I believe. Most people tend to forget that it is okay to make mistakes and that is how people learn and do better. If you do not make mistakes that means you are not trying hard enough is always what I have been told and now I always stick by that. – Jaren Alfuth
“I believe it is ok to make mistakes. By making mistakes you can learn from them and fix what you messed up the first time. Mistakes are part of life and learning rights from wrongs. I believe making mistakes and learning from them can be more educational than some of the stuff taught in school.” – Laura Krupka
By making mistakes is how we all learn to make ourselves better. Some things are very hard to do and you will make mistakes but after hard work and dedication you will get very good at what you do and it will pay off. I firmly believe failure is the best teacher you can have. – Hunter Biadasz
“I think it is actually a good thing to make mistakes. I feel the best way to learn is to make mistakes. Making mistakes in sports has helped me know what I need to work on or what I am doing wrong. If you never make a mistake you will think you are doing everything perfect and nobody is perfect. It is also important to know when you do make a mistake and own up to it. If you don’t know your making a mistake you won’t be able to fix the problem.” – Spencer Cohen
“It is okay to make mistakes. I am someone who has made more mistakes than I can count, but I have learned from them, so this belief is something I strongly agree with. Speaking from the point of view in school and out, mistakes will be made, and it is just a part of life. They help us grow as individuals, and give us the ability to view right from wrong in some cases. However, I have learned that it is always alright to ask for help, or even guidance to what should be done.” – Alanna Olson
Science versus faith …
“I think that we should spend more time on science and less on faith. Though faith can be good for people, I think that there is too many that don’t believe in basic science because of their faith.” – Max Bosket
“I think people should trust in their own actions instead of what a single article says online with a bunch of research done that you don’t even understand. I also believe that people should try to take their own steps toward something that is in their own power to do and not wait to see if it is safe. There is also the fact that people need to accept that this is something you can’t fix and some other people can’t fix and it is out of your hands. Sometimes science is right, sometimes it is wrong.” – Landen Prescher
Can non-religious lead lives as moral as those of religious believers?
Fervently agree. In fact I’d honestly argue that a reasonable portion of religious people use their faith to justify their own atrocities. For an example, look at the Crusades in the medieval era. Now take a step forward and look at any country in the Middle East now there is death and war and at the front lines both sides shout “God is on our side.” – Kenny Collins
“Non-religious people can lead lives that are just as moral as those of religious believers. Speaking from the perspective of someone who never really had a religion growing up, I can agree that we also live completely normal lives, and have the same feelings as everyone else. My family never pushed religion onto me, as they also didn’t specify/believe in one specific ‘group.’ There are many assumptions made about you when asked if you are Christian, Catholic, and more, and you respond with ‘none.’ I just simply don’t stick to one specific path, and I am willing to hear from all views.” – Alanna Olson
Stand for what you believe…
“You should stand up for what you believe in. Especially in a country of free speech you can emphasize your beliefs and values. If you don’t, then what’s the point in believing in that idea at all ?If you feel shame or embarassment for that idea then you’re a coward and should not even consider yourself a part of the culture.” – Cayden Wright
