Shelia August
AUSOC 101.11.1
Prof. Maxey
November 9, 2011
Why is Family life important? I am employee for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. I work on death row and I can’t help but to ponder how someone at the age of 27 or younger can be on death row for years; what have we done wrong as a society to produce people who so young but who are unfit to live in society. I know that this is a question without an easy answer. But it’s one we all should ask and strive to find answers to, because it is so difficult to see young men from all walks of life without any hope such despair.
One common thread for the majority of those in the prison system is their lack of having a stable home life. It is my belief that if more of these young people had a solid family background which taught sound morals, with a strong belief system they would be less likely to get involved in criminal activities. Through family we find ourselves as give and receive support. Family brings out the best and the worst in each of us. As we yield to and serve others we learn to love them and ourselves in the process, many of us could never approach this form of selflessness in any other way. There is something about a mother or father, a son or a daughter connection there that blinds us and asks more of us then we are normally willing to give. When we are true to ourselves and follow our feelings and share openly and honestly with our loved ones we remember why family is important. And we are well rewarded for our sacrifice as it enables us to better appreciate who we are. On the other hand, when we yield to our selfishness and take our family members for granted or treat them poorly we lose our sense of self-worth and begin to despise those whom we once loved. In our day-to-day interactions with our family we find out by our words and actions what kind of a person we are and what’s most important to us. The character Levin in Anna Karenina put his
References: Van Zalk, N., Van Zalk, M., & Kerr, M. (2011). Socialization of Social Anxiety in Adolescent Crowds. Jornal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39 (8), 1239-1249. (Ashford University) Vissing,Y.(2011). An Introduction to Sociology, p.50. (Ashford University)