A running world is a healthy nation

The basic unit of society is the family. We all belong to a family. We have people of sometimes the same blood ties with who we share the same household. They can either be playing their roles as parents, children, or siblings. On the other hand, these families living together, experiencing the same challenges, and sharing prosperity form what is called, a community. It is defined as a group of people sharing something in common or live in the same geographical area. For example, African Americans in the post-independent US formed what was later called the black community. These communities, as mentioned above, shared the same challenges, like slavery and a myriad of systematic racial discriminations. That said, it is important to note that for this community and family to achieve its prosperity, individuals making up this community and the community as a whole have roles and obligations to satisfy. These obligations notwithstanding vary from one community to another, one family to another.
As an individual, some things are expected from me by my family and community. These obligations ought to be mutual and symbiotic. This means that both parties play a role that should be beneficial to the other. From the passage, the writer noted that none of his aunts or uncles had gone to school. Also, the people in church encouraged him and never asked for anything, but the writer was conscious that he had a role to play, a role that was beneficial to either her family or the community or both. “None of my aunts or uncles had graduated from college; many hadn’t graduated from high school. The people in my church always encouraged me and never asked me for anything back, but I felt a debt accumulating.” Other obligations include the devastations one feels when their community suffers a setback or an injustice, and the most important one is fighting for one’s community. Bryan Stephenson, in the passage, feels he should help his community by fighting for Walter’s justice. Walter had been falsely accused of murdering a white woman.
These debts have, in one way or another, defined the life choices I make. For example, I have to make the best college, a college that can produce a product in me that the community envisioned, one that subscribes to the ideals of the community. These debts also have a psychological catapult that gives me the urge to be successful and give my family and community nothing less than pride. From the short story by W.E.B. DuBois Souls of the Black Folk, John carries the burden of the community when he goes against the judge’s expectations to teach about racial freedom and equality to the kids. The debts I owe the community is set by the need to alleviate the community from where they were. Therefore, life choices will be affected by the closeness to the community and the principles of loyalty.
And because obligations are displayed towards rules or requirements of roles made formal from the members of the society, everything that I owe the community is set by society’s membership, including me. If my community needs hope or success, my obligations will revolve around providing this in ways possible to me and the virtues and values of the community. My family equally deserves uncensored, loyal, moral, and even financial support from me.
These debts, however, not only motivate my choices but also motivates me as an individual. This motivation includes but is not limited to working hard knowing that a whole community awaits and depends on you. You also can work with confidence, backed by the knowledge that there are people who believe in you. Finally, because they are debts, they entail sacrifice. W.E.B Dubois Short story tells us of a fatal sacrifice John made when his sister was sexually harassed. Even though this later led to his lynching at the expense of justice for his sister, it is clear that he sacrificed purely motivated by the obligation to protect his family. Had John Probably not committed the act, he would have felt hopeless if not guilty. Societal obligations have burdens that weigh heavily on us. They include, among others, the guilt that you betrayed your whole community or the possibility of failure.
In conclusion, it’s evident from the Just Mercy excerpt and the story from W.E.B Dubois that we all have roles to play in any societal setup. Either as individuals, family, or as a community. These roles are obligations that ought to be achieved for the success of every party. We can also deduce that these obligations are not only symbiotic but are also not easy to fulfil. Some can be satisfied through the most unfortunate situation or ways, but sadly they remain obligations that ought to be done by us.