<p>No I am not a racist. </p>
<p>Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here is the prompt:</p>
<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. If we valued honesty, we would be willing to risk our jobs to become whistleblowers and tell truths that our employers did not want revealed. If we valued success, we would give up our free time in order to excel in a subject or sport. In other words, the sacrifices we are willing to make reveal what we care about the most. Assignment: Can what we value be determined only by what we sacrifice? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
<p>And here is my essay:</p>
<p>Our sacrifices determine our passions. We sacrifice many things, ranging from small, common things, like time, to large, more important things, such as our lives. The grander the sacrifice is, the more powerful our passion is. In the Bible, it is said that no greater love hath a man than this: that he would lay down his life for a friend. Undoubtedly, our lives are the most valuable, and perhaps the only, things that we truly own. Many a soldier has made this ultimate sacrifice.</p>
<p>Millions of men and women have fought and died in the course of history. They have held many different reasons for fighting, but one common thread connects them all: they risked, and lost, their lives for something that they cared about. Thousands perished to preserve the unity of the United States. Perhaps more still have died to protect their loved ones. Others fought for power and myriad other reasons. Each and every one cared deeply. Soldiers are not the only example of this self-sacrifice, however.</p>
<p>In Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, Inspector Javert spends years hunting escaped convict and protagonist Jean Valjean. Though he has spent years running from Javert, when Jean Valjean is granted an opportunity to rid himself of his pursuer, he shows mercy. Undeterred, Javert continues to hunt him down. After finally detaining Valjean, however, Javert discovers that he cannot turn him in. Unable to reconcile his almost insane ideals of justice and the release of a dangerous criminal, Javert commits suicide. He does so to protect the two things that he has come to care about: Jean Valjean and his ideals.</p>
<p>So we can see, that if we truly care about something, we will give up everything else for its good. The preceding examples effectively illustrate this principle with relevance to our real lives.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>