<p>Prompt 1
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>If an old tradition is still around today, we can assume that it deserves to remain in existence. Well-established customs, styles that are still popular, and ideas that people still find sensible survive because these traditions are strong enough to survive. Continuity guarantees quality. Old-fashioned hospitality, old-fashioned politeness, old-fashioned honor in businessall these traditions have qualities of survival. Fortunately, these will always be with us. </p>
<p>Adapted from Jacob Braude, Jacob Braude's Second Encyclopedia of Stories, Quotations, and Anecdotes</p>
<p>Assignment:
Do all established traditions deserve to remain in existence? 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>Essay:
Established traditions do not deserve to remain in existence. </p>
<p>Slavery was a tradition that had existed for hundreds of years. Slaver was a well established tradition that was removed because of the horrible treatment to Africans, Native Americans and other indigenous peoples. If this well established practice deserved to be in existence, many abolitionist movements would not have occurred. The abolitionist believed that slaver is an unjust practice that should be removed. African Americans such as Sojourner Truth and others fought for the removal of slavery. Sojourner Truth wrote a novel titled Uncle Tom's Cabin. In this novel, she wrote about the story of a slave and his dreadful experiences in this time period. The Underground Railroad was also created in an effort to free slaves. Blacks and whites alike who disagreed with this tradition helped slaves escaped to the North. Slavery was a tradition practiced generations ago that was prevalent everywhere yet people still felt that it did not deserve to exist.</p>
<p>The manners and attitudes towards African Americans were also well established traditions that did not deserve to exist. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, an African American named Tom was accused of raping a white girl even thou the evidence provided proved that he was innocent. The real culprit was the girls father, who was exonerated. Tom was proved guilty because during that time period in the South, African Americans were treated poorly and unjustly. This unfair justice and treatment had existed for many years before in Europe, where non-white races were seen as inferior. The well established tradition of injustice towards African Americans was eventually removed through the actions of Martin Luther King Jr., during the civil rights movement. King conducted peaceful protests, originating from Mahatma Gandhi, and eventually gained equality for all minorities in America.</p>
<p>Well established traditions, practices and mannerisms do not deserve to be in existence. Long lasting traditions such as slavery and the injustice towards minorities were two practices that people felt shouldn't exist and now don't. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>