<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.It is not that people dislike being part of a community; it is just that they care about their individual freedoms more. People value neighborliness and social interactionuntil being part of a group requires them to limit their freedom for the larger good of the group. But a community or group cannot function effectively unless people are willing to set aside their personal interests.</p>
<p>Adapted from Warren Johnson, The Future Is Not What It Used To Be Assignment:
Does the success of a communitywhether it is a class, a team, a family, a nation, or any other groupdepend upon peoples willingness to limit their personal interests? 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>Abraham Lincoln once said, "Always bear in mind that your group's ability to succeed matters more than anything else in the world." In other words, foregoing one's personal interests for the greater good of the community is quintessential to ensure success. In an era when selfishness is rampant and altruism is long forgotten, reminding people to limit their own personal interests can bring an end to all corruption and the vagaries all human beings are subjected to. Various examples throughout literature and history stand testimony to this truth. </p>
<p>A compelling illustration that demonstrates this truth is reflected by the short, poignant, yet meaningful life of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who was subjected to the harsh treatment at the Nazi Concentration camps. Before getting caught by the Nazi police, the Franks went into hiding in a secret annex, right above Otto Frank's Office. They were joined by another family, the Van Pels and their son, Peter and Fijzzec Scarp. For the eight people to live together in such a crucial time was not as easy as it may have seemed. Anne and Mrs. Van Pel usually entered into a series of arguments on trivial issues. Similarly, while serving dinner Mrs. Van Pel had to hear scathing remarks from the Van Pels. They were not allowed to leave the annex, to make even a blip of a sound or even to flush the toilet. Living in that closed quarter certainly wasn't easy for both the families; however, after a while they set aside their personal differences because they realized the intensity of the situation at hand. They realized that in order to protect themselves, which is tantamount to success in this case, they shall have to look at the larger picture. Clearly, the two families exemplify this truth. </p>
<p>Another prime example that illustrates this truth is evident among the women who fought for the vote from the early 1800s to the early 1920s. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, two of the most renowned female suffrage fighters, were not always in complete agreement. One dispute that led to the division of their party into schisms occurred in the mid 1870s, when Susan B. Anthony, although an abolitionist, refused to grant support to the enfranchisement of black men the right to vote until it guaranteed women, like men, the right to vote. Various leaders in the movement were disappointed in her, thus decided to form the American Woman Suffrage Association; the women who supported Anthony went on to form the National Woman Suffrage Association. However, after a while, the animosity soothe and realized that their party had greater momentum together as opposed to in factions. So each supporter set aside his or her personal differences. Even though Anthony and Stanton died before the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, their efforts did not die in vain. In 1920, women were granted the right to vote. Clearly, limiting personal interests aside led to the greater good - the fruits of which we savor today. </p>
<p>To summarize, any group's success is majorly dependent on team spirit and team work. Anne Frank's example, in the context of two families, and Suffrage Movement, in the context of a nation, testify this truth. Failure is inevitable if the very foundation is weak.</p>