Choices In Communities

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Many people, in communities and religion believe that a person cannot avoid certain changes in life if they tried to, however, it is fair to believe that an individual is the only one that has the power to change some things like choosing to be educated, working hard so you cannot get fired and many more. Studying closely through the readings, “Community, Commitment and Individuality” by Robert Bellah et al, “Literate Traditions” by Shirley Heath Brice and “Becoming Literate: A lesson for the Amish” by Andrea Fishman, Individuals and communities use their tradition and religion as a means of changing or stopping change. The essay by Bellah talks about Les Newman an individual who believed that whatever triggered change in a person was the commitment he or she made to a certain group. While Shirley Brice talks about how a community namely the Trackton people who similarly with Fishman essay Lesson from the Amish, did not want change, mainly because they were afraid of evolving and they all wanted equality within the community. Human beings always wants to know more, experience more and need more things in life and by this many believe that some communities and religious groups gives a limitation to the human urge to know more. The Amish are scared to educate their people beyond eighth grade because they are scared of having people who are smarter than the rest of the community while the Trackton people try to learn about literacy as a sport but not something to evolve them or gain anything; they also condemn anyone who does it in their own privacy. Therefore stating the fact that Literacy to some communities and religions is a threat, not because it causes harm but because it causes people to evolve for which to some of the communities we are going to talk about is not acceptable. People change sometimes just to attain a certain need while some people do it because
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