GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

Once a man was drowning, he was faithful devotee of god. He always believed that god will help him in times of trouble. When drowning, he found a branch of a tree on the bank nearly sticking out touching the water. He could have caught hold of it and saved himself from drowning. But he did not do so thinking that god would miraculously lift him out of water. Then he found a log floating nearby. He could have caught hold of it and kept himself afloat. But he did not do so. A little while later, a man with a boat came to him and asked him to get into the boat. But the drowning man refused the offer saying that god would help him. When the soul of the drowned man met god in heaven it complained to god that in spite of his being a firm believer in god, he did not help him. Them god smilingly asked the soul. Who said I didnt help you? I tried to help you thrice by offering you the branch, the log and the boat. But you foolishly refused it all. What else could I do than let you drown? People usually believe that if they pray to god everything will be given to them. That is not entirely true. It is foolish to believe so because god will help only those who are willing to help themselves. In other words, we should put in our own effort I order to help ourselves if we get into a dangerous situation and do nothing believing that god will miraculously get us out of it, we are bound to be frustrated. The expected miraculous help may never come. In fact miracles rarely happen.

Justice Delayed Justice Denied

Justice delayed and justice denied means that if justice is not carried out right away timely, then even if it is carried out later it is not really justice because there was a period of time when there was a lack of justice. In vogue justice delayed justice denied is a very smooth saying. But it is not as easy to understand without clarification as to what actually is meant by the delay of justice. Justice is something meant to be handled at the present moment. Without justice system there can be no state worth the name. It is rightly called the shield of innocence and the guardian of civil right. This is so because, like Martin Luther King said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." But for a good judiciary it is essential that justice should be impartial, speedy and cheap. Therefore if someone delays something as important as justice knowing that injustice is a threat to it, then the person is denying justice. In history, we can look out the justice technique of kings. They never delayed in their judgments. They always judge the crime fact in a very short time. But In our society we always see the phenomenon. If anyone accused any kind of crime, he must be punished at once or else. If the justice delayed, the criminal somehow escape from his crime and prove himself as an innocent man. He will also try to make his punishment very small. Thus a criminal prove himself as an innocent because of delay of justice. If we wanted to punish the criminal for his crime we have to justify his crime in a short time or he will able to escape from his crime. If justice is delayed and justice is not really done people, then the life and property cannot be safe. So we have to justice a crime without any delay, otherwise the fact will go behind the doubt. In short terms it means that if the justice is delayed by any cause it is very harmful to the people of any society. So we have to justify any kind of crime.

Education is a Better Safeguard of Liberty

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 89)

". . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 88)

The above quotes were the cornerstones of Jefferson's interest in education and the franchise. He placed education as the foundation of democracy and a prerequisite to vote.

Ignorance and sound self-government could not exist together: the one destroyed the other. A despotic government could restrain its citizens and deprive the people of their liberties only while they were ignorant. Jefferson could never completely separate education from government. With the fullest faith in the ability of man to govern himself, Jefferson nonetheless realized the responsibility of selfgovernment could be assumed successfully only by an enlightened people. The habit of thinking of public education in essentially political terms, as an auxiliary of free government, naturally suggests a common father for both. In associating manhood suffrage with education, Jefferson was in the forefront. It was his belief in universal suffrage that made necessary the accompanying idea of universal education. Only popular government can safeguard democracy. . . . Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. And to render them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree. . . ." (as cited in Koch and Peden, 1972, p. 265) The preparation of the voter so that he might express his opinion by means of the ballot, thus insuring political liberty, was one of the main goals of Jefferson's plan for education which asserted four basic principles:

1. "that democracy cannot long exist without enlightenment. 2. that it cannot function without wise and honest officials. 3. that talent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or other accidental condition.

4. that the children of the poor must be thus educated at common expense." (as cited in Padover, 1952, p. 43)

Jefferson felt so strongly about education that he, as a strict constitutional constructionist, submitted to congress an amendment to the constitution to legalize federal support for education in his State of the Union Address, December 2, 1806. "Education is here placed among the articles of public care. . . " (Honeywell, 1964, p. 63). Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree. . . . An amendment to our constitution must here come in aid of the public education. The influence over government must be shared among all people. (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 87) The amendment was never considered, so, Jefferson turned his efforts to his beloved state of Virginia. He developed a comprehensive plan for education which encompassed elementary, secondary, and university levels. I think by far the most important bill in our whole code, is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness. (as cited in Padover, 1952, p. 87) Jefferson believed the elementary school was more important than the university in the plan because, as he said, it was "safer to have the whole people respectfully enlightened than a few in a high state of science and many in ignorance as in Europe" (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 241). He had six objectives for primary education to bring about this enlightenment and which highlighted what he hoped would make every person into a productive and informed voter:
1. "To give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business; 2. To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts, and accounts, in writing; 3. To improve, by reading, his morals and faculties; 4. To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either; 5. To know his rights; to exercize with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor, and judgment; 6. And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed." (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 239)

Omitted from the Bill for Virginia's school system, for political reasons, was the provision requiring literacy for citizenship. Jefferson felt strongly that society could rightfully disfranchise those who failed to avail themselves to free education (Malone, 1981, p. 270). Jefferson expressed this view in a letter to his friend du Pont in 1816:

. . . in the constitution of Spain as proposed by the late Cortes. . . that any person born after that day should ever acquire the rights of citizenship until he could read and write. It is impossible sufficiently to estimate the wisdom of this provision. Of all those which have been thought of for securing fidelity in the administration of the government, constant ralliance to the principles of the constitution, and progressive amendments with the progressive advances of the human mind, or changes in human affairs, it is the most effectual. Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppression of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day. . . . the diffusion of knowledge among the people is to be the instrument by which it is to be effected. (as cited in Mapp, 1991, p. 266) The omission of the provision tying literacy and the rights of citizenship did the bill little good. All that the Virginia Assembly basically passed was Jefferson's plan for a university, which became the University of Virginia. But, the issue of education and the franchise brought forth a dichotomy in Jefferson's own thinking. He knew that a democracy could only exist with an educated and informed electorate. Yet, he, who abhorred any restrictions or shackles of the mind or body, was proposing such a stricture by melding education with franchise.

Importance of College Ethics

Honesty, promise keeping, free expression, and nonviolence, words written by Derek Bok, explaining his opinion on why it is important to teach basic moral values on the college level. It is quite evident that the teaching of ethics has been a controversial subject, but by no means does that allow it to go unheard. "Colleges and universities should be well aware of the moral messages contained in the countless institutional signals sent to students."(500) Derek Bok uses a plethora of sub-topics to explain his view's when discussing ethical values amongst college students. When discussing "Moral Dilemmas" he states "by studying problems that commonly arise in personal and professional life, students will be more likely to perceive moral dilemmas they would otherwise ignore, thus they will believe that every ethical view is entitled to tolerance and respect."(504) Mr. Bok strongly disapproves of settling with mediocrity when discussing ethical values in the classroom. He feels that neither history nor the classics can sufficiently justify how to teach students to lead a virtuous life. Therefore he feels that once the students have completed their college careers they will be inept to realize the moral dilemmas that will occur within their professional institutions. Crime and negligence that occurs on college campuses is due to the lack of communication between the administration and the student body. Bok clearly is concerned when faculty members or administration will seek to camouflage embarrassing incidents to avoid adverse publicity. In the essay there is an example used to explain his view more in depth. A particular resident teaching in one of their hospitals was caught sexually assaulting several patients. The board of directors chose to keep this incident as discrete as possible, "needless to say, the lesson conveyed by this episode could hardly have been worse."(506) Bok concludes his statement with what he feels should be accepted and freely.