“The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.”

As Americans, we have many wonderful rights that allow us to live freely and live how we want to. But these rights have limits. And although we have these rights, it doesn’t give us the right to abuse them. One of the most important things that come with these rights, is the line between right and wrong.

With the recent tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the concept of right and wrong has never been more important to learn. A main point that a parent focuses on is teaching their child or children to be morally sound. While everyone should strive to be decent human beings, some people turn down a more evil path.

The option of becoming a good person is something that I am very passionate about. My mother worked as hard as she could, teaching my sister and me the difference between right and wrong, and how to realize what we should and shouldn’t do. Yet she always fears what kind of people my sister and I will grow up to be. Will we be good, morally sound individuals? Or will we become morally corrupt and blur the line between right and wrong?

I believe that that is a fear that every parent has. The fear of what their child will grow up to be. But I strongly believe that in the end, it is up to that child to decide what kind of person he or she is going to become. A parent can work as hard as they can and always hammer home with their kids the concept of being good people and doing what is right.

But as we kids grow up, it slowly becomes more and more our duty to decide what path we are going to take. I believe that a parent can only do so much before they must let their children go and allow them to try and be adults.

Being a person who hopes to have kids myself in the future, I often think about this idea as well. I want my children to be good and kindhearted people when they grow up. I don’t want my children to grow up only to go out and take a person’s life.

My heart truly goes out to the parents of every person who has taken the life of someone or committed an act of violence or evil. While it is not always the case, the majority of those parents lived normal lives and raised their child to the best of their abilities. It was that person’s decision to go rob a bank or take the lives of innocent children.

I don’t believe that the parents could have prevented it in the end. Every individual makes the choices that will affect their life. It is no one else’s responsibility but their own. There is a lot of evil in the world, but I believe that teaching our future generations how to be a good hearted person has never been more important.