When Good Parents Go Bad...

The media today is constantly bashing Britney Spear’s troubled life. The media focuses on her inability to maintain certain decorum and her custody battle to keep her children. Recently, Britney’s younger sister was exploited throughout the magazines revealing that she is pregnant and due this summer. Some blame these siblings for all their mishaps and forget who the real people responsible for their outcomes are: their parents. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in a manner that provides not only essential needs like clothing, food, medical care, etc, as well as life lessons and rules in order to help guide their child on the right path for their future. However, the Spears parents failed this guidance terribly, and because of this lack of discipline, their children’s lives are falling apart.

In the last year alone, Britney had gone through a traumatic experience with the custody over her children. But her trouble did not start with her kids. A few years ago, Britney eloped in Vegas, and then broke it off after 48 hours. Of course, she stated that she was too drunk to have actually remembered or agreed to the eloping. At that point, Britney’s parents should have been there to stop her wild partying and bring some guidance and advice to change her life for the better. But her parents never helped her change. Now, Britney is undergoing custody issues with her ex-husband, having medical examinations telling her that she is bipolar, and the media is only making it worse. If Britney’s parents want to save their daughter, they need to act quickly and show her the support and guidance that was always missing.

Because Britney had such a terrible upbringing, her sister, Jamie, who had no role model to look up to decided to live with her 19 year-old boy friend. Of course, within months, Jamie was pregnant. At first I was shocked. I thought of Jamie is a sweet innocent “Zoey 101” teenage girl who had all the right values in life. Soon I realized that she never had any guidance from her parent or sister. Because of this neglection, Jamie had no idea of the serious risks she has just placed before her. At first, Jamie exclaimed that she was going to get married this summer to the boyfriend that got her pregnant. Less than a month after that statement, Jamie withdrew her statement and said that the marriage was off. Again, we see that there are no parents helping Jamie with her life. She has no one to show her what is right or wrong.

At some level, I do not blame Jamie or Britney for the terrible situations they have put themselves into. Still, these sisters should know better than to shave their head for attention or get pregnant at 16. Most of this is common knowledge. However, with the lack of parenting in the world today, many teens have no role models to look to for guidance and when they are placed in a serious situation they do not always know the right thing to do.

The Pressure of Being a Juror

In the movie, "12 Angry Men," there was constant pressure to follow the crowd. Although some men were able to decide for themselves if the man was guilty, others were pressured into deciding based on the other intimidating jurors in the room. I think that when in a jury room all, the jurors should be made to say why they think the defendant is guilty or not, and not withhold anything that could be of use to deciding the verdict. Nevertheless, the jurors shout not have the right to say whatever they want, which may be hurtful to other jurors.
Many of the jurors in the movie seemed to be unsure of whether they really thought the defendant was guilty or not. However, once the jurors began explaining the evidence, it helped clarify what really might have happened. If the jurors had not talked out each incident and evidence involved in the murder case, the defendant would have been found guilty. Juror three, the angry one, not only had some unknown anger towards this defendant, but he manipulated others to change their vote based on his decision. Juror three should have withheld his temper, and calmly explained his reasoning’s behind his decision. However, he not only inflicted embarrassment onto many of the jurors, but some of the jurors felt insecure and weak to his authority, which is no higher than any of the other jurors.
The older juror no longer felt scared or compelled from juror 3, or any of the other jurors, and he brought up some thoughts he had about the eye witness who claimed she had seen the defendant murder his father. Since the old man had enough courage to stand up against all the other intimidating jurors, his thoughts about the evidence lead the rest of the jurors to change their votes. If jurors always withheld their thoughts and doubts about their case, many innocent people may receive a wrongful punishment.
Maybe there could be some type of establishment before the jury comes to session, and someone could not only explain the rules of being on jury, but tell them that there needs to be some type of order and manner in which the jury session is held. In addition, the jurors should know that they are not allowed to become enraged in any way that might harm a juror and compel him/her to change their vote. Furthermore, each jury must give a reasonable explanation for their decision.
Being on jury duty is never an easy task. All of the cases held within a jury are life-changing circumstances for the defendant. One of the jurors changed his vote primarily because others were, and he just wanted to leave to go to his baseball game. Jurors should not only make their decision based on what they truly believe is the truth, but the jurors should feel open to discussion about the case, and not afraid what other jurors will respond to his/her ideas, since their verdict is going to greatly effect the life of the defendant on trial.