What Is Important?

What is Important?

The word “important” means having value or taking a large part. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/important) Someone can be important to history. An object can be important to a person, or knowledge can be important to the advancement in technology or science or another field of academics. Even things that are not solid, like thoughts or values, can be important. Everything in the universe is important to someone or something else. There are many things that can be important to a human. Other people, beliefs, religion, an object that has sentimental value, or a favorite thing are all important to people all over the world. Each person holds value in something and each person has value as a human being.

Personally, many things are important to me. I work hard to achieve what I do in school and in sports. The things that are most important to me have to deal with my values and beliefs. If you have a strong set of values, they can help you with everything you do. I have been told throughout my life that anything can and have been achieved with values like hard work, patience, and determination. Family and also comes to mind when I think o things that are important to me. Your family and friends are a support system that can help you throughout your life and can guide you through difficult situations.

Religion and beliefs has been a base of culture and civilization ever since there were humans. People worshiped spirits of different aspects of nature to help them survive and to guide them through their life. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_religion) Today, religion and beliefs are centered on that same idea, although religions themselves have grown and changed. There are five man worldwide religions; Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. They have all evolved and are now have formal practices that have been performed in the same way for hundreds of years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion). Many people rely on religion and find it extremely important in their life. Many people find strength and reassurance in believing in a higher power that protects them and cares for them.

Many things that are important to people throughout the world are part of culture. Art, for instances has allowed people to express themselves. Art has evolved from cave paintings that try to explain how ancient cultures lived and what they did and discovered, to a wide variety of sculptures, paintings, and in recent history photography, that are designed purely for the enjoyment of the audience and artist and the expression of certain thoughts, feelings, and imagination. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/630806/art)

Government and laws have protected people, controlled civilizations, and have helped make people living together more equal. No longer is the fastest, strongest, and smartest person the only ones that get to eat or have power. Without government, we would be no different than our ancient ancestors, except possibly more dangerous. We would still be fighting to survive and killing each other for food on a regular basis. When there are places without any government, like war torn countries, there is no order and everything is worth killing or fighting for. Government has allowed us to advance and become civilized and when you suddenly take that structure away, people revert back to their instincts of survival. Government is important for our protection and the continuation of our way of life.

While money has been the source of many problems, we would not be able to live a civilized life without it. Money and economy allows us to get what we need to survive and in the past has allowed people to specialize in one skill. In history instead of using money, people traded. They would offer something they had for something another person had. If there was no money or economy, people would have to rely on themselves to get what they needed, including food, water, etc. In today’s world a many people don’t have the skills needed to find food on their own or survive by using food that they grew or hunted. Eventually, as civilizations became more complex so did trading and the system of buying things. Ever since early civilizations, like the ancient Greeks, there have been money systems, usually coins, in place to buy things. Without this technology our world today would be unimaginably different. (http://www.the-privateer.com/gold-b.html)

Possibly the most important thing that has come about during human history is agriculture. Agriculture has allowed people to support themselves, while staying in one place and has allowed for the domestication of animals. Without the domestication of animals and crops such as wheat and barley, there would be no culture. Agriculture has allowed a small portion of a population to support many more people that can then focus on developing new technology and culture such as art, laws, government etc.

In today’s world and in recent history, agriculture plays an important role in keeping order in a country. If you cannot support a population, and have to rely on neighboring countries or societies to support it for you, you have no control over what happens in your own country. A country that relies on others to support it, is a t the mercy of those other people. If you cannot support your people at all, there will be change and people will take action to get the food they need. Government will be changed, and the new leaders will find a way to support the people. (http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/index.html)

The word important is used to describe something that has value. Most things of value to people throughout history, usually have to do with the basis of civilization and culture. Agriculture, a good economy, government, art, and religion are all things that have been important to people since their invention. Almost everything, whether it be manmade, naturally made, or a set of beliefs, and every person has value and something to offer to the world. Without things that first became important or valuable, hundred or maybe thousands of years ago, the world today would not be anything like it is now. Without agriculture, government, or religion there would be no society because it would never have been invented, and there would be no order. Without these things that became important early in our history, we would not have advanced at all and would still be hunting and gathering to survive.

Works Cited

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"Guns Germs & Steel: Variables. The Story of... |." PBS. Web. 06 Feb. 2010. .

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"Money - What is it and why is it important?" Stocks, bonds, currencies, precious metals - Our Analysis Begins Where Your Information Ends. Web. 06 Feb. 2010. .

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"File:Scythe user.png -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .