ACTIVITY 11

Name: Rodrigo, Aleah May N.

Year & Section: Bsp 2-1
Date: November 5, 2022

Here is a moral dilemma. Read the story and then answer the questions provided.

Joe is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go
if he saved up the money for it himself. So, Joe worked hard at his paper route and saved up the forty
dollars it cost to go to camp, and a little more besides. However, just before camp was going to start, his
father changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip, and Joe's father was
short of the money it would cost. Therefore, he told Joe to give him the money he had saved from the
paper route. Joe did not want to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the
money.

1. Should Joe refuse to give his father the money? Why or why not?
Joe is free to do whatever he wants because it is his money, and he worked hard to save for it.
But if I were Joe, I would refuse to give my father my money because my father promised that if I
could save up, I would go to the camp, and I did save up. And just because my father did not have
money does not mean he can take mine; he is an adult, and I am sure he can find other ways to
look for or borrow some from other people. He should think about how his son worked so hard
to save money for the camp. His father should give it to his son to be happy.

2. Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money? Why or why not?
Joe’s father does not have the right to ask Joe to give him the money because his son earned it,
and although his father might be the source of Joe’s savings, it was already given to him, and I am
sure Joe sacrificed a lot just to save it. He might not have spent his money to buy food or anything
else that he wanted just because he really wanted to go to that camp. Although they are family,
it would be wrong for his father to pressure his son to give him something that is not his.

3. Does giving the money have anything to do with being a good son? Why or why not?
Giving the money has nothing to do with being a good son. Joe is not obligated to give his father
the money, and it certainly is not the responsibility of a 14-year-old to look for or be the source
of the money that his parent needs. Refusing to give his own money to his father does not reflect
his goodness or character as a person and as a son.

4. Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important in this situation? Justify your answer.
Yes, it is. Unlike adults, 14-year-olds have no other means of saving that kind of money, so it is
really a huge deal that Joe saved up money for something that he wants. If that money were to
be taken against his will, it would be immoral and a bad thing, especially if that someone happens
to be his own father.

5. The father promised Joe he could go to camp if he earned the money. Is the fact that the
father promised the most important thing in the situation? Why or why not?
I cannot say it is the most important, but it still is. His father should keep his word to his son. He
should not have kept his son’s hopes up if he was not sure that his promise could be fulfilled. He
would know how much it would affect and break his son’s heart.

6. In general, why should a promise be kept?

A promise should be kept because it signifies commitment, trust, maturity, and respect. It is also
the foundation of a good, balanced, and healthy relationship. When someone fulfills his
promise to a person, it means that he treasures and values his relationship with that person.

7. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you do not know well and probably will not see
again? Justify your answer.
It is always important to keep your promise and uphold your word to people, whether or not you
know them well enough or there is a guarantee of you seeing each other in the future. Keeping
your promise is still the moral thing to do, and although it might sound like a little thing, you
do not know how much that means to the person. You do not know how happy you make the
person just by doing something for them, and who knows, in the future, when you see each
other again, you will earn his respect even more because of his trust in you.

8. What do you think is the most important thing a father should be concerned about in his
relationship to his son?
His son’s trust towards him should be the father’s main concern in his relationship with him. It is
important that in the early years of your children's lives, they see you as someone they can
trust with anything. When you have trust, everything will follow: communication, love, and
respect. However, when you break that trust, your child will carry that for the rest of his life.
That might just be the reason their relationship will be seriously affected.

9. In general, what should be the authority of a father over his son?

His father’s authority should be to ensure that his son grows up in a good and healthy
environment. That includes teaching him essential values in life, appropriate manners, social
skills, as well as valuing his relationships with the people in his life. He should also provide him
with proper education, guidance, and everything else that can contribute to his son’s
development as a person.

10. What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his
relationship to his father?
The most important thing a son should be concerned about in his relationship with his father is
their communication. Everyone has friends, but a dad’s guidance and love are different. A dad
protects and helps his son in ways any friend or peer couldn’t. A son should open up and talk
to his father and tell him what he wants to tell him, may that be something personal or any
concern or problem he wants to discuss with his father, which in this case, Joe needs most.

11. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Joe
to do in this situation? Why?
I think the most responsible thing that Joe should do in this situation is talk to his father and make
him understand his side. He should tell his father that he really wants to go to camp with his
friends, and he should promise that he will not ask for anything from his dad that would make
their financial problem worse. He should tell his father to try borrowing money from other
people that he knows, and if he cannot find one, then that would be the time that he would
offer his savings to his dad. They should both understand and be open to each other’s sides.