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Bridget King Basic Comp. Refutation Essay January 11, 2000 Sending Out an
S.O.S On January 2nd, while I was perusing the Providence Journal I stumbled
upon the editorial page. On the page was an article titled “ Imposing a Rescue
Fee” which was written by an anonymous author. This person favored imposing a
fee for people whom needed rescuing from life or death situations. While reading
this article I became very upset. Although the author does have the right to his
or her opinion there are several flaws presented. I strongly disagree with the
idea of imposing a rescue fee. Imposing a rescue fee will damper many peoples
adventure streaks. People will not want to participate in any recreational
activities; risks will not be taken at all for fear of needing rescue. The
rescue fee is simply an intimidation factor and if it is passed the natural
curiosity of people will become extinct. Besides that, a fee can not be put upon
a person’s life. A person has the right to do what they please with their life,
if they’d like to gamble with their life let them.
The author stated “ the ease
of using cell phones on which more hikers plead for help”. Well duh, isn’t that
the purpose a cell phone serves? The purpose of a cell phone is to be able to
call for help during an emergency or sticky situation. The author also goes as
far as to say “ hikers often can’t make up their minds whether they really need
to be rescued, or just want to hear a friendly voice” I don’t think so, if you
have been stranded on the peak of a mountain for three days without food or
water, it is clearly a time to call for help. One major flaw presented in the
article is the issue of money. Most of America is filled with average working
“Joe’s” and they are not made of money. So the article not only imposes a
ridicules idea but also discriminates against the financially challenged portion
of society. By imposing the fee it is basically saying only the rich can be
adventurous. Although I do not agree at all with the idea of imposing a rescue
fee I also think the author had good intentions. The world in which we live must
be safe to an extent but freedom is also very important. You only live once and
you have to live life to the fullest and if that means jumping off a cliff with
some cloth tied to your back, so be it.
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