Do what’s Right

In English class this term, we read a book named The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This book is about a German girl named Liesel who loves books and words. Her family has no money so in order for her to get books she has to steal them. Liesel’s foster family also hides a Jew in their basement, named Max, and that’s when Liesel’s life starts to change. She does certain things that help Max stay safe, feel safe, and most importantly feel loved. I believe that people should always do the right thing no matter the circumstances or the consequences.
Sometimes it is better to help others than yourself. In the Book Thief, Liesel and her foster family help a Jew named Max. They hid him their basement which is very dangerous because if they get caught, they will be punished badly by the Nazi’s because he is a Jew. The Nazi’s would beat them or even kill them if they caught Max. At one point in the story a Nazi guard went over to their house for a quick search to see if he would find anything. On page 55 Papa said "Look, there is no time for tricks. We could distract him a hundred different ways, but there is only solution. Nothing." He is trying to do everything that would help Max stay hidden and so the Nazi guard won't know he is in their basement. The family knows that if they are caught hiding Max they would be punished, but they still continue to hide him because it is the right thing to do. Also, when Max was very sick, Liesel would take care of him every day and made sure he was ok because she really cared about him. On page 319 it says that right after school liesel rushed home and said "Has he woken up? Has he eaten?" This shows how much liesel cares about him and wants him to feel better even though he is not even supposed to be at her home.
Doing the right thing for others also makes them feel good about themselves for doing the right thing. A few years ago, my mom and I signed up for a 5k marathon for cancer. It was in Chicago and some of my cousins were there too. I really didn’t like running and the drive was about two and a half hours because of all of the traffic. When we arrived there were tons and tons of people there to run and support those with cancer. Even though I didn't like running because I thought running was very boring, it was still for a great cause. Who knows how many lives we saved from running in that marathon for cancer? It was actually really fun too! I had a great time with my family while helping those in need. After the marathon I felt really good about myself for running and supporting cancer. Now, my family and I go to the marathon every year and run for those who suffer with cancer and every time I go, I feel very good and happy about myself.
Not all people believe that everyone should do the right thing no matter the consequences. Some people think that people should not do the right thing no matter the circumstances or consequences because it might be too risky and they good get harmed. I disagree because sometimes it is better to help others that are in need than yourself. For example, two years ago when I went to Washington D.C. for a school trip, I stood in a room with three of my other friends. When we went to the mall one day to grab some food, we had some time leftover so we just walked around. As we were walking around, we saw a mentally challenged boy screaming and swearing very loud. We saw a few guys from another school take out their phones and started recording the boy. My friend told them to stop and put their phones away, and they did. My friend didn’t care about the consequences that day. He could have been laughed at by the other students or maybe even made fun of, but he wasn’t. He just cared about helping out the mentally challenged boy. All people should be like this because it is the right thing to do.
In conclusion, I believe that people should always do the right thing no matter the circumstances or the consequences. People should do the right thing because sometimes it is better to help others more than yourself and also it makes people feel good and happy about themselves. All people need to start thinking about others before they think about themselves because it is the right thing to do.