Community In M. Scott Peck's 'The Different Drum'

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M. Scott Peck’s The Different Drum is a book about making peace between people, which emphasizes an individual’s impact on their community. In the intro to his book, Peck says the following: True communication, like the charity it requires, begins at home. Perhaps a peacemaking should start small. I am not suggesting for a moment that we should abandon global peacemaking efforts. I am dubious, however, as to how far we can move toward global community--which is the only way to achieve international peace--until we learn the basic principles of community in our own individual lives and personal spheres of influence. (Peck 17-18) According to Peck, it is most important that people develop their peacemaking skills in their own small communities …show more content…

The different drum that each person is encouraged to follow is each person’s own drum, because every person is unique. However, at the same time, the drum is one drum that beats for everyone, yet it is not always followed. This second definition of the drum calls people to become responsible adults who are seeking peace for the world. This drum is the drum less followed because a lot of people get caught up in life with things like work, or things in their social life, which can drown out the sound of this drum and cause those people to not be focused on peace with others. M. Scott Peck’s other book, The Road Less Traveled, is about becoming a mature individual. The first section of the book is about one of the most important parts of being a mature adult, having discipline. In the beginning of the section, Peck says,”Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life’s problems. Without discipline we can solve nothing. With only some discipline we can solve some problems. With total discipline we can solve all problems” (Peck 15-16). In the beginning of the discipline section, Peck emphasizes that discipline is a necessity in life because it is the only way that people are able to …show more content…

When it comes to dealing with myself, I think that I have become noticeably more aware of my discipline. However, it has not only been discipline in school, but also when doing things at home, or getting in extra hours of practice for rowing. Peck’s emphasis on its importance has made me want to cultivate my discipline since it will be incredibly necessary in the years to come. Not only have these books made me think about discipline with regard to maturity, but also responsibility, which is somewhat like a subset of discipline. I have thought a lot about my responsibilities in life, and my two groups of freshmen are a very important responsibility of mine. I would like to believe that I have become more aware of any of the issues that they are having, because again, it is important to be making peace among one another, so I do my best to help them in any way that they need it. I have been making my best effort to impart all of my wisdom and knowledge that can help them throughout high school and potentially afterwards onto them. They are slightly representative of legacies of myself, so I hope to offer them as much advice about high school and life in general as I possibly can. When it comes to dealing with other people in life, I feel as though I have become more eager to solve problems that may arise between people. I have never

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