Category: Resources

Orville was traveling to Thatcher from Globe, sweat beaded on his brow and sun beating down overhead. The horses were doing the hardest of the work for him, pulling the wagon and kicking up dust, but the dry heat still made the skin on his face redden. He was passing over Goodsen Wash, a couple of miles east of Geronimo, when he noticed two figures off to the side of the road. They were natives, tucked up under a frail bush and practically frying in the sun. Orville watched as one of them lifted their heads up as the sound of wagon wheels, eyes bleary. They were visibly dehydrated, weak, and hungry. The horses pulled Orville closer, and only when they were right next to the two did he tug on the reins. The wagon stopped; he got a closer look. 

They were dying, slowly wasting away under the sun that showed mercy to no one. Orville licked his dry lips, eyes set, as he decided that he’d show the mercy the sky lacked. He didn’t have much to spare, but a canteen of water and a loaf of bread found their way into his hands. Gently, he tossed them over the edge of the wagon, right into the laps of the two hungry Indians. One of them looked up at him, eyes gleaming with gratitude akin to a shimmering creek. Orville looked back, and with a small smile, gave them a tilt of his hat. Turning back to the horses, he flicked the reins, and was back on the road.

Hours passed, and the sun was still high in the sky. Orville was traveling into the sandier part of the wash, where the ground was looser and heavier loads meant higher risks. His belongings rocked against each other in the back of the wagon, and the horses were slowing due to the soft dirt. It wasn’t long till progress completely stopped, the wheels of the wagon far too lodged in the sand to be pulled by horses. Orville straightened his hat, pulling a shovel out from the wagon and hopping off to dig the sand away from the wheels. Sweat dripped down his face, and only when he glanced up did he realize that he was surrounded by twenty Apache tribe members on horseback. 

The sun blazed as he was taken back to their camp; the heat burning the ground he walked on. All of his belongings were seized, and he was left with nothing but the fear that twisted in his stomach. That was when guns and arrows were retrieved. They forced him to dance, shooting arrows and bullets at his feet; whooping and laughing as he hopped from one foot to another. Shortly after, Geronimo gave out new orders, and Orville found himself bound to an upright pole. Dried brush was stacked around him, and the danger set in when a torch was lit. They were going to burn him. 

It was then that two of the tribe members stumbled into camp. They were visibly weak, barely holding themselves up as they took in the scene. One of them glanced at Orville, looking him in the eyes, and recognized him. They were the natives he had given supplies to. Immediately, they began to plead with Geronimo, asking him to let Orville go. Geronimo agreed, and Orville was cut loose. 

Orville arrived at Thatcher soon after, reporting what had happened to officials. He never forgot how kindness saved his life, nor the importance of selflessness. It humbled him, and he carried the story with him to be passed down to his children, grandchildren, and so forth. Which

leads to now, where I appreciate how my fourth great-grandfather Orville valued the importance of the Golden Rule.

1. Have you ever had an experience like this, where you came face to face with someone going through a difficult or desperate challenge? Write about that experience or write about how you see the Golden Rule in what Orville chose to do. 

2. Orville was held hostage during a time of great unrest between the settlers of the west and Native Tribes. Can you imagine a situation like Orville’s that might happen today due to danger and civil unrest?

3. In what ways did Orville’s Golden Rule actions have an impact on the preservation of his life?4. Write a few sentences about how this essay affected you and how it can impact your life.

Essayist: Camylle Palmer 

School: Heritage Academy

City: Mesa

“Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement, and remuneration based on ability.” – Sandra Day O’Connor 

Hundreds of patient spectators sat tightly in the White House East Room as President Barack Obama placed the Presidential Medal of Freedom around the first female Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s neck. The blue satin ribbon enveloping the gleaming star that proudly sat on her chest represented a rich history of civility, equity, and perseverance–key tenants of the Golden Rule. 

O’Connor was born on March 26, 1930 in El Paso, Texas, but spent her early childhood on a large, bustling ranch named “Lazy-B-Cattle Ranch” in southeastern Duncan, Arizona. She was extremely independent and practical from a young age, learning how to drive as soon as she could see over the dashboard and teaching herself how to change flat tires on the side of the road. She also was keenly involved in politics, with her older sister Ann Day serving in the Arizona Legislature. However, gifted schooling for young girls like O’Connor was sparse in such a remote area, and so, she returned to El Paso with her grandmother to receive a higher quality of education. She attended the Radford School for Girls and was admitted to Stanford University at just the age of sixteen years old. Despite graduating at the top of her class in both her undergraduate and law schools, O’Connor struggled to find work as a law firm attorney due to a prominent stigma of women in the legal field at the time. She became a deputy district attorney in San Mateo County, California for free after turning down a paid legal secretary position and then moved to Germany with her husband, where she served as an attorney for the army in 1954 for three years. Even after her persistent struggles as a female attorney, O’Connor continued firmly and treated her male counterparts with respect when they made assumptions about her intelligence simply because she was a woman. 

O’Connor returned to the United States in 1957 to her home state of Arizona to set up a private practice in Maryvale and become an Assistant Attorney General of Arizona. Her first landmark achievement started in 1969, in which she was elected as a Republican to the Arizona Senate and became the first woman in any state to rise to majority leader. It was through her profound respect for bipartisanship and impartiality that she could obtain this momentous position and begin to represent the Golden Rule to Arizonan women. 

After winning the election for the Superior Court of Maricopa County, President Ronald Reagan nominated her in 1981 for the Supreme Court as the first ever female justice, describing her as a respected jurist in both parties. She quickly demonstrated her legal pragmatism on the bench, especially in such disparate fields such as discrimination laws and abortion rights. She fought for underrepresented minority groups, where she protected African-American majority counties from gerrymandering in Shaw v. Reno and defended women’s abortion rights against her Republican coworkers in Roe v. Wade. Her contributions significantly paved the path for federal female judges across the nation and gave a voice to disproportionately affected communities that did not have one before. Through her unbiased, detailed decisions in court, she expressed her personal opinions civilly with opposing justices and set a precedent for objectivity.

O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court in 2006, but still maintained her priority for respectful constitutional conversations. She founded iCivics in 2009, a non-profit organization that promotes civics education to young students by providing accessible educational media and lesson plans. She held forums for youth of varying political backgrounds to discuss notable social issues in a civil manner through iCivics and consequently helped Arizonan students’ civic test scores almost double. 

The Golden Rule is a profound cross-cutting principle that transcends the boundaries of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. It serves as a benchmark for proper conduct in an academic setting and emphasizes respect for not only yourself, but also those around you. Sandra Day O’Connor, regardless of her past hardships, has utilized this important rule in her legal proceedings to speak up for marginalized groups and expand access for youth civic education to unite a politically divided Arizona.

1. List 4-5 character traits Justice Sandra Day O’Connor displayed that helped her have civil conversations and be collegial with others.

2. Are there experiences in your life that have helped you understand other people, even when you may not have agreed with their viewpoints?

3. Highlighting the Golden Rule in Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s life, are there ways that you could use the Golden Rule in your life to create more positive interactions?

4. Write a few sentences about how this essay affected you and how it can impact your life.

Essayist: Anusha Rahman

School: Hamilton High School

City: Chandler