Responsibility Conflicts
I was watching the hit show "24" last night. There was one scene that really highlighted some rather conflicting values of this country (The United States) today. Imagine, if you can, viewing the overall values and morals of this country as a whole. Imagine you are a visitor (or a child) trying to determine what it means to be a citizen of this country and determine what where it's values lie.
The scene was that where the kid was lamenting about his father's actions. For those who don't watch that show, his father was responsible for getting information to terrorists that enabled them to obtain and detonate a nuclear bomb in California. Over 12,000 people were killed. The son said, "I wish I'd never been born." He was associating his father's actions with his own -- he was taking some responsibility for at least part of his father's actions. So, should he have? Are we responsible for the actions of others? In the past, that was certainly the case. Entire families were held responsible for the actions of any member of that family. But is that the case today? Are parents held responsible for the actions of their children? When someone commits a crime, are their parents contacted? Certainly not. Heck, even in the case of minors at schools, parents are not held responsible. In some cases where that has been tried, there has been outrage! But at the same time, what does it mean when government "apologizes" for actions of others in the past? Various governments and corporations in recent years and months have issued "apologies" for slavery -- despite any members of those bodies actually being involved in slavery EVER. So they are taking responsibility for things that they are NOT responsible for, nor ever have been. At the same time, we also have government taking over the responsibility for the actions of, well, everyone. If you choose to not have health insurance, government will gladly provide it for you. If you do not have "enough" money, government will give you more. So you certainly have the option of not being responsible at ALL in this society and there are zero repercussions for that. So where does that leave us today? As a general society, we have apparently decided to allow no one to be responsible for anything -- and at the same time hold everyone responsible for everything -- but only in a corporate manner. So individual responsibility simply does not exist. If you choose to be individually responsible, today you are a rebel. You are at odds with the vast majority of the current society, whether you want to be or not. Instead, today's society has relegated all responsibility to government -- even if that government is claimed to be "by the people." As a result, YOU, personally, are not responsible for anything. If you attempt to be responsible for your own actions, government may permit you to, or it may stop you. Clearly, individual responsibility is a concept that has disappeared from America, whether you want it to or not.
Comments
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I don't know that individual responsibilty has disappeared-- perhaps its fairer to say that personal accountability has. Nothing is anybody's fault.
Still, despite all appearances, there are still millions of Americans who get up each day, follow the rules and take care of their own.
Still, despite all appearances, there are still millions of Americans who get up each day, follow the rules and take care of their own.
Posted by: Tony Iovino at May 08, 2007 05:03 PM (85Zmb)
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But I would submit that you are only responsible for your actions if government permits you to be. For example, I would like to buy health insurance for myself. I would like to purchase catastrophic insurance so that I am covered in case of a major accident. However, my government, North Carolina, will not allow me to do that. Instead, I am forced to have no insurance and rely on the government to take responsibility for my actions.
Indeed, there are those who take care of their own and attempt to be responsible -- but that is not the general attitude of society. You are absolutely not required to assume responsibility for anything in this country today if you don't want to.
Indeed, there are those who take care of their own and attempt to be responsible -- but that is not the general attitude of society. You are absolutely not required to assume responsibility for anything in this country today if you don't want to.
Posted by: Ogre at May 08, 2007 05:09 PM (oifEm)
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Excellent. It starts with the children. Yes. If we raise them to expect others to take blame, to cover for them, to explain for them, to make excuses- they grow up not seeing a reason to be personally responsible for much of anything. It's too easy to blame everything on everyone else...or on situations and events and tragedies and all that.
It's hard to take responsibility in todays world too. Like you said, many are out there trying to prevent us from doing that. Some are well meaning people (parents who don't want their kid to fail...or get an F...) some are honest players (teachers who give kids extra chances over and over again...) and some are just playing a game (race card players)
Nothing is more vital to a person than to be their own PERSON...which means accomplishing much and losing much as well....it means learning and making mistakes and taking heat for it.
We live in a society where every bad thing that happens has an excuse. Where someone else is to blame. Very sad. Human beings are above this.
It's hard to take responsibility in todays world too. Like you said, many are out there trying to prevent us from doing that. Some are well meaning people (parents who don't want their kid to fail...or get an F...) some are honest players (teachers who give kids extra chances over and over again...) and some are just playing a game (race card players)
Nothing is more vital to a person than to be their own PERSON...which means accomplishing much and losing much as well....it means learning and making mistakes and taking heat for it.
We live in a society where every bad thing that happens has an excuse. Where someone else is to blame. Very sad. Human beings are above this.
Posted by: Raven at May 08, 2007 10:31 PM (npUMa)
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We have, in my opinion, completely lost it. We simply DO NOT have personal or individual responsibility in this country's culture any more. It's just not there.
Posted by: Ogre at May 08, 2007 10:33 PM (URjwI)
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of course society does and should bear some responsibility for the actions of its citizens, especially when steps are not taken to address the situation... and while this country is founded on freedom of speech and freedom of press, it is proven time and time again that the average person does not understand that their actions and words have consequences... what gets me is when people think that I am responsible for the actions of people that i don't even know... as for the responsibility of my ancestors... i would definitely bear the shame if my father did something wrong, but i cannot be held responsible for it... although the government would like me to be... hell i read today that they were passing a new bill to pay reparations to the residents of Guam for what the Japanese did to them... how is that the responsibility of the US?
Posted by: chris at May 09, 2007 12:42 AM (qz/By)
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Interesting conflict, Chris -- you mention that the mythical society should bear responsibility for the action of it's citizens, but then complain when you're held responsible for the actions of people you don't know...
Posted by: Ogre at May 09, 2007 01:18 AM (URjwI)
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it is a tough one... its truly a catch 22... am i personally responsible because one psycho with a grudge kills 6 random strangers? no i am not... but society and its decadence surely is...
i mean look at the spawning of the "age of aquarius" as the song goes... the generation that were young adults in the 1960s and 70s were spawned in homes that for the first time since the civil war, mothers had to work in huge numbers because fathers were in Europe at war... and that generation was the one responsible for the massive screw up that was the Vietnam War... or rather they were responsible for the loss of that war... those same people are now lawmakers... and they are doing the same thing they did 35 years ago... but now they also have controlling say in the media, film, TV, radio print and everything else... so they impose their godlessness, their immorality and their socialist views on the country... thus they create society...
this has happened before too, 20 some years after the civil war, the country was largely stagnant, the only thing that saved us then was a massive insurance of technological progress thus creating the industrial revolution... the same thing again in the 1930s with the crash of the stock market and the gangster era of prohibition...
so the best answer to your catch 22 is this... i am both not responsible (because i raise my family properly) and i am responsible at the same time...
i mean look at the spawning of the "age of aquarius" as the song goes... the generation that were young adults in the 1960s and 70s were spawned in homes that for the first time since the civil war, mothers had to work in huge numbers because fathers were in Europe at war... and that generation was the one responsible for the massive screw up that was the Vietnam War... or rather they were responsible for the loss of that war... those same people are now lawmakers... and they are doing the same thing they did 35 years ago... but now they also have controlling say in the media, film, TV, radio print and everything else... so they impose their godlessness, their immorality and their socialist views on the country... thus they create society...
this has happened before too, 20 some years after the civil war, the country was largely stagnant, the only thing that saved us then was a massive insurance of technological progress thus creating the industrial revolution... the same thing again in the 1930s with the crash of the stock market and the gangster era of prohibition...
so the best answer to your catch 22 is this... i am both not responsible (because i raise my family properly) and i am responsible at the same time...
Posted by: chris at May 09, 2007 06:17 AM (qz/By)
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But today, you are only responsible when government permits you to be. And that really bothers me.
Posted by: Ogre at May 09, 2007 09:58 AM (URjwI)
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correct that!, you are only responsible when the government/media wants you to be or accuses you
Posted by: chris at May 09, 2007 05:10 PM (qz/By)
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Well, they'll allow you to be responsible -- in other words, you can work to earn money to buy food and be responsible for feeding yourself. But if you don't want to, then government will provide for you. I'm not sure they want you to be reponsible and work, but they will certainly allow it.
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