Let’s make responsibility great again. It’s no secret that the United States has fallen on hard times. After the January 6th insurrection, the United States of America has lost its reputation as an impervious bastion of the free world. In the following paragraphs, I will explain why irresponsibility is a core problem U.S. citizens must tackle.

The Problem

To illustrate what I mean by irresponsibility, I will tell a personal story.

When I was young, my mother taught me to take responsibility for my actions. In the seventies and eighties, it was not uncommon for parents to teach kids personal responsibility. Not everyone was taught to be responsible, but by and large, kids were accountable for their actions and faced consequences.

Somewhere along the line, parents decided to protect their kids by being responsible for them. This parental anti-pattern is the norm, and today irresponsible outcomes are negatively impacting our society. It is not the responsibility of children to teach themselves ethics and philosophy, and it’s also not the responsibility of schools, though I wish it were. Parents have coddled children and treat children like porcelain dolls you can’t take off the shelf for fear of breaking them.

Kids raised by parents that didn’t put personal responsibility first are now adults, and our society is reaping what it sowed. Many people scream on social media and take zero responsibility for the outcome. People who don’t know how to be good citizens and take no responsibility are commonplace. It’s causing emotion to rule many people’s lives and has created a toxic environment for everyone.

Solutions

It’s not all doom and gloom, and we can make a difference by first holding ourselves accountable. Life isn’t always easy, and it’s made harder when irresponsibility spills into our lives. Our friends and family sometimes end up in tough predicaments due to missed responsibilities. That’s understandable, but removing consequences for actions isn’t helping anyone.

Accountablity

We can hold ourselves accountable by taking responsibility when we mess up. If we lie, cheat, or steal we must immediately learn from our mistake and own the outcome of our behavior. Pretending it’s OK to lie, cheat, or steal is unacceptable.

Integrity is a critical attribute for every citizen in a well-functioning society. Without trust, our relationships suffer, and we lose opportunities. Nobody likes an assertive liar other than another liar.

We can hold those around us accountable for their actions. If someone lies to you we must make it clear that lying is unacceptable. Friends that lie to us must be given consequences appropriate for the situation. When friends habitually lie to us it’s time to cut ties. As much as we want to hold onto long-standing friendships an acceptance of this behavior isn’t doing anyone any favors. It’s teaching your friend or family member that lying is fine when they face zero consequences.

Principles

Following ethical principles of responsibility and accountability will not only heal our society it will heal you.

Follow these principles to help save the republic while contributing to a healthy society.

Respect for Autonomy

Autonomy is Latin for “self-rule” We have an obligation to respect the autonomy of other persons, which is to respect the decisions made by other people concerning their own lives. This is also called the principle of human dignity. It gives us a negative duty not to interfere with the decisions of competent adults, and a positive duty to empower others for whom we’re responsible.

Beneficence

We have an obligation to bring about good in all our actions.

Nonmaleficence

We have an obligation not to harm others: “First, do no harm.”

Justice

We have an obligation to provide others with whatever they are owed or deserve. In public life, we have an obligation to treat all people equally, fairly, and impartially.

Conclusion

I’m not a fan of wagging my finger at people, but I’m less a fan of irresponsibility. If there wasn’t such a large group of irresponsible people this article wouldn’t be necessary. Unfortunately, finding irresponsible behavior these days takes little effort.

I’ll leave you with a basic lesson and further reading below. I know we the people can do better. Let’s teach each other that taking responsibility makes the world a better place for everyone.


Further Reading