Accountability in America
Is anyone else disturbed by everything they're seeing and hearing on the news? Does anyone else feel the down-hill slide of this nation? I don't mean just economically, but in terms of responsibility and accountability.
I remember, growing up, when I made a mistake or did something wrong, I was taught to apologize and accept the consequences. I didn't have the option to sue someone else - even when it was their fault. Thankfully, my parents taught me to apologize when I was wrong, and to accept an apology when someone else gave me one. They showed me how to live an ethical and focused life, where I censored most of my behavior to not interefer with others' lives. I was brought up in a loving and supportive home (thankfully), and I am proud that I am accountable for my decisions and behavior.
So... what about the people we see and hear about in America who are NOT accountable for their decisions and behavior? It's like a free market for blame and accusation anymore. It's like people have learned that doing something stupid is forgivable or making a genuine mistake doesn't indicate they should try to learn from it. I've heard more jokes about this 'American behavior' than I would ever want to imagine.
Our nation is currently suffering from a dire lack of accountability. Big companies; small companies; people who buy homes they can't afford; drunk drivers; people who give alcohol and drugs to minors; parents who decide that teachers should teach their children manners instead of instilling ethical behavior and appropriate language at home; companies who pay top executives more than they are worth and never thank the 'little people'; and my list goes on. When did this travesty happen? Why?
My goal as a soon-to-be-parent, is to instill certain virtues in Mike's and my child. I want him to know that failure is okay, as long as he tries to learn from his mistakes. Perfection is not an option, but always striving to do his best will be a very clear expectation. Understanding people are different in many ways is important; respecting those differences is critical to functioning as an independent and successful adult. Being accountable for every decision he makes - no matter where he is or what he is doing - means accepting the consequences and trying to learn from them.
I pray that I'm not alone in my objectives. I believe there are other parents out there who would agree... even if you aren't a parent, I hope that you can see the value in teaching accountability to our youth and trying to live it as adults. We need to help fix this great nation, and I believe it starts with accountability of ourselves.
I remember, growing up, when I made a mistake or did something wrong, I was taught to apologize and accept the consequences. I didn't have the option to sue someone else - even when it was their fault. Thankfully, my parents taught me to apologize when I was wrong, and to accept an apology when someone else gave me one. They showed me how to live an ethical and focused life, where I censored most of my behavior to not interefer with others' lives. I was brought up in a loving and supportive home (thankfully), and I am proud that I am accountable for my decisions and behavior.
So... what about the people we see and hear about in America who are NOT accountable for their decisions and behavior? It's like a free market for blame and accusation anymore. It's like people have learned that doing something stupid is forgivable or making a genuine mistake doesn't indicate they should try to learn from it. I've heard more jokes about this 'American behavior' than I would ever want to imagine.
Our nation is currently suffering from a dire lack of accountability. Big companies; small companies; people who buy homes they can't afford; drunk drivers; people who give alcohol and drugs to minors; parents who decide that teachers should teach their children manners instead of instilling ethical behavior and appropriate language at home; companies who pay top executives more than they are worth and never thank the 'little people'; and my list goes on. When did this travesty happen? Why?
My goal as a soon-to-be-parent, is to instill certain virtues in Mike's and my child. I want him to know that failure is okay, as long as he tries to learn from his mistakes. Perfection is not an option, but always striving to do his best will be a very clear expectation. Understanding people are different in many ways is important; respecting those differences is critical to functioning as an independent and successful adult. Being accountable for every decision he makes - no matter where he is or what he is doing - means accepting the consequences and trying to learn from them.
I pray that I'm not alone in my objectives. I believe there are other parents out there who would agree... even if you aren't a parent, I hope that you can see the value in teaching accountability to our youth and trying to live it as adults. We need to help fix this great nation, and I believe it starts with accountability of ourselves.
Comments
I think a lot of this attitude is a result of a disconnected mentality where people feel that "the world is happening to them". They feel that they have little to no influence over the path of their lives. When you really feel that way, it's easy to shrug off a sense of responsibility or accountability because nothing is "your fault". And even more depressingly, when these people find success they still attribute it to luck of the draw, rather then letting it build their confidence in the fact that they themselves are successful.
On the other hand we have people who feel empowered and who believe that they are uniquely in control of their own lives. These are the people who believe that luck is about being prepared to take advantage of opportunities. This mindset encourages people to learn from mistakes, strive for self-improvement and to learn to get back up when you are knocked down. To me, this is the attitude that the American dream was built on: everyone can achieve their dreams as long as they are willing to work for it. If we could find a way to push people towards self-actualization we’d have a population of responsible adults, a group who would be accountable for their actions, and in my estimation, much more successful in terms of achieving their own goals.
I also agree 100% with basically everything that has been said here.
I live / work in an area that people take handouts, nay - expect handouts all the time.
And as for people doing things they can't afford or should use their cash to fund other things - you clearly know my stance and situations I am in with that.
As a general rule I think most people think they deserve to get helped in some way. People feel entitled to government help because it has been there for years.
Hell, welfare was set up to be a TEMPORARY thing - and I don't just mean forever an individual could get assistance, I mean when it was started by FDR in '35(well, that was Social Security) and added to in '39 during the depression it was clearly meant to be dissolved when things got better. 70 years later people have been on it (families) since it was started.
Bad form USA, bad form.