Hi All :) .. Do YOU think there IS a serious lack of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in our SOCIETY? :D?

Question

Opinions?? .. Views?? .. Use examples if you wish.... Solutions??
Explain your answer..........
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Thanks, for answering in advance! :-)

*Have a nice weekend*

Thanks for sharing..........

Take care!

Cu_softball_29, thanks :)
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Tuthutop, thanks :)
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Safari John, thank you :)
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Paz, thanks :)
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Source, this is a joke, I hope?
if I say : sad I have to ask this question? see?!
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If people put the same effort into being responsible, that they put into finger pointing . . . wouldn't the world be a different place?.. Imagine a life without the blame game!
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Jeremay, I traveled a lot, and I have my eyes open... Bringing all the evidence in, would be asking writing an essay... :)
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Jeramey.. My mistake.. ://..
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Source, thank you :)
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Emre k, no, not at all... Everybody should not think like me, at all...
I am beginning to wonder, if a man would have asked this question, if this would have made a huge difference, in here....
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I rest my case... And everyone is intitle to there opinion :) .. Answer the question.. Or not..feel free...thank you!
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Psychic Cat, thanks, also for understanding what I am talking about! ..Like many others, in here...
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Answer 1

Yes there is. I think if we all took on a more responsible role in each of our society's that a lot less, crimes and violence to others may decrease. We all have our meters set to "Mind your own business" , therefore people don't want to help or aren't afraid to do much to anything or anyone these days. There's no fear, accountability or especially RESPECT. It saddens me that my mother's car breaks down in a busy intersection and instead of someone pulling over and helping, they are yelling at her to get out of the way, giving her dirty looks,all the while she wants to cry. She's on the phone with me panicking because she doesn't know what to do. That angers me, that that's the society I live in. Yes, I think we should all step up and take more responsibility for our everyday actions, whether its for our own benefit or someone elses.

GREAT QUESTION!

Answer 2

yes. Personal entitlement seems to be the path for many instead of being raised to give what talent and skill knowledge and ability to others...having our purpose be to do what we say we will do even in hard circumstances. Seems that some people were raised in a situation afraid of damaging a persons self-esteem. Therefore, any homework they did, and sports they participated in, and household work they did was not only acceptable, but praised for having done anything at all. Think! we celebrate with certifications of completion (because so many don't bother to complete what they said they would do). How would things change if we recognized only with a certification of MERIT something done: very well, on time, and even if hard circumstances happened.
Today everyone is accepted on the team What would it be like if only those who practiced what they were paid to do AND lived an outstanding personal life, earned the right or the raise or the contract. We have become a society of entitled people. and maybe a society that places MONEY a bit too high in our priority list.
Example: Sometimes people actually think they are great singers and when American Idol Judge Simon Cowel states the obvious "You have no talent for singing." they are shocked, and think him mean for saying what many of us at home were thinking. .Is giving no direction to a person really a service to someone self-esteem? or is it the road to shocks, When they are confronted with the fact that the real world does not OWE them anything. A real mark can be made in this world by a person who is responsible and walks in integrity weather or not anyone notices.

Answer 3

The lack of personal responsibility goes much deeper than what most see. True, many blame others for problems and sue each other, but the heart of the problem lies with the all too common belief that we are solely the product of our enviroment.

Man in unique in that we can rise above our upbringing and display extraordinary ability that would not be expected considering our enviroment. It is shocking nevertheless, to see how many people do not try to improve themselves or the lives of those around them. Then when things go sour, they blame others, they blame the world for never giving them a chance, they blame their genetics, they blame everyone but themselves.

Responsibility is doing the right thing with whatever power or authority you are given. Personal responsibility is doing the right thing with your own life and then accepting the burdens that arise when you fail. This may sound very cruel, but is related. I hear single parents, recovering addicts, uneducated adults, unemployed, even illegal aliens complaing about their condition of life, when each of them can do so much more to be happy.

Now take the other side of the coin, the aristocrat, the person of wealth, those naturally gifted and intelligent. Do they do great things? Do they help those around themselves? No, they complain just as much and even louder than the downtrodden because they have the time and money to do so. They just find new things to complain about, big buisness, global warning, war, religion, instead of doing good they see themselves as self-appointed preachers of what others should do.

The short answer: Yes, and American culture is leading the charge in this. In some countries of the world, you make a major life mistake, you die or are killed. I'm not advocating a return to tribal living, but we need to let people make their own mistakes and pay for them instead of trying to guide them through every facet of life.

Source: Now you're just blaming world leaders? How is that personal responsibility?

Answer 4

Kimberly,

Wow! What a great question. In fact you may be asking the sort of thing that is at the heart of much of the worlds problems. Back in the 70's Doctors met in various forums to discuss the importance of "self policing" the profession for fear that it would fall into the same infamy that had plagued lawyers. While not perfect, it was an effort to examine beyond govenment mandate and public opinion, their role in society and their responsibilities as stewards of the profession. Having said that.....our society as a whole does not engage in that type of introspection and is become eroded, flip and cavalier with regard to responsibility. Consider the following and the cause and effect of such behavior. Tardiness at work and dereliction of duty at work, Taxing the system with unnecessary medical leaves, deforestation, teen pregnancy, drug use, organized crime, and above all....literacy rates and education. We do not look to the future and acknowledge our responsibility to leave a better USA to our children. We get all we can before we die and leave a size 13 carbon footprint behind. The rest of the world is outpacing us educationally, absolutely shameful....the solution in my opinion, is the restructuring of the American model for a successful family.

Answer 5

Yes. People don't want to take responsibility for their own lives & own mistakes. They like to find someone or something else to blame.

We make our own choices. Yes some of us get a raw deal. Some of us may have more obstacles or disadvantages thrown our way but we still choose how we react to them. It's not society's fault if you don't have a job. It's not your mother's fault you became a drug addict. It's not the rain's fault you had an accident. It's not God's fault you got pregnant. It's not McDonalds' fault that you're obese. People have actually tried to sue McD's for making them gain weight. McD's never put a gun to their heads. If people could find a way to sue the rain I'm sure they would. No one wants to admit they screwed up. They want it to be someone else's fault. But casting yourself as a victim hurts you most of all. Because if you imagine yourself helpless then you can never change. We need to be accountable for our actions. We are the authors of our own fates. There is no one to blame but the person in the mirror. Take ownership of your life. Take control. Know better and do better. No matter what life throws at you, you choose what you do with it. So get a job, wear a condom, get counselling, drive carefully, diet & exercise, do whatever you need to do to make the best of your life and stop whining (easier said than done I know...) Say not what life has done to you, say what you are doing with your life...

Answer 6

Whenever a CEO can drive a company into the ground and walk away with $240 million in "performance bonuses", or when a slick lawyer can keep a murderer out of jail by blaming something else on a man's actions, I'd say that yes, there is a problem with responsibility in our society.

And, on the personal side, why can't I do what I wish to myself, or with a consenting partner? Society says it's not my responsibility to decide. Where's the personal responsibility there, either?

Answer 7

Yes absolutely. Generally nowadays most, or many people are selfish and do things without consideration for others. Even though a child is not thought responsibility at home; surely one would think they might have some common sense and can distinguish the differences between right and wrong. Laziness, thoughtlessness, selfishness, common decency and simple lack of common sense are contributing factors for this irresponsible society we are turning into.

Answer 8

Wow, have you hit the nail on the head with this question...

Too often we blame anyone and everyone else for our problems, and we simply do not take personal responsibility. I hope some day we can change this, but unfortunately there are reinforcement mechanisms which stop such.

For example: A lady goes through a drive-through fast food place and orders hot coffee. The lady is given such coffee, at a nominal price. The lady proceeds to spill such hot coffee in her lap. The lady decides that the hot coffee cup did not warn her that the coffee was hot, and decides to sue. And in such law suit the lady wins. Originally she wins 4 million dollars. Hello. Talk about reinforcing the thought that nothing is our own fault.

It is now so bad that ladders are placing labels on them that say "Do not step on this rung." Curling Irons now have labels on them that say, "Do not use in bath tub." And children's Superman Costumes have labels which state, "Clothing can not make child fly.".

I rest my case.

Answer 9

It's difficult to say whether there is a SERIOUS lack of personal responsibility in American society. It truly depends upon the region, area, city, etc of where you live. There are also more people in American now than ever which may make it seem like people don't care. But the reality may simply be that the ratio of irresponsible to responsible people is still the same as it was 20, 30, or 50 years ago. So essentially I am saying that perception is reality, and what you percieve as irresponsiblity in the American society may not necessarily respresent the truth. And while this is somethinge you probably don't want to hear, it may be refreshing to take a step back and consider all the evidense you have taken in to bring you to this question. Is this based solely on a handful of run-ins with an irresponsible person or group of people? Or have you travelled extensively enough to get a good consensus of the population to base this theory on? Lastly, what does it take for you to consider someone personally responsible? Are your views typical of Americans, or are the more liberal, or conservative?

I don't mean to sound like I am coming down on you, but unless we take in the broader perspective we can begin to close off ourselves and our minds to the changing times and people. I feel that if people are taking care of their families (in the more specific term of building a strong family), taking care of themselves (education, fitness, etc), and are helping their communities then they can probably be considered personally responsible. There are those who would probably disagree with me, but that's not the point. The point is, what is the basis of your question? :)

Reply to Kimberly:
Not your mistake at all! I think more people should be asking questions like these! And far more thought and research needs to be conducted in areas like this, that's all I was trying to say. :) There are just many things to consider, and we have to be careful not to apply our personal feelings or perceptions to the matter. And I'll likely get a lot of thumbs down for this; but to many of the people who said yes, what exactly is the yes based on? Can you think of counter examples that would make you say no? I think that the few bad eggs are being over sensationalized here. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with many of the points made here, but where are some counter-points (although cu_softball_29 seems to be one)? And by stating yes are we implying that we to are not holding ourselves personally accountable/responsible?

Reply to Psychic Cat:
While you have some valid points, I have to completely disagree that the US is “in a state of fear, hate, stress & deprivation.” All too often the media does sensationalize the bad stories out there- partly for ratings, and partly to expose the stupidity our government can let happen, such as with the recent child molestation case. But what about social programs such as meals on wheels, habitat for humanity, big brothers / big sisters, or people who do try and hold the government responsible for their actions? People take action every day to implement or participate in these programs to help make the world a better place. To hype on all the negative totally disregards all the good hard work by many of these programs to take responsibility into our own hands instead of blaming society for our problems. And while some programs are merely putting a Band-Aid on an open bleeding wound, some are doing great work for this nation. If more programs were to focus on building stronger, well educated, families this nation would become a very strong world leader and one not one the verge of losing that status.

Now granted the Middle East situation is something completely different that I don’t want to touch…

Answer 10

Yes I do.
I think too often people are blaming everyone else for what they themselves have done or they blame drugs,alcohol,gambling,porn,
smoking,
the weather or anything else you can imagine.
Anything but themselves.

I bet police officers hear the best excuses of all professions.

I once gave the excuse for being pulled over for speeding that I didn't see him or I wouldn't have been going so fast.
The officer laughed and told me to slow down then went back to his car still laughing without giving me a ticket.

Excuses have become all too common and convenient and I think it's giving people the sense that they can get away with anything as long as they have an excuse.