What ever happened to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Question

It seems to me that noone, from the goverment on down to your nextdoor neighbors wants to take responsibility for their own actions.
It's my childhoods fault.
It's my medications fault.
It's bi-polar disorder.
It's the bartender's fault I got drunk and killed someone with my car.
It's everyone else's fault.
Personal responsibility, integrity, honesty, manners, common sense...these are all things that seem to be disappearing from society.
Why?

Answer 1

as far as I can tell, the whole world got turned around with political correctness. I mean pretty much everything is ok and if you have a problem with someones actions you better not say anything you will get sued or termed a racist or some such nonsense. no it is far more preferable to just say I'm ok your ok no its not your fault you were simply treated unfairly its so and sos fault. so everyone goes down the easy road instead of the right difficult road. to stand up and say "hey I screwed up, I should'nt have done that " and learn from your mistakes. you take god out of society discipline out of child rearing and replace blunt honesty with carefully crafted inoffensive opinions and what can we expect?

Answer 2

The majority of the parents are too busy with their own lives to be a parent to their children. Children need routine, want their parents to care about them. Too many children are born to people who have no business being parents.

I am the mother of 4 sons. I taught them ways to behave, manners, accepting responsibility for their actions, how to help others in need. These were the things that my parents taught me, and I, in turn, passed them along to my kids.

I realize that not all people have the same advantages that I had or my kids have. That's where the blaming of everyone and everything begins... it's not my fault because I'm ________________ (fill in the blank).

And look at the people being passed off as "role models". Sports stars who use steroids and make babies left and right with whoever is available at the time then not taking responsibility for them, rich girls who are only famous because they're rich and not because they have any real talent, actresses who do drugs, get drunk, and party until the wee hours of the morning; Of course it's "never" their fault.... they're famous.

I know I've rambled on here, but this is something that I've been bugged about for a long time. If it's your fault, own up to it. Take responsibility for your actions. Give more and take less. Get an education. Be a mentor to someone less fortunate. Be a parent to your children, not their buddy/best girlfriend.

How freakin hard is that?!

Answer 3

i've noted this too - from little kids to grownups. it think it's becoming a cultural norm. i'm not sure if it's because we have been overwhelmed by all kinds of media nonscence that really tells you not to assume responsibilty (except on a superficial level ) or if it's because in general as a country most average people are so overwhelmed by just trying to earn a living the niceities have fallen by the wayside.

for example the tv shows that were offered to grade school kids say 12 years ago filled them up with they had to HAVE the latest everything and the kids were always right and cool and the parents were losers. look at beverly hills 90210, clarissa explains it all and so on. as the parents became so busy with most familes being 2 income the media became more heavily relied upon. video game and computer technology really took off in the early 80's and the kids were exposed to all that.

i think we have neglected to reinforce responsibility in our young ones and the adults have watched other adults progress without assuming it either, so have followed the same path. for example, i will take out a loan to cover my financial irresponsibility, i will get married and not foster the relationship ( cause I am busy scrambling to get ahead), i will buy a house i can't afford... then I will declare a bankruptcy to get debt relief, dump my wife to get a new one etc. i think so much of this is fostered by the media and just the culture in general. i'd rather have very little and know that i have integrity.

Answer 4

You know, I am not sure that people ever took responsibility for their own behavior. I think there is a certain percentage of people who do see their own role in life's events and then their are the majority that don't. In past-times people did not seek to get ahead because they knew their station is life - is that accepting responsibility? Most people let the rich and landed-gentry guide their fate - is that accepting responsibility? I think people do not know enough about history and the history of how people thought to make these judgments. I think saying "people don't take responsibility any more" is just another way of passing the buck and not taking responsibility. Society has progressed much faster than people's ability to understand it and, this may sound harsh, but I don't mean it to be, but there are many more people living longer today than ever before and that is has changed the "average responsibility index" if you know what I mean. Is that bad? No. I think that education and thinking ability among the masses has not caught up with the number of people able to influence the world and know how to improve the world. More people act without thinking now a days than were able to before. Manners and caring for your fellow man has gone out the window for many people. Many of our youth aspire to look and act like hoods than want to look and act like civilized men. But also remember years ago the Athenians put Socrates to death for thinking differently. So, overall, I don't think things have changed that much.

Answer 5

Brenda J,
Not being responsible is a characteristic of degeneration in our society. It is caused for many reasons: progress in technology and buying what the media wants to sell you, are in my opinion, among the main reasons we are living in the community we are today.
Lack of true servant leaders with honesty and integrity in government, the school system at all levels, and many diverse religions make things worse.
Would this society go back to be responsible? Of course! For every season there is an end, and there are many middle age adults like me that we are working to change this horrible trend to leave a better society for the generations after us.
There is ALWAYS a solution for a problem. The suggested solution in this case, in my opinion, is:
1) First and foremost, let’s do not lose hope that we have the power to change the trend!
2) Then, let’s find true leaders that we can trust our voice to for them to put things under control as much as possible from the government’s perspective, in the school system, and religious organizations.
3) Learn to hang out with people with the same vision and direction, which unfortunately, we look like the minority in this chaotic society. However, there are many of us out there and we are becoming more and more each day. We’ll be the majority soon.
4) Let’s work as much as possible for the new generations not to be polluted with such a poison like irresponsibility.
5) And finally, let’s not give up no matter how many negative comments and criticism we receive. It’s MY legacy for MY children. I don’t care what the f$#% someone else thinks of my stand. They can leave trash for their kids if that is what they want to leave them. Eventually, this type of adults will be gone from this planet, and such a trashy negative mean people will be extinct from the face of this earth.
I will see it happen. I still plan to hang out for decades in this planet.
;-)

Answer 6

when both parents had to start going to work and leaving the kids in day care a very very young ages, that is when the idea of personal responsibility started going downhill.also i think the loss of the extended family had contributed to this too.

add to that that people dont attend church like thay should and that schools are not teaching any critical thinking skills (ie--no common sense lessons) anymore (only how to pass taks and other multiple chioce questions/tests) and then the slide down started going even faster.

iwas a nurse for the past 7 years a a large level 1 trauma center in houston texas. As far as DWI and people getting killed, i think that those who cause those accidents should be forced to go tot he hospital and watch the person they hurt. and sit and be forced to be with thier families too, to see what devastation they have caused. it should be part of thier punishment to sit in that room,. either till the person is better or until he dies. i have watched so many wasted away until they look like nazi holocaust survivors, i have lost count of how many have died

i dont know what a solution to this problem could be. worldwide. but i know what the solution has been at my own home. no cable tv, ever. no phone for many years. sent my kids to magnet and vanguard schools, even though it meant a long drive for me every morning (30 mils around town) andonly this month, since my oldest is now 18, did we get this computer. and ALSO theydo not drive yet and will not for as long as i can help it.

Answer 7

In a nutshell.

In the 1960s we started taking God out of the school and have been since that time tried to push him out of our society. As a society we thought no big deal. The problem is God demanded personal responsibility from his followers on down.

When God was removed a vacuum occurred so a school of humanistic philosophy came and replaced it. Humanism elevates all of man's ideologies as equals which seems fine. But ingrained in it is moral relativism where there are no absolutes (i.e No God). And as such every one is right in their own eyes. While they themselves are okay in what they do.

The end result is that in society we humans instead of looking at ourselves to blame, because "we are right", we can blame others.

Our first parents did that in the garden of Eden. The man blamed the woman. The woman blamed the snake. Instead of taking personal responsibility for their actions they played the blame game.

That is the whole problem in a nutshell.

Answer 8

Lack of role models'. Who can we point a finger to that sets us such examples? Politicians? Celebrities? Sports stars?

Who will teach us such values? Getting kids to leave school being able to read and write seems difficult enough these days! Where is the reward in society for such personal qualities as mentioned above?

Sadly in a generation of one parent families it will be tough to produce kids with these qualities. A generation who see celebrities indulge in drink and drugs, then go into rehab, come back out and go on the cover of a glossy magazine with a big smile saying "sorry, forgive me, and now I'm back!".

Answer 9

one million) The part of private duty you're speaking approximately has been taken over via coverage companies. If we mess something up, which all of us do, as long as we've paid our costs, the coverage business enterprise we pay seems after it for us, or a minimum of they pay lots of the bill, except we've been breaking the regulation, and that they could practice it. 2) No, all of us comprehend as quickly as we are being silly, we only think of that we are in a position to smash out with it, a minimum of this time. no person reported that all human beings is sensible, a minimum of i did no longer. 3) sure i've got self belief we are over policed. I even have self belief that we've too many rules, lots of that are way out dated and could be gotten rid of, yet we don't have provisions for reviewing saws to make confident that they are nonetheless useful. Is it nonetheless useful that a individual is breaking the regulation in the event that they kick a can thrice in a row? Or if our horse isn't appropriate limited as quickly as we are no longer in attendance? yet rules like the seat belt regulation are useful because of the fact it does remind us that if we don't placed on our seat belt we are greater in all threat;y to die in a vehicle crash, a minimum of that's a regulation that does take our suited activity under consideration. no longer in common terms like the anti entertainment drug rules that are just to maintain the liquor agencies in business enterprise.

Answer 10

It starts in school. Soon as they brought in psychologists to butt in to every single thing that is said or done. Kids are taught that, as young as age 5, think for yourself, your parents are wrong, you are fragile, society is contributing to your actions, etc. No one is punished for anything as it might bruise their egos. Gads, they even want to remove tests and exams now because it might make kids feel inadequate. What's the use in studying? There is no purpose to being good, learning more, behaving better. Parents are afraid to disicpline their own children because they may be sued or harrassed and the kids might run to the school, talk to the psychologist and then get a lawyer from legal aide. It is insanity. Top that off with shows like Jerry Springer that show people that they can be TV stars and get free trips if they act like animals! Or Maury Povich shows that reward multiple sex partners with free trips and hotels to find the daddy of their illegitimate baby. Or movie stars that show off their pregnancy without even a hint of marriage or commitment.