The Power of Personal Responsibility
Individual responsibility is terrifying because it is where our control lies
The problems that face society are often complex, and multi-faceted. Our desire to seek change may be strong, but individuals often look to external sources to solve the problem.
If only the government did more to help us. If only there were more laws to bring about the change we seek...
The truth is, it's much easier to look outside of one's self for the answer. And many times, it appears as if certain problems are beyond our control. If a madman enters a school and decides to start shooting, our ability to respond may be very limited at that moment.
But we also must acknowledge that our individual decisions (or lack of decision) play a part in the world around us. Our subservience to a system that perpetuates violence in many forms certainly contributes to our own helplessness.
We have been trained to be passive observers in our own lives
Our response-ability has been dramatically reduced through the school system as a means for predictable social control. Teacher and school historian John Taylor Gatto, discusses this aspect in his essay 'Why Schools Don't Educate".
Schools were designed by Horace Mann and Barnard Sears and Harper of the University of Chicago and Thorndyke of Columbia Teachers College and some other men to be instruments of the scientific management of a mass population. Schools are intended to produce through the application of formulae, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled
Individuals who are capable of producing their own genuine response to stimuli through deep contemplation, study, and action are a wild card to social engineers. To put it bluntly, a population that is adequately able to respond is extremely threatening to those who seek to manipulate and control the behavior of the masses.
Edward Bernays, in his book "Propaganda", discusses how predictability in social behavior is fundamental to a functioning democracy.
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. … In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons … who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind,”
Personally, I'd prefer less predictability in society if it meant people were more engaged in their own thought process and understanding of reality. Order that is produced by reducing individual thought is a false sense or security, one that will centralize power into the hands of those who actually think for themselves.
True individual responsibility is the answer
If we are to create sustainable solutions to the complex and varied problems in our world, we must have a solid individual foundation to draw from. Continuing to look to external sources, whether it be the government or otherwise, is destined to lead to 'solutions' that only reduce freedom and limit personal responsibility.
And let's be clear: personal responsibility is not the easy, simple answer. It requires a person to ask uncomfortable questions about themselves and the world around them. Making sense of the world demands a degree of work that most people would rather not do.
It also requires us to abandon either/or, black/white, reductionist thinking, and allow for a more nuanced and contextual view of a particular situation. Reductionist thinking is convenient for those who wish to steer the public mind to a desired conclusion, while an in-depth critical analysis serves the individual.
The easy answer is almost never one that empowers the individual, and instead sacrifices freedoms in the name of the collective. A lasting answer is one that requires ongoing attention to detail, intense debate, and reflection on all of the parts that contribute to the issue at hand.
Regardless of your stance on any particular issue, the foundation of life is rooted in our individual ability to respond to it. We must empower our own responsibility if we are to witness lasting, sustainable changes in the world.
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Personal responsibility is probably the single most important thing to this movement and in general. There isn't going to be a new "system" to solve this whole problem it is going to come from people becoming independent for themselves. Communities the encourage true free market private solutions to problems everyone has will be the way. People really don't need much and are willing to work for what they really want. With a truly free market we truly vote with our dollar and or bitcoin. No nanny government "taking care" of us. Strong communities with fair trade.
Yes indeed. Without personal responsibility in regards to every aspect of our lives, we are a few steps away from slipping into another collectivist nightmare.
Empowered individuals is the only answer I see to combat the various issues we face.
Your article is just in sync with my perspective. I like to discern between "react" and "respond".
"re-act" means repeating past patterns by transferring them onto the present moment, shutting close any viable solutions.
"responsibility" is the ability to respond. Which means stopping transferring past patterns onto the present moment, and instead recognize that this moment is not defined by the past but is new and comes with limitless possibilites and solutions open to us.
Such a heavy meaning in this post @colinhoward ❤️ Empowering our responsibility itself is a big challenge but quiet easily doable though. I so fondly love going through yr posts👊🏽
After reading your post i'm really satisfied. Amazingly explained ☺