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Authors, sign in!A few weeks ago in my Public Speaking class, one of my students remarked about the political differences between he and his girlfriend. He mentioned that she was center-left and he was center-right. He went on to say that some of our current policies are promoting laziness and that he was a strong supporter of self-responsibility. I thought to myself that I should say something witty like – “so why are taking financial aid to come here?” but I refrained from saying it aloud as not to embarrass him.
But it did get me to thinking about the messages that the media is putting forth today. You are center-right if you believe in self responsibility and you are a socialist if you believe in helping others. What a crock.
Being responsible for self is to be lauded but not mocked. Just because I want my neighbor to have an opportunity to attend college or have access to affordable health care doesn't mean that I want them to shirk their responsibilities, it just means that I believe that it is my responsibility to help them.
The thought that government assistance equals a handout is a meme perpetrated by those who are so concerned with self that they could care less about their neighbors, and that is a scary thought. It is our neighbor who assists us at the dry cleaners. It is our neighbor who takes our order at the local deli. It is our neighbor who delivers our newspaper in the morning. Shouldn't we care enough about ourselves to care about those who we meet on a daily basis?
I say yes, and I say yes emphatically.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that we should become overly selfless in our pursuit to assist others, but I do think that it is only human to care about the welfare of those whom we touch everyday. To me, it is the utmost sign of self responsibility – that we are able to care for ourselves and others in times of need. We are our brother's keeper.
Why? Because what affects our brother will ultimately affect us. If our neighbor loses their home to foreclosure, our home value sinks. If our neighbor loses his health insurance, our emergency rooms are crowded ad our doctors and nurses are overworked. If our neighbor has to drop out of college due to lack of funds, they might go the way of the street only to victimize us later.
Maybe the next time that my student speaks up, I will chose to do the same. I won't offer a condescending lecture but I will say respectfully that one of the best things about self-responsibility is that we can work daily to instill it in others.
Published February 23, 2010 by Jenifer Daniels |
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Common Good
Democracy
Government
Progressive
Republican Party
Safety Net
Social Contract
Social Justice
Comments (3)
Jennifer, good post. For me, one of the saddest things about what I'd call the theory of social Darwinism; i.e., that we are each wholly responsible for whether we succeed or fail in life. The message is that none of us is obligated to "help the least of these" or disadvantaged through no fault of their own...or even to sometimes help those at the bottom of the mountain because of some personal failing, now wiser but carrying a weight they cannot lift alone. And saddest of all is that social Darwinism so often masquerades as Christianity. The usual rationale is that, yes, there are such needs, but attending to them is a matter of personal responsibility, not government. But IF we are truly a government of, by, and for the people, "we" have a collective responsibility. History is all too clear that--for a variety of reasons--private beneficence does not, and probably cannot, get the job done. We, collectively, can. (And,yes, I think you missed a great opportunity to pose the question to your student. Politely, of course. Maybe if you gave him a copy of this essay and said, "So...what do you think?)
Here again, the fundamental problem as I see it is the tendency to absolutist, either-or, good-evil framing of issues. If you aren't familiar with it, I think you'd like "The Veteran," a short poem by Dorothy Parker. Print off a copy for your class.
Posted by Bob Hooper
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February 23, 2010 9:46 AM
Posted on February 23, 2010 09:46
Jenifer this is magnificent.
Posted by Pamela Jean
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February 23, 2010 10:15 AM
Posted on February 23, 2010 10:15
I love your post. You have listed the benefits of civilization against the uncivilized practice of survival of the fittest.
Jenifer, we all would like to think we've lifted ourselves by our own bootstraps. But, there is no one who has not benefited from someone else's help. We enter this world totally dependent on someone else and we benefit daily thereafter from the experience and helping hand of others.
I strongly believes that social responsibility and individual responsibility go together and that combining individualism with individual responsibility for the welfare of all is not an impossible goal. The Christian gospel indicates that we all are, indeed, our brothers' keepers.
Posted by Ken Poland
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February 23, 2010 1:44 PM
Posted on February 23, 2010 13:44