Responsibility
The R. quandary
Do you ever feel confused?
At one time you are expected to look out for yourself, be at your own responsibility and at other times you are also somehow responsible for other issues outside your self bubble.
As a young adult, I always find myself facing the responsibility quandary. Navigating this realm can be difficult considering you don’t know the boundaries of your jurisdiction.
There was this one time when I got lost in the YouTube algorithm and came across a video on fast fashion. On further research I realized that the brands that I used to shop from are responsible not only for major water pollution but also for unethical and child labour. As a consumer of those brands I felt mortified because I was the one empowering them when I bought their products. Even when I stopped buying their products I felt guilty of not knowing the atrocities sooner.
The word responsibility seems to carry a weight with it, it is a sense of obligation to hold ourselves and others for actions and the consequences of those actions. It is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment and of being answerable and accountable for our actions.
In today’s milieu, the fast paced world that we live in, people tend to neglect responsibility. Well, at least I used to neglect it. Where are these emotions coming from one could ask; maybe they are coming from the fact that no one wants bear the weight of the negative outcomes of their decisions, maybe they are coming from popular cultural references that makes the young careless protagonist very enticing that we start following their footsteps or maybe they are just coming from the inability to comprehend the consequences that negligence can have on someone else’s’ life.
Response by the populace on the coronavirus situation justify the former statements. Some people are not wearing masks in the name of infringement of human rights and some are blatantly ignoring all of the protocols because they feel that the virus won’t affect them. Deep dive into this concept will make it crystal clear people just don’t give much thought to their actions and spend a significant time looking for ways to blame others for their misfortunes and mistakes.
Being responsible requires courage and that’s because it puts you in a spotlight regardless of the positive or negative outcome. Human psyche always tends to avoid even the mere possibility of a negative outcome. Every once in a while we all can find ourselves in a situation where we are wrong. It is then important to acknowledge our mistakes and reflect on them. Being oblivious to personal responsibility is never going to be the answer.
Harry Potter, we all know him as the chosen one or the boy who lived. He was only a teenager when he understood the unfortunate responsibility to destroy the evil Lord Voldemort. He was scared of making any mistake and losing his friends. But it was also that sense of responsibility that gave him courage and having his friends by his side only made him stronger.
Responsibility changes you as a person. It allows us to create principles, morals and help us to lead our life. It makes us more reliable and independent and also helps us gain confidence in ourselves. Responsibility is taught from childhood with the aim to educate in morals and values because having people like that generates confidence and gives us security.
As they say “The price of greatness is responsibility”
Or
“With great responsibilities comes great powers”
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