Having a discussion with a friend yesterday, I understood something that had been bothering me for a while. The basis of what disturbs me is the perception people around me have on responsibility and accountability. I find the whole philosophy of our current thought climate to be lacking. I do not postulate this thesis in order to separate myself from others through intellectual division. I put forth this idea in the hopes that maybe even one person will understand a little bit more.
The conversation revolved around a plant outside of my apartment. It is a lilac plant and the leaves were wilted and dry. This was not due to the season. The leaves were brown because I had failed to water the plant during the summer.
My friend suggested several justifications for why it was not my fault that the plant was not healthy. Some of those suggestions are probably at your lips this very moment. Ready to tell me that among several other reasons, the plant is not mine. I did not place the plant there, away from the sprinklers. It’s just a plant. The person who asked me to be responsible for the plant should have been taking care of it. I am sure my readers can think of a million and one excuses for why I was not directly responsible for the plant being unhealthy.
This is where I beg to differ and I believe that this situation illustrates an environment that surrounds us on a larger scale. I may go so far as to imply that our culture holds the above example to its chest as a core value. “It’s not my fault.” The stories of our current culture are collected and told from the courtrooms. They are no longer told from family units or individuals. Stories are told from the collective. I will touch on that topic later.
My position on the whole matter of the plant was this: The plant was dying because I did not water it. I was aware of the plants existence and I was also aware that the plant needed assistance because it would not be healthy on its own. The reason I am responsible is because I *wanted* the plant to be healthy. If I want the plant to be healthy and I have the means to keep it so, why should I not also be the one responsible for this?
It would not be very becoming of me if I were to express anger or outrage that the plant was dying. It would not be right of me to blame others for the failing of the plant. If I did not have a desire in my heart for the plant to succeed, well, there would be no issue now. Any emotional outburst from a different party would not convince me so. They would have to be very persuasive to make me want what they want. At that juncture I would then be an agent of their desires and no longer a man of my own mind.
I hope you, reader, can follow the path of this thought and see the larger picture that I am alluding to.
I would like to discuss this more in the near future.
Update: What I’m trying to get at, is that it is not someone else’s job to help me get what I want. That is my responsibility, alone. Making others do my bidding only makes me a parasite unless I can help them achieve their wants if they do not have the means to do so.