Responsibility

In the last discussion about Right & Wrong, we ended on the idea of responsibility being the limiting factor to behavior in a world without universal right & wrong. After some more thought, I’m not sold on the idea. I think the only thing that limits us is ourselves.

Responsibility seems to be a type of pressure and influence. This pressure can be internal or external. Similar to right and wrong which stems from morality, these are simply pressures we can ignore much like peer pressure.

For example, why did I mow my lawn yesterday? Some sense of responsibility made me do the “right” thing. But what makes this a “right” action and/or a responsible one? We know morality is determined by our society. Now mowing isn’t considered a specifically moral action, so it would fall to a responsibility, which can be thought of a as a second tier of morality. Morality technically is still any action deemed right or wrong, but in my mind, morality is more for those actions deemed sinful.

Not mowing most likely wouldn’t damn your soul in any religion, but society has set an ideal that lawns should be clean cut and weed free. Again, even failing this responsibility won’t damn you in the eyes of society, but your neighbors may be hoping you This ideal along with neighbors and friends attempting to live up to this ideal pressured me to do my part and mow my lawn. I caved to societal peer pressure.

So this pressure was external. What about internal pressures? Is eating a responsibility? It is our duty to keep ourselves alive and is hardwired into our system, but we don’t have to cave to it, like when dieting. This could lead us back to the topic of right & wrong. Are there any hardwired rights or wrongs?

Maybe. This would be harder to see as our parents start influencing our actions and behaviors from day one. Even if we don’t comprehend the words at that age, we do learn pretty quick what actions can get certain reactions. The other issue is as a baby, we can’t do much for ourselves and are dependent on others to meet our needs of food, water, and shelter. Our actions can help ensure these needs are being met by pressuring those around to care for us to stop our crying.

But this doesn’t go to right or wrong. In the last post we touched on lying and about being caught. But what if you don’t get caught? Technically we may feel some guilt for lying, but what if this was our first time lying and we didn’t get caught? Would there be shame or guilt? Or are we unaware that lying is wrong yet as we haven’t been told. What about nakedness or swearing?

These are considered wrong or inappropriate and are sins in the Bible. But babies and kids seem unaware that these are things not to be said or shown. So it’s not until we tell them that it is wrong to display your privates or that certain words are cuss words that they become aware of this as wrong behavior. This would be the start of their moral compass. It is then our experiences that further hone our moral compass and a responsibility compass, if you will.

It seems to me then that universal rights and wrongs don’t necessarily exist (I state it this way to keep the door open in case I’m wrong). The only universal responsibilities we have our those hardwired into us, such as eating and procreation. And all of these can be ignored if we so choose as everything is permitted. Just hope it is clear, there will be consequences to any action taken.

This completes my first set of posts regarding the basis of my thoughts on our world as it pertains to how I view it and choose to live in it. It’s pretty simple. You can do whatever you want, but just take a minute to think about it. And when you see, read, or hear something, including these words, question them. Again, take time to think about it from your point of view.

I would like to take some time to encourage feedback and discussion. My only ask is to keep it healthy, but then again, feel free to say what you feel needs to be said. Just remember I am human too. Thanks!!