Whatever happened to "Personal Responsibility"?

[NWRatCon]

This is not a "both sides" thread, but an honest query. It is, of course, a fetish for a certain block of "commentators" to rag on about "taking personal responsibility", but this is not about that, either.

People speak and act without thinking, I find, but often don't take responsibility for the effects of those actions. It runs the gamut, from making a faux pas at a dinner party to January 6. Too often, I believe, matters can be resolved with an honest and heartfelt apology, but that seems impossible in this age.

We, as a society, have lost the ability to moderate ourselves, or take responsibility for our own part in events. It is both a lost art and a failed responsibility, in my view.

With that, I look forward to multiple posts demonstrating the veracity of my concern.

 

[Jacksprat]

This is not a "both sides" thread, but an honest query. It is, of course, a fetish for a certain block of "commentators" to rag on about "taking personal responsibility", but this is not about that, either.

People speak and act without thinking, I find, but often don't take responsibility for the effects of those actions. It runs the gamut, from making a faux pas at a dinner party to January 6. Too often, I believe, matters can be resolved with an honest and heartfelt apology, but that seems impossible in this age.

We, as a society, have lost the ability to moderate ourselves, or take responsibility for our own part in events. It is both a lost art and a failed responsibility, in my view.

With that, I look forward to multiple posts demonstrating the veracity of my concern.

Coming from the Trump fascists. They think Trump was born without sin.

 

[Lord of Planar]

This is not a "both sides" thread, but an honest query. It is, of course, a fetish for a certain block of "commentators" to rag on about "taking personal responsibility", but this is not about that, either.

People speak and act without thinking, I find, but often don't take responsibility for the effects of those actions. It runs the gamut, from making a faux pas at a dinner party to January 6. Too often, I believe, matters can be resolved with an honest and heartfelt apology, but that seems impossible in this age.

We, as a society, have lost the ability to moderate ourselves, or take responsibility for our own part in events. It is both a lost art and a failed responsibility, in my view.

With that, I look forward to multiple posts demonstrating the veracity of my concern.

The left is constantly enabling irresponsibility. Just look at the latest loan bailouts. Such an unscrupulous way to buy votes from irresponsible people.

 

[OrphanSlug]

The concept of “personal responsibility” seems to be applied with the same consistency these days as ”empathy for others” or “respect for law” or other catchy words and phrases that you would think might have more standard of application regardless of ideology.

But the OP does have a point on the seeming trend of shifting away from being responsible for one’s actions and blaming a dozen or more other factors for however some event turns out. Matters not if we are talking whataboutism or the means justify the ends or even flat out blaming ”the system” for doing something not all that moral or ethical (if not flat out illegal.)

I would not go so far as to call it moral decline, but rather very divisive times by a duopoly of a political system entirely devoid of blaming the other guy for really anything that happens.

 

[Lord of Planar]

The concept of “personal responsibility” seems to be applied with the same consistency these days as ”empathy for others” or “respect for law” or other catchy words and phrases that you would think might have more standard of application regardless of ideology.

But the OP does have a point on the seeming trend of shifting away from being responsible for one’s actions and blaming a dozen or more other factors for however some event turns out. Matters not if we are talking whataboutism or the means justify the ends or even flat out blaming ”the system” for doing something not all that moral or ethical (if not flat out illegal.)

I would not go so far as to call it moral decline, but rather very divisive times by a duopoly of a political system entirely devoid of blaming the other guy for really anything that happens.

You pegged it.

Moral decline.

We have an ever growing number of people who serious lack a moral conscience.

 

[Jacksprat]

The concept of “personal responsibility” seems to be applied with the same consistency these days as ”empathy for others” or “respect for law” or other catchy words and phrases that you would think might have more standard of application regardless of ideology.

But the OP does have a point on the seeming trend of shifting away from being responsible for one’s actions and blaming a dozen or more other factors for however some event turns out. Matters not if we are talking whataboutism or the means justify the ends or even flat out blaming ”the system” for doing something not all that moral or ethical (if not flat out illegal.)

I would not go so far as to call it moral decline, but rather very divisive times by a duopoly of a political system entirely devoid of blaming the other guy for really anything that happens.

Trump denies he lost the election. He organized a violent coup attempt. But Biden is old and Hillary .....

 

[OrphanSlug]

You pegged it.

Moral decline.

We have an ever growing number of people who serious lack a moral conscience.

I guess the reason I struggle with the term moral decline is I struggle with a time period, something we can identify, and say we were all that better at this.

But, you may very well be right on this.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Trump denies he lost the election.

True. He should have won, and we all know it.

He organized a violent coup attempt.

Moral decay here. He did not organize a violent coup.

But Biden is old and Hillary .....

Neither of them are fit for government leadership roles.

 

[Lord of Planar]

I guess the reason I struggle with the term moral decline is I struggle with a time period, something we can identify, and say we were all that better at this.

But, you may very well be right on this.

I've seen the trend for about 60 years now.

 

[OrphanSlug]

I've seen the trend for about 60 years now.

I’m 51 so I’ll take your word for it.

 

[NatMorton]

This is not a "both sides" thread, but an honest query. It is, of course, a fetish for a certain block of "commentators" to rag on about "taking personal responsibility", but this is not about that, either.

People speak and act without thinking, I find, but often don't take responsibility for the effects of those actions. It runs the gamut, from making a faux pas at a dinner party to January 6. Too often, I believe, matters can be resolved with an honest and heartfelt apology, but that seems impossible in this age.

We, as a society, have lost the ability to moderate ourselves, or take responsibility for our own part in events. It is both a lost art and a failed responsibility, in my view.

With that, I look forward to multiple posts demonstrating the veracity of my concern.

We have found common ground.

 

[tres borrachos]

True. He should have won, and we all know it.

Moral decay here. He did not organize a violent coup.

Neither of them are fit for government leadership roles.

I don't know that he should have won. Who is the "we all" you speak of? The people who sat on either side of you at the last Trump rally?

 

[tres borrachos]

This is not a "both sides" thread, but an honest query. It is, of course, a fetish for a certain block of "commentators" to rag on about "taking personal responsibility", but this is not about that, either.

People speak and act without thinking, I find, but often don't take responsibility for the effects of those actions. It runs the gamut, from making a faux pas at a dinner party to January 6. Too often, I believe, matters can be resolved with an honest and heartfelt apology, but that seems impossible in this age.

We, as a society, have lost the ability to moderate ourselves, or take responsibility for our own part in events. It is both a lost art and a failed responsibility, in my view.

With that, I look forward to multiple posts demonstrating the veracity of my concern.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I take personal responsibility for all things in my life. My bills, my health, my job, my children and my husband when he needs it, my pets. I also take responsibility for my actions, current and past. My husband and I also taught our sons the same thing and so far they are behaving the same way.

 

[Jacksprat]

True. He should have won, and we all know it.

Trump lost in a fair election.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

The left is constantly enabling irresponsibility. Just look at the latest loan bailouts. Such an unscrupulous way to buy votes from irresponsible people.

Personal responsibility is great individual advice. It’s just horrible policy when it comes to solving systemic issues. Conservatives are often completely correct when it comes to personal advice.

Should you go into deep debt for a low paying degree? Not unless you really like that job.

If you work in a low paying field should you try to live in LA? Probably not.

Should you spend $1,200 on a new phone if you are struggling to pay rent? Obviously not.

But when it comes to solving social issues this philosophy as policy is asinine. While an individual can leave LA and live a better life somewhere with a lower cost of living, SOMEONE has to take out the trash in LA, someone has to work in the restaurants, someone has to drive the taxis, and bag the groceries, and pick the tomatoes. Everyone CANNOT get a nice tech job. Everyone CANNOT move to Ohio. If everyone did that LA would collapse in a week. Sitting back a sneering while saying, “ahh well if everyone simply made these optimal choices in their life” doesn’t solve poverty, or student debt, or food insecurity. It’s a non-solution that offers nothing but a continuation of what we already see happening.

 

[ecofarm]

There is no buck. Presidents are allowed to claim victim now. Trump has ushered in the era of the victim President.

 

[NWRatCon]

The left is constantly enabling irresponsibility. Just look at the latest loan bailouts. Such an unscrupulous way to buy votes from irresponsible people.

as if on cue...

 

[NWRatCon]

I guess the reason I struggle with the term moral decline is I struggle with a time period, something we can identify, and say we were all that better at this.

I agree with this sentiment. Decline implies there was such a time. It took less than a half-dozen posts before blame was being thrown about, and some of that with a remarkable lack of self-awareness.

I cannot determine that there was a time that was better, but I can comment on the inconsistencies I see in our present day. Ironically, I sometimes take more responsibility than I am to blame for - it's a bad habit, but it tends to disarm disagreements quickly. My sister is even worse, something that my siblings and I chide her about, but we all do it. At the same time I see all about me people throwing around blame like a drunk with a gun in a bar, hitting people haphazardly and never acknowledging their own fault.

A corollary to "personal responsibility" is "unintended consequences". Being unaware of the consequences - intended or not - makes it quite difficult to "take" responsibility. Climate change is a macro example, the tragedy of the commons. We all contribute to it, but no one want to own up to their own contributions, and some even go so far as to deny its existence - the lack of water resources in the West, overfishing, the examples are all around us. On an individual level we see "Karens" all over, we have political parties who blame the other and refuse to compromise that create immigration problems that remain unaddressed, and budgeting and tax policies that are dysfunctional.

Here in our own community there are plenty of posters, some doing so in this very thread, who automatically, almost ritualistically blame someone else for issues - often having nothing to do with the topic - and pretending that "their side" never contributed to the problem. It makes conversation very difficult.