Responsibility is the degree of feeling accountable for something. Accountability comes with order, performance and adherence to the rules of engagement and the law as one envisages it to be. Being responsible as a human being entails a number of observations. For starters, it demands for one to be accountable to persons often in higher hierarchies or positions of power or pedigree. In addition, responsibility calls for adherence to the expected societal set of conduct. It calls for conforming to the ethical convictions of a society in which one is living. In that context, responsibility is a state that is dynamic and need not be examined from one point of view. Moreover, responsibility demands that one does the right thing. What is right is predicated on the moral construction one subscribes to. Personally, I find practicing responsible living equitable to the concept of living a morally sound life. It equally includes observing the secular law of the land and the laws of nature. In other words, responsibility is entirely devoid of wrongs and eras and necessitates a cautious approach to life.
One may feel responsible to different persons and entities. Personally, I find myself responsible to a different set of people and for different reasons. The first sense of responsibility is owed to the family. In this context, I often feel responsible to my parents and all my other relations especially my seniors. This responsibility instills some sense of fear and respect. It requires that I listen to their advice and offer help whenever they require. It equally compels me to adopt a character of giving reasons to them of my decisions especially those that interest them. For instance, my sense of responsibility to my parents necessitated my explanation to them of my interest in my course. It is essential that I seek consensus with this group of people I owe responsibility to.
Other than my family, I equally feel responsible for society. It strikes me often that I have a definite role to play in the society and that this role need to be executed with due considerations. In that strain, I often find myself doing the right thing even when I had the chance of doing otherwise. I often feel compelled by society to act in the right way and ensure that morality and good conduct wins over immorality and indecency. In addition, I often feel like behaving irresponsibility amounts to robbing the society of which I consider myself to be a member. My reasoning often is that one must not rob his own self and that since I belong and enjoy the benefits of society I must not offend the same society.
In addition, I find myself feeling responsible for the Supreme Being. In that vein I often feel accountable to the Supreme Being. This feeling often compels me to do only that which I consider noble and justified. This aspect of responsibility arises from the feeling that the Supreme Being with His immense powers often sees me. Therefore, I must behave in a way that is not contrary to His expectations. In the long run, it is this responsibility that enables me to desist from committing immoralities and evil in society. The feeling of accountability to the Supreme Being compels me to approach life from a holy perspective.
On the contrary, I often find myself not responsible to a number of things and bodies. I do not feel responsible for the political activities and repercussions that affect our nation. I usually feel that politics is outside my responsibility. Therefore, it is the duty of politicians and their surrogates to find solutions to the problems that face the nation. It is on that premise that I do not have any passion for political leadership and even the exercise of suffrage rights. In addition, I do not feel responsible for the poverty in the society. I believe in the capitalist concept of economics. In that system everyone has an opportunity to work hard and earn a living that decent and deserving. Therefore, I often feel unobligated to participate in social welfare and charitable activities that seek to reduce poverty from the lower classes of populations. Finally, I often do believe that the duty to prevent, combat and eradicate crime is charged with the uniformed forces. For that reason, I do believe in mob justice and often feel not responsible for the criminals in society. Arguments have been advanced that society has a role in the promotion of crime. However, as part of the society, I often feel like I discharge my roles fully and do not necessarily need to participate in the combat of crime especially through the community policing initiates that are gaining popularity lately.
In some cases, my sense of responsibility has often surpassed the familial and school boundaries. In these rare cases, I have often felt responsible for a number of things that remain external to my immediate environment. I often find myself feeling responsible for guiding my peers when I believe their action is not moral and or illegal. I find it necessary to at least enlighten my peers. My reasoning is often informed by the fact that as a peer, one remains with you for some time and it is consequently advisable that one gives the best advice to them. In addition, I often find myself feeling responsible towards the ignorant in society on matters concerning health. I often feel it is my duty to inform the community members on best practices on matters health such as good hygiene and dietary habits. To this end, I write articles, emails and even give lessons and talks on good practices on health to community members. This often happens through solicited and unsolicited attempts. I often feel responsible when my listeners and other forms of audience gain from my knowledge on heath matters. Lastly, I take a number of things seriously in life. Relationships to me are the most serious things. I do believe in the institution of marriage and that a good family can only be brought up through love. For that reason I take relationships seriously. I equally take promises seriously and endeavor to deliver on any promises I make. Once I have promised anything to anyone, it becomes my responsibility and I always feel like it would be used a fair way of judging my credibility by the person I promised. In conclusion I believe everyone should be responsible and feel responsible at least to one thing or person otherwise life without responsibility is boring and disconnected.
References
Nevid, J. S. (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. New York: Cengage Learning.
