Responsibility

RESPONSIBILITY

The other side of our rights

We live in a world where we hear a great deal about our rights.

“I have a right to...”

And those rights are important.

But how often do we hear the word responsibility?

President John F. Kennedy captured this idea in his inaugural address when he said:

“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

Behind those famous words lies a simple principle: a successful society cannot be built upon what we expect to receive from it alone. It also depends upon what each of us is prepared to contribute.

Perhaps our responsibility is to leave our country—and our community—in a better condition for our children than it was left to us.

Which raises an uncomfortable question.

Have we gradually become better at demanding our rights than accepting the responsibilities that accompany them?

So, what should take precedence: rights or responsibilities?

Could it be that our rights are often someone else’s responsibility?

The same idea can be seen in a workplace negotiation conducted differently.

Instead of the workers arriving with a list headed “Our Rights,” they arrive with one headed “Our Responsibilities.”

And instead of the employer beginning with what it is entitled to demand, it begins with “Our Responsibilities to Our Employees.”

Would the resulting agreement look different?

Perhaps one person's right is often protected by another person's willingness to accept responsibility.

Can I be that person who is willing to accept responsibility?

This is not only a private moral question. It is also a public and professional one. Responsibility matters most when a person has the power to correct an error, protect another person, or prevent harm.

A police officer discovers evidence pointing away from the suspect. What is their responsibility?

A forensic scientist discovers an earlier conclusion may be unreliable. What is their responsibility?

A prosecutor becomes aware of evidence that weakens the prosecution case. What is their responsibility?

A politician discovers a policy is causing unintended harm. What is their responsibility?

A journalist discovers something previously reported was incorrect. What is their responsibility?

These questions lead back to two words: personal responsibility

Humility allows me to recognise that I may have been wrong.

Responsibility determines what I do once I know it.

Responsibility is easy to demand of others.

The real test begins when the responsibility is ours.

When does this revelation occur?

Throughout life, we make judgments based upon the best information available to us at the time. There is nothing inherently wrong with that—we could hardly function otherwise.

The real test comes when new and reliable information shows that our original judgment may have been wrong.

What do we do then?

We can accept responsibility and ask, ‘What can I do to put it right?’ Or we can minimise, deny or conceal what has happened.

When I know something is wrong, do I wait for someone else to put it right—or do I accept that responsibility begins with me?

Accepting responsibility does not guarantee forgiveness. Nor should we expect it. Putting something right should not depend upon receiving praise from the person we have wronged.

We accept responsibility because it is the right thing to do.

I admire anyone who can overcome the powerful human instinct to deny or conceal an uncomfortable truth in order to protect their self-esteem

Responsibility does not necessarily mean blame; a person may inherit a problem they did not create.

A police officer, prosecutor, scientist, or government official may discover today that an error was made decades earlier.

They cannot be blamed for creating that error.

But once the truth comes into their hands, a new question arises:

What is now their responsibility?

Perhaps responsibility begins not with asking, “Was this my fault?” but with asking, “Now that I know, what can I do about it?”

NEXT EDITION

What happens when a person or institution refuses to accept responsibility?

This is where responsibility becomes accountability.

Responsibility asks:

“What should I do?”

Accountability asks:

“What happens if I refuse to do it?”