It is worth wondering whether this offhand approach is sufficient for the present day, considering the evidence of widespread irresponsibility that glares out of the statistics on crime, drug and alcohol abuse, runaways, vandalism, family breakups, etc. Perhaps the time has come to start looking at responsibility--or the lack of it--as a public concern.
It is, of course, supposed to be nurtured in the privacy of the home; these days, however, it is not easy to instil[l] it in children even in the best-regulated of families. Family life has changed as business has become busier, divorce and separation more common, and more mothers have taken outside employment. The American psychiatry professor Dr. Harold M. Voth traces a decline in familial influence on character formation to "75 years of events--wars, industrialization, inflation, materialism, etc.--[which] have assaulted the family unit to such an extent that for several generations the developing young have been deprived of continuous parental input."
The technological changes that have taken place during that time have mainly been aimed at making life easier. So have the social changes, although they have been less reliable in their effect. In this age of physical ease, a psychological climate has arisen in which we subliminally seek to avoid anything that is uncomfortable or inconvenient. And often there is nothing more uncomfortable or inconvenient than discharging a responsibility.
In the old days life was hard not only physically, but psychologically. The constraints of convention could be heavy to bear. One of these constraints was strict parental discipline. It used to be imposed partly by sanctions, but mostly by the implicit understanding that parents had a God-given right to be obeyed.
Though youthful rebelliousness is as old as the human race, a distinct breaking-point came in the 1960s, when young people in large numbers began to question the authority of their elders. The youth movement helped to give impetus to a number of other movements to secure greater human rights.
In one sense, the loosening of parental controls and absentee parenthood have made present-day young people more responsible for their own well-being than any generation before them. The corollary is that parents should take more care than ever to provide guidance and encouragement to whatever extent they can.
"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know that you trust him," said the pioneer American black leader, Booker T. Washington.1 The way to help children grow up strong is steadily to increase the amount of trust placed in them.
There are some quite simple ways of cultivating responsibility, including having children share in the care of younger siblings, carry out regular chores, handle their own money ("when your allowance is spent, don't expect any extra") and take part in family decisions. The idea should be imparted that they are full participants in the family, and as such they must do their share in ensuring the welfare of the family as a whole.
This may be easier said than done at a time when individual rights occupy such a prominent place in the public scale of values. The drive for rights has meant that people are no longer automatically cast in roles according to their age, sex, class, religion, ethnic origin, marital status, or other personal characteristics. They have been largely set free to go their own way in hopes of finding themselves.
In the process, popular attitudes in a country like Canada have become more tolerant, understanding and forgiving. No longer are men and women expected to live with the consequences of their errors and shortcomings until the day they die.
This is a good thing in principle, but it is not without its undesirable side-effects. It has opened up psychological loopholes through which people can wriggle out of their legitimate responsibilities.
"No doubt Jack the Ripper excused himself on the grounds that it was human nature," A.A. Milne
1-ALSO ON THE SUBJECT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL'S RESPONSIBILITY IN (A) SOCIETY, TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE.
TO CONSIDER THE NEXT PART OF THIS TERM OF REFERENCE, TAKE YOUR NEXT FOOTSTEP HERE.