Is Personal Responsibility A Thing Of The Past?

Here are a couple of definitions that I felt obliged to offer as part of this thought for today. While some people will be terribly offended…others could possibly find these words interesting or possibly even intriguing….Let me offer a disclaimer at this point that these words are rarely used in today’s society…and it seems that the reason is mainly due to the fact that they seem to have come from a lost language in our distant past. Since so many people are not familiar with these words, I wanted to make a case for bringing them back for use in our modern, everyday vocabulary. If by a rare chance you are already familiar with these words, please do not be offended at this little exercise.

PERSONAL: (pur-suh-nl) Of, pertaining to, or coming as from a particular person…Intended for use by one person: i.e. a personal car

RESPONSIBILITY: (re-spän-sə-bi-lə-tē) A particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible…Moral, legal, or mental accountability

While these definitions are shown separately….after doing a great deal of research, I have discovered that it is in fact, acceptable in the English language, to use these words together…. (take a moment and breathe deeply….yes it’s true) While many people believe that the use of these two words together was outlawed on Jan 21, 2009…(take a moment….wait for it…wait for it…Ohhhh…ok)that is simply not true. For those who are not familiar with these words when used in tandem, I am going to do something so that you will recognize them in the future. When put together, they look something like this:


Personal Responsibility


Yup….while the rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated….personal responsibility is still alive and well among some in the United States. It spite of that, many people in our day have decided to turn the running of their lives over to the government. It seems that many people think they “deserve” for the government to take care of them….mostly because they misquote or misinterpret the portion of the Declaration of Independence that says….“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "

First of all….it says that “We hold these truths to be self-evident”…in other words these things should be obvious or self-explanatory….Then it goes on to say that all men are “created equal”…. (Ok, here’s where I probably get in a LOT of trouble)….Yes we are all “created equal”…(let me say it again, just in case you missed it the first time) We are all “created equal”…With that being said….that doesn’t mean that in the course of their lives, that there won’t be some who will attain higher goals or obtain more wealth than others. It is NOT the government’s role to keep us all “equal” by taking away from those who have worked hard and sacrificed…and giving it to those who have not worked hard and sacrificed. That is not what the founding fathers were saying.

Then there are those in our society who also say (in an especially whiney, annoying voice)…“But it does guarantee me happiness, look…it’s right there in writing”

Listen closely…lean in toward your monitor….THAT’S NOT WHAT IT SAYS !!!!!

The Declaration of Independence does not guarantee anyone happiness. That is NOT what it says….it guarantees us the PURSUIT of happiness. That means that you have to get up off of your butt and go after it. (yet another definition…PURSUIT: (per-soot) an effort to secure or attain…)

Why is it that there are so many people in this great country of ours, who have come from a difficult childhood, or even a background of poverty…yet in spite of that…they went to school…studied hard…sacrificed and applied themselves…and in the end, they end up being very successful? Luck?....No, it’s called hard work and sacrifice. Of course that’s not a popular thing today. It’s much easier to stand in line in Detroit for free “Obama money” than to get up off of your butt and go to work. I would guess that there probably weren’t a lot of successful people standing in that line…and do you know why?......BECAUSE THEY WERE AT WORK. I am so sick of people having the attitude that the government “owes” them something. The only thing that the government owes you is the pursuit of that happiness…but it requires that you make the effort to achieve that happiness for yourself.

I realize that there are some people who truly need government assistance from time to time….but not from generation to generation. I personally believe that before we hand out that assistance we need to ask a couple questions…..

1) In this country we have public schools that you can attend for free (up to a certain age, there is even mandatory attendance)…..So Question # 1 is this….”Did you graduate from High School” …..if the answer is no….then…sorry, you didn’t pursue happiness with enough vigor….so it sucks to be you….and you get NO money

2) Question # 2….”Would you please step into that bathroom there and pee in this little cup?”….if the answer is no…or if the drug test comes back positive for an illegal substance…..then again….it sucks to be you….and you get NO money

3) Question # 3….”Are you willing to take a job if it were offered to you, even if it’s not a job being the CEO of a multi-national corporation?”……and again….if the answer if no…then one more time….it sucks to be you and you get NO money.

4) Question # 4…..”Did you have 14 children before you reached the age of 26?”…..this time if the answer is yes….then again for the last time….it sucks to be you and you get NO money

Harsh?.....I don’t think so….I think it is fair…Where is the incentive for someone to go to school…stay away from drugs….work hard at a less than ideal job…and to not start having sex at the age of 13….if you get rewarded for DOING those things? How do you think the majority of the people at the “Obama money” party in Detroit would answer these 4 questions?

It all comes back to personal responsibility…..taking responsibility for our successes…..taking responsibility for our “screw ups”….and working hard even when the money is not all that great. Too many in our society have become exactly what this current administration wants….slaves to the government….if we become a people that looks for the government to provide everything for us….we are in fact slaves to that government….because if we have not taken responsibility for our own lives….we have no where else to turn but to the government. It’s time to stand up and be responsible. It’s time to go out and achieve everything that we can achieve….and its time to take responsibility for who and where we are. I believe that it is only when we take personal responsibility for who we are...and where we are...in our lives…that we will be able to change the direction in which we are headed………..But Then Again….That’s Just Me.