Number Eight: A Responsibility RANT

Cue theme music: “It’s My Life”, Jon Bon Jovi

Note: this was written prior to recent events. I think the message is all the more apt.

I’m not sure what it is about today, but this topic has come up twice already this morning, and it’s only 9 AM: responsibility. I was woken up by it through the graces of the annoying morning radio show I tune my alarm to (it’s usually bad enough that I have incentive to get up to turn it off). They were running a “group therapy” show, where callers would phone in, tell their problem to the greater metro area, and listen to the jockeys and audience give advice that they won’t follow anyhow. This morning’s loser was offered her dream job at an advertising agency and was dismayed to learn they required a drug test. Apparently, she smokes pot “and other stuff, you know, like everyone else” when she parties…every weekend. But she’s not a heavy drug user, oh no. She doesn’t see why this should be a hindrance to her hiring, so she’s looking for ways to beat the drug test.

The other appearance of responsibility this morning was this article on cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/corporateclass/08/27/rules/index.html. It lists a dozen or so work-environment offenses people commit in the mistaken belief that rules don’t apply to them, including parking, cleaning up one’s messes, and airplane carry-on luggage.

It all ties in to the popular belief “If I don’t get caught, it isn’t wrong”—or is it “If I don’t get severely punished, it isn’t wrong”? After all, these are habitual offenses. What’s wrong here? The point these people seem to be missing is that when one breaks a rule or a law regardless of one’s opinion of said law, one must accept the consequences. When I exceed the speed limit on the freeway, I accept the possibility of being pulled over and ticketed. When the inconsiderate people light up cigarettes around me right in front of a no-smoking sign, they accept the possibility of being told to put it out or leave. The woman on the radio, knowing it is illegal, takes drugs every weekend. She needs to accept that her prospective employer has every right to deny her a position because of that behavior.

There are freedoms we give up to live in this tightly packed society of ours. Playing music at unholy decibel levels is fine when the next estate is three miles down the road; it is unacceptable when you have apartments on the other side of the wall. Ingesting substances that impair your reflexes or decision-making abilities before driving on the roads is unacceptable. The laws we enact are there to allow people of all different beliefs and backgrounds to live in close proximity to each other without bloodshed. Granted, I think we’ve lost sight of this reason for laws, but that’s another issue. Taking—not just accepting—responsibility is the issue. No matter whether your mother told you it was okay or you were “driven” to it by a demanding boss, YOU made the choice; it’s YOUR responsibility.