I'm all for President Obama's initiative for a more responsible America, but like Choose Civility I feel that the message may become mixed. I also feel that it is going to be quite difficult to instill this goal into the American people.
When I first heard President Obama speaking about a more responsible America, my first thought was responsibility on a grandiose scale, as I'm sure many other Americans had this same thought. I'm also sure that many Americans were thinking that this concept does not apply to them and that being more responsible will have no affect on President Obama's call to action. This feeling really has me thinking that a call for a more responsible America will fall on deaf ears or that the desired affect will miss the mark.
Responsibility however, does not have to be grand. It can be a simple act or a simple gesture. Paying attention to your child at the playground instead of paying more attention to your cell phone is a simple way to responsible. Stopping at a red light instead of racing to get through the yellow light at the last second is a simple act of responsibility. Now I don't have to lecture you about ways to be more responsible, but how then does one suggest responsibility to someone they don't even know. Can you imagine approaching a complete stranger to inform them that they need to be more responsible? I guess it's worth a shot to try it if you think the situation calls for it.
A more responsible America is going to be a tough nut to crack, but maybe it has a chance. After 9/11 I felt that we were heading down this path. We were more vigilant, more neighborly, and we were watching out for one another. These were the seeds of a more responsible America, but then the message was lost, the initiative stalled. Many Americans went back to doing the things that they were used to doing, back to their normal defined lifestyles and forgot that we had a common enemy to face. To show this enemy that they can't divide us, but instead unite us and make us stronger. Sure we did this for a while, but we quickly realized it was easier to go back to our old irresponsible ways.
Will President Obama's message hit the mark, will the everyday American understand that they have a responsibility to their freedom? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I'm hoping that we see the light and start acting in a more responsible way.
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1 comment:
I was at the inauguration. By 6:30 a.m. The National Mall was already littered with thousands upon thousands of pieces of trash; mostly, at that hour, the plastic wrappers from hand warmers.
I am 100% on board with increased self-responsibility. And I just found it fascinating that many of his supporters at the inauguration seemed yet to have grasped that small actions are just as important as big ones.
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