"Being Ethically Responsible Today"

Today is it possible to be ethically responsible and live separate from society? That is a big question that follows tragedies in many communities that could possibly be averted by contact with and care for our neighbor. Although one can posit being responsible and staying within the bounds of immediate family and close friends, if one is a member of society there must be some responsibility to bear for that society. And when there is a breakdown in individual and community life that affects all, the outtake from that breakdown ought to be caring for one another in that community.

In the world in which I grew up (in the 1950s and 1960s) there was more of a family centered approach to responsibility for others. In many cases like my own we saw as our primary care group our grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and our own family of origin. The second sphere of influence of which many of us were a part was our church and then our community or town. But a basic part of our approach to others outside of our family and church was independence from others. We did not want to get involved in the lives of others because, like many other Americans, we valued individualism.

There are many differences between that world in which I grew up, and today. There was not a great deal of mobility in the communities of that time. At least in small towns everyone knew everyone else and had a good idea of what to expect from children of parents many older persons had known as children themselves. In a sense, there was a safety net that the intergenerational community automatically had on itself. There was not a lot of heterogeneity in that society as well. Almost everyone went to some church and there was the expectation that congregations would watch out for their own. Almost everyone without exception went to the public school and difficult children or troublemakers would be supervised, and attempts would be made to curb their behavior at a relatively early age. In a pre-World Wide Web age, there was very little knowledge of ideas that might radicalize individual kids or might lead them to take their own path away from society. Although the same cocooning often limited that society, it did provide “spotters on the trampoline of life.”

Today society, even in smaller communities, does not have these built-in support systems. Individuals and small families can live their lives in virtual isolation. Like-minded individuals who want to get involved in countercultural activities can readily do so, finding others who feel similarly miles apart, but seemingly in their neighborhood. For this reason, people in neighborhoods and communities need to get involved hands-on in the larger associations in their communities such as government, schools, religious groups, recreation centers, and clubs. The preventive maintenance that will help to curb violence and radicalization in our society is not an option for us, but compels us to become involved. In fact, being ethically responsible today means that we cannot sit idly by while someone near us is going through great difficulty in their lives. We need to make contact with others and engage those about whom we are concerned in conversation. Human beings are social beings and are generally healthier when they connect with other human beings.

There is no turning back of the clock or easy answers today. In many respects, in fact, we may be healthier as individuals and as a society. But in this one aspect of the lack of natural social involvement and community living we are challenged. To be ethically responsible we need to get involved and do something about it. The very future of our children, grandchildren, and generations to come may well depend upon it.