I heard it once, years ago, on a commercial for the TV show "Rugrats." A parent told one of the toddlers, "Now you have responsibility" to which came the awestruck reply, "'Sponsitility?" The general attitude these days seems to be in mass migration toward this very same confusion over an understated concept. Doctor Viktor E. Frankl suggested in 1970 that there be built a Statue of Responsibility on the west coast to compliment the Statue of Liberty on the east. He suggested this based on his idea that a free society can only be maintained as long as there exists both liberty and responsibility. This is far from a new, or even unique, idea. One of the "Seven Blunders of the World" that Gandhi taught would bring humanity to its demise was "Rights without Responsibility." Now I am not foolish enough to believe that the entire country is trying to frantically run from responsibility; I'd like to think that I'm an optimist.

One of the catalysts for this rant has been my thinking on the logical progression of the country if we allow liberal ideas to get behind the wheel. I'm not going to make this an anti-Obama post, but the more I study the policies of his potential administration the more convinced I am that his appeal feeds on our natural instinct of security, which we all too often associate with escaping consequences. Let me be clear, I'm not throwing my support for the other side of the aisle either. I have issues with them, as well, though they are for another discussion. The main idea that I hope to convey here is that responsibility is essential to maturity. The zeitgeist of the next generation may very well be mass juvenility.

The solution? Stop pandering to people's feelings. I'm not heartless, but I am realistic and I know from experience that character is not built by being satiated or appeased. Meaningful dispositions are the direct offspring of both failure and success. If we stop trying to protect or provide for everyone they'll eventually learn to protect or provide for themselves. This is not cruelty but a loving investment in that person's future; it is difficult to grab ahold of this life-line while drowning in the deluge of Generation-Have-It-Now. But are we strong enough to endure the interim between the fall and the rise? The long and short of this rant is that helping others is a decision for the individual, not for his or her government. I simply hold on to the hope that others with this knowledge will speak up. No bad idea ever destroyed as much as the good one not spoken (except maybe smashing atoms together in such a way that theoretical universe-devouring black holes could possibly form just to satisfy scientific curiosity).

For more information on the Statue of Responsibility visit: