an essay on responsibility
Answers
What is responsibility?
Responsibility is one of the traits of our character which means that a person is able to respond for his actions, is able to take some duties and to face certain consequences of the actions that may occur. Oxford dictionary defines responsibility as the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone.
Definitely, people are not born with the sense of responsibility and it does not appear at once by a magic clasp of the fingers. Responsibility is something every person should cultivate in themselves; it should become a part of one’s personality. Lack of such a trait of character or even its absolute absence was never considered to be a positive feature. When you are responsible it is easier to gain the respect of the people and to take decent place in a society.
Importance of responsibility
Someone’s irresponsibility can be not only irritating when a person does not cope or does not want to cope with the duties, but in some cases, it can be dangerous. There are certain kinds of jobs which demand from a personal responsibility, jobs where lack of responsibility can lead to tragic consequences or even to a catastrophe.
Let us imagine a situation when a student was to write an essay but he did not manage to complete this task in time. A professor would definitely call the student irresponsible. In this case, there is no damage from irresponsibility, except for the student’s personal harm. But let’s also imagine another situation. An employee of a Nuclear Power Plant was not attentive enough, pushed a wrong button and it led to an explosion. This catastrophe caused by lack of responsibility as terrible consequences, it can damage not only the environment but also can take people’s lives. Of course, these examples are exaggerated but the last one shows how much important responsibility is.
Social responsibility
Everything we were talking about is so-called personal responsibility. So, I think, it is important to mention social responsibility as well. Previously we discussed the meaning of citizenship. Now we can say that social responsibility is one of the components of citizenship, of relations between man and man in society. According to Wikipedia, social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. Social responsibility is important and plays a great role in every sphere of our life. So if we want to live in a prosperous and developing society, we all should be conscious not only about personal but also about social responsibility. Each member of a community has his own responsibilities and duties towards himself and towards others which he has to fulfill to keep the cooperative spirit and to keep a balance not only between people but also between people and nature.
Since the very childhood everyone has certain responsibilities: responsibilities in a family, at school, university, at work and so on. Everyone is expected to implement these responsibilities and their non-fulfillment proclaims disapproval and indignation. So each of us more or less understands what responsibility is, what we need it for, and why it is very important.
Every parent tries to raise the sense of responsibility in their child. While we are children, our parents are responsible for us and our personal and especially social responsibility are not that clearly visible or shown. But when we grow up, we take full responsibility for everything we do and for every our action. We can not just call our mother or father and make them solve our problems. So being an adult means being responsible for yourself. Of course, there are many levels of responsibility and they differ from person to person. Only you can decide what your level is, whether you are responsible or not.
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