Power inevitably leads to corruption unless it is tempered by Responsibility. There are two kinds of responsibility; one is far superior to the other. The first and best approach is an inside-out responsibility. One we feel every day, inside, which leads to outward actions. I love to see the few who have it on the basketball court. The guy who raises his hand when he fouls his opponent, calling for justice to be done, even when it was not seen by the authority figure (the ref). The other can also blatantly be seen in sports. When someone punches another athlete straight in the face, then looks around as if nothing happened, hoping that he doesn't get caught. This is outside-in responsibility, and it is far less effective. While these actions are sometimes horribly obvious in sports, and in other well publicized media heydays, their importance in everyday life has been somewhat lost. We shirk our work and pass it off to someone else. We blame our mistakes on anything we can, but all our successes were by our own actions. We allow officials who have not shown restraint to remain in office and spend our taxes (and considerably more than what they bring in). We cry out for more jobs, but don't take the risks ourselves to create them.
This principle has been lost in much of society, and we need to work to bring it back. Instead of shunning correction we must seek it. We must learn from the past, from our own and those of family, friends, fellow citizens and history. When we can no longer see the truth about ourselves, we are lost. Let us all stand and raise our hands and admit willingly: I did it. Whether by my action or inaction it was me. When we do so we not only improve ourselves, but our society. Take a stand!
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