Finding Your "Response" In Responsibility

The Responsibility Poem

There was a most important job that needed to be done,
And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none.
But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask
Is who exactly will it be who'll carry out the task?
Anybody could have told you that Everybody knew
That this was something Somebody would surely have to do.
Nobody was unwilling; Anybody had the ability.
But Nobody believed that it was their responsibility.
It seemed to be a job that Anybody could have done,
If Anybody thought he was supposed to be the one.
But since Everybody recognized that Anybody could,
Everybody took for granted that Somebody would.
But Nobody told Anybody that we are aware of,
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of.
And Nobody took it on himself to follow through,
And do what Everybody thought that Somebody would do.
When what Everybody needed so did not get done at all,
Everybody was complaining that Somebody dropped the ball.
Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame,
And Everybody looked around for Somebody to blame.
Somebody should have done the job
And Everybody should have,
But in the end Nobody did
What Anybody could have.

-Charles Osgood

Charles Osgood, often referred to as CBS News' poet-in-residence, has been anchor of "CBS News Sunday Morning" since 1994. He also anchors and writes "The Osgood File," his daily news commentary broadcast on the CBS Radio Network.

I have color coded the people in the poem to make it easier to break down the meaning. Perhaps answering a series of questions can help solve any comprehension problems you might have as these characters appear multiple times. This exercise may also spark some discussion about theme.

1. Who did Everybody say would "surely" have to do the task?

2. Why didn't Nobody do the task?

3. Who had the "ability" to do the task?

4. Who did Everybody "take for granted" would do the task?

5. Who did Everybody complain was responsible for "dropping the ball"?

6. In the end, what two people should have done the task?

7. In the end, who did the task that Anybody could have done?


Everyone Wants It


Blog author Jonathan Fields writes about the fact he hears everyone say they want change. He gives several good examples. Fields says,

"People want a better economy, but nobody’s willing to share in the financial hit it’ll take to get us back on track.

"People want better schools, but nobody wants to rock the system, the unions, the teachers, the role of parents.

"People want lower health care costs, but nobody wants to endure the changes to medicine, law and bureaucracy it’ll take to get it.

"People want lower insurance, but nobody wants to adopt the changes in lifestyle and behavior that’ll drive it."

(Jonathan Fields, "Everyone Wants Better, No One Wants Change," www.jonathanfields.com, 2012)

In his blog entry, Fields makes two important conclusions:

(1)  Everyone wants to own the result, nobody wants to own the process.

(2) A leader is someone who is willing to own not just the result, but the process.

Responsibility is often viewed lightly. Everybody, in good faith, says they want to be responsible for doing the right thing. However, being responsible for the process to complete any necessary task or being responsible for the process to effect needed change requires tremendous personal commitment and dogged determination. Some find they can't take the responsibility for the process because they lack the will required for full commitment; they limit their fulfillment of commitment to the bounds of their own minds and consciences. They love to say, "I'm with you," shake your hand, and part.

In other words, when many people say, "I will be responsible for this," they mouth their pledge to join the bandwagon that supports completion of the act, but they look past the hard work they must personally do in the process of achieving the act, preferring, instead, to share in any rewards of achieving a positive result.

I have seen this occur time and time again in many groups. Everyone agrees a cause is worthy, and the group must commit to action. There is work to be done. Then, in the minds of some individuals in the group, doubt begins to cast long shadows. Some members decide to cheer lead and not process because of the following excuses:

* This problem is just too big to tackle for me, besides someone else in the group will do it.

* I don't have the time right now to do anything about the problem. I'll get to it someday.

* I've thought about this problem more, and I just can't see the harm in letting it go for awhile.

* I'm not really affected by this problem, so why should I bust my tail to help?

To be fully responsible, we must "buy" the process and we must take ownership of the results. We cannot expect good results unless we apply our best efforts while working toward completion. If we work hard and the result isn't good, then we must examine our mistakes, modify our process, and rededicate ourselves to believing in the new process and carrying it out to a better completion.

When someone says, "I want to help," I find myself wondering whether the statement means "want" is the limitation of the conviction or whether "want" and "help" represent personal commitments necessary for full responsibility. Too often people say, "I've been meaning to..." or "I like what you guys are doing" or "I hope things turn out." It is plain to see why more doesn't get accomplished -- we have grown complacent as we pass buck after buck.

The End of Responsibility?

“If everyone cleaned their own doorstep, we’d have a clean world” - Goethe Where does your responsibility end? Have you ever considered the limits you place on being responsible for what is happening right around you every day of their lives? I think every person’s dignity demands that he or she contribute to the freedom and dignity of others. Without getting into a heady philosophical discussion about moral agency and or pinning all responsibility on a divine entity, consider your own reality for a change. Responsibility demands that you place a particular burden of obligation upon yourself that includes the obligations to be reliable and dependable. Journalist Gerald Johnson once said, "No man was ever endowed with a right without being at the same time saddled with a responsibility." Responsibility makes you accountable for your actions and encourages you to live an honorable life. If a burden becomes detachable, it is easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. You simply deny it. TYPES OF RESPONSIBILITY 1. Moral Responsibility By caring, protecting, and helping, you're being accountable for treating other people justly and fairly, for honoring other living things, and for being environmentally aware. 2. Legal Responsibility By obeying laws and ordinances of your community, state, and country, you live within the accepted rules of a society. If there's a law you believe is outdated, discriminatory, or unfair, you can work to change, improve, or eliminate it. 3. Family Responsibility When you treat your parents, siblings, and other relatives with love and respect, you show your responsibility to family. This could include following your family's rules, and doing chores and duties at home. 4. Community Responsibility As a part of the community, you're responsible for treating others as you want to be treated, for participating in community activities and decisions, and for being an active, contributing citizen. 5. Responsibility to Customs, Traditions, Beliefs, and Rules These responsibilities might come from your family, your community, your heritage, or your faith. 6. Personal Responsibility It's up to you to become a person of good character. Ultimately, no one else is to blame for your shortcomings. ACCEPTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Failing to accept personal responsibility results in negative consequences. This can make you fearful about taking a risk, overly dependent on others for recognition, unable to trust or security with others, and chronically hostile at the way others treat you. James J Messina, PhD, cites the following as things that must be done to accept personal responsibity: 1. Acknowledging that you are solely responsible for the choices in your life. 2. Realizing that you determine your feelings about any events or actions addressed to you, no matter how negative they seem. 3. Recognizing that as you enter adulthood and maturity, you determine how your self-esteem will develop. 4. Not feeling sorry for the "bum deal" you have been handed but taking hold of your life and giving it direction and reason. 5. Letting go of your sense of over responsibility for others. 6. Taking an honest inventory of your strengths, abilities, talents, virtues and positive points. 7. Letting go of blame and anger toward those in your past who did the best they could, given the limitations of their knowledge, background and awareness. 8. Pointing the finger of responsibility back to yourself and away from others when you are discussing the consequences of your actions. Where then, ideally, does your responsibility end? That depends upon the type of person you want to become. No one can control fateful circumstances; however, the devout, dutiful, responsible people will overextend themselves to carry necessary burdens when others won't. Maybe they are not bound to accept all of these obligations, but they sense duty when others choose to ignore it. Pearl Buck once called duty "the other side of rights." Another writer said that duty is "what is expected from others." Duty provides you with liberty. After all, you are a part of the problem and a part of the solution. No person can exist as an island of pure self interest. And, in turn, no person can successfully deny blame by pushing the problem away. The irresponsible believe one person cannot make a difference. This excuse infects the "finger pointers" and the "I told you so's." Before long, a Blame Game Epidemic results as thousands (millions) find an easy scapegoat. Your responsibility must sense no end, only adjust itself to any given situation in which you find yourself. As you breathe, speak, and walk through numbered days, you present your true self, and not a front for others, that encourages everyone you meet to be responsible. Surely, success will follow. God has entrusted you with yourself. Slackers will always be a part of society. Do you complain continually about them or do you find yourself doing your share to correct this as one of your own concerns? A good unattributed quote to remember: "I must do something" always solves more problems than "Something must be done."