The nine characteristics that are part of the FirstPLACE character education program taking place in Branson and Taney County are kind of like motherhood, waving the flag, and mom’s apple pie. How can anyone disagree with teaching our children, and in doing so perhaps remind ourselves, about the importance of things like respect, responsibility, citizenship, compassion/kindness, commitment, honesty, cooperation, perseverance, and self-discipline?
Yet as one looks at that list and acknowledges their importance to us as individuals and as a community one is reminded of the verse of scripture saying, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” In terms of the FirstPLACE character education program, as well as the reality of life itself, an Ole Seagull would paraphrase by saying, “But now respect, responsibility, citizenship, compassion/kindness, commitment, honesty, cooperation, perseverance, and self-discipline, abide these nine, but the greatest of these is responsibility.”
Granted, all nine are desirable traits and necessary if individuals are going to lead the kind of lives that will make them a blessing to others and themselves. Yet of the nine, an individual must consciously chose to be respectful, practice citizenship, be compassionate and kind, be committed, practice honesty, cooperate with others, persevere, or not, and be self disciplined. If the effort is not made the characteristic does not manifest itself.
Responsibility, taking ownership of what you say and do, on the other hand, is not a matter of choice. The responsibility to either act or not act and for the results of that action or inaction is an ever present reality of life. Oh sure, there is a choice of whether or not to act or behave in a certain way and whether or not one publicly accepts responsibility for what they say or do, or don’t say or do, but there is absolutely no choice in who owns the responsibility for what a person does or doesn’t do.
It was the initial failure of President Richard Nixon to accept responsibility for Watergate and Bill Clinton for his actions in the Monica Lewinski sex scandal that led to the resignation of one and the public disgrace of both. Why? Because whether or not they acknowledged it publicly, the responsibility for what they said or did or didn’t say or do was theirs. One can only wonder how different things would have been for them and our country if they had initially accepted the responsibility for their acts and had displayed the characteristics of honesty, self discipline, and respect instead of acting the way they did.
Young or old, child or adult, at one time or another we have all done something that we knew we shouldn’t have done. No one else knew what had been done wrong yet we knew. Most of us can recall how we felt and it wasn’t a good feeling.
Call it what you will, the fear of getting caught, punishment, embarrassment, etc., but an Ole Seagull calls it knowing that we are responsible for our actions. In the vast majority of cases, for one reason or another, almost to our relief, we eventually take “public” responsibility for our actions and life goes on. However, even in those cases where public responsibility is not taken the responsibility is still there exacting its price on our lives.
Responsibility is a two edged sword. One edge encourages us to actively take ownership of the character traits of respect, responsibility, citizenship, compassion/kindness, commitment, honesty, cooperation, perseverance, and self-discipline and make them an integral part of the way we live our lives. This equips puts us to do and say things that will be a blessing to those we love, our community and, in doing so, even to ourselves.
The other edge of responsibility reminds us of the fact that, good or bad, we will ultimately, either publicly or privately, intentionally or unintentionally take the ownership for everything we say or do. But now respect, responsibility, citizenship, compassion/kindness, commitment, honesty, cooperation, perseverance, and self-discipline, abide these nine, but the greatest of these is responsibility.
