Partly, because the students I'm working with this summer reached new heights in collectively not taking responsibility for their actions this weekend, and therefore I had to do the not-so-fun part of my job and hold them accountable, which neither I nor them enjoyed too much. It makes me wonder whether sometimes we just simply fail to understand what our roles are, or maybe we just lack the communication skills to really convey what each one of us is supposed to do in society, in our jobs, etc. Or maybe it's a cultural gap, or maybe it was just a bad day.
But the question remains...how do we learn to be responsible? Is it something that our parents teach us? Something we learn by intereacting with others? Something that we fail at time and time again until we just simply don't want to feel bad anymore so start doing what we're supposed to? Is it something that comes with adulthood...that we are simply responsible so that we can be seen as professional and successful, to avoid things like getting fired or failing? What is it? Does it come from religion? Ethics? Culture? Fear? A sense of ownership or obligation?
I could probably read up a little on human psychology and sociology and get my answer fairly quickly. But it just seems to be one of those things that triggers so many problems...if people were just responsible than we could fix so many problems...if people were just responsible, would we have crime? ...if people were just responsible, so many jobs would be made easier. if people were more responsible...
But then, my sense of what responsibility may be different than yours. Plenty of people don't feel they are responsible for any of the world ills and therefore have no perogative to make a difference. Others don't feel responsible for anyone but themselves and those they care about...not their neighbors, much less anyone around the world. Most of my students are fully willing to place the blame on someone else, let one of the others fail, or simply not cooperate if they're doing what they think is right. While everyone here sees them as a cohesive group...they certainly are not as they appear. They feel very little responsibility for each other beyond their own little groups. And I'm sure I'm not so different.
I've been reading Patrick Callahan's Logics of American Foreign Policy today. It lays out in clear terms, the various strains of foreign policy that have existed in America since 1776. We're talking isolationism, realism, liberalism, liberal internationalism, and radical anti-imperialism - all movements/strategies/policies that have shaped our nation in one way or another, and serve as the foundational conclusions that all foreign policy players start with when they make decisions about our nation's foreign policies. And these theories all speak profoundly to the question of responsibility in the American government and the world.
If I stood up and said: "the US has a responsibility to be a champion of international cooperation, fair trade, diplomacy rather than war, human rights and aid to third world countries" I would be speaking almost blasphemously to an isolationist or even a realist about what the United States' responsibility is in the world. Simply because their conclusions are radically different than my own about what the US should and should not do. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that each of these deals with the question of how much responsibility the US has for itself in relation to the world in a pretty clear way.
Why not close one nation off from others' problems by fiercely protecting one's own interests, detering war and refusing to get involved in outside conflicts, and only being as friendly as far as to protect yourself? It certainly seems a lot safer. And hey, it's still moral - you're refusing to involve your nation in wars that could be injust! you're refusing to be diplomatic or make treaties with nations or leaders who commit terrible atrocities (mostly because you make very few treaties period to perserve your nation's autonomy). It's also good for the American people, focusing on domestic problems, bringing justice to American towns and cities, keeping American economics strong by keeping out all those pesty agreements that other countries need to have trade.
Or heck, why not go with the realist strain...why be responsible to the UN, the UN isn't effective, powerful, or ultimately helpful in most matters why should we put our work into building it up when it works against us and brushes up against our sovereignty most of the time anyway? We'll just keep up the balance of power in this world ourselves, through whatever means we deem necessacary - whether it be negotiating specific diplomatic or economic agreements, building up our nuclear arsenal, or going to war. We are responsible for our nation and protecting our people and that is all, and whatever it takes to get to that end is our obligation.
Or maybe, the US is instead responsible for everything in the world. Maybe, whether we like it or not, we simply have to take on the job of world policeman to stop conflicts that the corrupt, selfish, and violent simply wouldn't stop. We have to be the ones to set the example economically because otherwise it wouldn't work right, and obviously we have to do all of this stuff so that we as Americans can continue to live and work as we like - with all of the economic, military, and cultural security that we hold dear. And plus, we're the modern world's first democracy, who better to do this? Any allegations of bullying or heavy-handeness or injustice are simply not taking into account that we are working for the common good of everyone! The world just can't see the truth.
Or maybe our first job is simply to promote liberty whether the world likes it not Free trade, Democracy and Human Rights are good for everyone...and even if it hurts our nation at times, as long as we maintain enough power we must do our job. And hey, we can definitely maintain power for a good cause such as saving the world from itself.
Or maybe, we're supposed to promote liberty in a way that it is congenial to the international community. Because international law has been created in conversation with the nations of the world, our policies must be in line with those treaties and guidelines. We must also be an active about international cooperation through the UN and other international institutions. And we must always remember that we must lead without dominating, but that we must contribute postively to the world our power affords us signifcant leadership around the globe. Oh, and when the American people ask why we have to do all this stuff, we obviously just have to appeal to their sense of responsibility to humanity and the world...
And as long as the American people's starting conclusions are the same as ours, we have no problem right?
I think I have a headache.
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