[Ailist] Positive Core of America

Mon Mar 9 12:23:09 MST 2009

Responsibility, personal responsibility, will only occur when people
recognize that they are responsible for their own actions AND that they must
be accountable for the results of those actions. 

AND, also, that they are responsible for lack of action.

We have become a population that shirks personal responsibility, we are
always looking for someone else to blame for the negative results of our own
actions:

		Overweight? It's the fault of fast food restaurants.
		Smoke cigarettes? It's the fault of the tobacco companies.
		Unsafe driving habits? Force the car companies to add
"safety features".
		Drive drunk? It's the fault of the bartender for serving you
what you asked for.
		You took out a mortgage that's way beyond your means to
repay? Let the taxpayers pay for it.
		You granted loans to people with poor, or no, credit
worthiness? Let the government bail you out.
		And, on and on and on.

Why take personal responsibility when you can blame someone else and sue
them in court?

As a child, I was surrounded by relative that had the attitude, and
repeatedly made the statements: "Why should I have to _______?" "Why can't
someone else ______?" Fill in the blanks. It didn't matter what was needed.

It was not possible to explain why people, good people, help others. Why it
is a responsibility.

No "Statue of Responsibility", no matter where it comes from, can explain to
people the meaning of responsibility, or force them to accept responsibility
for their actions.

What we need to do, and this is very politically incorrect, is to begin
teaching responsibility to our children and force our "business leaders" and
government representatives to be examples of accepting responsibility for
your actions.

Michael L Schwartz, PE, PMP
President
Positive Concepts, Inc.
Phone: 248 828 7701
Fax: 248 828 7708
Email: MSchwartz at PositiveConcepts.biz
Web: www.PositiveConcepts.biz

Enhancing the positive.

-----Original Message-----
From: ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu
[mailto:ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Roger Davies
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 9:12 AM
To: 'Lionel Boxer'; rreilly at alcor.concordia.ca;
ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: RE: [Ailist] Positive Core of America

Hi Lionel,

A very good observation and no one good answer. Some would probably take it
seriously and others would probably deride it. These das even if it was
gifted from outside there would be some political suspicion attached to it.
But to have something out there to point to and emphasize the importance of
responsibility might be a very good thing. 

It might be argued that it has to come from within. Responsibility, after
all, is something that we take personally from within. The only person that
can make us act (responsibly or otherwise) is ourself.

I believe that most people will try to act responsibly if they feel that
their decision, choice, or opinion matters. That they will be listened to
and treated fairly as a human being. It has no connection with any given
belief system, level of intelligence or any other factor that one may wish
to stratify society by. It is, in my opinion, rooted to the human being's
ability to reflect on their actions. 

Incidentally one founding principles of the US was that of religious
tolerance. If parts of the US have outlawed the 10 commandments that has no
more bearing upon how responsible those people are than those parts of the
US that insist on the 10 commandments.

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu
[mailto:ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Lionel Boxer
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 5:18 AM
To: rreilly at alcor.concordia.ca; ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: RE: [Ailist] Positive Core of America

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France in response to the behaviour of
the United States of America in their pursuit of Liberty.  As such that icon
has a great deal of meaning.  For a corresponding Statue of Responsibility
to have similar iconic significance it would need to be gifted in a similar
way from outside.

I wonder.  Would a a Statue of Responsiblity paid for by public subscription
from within the United States of America be taken seriously/  Would it even
be noticed?

The foundation on which the behaviour of the United States of America that
resulted in the gift of the Statue of Liberty was based on principles such
as "IN GOD WE TRUST".  That positive core may be gone; The Ten Commandments
have been outlawed in parts of the United States of America.  Based on that
alone I wonder if there is any sense of responsibility anywhere in the
United States of America and I would suggest that any self-errected Statue
of Responsiblity would be at best wishful thinking.

However, Victor Frankl was another great gift to the people of the United
States of America - and the world.  I suppose since it was his idea there is
some merit in such a symbolic gesture.

Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256 Associate of RMIT
University - lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au Graduate School of Business my
"Assessment of Quality Systems with Positioning Theory" 
now in a googe book - see link at http://intergon.net
>>> Rosemary Reilly <rreilly at alcor.concordia.ca> 07/03/09 6:08 AM >>>

That is why I have recommended in America that in addition to the Statue of
Liberty on the East Coast, there should be the Statue of Responsibility on
the West Coast. As for the pursuit of happiness: The more we make it a
target, the more widely we miss. Happiness is, and will always remain, the
unintended effect of meaningful activity.

Victor Frankl (1905 - 1997)

Very appropriate for AI work. And, by the way, there is a foundation working
to build the Statue of Responsibility on the US West coast by 2010.
_______________________________________________
The Appreciative Inquiry Discussion List is hosted by the David Eccles
School of Business at the University of Utah. Jack Brittain is the list
administrator. For subscription information, go to:
http://mailman.business.utah.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/ailist

_______________________________________________
The Appreciative Inquiry Discussion List is hosted by the David Eccles
School of Business at the University of Utah. Jack Brittain is the list
administrator. For subscription information, go to:
http://mailman.business.utah.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/ailist