Responsibility and Action

[Guest guest]

As usual, this group has said a mouthful today.

 

And as you stated, much of what we have said is the " same thing " , with an accent

on slightly different semantics. That comes from our personal perceptions more

than a different meaning, IMO.

 

I am always intrigued by what people feel is " right action " . In some cases that

may mean inaction, in some cases something bordering on jihad (holy war). There

are myriad bases of operations in between. I think that this is where people

work

most from their conscience and their moral/religious background, what they feel

is

right action and what they feel is wrong action. Unfortunately, we do not live

in

a single-minded world, and there is often conflict between the basic convictions

of one person and the next, as well as the way they will act upon their

convictions.

 

We see this all the time in the " unanswerable " questions of ethics and ethical

behavior; while there are some general basics that most everyone agrees upon,

there are also many that are polar opposites in opinion... right to life v.

right

to choose, for instance, or capital punishment, sexual preference, even family

planning and divorce. In some of these cases, never the twain shall meet.

 

I still feel that it is of utmost importance that we find out what our base

motivations are for our convictions, so that we can have a clearer idea of what

" right action " entails. It may be that our " right action " conflicts with the

society we live in... what then? I am not talking about vengeance, retaliation,

here... something more basic, like freedom of speech, or rights of self

determination.

 

I don't need a formal answer on list, but consider several scenarios, and think

about what is " right action " to you:

 

-Your neighbor's dog bites your child.

-Your teen daughter is pregnant from a rape.

-You develop a chronic illness from a medication.

-Your mate strikes you, or your child.

-Your only son is drafted.

-You discover your employer discriminates.

-You are cheated in a business deal.

-Your mate dies in a vehicular accident (think of both sides... if your mate was

the DUI, or the victim of another DUI driver)

 

In most of these cases there are several courses of action, and you may find

yourself in a dilemma after the first rush of adrenaline, with its urge to

retaliate, flushes through you. So, what will you choose? I don't believe that

we

can truly be said to lack responsibility for our actions, simply because someone

did something to us first. However, I also believe that there are times when

inaction can be inappropriate, even dangerous, for our physical safety and our

emotional wellbeing.

 

What you said, Ray, about the 13th Warrior is telling in more ways than one...

in

that tale Iben has a shift in his perception of " right action " , and the warrior

spirit in him comes through when he needs it. If he had been asked, at another

time, he would have probably denied such a thing was possible. Have you read

Angeles Arrien's " Four Fold Way " ? Warrior, Teacher, Healer and Visionary... all

are valid and necessary paths, sometimes at various stages of our lives,

sometimes

at various times of the day!

 

Blessings,

Crow

" Look for Rainbows in the Darkness "

 

> Ray said:

>

> To me the damage is done by people attempting to take responsibility for

> events they could not have possibly prevented and by people who refuse to

> take responsibility for the ones that they should.

>

> There's a scene in The Thirteenth Warrior where Iben, Antonio Banderas'

> character, is trying to convince the Norse Chieftan that he shouldn't allow

> one of the warriors to fight a duel. " He could be killed! " The Chieftan

> calmly replies, " That is possible. " What strikes me is the difference in

> their unsaid words.

>