Freedom and the Responsibility Gap
Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson, a Hawaiian couple, were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment upon arrival in Kauai in late November after ignoring instructions at the San Francisco airport not to board their flight after testing positive for COVID19. If found guilty, they will join countless other Americans who’ve displayed a reckless disregard for the impact of their behavior on others. Whether attending large parties, refusing to social distance or wear masks in crowded spaces, or knowingly exposing others, too many Americans have accelerated the devastation of this disease. Their defense: “This is America. I’m free!”
Such behavior has often been overlooked or sanctioned by authorities who insist that individual freedom combined with personal responsibility is the best approach in a free society. Yet many ignore the personal responsibility part of that equation, either ignorant or uncaring of their impact on others. The tension between freedom and responsibility exists in every society, but America’s cultural DNA can foster a dangerous imbalance.
In the Declaration of Independence, the words “rights,” “liberty” and “freedom” appear 15 times. In the Constitution, they appear 20 times. The word “responsibility” appears in neither. Try to say “free” or “freedom” with any of the following words, and then do the same with “responsible” or “responsibility.” See which sounds more natural: religious, bear arms, economic, society, market, press, protest and political. The 2020 Supreme Court case striking down limits on in-person worship services as a violation of religious freedom, for example, never used the word “responsibility” or directly spoke to the need for responsible behavior among those who sponsor or attend such services.
Freedom is a precious good. It has built a nation, a high standard of living and fostered an explosion of cultural, business, social and political innovation. Yet when freedom was not paired with responsibility we have decimated our Native American population, enslaved and discriminated against African Americans, polluted the environment, left workers to fend for themselves in a global economy, and caused millions to struggle without adequate income, nutrition or health care. The spread of COVID19 and its high death tool is but the latest example.
“Responsibility” entered modern usage around 1590 in France, where it meant “answerable.” Its other meanings today include accountable, obligated to, reliable, and dependable. Of course, despite news reports of scandalous, irresponsible behavior, responsibility is alive and well in many parts of American life. Two examples make this point. In the pandemic, the behavior of first responders, nurses, physicians, food workers, many business owners and all those Americans whose behavior signals that they know they have a responsibility to others attests to this. So too did the actions of poll workers, state election officials and judges in securing the accuracy of our elections and protecting the health of our democracy.
Though the word does not appear, “responsibility” IS implied in our founding documents. Too many just don’t see that and what it means for them. The healthy government that our founders sought to establish cannot exist – and protect freedom - without responsibility. In the Declaration, the signers understood that all governments have a responsibility to preserve freedom and answer to the “consent of the governed.” It catalogued the irresponsible behavior of a king, clearly holding him and future leaders of this nation accountable. The signers also pledged “our lives, our fortunes and our Sacred Honor,” attesting to the obligation they felt to the project of nationhood. In the Constitution, obligations, accountability and the duty of being answerable are embedded in the roles of each branch of government, the ways they interact, and on each official who takes the oath of office.
What seems missing in America is not the notion of responsibility but more widespread practice of it – and more consequences – “answerability” - for those who act irresponsibly. Another example illustrates this. Proposals to forgive large amounts of federal student debt are justified by the need to free these students from their obligations so that they can more productively participate in growing the economy. Yet nothing is to be asked of these students, who freely took out loans. This fails to foster responsibility in them at the same time that it signals to those who have responsibly paid their loans that they would have been better off waiting.
The late ethicist Rushworth Kidder said a healthy society avoids two extremes. One is excessive reliance on laws, which eliminates choice and chokes off innovation. It says what you cannot do. The other extreme is license, characterized by unbridled freedom where selfishness rules. It tells everyone that whatever they want to do they can do. The middle way is the region of ethical behavior. It requires what Kidder calls inner restraint. The behavior that comes with such restraint is the heart of responsibility. It requires us to think about what we should do.
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being.” Eleanor Roosevelt said. “With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”
Photo Credit: janiceellis.com
