What responsibility do we’ve for what we create? This is a question that’s been asked again and again since the dawn of mankind. We build and create things. We shape clay into pots and hammers, pieces of wood into furniture or houses, and in the process we shape our universe. The question of social responsibility for what we create is such an essential part of our being that it’s permeated language. Even the word CREATE is an ancient term for someone being “responsible” for something.
You Are What You Do
You’re what you do.
You’re what you eat.
Two very common phrases, both suggesting that we’re defined by what we do, not just what we think or say. Of course, we can be defined by our thoughts and words, but ultimately it’s our actions that show us who we really are.
Every Action You Take Has Consequences, Both Good and Bad
Think about the actions you’ve done throughout your life.
Have You Considered the Possible Consequences?
Think of a time when you did something good for someone else and it made you feel good. That’s an example of a good consequence. Think of a situation where you did something bad to someone and they felt sad as a result. That’s an example of a bad consequence.
Everything You Create Has an Impact
The things you create have an impact on the rest of society. Just as you plant a seed, it’ll grow and turn into something else and affect the world around it. Therefore, as creators, we need to think about the big picture and be aware of how our creations can affect people on a larger scale.
So what does this mean for us? It means that the choices we make in creating something are largely based on our own moral compass.
For example, if your goal is to create an app that helps people sleep better at night, you’ll probably spend a lot of time thinking about how to design the app to deliver a positive outcome (i.e., more sleep).
However, you may not think too much before creating something – for example, if your goal is just to get likes or comments on social media!
That’s not necessarily wrong – it’s just important to be aware of what we’re creating because it’s an impact on others: What starts as a small thing can have unintended consequences when other people use it.
Make the World a Better and Safer Place
You can help make the world a better and safer place for future generations by doing something that’s in the best interest of the younger generations that will follow you.
You don’t have to be at the top of a company to take corporate social responsibility and have a greater environmental impact and create the right modern technology to help humanity.
Of course, corporate social responsibility is very common in the United States, to make a difference at a larger scale because companies have employees and scientists who can work full time to reduce the use of natural resources, for example.
Individual Responsibility
As a human being and a citizen, you have the individual responsibility and power to do the right thing and take action by reducing the negative impact on human life.
For example, you can help make the world a better and safer place for future generations by taking the right actions with the right ethics.
Think of young people like your little brother or sister, your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
They’re the next generation of human action and they’re the ones who have the moral responsibility to preserve the freedom of humanity and its basic needs and to build the society of tomorrow.
Related: How Do Freedom and Responsibility Go Side by Side.
Moral Responsibility
Your moral responsibility is to make the world a better and safer place for their future generations by helping them build a better society that’s in their best interest.
People’s lives will depend on them, and it’s your responsibility how you teach them good ethics and contribute to their education because what you tell them today is likely to have a positive or negative impact on their welfare and behavior.
It’s easy to get caught up in the lure of money, personal freedom, and status. But when you consider the long-term benefits, keep in mind that your work will be remembered, while your name will likely be forgotten. The people who live in your grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s world may not remember you by name, but they’ll remember what you did for them.
As the world becomes more densely populated, it’s important to make choices that will ensure future generations have a place to call home. Climate change, pollution, resource depletion, and land grabs are just a few of the many threats facing our planet. The choices you make can have a real impact on how your children and grandchildren will deal with global crises in the future.
It’s not enough to weigh the immediate costs and benefits of every decision you make. It’s more effective to think of your children and grandchildren when you make an important decision so that you think long term and not short term.
Part of Humanity
You’re part of humanity and as such you bear individual responsibility as a citizen for the direction humanity will take.
All people have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has a long history, and it’s part of your personal responsibility and legacy to preserve it. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.
Human rights are inalienable from the moment we’re born. All young people should be aware of it, regardless of their nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, or another status. Human rights are indivisible and interdependent – they depend on each other and together form a system that works for all of us.
You Aren’t Always Responsible for What Happens to Others
Let’s say a friend sends you a script and asks you to read it and give him feedback. You tell your friend that certain jokes are in poor taste, but he says, “I wouldn’t have written them if I didn’t think people would like them.” That’s not your fault. If someone made a decision but didn’t take personal responsibility for it, they can blame you all they want, but that doesn’t change the fact that the moral responsibility was theirs alone.
You Aren’t Always Responsible for What Happens to You
If someone is rude or disrespectful to you, it doesn’t mean you deserve rudeness in that situation or ever again. You don’t have to take individual responsibility for things that aren’t your fault!
Reap What You Sow
The reality is that people who act out of greed, ignorance, and selfishness will reap what they’ve sown. We support their actions by behaving similarly.
The greedy person may make a lot of money in the short term because they don’t think about the long-term effects. But that also means that we as a nation will suffer if our actions negatively affect many other people.
The ignorant person who doesn’t think about others will be very lonely if others don’t care about him either, and his wealth or power won’t last forever if no one supports him.
A selfish person can get what he wants in a certain situation, but then have no friends and no good opportunities when everyone else has left that situation behind.
If you’re willing to commit to your ethics, then you’ll have many occasions during your life when those ethics become too much of a challenge for other people, and you’ll succeed as a result.
Direct and Indirect Impacts
Your actions can affect people and the planet directly, or indirectly through other people’s choices.
You can influence people and the planet directly or indirectly.
Our actions can affect people and the planet either directly or indirectly through the decisions of other people. There are two ways you can affect people and the planet:
- Directly, by acting on them yourself.
- Indirectly, through the decisions of other people
The impact of our actions on other people and the planet can be positive or negative. Our actions can also have both positive and negative impacts.
For example, when we drive our car to a friend’s house, we pollute the atmosphere by emitting greenhouse gasses. But we may also have fun when we’re at our friend’s house, contributing positively to her well-being.
In this case, both impacts are direct. We harm the environment by driving ourselves, but we do something good for our friend by visiting her.
They can also be indirect, meaning they depend on what other people do in response to our actions. For example, if you give your friend a bicycle for Christmas, he won’t have to drive his car next year. By doing so, he reduces his contribution to climate change (which you may never see), and he may (occasionally) enjoy a better quality of life!
Be Kind to Others and the World Will Be Kind to You
The world is a big, scary place. It can be easy to become cynical and believe that no one cares about us or our little lives. It’s easy to become jaded. But there are many people out there who are doing their best to make sure they’re kind to others and the world around them.
You’ll find that you only have to do one thing to be happy: Do your best to be kind every day.
Being kind doesn’t mean opening your wallet or giving away your time – it just means being considerate of those around you and taking care of yourself and your planet so that everyone can live on it for as long as possible.
After all, we’re not alone: we’re all on this planet together, trying our best together.
Everyone needs help sometimes! Be the person who helps others when they need it most – and I guarantee that if you do it for others, someone will do it for you when you need it! You’ll have an impact on another person’s life without even knowing it!