Individual Responsibility to Society
As humans, we have the capability of creating beautiful works of art. Leonardo da Vinci was most well known for the Mona Lisa. Vincent Van Gogh created the Starry Night. Johannes Vermeer made Girl with a Pearl Earing and Milchelangelo with the Sistine Chapel. These are just a few works admired by millions if not billions as works that could have only been completed by intellectuals. People flock from around the world for an opportunity to see such talent on display not recognizing that they themselves are artist in nature. A mosaic of people of many colors defined by many different types of pieces trying to figure out how to best fit into a pattern we call community. What makes any work of art a masterpiece is not just putting imagination on to canvass but the ability to carefully choose the colors, manage those colors, stay within the lines, and holding themselves accountable to every paint stroke made.
Carefully Choosing the Colors
The world is a complexed series of problems on a canvass designed by many colors. Those many colors are the people within a community that cross intersect to make one complete picture. Within those colors are a mixture of ingredients that make up the shades that if not monitored, causes imperfections in the final work: unemployment, political violence, poverty, and ecological disasters all of which exist but dependent on the skill of the painter get overlooked despite being the things we should care about the most. What makes these problems so complexed is how they intersect one another on the canvass as colors mix. The more paint that is applied to the canvass and the more colors that are chosen, the more they become entangled and more difficult to manage. While some may go unphased by the harsh chemicals, it does not go unnoticed that the mixtures cause reprehensible results which if corrected early enough has a new unique perspective to the picture but if left unaddressed, could in worst case destroy the work and waste the time spent developing it.
For those viewing our painting - our community, what perspective are we providing to them? The actions of individuals within our community gives sanction to the viewer of the art to determine which color is most relevant. It also allows any viewer to pose the questions of “Are any of these colors important to me, If I were the artist, what colors would I have chosen instead, and what does the entire picture mean to me? We based these questions on cultural values and beliefs which helps us answering fundamental questions to what colors one chooses to focus on or find most appealing. In a 2007 journal on the study of Youth Sense of Community: Voice and Power In Community Context, Scot Evans (Author) concludes the importance of adolescents involvement in community affairs. In this study, youth express their views of their society and what matters to them citing while they have a high interest in contributing, “…teenagers are often unequipped and under supported to participate fully and feel like they are making meaningful contributions to society.” Teens themselves are of a separate color on the pallet that is often ignored or given equal consideration especially those young people “who are disadvantaged or members of minority groups” (S. Evans, 2007).
Both teens and adults have a similar set of values and that has evolved throughout history a system of governance that selects values and beliefs based on those most shared. This governing is imposed on the people as the “Rule of Law” (J. Hart, 2014). The theory behind the rule of law is designed to govern the decorum of the people within a society that are fair and equitable. This system throughout history has not been perfect but in the description of democracy, has stood through the test of time by its foundational principles of governing by the people with majority rule and with ultimate authority from its people. This is important to our societal canvass as we are essentially giving the colors that make up the painting the power to choose what is considered out of bounds or outside the lines of the painting we intend on creating.
Within a democratic society is the creation of government systems and within that, courts. The purpose of these courts is to take a common set of beliefs and values and implement them into law to protect people from other people. Originally designed to be judicial in nature, western society courts have progressed into an inclusive affair where the public through concepts of faith become involved in the decision making of what is socially acceptable. The involvement of people that are governed included the “participation in local law enforcement and administration (as sheriffs, JPs and constables) or juries (grand and petty) and, indeed, in parliament itself (as lawmakers) …” (J. Hart JR, 2014). This invited society to buy into an idea of shared responsibility and “…the commitment to the traditional means and methods of English government. The United States continues to maintain the concept of shared responsibility through government practice in the appointments of peace officers of similar title at a local level, judges and magistrates at all levels, and the election of congressional and senatorial positions for both state and federal level. Collectively, the bodies of these entities collaborate with the communities in which they serve to solve complexed quality of life issues. To be effective, they all must make a commitment to enforcing laws in an equal and equitable manner.
The principles of a societal occupied justice system are not just for the purposes of societal cohesion but too personal gain. In a free society, people are afforded the right to explore financial independence through entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial ventures invite innovation which as a byproduct also invites competitors to steal the ideas of one to make it their own. Individuals of society are sought to play roles in the civil judicial system to protect the rights of intellect that contribute to economic growth. Civil judicial courts as defined by Glenn Hubbard and Patrick O’Brien in “Macroeconomics” are independent courts who make decisions free of influence from any other portion of the government, governed people who have connections to political influence or any person who intimidates by criminal gang. These courts are expected to be used to make decisions based solely on law.
The legal protections of our society are lines on our canvass we have chosen to remain in to maintain order. These same lines are what society collectively create through majority vote and like the practice of artist leading to a perfect masterpiece, we are continuing to improve upon. When we work outside the lines it lends opportunity to anarchy, unrest, and disorder. This is the paint finding its way away from the canvass, splattered throughout the room in places it should never belong. As a society, working collectively, we can paint a beautiful work of art. The best direction is to embrace each color to help complement one another and, in some cases, create new colors.
Accountability to Every Paint Stroke
Some of the colors used in paintings share similar tones. What is a simple brown can be changed to a lighter or darker form of brown. We recognize these slight variations as a family of tones. A color that is mixed into another loses its identity as one color and becomes a totally different color. As it pertains to civic responsibility, we see this happen when it comes to influence on youth. According to the study of Youth Sense of Community: Voice and Power in Community Context (S. Evans, 2007), people demonstrate a higher interest in personal responsibility and accountability when they are introduced to civics and politics at an adolescent age. Youth not only have a higher interest in civics but to are “…more likely to consider public interest an important life goal when their families emphasized an ethic of social responsibility (S. Evans, 2007). When there is an absence of influence from family, there are plenty of replacements today through technology that fill the void that shapes the views of teens. Social media and online content are huge replacements that manipulate the values and beliefs in teens as they become adults.
Youth are encouraged to engage in civic programs like student body councils and Mayor Youth Council (MYC) which help them with problem solving and understand the necessity of community partnership for the greater good of all within the community. Engaging in civic government programs, teens have positions of power bestowed upon them. In Evans study, he concluded that when this power is gained, they are more conscience of their personal responsibility to the community. The students in the study also expressed their want to better their communities after becoming aware of inequalities within and outside of their own communities “revealing how their opportunities to play meaningful roles promote their developing sense of social responsibility to the agency.”
As a society working collectively, we can paint a beautiful work of art. The best direction is to embrace each color to help complement one another and, in some cases, create new colors. As contributing colors to the painting, we have a voice to influence the significance of our own color within the painting governed by the rule of law where the colors on the canvass dictate what is fair and just. When we say, “The system isn’t fair,” The question that we should ask ourselves is: “How are we contributing to it?” To create a picture we want others to see, we must become involved. We must find a way to carefully put our color on to the canvass, staying within the lines and holding ourselves accountable for the strokes we make. Are we becoming a part of the painting as designed, or are we fighting against it?
Evans, S. D. (2007). Youth sense of community: Voice and power in community contexts. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(6), 693–709. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20173
Hart, J. S. (2003). The Rule of Law, 1603-1660: Crowns, Courts and Judges (1st ed.). Routledge.
Hubbard, R. G., & O’Brien, A. P. (2020). Macroeconomics. Pearson.
