Quality of Life Improvement RESPONSIBILITY

RESPONSIBILITY is the ability to respond 'properly' to the challenges of life. Properly with respect to our true nature as a human being, that is taking charge of our own destiny.

As I see it, we have to learn to accept responsibility for our own lives

• Here and Now and Wherever we go to live, work or play
• Our material, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health
• Our growth, improvement, development, learning, education, experience
• Our future, especially when we are aged

• Our spouse
• Our children and other descendants
• Our employees
• Our co-workers, class mates, siblings
• Our superiors, parents, bosses, teachers, instructors, counselors
• Anyone who could be subject to words or actions

• Our children must learn to bear responsibility right from day one. They should learn to take care of themselves or parts thereof as soon as they are capable to do so. e.g. My son was just able to walk when he was given the task of bringing his plate to the kitchen after his meal. As he grew older, he got more tasks.
• Our spouse must learn to take care of his/herself. Too many are devastated when becoming widowed or divorced.
• In general, we should not make ourselves indispensable, because we aren't. Our life could be taken away from us at any instant. It is only fair to leave things manageable, by those remaining.

• Nourishment.
  Your contribution to the relationship.
• Acknowledgement.
  Recognizing the other party's contribution.
• Mutual Respect
  No true relationship can exist without mutual respect. If it is not there, there should be a constant effort to create it, so the relationship can be fostered. Parents often forget to give their children the respect they deserve. Children are no slaves, not are they stupid. They are only young, inexperienced and uneducated. That is where they need our help and respect, because they are willing to learn, if we let them. Are employees any different? How about prisoners?
• Needs.
  Symbiosis requires the recognition and the satisfaction of the needs of both parties.
• Generosity.
  It's not what you get but what you give that makes the relationship.
• Communications.
  The most critical part of the relationship. Unless you communicate at all levels, there can be no relationship. We often take things for granted, because we think the other party is like us and we don't hear anything to indicate the opposite.
• Live and let live.
  We all have different needs and ideas, and what constitutes our Quality of Life. Don't dictate to others your way of life. Let them free to choose how they want to live their own. You may inform them of the consequences of their lifestyle, but they should be free to choose - as long as they don't interfere with other's. Remember, bullying leads to frustration, leads resentment, leads to violence. Generosity leads to tolerance, leads to peace, leads to mutual respect, leads to co-operation.

• Leadership.
  If you have leadership capabilities, you can use them to influence others, to bring people together that have the same interests at heart.
• Organization.
  Groups of people can have greater influence than individuals. Joining associations, societies, clubs, unions, helps strengthen them and to accomplish their goals.
• Financial support.
  Our few cents or dollars won't go very far. but when combined with those of many others, it can become an effective resource. Union war chests are a good example of the power of many contributions. Charities work this way. Even political parties would be no-where without our financial support.
• Voting.
  No-one better than the 'suffragettes' of the early part of this century can explain the need and the power of voting. Before their action, women had no vote in western countries. Today, this is still an issue in many 'developing countries'. Unless you vote, you cannot influence government. Even if you don't like the candidates or what they stand for, your vote can make them aware that their life is dependent on your action.
• Political Candidates.
  Naturally, unless you get your own candidate or even better, you own political party in power, the effect of your vote will be marginal. You will find that few candidates are what you would like them to be. "Power corrupts" is often true for weak personalities. But work with what you have and exert yourself in getting your voice known throughout the system.
• Letter writing.
  While your letter to a politician may not seem significant. Many of those expressing the same thought provoking message is. Or he/she may just be touched by your idea. You never know.
• Evolution not revolution.
  Understand the consequences of your political actions. Freedom for the sake of freedom is Anarchy. This is what happened to the USSR when the Communist Regime collapsed. The whole infra structure went with it, leaving the whole country in chaos. That is 'revolution'. It made people yearn for the 'good old days' of Communism when the state controlled the resources. Don't let our quest for 'civil rights' destroy a dictatorship without respect for the country's infrastructure, the ensuing 'revolution' may kill thousands of people, if not leave them in a worse state than they were before, or even go back to dictatorship.

  China is a case in point. If we were to let the revolutionary forces take over, the country would be in a worse state than the USSR. This could spill over the rest of the world in an even more devastating manner. Yes, China has to learn to treat it political prisoners in a 'civil' manner, but no, don't throw the country into an anarchistic chaos. At this point in time, it cannot afford to let a million of its people to roam around freely without destroying its food supply chain. And remember where it came from: Centuries of feudal imperial dictatorship from which Mao Tse Tung and his confreres had to liberate the country from. That revolution was bloody, and so were those in France, Russia, and South America.

  Can bloody revolutions be avoided?. I would like to think they can. But it takes political will on both sides. If you are a dissident, be intelligent, don't become a target, but use all the political power you can muster. Learn more about history and the needs of your country and how its infrastructure can be sustained, while your goals are to be met. e.g. Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was not a revolutionary, he was a very compassionate doctor, who spent his life helping people. He was born in Argentina and educated in the USA. Because of his idealism, his leadership, and his sharp analysis of the local situation, he became a political target and a martyr, yet, totally unnecessarily. The Bolivian Army accused him of being the 'Mastermind of Latin America's Communist Guerillas' and hunted him down until they shot him on October 9th 1967. We don't need anymore dead heroes. We need smart but covert idealists.

  Today, education and electronic communications can help us beat dictatorships and develop strong political bonds. Get to know it and use it. Remember, it kept the 'underground' alive in countries occupied by Germany during WWII. It kept Vietnam alive during its fateful war. It should have kept Korea alive - it didn't. Korea is still separated because it does not communicate. Isolationism always leads to problems.

  Today, terrorism is passé. Governments know how to deal with it. It does not accomplish anything but gives governments an excuse to bomb any target and round up any suspect.

• Compromise.
  You don't have to compromise your principles to work with those that have the majority in power. You have to understand that as long as you have only a minority you cannot impose your will on the majority. However, you must fight for your place under the sun of the ruling party. Antagonism only results in an uncivil civil war. These wars are still going on, many are quiet but flare up every so often. And the only way they flare up again is because we can't tolerate each other. They are in any country at any time. Don't be lulled into complacency by the present peace. Keep working on your relationship like on a marriage.

  Meanwhile work on exposure of the big multinationals who clear land they don't own and displace people from their ancesterial territories, by bribing local governments. Get the news out to the world media. Just don't get caught.