Authority And Responsibility

Authority, power of one sort or another, needs to be balanced with responsibility. Recent events on the world stage show the consequences of irresponsible power. When the U.S. Government decides to establish authority in another, sovereign nation, it must also accept responsibility for its actions. When a Danish newspaper publishes inflammatory cartoons, it too, should be responsible for the results of its actions. When a multinational corporation destroys the environment of portion of the earth, it too, should be responsible.

Of course, none of these institutions feel the slightest bit culpable. Their arguments usually feature the phrases "freedom" or "within our rights" or "lawful". All of which avoid the concept of responsibility.

Please note, I have not attempted to place this argument in terms of "right" or "wrong" or "moral" or "immoral". My suggestion is just that many of the worlds problems are the result of this kind of thinking. Or non-thinking.