Coming to Dartmouth, I looked forward to meeting people from a broad variety of different backgrounds and ideologies. I believe it's critical to the maturation of college students to be exposed to differing viewpoints and experiences. So upon discovering that my floormates hailed from almost every region of the United States and that two of them had even made the trip down from Canada to come live with me for the year, I knew I'd be in for many engaging and informative conversations. One such dialogue, about personal responsibility and the extent to which it is valued in different nations, comes to mind when considering which discussions have shaped my beliefs in the context of the greater world.
Imagine the following scenario: Late on a Saturday night, a stranger whom you only know as a friend of a friend comes to visit you and some friends in your dorm. While experiencing a moment of youthful exuberance, this stranger jumps onto a windowsill and up into a sprinkler, accidentally breaking the sprinkler head. Consequently, the sprinkler must be repaired. Who should pay for the new sprinkler piece and the maintenance costs of replacing the sprinkler?
The answer to this question was pretty clear for me the kid who broke the sprinkler should pay any costs associated with his careless actions. No, he did not mean to cause any damage, but most of my floormates and I thought he should pay, regardless of intention. We believe that it is a tough yet fair fact of life that you are responsible for any harm you may inflict on others.
However, one of the girls taking part in this conversation disagreed. A native of Canada, she explained that it is commonplace for people to expect a community to take care of any costs incurred by incidental damages. By this logic, despite the fact that it was neither my floormates' nor my fault, we should bear the financial repercussions of the damage done by a visitor. The rationale behind this aspect of Canadian culture is that people are only responsible for their intentions if they had no bad intentions, then they should feel no negative repercussions. It's an idea that is reflected in various solidarity programs in both Canada and Europe, ranging from health care to the workplace. Less emphasis is placed on responsibility and more is focused on the community.
But here in the United States, we have historically emphasized on individuals' actions and their effects, and it is crucial that we continue to do so. When we lose accountability, we lose what it is that makes us distinct. If the burden of our mistakes and shortcomings falls onto the shoulders of others, we will cease to learn how to overcome our faults. It is our accountability and expectations for ourselves that has made the American dream something unique to our nation. People come to the United States in search of opportunity to better themselves through hard work, and I fear that if we begin to undermine the value of the individual in favor of the progress of the masses, we will lose what truly makes our country great.
If we extrapolate the theme of this conversation between a few Dartmouth students onto the national political scene, we will see that personal responsibility is one of the key divisive issues of our time. It pits those who hold expectations of government assistance for the well being of the masses against believers in a capitalistic system that encourages and rewards individuals' achievements. It forces us to decide if we have a responsibility as a society to account for the shortcomings of a few, and collectively pay for the damage caused by one student, or if we should continue to value accountability. I urge everyone to consider the implications that follow a disregard for personal responsibility. Nations are made of a collection of individuals, as are residence halls. If we want to most effectively govern either, it's crucial that we reward, and not penalize, those who are good custodians of their communities.
