How to Save the World

Individual responsibility is likely as old as civilization. The conviction that the individual must hold himself responsible, for what he does or does not do, runs counter to the unavoidable and inevitable question:  To what extent is one responsible for another?

Some might argue that this concept marks the radical transition from savagery to law and order. In the animal kingdom, no beast is accountable for what it or another does. They do not charge themselves with responsibility. Morality does not plague them. They act as nature intends them to act.

Likewise, when humans form a gang, the habits of barbarity often rule the circumstances. Observe the carnages committed by ISIL in their struggle for power—not to mention the gangs within ‘civilized’ US cities such as Detroit and Chicago. In a gang and in any collective the individual loses his identity. He sacrifices his freedom to alleviate himself of personal responsibility. He submerges himself in authority and cowers in the shadows; only to be held accountable if and when he violates the interests of the power who he serves.

Governments of all shapes and sizes throughout history can be defined as one type of gang, in which the individual is denied the human rights of freedom, creativity, independence, and the individual responsibility that these privileges require. If this is true, then it seems that most truly civilized individuals have either not been born yet or are long dead. In any case, the subordination of the individual to a collective results in societies devoid of accountability, perpetual stagnation and inevitable decay.

The practice of individual responsibility requires the development of individual ideals and convictions, both of which atrophy in the absence of freedom. Individual responsibility has been the hallmark of notable figures throughout antiquity. These individuals owe their prominence in history books and religious texts to their willingness to embrace the unique trait. Indeed, their fates, their lives, and their deaths were often the result of their individual responsibility and the freedom that they seized to exercise it. After all, it is a time tested truth that he who dare conduct himself contrary to accepted practices will be considered an enemy to the standard and its bearers.

Responsibility never weighs more heavily on those who seek and practice autonomy than when their independence is sapped away. While wars of hardship rage, those who are inclined to assume responsibility are often tempted to isolate themselves in their own minds. Nasty nihilism becomes a default, and questions of futility fall from our mouths. Time and time again we are nearly overtaken by the collectivist standard of the day because those who surround us require an ever-increasing supply of new blood. The sunlight of truth and a stake of logic are the only ways of ending these vampires’ ceaseless pursuit of more.

The indifference of the collective allows a wall of imposing regulations to be built between man and his rights. Such a wall might hold for generations; but, when it crumbles, and they all eventually fall apart, destruction, ruin and needless death accompany recalibration.

Despite the impending doom, we hide. We know if the truth is declared, it might be practiced. And we know that living in a world of unyielding truth will require monetary and social sacrifices. Thus the continued demand for unearned advantages makes the practice of individual responsibility more and more precious.

Individual responsibility assumes the right of choice. Choices are options. A responsible individual makes choices and deals with the consequences of his decisions. Freedom does not guarantee that people will choose wisely or well, nor does it ensure satisfaction.

The path to knowledge is lined with dissatisfaction as one seeks reality and a justification for his existence. No one ever traversed that path that didn’t stain it with sweat and blood. Consciousness is the dawn of freedom over material existence. An animal has no possible freedom to escape the bondage of its cerebral limitations. A stone must be a stone. It cannot choose to change any of its aspects. Only man has the power of choice. Only man can be responsible. Consciousness is the most valuable of all freedoms, and it leads to an ability to appreciate existence beyond the scope of any creature or thing in the known universe.

Freedom and knowledge should be given rights. They are a legacy gifted to man via the evolution of his unique and unmatched ability to think. They are an essential quality that makes us human. Any system that fails to honor this fact, and be governed by it, is doomed to ultimate failure. We will always resist being made into something less than human. We will always resist being stripped of our birthrights. People instinctively strive for freedom and knowledge. This endless fight is a struggle of construction against the chaos of nature and an aversion to oblivion.

The aspiration to do well and be recognized is universal. Thus the individual is inclined to avoid conflicts. Hence, if a man is to be well-liked, he must get in line. As a result, when it comes to politics, genuine human welfare is regarded as secondary to the individuals’ pursuit of obtaining and maintaining power.

Today man doesn’t make up his own mind, and live as he pleases. Instead, masses, mobs and gangs depend on one another while fearing the actions of those that surround them. As a result, a large portion of the world has accepted oppression as the only solution.

For too long, freedom has been regarded as a privilege. Liberty has been debased into a license in our minds. Many have forgotten and must learn again that once man is freed from his collective, he is responsible for his own destiny.

In the absence of personal investment, societies become paralyzed in the face of danger and their wellbeing inevitably decays. They cannot cure themselves, and governments cannot change or shrink themselves. Such actions can only be a result of individual growth and self-improvement.

If individuals fail to recognize reality, it is impossible for society to adhere to reality. Collective value is impossible without individual value. And there is no way for an individual to replace the virtues of his fellow man with his own. Individual responsibility calls for people to be virtuous even if those who surround them are parasites.

Future prosperity does not rest in a collective well-being but in better men. Separable intelligence and ability will always be more valuable than group-think. Those who rise above the status quo are the people who guarantee a future worth striving towards. Collectives do not create. Instead, they try to keep what has been created.

Wisdom benefits the self. The wise individuals benefit society. Ignorance harms the self. The ignorant individuals drag down society. Each person will suffer the costs or gain the rewards of his own acts, and society will reflect the majority of its individuals. However, those who fail continue to blame only society for the conditions under which they suffer. They ignore their own shortcomings while they blame their neighbors or their superiors for keeping the rewards out of their reach.

No one else can do for you what you must do to improve yourself. You must think and do without assistance, in order to learn and grow. It will always be easier to let others do your work than to take the time and effort to work towards a goal yourself. But the strong-willed among us will not take the easy route. We will strive toward knowledge and freedom, despite the obstacles set up by the vampiric collectives.

Every generation must step into the darkness. They face new problems piling upon old problems. Society is always nearing paradise or hell on earth. It is not by the actions of a centralized force that man obtains what he seeks but by his own will. To the extent that this fact is recognized is the extent to which our species continues to evolve.