We all have a responsibility to accept responsibility for our own decisions and actions. The notion that we are accountable for our acts is widely held in popular opinion. But what does it mean to be responsible in the actual world? Is it ever appropriate to be held accountable for our acts, and when? What do you think about criminals being held responsible for their actions? What about those suffering from mental illnesses? How far will they be held accountable in the same manner as the mentally healthy? Responsibility for our actions is essential because it can help us become better individuals, more honest, and more moral in our decisions.

The most confounding component of this situation is that I truly have a choice in what I do or don’t do, but I am still obliged to bear responsibility for my decisions and actions, which is extremely frustrating. Because I was under the notion that as long as I was not personally involved in any misconduct and simply followed the rules, I would not be held liable, this is really baffling. However, accepting accountability for my actions is a completely different thing. It makes no difference what others are doing or how they act; I must always use caution in my own activities.

Accepting responsibility for our actions is essential because we have complete power over our life. We are not machines controlled by someone else; we are individuals who make our judgments. As a result, because we are ultimately in charge of our own life, we should take full responsibility for all we do. The concept of accepting responsibility has some components that I find very intriguing. Since the question of responsibility is a vast one that has been debated for many years, many philosophical theories have been established to aid us in our understanding of it. Many diverse interpretations of responsibility exist, but I will be concentrating on the concept of moral duty. As defined, moral responsibility is the ability to behave with free will and be held accountable for one’s acts and the ability to exert control over one’s behavior. Many philosophers argue that to be morally responsible, one must be in complete control of their actions and must not be compelled into acting in a specific way by an external source (such as a government).

As a result of Sherman’s discussion, we can learn a great deal about how we should take responsibility for our actions, including whether we should take full responsibility for every action we take or only some of our activities and what factors lead us to take responsibility for some measures but not others.

It is my opinion, as expressed by the author, that we should accept complete responsibility for all of our decisions and acts. In spite of their belief that humans are accountable for their activities, the writers doubt whether or not they are capable of accepting responsibility for their own actions. Making the decision to assume or refuse to assume the responsibilities should not be dependent on how embarrassing the behavior is or how tough it appears to repair the situation. We are still responsible for the repercussions of our actions. My belief is that, if we want to be successful in life, we must learn from our mistakes in the past and accept responsibility for those mistakes, no matter how embarrassing those blunders may be or how powerless they appear to be in fixing their follies in the current situation.

According to Sherman’s piece, personal responsibility is not a personality feature but rather a practice everyone should engage in. The author believes that we don’t become responsible by doing something wrong, but rather that we are made accountable by being held accountable for something. In Sherman’s view, responsibility is defined: “We are responsible for our own actions, and we are only liable if we might have done something differently.” It is an account based on actions, in which people are held accountable for the activities they choose to take(Sherman,1999). In other words, we can only be held responsible for our conduct if we decide to do so voluntarily. In other words, it implies that we cannot be held liable for events that are beyond our control. Individual moral agency, on the other hand, is recognized in Sherman’s view since it provides people with the freedom to use their judgment in deciding what they should do. A more accurate way of putting it is that we should think of personal responsibility as a practice in which individuals’ actions are guided and influenced by the expectations of others. Here is an example: If we look at the popular new Pixar Animated Film “Turning Red”, it has stirred  many opinions and reactions from all walks of life to reflect on their younger years of discovering and navigating new emotions as they grew up. In a particular scene that “hit close to home” for many children to immigrant parents was when the main character, Mei-Mei , in an effort to preserve the high expectations her mother has on her she fails to speak up for her friend’s when Mei-Mei’s mother accuses and blames all the shenanigans on her close friends. Mei-Mei even admits that she was wrong and she just could not disappoint her mother as throughout the film you see Mei-Mei constantly needing validation for everything she does to please her mother, and her ancestors since she cares for them.  When Mei-Mei  took the time to realize this distinction between blaming others and owning up and her actions to make everything right again shows  you can create your persona in any way you like (In this case Mei-Mei had different personas depending on where she was). That is what Sherman is addressing, the act and virtue of responsibility. Mei-Mei mother is such a deep rooted part of Mei-mei’s life that it appears all the obligations Mei-Mei is subject to all come from the expectations from her family.  

Using this line of thinking, I believe we will be better able to resolve the puzzling element of the subject of obligation that pertains to children in the future. In light of the fact that responsibility is a practice, it becomes evident that parents have a considerable impact on their children’s ability to be responsible. The decision whether or not to be accountable as an adult is not the duty of the kid, but it is the job of parents to steer their children in the direction of becoming responsible adults when they reach that point in life. Parenting involves instilling the habits and expectations that will assist their children in developing into responsible adults as they get older and increasingly self-sufficient.