Individual Responsibility 2-12-25

First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. 

My Ethics Professor at St. Louis U told us that “We are each responsible for ourselves and that is our primary responsibility”. If our neighbor falls out of a tree and we see this, then we become responsible for seeing if our neighbor is injured and calling an ambulance if needed.

My family always taught that “Charity begins at home”. This places family members in need as a priority.

Charity is ruled by proximity and is a personal act. The parable of the “Good Samaritan” tells the story of the Samaritan who came across a stranger who was robbed and beaten. He brought the wounded man to an Inn and gave the owner some money to help nurse the man back to health. He did not shirk this responsibility off on Roman Soldiers to make the “government” responsible for the wounded man.

Mother Theresa used to collect the dying from the streets of Calcutta to help them die in peace. She got it right and was declared a Saint.

Three of my 8 uncles were disabled with muscular atrophy and I saw how my grandparents and my aunt took care of them until they passed away around age 50. Despite their disability, they were a happy trio of uncles and I was impressed. That house was always joyful and peaceful.

After our 6 kids moved out and we were empty-nesters, my wife asked if we should sell the house and downsize. I told her we should keep it as the “family home” because some may have failed marriages or job-loss and should be able to move back home and we should keep it because it was paid for and would appreciate in value to create generational wealth we could leave to our kids. I understand charity by proximity. We have always helped our kids if they came up short on their bills.

We don’t donate to any NGOs or Non-profits, but half the ads on TV are asking for donations, so I can see that other families and individuals do donate to these causes.

We did our overseas travel in our 50s and spend our money on home maintenance to protect our investment. We keep our bills as low as possible and continue to do a lot of home maintenance ourselves.

We are not responsible for everybody else, they are responsible for themselves. We are not responsible for the welfare of other countries or other populations. They need to solve their own problems.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader