Join in on the fun

This is, so far, one of those weeks where it isn't hard to come up with a long list of reasons I like my job. I have a really neat group of students this year. We're having better discussions (read: I don't have to lead every question to an answer) than I've had in several semesters of teaching, essentially, the same thing. Still, while they are bright and inquisitive, their views sometimes make me feel..... well.... not necessarily old, but definitely "of a different generation."

So, I want to pose the question to my adult readers and see if it's me or if it's my generation.

We read a philosopher named Appiah who deconstructs various other thinkers' writings on the battle between individuality and collective responsibility. In short, sometimes our desires are at war with each other (I want to make an A on my exam, but I don't want to stay inside studying when it's pretty outside and my friends are playing.) Our parents told us "We just want you to be happy," but there was the unspoken, "Provided whatever makes you happy comes with dental insurance and allows you to move out of our basement soon." Appiah refers to this as the human's quest for individuality as defined by the scripts given to him by his environment. In other words, to use my own example, I followed my passion to learn straight into college, but it's fortunate that I WANTED to go to college because I'm not sure any other option would have been tolerated by Ron and Cathy. So while I feel I've made the choice I wanted to make, perhaps that was only because I was told that college was the choice I wanted to make (my parents' "script" for my life).

Also, many of the things we want as individuals require group effort to produce, distribute, and enjoy, so we may have a responsibility to allow others to do what needs to be done to achieve our own ends.

By law of each land, there are also ways we collectively find inappropriate ways of "expressing individuality" such as predatory behavior against children, taking of things which deprive another of their life, etc.

So, I asked them the following:

By law, you are obligated to follow the law of the land and pay your taxes. That's it. This entitles you to live freely (meaning not incarcerated, at least). But is there more?

What do you owe yourself? What do you owe your parents? What do you owe your race, your gender, your religion, your socioeconomic peers, your country, humanity?

What about if you take your specific circumstances out of the mix? What does every child owe its parent, regardless of the quality level of the parenting received? What does every American owe their country? What does every human owe to other humans by virtue of an understood "contract with humanity?" Are you under any obligation to make the world a better place?

I'll keep what they said to myself, but it was universally different than what I expected. What say any of you?

I'm off to watch "Living with Ed" on the Green channel -- I sympathize with Ed Begley Jr.'s wife sometimes..... but just so I've got it on record, the day Gerry expects me to go out on the porch and ride an exercise bicycle long enough to generate enough electricity to make toast and coffee in the morning..... well, that's the day I may need to crash on your couch for a while.