Caring is the opposite of both indifference and hate. Without caring, nothing matters. That's why caring is at the heart of a decent life. It leads us to help others and to respect ourselves; it leads to actions of tenderness and protection. Sometimes people care for the wrong things or care too much about something. But people and institutions should demonstrate that they care about important things and about each other.
Responsibility - People who care must be willing to take responsibility. That means they are accountable for their actions, enjoying praise when things go well and willing to accept blame when things go wrong. Accepting responsibility is a sign of maturity; it can be frightening, because as I am responsible I become vulnerable to criticism. If I am responsible, I cannot blame my mistakes on peer pressure or what "everyone" does. Being responsible means being willing to stand up and be counted, to say "I" decided to take action. It was my choice, my achievement or my fault.
Respect - If I take responsibility for myself, others will begin to respect me. I can also respect others who stand up for what they believe is right. Respect for each other makes a moral community--a community of caring--possible. To respect others means to see them as valuable in their own right. I must listen to them and give them space. I should expect them to be different from me and appreciate their differences. Self-respect and respect for others go together, and both are essential. Self-respect means realizing that I am valuable, that I care for some things, and that I have to live with myself.
Trust - When people care for and respect each other, trust takes root and grows. If I trust you, I acknowledge that I need you for something, often support. And, trust also involves expectations. Trusting people means counting on them: depending on them and expecting them to deliver. Communities of people cannot exist without a certain level of trust. Like other values, trust can be foolish or misplaced, but a whole life without trust is impossible. Trust requires knowledge. I cannot trust myself if I do not understand myself, and I cannot trust you if I do not understand you.
Family - We begin to learn our values in our families, from the people we live with. Later our choices about love and sex create new families. We understand family to be the community that raises children, the community they leave to go to school, and the kind of community they may create themselves one day. Not all families are the same, and not all are perfect. But families have been called "the school of character," the place where values are taught and learned. And we take family stability, responsibility of family members to one another, mutual respect, and trust and care among family members to be essential to the health of our children and our society.
Eclipse
3 weeks ago
