Recently, I posed the question, are we responsible for the actions of our parents? in relation to a promotional project I'm doing for the show Hitler's Daughter that's coming to Penn State in March. I thought I would use this blog to explore this question myself.
My immediate gut reaction is no, we are not responsible. They are their own people, perfectly capable for making their own decisions. Yet, as I think about it more, watch TV, talk to friends, more and more situations come up where children take responsibility for their parents. In one show, there is a character whose father is the town drunk. And whenever the father gets drunk, the son pays for the father's debts and tries to keep his dad out of trouble or from jumping off of a roof. He is responsible, or at least he feels responsible, for his father.
I picture the nursing home. If your mom does not like the orderly that takes care of her and is verbally abusive, the nursing home calls you to either come deal with her or take her out of that facility. You then become responsible for your parents because of their actions.
When we are growing up, our parents do everything for us. They hold us, clothe us, feed us, house us, bathe us, love us. They are our everything. And as we grow up, we gain our independence and take care of ourselves. And then we become the parents, responsible for a new life. But when our parents get old and can no longer take care of themselves, isn't it our responsibility to take care of them, the same way they did for us when we were incapable?
In many organizations the boss is responsible for whatever their employees do. The employees, including the boss, represent their organization. If the boss goes out one night and gets beyond wasted, posting pictures to facebook in his drunken sloppiness and tweeting about how much his employees annoy him, he, while representing the company, makes his employees responsible for his actions.
In some of the responses I've received from students around campus, they mention that parents and children are family, responsible for each other no matter what. In other, people say it is the child's responsibility to try and help the parents out of a sticky situation. In others, parents are on their own, capable for taking care of themselves. A few have claimed that it depends on the situation. One person mentioned that you can say whatever you want, you still have the same name, the same reputation that that name or association carries.
When our parents do something well, I'm sure we wouldn't even have to think about whether we are connected, of course we would want some of that limelight. But when the situation is trickier, like if our parents do something morally wrong, do our opinions change? I think I would say we are responsible for the actions of our parents, and it is our duty to protect that reputation and make sure that we are taking responsibility for something we can be proud of.
I'm curious though, what do you think?
My immediate gut reaction is no, we are not responsible. They are their own people, perfectly capable for making their own decisions. Yet, as I think about it more, watch TV, talk to friends, more and more situations come up where children take responsibility for their parents. In one show, there is a character whose father is the town drunk. And whenever the father gets drunk, the son pays for the father's debts and tries to keep his dad out of trouble or from jumping off of a roof. He is responsible, or at least he feels responsible, for his father.
I picture the nursing home. If your mom does not like the orderly that takes care of her and is verbally abusive, the nursing home calls you to either come deal with her or take her out of that facility. You then become responsible for your parents because of their actions.
When we are growing up, our parents do everything for us. They hold us, clothe us, feed us, house us, bathe us, love us. They are our everything. And as we grow up, we gain our independence and take care of ourselves. And then we become the parents, responsible for a new life. But when our parents get old and can no longer take care of themselves, isn't it our responsibility to take care of them, the same way they did for us when we were incapable?
In many organizations the boss is responsible for whatever their employees do. The employees, including the boss, represent their organization. If the boss goes out one night and gets beyond wasted, posting pictures to facebook in his drunken sloppiness and tweeting about how much his employees annoy him, he, while representing the company, makes his employees responsible for his actions.
In some of the responses I've received from students around campus, they mention that parents and children are family, responsible for each other no matter what. In other, people say it is the child's responsibility to try and help the parents out of a sticky situation. In others, parents are on their own, capable for taking care of themselves. A few have claimed that it depends on the situation. One person mentioned that you can say whatever you want, you still have the same name, the same reputation that that name or association carries.
When our parents do something well, I'm sure we wouldn't even have to think about whether we are connected, of course we would want some of that limelight. But when the situation is trickier, like if our parents do something morally wrong, do our opinions change? I think I would say we are responsible for the actions of our parents, and it is our duty to protect that reputation and make sure that we are taking responsibility for something we can be proud of.
I'm curious though, what do you think?
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