> [!infobox] <s class="aside-in"><em>mentioned in 9 evergreens, 1 source</em></s> #### [[Accepting responsibility is not only about your actions]] %%I wish I could have ancestors that I'm proud of. I wish I could look back and see [[Culture]] and history that I could draw from. But I can't. #TO/PONDER/ME %% In [[Germany]] they accept responsibility for the Holocaust. ^[despite no living person having taken part in it] They teach the horror and their part in it in schools and are very honest about their responsibility for it. This is not because the children of [[Germany]] support or caused the actions of the Holocaust, but because they realize their part in it, and their part in fixing it. Accepting responsibility means acknowledging why something happened, what part you had in it, and the [[suffering]] it caused other people. Their [[suffering]] may not have anything to do with your actions, but sometimes accepting responsibility for something means accepting the responsibility of fixing it, even if you had no part in it It does not matter if the actions that lead you to this point were yours or your ancestors, they are out of your control. ^[In [[eastern philosophy]] this is the idea of [[karma]]. The actions and reactions that have lead to where you are at this very moment. Don't confuse this for any moral claim, [[karma]] is just an observation of reality: [[Karma is based in the law of cause and effect]]] What you are in control of is your action in the current moment. Your [[duty]] is to accept [[responsibility]] and take action. ^[This is your [[Dharma]], which is based off your [[karma]]] This doesn't mean you can rectify your past actions in the eyes of other people. You are entitled to the act of taking [[responsibility]], but not to anybody's [[forgiveness]]. ^[This is the idea of [[Karma Fal]]: [[You can't control what happens]]] American's need to have the same stance on slavery as the German's do on the Holocaust. Accepting responsibility for these kind of things is not taught at a young age in [[America]] because that goes against [[Individualism]]. ^[This is why so many American's struggle to have [[empathy]] for [[marginalization|marginalized]] people: [[You will never be pushed to understand marginalization unless you are part of a marginalized group]]] related:: [[When should you forgive people who don't deserve it]] next:: [[Be the change you want to see in the world]] ### <hr class="footnote"/> **Status**:: #EVER/GREEN *edited 7:35 AM - July 08, 2022* **Topics**:: [[white guilt]], [[trauma]], [[racism]], [[human advancement]], [[responsibility]], [[duty]]