Personal and community responsibility

I attended a Brian McLaren lecture recently hosted by World Vision and Laidlaw College. Brian proposed that the three biggest threats (challenges) that face us each morning when we wake up are prosperity, security, and equity. In his view, prosperity is the catalyst that is pushing us further and further to the brink. Twenty percent of the world's population holds the majority of the world's wealth. McLaren suggested that our continued effort to hold on to and expand this prosperity is at the heart of many of the world's challenges today. One of the main confrontations in this area is the depletion of natural resources at a rate greater than they can be replaced.

McLaren went on to argue that security (the protection of our prosperity) is the second struggle we face. We personally and collectively invest in security measures because we want to protect the possessions. On a personal level this involves locks on our doors and security systems in our homes. At a local level it involves police, sheriffs, and community constables just to name a few. At a national level the Army, Air Force, and other types of military. Depending on where you live in the world will depend on how much your government invest in these sorts of security measures. So on top of what we invest in our possession, we also pay a heavy price for the protection of those possessions. For example, the United States has budgeted US$650 billion for their national defence department (Wikipedia, 2009). The New Zealand Government, by contrast has budgeted NZ$1.7 billion for their defence forces (Wikipedia, 2009). In very rough terms, if you live in the United States each citizen pays approximately US$2100 per year just for national defence. A New Zealander, on the other hand, will pay about NZ$425. Security is a big deal.

This led to McLaren's final global challenge, that of equity. Because of the disproportionate distribution of the world's wealth, the Western nations invest heavily in security to defend and protect it. We could discuss equity in terms of possessions, but that wouldn't necessarily bring it home to many of us. So we'll think of it in human terms. According to McLaren, those of us born in wealthy nations (20% of us), on average, live 35 years longer than those born in poor countries (80% of us). None of us has any control over where we were born. Is it any wonder then why there is such disdain in some parts of the world for the 20% who use their wealth and prosperity to keep the other 80% from getting access to the resources that are required to sustain a basic life?

For me, this is where personal responsibility comes to play. As one of the privileged (by chance I was born in the 20%) what am I doing to ensure that others are given equal opportunities? Everyone should work for a living, so I'm not talking about giving handouts. What I'm suggesting is that we need to be equally responsible for ourselves and for our neighbours. I must work to take care of myself and my family, but as a citizen of the planet I must also work to ensure that my neighbour can work and take care of their family.

If we take seriously the talk about global environmental issues and the short time frame we have to do something about it then we must change how we live as individuals. In the last two years most of the world has experienced tremendous financial difficulty and economic strife. If we take these warning signs seriously we must change how we live as individuals. I would suggest that we must re-evaluate our standard of living in light of the standards of living available to 80% of the world's population. We who have enjoyed an abundance must learn to be content with less so that those who have less can enjoy adequate or average standards. There must be lower consumption on the part of the West so there can be an equitable distribution of the planets resources with the rest of the world. I suggest this because if the entire world is to live equitably, we must realise that there are not enough resources left on the planet to sustain the level of prosperity enjoyed by the West at the moment. We must find a middle ground.

McLaren was clear that we aren't necessarily responsibility for the problems we currently face. He was also clear though about the fact that we have a responsibility to sort it out. This responsibility means asking some very tough questions about what I can do differently to change the way that I live so that others can live.

Sources:

Wikipedia. (2009 , August 20). New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Defence_Force

Wikipedia. (2009, October 12). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense