CONTINUED FROM BELOW
He is not FULLY responsible because his actions, values, and ultimately his principles are a partial result of his software, his interations with others. Maybe he was really fat in high school, and people treated him badly, made him feel powerless. Maybe his parents divorced and abandoned him, and he was sent to live with foster parents who didn't care about him. Or maybe he had a completely normal childhood. But that's not the point. The point is that regardless of who this man is, he has a connection with us, the human race. Through prevention of bullying, or establishment of guildelines and funding to provide better family structure, we could have done something to affect his experiences. He is not alone in contributing to what happened. Because what he has chosen to do is in some way shaped by what he has experienced. And whether this be TV, his parents, his friends, drugs, his wife, whatever. He is connected in some way to the rest of the human race.
Ok now that I'm writing this out, I'm feeling that alot of people may think that this is common knowledge. But for me, this thought process has allowed me to come to a new profound understanding of John Donne's quote in
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions that "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." (a quote that is far too frequently misused in public). and even Martin Luther King's Quote that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Think about it.
Throughout this morning, I've been having this unprecedented feeling of connectedness with... well, everyone. And above all, I've gained a new level of compassion for people I don't even know. Whether it's the homeless guy on the street in front of my house or the starving children in Africa, South America, Asia, etc. As John Donne went on to say "... therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."
Anyone who need clarification on whut the heck I'm trying to get at here can either respond or call me. I know I may not be really making sense, but I will try as best as I can to make myself more understood.
Before anyone comments on whut i've said. Let me make a few disclaimers.
1. I'm NOT saying that no man is reponsible for their own actions. I AM saying that humanity, and therefore every human being who is a part of this human race, is PARTIALLY responsible for each and every member and their actions.
2. I realize that some people may believe that many criminals are "born that way" i.e. that they are genetically and phenotypically programmed that way. Although I cannot disprove this, I would like to state that, at the same time, a person's attitudes cannot be completely seperate from their experiences either. Therefore, there is still a connection of responsibility with humanity nonetheless. Ok, I hope that made sense... it's a weak argument, tho.
Chris, remember the old days where we used to debate about these stupid questions of moral and judicial principle? Well, I'M BACK!!!! muahaha except this thing really meant alot to me when i realized it.
