Is This the Best I Can Do?

Last week I wrote a post referring to the popularity of video games and other entertainment that glorifies violence, objectifies women and simulates a reality in which irresponsible behavior and even evil have no lasting consequences.  I received a number of responses questioning if I was proposing censorship or suggesting the Bible might be worse than Grand Theft Auto.  While those comments might provoke interesting discussions, I was up to something very different.  The issue I am raising is, what is our responsibility?  Yours and mine, to spend our time and invest our talent and money in work that contributes to a better world rather than exploits human weakness.

My question reflects a flood of new ideals that are beginning to roar down the canyons of our cultural and business landscapes.  It’s called Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR.  Increasingly it also stands for Citizen Social Responsibility and Community Social Responsibility.  It reflects a new awareness that the consequences of our choices have far reaching impacts on each other and the future opportunities of our children.  We are discovering the hard way that polluting our air and depleting our water supplies is irresponsible acts.  We are concerned that masses of undereducated and underemployed people impact everyone’s quality of life.  We are asking, what kind of future do we really want?  Most of all we ask, is the society we’ve created the best we can do?

As far as passing new laws and regulations to control what we can watch…well, as many people worry, that’s a slippery slope.  The best regulation is self-regulation.  The best discipline is self-discipline.  And that’s the realm we have absolute control over if we exercise it.  We are fortunate to live in a free society that offers an amazing variety of jobs, opportunities and companies to work for.  The question is, do we thoughtfully exercise our free choice to invest ourselves in work that contributes to a better world or not?

It seems we have three fundamental choices.  First is work that is destructive to people and the planet.  This is work that exploits human weakness, preys on insecurities, greed, and our potential for addiction.  Or it pollutes our environment or poisons people.  Second, is work that doesn’t really matter.  We invest our lives making and selling things and providing services that are generic.  If the work disappeared, no one would notice.  Then there is work that contributes to the genuine quality of life, of people, and our planet.  This kind of work exists in every field imaginable because people’s intention transforms work.  If we consciously choose to make a positive difference and do it excellently, we can turn entertainment into inspirations, law into justice, and janitorial work into disease prevention.  The challenge is to take the time to deeply consider our choices.  Who do you work for?  Are you proud of your workplace, your company, your industry?  Would your children or your mother be proud of you?  Should they be?  Is your work the expression of your deepest and most noble longings?  Could it be?  The time we have is finite.  Most of us will invest at least 40 or 50 working years in a career, profession, or series of jobs.  Just what are we trying to accomplish?  Life is more than a quest for material possessions.  My experience is that if we get clear on our best intentions and our higher, love-based motives, opportunities will appear.  Perhaps where we already work. I just met a software engineer whose organizing his department to volunteer to help small non-profits with their databases.  This morning I had breakfast with a young Intel executive who is helping implement technology in hospitals and homes to reduce medical errors and medical costs.  I know a group of surfers who bring medicine to malaria-infested islands in Indonesia.  Surfers!

Perhaps social responsibility begins with an awareness that we are all responsible for how we invest our talent and energy.  It’s something I think about every day.  As I mentioned in my last post, I often look in the mirror and see my mortality.  I ask my soul how much good am I really doing?  Is this the best I can do?

Will Marre, founder American Dream Project

To visit American Dream Project’s home page, click here.

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