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Freedom and responsibility
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A __________ is something that happens as a result of your actions and the choices that you make.
One great thing about growing up is being able to decide more things for yourself. What do you want to eat for breakfast? How do you want to style your hair? What do you want to wear? As you grow up, you will likely have more and more say over bigger and bigger decisions.
What will you study, and do for work? Who do you want to spend your days with? Where do you want to live? You are your own person, with your own thoughts and opinions that inform the choices you make about your life. That’s freedom.
Some of our freedoms are outlined in official documents, like the UN Declaration of Human Rights — for example "freedom of speech" or "freedom of religion." But all of us have freedom to make our own choices! Yeah! I’m the boss of me! Sweeeeet! It’s true that the older you get, the harder it becomes for anyone to make you do anything.
Kind of like being your own boss. But this means thinking carefully about the decisions you make. Because if someone is free to choose their actions, they also have responsibility for their actions. After all, we still live in societies with laws and expectations. If you choose to commit a crime, you might have to pay fines or even go to jail!
That’s… a bit complicated, isn’t it? We normally think of being “free” as being able to do anything we want. Freedom is kind of like that, but we also need to think of the people around us. It’s possible that by doing whatever you want, you might actually challenge someone else’s freedoms, or take them away. So you can do a lot of things… The question is should you?
Ooof… that’s a lot of pressure. Responsibility isn’t a bad thing, Leon! You might want to take on more responsibilities, like getting a part time job! As you grow up, you might want to learn to drive, or buy a house, or start a family. It can be really fun and rewarding to take on these responsibilities.
Ooooh I want to be captain of the basketball team! Being captain sounds cool, and important! That’s a great example! Team captains have important jobs to do: they support their teammates, and act as good leaders. They call out plays and help their teammates get into the right positions.
There’s a lot to do! Have you ever heard the saying “with great power comes great responsibility”? Yeah, yeah, whatever! I have freedom, remember? Nobody can make me do all that.
I don’t need to take it so seriously! Well… it’s true that you can choose to skip practice or ignore your coach. You won’t go to jail if you do this, or be deprived of your human rights. That’s freedom. But… your coach won’t be very happy.
How can you improve if you don’t practice? How can you help your teammates if you’re never there? Being responsible means being dependable and keeping promises. And remember: you’re free to make choices, but you are not free from the consequences of your choices - good or bad. You probably can’t be captain if you skip practice and have a bad attitude.
You probably won’t be able to stay on the team either. Hmmmm I think being on the team with my friends is a lot more fun than just doing whatever I want! Freedom and responsibility are big, abstract concepts… but I think you’re starting to understand them a bit better, Leon!