Responsibility pervades existence. It is largely about who carries the load when a problem needs addressing; or who takes the blame when things go wrong, who gets sanctioned or hurt if the problem remains unaddressed; in more crude terms still: who’s got who by the balls!

I think that is how responsibility in its essence is manifest in the world. It can be fair and unfair. It is fair enough when a person elects to take on the burden fully aware of the repercussions. It is less fair when responsibility is dumped on a person by others unwillingly, maybe even unknowingly. That person is then left to sort out the trouble when a mess ensues.

You should define your responsibilities carefully, as aware as you can be of what they entail, and as far as possible not allow yourself to be pushed into unwelcome burdens that are largely the agendas set by others, sometimes having to take on an unfair proportion of responsibility that should be shared. You should try to know your direction and the requirements that are associated with it and make that clear for all to see.

A further thought:

The consistent use of the language of rights obscures the fact that what lies behind it is responsibility. Someone’s rights are invariably someone else’s responsibility. To demand rights and evade responsibility is something, in terms of any half decent ethic, that should be seen as reprehensible.