“The Price of Greatness is Responsibility” -Winston Churchill
The Fall Season is upon us and with it comes the return of football.
The sights and sounds are vivid. Stadiums will be filled with people collectively cheering and rooting for their team.
Football has rooted itself deep in American culture. It’s a mainstay of our media and the game has become a popular conversation topic within our social circles. Whether you’re a fan of the game or not, you can’t help but to take notice; it’s football season in America.
Fans of the game love to talk about their favorite team and their hopes for its success. Those who aren’t fans, however, see a field of organized chaos. What they may fail to notice is that each player plays a vital role to the overall success of the team. Players have a responsibility to perform in various roles to the best of their abilities. Yes, they must work together to strive toward the same goal: winning. Each of them have individual duties to perform and a responsibility to encourage those around them. A strong team can overcome even the greatest odds. Maybe the great football coach, Vince Lombardi, said it best: “Individual commitment to a group effort. That’s what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
It is here where the similarities between a successful football team and a healthy community shine brightly. We each have a responsibility to perform our roles to the best of our abilities and encourage others to do the same. When those around us stumble and fall, we must remember our responsibility as a teammate and offer to help them get off the ground. In athletics, we consider this good sportsmanship. In life, it’s called being a good person.
Our community depends on all of us. It doesn’t stop with us as individuals. We are one team. We must urge the organizations and corporations within our community to do their part and give back. They have a social and moral responsibility to participate and engage with the community. They should be encouraging their peers to do the same. We have a responsibility to search for companies and organizations that support our shared community values and support them with our patronage. We should expect them to contribute to the community if they want to be a part of it. After all, community is everything.
Being responsible doesn’t just benefit ourselves and our loved ones, it affects us all as a community. We become strong by fulfilling our responsibilities. Like the legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.”
Erik Puthoff is a Community Development Officer for STCU working to bring financial literacy into the community. He volunteers on multiple boards including PACE (Partners Advancing Character Education) and the Spokane Parks Foundation. This column was written as part of a monthly series highlighting the PACE trait of the month. the trait for October was responsibility.
