Generation escapes responsibility
No generation escapes responsibility
No generation escapes responsibility. What is inherited is not only authority or benefit, but obligation.
Responsibility attached to names, houses, and law does not expire with time, discomfort, or denial.
Responsibility is inherited, not chosen
Responsibility passes through:
- names and succession
- houses and clans
- adaawk and witnessed commitments
- feast acknowledgment
A generation may choose how to act, but not whether responsibility exists.
Attempts to escape do not succeed
Responsibility is not erased by:
- silence
- delay
- avoidance
- denial of knowledge
- claims that “it was before our time”
What was left unfinished remains active.
Accountability across time
Intergenerational accountability ensures that:
- authority cannot be reset by succession
- obligations follow the name, not the person
- unresolved matters surface again
- law remains continuous rather than episodic
Time reveals responsibility; it does not dissolve it.
Role of Living Witnesses and adaawk
Living Witnesses and adaawk:
- preserve memory when action is delayed
- recall obligations when challenged
- prevent revision or erasure
- connect present authority to past commitments
They ensure responsibility remains visible.
Consequences of avoidance
When responsibility is ignored:
- authority weakens
- legitimacy erodes
- disputes persist
- future generations inherit compounded burden
Avoidance increases cost.
Restoration remains possible
Responsibility may always be restored through:
- acknowledgment
- witnessing
- corrective action
- compensation or restoration
- recommitment to education and continuity
Delay does not bar repair.
Core principle
No generation escapes responsibility. What is carried forward must be answered for.