Responsibility and Accountability

What's the difference between esteem and respect? The dictionary gives it precisely:

esteem

a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something

respect

a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

I won't even bother to highlight the difference in the text.

It's been one of those things that bothers me when we talk about self-esteem versus self-respect. Criminals frequently score high on self-esteem, after all.

So here's another one: What's the different between accountablity and responsibility? Well, the definitions:

accountability

The obligation to account for one's activities and to disclose the results

responsibility

The obligation to perform or complete a task

. Again, I'm not going to bother highlighting the difference in the text.

When I hear people talk about "accountability in government," I tend to cringe. Not because I don't think we should have it, but because I think it should be the second thing we talk about. Yet I never hear people talk about "responsibility in governance," never hear issues of whether or not we trust people to do their jobs responsibly. Whenever someone issues a statement about "accountability," they're starting from a position of faithlessness and mistrust.