It's not quite afternoon yet and I've already dealt with four separate people who have apparently bought into the popular notion that personal responsibility is for suckas. Now, I work in litigation so maybe it's an occupational hazard, but I don't think so. I've noticed a trend and maybe you have too - the facts and contexts vary slightly but the underlying theory is the same: "It's not my fault."
ARGH. So annoying. Here's the thing: I consider myself a reasonable and compassionate person. It's true that some things really are not anyone's fault. But MOST things don't fall in that existential "que sera sera" category. And you know, making allowances for people who shirk their responsibilities isn't helping them. As I type, I'm thinking of a few excellent examples of the above, but I'll save sharing for another day. An article I just read about "helicopter parents" comes to mind.
This morning I read an article in which the vice-chairman of GM basically called his company's CEO, Rick Wagoner, a "sacrificial lamb" because there's talk about conditioning bailout money on GM's getting rid of Wagoner. So...what's the problem? Isn't he at the very least ONE of the people who steered that company into its current shitastic state?
I mean, isn't that how we were all told this big mean world works? My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Griffith, said this phrase alllll the time: "You better learn how to do this for yourself, because when you grow up no one is going to hold your hand and tell you how to do it." What a visionary! Telling a bunch of ten-year-olds to man up was probably ahead of the curve in 1990 and I'm absolutely certain it is today. Maybe we all need to go back to fifth grade.
That's my PSA for today. I'll try to stick to celebrity gossip or food next time! ;)
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