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It's time to step up and take responsibility for our actions
- By Anthony McConnell
- Trail Editor
- There has been a trend going on lately, it’s not a good one and everybody is guilty.
Passing the buck, making excuses, blanket denials and straight up lies. These are all symptoms of a greater problem plaguing this world. It happens everywhere and to people of all ages, from the very young to the very old. No one seems to take responsibility for their actions any more.
Whether it is parents blaming rock music and video games for their kid’s bad behavior or that same kid blaming the dog for him not having his homework. When was the last time you heard someone say, “I’m sorry it’s my fault, I just didn’t do it”?
A few years ago two portly girls in New York City tried to sue McDonald’s because they were fat. They didn’t take responsibility for the fact they ate junk food every day or the fact that they never hit the gym. They just did the “American” thing and sued. The case was thrown out of court.
What about the hordes of smokers who have sued the tobacco companies because they lacked the intelligence to realize inhaling the smoke from a burned plant was bad for them. No they didn’t take personal responsibility for their actions, they just sued. As stupid as it may sound the people who brought this suit won, but the tobacco companies are appealing.
Just 20 years ago suing a fast-food joint for making you fat or a cigarette company for giving you cancer would have been ludicrous, but now it seems to be the thing to do. What’s next, people suing Sony for their bad grades because instead of studying they stayed up all night playing Final Fantasy?
Then there are our political leaders. When it came out that President Clinton had a sexual relationship with an intern he did what all husbands do, he denied it. But as the evidence came out he was forced to admit his error. Now Clinton wasn’t the first president to have an affair, but because we live in a world of 24-hour news his experience was very public. If he would have just admitted his indiscretion, the whole ordeal would have lasted about a week instead of the months it did.
This world would be such a better place if people would just stop passing the buck and admit their own mistakes. Not that people don’t admit when they’ve messed up, it’s just usually when they are caught and have no other choice.
If you haven’t gotten the point here it is – next time you mess up or are wrong, just come clean and make the world a better place.
- Trail Editor