The Death of Personal Responsibility

Nobody can say for sure the exact date of death or the definitive cause of death but I can say that based on my observations, personal responsibility is essentially dead in the United States. I can look back in my own history and in the history of our country and see times and experiences where people just did what had to be done to make it. Now, I see complaining, excuses and more complaining. I don't see any "politically correct" solution either. Sorry folks, I call it how I see it. Everywhere I look i see people with self-inflicted problems who refuse to be accountable or responsible for them. Let me give you some examples. I know a guy who works as a laborer for a city department. He makes a reasonable hourly wage but will never reach his full potential because he chose to party and "hang out" when he could have been in college or trade school. He refuses to even consider educating himself or improving his situation in any way. He feels that the government, state or some other organization should educate him and coddle him and take care of him. He feels it is completely and totally unfair that he has to live in an apartment and drive a $5,000 car. he thinks that he deserves a brand-new vehicle, ATVs, watercraft, new clothes and exotic vacations. Why? because the kids he grew up with have those things now. He fails to realize that he made his choices and he and only he is responsible for his choices. It is maddening. Good luck to him.

One only need to look at the "housing crisis" that is still unfolding here in the US. Essentially, a whole bunch of people bought houses and other property that they could not afford on risky credit. One only need to use a couple brain cells to figure out what would happen. Of course, the artificially valued properties fell in value and the owners went broke or lost their jobs or insert any other "life happens" moment in. Now what? Well, of course, since it is sad and unfair, the government must step in and "fix" the problem. It would be too hard for these people to lose their homes or actually suffer from the poor choices they made. Gosh Tent Trash, that is pretty harsh? You are mean, heartless jerk, these people have feelings too! So what. They lack integrity and responsibility to let someone else bail them out and destroy the economy for everyone else.

Back in ancient history [before the emergence of the nanny welfare state] you know, before the 1930s, when something went bad, it went bad and people had to deal with it. If they didn't, natural selection did. My ancestors, like most people'
s ancestors were poor farmers and agricultural people. If they did not work, simply put, they did not eat. It does not take long to figure out what happens if you do not have food. Wow, that is so unfair, you mean they would starve? Yes, I mean they would starve.

I know of another man who has seen his marriage end and his family life basically fall apart because of his own selfish choices. He consistently cheated on his spouse and found ways to lie and cheat through a job and military career until it all caught up with him. In the end he was not man-enough to admit his poor choices and correct them. Instead he blamed others and his "addictions" for all of his problems. His counselors and therapists do not really help either when they simply prescribe him an anti-depressant to make everything better and help him excuse his way out of his bad and selfish decisions. Everywhere I turn I see catastrophically poor choices and little or no personal responsibility or any evidence of self-control.

If there is to be any kind of hope for our children's future and for our country, we need a healthy dose of personal responsibility and accountability to make it happen. Otherwise, we are all pretty-much screwed.....