Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Blame Game

I'm so sick of "the blame game" that has become ubiquitous in this world. Politicians blame the other party; Congress blames the President; the President blames the Congress; corporations blame the government; the government blames the taxpayers; everyone blames everyone else -- no one is willing to step up and admit that we are all responsible for the situations we find ourselves in, as a nation.

As voters, each and every one of us is responsible for the government we have, and the decisions they make. We put them in office, and we've left them in office, so whatever they've created or destroyed in this country is our responsibility. Don't like the direction the country is going? Vote those who have been in office for the past umpteen hundred years out and put someone in who has fresh ideas. Didn't vote? Then you have no right to complain!!

And let's all remember there are some things our government and its leaders have no control over. Everyone is hating the price of gasoline right now; trust me, I hate it BIG TIME. When it takes more than 15% of my monthly income to fill my tank, it HURTS! But, I also know that the President and the Congress don't have any control over the price of gasoline or the price of oil. Yes, they can influence the price of oil a little bit by releasing more of the fuel that is held in reserve, but for the most part the price of oil, and hence the price of gasoline, is out of their jurisdiction. So is the cost of groceries. Inflation, on the other hand, is something the politicians can influence.

We've become a society that doesn't take responsibility for our own actions and sues every one and every firm at the drop of a hat. I read just yesterday that Spanish farmers are suing Germany because of comments made by German officials about the source of this new, deadly strain of E.coli, which they traced back to vegetables coming from a particular region of Spain. Because of that announcement, the sales of vegetables dropped significantly, so the farmers are now suing. Reminds me of when beef ranchers sued Oprah because she said something along the lines of she wouldn't eat a hamburger during the mad cow disease epidemic a few years back.

One of the tenets of my faith says that I have to admit my sins and errors and ask forgiveness for them. Nowhere does it say I should find someone else to blame for my shortcomings and mistakes. But, Jesus also teaches that we are to love everyone as He loves us. Well, love does no harm to others, either by suing or blaming them for my mistakes. Sort of makes sense, then, if I love everyone, I will take responsibility for my actions, instead of blaming someone else for them, and I will try to do better in the future to not make those mistakes, again, or similar ones.

It's time we grow up as a people and stop expecting others to shoulder our responsibility; and stop allowing politicians to blame everyone but themselves for the mess our political arena is in, today. Let's hold them each accountable for their own misdeeds, and give them the credit when they deserve it.

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