In case you've been sleeping under a rock for the last few weeks, let me be the first to tell you that Congressman Mark Foley of Florida has resigned due to, among other transgressions, sending sexually explicit instant messages to young pages. But don't worry - it's not his fault. He struggles with alcoholism and he was sexually abused as a child by his priest. In other news, don't blame two teenage girls for being overweight, blame McDonald's (whom they are currently suing) for its deceptive advertising that apparently depicted Big Macs and a large order of french fries as diet food. Give me a break, people! Whether in politics, law or everyday life, people have abandoned the idea of having any sense of personal responsibility.
Politicians, just like the rest of us, make mistakes. Rather than admit their wrongdoing, though, many of them would much rather pin the blame on other politicians, advisors or anyone else to divert the blame from themselves. Take former President Bill Clinton, for example. He found himself in hot water when it was revealed that he had been having an affair with a young intern. When he was caught with his pants down (figuratively speaking), did he accept responsibility for his actions and ask for forgiveness? No - he argued about the definition of "is," attempted to hinder the investigation and accused his opponents of acting purely out of partisan spite. Marital infidelity would have been tough for the American people to swallow, but we're generally a forgiving bunch. What peeved Americans wasn't that he cheated on his wife but that he had the opportunity to come clean and lied instead. But Clinton is, sadly, not alone. There have been more bad politicians throughout the years than you could count, and few have had the courage or the decency to admit their wrongdoing and face the consequences.
Politicians aren't the only ones who love to dodge responsibility for their actions. Believe it or not, there once was a time when people believed in a hard day's work and earning an honest living. But who needs that now, when you can sue for just about anything? A man sues his son's hockey league because his son failed to win the league's MVP honors. A woman sues Kellogg's because a Pop-Tart she was making caught on fire and burned her house down. Of course, she had left the house after she put the Pop-Tart in the toaster (even though the box clearly said to not "leave the toaster appliance unattended due to possible risk of fire"). If only these were isolated incidents, but unfortunately, in today's "get rich quick" mindset, anything that goes wrong can be blamed on someone else, and if you're lucky, you'll get some cash out of it.
It's not just lawsuits that highlight the depths of human idiocy. Warning labels now talk down to consumers as if we were all complete dunces. I mean, come on, should a print cartridge really have to say, "Do not eat toner?" Do we really need to be told that a frozen dinner should be cooked before we eat it? Apparently so. Common sense, it would seem, is no longer enough. No, we have to spell everything out to make sure that everyone knows exactly what to do or not do with a given product, which is absurd. If you're dumb enough to, say, attempt to drive a lawnmower down the freeway and you hurt yourself, it's not because John Deere didn't explicitly warn you not to. It's because you're a moron.
Personal responsibility is such an important ideal, yet many find it all but impossible to follow. We don't see good examples of it from our leaders, our society or our peers. In order to maintain our nation's strong spirit of individuality and freedom, we need to maintain our sense of accountability. So don't eat McDonald's to lose weight, don't lie when you've done something wrong and don't use your blow dryer in the shower.
Caleb Enerson is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and a conservative
columnist for the Eagle.
