Placing Blame

A recent conversation with a friend got me thinking about how we (society) always look to place blame or fault on others.  We see it each and every day.  Last night one of the few television shows I watch was interupted by the President as he spoke about the pending day of reckoning for payment to creditors.  He and his party are blaming the Republicans and the Republicans are blaming the Democrats.  None of us have clean hands. We have stretched ourselves too thin and we need to fix it.

During the conversation with my friend, I made the same observation related to education.  We were discussing how teachers are being blamed for much of what is wrong with the world.  The government sees the problems with society and decides education can take care of these issues.  They pass laws and pass them on to the federal and state levels which them pass these mandates down to the local systems which them pass them off to the teachers.  Teachers then pass off this responsibilit to students.  If we pass along the responsibility then we can never be at fault- it is always the fault of the person we passed it to.  No one ever steps back and evaluates how these mandates help or hurt students.  Nobody wants to take responsibility for putting something in place that is unreasonable or just doesn't work.  Just look at No Child Left Behind- in 2014 every child in America will pass state/federally mandated test.  If they don't it is NOT the federal government's fault for pushing through a law that was unreasonable nor did it provide necessary resources to even come close to making it happen.  My new favorite mandates relate to Anti-Bullying.  Educators now have the responsibility of policing and teaching kids that bullying is wrong.  As parents we don't want to admit we have the ultimate responsibility for teaching our kids how to use cellphones and social networks without hurting people. We don't want to take responsibility for our lack of action when our kids misbehave.

As a society we have become very FAT.  No way is this weight gain my fault.  I can blame everyone excpet myself, but ultimately I make the decision about what goes in this mouth.  This morning I watched one of the morning shows as a person from McDonalds positively promoted the new healthier version of the Happy Meal.  The reporter interviewing the McDonald's representative asked "can't your company stop giving the toys"?  We haven't gotten fat because McDonald's puts a toy in a Happy Meal.  As much as I hate those darn toys, it is my responsibility as a parent to "JUST SAY NO".  Even better I can choose not to go to McDonald's and instead cook a healthy meal of low-fat meat with healthy fruits and veggies.  I work, my kids are busy and because of these choices we go to McDonald's sometimes.   McDonald's has a variety of choices- I make the decision about what we eat.  McDonald's have never forced me to order a biggie fry or drink.-

We all make choices and it is past time we take responsibility for our own actions.  I had to complete a survey yesterday related to another law passed by my state legislators.  The survey asked for me to suggest the "soft skills" employers most desire.  The word RESPONSIBILITY would have covered everything- from showing up everyday, on-time -to cell phone use -to initiative.  Taking responsibility for one's actions just about sums up everything an employer expects. 

Still watching morning shows and now they are blaming COSTCO for our "impulse buys".....