Personal responsibility

No one wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by this. After all, Adam did blame Eve when God asked him if he ate the fruit. And then Eve blamed the serpent. The only one who really took responsibility was Satan, if only by not denying he had done anything. But we in the United States have taken this to new levels. There are so many ways to get out of committing a crime that it is ridiculous.

Everyone wants someone or something else to blame. It was the way my parents raised me, the emotional tension of the moment made me do it, the voices told me to do it. Now, I will admit that some of these things are legitimate reasons for showing that one's mentality is not "normal", however, that shouldn't relieve one from being responsible. We all had something different in our upbringing. Everyone has been in emotionally stressful situations. That doesn't mean that you did not make a decision and follow through with it in committing a crime!

The biggest problem with personal responsibility, is not on the larger stage, but on the smaller one. We really need to instill this attribute in the youth. This ethic needs to occur early on so that it will stick. Once young people accept that they have a responsibility for their actions and continue to be aware and accepting of that premise, they will begin to make better choices. We as adults could benefit from this as well. Understanding that the choices you make carry responsibility with them will make you think twice before acting.

Reading the article about President Obama repealing the ban on funding to international groups that promote abortion really brought this personal responsibility thing into a clearer focus for me. Abortion is seen as a choice, a women's right to decide what to do with her body. The problem I have with that "right to decide" defense is that she already chose what to do when she had sex. People conveniently forget that a product of sex is pregnancy. This is natural. Now, pregnancy doesn't always occur when you have sex, but it is a potential consequence of your actions. So to just ignore that fact is to not accept the responsibility of your actions.

Personal responsibility would make this world a better place. Let's all try to learn that sometimes, it is our fault and we have to accept the consequences of our actions.