“If it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t me, it must have been that person behind the tree.” I remember my mother using this little rhyme on me when I was very small. It happened when I tried to deny responsibility for something I had obviously done. Of course, there was no person behind the tree. It was just me. She was trying to teach me to be responsible for my actions and my choices. I fear there is too little teaching of responsibility today.
You can see it all around you. We have witnessed thousands of malcontents marching and protesting actions by police responding to crimes which have been committed. We have seen our so-called leaders attempting to place the blame for the actions of these criminals on the person behind the tree. Some are even blaming police officers for the actions of criminals. The responsibility lays at the feet of the perpetrator, not the law enforcement officers. No amount of demagoguery is going to change that.
Do you remember the lady who sued McDonald’s when she spilled hot coffee on herself, or the many who sued the tobacco companies when they got sick from smoking? If you put a cup of hot coffee in your lap and try to drive away or if you continue to light up cigarettes in the face of overwhelming evidence that the very act of smoking is harmful, who should be responsible for the result? Alcoholics and drug addicts are the ones responsible for their condition. It probably sounds better to say they are just sick and the booze is the culprit not the drinker. Sorry, but the booze can’t get into your mouth without your very determined effort, and drugs don’t inject themselves into your veins nor do cigarettes light themselves. At some point we must look into the mirror to see the culprit.
Just today, I read of a couple who are suing the makers of aluminum bats because their son, who was pitching in a Little League game, was hit by a line drive off of one of those bats. What if he had been hit by a line drive off of a wooden bat? Would he have suffered less injury? The youngster got his jaw broken. How many kids do you suppose get injured at some level playing sports? The parents are suing for $75 million. That would buy a lot of jaw surgery. I am satisfied, however, that behind every silly lawsuit is an equally silly lawyer, but that’s another story.
All across the country we seem to be harboring an ever-growing dependent class who is responsible for nothing including their own lives and well being. At the same time we have a political class taking advantage of this growing number to further their own political lives. This is not the America Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin intended. We Americans are self-sufficient, self-controlled and self-reliant. Government is our employee, not our master. Government is responsible to us.
The plantation is out of business. Slavery no longer exists in this country. We all are born into this great country with the same opportunities and the same choices. Choose wisely because there is no one behind the tree but you.
