Personal Responsibility has Vanished in America
I am just going to quote a big block of this from Glenn Beck, because I tend to agree with it so much. There is a major trend forming in America. People won’t take responsibility for their own actions.
Note: The election part of this rant has been removed because I am so tired of hearing about politics and feel that the other half of the message has a very important point to make.
Starting quote:
What do these stories all have in common?
- A woman who says she lost more $1 million gambling in Atlantic City sues some casinos for $20 million, claiming they should’ve stopped her compulsive gambling.
- People who bought houses they couldn’t afford with loans they didn’t understand want their lenders to change the terms.
- Congress authorizes a war and then tries everything it can think of to get out of it.
- Our country gets addicted to oil and then blames OPEC when it doesn’t like the price.
These stories prove how personal responsibility has all but vanished in America, and our government is leading the way.
Remember the kid from that interminable 1980s commercial whose father caught him using drugs? The father incredulously asked, “Who taught you how to do this stuff?” and the kid responded, “You, alright? I learned it by watching you.”
Well, we are that kid and our government is that drug-using father who doesn’t think that anyone notices his bad habits.
Our government is leading us by example, and I don’t mean that in a good way. For years, it has spent us into oblivion, mortgaging our future for programs we can’t afford, and Americans have happily followed suit, running up credit card bills and home equity loans for things they never should’ve bought.
Unfortunately, we’re also learning something else from our government: how to avoid taking responsibility for our actions.
From Eliot Spitzer’s alleged hooker craze to the revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger commutes to work in a large private jet even as he preaches the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions, there’s never been a shortage of “do what I say, not what I do” hypocrites in politics.
…
If you want to talk about disenfranchised voters, then let’s talk about why just 17 percent of Americans have a positive view of Congress. Let’s talk about why we still have wide open borders despite most Americans wanting them sealed. Let’s talk about why we keep selling out our sovereignty and our security by borrowing billions of dollars from-less-than friendly countries, such as China.
Americans aren’t disenfranchised because our leaders won’t count votes in a couple of states. They’re disenfranchised because our leaders aren’t doing their jobs. They’re disenfranchised because after working hard to support their families and to raise kids who understand the difference between right and wrong, their leaders do exactly the opposite.
Source: CNN - Glenn Beck: Too bad, Michigan and Florida
Posted: March 14, 2008 | Under: Rants
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2 Responses to “Personal Responsibility has Vanished in America”
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Cory,
I am excited that you shared this with me or us. Most of all I would have liked to hear more of what you thought about the comments.
All I really know is that you agree with the statements. But why? is what I want to know. Why do you care that we as citizens of the Great States of America take responsibility for our own actions?
I care because I know that personal responsiblity is how I make a living. Short sitedness has never worked for me in the long term. I care about other people too much to take advantage of them. Shoot I am even one of those people.
I need to care about myself too
I guess in politics thats the only place where you can get away with irresponsible behavior for any length of time to make it worth it?
Come on Cory what is your opinion about this?
-Bart
Very true Bart, I didn’t really state an opinion. Part of the problem is that I can’t quite put my finger on the exact problem. It is more of a feeling right now.
Our country was formed by hard working people who wanted to make a better life for themselves. Millions immigrate here every year to do the same thing. That’s the American Dream; if you work hard you can be successful. But I see a trend forming in America. People want the Dream, but they don’t want the work hard part. They want it handed to them as if they were entitled to it.
Americans spending habits our out of control. People buy what they want when they want because they want it NOW. So they pull out their credit card and buy buy buy! They don’t consider the future consequences of living in debt like that. I think a lot of people got into overpriced houses because of this. Someone gave them an “easy” way in, and they took it without understanding the terms they were accepting.
The other thing that scares me is the sheer number of frivolous lawsuits flying around now days. People are just looking for an excuse to sue anyone with money so they can cash in and “live the good life”. They see it as a way to make easy money. I mean, suing a casino because you lost money!? WTF! Even if she looses, it will cost the casino millions to defend itself. It’s sad that this is just another “cost of doing business”.
To continue my rant, since I seem to be going good now.
It really makes me mad because the politicians now days seem to play to the “take care of me” attitude. Expecting the government to take care of you is laziness and total abdication of personal responsibility. But every time you turn around some politician wants to introduce another social program because pandering to the masses will get him elected. It just makes me sick. Need I remind people, this isn’t a free ride? You may not have to pay for that program directly, but you will pay for it. And your children. And your children’s children. The money comes from somewhere.
It comes down to a very simple thing: you are responsible for your own life. You shouldn’t rely on the government or anyone else to take care of you.