We live in a fallen world. Paul says that "the creation was subjected to futility". There is decay, corruption, something wrong. Larry Crabb said, "There's a worm in everything." Somehow, though, it seems like we expect something outside of what a corrupt universe can offer. We expect perfection.
This, of course, is unrealistic. Still, when something goes wrong, it seems like our first option is to figure out who to blame. And someone is always to blame. Nothing "just happened". No, no, it was always some form of negligence at best. More likely it was malicious negligence, a conspiracy of negligence. And, of course, it could have been purely intentional. So we thrash about, aided and abetted by eager litigators, finding out who to blame and what they did wrong and how they will pay for this. A ridiculous example of this would be the conspiracy theorists who were quite sure that Hurricane Katrina was the fault of George Bush. Yes, some actually said that he was to blame for the hurricane. (Some have said that he was to blame for the BP oil spill, too. That dirty, rotten ex-president!) So we sit around and point fingers and complain.
The problem, of course, is two-fold. First, laying blame never results in a solution. It simply results in finger pointing. Second, finding someone to blame doesn't correct the original problem of thinking. Instead, it tends to perpetuate the myth that "If we do it all right, nothing will go wrong." Of course, beyond that, laying blame creates a new set of problems. It seems that blaming is contagious, but shouldering responsibility is admirable. Take, for instance, parents who blame their children's teachers when their kids misbehave. This does no good and they need to take responsibility. Or, to be honest, of what value is it to blame the president for the economy? Saying that it's his fault does not fix the economy. I'm personally tired of hearing about the problems and am interested in hearing the solutions. Conversely anyone who has worked for a boss who actually assumes responsibility, good or bad (credit or blame), has likely enjoyed a uniquely pleasant work environment.
Abraham Lincoln said, "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." Playing the blame game is just a way of escaping responsibility. And, let's be honest, how often can you actually find a single source to blame? Life is far more complicated than that. I think you'll find that seeking solutions rather than someone to blame is a far more productive way to live. At least, that's what I'd recommend.
2 comments:
I don't think presidents have as much impact on economies as their enemies would like us to think. The impact that they do have is normally not felt as quickly as many would like us to think either. The real tragedies of this administration will give leftist plenty of blame ammo for perhaps decades should they loose power, or if they don't they will continue to do what they are doing now, which is blame Bush.
It would be interesting however to know just how much the media's portrayal of the economy, depending on who's party is "responsible" for it, boosts or hinders it. Just a thought.
Anyway, I normally try to catch myself when I'm playing the blame game because of my trials by actively searching for the points at which I participated in bringing it on. By doing this I realize that, as you said, there are usually many contributing factors. Doing this also causes me to realize when people are perpetually playing the "absolving of self" game, which is the blame game's first cousin.
That "first cousin" is one I detest ... especially when I see it in me. I can't tell you how many times I've been asking for solutions to some difficulty and getting "Wasn't me!" instead. "Okay, fine, whatever ... so now so far I have zero help."
I wonder, now that I think about it, how often the blame game is a deflection. "I'm not going to accept responsibility for this ... so who is?"
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