Responsibility key to better society
Campus Times
April 30, 1999
Be responsible for your actions. This is simple advice.
A trend in our society has begun, and, for the past couple of years, it
has been to point the finger and place blame for one's own actions. Well,
the time has come for people, young and old, to be responsible for their
own choices and end all of this senseless chaos and moral disorder that
is running rampant through our society.
Everyone has a choice and every choice has a consequence. It has always
been that way, but people seem to have forgotten. If one decides to run
a red light, then one must face the consequences of receiving a ticket or
possibly injuring someone, maybe even killing them. Would it be appropriate
to say that the motorist who ran the red light was not to blame for his
actions? Or is it more appropriate to say that it was his parents' fault
for not teaching him the patience that would have allowed him to wait until
he had a green light? The only thing that is appropriate is letting the
person who made the decision be responsible for that choice and its consequences.
Nobody made that motorist accelerate through the red light and endanger
innocent bystanders. It was his choice.
Although the motorist example is fictitious, there are many real-life
cases that are questioning the subject of personal responsibility. Last
week, two students in Littleton, Colo., ran on a bloody rampage through
their high school, killing 12 of their fellow classmates and one of their
teachers. In February, a San Francisco jury awarded an ex-smoker $51.5 million
in punitive damages, and a Brooklyn jury found handgun makers and distributors
legally responsible for crimes that were committed with their guns.
Columbine High School
The reasons behind the shooting have been contemplated and still the
question of why remains. The two students said they slaughtered their classmates
because people laughed at them and singled them out. Some blame a lack of
parental involvement. And some blame the media. Although all of these factors
may have played a part in sparking this incident, they are not where blame
should lie-the only place blame should be placed is on the two students
who murdered fellow classmates. It was their decision -- not anyone else's.
They planned it for more than a year. They made the pipe bombs and strategically
placed them throughout their school. They armed themselves with shotguns
and semi-automatic weapons, and they are the ones who pulled the trigger
time and time again. Nobody forced them to do anything. It was their choice.
Jury Awards Ex-Smoker $51.5 Million
In San Francisco, a jury awarded ex-smoker Patricia Henely, who now
suffers from inoperable lung cancer, the largest settlement against a tobacco
company to date. This is absurd. The jury gave away an enormous amount of
money to a woman who has smoked since age 15. An article in the Feb. 11
edition of the Washington Post said, "Henely, 52, who smoked
her first Marlboro at the age of 15 during a high school dance -- two years
before the landmark surgeon general's report that labeled smoking as a cause
of lung cancer and other diseases." Question: Did she ever read the
packaging of the cigarettes that told her that smoking was bad for her?
We know she had a high school education, so it is assumed that she should
know how to read. Question: Was it the tobacco company's fault that she
did not read the package that told her smoking was bad for her? No, so why
are they being held responsible? It makes no sense. They did not make her
light up a cigarette and inhale the deadly smoke. It was her choice.
Jury Finds Gun Makers Liable for Criminal Use
A verdict in a Brooklyn, N.Y., court also falls under the "be responsible"
headliner. The jury "found handgun makers legally responsible for crimes
that were committed with their guns," said a Los Angeles Times
article. Explain how this makes any sense? Sue the firm that sold the gun
to the criminal that decided to use it. It is not the firm's fault that
a criminal decided to use the gun to do harm to others. The criminal bought
or stole the gun and committed the crime with it. The firm is just trying
to do its job. Society may not look highly of this job, but regardless,
it is a job and that is not a crime, so why are they being punished? It
was not their choice, it was the criminal's choice.
These are examples of a lack of personal responsibility, and now that
these ridiculous ground-breaking cases have been made, more shall follow
in their footsteps. Our justice system has more important things to deal
with than morons with stupid lawsuits. It is time to realize that no one
is to blame, except those who commit the acts.
