Political Realities ^ | 11/30/12 | LD Jackson
Excuse me while I go off the normal, beaten path of Political Realities. Today's post is so different, I had to create the new category of society to properly define it. It's more than a little safe to make the following statement. The society we live in today is not the society we grew up in. By we, I mean those of us who are middle-aged, possibly 40 and older. Today's society has changed so drastically, it is almost unrecognizable. The most glaring example of that change is the lack of responsibility that is displayed by so many people. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions. They are always looking to blame someone, or something else, for what is happening in their lives. To see an example of this, we have no further to look than the results of the recent elections. No, this is not a post about politics, but the lack of responsibility in our society has led directly to a second term for Barack Obama. Otherwise, more Americans would have been able to realize our country was on the wrong path and would have voted to correct our course. As it stands, many Americans failed to display enough responsibility to even get out and vote. But, that rabbit trail is for another day and another post.
At the risk of raising the ire of those who may be less socially conservative than I, this lack of responsibility is one reason abortion is so rampant in America. It is also one reason so many people fight so strongly for the right of a woman to kill her unborn child. They want the pleasure of sex, without taking the responsibility of making sure they do not get pregnant, or the responsibility of raising and caring for the children that is the likely result of their actions. If the people of our society felt more responsibility for their actions, we would have fewer abortions, fewer broken families, and less crime. Am I judging by proclaiming this? Yes, I am, and I will stand by that statement.
What happens when the people of a particular society fail to take responsibility for their actions? That depends, but if those people are teaching those same traits and habits to their children, then we have a second generation coming up with total lack of responsibility. If there is one thing I have learned in my life, from observing what goes on around me, it is that children usually act like their parents after they are grown. Therefore, if a father refuses to work and make a living for his family, his children, especially his sons, are apt to have that same character flaw. Passed on from generation to generation, this leads to each one having a greater lack of responsibility about them.
Feel free to disagree with me in the comments, but it seems to me every generation gets a little worse. When the going gets tough, when a job doesn't go right, when family problems arise, far too many people believe it is okay to just walk away. They take no responsibility for the situation they have had a part in creating. Don't like your job? Just quit and find another. Never mind your children and spouse at home who are needing food, clothes, and other necessities. The society we live in today believes it is okay to do just that. That's one of their excuses for such a large government, which is needed to take care of those who have such a lack of responsibility.
I know it may seem like I am harsh as I write this post. Before someone goes off on me and starts explaining how so many people are victims of circumstances beyond their control, I realize that. Sometimes, things just happen. Some of them are out of our control. What we can control is how we respond to them. Even if life's problems spiral out of control, we are responsible for how we respond to the hand we are played. Life's ups and downs do not negate the responsibility we bear for our response to the negatives and positives we face every day.
Our society can not continue on its current path. As each generation comes up, more and more of the individuals bear less responsibility. How much longer can our society bear that kind of load, before it collapses under the pressure. I'm afraid that collapse may not be as far in the future as we would like to believe.
