| "It's Not My Fault" |
| "He was abused as a boy; she was forced into an incestuous relationship when she was a child; her husband beat her; his wife drinks; she had five siblings; he was an only child; his mother was an alcoholic." So what !! |
| These days it seems that we as a society go far beyond decency, searching for justification of unjustifiable behavior. We look to place responsibility for our actions on some shapeless circumstance from the past. Once done, we have adroitly dodged accountability. Punishment then turns the perpetrator into the victim. How clever, how subtle, how insidious. |
| Anti-social behavior is nothing more than that. Those that choose to follow anti-social paths must accept responsibility and accountability. We create rules for the benefit and protection of the majority. Those rules must remain constant, regardless of personal circumstances. The victim is no less damaged in the face of premeditation, rage or depression. Is it any more acceptable to kill someone when driving while intoxicated, if the driver chose alcohol to deal with his emotional trauma? How absurd !! |
| Each of us makes decisions. We alone decide our actions. Certainly our experiences help shape our decisions. Nevertheless we are aware of the rules. We do know what is right and what is wrong. We may try to pretend that we do not, but we do know. We choose an action quite simply because that is what we desire. Every consequential event is secondary to that original "desire". |
| Should we examine the reasons why we wanted something as justification for an action? I think not. The action must be weighed for its conformance to the rules of society. Driving while intoxicated, for example, breaks a rule of society. We say DWI is wrong. The reason for someone choosing to drive while intoxicated should not create an exception to the rule. For if it does, then we establish that there are no rules. |
| As with all living creatures, we have an obligation to train our offspring to conform to the rules of the species. We prepare them to live independently within our society's structure. As children, they learn to make decisions within a consistent framework of rules. As their judgement skill expands, so does their framework of rules. We can not expect them to deal with adult level logic. We do expect them to learn their rules and to cope with them. Providing a haven from that reality teaches that famous phrase, .... "It's not my fault." |
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