Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Ten Big Things: I

Joe over at aTypicalJoe tagged me with a meme last week. And I initially planned to have it up last Thursday. But several things interferred, and I planned it for the weekend. But things happened. Now, I'm finally finishing it up. Or part of it.

It wasn't an easy one. I tell you what, when Joe pays me back for tagging him, he pays back with interest!

Here's the idea: What are the Big Things (ten of them) that we can all address and reunite this country?

Let's give it a shot.

Take responsibility

The government isn't your momma! Act like you're grown, take responsibility for things, and do your part.

In my opinion, this is a biggie. And it will be the most difficult to do.

While I'm a huge opponent of smoking (ask me if I mind if you smoke and I'll ask you if you mind if I fart), I don't think the tobacco companies should be help responsible for any health problems related to smoking. If someone puts a cigarette in their mouth and light up, they are responsible for what happens to them.

Heck, when I was six years old, I read the warning on my grandfather's Lucky Strike cigarette packs: "CAUTION: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health." I asked what "hazardous" meant. When told, I asked why would somebody smoke?

I was six years old! If I could figure it out at six, adults should be able to figure it out. And are responsible for the troubles that result from their actions.

Take responsibility, people!

And, no, I'm not just picking on smokers. I think people that eat at McDonald's (me included) are responsible for any health problems from eating like that. If you eat poorly, and you encounter health problems, it's your fault. Not Ronald McDonald.

Take responsibility, people!

If you spill hot coffee on yourself at the drive-thru, it's your fault.

If you drink and wreck your car and kill someone, it's your fault. Not the bar's fault. Not the bartender's fault. Not the distiller's fault. Your fault.

Take responsibility, people!

And it's not just stuff like this.

What about when a hurricane hits? If you hang around and ride it out, blame yourself. Not FEMA. Not the President. Not the Governor. And, really, not the Mayor either. You have a radio. You have the Weather Channel. You know what storm clouds look like.

If a hurricane is coming your way, get out of the way.

And when it's gone and everything looks like hell, start cleaning up. Don't sit on your butt asking "Where's the Red Cross? Where's FEMA?" I want to know where is your sense of responsibility!

This isn't to say that the recent events in the Gulf states couldn't have been handled better by city, state, and federal officials. But it darn sure could have been handled better by those that lived there.

Mississippi, a poorer state than Lousiana, started putting their lives back together. Most took responsibility for themselves. More so than many in Lousiana.

Why? Because there were too many people with a mindset of not taking ... or accepting ... responsibility.

There are lots of homeless people in this country. And what do we do about it? Well, honestly, not much. But we expect the government to. Well, that's a load of crap.

We need to do something. We need to buy someone a meal. We need to give someone a coat to keep warm. We need to follow the example in Matthew 25 ourselves, and not expect the government to do it.

We need to assume responsibility for things. And if we do that, we're off to a good start on making things better.



That's number of of the Ten Big Things. Nine more to go, huh? Not today. But later. There'll be nine more posts on this topic.

You can thank Joe for that.

2 comments:

  1. Personal Responsibility

    The personal responsibility deficit in these U.S. of A. is one of the worst characteristics of this otherwise great nation. I have been meaning to articulate it before, but basil did a great job. A sampling:

    The government isn't your momma! Act like...

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  2. Er, well it depends on what the meaning of "personal responsibility" is... :-)

    I agree on smoking; somewhat. But isn't the fact that you read the warning on the cigarette pack as a 6 year old a good thing? And if the companies were selling smoking as a healthy lifestyle choice (remember the Marlboro Man) while hiding the health risks they knew, isn't that a problem that government should address? Maybe if government had dealt with it we could have prevented all those lawsuits.

    I'm looking forward to your 9 more!

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