Many years ago, a friend was walking down the street with her husband and two other friends. She was talking and not paying attention to where she was going and tripped and fell.
She became immediately annoyed and snapped at her husband “Why weren’t you watching where I was going?”
That’s right. Apparently, she thought he should have been paying attention to where she was walking and prevented her from tripping.
Today, we all get a good laugh out of it and use the line jokingly amongst ourselves when one of us goofs.
I think of this line quite often lately because it’s hard to be alive and not hear all about bailouts going on left and right. Seems that a lot of people made a lot of bad decisions, did some stumbling and fell and now are looking around like a wounded woman on the street who just skinned her knee, and asking why no one was watching where they were going. Like everyone else should’ve seen the fallacy of their ways and should now come running to their rescue.
Is this just how things are going to be from now on? Are we setting a new example for everyone to follow that it’s okay to not pay attention, to make bad decisions and not be the one to take responsibility if that decision leads to less than desirable consequences? I am not completely against helping those who really do need it – in fact, I am very much in favor of it. But it seems like I see an awful lot of people who made their own beds and are refusing to lie in them now, especially when big bucks are on the line.
How are people ever going to move upward, onward and do more with themselves when their first reaction after they stumble is to look around and blame someone else? And on top of that see that pointing that finger and taking the responsibility off of themselves seems to actually be working when others are stepping up to clean up the mess?
I agree very much with this post. But I am a bit perplexed by some of the comments. I find it hard to believe that the 1% of all mortgages now in foreclosure were led there by misinformation or by withholding information about their loans. That’s a lot of lenders out to mislead. I don’t buy it. I think the bottom line is that people got house fever and had to buy a house they couldn’t afford. Maybe their real estate agent showed them a house they couldn’t afford. Maybe the bank led them to believe they could afford it. I have heard so many people say, “Well, the bank pre-approved me for $xxx so they must think I can afford it.” But don’t think I am letting the banks off the hook. They did play a crucial part. Over the last several years, banks have relied too much on FICO scores instead of manually reviewing credit. The bottom line is that everyone involved screwed up. Emily is so right. We are becoming a nation of people who blame others and expect others to bail them out.
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Thank you all for the thought-provoking responses! I think that without individual responsibility there is little hope for responsibility beyond that and that is why it’s frustrating to me. People don’t have to be responsible for themselves, so how in the world is it to be expected that there will ever be a sense of responsibility for small communities, nations and the world if we can’t start right in our homes being responsible individuals?
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Excellent post! Personal responsibility is one of my pet peeves. Due to greed and a good measure of stupidity, many people have gotten themselves into a financial pickle. Their eyes are bigger than their wallets and there is little patience for saving and waiting. I don’t feel that it is my responsibility to bail irresponsible people out of their financial hole. When someone makes a mistake, they need to own up to it and its remedy, regardless of how painful they may be. How else is one supposed to learn and practice personal responsibility?
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I couldn’t agree more. Great post!
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Excellent additional thoughts everyone! Thanks so much for always being here to round out my thoughts so well!
@ Writer Dad, what a compliment! Thank you!
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Love the post and the story!
I agree that we have a deficit of personal responsibility in this country, and the politicians and lawmakers are all too eager to mortgage the country’s future to bail out everyone who decided they wanted a house they couldn’t afford. Were some people led into a bad mortgage by shady banks/etc? Definitely. Does that mean they don’t have any responsibility? Of course not.
Your story just brings it home for me. Great post!
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@deepali – I really do understand your opinion. It’s one I held for a long, long time. Maybe I’m just tired. I wish that resources were being used to help those truly in need and not to bail out those who seem to have asked for it. But then again who am I to determine who deserves it and who doesn’t? You’ve definitely given me much to think about and I appreciate it.
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Great post…i am a little late finding it…but i still enjoyed it. i am all about personal responsibility, but i know a few people that fly by the seat of their pants and need other people to grab their arm so they don’t step out into the street and fall!
Thanks for the thought provoking post
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