Personal Responsiblity

Personal responsibility: has our country lost it? Check-out this article that was on the U.S. chamber's site (www.uschamber.com):

The 'Not My Fault' Crowd

By Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
October 24, 2006



"Why is it that when anything goes wrong in someone's life these days, someone else gets blamed and a lawsuit is filed? Put on a few pounds? Fast food restaurants are responsible. Didn't get that promotion at work? Discrimination. Burned your tongue on coffee, a product designed to be hot? The vendor's fault! I'm gonna sue! Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Has it become old-fashioned?

Trial and personal injury lawyers are leading the growing "not my fault" crowd to courthouses like kids to a candy store, inviting them to shed personal responsibility in exchange for some cash. Plaintiffs are seeking remedy for the most frivolous of "injuries" and redress for the slightest of alleged slights. You've heard the crazy examples--a woman successfully sues McDonalds after she spills coffee on her lap exiting the drive-thru; a New jersey college student sues for damages after he falls out of a loft bed while taking a nap; the convenience store thief sues a store owner after employees beat him up during a robbery attempt.

Who suffers? Everyone, in the form of higher prices for products, courtrooms jammed with frivolous complaints, and the erosion of a bedrock American principle we can no longer take for granted--taking responsibility for one's actions.

The fear of being subject to a potentially bankrupting frivolous lawsuit has led some product manufacturers to create the most inane of warning labels. My favorite is the one on the baby stroller that says, "Caution: remove baby before folding stroller." On a household iron: "Never iron clothes while they are being worn." In the manual of a chainsaw: "Do not attempt to stop the blade with your hand."

Has it come to this?

One of the reasons I am so proud to represent business owners is that they take responsibility for their actions. If they try and fail, they don't blame somebody else--they examine what went wrong, work harder, and try again."


Although what the article says, I agree with, one thing this article misses is the responsibility of the judge to judge rightly. Some judges today have lost the wisdom that judges of old once had: the ability to discern between when someone is responsible and when someone isn't.