Is Personal Responsibility A Dying Concept?

As I sit and work through my usual morning office hours I have seen – not once but twice – in my Facebook feed stories about families who want some kind of legal change or assistance because a member of their family was either stupid or criminal.  At first I just shook my head at what these people think and what their outlook is.  Then it dawned on me that it’s not JUST these two families.  Looking back across the past couple of months it becomes glaringly obvious that not only do people think they shouldn’t be held responsible for their actions, but, in fact, that others who REACT to stupidity should be held responsible or controlled somehow.

What am I talking about?  Let’s take a look back… bear with me as we crank the time machine handle over to the left, and the screen goes all squiggly and the weird Scooby Doo noises play in the background…

The date is August 9, 2014.  An adult male with a criminal history attacks a police officer who, in defense of his life, shoots and kills the criminal.  Due to outright false “witness” testimony and a mainstream media that warps all “reporting” to sensationalize the story and enflame a nation, Ferguson, Missouri experiences riots and civil unrest.  The message is clear: no matter what Michael Brown did (not MAY have done, but DID), he shouldn’t have been held accountable.  No matter what crime a black male committed, it didn’t justify the completely lawful use of lethal force in defense of a white police officer’s life.

More squiggly screen and Scooby Doo noises… but this time we’re turning that time dial to the right…

The date is April 12, 2015.  In Baltimore, a convicted criminal, under arrest for a new crime, thrashes about inside a transport van and causes himself injury.  As a result of the injury, Freddie Gray dies.  Once again, thanks to the mainstream media’s “reporting” of “facts” in a very careful and choreographed fashion, designed to stoke the flames of racial discord and raise advertising rates, riots and civil unrest break out.  When the smoke clears (literally), the message is once again reinforced: no matter what Freddie Gray did, even if he was the cause of his own injuries and death, someone else is to blame.  It’s always the fault of the police even if they haven’t done anything wrong!

At that point I was shaking my head at how ludicrous people could be.  After all, who would blame the police for doing their job the right way?  Who would want police professionals punished for doing nothing wrong?  Who would think it made sense to excuse criminal behavior and hold police officers responsible for the actions of the criminal?  Isn’t THAT the ultimate twist of reality to remove all logic from day to day behavior?  But wait… it gets better.

More squiggly screen and Scooby Doo noises… turning that time dial to the right…

The date is June 19^th, 2015.  In Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Police Detective Jeffrey Griffin is shot by burglary suspect Najee Harmon.  After an overnight manhunt, Najee is found hiding in the basement of family friend Stephanie King.  Ms. King, on video, makes the statement that she willingly helped Najee and hid him because, in her words, “He ain’t do no wrong. He just shot a cop.”

EXCUSE ME??  Shooting a cop isn’t wrong???  What the living heck?  Since when does anyone think it’s perfectly okay to shoot a law enforcement officer?  Further, why isn’t this woman being charged with accessory after the fact?  Harboring a fugitive?  Anything?  Not only does she not think Najee should be held accountable for his behavior but no one is holding HER accountable for her behavior!  With our failure to charge this woman with the crime(s) she committed, we’re reinforcing that it’s perfectly acceptable to ignore the law; that you won’t be held responsible for your behavior and actions.

More squiggly screen and Scooby Doo noises… turning that time dial to the right…

The date is July 4^th, 2015.  In Calais, Maine, a drunk man – Devon Staples – who had been drinking and was intoxicated, strapped a launchable EXPLOSIVE pyrotechnic device otherwise known as “fireworks” TO HIS HEAD and lit it.  He fell dead immediately after the launch of the explosive projectile.  You can blame stupidity. You can blame his drunkenness.  You can blame a lot of things but they all are going to boil down to this: Devon Staples knowingly strapped an explosive to his head and lit it.  He died as a result of his own actions.  Now, here’s the part that vexes me:  His family is petitioning the State of Maine to increase legal controls on commercially available fireworks because they blame a lack of fireworks control laws for Devon’s death.  Never mind that his death was a direct result of his own actions.  They want the state to control fireworks better.

 - - - - - - - - - -

Now, as I started this blog out: why on God’s green Earth do we not hold individual’s accountable and responsible for their own actions?  And even if we recognize that they’re responsible for their actions, why do we (society) try to find a way to excuse them from the results of their actions?  It’s not like these people are ignorant of their choices or what might happen.  Michael Brown KNEW that if he attacked a police officer the officer would defend himself.  As a previously convicted criminal, Michael Brown KNEW that officers all have the option of lethal force if justified. In spite of this knowledge, Michael Brown CHOSE to attack a police officer.  Why is anyone surprised that the results of his actions were exactly what he knew them to possibly be?  Every reasonably intelligent adult in the world knows that steel is harder than flesh and bone.  Freddie Grey KNEW, when he started thrashing around inside that transport van, that he could do potentially fatal harm to himself, yet he knowingly chose to thrash around anyway.  Why is anyone surprised that the results of his actions were exactly what he knew them to possibly be?  Najee Harmon KNEW that it was illegal (not to mention immoral) to shoot a police officer yet he knowingly CHOSE to do so anyway.  Ms. Stephanie King – who SHOULD know that it’s illegal and wrong to shoot a police officer, not to mention help the criminal who did it – knowingly CHOSE to hide Najee in her home.  Najee certainly shouldn’t have been surprised that he was hunted down and Stephanie King should be absolutely surprised and delighted that she herself isn’t behind bars as an accessory to attempted murder after the fact.  When Devon Staples strapped an explosive device to his head and launched it, if he didn’t know and realize it was a potentially fatal act, he was just dumb.  Would ANYONE reading this do such a thing?  Yet his family doesn’t hold him responsible for his own death; they blame the fireworks company and the State of Maine for not controlling fireworks more through legislation.

I am at a loss. It appears as if only Mother Nature still makes man pay a price for his wanton stupidity.  This past weekend in Texas, a man knowingly jumped into a bayou, ignoring signs to beware of the alligators.  In fact, before jumping in, he screamed, “F*CK the Alligators!” Mother Nature isn’t as forgiving as humankind apparently is. Almost immediately after jumping into the alligator infested waters, the man was killed by…  alligators.  Perhaps his family will sue the State of Texas for not legislating alligators better?  THEY may not hold him responsible for his actions, but Mother Nature sure did – and collected an immediate toll.  Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned there.  Maybe we, as a society, aren’t evolving in the right direction when we start excusing stupidity and criminality.  Maybe… just MAYBE we should start demanding that people be responsible for their own actions AND THE RESULTS again?