Unaccountable America- Blameshifting And Generation X

1 Corinthians 13:11:11

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

I am part of a generation that blames everyone else for their troubles. Now I understand that when you are a kid you can not control everything that comes your way. Having been given a birds eye view of our foster care system here in Georgia I am pretty convinced of that. As a child you are vulnerable to the whims of the adults around you. A lot of tragedy occurs because of irresponsible adults that victimize young children and I have been a witness to that first hand as a former foster mother and adoptive parent. A statistic I am more than familiar with is the amount of inmates in our prison systems that come from broken homes and out of our foster care system. That being said I do believe in personal responsibility and when one becomes an adult the blame and excuses game must end.

Generation X has spent a good deal of time exploring their pain and blaming Mom and Dad for their poor decisions. That has translated in our society to adults who can't take responsibility for much of anything and a new generation that thinks they are owed everything. I have never seen so many grandparents raising young children as I do today. That is shameful. You see politicians, sports figures, celebrities and many others who have behaved irresponsibly and blame everyone but themselves. We can not get beyond what we "feel" and that reflects in our actions. There is a time for mourning, but it seems we get stuck there feeling sorry for ourselves. We want a "bail out" for everything. Give me a free pass! I want, I want, I want. Give it to me now! I deserve it. I love the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the original, yes I am that old) and the character Violet could be a symbol of the last twenty to thirty years. "I want a golden goose daddy, give it to me NOW!!"

We don't want to have to work for anything. You owe me! You owe me because you didn't_____ or you wouldn't_______or ______ happened to me. You fill in the blanks. Honestly, it is getting tired. As a country we need to get beyond our toddler years. Life is hard and I am no stranger to that believe me. If one has had a bad time of it, it doesn't help him to stay in the mud wallowing around with the pigs. Tell him to get his backside out of there and point him in the right direction. That is the "loving" thing to do. You can give him hug too and tell him you love him, but please don't tell him it is fine if he'd like to stay there because it is not. Help him to learn how to survive and not to depend on you or our society. That is the kindest thing you can do for anyone. “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown

President Barack Obama made statements in his inaugural address about personal accountability. I really hope he understands what that means. There are some executive orders he gave this week that give me a different impression of what he meant by those statements. Irregardless, it starts with us. It starts with us personally, in our families, in our finances, in the work place, in our civility towards other human beings and the laws of this great country. The buck stops here baby. Step up Generation X!

Herbalmama