Monday, January 25, 2010

Being right means having to say you're sorry

One of the disadvantages of being politically conservative is having to say I'm sorry.  You know, acknowledge that you did something wrong, or hurt someone's feelings, or made a mistake.  Saying sorry means you take responsibility for your own actions.  That concept is lost to our liberal friends.  One of the most mindblowing examples of this came last week, the day after the Massachusetts special election.  Our president, Barack Obama, had an interview, in which he stated that "The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office, people are angry and they're frustrated, not just because of what's happend in the last year or two years, because of what happened in the last eight years." Don't take my word for it, watch yourself A major loss for the president's agenda and the Democrat party is because the deep blue state of Massachusetts voted a Republican who campaigned almost exclusively as the key to killing the current healthcare reform bill into the seat held by Ted Kennedy for 40+ years because they are still mad at W.  Not because the people don't want the plan.  Not because it's a sorry piece of legislation that hasn't been read by the people in office.  Not because it's so horrible that HUGE bribes had to be offered to collect votes (not a new event, or exclusively liberal, but the blatancy of this round of bribery is especially disturbing in view of the massive opposition to the bill from the people) This is one of the finest examples of avoiding taking responsibility we have seen from the left in a long time.  Obama, Pelosi and Reid should have said a long time ago that this is not a plan the people want, it needs to be scrapped and started from scratch.  But ego, pride and agenda all got in the way.  Reid gave us another example with his "light skinned" and "Negro dialect" comment by not following his own example and demanding for his own resignation like he did to Trent Lott for his comment at Strom Thurman's 100th birthday party. 

Now, if you're still reading, good.  You are probably mature and intelligent enough to at least recognize the point of this rant.  My point today is not really about Obama or Reid, they just have recently given fine examples of my point.  Personal accountability is one of the bricks in the foundation of conservatism and many other good ideologies.  Acknowledging our own part in our situation, whether it is a good situation or a bad situation, is a requirement.  If it is a good situation, that acknowledgment can keep us on the right track, maintaining good habits and keep us humble by acknowledging the people who have helped us out.  If we are in a bad situation, acknowledging our part in it helps us identify the actions and habits that got us there so we can fix them  For some reason, the left leaning mindset that is overwhelming our society, not just politics, can't stand the idea of personal responsibility.  We see it in frivolous lawsuits, inane warning labels who's sole purpose is to prevent frivolous lawsuits, therapy blame games (not saying events in our past and things people have done to us can't affect us, especially traumatic events, but part of the healing process is not letting those things rule our lives anymore) no fault divorces, the list goes on and on. 

I'll present a personal example of the power of personal accountability.  My financial situation isn't the best in the world.  There are a whole lot of reasons for that, primarily decisions that I and my wife have made over the years, and yes even decisions I made before I was married.  Some of those decisions, mostly the ones I made before I was married were not very intelligent or forward thinking.  Some of those decisions were good decisions, but they have had profound effects on life.  Having kids early is one of those good, profound decisions, especially as later events have made the possibility of having kids later nil.  Not applying myself in high school and the first trip through college is one of those less than stellar choices.  Guess what? Since acknowledging that I was not applying myself in my educational endeavors, I have completed both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.  Finishing either one would not have been possible without first accepting my responsibility for breezing through high school and flunking out of my initial attempt at college.

None of us can make anything better without figuring out where things went wrong, and 98.7% of the time, we will find that where things went wrong was with our own choices and actions.  Not racism, not sexism, not politics, not poverty, not family ties, not other people's opinions of us.  So many great people throughout history have started with nothing, and instead of wallowing in self-pity or playing the blame game, they simply said "I will not remain in this situation."  Some of them had it all, lost it all, and examined how they got it all to begin with, how they lost it, and then got it all back.  Again, these people did not hide in a corner, or scream that the system was out to get them.  They acknowledged the situation and their part in it, and went forth to fix whatever was wrong with the situation.  There are problems in our political system right now, on the left and the right, and they aren't all George W. Bush's fault.  There are problems in our economic system right now and they aren't all AIG and GM's fault.  There are problems in our social systems right now, and they aren't all because of racism and sexism.  None of these will get fixed unless people stand up and acknowledge what caused those problems and set forth to fix their part of that.  If you made it all the way through this screed without throwing your computer through a window, you know what the first step is.  Are you willing to take it, to better yourself and the world? 

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