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"Responsible: answerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management; chargeable with being the author, cause, or occasion of something; having a capacity for moral decisions and therefore accountable; capable of rational thought or action." Webster's.
It must be true. Everyone is telling me so.
I am not responsible.
On television. In newspapers and magazines. Across the Internet. Wherever I go, I hear the same message.
I am not responsible.
Truly, such a proclamation rattles the foundations of my weltanschauung. The most important things in which I believed have been turned topsy-turvy. I need only examine a few areas of life to realize the sweeping nature of this transformation that the politicians and their supporters are creating.
Consider:
When it comes to defending myself, I am told I should leave that task to the professionals: the police, the armed forces, the National Guard. Since I cannot control a firearm, I should not be making any decisions regarding what weapon to purchase, how many rounds that tool may hold, when, where, or how I should carry it, or against whom I should wield it. I would probably just shoot myself or a loved one or an innocent bystander if I had a gun. No. It's the fault of the "gun culture" and gun manufacturers that we have so much violence in our society and that people like me erroneously believe a firearm will enhance my safety.
I am not responsible.
One of today's most prominent politicians tells me that if I am without health insurance, I should not fret. (The identity of this person is irrelevant: someone else was saying the same thing a decade ago. If the Republicrats haven't piecemeal completed the nationalization of our health care system by then, someone else will be saying the same thing ten years from now.) That result is not because I am young and blithely believe in my invulnerability or because I prefer to spend my money on what seem to be more pressing concerns. It is not because I work part-time, trading benefits against increased free-time. It is not because all my appeals to the State for assistance have made health care so expensive that I cannot now afford inflated insurance premiums. It is not because I am a bad health risk from drinking or eating or smoking too much. It is not because I believe I can cover most health costs out-of-pocket and/or want to rely upon my savings to cover big problems. No. In "the richest country of the world" no one should "be without health insurance" because it is mine "by right" and certain souls are seeking to deprive me of what is mine by "right." Or maybe it's the fault of the greedy insurance companies.
I am not responsible.
If I gasp at the price of the gasoline I put into my $50,000 SUV yet gladly fork over five dollars for a cup of coffee, it is not because I am ignorant of the true cost of gas in inflation-adjusted terms or as a percentage of my income or because I have wacky priorities. No. It is the fault of the price-gouging oil companies. Or those damned OPEC countries.
I am not responsible.
When I have difficulty finding a job, it is not because I am lazy or unskilled or intimidated by all the legal hoops the State has created to inhibit citizens from starting their own businesses. It is not because I fear change and am unwilling to try something new. No. It's the fault of foreign competition that floods the market with cheap goods. Or it's due to out-sourcing. Or Walmart.
I am not responsible.
If I am fat, it is not because I eat junk food all day long. It is not because I sit on the couch playing video games or watching TV hour after hour. It is not because I never exercise. It is not because exerting willpower is too much like work. No. It is because of my genetics. Or my metabolism. Or callous corporations like McDonald's trapping me in a "toxic food environment." Or because food is too cheap and too plentiful.
I am not responsible.
When I am retired and find drugs more expensive than I like, it is not because I abused my body for decades. It is not because I never saved for my non-working years. It is not because I supported government decisions regarding drug research. Or State-subsidies of hospitals. Or Medicaid. No. It's because of nasty, cold-hearted drug companies intent upon exploiting my illness to line their pockets.
I am not responsible.
If my children come home from school spouting environmental nonsense about the ozone hole or global warming or recycling or are expelled because they ran afoul of zero-tolerance policies when they drew pictures of guns, it is not because I shoved my kids off on the teachers to baby-sit. It is not because I wanted the government to steal money from my neighbors to pay for my kids' education or to decide what books to use and what ideas to teach. No. It is because public schools don't get enough money from uncaring citiznes, and private schools are subverting the public schools' efforts by skimming off the best students.
I am not responsible.
When I cry at my pittance of a Social Security check I receive every month and have to work as a bagger at the local grocery, it is not because I believe such money is mine by right and should be supplied by the government simply because I lived long enough. It is not because I never invested any of my income but preferred to buy new cars and fancy toys. It is not because I swallowed everything I heard about the integrity of the "trust fund" that held my money. No. It is because young people do not appreciate their obligations. Or because unnamed politicians want me to die in the street eating dog food.
I am not responsible.
If terrorists hate and want to blow up Americans, it is in no way due to the way I cheered on my government as it sent troops to all corners of the world to prop up a plethora of dictators, "freedom fighters" who later attacked us, and whoever else the politicians found convenient to have as an ally for the moment, regardless of how reprehensible those leaders actually were. No. It is because Arabs are nuts and don't know how to run their own lives and don't appreciate all we are trying to do for them.
I am not responsible.
The politicians assure me that I cannot earn a living without a license telling me I am competent. That I cannot fix or remodel or build my home unless they oversee everything I do. That I cannot properly decide whom (or how many people) to marry or how to engage in sex without their blessing. That I cannot control what my children watch without a State-mandated V-chip installed in the television. That I cannot consume recreational drugs in a moderate fashion. That I cannot handle verbal harassment or lewd jokes or naughty words. That I cannot travel without a State-sanctioned passport to protect me. That I cannot control my gambling or view dirty images in the absence of the State's watchful eye. That I will be racist or sexist in the government fails to provide its oversight. That only the State prevents me from polluting my environment. That I will become a criminal if I seek anonymity or privacy. That I will starve and die without a State-supplied safety-net.
All those issues and more the politicians tell me I am unable to manage or control, that my power to direct my life in these areas is nonexistent. And yet...
Though I am not to be held accountable in these realms, I am, oddly enough, supposed to be "responsible" for everyone else through the money that is taken from me via taxation and regulation. Not that I am responsible for making any decisions in how that money is spent, mind you. I'm just responsible for paying for what the politicians decide to force me to do. And, of course, I am responsible for wholeheartedly supporting the State lest I become "unpatriotic" and a potential traitor.
In this Alice-in-Wonderland anti-universe in which we now find ourselves, we witness the inversion of logic and fallacy, right and wrong, justice and injustice. I am legally declared not to be responsible for those aspects of my existence that I should -- and want to -- be accountable for while I am simultaneously held liable for what I did not cause and over which I do not have or seek power or control.
Someone here is definitely not exercising "rational thought or action."
I am beginning to suspect that someone is not me.
