I remember when I was growing up, fighting with my parents to be allowed to be responsible for my own actions. It was a sign of independence. If I made a mistake, I would take the consequences. My parents, wanting nothing but the best for me, wanted to prevent my making mistakes, by telling me what to do and what not to do. The end result, a compromise. I made my own mistakes, and they bailed me out when they had too. It was called the process of growing up.
Why then is it that today, no one wants to be responsible for their own actions?
I heard on the news that a group of people are suing the government here in Manitoba. The reason for this lawsuit? The Government allows gambling in the bars and in government run casinos. They are saying that the government is responsible for people that are addicted to gambling!
Now correct me if I am wrong here, but I don't think the government sent a representative to the person's house, abducted them at gunpoint or under threat of harm, took them to their bank, forced them to take out their life savings, and then sat there and forced them to put their money in the VLT's (Video Lottery Terminals/Slot Machines).
No...these people did it on their own. All the government has done is allow free enterprise to work and in doing so, has created a revenue stream that is helping the government pay the bills without direct taxation for the money. It is a voluntary tax. You don't HAVE to play. You CHOOSE to!
This is just the latest of these kind of things that are driving me crazy. And the government participates in this insanity too!
A couple of years back, a young man in his early 20's took $20.00 to a bar that was having a 99 cent shooter special. He then proceeded to spend the entire $20.00 in 1 hour, consuming 20 ounces of alcohol, and when his money was gone, decided to walk home. Well, this drunken fool must have had a Jesus complex, because they found him dead in the river the next day. In his drunken state, he walked into the river and drown.
The government, in an extreme case of knee jerk reaction, turned around and set a MINIMUM PRICE for alcohol in the province so people who are stupid can't kill themselves by getting drunk and qualifying for a Darwin Award. The end result, those of us that drink responsibly are now forced to pay higher prices for a drink and the bars get a guaranteed profit.
The whole point of this is, are we not responsible for our own actions anymore? If I choose to drink to excess, and because of this I end up dead or maimed, is it not my own fault? If I choose to spend my rent/mortgage money on gambling, and lose, am I not responsible for losing my apartment/house?
In the classic novel War and Peace, there is a line that says what I am trying to say:
"The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few..."
What this means is a few people, or the smaller segment of society, should not be able to force their views on the many. Just because you have a problem, doesn't mean the rest of do. Just because you can't handle something in a responsible way, doesn't mean that the rest of us shouldn't be allowed to participate in the activity just because they can't do it without going overboard.
The bottom line is this. YOU are responsible for your actions. I am responsible for my actions. And no one has the right to tell me that I can't do something because you can't do it without losing control.
This is called being a RESPONSIBLE ADULT!
