Im Just Saying

Seems everyone’s a victim these days.  The biggest problem facing our nation has been growing steadily over the past two or three decades.  And the problem is it’s no ones fault.  And it’s everyones fault.  And it’s your fault and his fault and their fault and the man’s fault.

But it’s not my fault.

You see it every day on TV.  I hear about it first hand day in and day out.  Why can’t you pay your bill?  ”Haven’t you heard?  The economy is in the tank!”  Why you haven’t paid in years, who knows?  Can’t stay out of jail?  The cops are harassing you.  The man is keeping you down.  Can’t seem to keep you checking account in the black?  It’s because of the bank bailouts.  Before that it was Bush’s tax cuts.  The war in Iraq.  Because you’re black.  Because you’re Mexican.  Because you’re white.

At some time during the Reagan Administration, it became no longer necessary to lead your own life.  You didn’t have to work hard, you didn’t have to live up to a code, you didn’t have be committed to the ideals of being an American.  It’s ironic, the more religious and America-first we became as a nation, the less altruistic and moral and patriotic we actually were.

At this very moment I’m on the line with a gentleman that lost his home in a short sale.  I offered him a sweetheart deal but he balked, stating “You can’t help what happens to you.”  But you can.  Some things are unavoidable, but 90% of lifes events are a direct result of our actions.  The economy isn’t the reason you lost your home, not directly anyway.  You lost your home because you used it as an investment, you assumed the value would forever increase, and you liquidated the equity.  The the value dropped, you lost your job and didn’t have a nest egg, and you had to sell your INVESTMENT at a loss.  But a home isn’t a monetary investment, not for most people.  It’s where you live.  It’s your existence.  So instead of chalking it up to poor business management, you were screwed.  You were a victim of circumstances beyond your control.  And yes it is quite common for me to talk to debtors while doing any one of a dozen other things.  I’m usually not listening, your situation isn’t unique and doesn’t require my undivided attention.

And it’s apparently not just our country:

By MIKE CORDER

Associated Press Writer

THE HAGUE, Netherlands —A Dutch court on Wednesday rejected a compensation claim by a woman who sued her former high school for allegedly failing to stop her from becoming a prostitute.

Maria Mosterd claimed her school should have done more to prevent pimps preying on her and told her mother about her repeated truancy.

The 20-year-old wrote a book about her experiences, claiming pimps took her from school in the eastern city of Zwolle and put her to work as a prostitute.

She and her mother say they went to court to highlight the problem of pimps, known in the Netherlands as “lover boys” who befriend and exploit young girls.

“This happens at many schools, and nobody takes responsibility for it,” Mosterd’s mother, Lucie Mosterd, said in a telephone interview. “We hoped we would win to make the point that this is going on at schools.”

Zwolle District Court rejected Mosterd’s compensation claim, saying the school tried unsuccessfully to contact her mother and called in a truancy officer.

The court ruling also said that parents, not schools, are primarily responsible for their children’s well-being.

Lucie Mosterd said she agreed that parents have the most responsibility for their children. “But how can I take responsibility for her truancy if I do not know about it?”

The family is considering appealing.

Mosterd’s former school, the Thorbecke School, could not immediately be reached for comment. The school’s Web site says it pays special attention to the danger of pimps and discusses the issue with students.

But bless the Netherlands court that ruled parents need to be responsible for raising their kids.

And that’s really all it boils down to: Responsibility.  Responsibility is annoying, painful, frustrating, difficult.  It’s contrary to the “immediate satisfaction” mentality we have.  But it’s that mentality that leads to excess consumerism, the credit crises, the savings crises, stock bubbles, and reality tv.  We are conditioned to believe that we are entitled to anything and everything we desire and that it should be given to us now.  But this is wrong.  I don’t mean morally wrong, I mean it’s incorrect.  Not only is it contrary to our ideals, it is contrary to nature. 

The Consitution states we have the God-given inalienable rights to “Truth Justice and the American Way.”  Sorry, that’s Superman.  It says “Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness.”  We have the right to try, we have the right to work for it, we have the right to attain it.  We don’t have the right to it.

As an aside, a few years ago I was in Seattle walking from the Paramount to the Moore theatre.  There was a sidewalk preacher (but the hippy Seattle kind) with a bullhorn extolling the devil in coveting things.  “What’s the number one cause of adultery in this country?”  I answered from across the street.  “HOT CHICKS!”  I got a few laughs.  “That’s exactly right, consumerism.”  What?  Are you sure about this?  I’m pretty sure it’s what I said.