People need to take responsibility for their actions

Knowing the difference between right and wrong is an important lesson that is taught to children at a very early age. Kids are taught to think about the decisions they make and the consequences that will come of those decisions so they will grow into adults who hopefully will think before they act. Another important lesson taught to our young is the lesson of taking responsibility for your actions.

So I have to wonder, with these two significant lessons being taught to the kids today and the lessons having been taught to us, the kids of yesterday, how did we become a society that points the finger when something bad happens?

I am a huge fan of MTV's Jackass. I am a grown adult who tends to watch the show when it is on, and I have seen both of the movies repeatedly. But I know that what those guys are doing is stupid and that the show is called Jackass for a reason.

My mother taught me at an early age that stapling my butt cheeks together or letting a friend brand me is not the smartest thing to do. So when I read the disclaimer at the beginning of Jackass warning people not to do what they see on the screen, I have to wonder who actually would do those things.

Then I remember all those people I have heard about on the news who have been hospitalized or killed trying to perform stunts they have seen on TV. While those tragedies are saddening, why did those people not have enough sense to know not to do those things? Had they never been taught the difference between right and wrong?

But what confuses me the most about these situations is the fact that the TV shows get blamed for the people's actions. When a little boy killed a little girl a few years ago because he was trying to imitate the wrestling moves he saw on TV, the first finger of blame was pointed at wrestling.

I never once heard the parents of the children step up and say it was their fault for letting their children watch TV that is unsuitable for a younger audience. Nor did I hear them say the kids should never have been left unsupervised. Instead, they blamed the professional wrestling community, which has been built around entertaining people - not me - for decades.

Another similar situation is that of the ever-shrinking female celebrity. Anyone can look at Nicole Ritchie or the Olsen-Twin-of-the-minute and tell they are not healthy women. Granted, these celebrities constantly are on the covers of magazines across newsstands and their faces are everywhere, but that does not mean they make sound judgments about healthy lifestyles; they are people, too.

So why do we blame them for eating disorders in teenagers if they themselves are sick individuals who apparently are screaming for help? Should we not be more concerned with teaching girls and boys that it is far better and far more beneficial to be healthy and happy and secure with themselves instead of trying to emulate the celebrity image? Oh, and P.S.: I think we all need to realize that magazine photos are airbrushed and that professionals make them look perfect; it's not the real world.

Don't blame celebrities for our problems. Hello, they are not the most sane people walking around.

Pushing off the blame does not only apply to the entertainment world.

The school shootings at Columbine High School sent off a major wave of finger-pointing. This group blamed the parents of the shooters for not being more involved in their kids' lives, that group blamed the school officials who did not see warning signs, and the list goes on.

But correct me if I am wrong: No one stepped up and said they had any fault in this situation.

The kids who tormented those boys every day at school, the people who viewed

the boys' Web sites days before the shootings, the boys themselves and numerous others all are to blame. But everyone was so concerned with not having the finger pointed at them that they blamed anyone and everyone they could.

In our everyday lives, we avoid taking responsibility for our actions. Let's face it; if we fail a test, we blame the professor. We tend to forget that we studied only an hour before the test and went to class only a couple of times.

We blame the dog if it pees in the house, but we never took the time to housebreak it. We get mad at our government officials for their actions, yet we could not be bothered to go and vote for the person we thought could do the job.

It is sad that we do not applaud better judgments more. We never hear about the student who decided not to cheat; we all seem to care about the one who did and got caught. We aren't concerned with the married couple who have remained faithful to their vows; we only want to hear about the ones who cheat.

Granted, making good judgments should just be a given; but anymore, it is not.

So the next time someone makes a good decision, let them know it means something to you.

We as a society have to learn to take responsibility for our own actions.

When people make sound choices, they will reap the benefits; but if they choose the wrong paths, they should be held accountable for their mistakes.

Blaming others never solved anything, but stepping up and admitting that you made a mistake does.