2008 Woodie Awards
Society needs a lesson in responsibility
Will Bowlin
Issue date: 10/19/06 Section: Opinion
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True or false?
An obese, diabetic man suffers from heart disease. It probably has something to do with the fact that he eats at fast-food restaurants four or five times weekly.
He does the natural thing and sues McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and KFC, claiming they never warned him that eating fast food daily is unhealthy.
True or false?
A police officer arrests a suspect and puts him in the back of the police car.
The suspect begins kicking the windows and the officer decides to subdue him or her with a Taser.
Instead, the officer accidentally draws her sidearm and shoots and kills the man.
The city sues Taser for the amount awarded in the wrongful death suit filed by the man's family, arguing that any officer could have made the mistake of accidentally drawing and firing the sidearm.
True or false?
A college student is mooning other students from his third-story window.
The window breaks and he falls.
He sues the university, claiming that the window was unsafe and that he was never warned of the dangers of third-story windows.
Unfortunately, all those stories are true. It's a scary trend, and it's a symptom of a bigger problem.
We are living in a blameless society where adults refuse to take responsibility for their actions, where instead more and more people are trying to take the 'easy' way out by blaming someone else.
Most people have heard the story of the woman named Stella Liebeck who burned herself with McDonald's coffee and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
That story also is true.
Bad things happen to good people all the time, but when you hurt yourself trying to put cream in your coffee, it's your fault, no matter how you twist it, and you don't deserve compensation.
It is time for us, as a culture, to stop pointing fingers and to get out of the baby seat.
Take some responsibility and grow up, because when no one believes they should suffer the consequences of their actions, you have a society of children.
An obese, diabetic man suffers from heart disease. It probably has something to do with the fact that he eats at fast-food restaurants four or five times weekly.
He does the natural thing and sues McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and KFC, claiming they never warned him that eating fast food daily is unhealthy.
True or false?
A police officer arrests a suspect and puts him in the back of the police car.
The suspect begins kicking the windows and the officer decides to subdue him or her with a Taser.
Instead, the officer accidentally draws her sidearm and shoots and kills the man.
The city sues Taser for the amount awarded in the wrongful death suit filed by the man's family, arguing that any officer could have made the mistake of accidentally drawing and firing the sidearm.
True or false?
A college student is mooning other students from his third-story window.
The window breaks and he falls.
He sues the university, claiming that the window was unsafe and that he was never warned of the dangers of third-story windows.
Unfortunately, all those stories are true. It's a scary trend, and it's a symptom of a bigger problem.
We are living in a blameless society where adults refuse to take responsibility for their actions, where instead more and more people are trying to take the 'easy' way out by blaming someone else.
Most people have heard the story of the woman named Stella Liebeck who burned herself with McDonald's coffee and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
That story also is true.
Bad things happen to good people all the time, but when you hurt yourself trying to put cream in your coffee, it's your fault, no matter how you twist it, and you don't deserve compensation.
It is time for us, as a culture, to stop pointing fingers and to get out of the baby seat.
Take some responsibility and grow up, because when no one believes they should suffer the consequences of their actions, you have a society of children.
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