Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am so sick and tired of the finger pointing.

It happens every minute of every day.  We all do it, we do it without thinking because it makes us feel better about ourselves to blame or criticize others.

It happens when the administrator of a school looks for the cigarette smoking student who almost sets the school on fire.  Would it be better if the administrator looked to themselves to see if an environment has been created by their hand where something like that is possible?  Perhaps.

It happens when the soccer coach is criticized by a parent who blames the coach for not doing enough.  Would it be better if the parent looked to themselves to see if they are responsible for allowing less than full effort from their children?  Would it be better if the parent looked to the players to see whether or not they are trying their very best?  Perhaps.

It happens when the student blames the teacher for not understanding what they are supposed to learn.  Would it be better if the student looked to themselves to see if they are responsible for trying as hard as they can to grasp the concepts?  Perhaps.

What has happened to personal responsibility?  Why is it that no one seems to look to themselves anymore for their failures?  If I screw up, shouldn’t I look to blame myself first and foremost?  But, no one holds themselves responsible for things anymore because it makes us uncomfortable.  It has become much more psychologically safe to blame the government, or the media, or the schools, or the foreigners, or anyone else for that matter for our problems or mistakes or shortcomings.  When did it become absolutely impossible for any of us to take an “ego hit” by admitting our part in failures?  What is so wrong about failing if you have tried as hard as you can?

A loss or a mistake isn’t something to be feared or hated, unless it involves less than total commitment.  Our society, however, leads us to believe that a loss is a horrible thing or that a mistake should be punishable by death.  I agree, to a certain extent, because failure without full effort should not be excused.

The best that everyone can do is give everything you have every time you try something.  Don’t ever do anything unless you are willing to do it with all of your might.  If you do this, then when someone points a finger at you, you can feel confident that you are not responsible, or as responsible, as the player or the boss or the parent who did not do their part.  If we all try very very hard, then it doesn’t hurt so bad if we fail.  If everyone did everything they could ever time, then the only failures left would be the ones that people can accept.

In life, we are all in the same boat, and as nice as it makes us feel to think that someone else may be responsible when the group fails, it is not fruitful to think this way.  I will admit when I have done something wrong, but I am sick and tired of people pointing the finger at me when they fail.  If failure happens and I am responsible, I will take responsibility because my full effort is always a part of everything I do.  But, DO NOT POINT THE FINGER AT SOMEONE WHO HAS TRIED HARDER THAN YOU.

We all must do our very best, or the failure falls on us.