Current society tries to teach us to go against traditional principles. One of the main falsehoods we’re taught is that nobody is responsible for anything. In other words, we shouldn’t have to:
- Control our emotions or impulses.
- Earn our own way in the world.
- Suffer the bad consequences of our poor decisions.
The government, or some other authority figure, has the duty to clean up our messes and support us. Right?!!! Wrong!!!
Who is Responsible?
It’s not a far reach from that kind of attitude to a complete “blame the victim” mentality. In other words, any bad things that happen can and should be blamed on the victim, not on the aggressor:
- Unconventional physical appearance
- Marginalized way of thinking
- Mental or physical limitations
- Disagreement with our values
- Slower paced in traffic—or anywhere
Let’s sum up the viewpoint of the out-of-control bully: “I’m not accountable for my actions if you offend me; you are.” This is no surprise, since the Bible says this of the last days:
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”-- Matthew 24:10 (KJV)
The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
This is the first book in a new series by Rick Riordan. He is the author of the well-received Percy Jackson series, among others. If you absolutely can’t do without your fix of history, mythology, humor, and pop culture combined, Rick Riordan is your man. I adore all of his books!
I won’t write any spoilers, of course. I will say that the main villain bullies people into submission and foregoes all responsibility for any related violence. How does he do this? He says that it’s their fault they make him angry and force him to be violent. (He’s kind of similar to The Incredible Hulk that way.) If he has to kill his victims, that’s their problem.
Me
I was bullied through my young adult years. The attackers always focused the blame on me. I was too short, behaved too strangely, wasn’t willing to act in their desired manner, and the list goes on. That’s not right!
My Conclusion
“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”—Ezekiel 18:20 (NKJV)
The fashion of the day is to shift the blame to others. Marginalized people can rest assured they are not always the true cause of trauma. In fact, they are usually the misunderstood victims—of heritage, genetics, confused teaching, physical limitations, and so forth. We are all responsible for our actions, and nobody can shift the responsibility for their poor choices onto someone else.
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Are you taking responsibility for your own actions?
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