1st Jennifer Woodward Walters High School, Walters, Oklahoma
1st Jennifer Woodward
Responsibility
by Jennifer Woodward
Social irresponsibility runs rampant in today's society. People continually look for someone else to blame for their problems. Many times these problems were caused by the person's own actions or by no one at all. Listed below are a few examples of this inexcusable trend. First, in Titus County Texas, Howard Clymer was driving well over the marked 45 mph speed limit. He, driving while intoxicated, missed a curve and crashed. He then sued the state Department of Highways, the road contractor, a utility company and the engineering firm that designed the highway. Five years later the firms settled with him and others in the car for a total of $175,000 plus $200,000 in attorney fees. The firms nearly went bankrupt because of this settlement. Second, the 3m Company had to redesign their bowpin devices, which are used for making gift wrapping bows, because a three year-old choked to death. . . while playing with a gift bow. The Company also had to pay large amounts of money to the parents for damages they claimed to have suffered because of this accident. Finally, a teenage boy decided to drive three drunk young women home from a party so they wouldn't have to drive themselves. On the way, one of the girls in the back seat opened her door to throw up. She accidentally closed the door on her arm and it was cut off. The girl's parents sued the driver for failing to lock the doors.
The previous examples show just how warped and abused our judicial system is today. At time it seems to encourage irresponsibility by (a) "blame it on someone with money" attitude. (Commonly referred to as "deep pockets".) People today are not held accountable for their own actions and stupidity; and the deeper the pockets of the other party, the more likely a lawsuit will arise. Ridiculous lawsuits are clogging up the system; but for all these horrendous examples of injustice and irresponsibility, there are many ordinary people who are not worth millions but are helping others and are contributing to our world in their own unique way.
Recently, in my home town, a family's home burned down in a tragic fire. Within minutes family and friends came bearing food, clothing and supplies. In less than two weeks after the fire, the family had received enough money and gifts from the community for shelter and other basic necessities of life.
Another example of people binding together to help one another occurred several summers ago. A teenage girl was kidnapped at knife point from her home which is several miles from town. Her frantic sister called the police and her parents. The call than went out over the CB radio stating where the kidnapper and the girl were going. A dozen or so farmers raced in their pick-ups to a point ahead of the kidnapper's car. They formed a road block with their vehicles and veered him (kidnapper) off the road. He fled from his car into a field. One of the farmers shot him in the leg. He (the kidnapper) was captured and the girl was rescued.
Also in my community, an overzealous social worker and an incompetent doctor took custody of a critically ill infant. The infant, suffering from a rare heart defect, was not improving after a year of treatment. The doctor accused the young mother of medical neglect despite months of hospital vigils. The news spread quickly through the small town; and two days later, the courtroom was packed with witnesses willing to testify to the mother's endless dedication to her dying son. The unfounded case was dismissed within fifteen minutes because of a lack of evidence. Soon, it was learned that the physician was accusing the mother in order to mask his own inability to help the baby.
In a town not far from here, elementary school students were doing a greenhouse project. They planted tiny seeds and watched them grow into plants. One evening, vandals broke in and destroyed everything. The plants were ruined. A week after the break-in, two local commercial greenhouses with the help of many parents, replaced several thousands of dollars worth of ruined plants.
Finally, a young accountant was on vacation when he died in a terrible skiing accident. Fellow employees and friends at the firm where he (the victim) worked banded together and raised enough money to set up a trust fund for his baby daughter's college education.
These five examples show that the world still has a few caring individuals. These people are sick and tired of this "I'm a victim, feel sorry for me" attitude. It's time to teach ourselves and our children to be responsible. Think back to the drunk driver, the child who choked on a gift bow and the girl who (lost an arm). They all blamed someone else for what happened. Why was the man drunk driving in the first place? Where were the baby's parents while it was choking to death? Why weren't the parents of the girl thankful that it was just a lost arm and not a lost life? If the boy hadn't driven her, she might have died drunk-driving. These people wanted to blame someone (other than themselves) for what happened. This kind of behavior has to be stopped.
There is a way to stop this behavior, or at least reduce it. Several years ago a law called the Good Samaritan Act was passed. It stated that any off-duty medical professional trying to help someone could not be sued if the person died. This law should be broadened to cover all people. Someone who is trying to save someone should be commended not punished for their actions.(Editor's note: Readers should research the other side of this issue and realize that great harm is sometimes the result of overzealous incompetent aspiring rescuers.) Furthermore, a law should be passed which would protect people and companies from ridiculous lawsuits such as a parent suing a spray paint company because their child sniffed ("Huffed") the paint in order to get high and died from it instead. If the product is not being used in the manner it was intended for then the company should not be held responsible or liable.