Accepting Responsibility

On Accepting Responsibility

Like every parent, I think my children are special and beautiful.
HOWEVER,
when they refuse to accept responsibility, they bear an especially UGLY side.

There are two main ways children deviate from responsibility. They either assert, "I didn't do it!" or they try to cover
up their "oops" before their parent notices.

I've found that evading responsibility is not limited to the immaturity of children, but that excuses abound in much of
humanity in general.

The news often speculates about corporate or medical cover ups of accidents or negligence.

There was that lawsuit against McDonalds for making food that caused diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity
despite the plaintiffs' decision to frequently consume and supersize the known-to-be-fattening fast food fare.

How often do you hear an athlete, amateur or professional, proclaim their team lost the game because of the referee's
bad call, overlooking the personal or team's errors committed throughout the game?

There are weekly instances when my husband claims, "You never told me" despite the several "conversations" he
apparently neglected to hear.

Then there's the chef and owner of the restaurant that despite the communication of my son's severe food allergies,
provided a dinner that resulted in his anaphylaxis, who then went on to claim it must have been something I gave him
or a new allergy since there was no way "contamination" could happen in his busy kitchen filled with known food
allergens.

When one becomes so concerned with being "not wrong," they lose sight of just being decent.

Excuses not only minimize the importance of a person and their issue, but also the basic thread that binds humankind.
The fact is, we are all human, and by virtue of that state, we are ALL guilty of making some mistake each day.

Why is it so hard to entertain the notion of possibly being wrong?
Why is it so hard to accept responsibility, simply apologize and offer to make amends?
Wouldn't humanity be much more humane?