An old adage says that perception is 9/10's of reality. In essence I regrettably agree with the merits of such a statement. Too often, myself included, we make decisions on how things appear or may appear in the public eye or in our circle of humanity. From governments to business, groups of people to individuals, we find ourselves many times in spin or damage control. Or we practice a form of propaganda in presenting ourselves to others or have a selected memory when talking about our past.
Naturally it is understandable why we would want others to think favorably of us. But this way of thinking has led to a serious blemish in people, again me included. This problem rears it's ugly head in a variety of stages of life. Whether with employment, recreation, financial, religious, or family decisions we see this undesirable pattern displayed by all to one degree or another. It is the avoiding of accountability.
Yes this has come up in various platforms and blogs but I wanted to take a different slant on this.
We often hear arguments and debates over the raising of children, the origin of man, the existence of God, the ethical practices of business, the corruption of government and often times it all is just a window dressing to avoid accountability. I seriously doubt anymore that people in general really want to have an answer or a guideline anymore. We have become an amoral society. To each his own.
Now granted there are plenty of circumstances that allow for preference and freedoms of choice. But it has become "buffet" world.
Take the justice system for example. There are plenty of talented and knowledgeable hard working lawyers, judges and jurors. However if you watch court proceedings it isn't about the truth any more or an attempt to find the truth. It is all presentation. The jury is left to decide who put on a better display of the evidence than actual substance. And not many are held accountable for pushing the envelope of how things are presented to a jury. Or how much evidence is leaked to the public before hand.
Leading to another area where accountability is thrown out the window. Take the media. Very rarely does any one lose their job or get reprimanded for reckless reporting. Retractions are buried in the news.
In politics you can accuse any one of anything and not be held accountable for even the most egregious of lies. Yes there has always been mud slinging but the gloves have really come off over more recent years.
On the home front parents have passed the buck onto society for their children. Instead of instilling clear and concise boundaries at home many parents are alleviating their children from any amenable response. I am close friends with a couple school principals and they say one of the biggest problems schools face is parents wanting schools to take responsibility for their kids and insisting their children do no wrong. Both of my friends have been physically threatened and know of parents who have assaulted school administrators for accusing their child of wrongdoing.
On an even more individual level it has become more and more transparent that many people fight the concept of God so as to be exempt from moral or any standards. If you except evolution for example than you have no one to be indebted to for your life. You have no one to answer to and there aren't any matters of true conscience. Ethics and principles are subjective and practices of choice.
This is probably why people get so emotionally vehement, ardent, and openly fervent when some one suggest there are boundaries and limitations to human behavior. And if you even hint that God is the standard bearer people's heads begin to explode.
The irony of all of this is even if you reject or ignore the notion that there is a standard bearer you still place your allegiance or implicit trust on some one. Even if you accept evolution you are trusting scientists and there conjecture or perceived facts. Or if you are on a jury you trust that either lawyer and the judge is presenting factual information. Or if you read or watch the news you trust the reporters and editors to be prudent in their dissemination of news.
More and more the personal accounting has been swept under a rug. And the more we smudge the line separating right from wrong the less accountable we will have to be.
So regardless of whether we arrived here by our doing or not, it is essential, if not critical, that we as individuals demand more accountability from ourselves, our children, and from those responsible for public order.
