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 -- The Age of Non-Responsibility -- |
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| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of both. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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I have been trying to come up with a name for our times. You know... the 80s was the "me decade." The nineties was the decade of the victim. I think I've hit on it: this is the age of non-responsibility: "I am not responsible."
The seeds of non-responsibility, however, were planted in the 70s when automobile insurance companies developed the concept they called "no-fault." They stopped trying to determine who was at fault for an accident. It was the beginning of the end of judgmentalism. Each company paid for their customer's damage, and everybody went home happy. Or so we thought. Nobody was at fault; nobody was responsible. Of course, everybody's insurance premium went up, and there was little we could do about it. But we are all treated equally. We pay the premiums; but, it is "no-fault" - we are not responsible.
The 80s brought us no-fault divorce. It is no coincidence that the divorce rate rapidly rose to 50%. But... nobody was responsible; a silver lining to the dark cloud of divorce. You know: "Don't worry; be happy!"
Baseball player Darryl Strawberry was arrested after he left the scene of a traffic accident he had caused. His explanation: he was taking prescription drugs. Never mind that he was not supposed to drive while taking the drugs. A guy's gotta' drive, ya' know; and this, after all, was Darryl Strawberry. The drugs caused the accident. He, of course, was not responsible. Yes, it is a natural extension of the "I'm a victim" syndrome of the 90s.
When we get a prescription drug filled, it is the responsibility of the pharmacist to ensure not only that he fills the prescription correctly, but also that we understand how to use the drug properly. We have to sign a piece of paper indicating that we understand; but signing the paper does not make us responsible for anything. We are not responsible for asking our doctor how, when, and why to use the drug; we are not responsible for researching the drug ourselves to see if its use makes sense. We are not responsible for ensuring that the label matches what the doctor ordered; we are not responsible for ensuring that the dosage is correct. Heck, we are barely responsible for swallowing the damn pill! And lord knows, we are not responsible for paying for the medicine; that's what insurance companies are for. And if we do not get the results we want from the medicine... well, that's what lawyers are for. That is somebody's responsibility - somebody else's!
And of course, whatever caused the condition that necessitated the prescription drug in the first place.... we are definitely, never responsible for that!
We all know that we are not responsible for any injury we might suffer if we climb on the top rung of a ladder and then fall. The warning label was too small; the print was too hard to read; the clerk at the hardware store should have warned us. We are not responsible.
Perhaps the most definitive example of non-responsibility is boomer parenting. We send our kids to day care centers, so the day care center workers are responsible for teaching them discipline and manners and how to tie their shoes. After all, they spend nine hours a day with our kids; we spend only a few minutes. Then it is the school's responsibility; same reasoning. The schools are supposed to not only discipline and teach them, but also feed them. If the kids don't get a balanced diet, it is the fault of the school lunch program. It's George W. Bush's fault.
It is not our responsibility to ensure that our kids do not see R-rated movies. We drive them to and from the cineplex; what happens inbetween is completely out of our control.
When our teenagers sneak out of the house at night, the police are supposed to see that they do not get into trouble. We're asleep, for cryin' out loud; how could it be our responsibility? And when the schools use social promotion to get rid of the kids when they turn 18, and they graduate without being able to read at an eighth grade level, of course that is entirely the school's responsibility. How were we supposed to know?
[In 2002, 23 eighth-grade students in the Rockford, Illinois school district failed every class... every one. And yet, they were all promoted to ninth grade.]
Today, we are not responsible for virtually anything we ingest - or anything we might ever have ingested. Oh yeah, we read those labels on cigarette packages 30 years ago. But that was just a PR gimmick. When we get lung cancer, we are not responsible; after all, nicotine is addictive. It is the tobacco companies' responsibility; their executives lied to Congress.
As proud soldiers in the sexual revolution, we are not responsible for any sexual behavior in which we might engage. And our kids? Well, kids are going to have sex; there is nothing anybody can do about that! So how could anybody be responsible? Getting pregnant is like an having an allergy; it just happens. Boys are not responsible for the consequences of impregnating girls - there are numerous government programs to deal with that. And typical of Clinton supporters is BBHQ visitor Marcia, who wrote, "I don't care what Bill Clinton does as long as he protects a woman's right to an abortion." So a woman's responsibility for getting pregnant extends only as far as getting an abortion so she does not have to deal with the life-long consequences of her actions. And Bill Clinton was responsible only for vetoing the bill that would prohibit partial-birth abortions. Aside from that, he got a free ride for anything and everything he did. AIDS? A horrible, unfortunate byproduct of an unavoidable activity; but... we are not even allowed to talk about responsibility for acquiring it. Nobody, but nobody, is responsible for that!
The most public example of non-responsibility in our times, of course, is the first boomer president. Actually, he is an example of what I call "closet non-responsibility." After claiming for eight months that he didn't do it, he never lied, he never told anybody to lie, it's all a vast, right-wing conspiracy, Bill Clinton finally owned up. (Of course, the DNA evidence had more than a little bit to do with the president's sudden candor. Remember his promise: "More rather than less; sooner rather than later." Ha!) When the DNA evidence backed him into a corner, he accepted responsibility for his actions. But exactly what did that mean? Well, of course, it meant absolutely nothing. Newsweek editor Eleanor Clift cried, "These lies don't matter." So he was responsible for something that didn't matter. Closet non-responsibility. It is so beautiful. Two years later, Bill Clinton began his campaign to force the Republicans to apologize because they tried to hold him accountable for his actions. A decade from now, he'll be claiming it was all a political frameup and that he did absolutely nothing wrong. And of course, no one will dare say otherwise, lest they be called mean-spirited and judgmental. Gone will be any recollection that he was impeached for lying to a federal court. After, all, he was not responsible.
So what happened in south Florida in November 2000 should have come as no surprise. Voters were not responsible for reviewing the sample ballot that was mailed to them. They were not responsible for reading or following the instructions that they were given. Certainly they had no way of knowing that they could ask questions or request a replacement ballot if they made a mistake. They were not responsible for following a quarter-inch line with an arrow at the end of it. They were not even responsible for poking the hole in the ballot! In summary, they were not responsible. Non-responsibility.
It's all around us. It is just another symptom of the times... the times we have created. (Although of course, we are not responsible).
So we can all feel better about ourselves; we are not responsible for anything! I am officially declaring this the decade of non-responsibility!
Surely this is what the founders of our country had in mind. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers have died for our right to be non-responsible. Welcome to the 21st century!
It just doesn't get any better than this, does it?
If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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