Time to take some responsibility

I've noticed, over the past few years, that my patience has grown thin. I suffer fools poorly. I tend to open my mouth to air my opinion perhaps more than is politically correct.

In short, I've become a bit crochety.

And, the subject of my ire has been, in recent weeks, the ever-present advertisements for "credit mediators" whose job it is, it seems, to "erase your credit card debt."

I'm a fiscal conservative, in my personal life and as an over-riding philosophy. Pay-as-you-go has also been a good plan of attack in my life, for all but the most expensive of life purchases, cars and homes.

So that's why these ads have gotten under my skin.

Did you spend the money? Did you reap the benefits of that money?

Then why do you think you don't have to pay it back?

I just don't get it.

I understand that times are tough, and sometimes tough choices have to be made in terms of stretching a limited budget. Then, work it out with those creditors and get a plan to pay it back when things loosen up a bit.

More than anything, I guess it's the tone of the ads that bothers me. It makes it sound like it's a good thing, a noble thing, to "stick it to the credit card companies."

It's an attitude I've seen too much lately (again, crochetiness alert). Too many people don't want to take responsibility for their actions.

There's always someone else to blame, someone else to point to, when something goes wrong.

As parents, it's hard to see our children fail. There's an instinct that kicks in to make sure our kids avoid pain or disappointment. I know, as the parent of only one child, I fight the urge to wrap him in bubble wrap and cushion him from all life's falls. I've gotten better at letting him learn from his poor decisions and face up to the consequences. But, I know how tempting it is to want to "make things right."

And, I think that urge in we parents has led to some false impressions by our young people.

Life isn't always fair.

Just because you have a debit card, that doesn't mean you have money.

Sometmes the jerks do get all the breaks.

There's not always reinforcements handy to call in if you have a problem.

Growing up as one of seven children, I always joked about the "herd mentality" in our family and the "survival of the fittest" philosophy my parents seemed to have adopted. We didn't have a lot of "stuff," but we did have everything we needed. And we learned early that if we wanted the extras, we had to earn them.

I think I enjoyed those fancy designer jeans a lot more because I knew that a couple of days walking beans under the hot Iowa sun paid for them. And, I cherished that letter jacket I got for Christmas, because I knew my parents had saved up to make that gift a reality.

I think we've lost something in this age of instant gratification. And I know we've lost something in this age of "it's not my fault."

We learn life's most important lessons when faced with adversity. I hope increasing personal responsibility is one of those lessons that comes out of these tough times.