There is a growing trend, not a new one, but one continually growing and seemingly out of control. . .everyone is a victim! It doesn’t seem to matter what the issue is, there is always someone else who is to blame. It is not that people in authority and those who make decisions should not be held accountable for poor choices, but this preoccupation with blaming others (notably leaders) has risen to a new level where those who truly should be held responsible are ignored because the “victim” is looking for a bigger fish to fry. There are two examples in the news that have caused this to roll around in my brain. One is the story of the murderer who killed four Seattle deputies. I have read stories and heard accounts of individuals highlighting the “difficult past” of Clemmons and expressing the thought that if he could have gotten help sooner, he never would have done this wicked deed. Meanwhile, I was reading the comment board from a news story reporting on Gov. Mike Huckabee’s clemency granting of Clemmons. People on that board were calling for Huckabee to be killed, beaten, tortured, or imprisoned for the time that Clemmons would have served had he not been killed. I know that people can be emotional and I believe there ought to be investigations into the clemency practices of government officials. I am sure that Huckabee shares some (maybe a great part) of blame for allowing Clemmons back on the street, but let’s not forget Clemmons was the murderer. Another example I read today was a report that the crew of the ship that was captured by Somali pirates is blaming the company and captain they worked for (the crew is already suing the company they work for) because they allowed them to go into dangerous waters. It is not that the Captain shouldn’t be held to some level of accountability, that is what it means to be a leader; but really, why aren’t the crew coming out in condemnation and calling for “war” on Somali pirates. The pirates get a pass, but the Captain who helped save their lives, he is going to pay! Where have we gone as a society, where everyone but the perpetrator gets blamed? Writing from a social perspective (not necessarily a Christian one), this “victim” mentality will destroy civility. Why should I perform CPR on an individual when I will probably get sued for breaking his ribs? This mentality has destroyed the medical profession. Why would you want to go into a profession where you will more than likely get sued multiple times because you didn’t treat the disease as well as you may have been able? I was reading a blog for police officers and it said that an officer should expect to get sued several times during their service. Shortly after reading that, I went for a ride along with a deputy. I watched as the deputies detained a youth who obviously was involved in a drug deal. In searching the area, they found drug paraphernalia, he was with a known drug dealer; but they determined they had actually caught him before anything happened. They eventually released him with a warning. As the youth left, the officer I was sitting with explained the situation to me, and then we saw the kid returning. He came to officer and wanted their names with the obvious intent to sue them. I was dumbfounded, this guy was an idiot. They had let him go; he should have been running home, thankful he wasn’t going to jail with the resolve to change his life. It should have been a wake-up-call; but sadly, “he was the victim. . . how dare they detain him!”
How should the Christian respond to this trend? First, by realizing that this problem is as old as the Garden of Eden and the first two people. Second, by refusing to be victims, Christ has taken our “victim-hood” when he died on the cross. We of all people, should be ready to stand accountable for our actions and not to constantly seek to blame others.
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