40 of 76

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

are becoming increasingly adept at rationalizing behaviors with excuses like, "I didn't break the law" or "Hey, everyone else is doing it, why not me?"

Interestingly enough, the Paul Wolfowitz resignation, while perhaps the right thing to do, has a worrisome twist to it. Wolfowitz, besides being a deputy to Donald Rumsfeld and one of the key individuals responsible for the war in Iraq, was named World Bank President two years ago. He was recently challenged on an arrangement he made to effect a transfer and sizable salary improvement for his girlfriend, then a World Bank employee. Intense media coverage and political pressure have led to Wolfowitz's resignation in May 2007, although he'd been pressured to step down or be fired for weeks. The interesting thing, however, is that the World Bank issued a statement saying that the World Bank believed that Wolowitz had acted ethically and responsibly with regards to his girlfriend's employment and compensation. At the same time, a special investigative committee appointed by the World Bank seemed to conclude that Wolfowitz had broken the terms of his contract, seeming to partly contradict the Bank's official statement. So what does this mean? One theory is that Wolfowitz agreed to resign in the midst of the scandal, but not unless the Bank issued a statement absolving him at least some of his reponsibility for questionable behavior. So, in other words, he would resign, but not in a way that would make him look like he had done anything wrong. That's sounds like avoiding personal responsibility to me.

This is just the latest in a series of examples of a public figure avoiding personal responsibility. What are young people to make of this behavior? Is it going to have a positive effect on them? Or is it going to create yet another incentive to deny blame or responsibility when they see that someone else "got away with it"? With prominent examples like this, is it any wonder that people are feeling less need to be responsible for themselves?

Learn more about this author, Mark Dykeman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about People are taking less personal responsibility for themselves today??
We want to hear your view. Write now!