Many things which go...
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Many things which go wrong are allegedly caused by people who had nothing to do with them. "Not me!" is a familiar defense. It is not new. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent.
Following World War II, certain socialists interviewed the German people in an effort to determine how Hitler could possibly have achieved such absolute power, enabling him to commit unspeakable atrocities. One by one, the people were questioned. Some claimed that his masterful speeches were hypnotic. Others pointed to "fear" as the primary factor. Still others spoke of confidences which had been betrayed by someone seeking to gain favor with the Nazies. Many reasons were given as being to "blame" for the Nazi takeover. The researchers noted that not a single person said, "Me." No one was willing to assume personal responsibilitiy for what had happened.
Hugh Miller has observed: "The higher the animal in the scale, the greater its liability to error. But it is not the less true, that no fish, no repitle, no mammal of the geologic or the recent ages, ever so failed in working out the purpose it was created to serve, as man has failed in working out his." And, we might add, the most common comment is, "Don't blame me."
- Powell
