Excuses and Justifications

Quite simply, excuses and justifications can be found for almost any irresponsible or criminal act if we look hard enough. Even good intentions can become excuses if we allow them to. In fact, to modify an old adage, for us “the road to prison is paved with good intentions.” Even those dubious excuses “I didn’t know” and “I wasn’t sure” cannot justify or condone irresponsible or criminal behavior. As responsible individuals it is our duty to find out. Again, it is up to each one of us to personally seek to discover and understand exactly what we must do in order to live a purposeful, productive, and responsible life. No one is going to lead us through life like a child. As adults, we must ask questions, seek the proper answers, and make sure that we are doing the right things. And although those foolish excuses “but other people do it” and “I wasn’t the only one” can make us feel better by diluting our sense of responsibility, they do not negate the fact that we are personally responsible for all of our own choices, and that they will have consequences which we will have to suffer by ourselves. As my parents used to say, we must ask ourselves the question, “If everyone was jumping off of a bridge would we jump off of the bridge, too?” Just because everyone else did it wouldn’t make us any less dead!

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