The age-old debate of nature vs. nurture is still a topic for discussion in psychology classes across the world. While there is proof for each side of the argument, a clear winner has not stood out. Though many aspects of life can be attributed to either side of the argument, there are some things that have a clear distinction for me. One of these things is a person’s actions. Nurture can only go so far in how a person is going to live his or her life. At some point, it becomes personal and it can lean more towards the nature side of the argument.
Society is obsessed with understanding the reasoning behind every action. We want to place the blame on something we can understand and explain. When someone kills another person for no logical reason, we say the criminal must not have been raised right. The parents are to blame; if only they had given their child more attention or taught him or her right from wrong, this would not have happened.
We blame daycares for not instilling values in kids and we blame the media for making crime look fun, when what we should be doing is blaming the criminal. They committed the crime. It is not fair to begin placing the blame on anyone but the criminal. For all we know that person may have grown up in a great household with parents who loved them and taught them what was right and wrong. They may have grown up in a school system that instilled values and a respect for humanity. And they may have never played a first-person shooter video game or watched crime shows. Nonetheless, they still ended up committing a crime.
Does that make it the parents’ fault? No. Does that make it society’s fault? No. It is solely the fault of the criminal and we need to stop trying to place the blame elsewhere.
Some things we will never understand. Why did people crash planes into America’s landmarks? Why did people kill some of our nation’s leaders? Why would someone shoot and kill another person for no reason? Maybe we will never fully understand these things but maybe that’s OK. When we try to place the blame on another person or group, aren’t we just feeding the fire? People do stupid things. Let them pay the consequences and leave the others out of it.
On a more individual note, it’s time to take responsibility for our own actions. People place blame wherever they see fit, as long as it isn’t on them. You decide what your life is going to be like, not anyone else. So make the decision and live it out. Do your best and others will follow.
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