Take Responsibility For Your Own Actions!!

The society we live in has become WAY too litigious! Everyone wants to sue at the drop of a hat, or, more correctly, a slip of their own common sense. That's right, we are a society inflicted with "It's someone else's fault"- itis. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions. Instead, they want to blame someone else every time they do something stupid that causes them injury or embarrassment. As a result, the rest of us have our freedoms accosted every day! Ever try to order a pork chop cooked medium in North Carolina? You can't get it cooked any way other than medium-well or well done. That is an affront to my "pursuit of happiness"! Overcooked pork is not on my list of good, tasty food. I like my pork chops to still have some juices in them, to still be tender and tasty. I know the risks involved and I know them to be minimal and I should have the freedom to take those risks if I so desire! But the state of North Carolina (or maybe Moore County, the waitress didn't make it clear which government agency passed the law) will not allow me to do that BECAUSE they are afraid I will sue if I become ill. And, unf0rtunately, they are on solid ground. Years ago, juries in this country stopped holding people accountable for their own actions. The juries stopped holding people to the simple standard of having common sense. Thus, a jury awarded millions of dollars in damages to a woman who did not have enough sense to know that coffee is hot!! I'm surprised she didn't sue the manufacturer of her car for not having enough cup holders which forced her to hold the coffee between her legs where it spilled and burned her! She probably would have gotten a few more million from THAT lawsuit.

I am not making light of her injuries, which I am sure were quite painful. All I am saying is, SHE BROUGHT IT ON HERSELF!! She made the decision to buy hot coffee. She made the decision to put it between her legs while driving. And she was the one who clumsily made it spill all over her crotch! No one else did anything except what she asked them to do, ie, give her a cup of hot coffee in return for money. And yet, she was still awarded millions of dollars in damages because the jury saw her as a sympathetic victim.
And there are lots more! The farmer who sued the ladder company when the legs of the ladder sunk into the manure pile he had set it on and he fell off and broke something. GIVE ME A BREAK! Did this jury really expect that the ladder company should print instructions that "one should not use this ladder on top of a pile of bovine manure as the manure may be unstable"? What kind of a farmer doesn't know that already? Good grief, even a city guy would know that!!

And how about the lady who broke an ankle tripping over an out-of-control toddler in a furniture store and was awarded $780,0000 despite the fact that the toddler WAS HER OWN SON!! Or the lady who slipped on spilled soft drink and broke her coccyx who received a nice award despite the fact that the soft drink was on the floor because SHE HAD JUST THROWN IT AT HER BOYFRIEND!! Or the young lady who received a nice sum of money from a nightclub because she had fallen and knocked out two teeth while SNEAKING IN THROUGH A BATHROOM WINDOW TO AVOID THE COVER CHARGE!! Who are we seating on these juries, first graders? These people are all victims, all right, victims of their own stupidity!

And I am not the only one losing freedoms. Recently, a woman was refused a license to box (yes, in a ring with boxing gloves on, lots of women are doing that now!) because she had breast implants and the governing body thought it too dangerous for her. WRONG! It is her decision and if she wants to box and her breasts are injured because of boxing, she knew that going in and all responsibility lies with her. No lawsuits should be filed and nobody is blamed but her. That is the "World According to Tommy". And if losing your freedom to order pork chops cooked medium or eggs sunny side up doesn't bother you, these lawsuits are also hitting you in your bank account.

All of these frivolous lawsuits cost the businesses and manufacturers money. Everyone thinks "Oh, they have deep pockets so it is no big deal". But you best remember that they have to recover that money to stay in business. If they have insurance that pays out these ridiculous jury awards, the insurance company has to recover the money, usually by raising premiums from ALL of their customers, who then have to recover the increased cost of insurance by raising their prices. Guess who pays for all of this?? WE DO!! Every time some senseless jury awards some ridiculous amount to another idiot, our costs go up! It is not free money, people. It has to come from somewhere and that somewhere is out of our wallets and pocketbooks. Remember THAT the next time you read about another jury awarding another idiot some ridiculous amount of money for not having a lick of common sense. Remember who is really paying that money and then see if your sympathy is toward the idiot OR the company.

And if you ever get selected to sit on a jury, PLEASE hold someone responsible for their own actions. I don't much care what people do, but when it turns out bad, it is THEIR responsibility and theirs alone. It is time this country realized this and started holding people to a higher standard.