Small Group - Big Mouths

I wonder if your town, like mine, is being directed in one way or another by a small but vocal group that manages to get themselve heard in high places.

Our city government recently banned all ground audible and high bursting fireworks. My home is on high ground, overlooking the city. Last July 4, my wife and I dragged out a ladder and climbed to the roof for an even better view. Our city lies along the Rio Grande and we could see all of the valley, from north to south.

From one end to the other, there was a spectacular fireworks display. It lasted for about an hour and was something to see. But, some dog owners protested that their animals were traumatized by the noise and managed to make a lot more noise before the city council. Hence the ban.

We have a "Farmer's and Crafts Market" each Wednesday and Saturday morning. It is held on city property. Some people bring their dogs with them to visit the market. I, as a vendor, consider the dogs a major nuisance. Recently a number of other vendors circulated a petition to have the city ban dogs at the market. I was not present for the petition signing and just read of it in the newspaper.

One day I watched a man with two small dogs, on leashes, stroll through the market. One of the dogs pulled his owner toward a low grass planter on the mall. The man allowed the dog to jump into the planter and stood watching as the dog crapped in the planter. Then, the man and his dogs proceeded on their way, without cleaning up.

Recently two elderly women walked through the market with a small dog on a leash. As they approached our display, the dog edged up to our display and hiked his leg to urinate. I yelled "Hey!" at the top of my voice. That startled the dog and he stopped what he was about to do. It also startled the dog's owner, who looked at me in surprise. I said, "Your dog was about to wet on our display!" She just looked at me and said, "Didn't you ever have to go?", and walked away.

Again, the vocal dog lovers prevailed, persuading the city government not to ban dogs from the market.

The most sought after thing in America

Everywhere you turn, everyone is searching for the same thing: Blame.

You don't hear anyone stand up and say, "Wow, I did the wrong thing. I am responsible." No one uses that old-fashioned rhetoric and more.

The New Orleans residents who decided not to evacuate their homes ahead of the coming hurricane, and were subsequently flooded, blame the mayor, the governor, FEMA, George Bush.

Natalie Holloway's mother blames the government of Aruba and perhaps, Holland, but certainly not her daughter's possible reckless behavior.

The government is blaming some employee for leaking the news of the phone wire tapping, and blaming the New York Times of endangering American security for publishing the story.

A bus or a train wrecks and everyone is trying to decide who to blame.

An airplane crashes into a river and everyone is trying to determine who to blame.

This is largely an American phenomenon. Or, at minimun a feature of the more affluent Western nations. Walk down the street of some poorer community in Mexico. If there is a sidewalk at all, you may suddenly find broken or missing concrete. With your head in the air, you could fall on your face. The rule here is, watch where you're going or pay the consequences. In America someone could feint a fall, then blame, and later sue, the city, the owner of adjacent property, the company that built the original sidewalk, and perhaps even the company that mixed the concrete.

There always has to be someone you can blame, and in our society that means you could go to court and force them to support you for the rest of your life.

How can we change this? There is a long term solution: parents teaching their children to take responsibility for their actions.

In the short term, we might put a stop to frivolous lawsuits.