I’m probably going to say something that people don’t like here, but anyway.
I’m getting fed up with people not taking personal responsibility for what is happening in Ireland and for blaming politicians and leaders for everything.
Armed violence is gone out of control, but people still don’t get the connection with doing a line of coke at the weekend and a plumber being shot dead in North Dublin.
People screaming at Gay Byrne, politicians and the Road Safety Authority about people being killed on the roads and yet nobody pays a blind bit of notice to the speed limit and will flash their lights at oncoming cars to warn them of Garda cars with speed cameras.
People complaining about the 450,000 people on the roads with provisional driving licences and yet last night on Questions and Answers, Maeve Dineen had a laugh when she said that she personally failed her driving test three times and yerrah, wasn’t it a laugh altogether and yet somebody else (the politicians) were to blame. Certainly, her part in the problem was a bit of a laugh and no more.
The only way to move forward in cancer care is to set up Centres of Critical Mass in Diverse Specialisms in Cancer Care and Associated Supports (I hate the buzz words of ‘centres of excellence’), not distributed centres of quite good care. And yet, not only are there street protests by people who want to stop it, but also criticism of Brendan Drumm when he has the temerity to point out this truth. I spoke with a woman recently who said to my (in relation to the closure of St. Lukes in Rathgar) comment about Centres of excellence: “Sure, haven’t we already got a centre of excellence in St. Lukes?” The reality is that St. Lukes cannot do what is needed in such a hospital. We are being hampered by our geography and distributed population, but the response is not to distribute the care. It won’t work.
There is a consensus among the media that it is arrogance in the extreme by the leaders to suggest that some of the cause of our problems are in fact, ourselves. It is not arrogance. In a lot of cases it is in fact the truth.
2 users commented in " Why does nobody take personal responsibility? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI think part of the problem is that in a diverse society you get different people complaining in different directions. Take drink driving. Most people wanted something done, so random breath testing was introduced. But that leads publicans and rural pressure groups to complain. To a politican it must seem like they are dammed if they act, and dammed if they don’t. It’s no wonder that Fianna Fail (a party who’s No. 1 priority is to remain in power) will rather fudge and prevaricate rather than make a decision that might offend some voters, until finally they are left in a position where they have no choice but to act.
But the health thing is extremely annoying. Most people recognise the need to change the health service, but when the specific changes don’t involve more funding for their local hospital they kick up even more of a fuss. My local aspirant FG TD demanded helath service action, and then wanted the constituency hospital in Loughlinstown (on the edge of Dublin) upgraded to regional status. Parish pump politics at it’s worst.
Sliabh. The more I think about it the more I am annoyed at society. They elect politicians, but there is a dishonesty in the relationship. the politician is elected with the local person in mind, so if they don’t serve the local majority, then the local majority will replace them with a more malleable person.
Until society face up, it will always be this way.