It's Not Your Fault 

A recent long conversation with a good friend of mine, as well as thinking further about "white privilege", has lead me to the subject of this post. When we're facing a problem, there are no words in existence that make us feel better about our situation than "It's not your fault". It is so relieving to know that our lot in life is not our own doing. Those four words are so comforting, that sometimes we'll say them to someone who is down, just to make them feel better, even if we know it not to be true.

The problem with "It's not your fault", is that not only does it relieve someone of blame, it also tends to make them feel relieved of responsibility. After all, if this problem I'm facing is not my fault, why should I have to fix it? It's a natural question that people ask all the time. The answer of course is... Because it's your problem!

The one basic fact of life is this... people are greedy, selfish, self-absorbed animals. So while someone might have a vested interest in creating a problem for you, only you have a vested interest in solving it. Is it incredibly unfair? Absolutely... but what's your point?

While you might be able to get help from friends, loved ones, members of your community, or government... in the end... the only person who suffers terribly if nothing is done is you. So why are you waiting for someone else to fix it? And what if they don't fix it? Do you really want to roll the dice on someone else? Do you really want to depend on government for your well being?

So remember... while the problem might not be your fault, not solving it is always your fault.