On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:50:37 -0400, DSK wrote:

Dave Hall wrote:
... I guess in his mind, he should not have to be
"burdened" with the chore of constructing a fence to keep the unwanted
out of his garden. He feels that it's everyone else's responsibility
to keep them out for him.

Still refusing to take responsibility for your actions, eh Dave? Well a
leapord never changes his spots.

It *is* the responsibility of every pet owner to keep his pet out of
other peoples' yards.

Same as it *is* the responsibility of every boater to operate his vessel
safely, and it *is* the responsibility of every boater to not create a
large wake in places where it isn't wanted. Funny how you cannot grasp
the simple principles of responsibility & accountability.


I grasp it just fine. The difference is that you believe that personal
responsibility extends to cover things and situations that you have no
direct control over, or to events where you could not reasonably
predict an outcome.

I believe that each person is responsible to protect his own safety
and property irrespective of the actions of others. What this means in
black and white is that I don't expect others to make it "safe" for me
to boat, I take steps to protect myself. I don't expect other people
to keep their pets off of my lawn, if it means that much to me, I'll
put up a fence to keep them off.

If I get into an accident in my car because I hit an icy patch, I'm
not going to sue the tire manufacturer because the tire didn't hold.
Nor am i going to sue the town because they missed a spot with their
salt trucks. If my boat gets rocked and I spill my drink, I'm not
going to chase after the "offender" and make him clean up the mess.
Sometimes you have to understand that things happen, and take measures
on you own to minimize their effects. Going through life expecting
other people to acknowledge me, and my particular needs, is IMHO
irresponsible.

That doesn't mean that I'm giving people a pass on negligent behavior.
It's just that I hold the bar on what is considered "negligent" much
higher than you seem to.

What you consider "personal responsibility" is not personal
responsibility at all, but "societal responsibility", which is far
more at home in a socialist state than a democracy.

Dave