what I think

 Remember when someone messed up and we pointed that out? Remember when they corrected the problem we stopped talking about it? Remember when we were ashamed that we had failed? I remember all of that, even experienced it a few times in my 67 years. The thing about that is, I just moved on and tried to put that behind me. Have I been doing it wrong all these years? I'm watching Hunter Biden on television promoting his book, virtually bragging about how bad he was messed up, a regular litany of failures despite being the son of a Senator and the Vice-President. Despite having made millions of dollars working in a field he has no knowledge or experience in. According to him though, all that is a plus, a positive in his life because he has learned a lesson. That lesson isn't humility that much s certain. But it isn't just Hunter, it appears to me to be the trend in general. Some rapper is in critical condition, he has a long history of drug abuse, has fathered 15 children, has had 26 previous interactions with the police for various offenses, yet the report is he had a heart attack. The narrative is we should all be so very concerned for him, it isn't his fault. Why, or why has this man been struck down at such a young age. Now I don't wish ill will toward anyone but there are consequences for our choices. That is what I'm talking about here, accountability. 

 Look it's just that when I was growing up the goal was to not make mistakes. Yes, of course, I made mistakes, but I didn't want others to know about that. It certainly wasn't a topic of conversation and rewarded. That's the issue I'm having with all this nonsense. Yes we should forgive people, give them another chance, but we shouldn't award them gold stars! The reward should be reserved for those most deserving, the ones that did it right. We used to talk about the unsung heroes, today the self proclaimed heroes are writing their own songs. Any mistakes they have made certainly wasn't their fault. There is always the back story, the reason, the excuse for that. Addiction has been declared a disease. I remember when you got addicted because of your choices. You chose to drink or use illegal drugs and as a result of that choice you got addicted. Cigarette smoking was the same thing, until it was determined a cartoon Camel was the real cause of all that. Yes it was possible that you got addicted to prescribed medication. Yes, that happened and happens still, but I'm not talking about that. 

 I don't know I just wonder how we got to this point. We don't get second chances anymore, we get unlimited passes. Even when it is your fault, it's not your fault. There you are minding your own business, breaking the law, and the police intervene. You resist and the police restrain you! So, you sue them. They should have asked you politely to surrender. Hey you were only breaking the law a little bit anyway. It just seems to me that the Scarlet Letter has gone from a symbol of shame to a Badge of Honor! That's what I think.