The time we live in is one of intense struggle and tight schedules. Everyone is in a state of war with life and with people in the surroundings one way or the other. People make mistakes, or blunders sometimes, but nobody readily accepts his or her responsibility.

The spontaneous reaction to any eventuality is one of throwing the responsibility from over ourselves first, and when the situation is somewhat in grasp, over to someone else’s shoulder.

There could be a thousand reasons why people do not shoulder their responsibilities and admit their mistakes. And another thousand weird questions like “Why the hell doesn’t he accept his responsibility”. When people start saving themselves from taking responsibility, throwing it over to someone else or whatever they do to get themselves out of it, for the suffering party, things get more than just frustrating!

I have been through such frustrating and painful hours again and again. Especially when it comes to university affairs but pssstttt… lets not get into that! D.C. you know (LOL!)

Let’s have a more “Generalized” example that many people might have been through.

A government office for example, “Sir, I need to see my file” (whatever that file may be), *SHOOT* “Have you written an application?” comes a question from across the table. You angrily or perhaps happily jot down an application.

“Here you are sir, can I see my file now?” you humbly ask. *Spit* (That paan really was an annoyance!) “You don’t have a copy of your NIC attached”, and you go about attaching a copy of your NIC with the application.

“Here it is, Sir! Can I…”, you’re interrupted “Have it attested by someone” (What?!!).

You go through everything and your documentation is complete. Finally “Ab to mil hi jaye gi file!” you tell yourself. You go to the person again and you’re informed that you have to submit this application to Mr. XYZ sitting in room X on floor Y! GGGrrrrEEAAaaaTTtt!!!

“We can’t find your file here, we don’t have any such record with us” says Mr. XYZ! “What? How can this be?”, and you keep going on and on. “I did not lose your file, nor do I have anything to do with it”, he tells you his designation and informs you that lost files do not fall in his domain and that you should consult someone else.

You go to the “someone else” and receive a similar response and the blame game starts. “Iski topi uskay sar”. It takes you one hell of an effort to access your file, if you’re struck by good luck!

Someone has to take responsibility, someone has to admit that a mistake has been committed and it needs to be corrected. It won’t take much time helping the person out and having his job done. Such people, interestingly, waste more time playing with words than it would have took them if they took responsibility and tried to solve an issue out.

Nothing said above in the example is a true personal experience, but a mix of many such events jumbled up in a few lines, just for the sake of an understanding of what I’m trying to say!

If you’re at fault, be bold enough to stand up and say, “Yes I’m responsible, it’s my mistake and I apologize for the inconvenience it might have caused”. This helps in taking proper corrective action.

But this is not everyone’s way of thinking, is it?! The problem is, its not about helping people anymore, it’s not about working for your organization sincerely anymore. It’s more about the salary you get and the time you spend working. It’s more about being self-centered, selfish and ignorant about everything else.

Never cross you limits, never poke your nose into areas you’re not supposed to, but please, try to shoulder the burden of responsibility wherever appropriate.

If everyone of us starts doing so. Only God knows what would happen. When the President of a nation says he’s not responsible for down the line tactics, when the President of a nation publicly refutes what is going on under him, when the President of a nation goes 180 degrees out of phase to claim something to what is happening on the ground, executed by people under his authority, only God knows what would happen!

The Blame game continues! And it would forever, till someone responsible accepts he is responsible, apologizes and corrects himself.