Take Responsibility

Are certain people exempt from the penalties of our legal system? Many people violate our laws every day. In Springfield, police officers run red lights, fail to follow traffic laws, and endanger innocent civilians for no valid reason. As Christians, forgiveness should be our creed. As law-abiding citizens, we sometimes grow fed up with those who believe they are above the law.

Another politician has been accused of driving under the influence. Apparently, he is not going to fight the charge that he was intoxicated. His defense is a 100-year-old law that protects legislators during a session. He did not apologize for betraying his constituents’ trust. He did not admit that he was intoxicated when he was stopped.

Forgiving those who are trying to straighten their lives out might be a good practice for individuals. It is not for the government. Law enforcement should do that, enforce the laws. Whether someone is a politician, a celebrity, a friend of the police, or the police themselves, they should face the full force of the law.

Until no one is given special rights, there will be no equal rights for anyone. When equal rights are mentioned, it is usually in response to racial situations. Our officials need to grow up and realize that the privileges they believe they deserve undermine their authority. The voters need to take responsibility away from these lawbreakers. They should force them from their jobs and require them to work for a living.

Some legislators seem to believe that when they are elected, they become superior to the electorate. The only way to stop this is to remove everyone who shows this type of arrogant attitude. Voters often believe that their legislators should be forgiven, while those from other areas should be removed from their offices. No wonder our country is in the condition it is in.

You all know that our current President still says that he won the election in 2020. He claims it has been proven to be true. The only one who believes this is himself. He cannot admit that he lost. His claim of this injustice brought him back to the eye of the voters, who believe the other lies he tells. Today, he had to take a step back from his Gestapo tactics against illegal aliens.

He needs to admit that he is wrong. Congress has allowed him to continue to try to thwart our laws and even the US Constitution. November will be the election to depose this hypocrisy and turn our government around. We don’t want what MAGA wants. We want America to be Good Again.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger

Responsible

Here we are with another word for 2026. I’ve decided that I need to be responsible for sharing these words with you. If you need a definition, let me explain it this way. If you caused something to happen, you are the one responsible.

I know that you have heard of the principle of cause and effect. It is a physics principle, but it is also social in nature. You need to be willing to admit when something is your fault. If you don’t want to do this, you will probably become a politician.

I’ve been a responsible person all my life. Anytime my parents noticed a problem and asked my brothers and I who had done something bad, they always said that I was the one responsible. This was often not the truth. Older siblings can do that to you.

If they had broken a window or dumped the trash can or spilled something on the floor, I was the perfect scapegoat. They always had a ready excuse. Charles did it. I was two and four years younger than they were, and until I was about six, I often took the blame.

Then I found my voice. This is the problem of not wanting to be responsible for your own actions. Others have voices. In our world of technology, there is often a way to determine where a problem came from.

One of my coworkers liked to use my computer when I was out to lunch. One day, I returned to the office and was presented with an order that a customer said was incorrect. My boss instructed me to correct the problem, and I did. I knew I had not entered that order, even though the sheet she had in her hand noted the time, date, and terminal it had come from.

I kept that sheet in my desk drawer. The next day, when he and I were the only ones in the office, I laid it in front of him. I mentioned that the next time he made an error, I wanted him to admit it.  He said it had come from my computer. I reminded him of when I went to lunch every day and walked away.

That never happened again because I logged out of my terminal when I walked away from it. His mistakes could not be denied when the only machine he could use was his own. He lasted about two more months.

Own up to your own problems. They will come back to bite you in the derriere at some point. You don’t know what that is? It is your butt. If you do not want it to be chewed, take responsibility for your own actions. Stop throwing others under the bus.

It is said that we should learn from our mistakes. I’ve learned a lot that way because I had to. I’ve been the one who has also learned from others’ wrongdoing. I don’t smoke because one of my brothers vomited the first time he took a drag. I don’t drink because friends in high school were expelled for being drunk in class.

Life is a learning experience. Use every lesson that is given to you to make you a better person. Take responsibility for your actions and words, and do not pass the buck to some unsuspecting victim. As the sign on President Truman’s desk said, “The buck stops here.” Take his advice, and life will be kinder to you in the long run.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger