THE DEVIL DIDN'T MAKE YOU DO IT
or why shifting the blame doesn't work
     by The Lizard King

NOTE FROM THE LIZARD KING: This speech was a finalist at the 1999-2000 IASAS
(International Association of Southeast Asian Schools) Cultural Convention,
in the Orgigional Oratory category.

	The topic I am about to discuss today is so strong that the only word 
I could possibly begin with is the dreaded "F" word. That's right, ladies and
gentlemen. Fault. One of the most shameful past times of the human race is 
the blame game. "It's not my fault, it's his." "The devil made me do it."  "I
didn't kill him, the gun did." Whatever happened to the words, "It's my 
fault, I'm sorry." We'd solve a lot more problems if we spent more time looking
for the solutions rather than the person who we should curse for causing the
problem. 
	One of people's favorite targets for blame is God. Whenever a person
can't be blamed for a tragedy, this poor cosmic deity can. Just recently,
another step has been taken in this shameful habit. Donald Drusky has taken
God to court. Donald Drusky has been fighting legal battles with US Steel for
thirty years, ever since he was fired. Ultimately, he lost. So Drusky decided
that God should be called into account. In a civil suit filed in New York, 
Drusky charged that God, as sovereign ruler of the universe was negligent in
his duty to return Drusky his youth, bring his pet pigeon back to life and, 
of course, grant him the skill to play the guitar. But since Donald could not 
physically take God into court, he decided to name the other defendants as 
Ronald Regan, George Bush, the TV networks, all 50 states, ever single American,
all federal judges and the 100th through 105th congress. The case was thrown
out for being a bit broad. Is this what responsibility has come to?
	Another frequent target of blame are the large corporations. After all,
the large industries always have plenty of money to compensate for their 
"mistakes". Not long ago, a lawsuit for more then twenty billion dollars was 
filed against the tobacco industry from countless smokers. The smokers claimed
that they couldn't have possibly have known that smoking was bad for them 
because, even though almost every person who starts smoking ends up with lung 
cancer or heart problems, there is no scientific evidence that shows that 
smoking can harm you. They were suing the tobacco industry for creating a 
"dangerous product". This is roughly the equivalent of jabbing yourself in 
the eye with a steak knife and suing the manufacturer because their product 
harmed you. Is this what responsibility has come to?
Now, even though some of society's finger pointing can be laughed at, in most
cases it can't be. I'm sure everyone here knows the tragedy of the Columbine
Massacre. Eric and Dylan shot at their peers at Colombine High School, killing
and wounding fourty three people, and mentally scaring the survivors for life.
It has been said this was the worst school shooting in history. So who is to 
blame for this wicked act? Is it the parents, so oblivious that they did not 
notice the building of pipe bombs in their garage? Of course not. Is it Eric 
and Dylan, the murderers themselves? No, couldn't be. So who is it? It's 
Marilyn Manson. It's Oliver Stone. It's a computer game called Doom. It's the 
Internet. Throw a rock and you'll hit someone who is to blame. It was the fault
of everybody who wasn't there. Is this what responsibility has come to?
	One of the most frightening stories of all is the story of Mark Barton.
Mark Barton, a chemist turned day stock trader, lost over $105,000 dollars in 
less than a month. On July 29th, 1999, Barton murdered his wife and two 
children. He then drove to two different stock trading buildings, killing nine
more people and injuring thirteen. Why did he decide to do this? Because, as 
he put it, "I have to take revenge on those who greedily sought my 
destruction." Two children. And what did his friends say when the press arrived
at their doors? "He was a nice guy." A nice guy? If this unspeakable act is 
what a "nice guy" does when he feels someone else is to blame, what happens 
when a "not nice guy" feels the same way? Is this what responsibility has come
to? 
	It's tempting to try and pinpoint the source of all accidents and evil
to one thing. Be it God or the tobacco industry. Be it the Internet or 
children. But the problem is we can't. It annihilates the dignity of the people
pointing the fingers, it ruins the reputation of the industries it targets, 
and it destroys the lives of all its victims. I'm sorry to tell you, but this 
speech doesn't have a happy ending. Because this is what responsibility has 
come to. But it doesn't have to stay that way. If we are caught with our hands
in the cookie jar and admit it was our fault, we could be much better people.
If a fraction of the time spent looking for the person responsible was spent 
trying to find a solution, then we could live in a much better world. But until
we can learn to do that, we have to continue blindly pointing fingers until 
the sense of responsibility is so lost that we forget it was ever there.