Blame.

Our society has a tendency to blur the lines between the definition of blame versus the reality of responsibility. Let’s be clear: blame does not assign responsibility. Responsibility can (I said, “can”) increase the risk of blame.

If a car drives down a street at a high rate of speed with a drunk driver at the wheel, and that driver hits a child playing on the sidewalk killing that child, we can assign blame. We can also hold the drunk driver responsible. It would be ignorant to try and blame the child for being a child or hold the parents responsible for the drunk driver’s behavior.

Likewise, we can hold the State of Texas responsible for not insisting on flood sirens along all Texas rivers prone to floods. We can try to blame elected officials at all levels of government for refusing to spend money on a siren system. Blaming them doesn’t make it true. Minutes to federal, state, county, and city meetings will reveal whether or not they shrugged off their responsibility to make families safe when vacationing along rivers by withholding funds for safety. If they did, well….they are to blame.

To blame people for building a home or camping next to a river is misplaced blame. It’s unfair.

Asking tough questions is required if we are going to learn anything from the recent tragedy. Finding answers will not happen without allowing questions. People in leadership should not only expect questions, they should be asking them as well.

“Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people.” (Think of “men” as a reflection of mankind, not a specific gender.)