Inspired by a random blog post.

At the age of 31, I think I have finally figured out what the difference between a child and an adult is.

When you’re a kid, typically your only responsibility to take care of your self. Your school work. Your extracurriculars. Your chores at home. Maybe your job at retail.

When you’re an adult, the realm for what you are responsible for expands immensely. It is (sometimes catastrophically wrongly) assumed that you already know how to take care of your own shit. Now it’s time to take care of other people’s shit too.

In practical terms, this means that if you have a boss, the boss doesn’t give a damn about how your underlings are screwing up. As far as (s)he’s concerned, you’re in charge, and if something doesn’t get done, it’s your fault.

So excuses like “they never called me back” or “the group I assigned to this task is 4 weeks behind schedule” or “the equipment we rely on is broken” won’t fly. You were supposed to take care of this shit. And if it isn’t taken care of, you should take the fall.

Of course, American culture and society has long ago given up on the concept of responsibility. People give these crap excuses all the time, and sometimes even expect to be rewarded for having to put up with such horrendous work issues. Or they might even sue the company because of being forced to deal with such inconveniences.

And just look at how the federal government is functioning these days. Look at how pathetic the administration’s cabinet is, trying to pass the buck like it’s some kind of hot potato. Instead of taking responsibility for the debacle in Iraq, W is hiding like some school boy who didn’t do his homework. What, the dog ate it? The CIA chiefs have been pointing fingers at each other for some time now. Generals like Peter Pace and “Betray Us” Petraeus keep dancing around the shitpile, trying to pretend it doesn’t exist.

It wasn’t until reality finally decided to pimp slap them upside the head that Rumsfeld and Alberto “Torture” Gonzales finally owned up to their abysmal inadequacies, and even still, they haven’t really faced the consequences of their criminal acts. If there were any real justice, these bozos should be locked up on death row in Texas.

The devolution of Western society is evident in the kinds of scandals we pursue. I can’t believe I’m actually thinking about the National Enquirer and realizing, you know what, they used to be classier back in the day.

Seriously. Ten years ago, the paparazzi were chasing a Princess who had worked hard to make people aware about AIDS and about the evils of land mines, who had made measurable differences in the way people thought about these issues. Now all they have to chase are the pathetic scions of the wealthy, people who have never done an honest day’s work, except maybe to lie on their backs and get videotaped. From Princess Diana to Paris Hilton. Yay.

As a guy who has fought long and hard to keep from growing up, I at last recognize what I need to do to actually become an adult. It’s going to be a struggle. I’m much better at accepting responsibility when I’m at work. I make sure shit gets done. And if shit doesn’t get done, then I do whatever it takes to get it done, even if I had delegated it to someone else already. Such is life. And death. Meanwhile, in my personal life, I still can’t get my shit together and sometimes even need my mommy and daddy to bail me out. Pathetic.

But there’s not much else to do but keep on trying. I never thought I’d make it this far, after all. Everything else I accomplish in life is icing on the cake, as far as I’m concerned.