Just whose fault is it?

It's strange how different people perceive things. I read this little opinion piece the other day on the NY Times website. And it made me wonder...

Dear Bankers...

When I was young, I often heard the following: "There, but for the grace of God, go I." The letters reminded me of that saying. They also reminded me of something that my mother and my father seemed to want me to understand... "Life ain't fair."

I have had bumps and bruises from time to time as I plodded along the road of life. None were serious injuries, I don't think, because I just picked myself up and kept on. After all, what else was there to do? There's a phrase you'll hear among my friends (we're all getting on in years) from time to time when one of us complains about his health... "Beats the alternative." It's said in jest, of course, because... well, how do we know?

I feel sorry for folks who life seems to have beaten down. I cannot imagine their disappointment at how things have turned out for them. I understand why they would like to blame someone else's greed or good fortune for their troubles. I just never could do it. My parents would never let me. Every time I got into trouble or had a bad day, they reminded me that "life ain't fair" and that I make my own choices.

Now, when I was in the Navy, I sure didn't make my own choices. Someone else was in charge. Someone higher up always made the decisions about where I would be, what I would be doing most of the time. I certainly was not in charge. And then I would tell myself (in my father's voice) that I was the one who enlisted, that I was the one who chose to sign up, that I was the one who put myself in the hands of those in charge. So, ultimately, I was responsible for where I was and where I was going.

I guess it's all a matter of perspective.