Friday, July 3, 2009

Rant: Palin and Responsibility

This has little to do with preparedness but much to do with how to be responsible. When I saw the news today that Sarah Palin was quitting her job as governor, I was shocked. Now I can understand if someone has a family member in the hospital with a terminal condition or there is some giant scandal that would prevent you from doing your job (cough *Spitzer* cough), but I was taught from a very young age by my grandfather that when you give your word, you keep it. Even if the job turns out to be different or harder than expected.
I may be getting old and crotchety but people seem to give their word then bail out as soon as they get bored or annoyed and it isn't right. People will charge up their credit cards, get tired of paying the bills, then file bankruptcy. People will take a marriage vow then run for the divorce court as soon as the first big blow up in their marriage happens.
This is why, in the survival realm, that knowing who you can count on NO MATTER WHAT is so important. There are only a few people I know who fall into this category. How do I find these people? By watching. Actions definitely speak louder than words. As soon as someone tells me how good, skillful, responsible, etc. they are, I begin to have doubts about them because if you are good, skillful, responsible, etc. then it shows in your everyday life, you don't have to tell people these things because they will see it in your actions and in your work.
The people who fall into this NO MATTER WHAT elite category keep their word, they pay their bills (if they lose their job, they will pick up three jobs just to be able to make their bills because they had made a deal and intend to keep it), they behave reasonably and aren't flaky, they don't cancel if they have given their word unless they are in the hospital, and you can count on these people for ANYTHING--money with no questions asked, they will drive 200 miles to pick you up if needed--basically they have your back and you would happily return the favor.
The bottom line is that being responsible is a full time, lifetime job. How you handle responsibility, how you keep your word, how you respond when times get tough show the world the quality of your being.
Done ranting now and hopping off of my soapbox.

4 comments:

  1. Wow. So if your job doesn't pay enough, you shouldn't quit to find a better one? Come on, men do it all the time - they quit one job to take a better one. What about your responsibility to the first? Oh, it doesn't apply to men, that's right.

    The legal fees from repeatedly having her investigated are more than she earns as Governor. Its also costing the State Of Alaska millions.

    Hello. If she quits, she can get a better job to pay her legal bills, and it also stops costing the state.

    And BTW, she owes a commitment to her family, FIRST. ALWAYS.

    You can pick on me all you want. but the minute you attack my kid, I will do whatever it takes to stop it. Her kids have been viciously attacked in recent weeks.

    That's the difference between me, as a mother...and you, who apparently believes you're owed something by someone you don't even know. I stand up for my kids.

    You talk with forked tongue. You keep preaching that its family FIRST, and then everything else.

    But the moment a woman takes that step to put her family first...suddenly, she's "not taking responsibility."

    Women fight this attitude from men all the time. I was hoping some of you who preached the creed were different. I should've known better.

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  2. It doesn't matter if the person is a woman or a man and yes family does come first but showing your family that when things get tough you run away is not a good example to set for your family. You stand up and defend your family and live in a way that doesn't give people the ammo to use against you. And yes, your can move to a better job but when you give a commitment for a specific amount of time (ie: I will be governor for four years) you don't quit and move on to something that pays better until your commitment is fulfilled. IMHO.

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  3. I still disagree. I've been offered better jobs and if it benefits my family, I will take it, regardless of the employer's stake.

    If it doesn't benefit my family, I give notice and leave regardless of the employer's stake.

    Her job was causing her children to become targets for viciousness.

    The woman never gets a break - she's damned if she quits to make her children less of a target, and damned if she stays, because people like you expect her FAMILY to take crap because of her "responsibility" to a job.

    So, when YOUR family becomes a target because of your job...will you stand and simply tell the family to suck it up? Or will you do something to protect them?

    Personally, I'd protect my family first. And I have done so. It was tough financially, but my husband and I both agreed. Family is first.

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  4. Dear Anonymous,

    There are a few points I would like to make.

    First, the fees that are going to the state lawyers for the investigation would have gone to the lawyers whether there was work to do or not. Much in the way a military lawyer will get paid if there is work to do or not.

    It is reported that she is 500,000 in legal debt. This is unconfirmed due to lawyer/client privileges. I'm perfectly fine with not getting details, but I do wonder if that debt includes the tens of thousands of dollars she has been ordered to pay back to the State of Alaska for improper expenses.

    I agree that if she has having financial trouble, she should find a higher paying job. I think she already has a book deal in the works. Only she knows what else.

    I think that public office can't be wholly described as a "job." Yes it is a job, but it is more. Public office incurs a larger "debt of honor" to complete than flipping burgers at the local fast food restaurant. I think part of this comes from when you take office; you take it for certain term. When you get a job, it is rare that you sign an agreement for how long you will work there. But personally, I am more inclined to having honor attached to everything you do. That doesn't mean you can't move onto to another job, but there are more honorable ways to do it.

    You seem focus on issue of Mrs. Palin being a woman. I don’t care if she is a woman, man, transgender, etc – I apply my ideals evenly.

    Lastly - commitment to her family. It was partially (please note I said partially) her own actions in her job, not the job by itself, that brought all this heat on her family. One has to accept responsibility and accountability for ones own actions. However, we will truly find out if Mrs. Palin puts her family first in the future... How? If she attempts to step back onto the national stage, knowing full well the pressure it will put on her family, it will show how she isn't the person who puts family first like you thinks she is. For the record, I hope she is the person you think she is because I don’t think her family deserves all this negative attention.

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