The blame game and the economic mess

Letting the chips fall where they may is all very well as long as the ones that fall on you are few and small.

But when the chips falling where they may, means that you lose your income, your health insurance, or your house, then what others call a chip may look a lot like an avalanche to you.

Part of our defense against fear is generalizing that the others who are harmed "earned" it. I saw this a lot in Vietnam. He got wounded because he didn't wear his flak vest. I always wear my flak vest, so it can't happen to me. This defensive blame game is very easy to play.

The same rationale appears today, They are losing their home because the took out too big a mortgage. I was careful not to overextend myself on my mortgage, so it will not happen to me.

But I learned in Vietnam that being careful and thoughtful and doing the wisest and best thing doesn't always save you. Buddies of mine who were more careful, more skilled, and more experienced than me died, and careless, foolish guys lived. When you are in a bad place, bad things happen--and they can happen to you just as easily as they can happen to others. Until we realize this, we cannot really do the things we need to do that might actually help save us.

Right now, we are all in a bad place, and the defensive blame game is in full cry. You read and hear it all the time. The people losing their homes got mortgages that were too big. The people losing their jobs didn't keep up with their skills so as to remain competitive. All of the businesses that failed were run by greedy, incompetent people and deserve to fail.

All of that is untrue: many people who bought houses that by traditional standards were completely affordable are losing their houses, many well-trained people who kept up with their skills so as to remain competitive are losing their jobs, and many perfectly good businesses that were run by prudent, careful operators are being forced to close.

We need to get out of this blame game, however comforting it may be. Unless you are in the Bill Gates class, this downturn will affect you, even if so far you have been lucky.

Schadenfreude, pleasure at the misfortunes of others, is an ugly emotion. More important, it is a counterproductive one. As long as we blame greedy bankers, foolish mortgagees, and stupid business managers, we are like children who laugh when the sand castles of others are washed away by the tide. We keep forgetting that the tide will wash ours away too.