Yes, I do still exist and no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. The reason behind my unexplained absence from life as you know it is my job. I have unofficially been designated the weekend overnight guy, which means I work every Friday and Saturday from 10pm to 6am, and then some. This only compounds the fact that I am living in a college town and am not currently going to school making me the most available person on the staff. Therefore, whenever someone needs a cover, I am the man to call, unless, of course, it would mean putting my hours for the week over that pesky 40 hr. mark. Wouldn’t wanna make those cheap bastards pay time and a half for a couple of hours that I’m taking away from my life. But I digress.
I’ve been thinking lately about the phrase, “product of my environment,” and how it’s used. Now, If you really think about it, aren’t we all products of our environments? Isn’t it our environment and how we react to it that makes us who we are? So, when someone says as an excuse to someone else, “I’m just a product of my environment,” Is that person not telling the truth? So why, then, is that phrase looked upon as nothing more than an excuse? Is it not more than just that? Is it not a basic truth of this world? So why is it a phrase that is deviled by authority figures around the world? I think it’s because they realize how true this statement is. They realize that their being is the eventuality of a series of events they have come to accept as their life. They realize that the pride that they get from their position is unwarranted. They realize that in the end they are where they are for the same reason that the people they are looking down their noses at are where they are. They reacted to their environment in a certain way.
Now, it’s 6am, and I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with this, but I do realize this. To simply say that you are a product of your environment and use that as an excuse for all your actions is irresponsible. This thought is a philosophy and to use it so senselessly is a disgrace to the principle it stands for. To understand it, and know how it affects you is to be able to properly relate this to others. But the people who disregard this as an excuse are no better. To have authority is to have responsibility, responsibility to understand those under your authority. To disregard this philosophy as an excuse is to disregard your responsibility. The authority figures in this situation has a responsibility to ask themselves, “Are they right,” Because to some degree, they are. They have a responsibility to ask themselves if they can do anything more to provide a better environment to ensure whatever situation they are in doesn’t happen again. I don’t believe there are many things that can be defined as right or wrong universally. I believe that everyone must figure that out for themselves. I do, however, believe in responsibility. I believe that one universal right decision is living up to responsibility. I think both parties in this situation have a responsibility to better understand the opposing point of view. I think, that in the end, not only are we a product of our environment, but our environment is a product of us. We have a responsibility to this, to each other, and to our environment. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
