The phrase "personal accountability" has been uttered so much lately that I am not sure if people even understand what it means anymore. It's one of those simple, over used phrases that people never give more than a second of thought, and certainly never hold anyone to. There is absolutely no stigma attached to voluntary ignorance, or the lack of effort anymore whatsoever. In fact it's just the opposite, ignorance and laziness are glorified. This is the most troubling thing to me about our modern society.
 
For those who do not know what personal accountability means let me explain. Personal accountability is being responsible for your actions and your own sustenance. It is living up to your contracts, and most importantly your word. If others cannot trust your word you are in deep trouble. Personal accountability is honor. Without honor you will get nowhere in life, and will be abandoned by any friend you might have picked up along the way.

One of the most important lessons I learned in life was that very few people in the world really care about you and to hold those people dear. The other important lesson was taught to me by my mother. She told me that no one owed me anything, and that if I wanted anything in life, I was going to have to work for it. No one is perfect, but if you at least understand the concept of this you exponentially raise your odds of surviving in the world.

Personal accountability is not something that comes naturally, just like getting up for work or doing anything strenuous. I am convinced that a good portion of the population would collect a check and sit on the couch for the duration of their lives if they could get away with it, and that is frightening. If you learn nothing else, personal accountability must be taught if you are to accomplish anything.

There is a wonderful freedom and sense of accomplishment when you can live on your own for the first time and supply yourself with the necessities of life without the help of your parents or anyone else. When you can enjoy the fruits of your own labor and thrive, there is no turning back. The maturity from creating your own niche in the world also usually removes any sense of entitlement or victimhood. How anyone could not want that feeling is foreign to me, but it is prevalent in society today.

It always starts with your first teachers, your parents. Your parents shape your life in so many ways that it is truly a blessing to have good ones. A parent's first instinct is to coddle their children and shield them from the pitfalls of the world. This as everyone knows, is the worst thing they can do. It's hard for parents to use tough love to teach their children, but if you have no sense of value, you will not value anything. Remember that personal accountability is a learned habit, not an inherent trait.

I don't know why we are not worse off than we already are. For years parents have run their households like little socialist models. The parents work and give the children whatever they need or want. In alot of cases the children virtually run the household. No wonder that so many children leave home and expect the world to take care of them, then feel victimized when it doesn't turn out their way. Of course like in the government model coddling is not sustainable for any length of time. The parent does not want to support a child for life just like the workers gets sick of paying for and supporting the free-loader. Sure it is different in the parent/child dynamic, but you can see that this sort of upbringing is not conducive to producing a productive adult in the end. Somewhere along the line you have to learn, that only you can make your life good.

I firmly believe President Obama is a person who grew up without anyone to teach him that he is not entitled. Obama has been lucky in the sense that he has had someone that has coddled him in every step of his life. He has never had to work very hard and has had his life planned for a long time by others that knew they could advance their ideology using him. Obama would be a psychologists dream. He is the epitome of the spoiled child turned into spoiled adult. Unfortunately we cannot afford this kind of man leading the free world. Obama has been a complete disaster that will take many years to recover from. We all must hold him accountable for his performance as president.

Without personal accountability there is no confidence in oneself which leads to insecurity, the sense of victimhood, and all of the other bad habits, traits, and behaviors motivated by emotion. Obama obviously does not believe in the concept of personal accountability and we are all paying for it.

Parents can stop this trend at home by simply not spoiling their children and teaching them the value of the dollar, a good days work and most of all, honor. If the current trend does not end we will all pay a heavy price. The good of all of this is that Obama is unknowingly skylining a problem that has been bubbling under the surface for years. I believe a founding principles renaissance is here and is going to blossom to restore our country and society to the potential they possess. God bless us all.