Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Some Like it Hot

As I entered the front door to my company's offices this morning, I set the take-out coffee cup I was holding onto a counter. "This coffee sure is hot, today" I commented to a nearby staffer. I wasn't complaining. I love my coffee scalding hot.

"Pour it in your lap, then sue." He responded. He was joking, of course.

I countered with: "Get rich, North American style. Do something stupid, then sue and make somebody else pay." We both guffawed.

It's not really a laughing matter, though. In fairness, we Canadians have not quite caught the 'sue anything that moves' disease that plagues the United States, but I don't think we are immune. It is only a matter of time until we follow suit. Pun intended.

In a world where many individuals refuse to take responsibility for the stupid things they do, where we are all taught that nothing bad that happens to us is our fault, where there is non-stop bleating about how corporations are soul-less, irresponsible, evil and despicable, what can we expect?

How about we all just look to ourselves and our families, and worry only about how we exist in this complicated world and how we touch those around us?

. . .

Please forgive yet another Ron Paul plug, but the video displayed below is short and succinct. Ron's the Man! Help him out, if you can.

6 comments:

  1. It used to be you only had a legitimate cause of action, if a product you bought was defective, or the company hired failed to perform service. Now, we live in the lawyers' paradise of Touchy-feely-dom (or is that -DUMB!?):
    If you don't feeeeeel satisfied or like you got a good deal, even if you can't prove the other party defrauded you, sue. And if you really have hurt feeeeeelings then start a rights-cause or gimmee-group to extort the decendents of the alleged wrong-doers til hell freezes over, and whine about everything.
    What a scam!
    We're in the wrong business: Honesty just doesn't pay *ahem!*

    Even so, I'll take it over that crap anyday!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are some situations where legitimately everyone in sight should be sued. There is a situation like that here in London where a mother was accused of murdering her baby. All charges were dropped, but only after she spent over 100 days in solitary confinement and was subjected to all kinds of indignities. If I can calm down long enough about the situation, I may blog about it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Someone told me recently that Canadians are starting to catch on to the 'litigation lotto'. That saddens me greatly. We seem to be homogenizing quickly in our race to sink to the lowest common denominator in human ethics and dignity.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's true, Lin. We are a long way from the U.S. example, but it's coming. It saddens me too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The suit stuff... just makes me ill. (I say this as someone is blatantly homesteading my landlord's other house... acting like it's his for the taking, not paying rent... need an attorney now to get the guy out.. and he'll probably win! It's absurd!)

    What happened to integrity? Honor? All that old-fashioned stuff?

    Hope you are able to do something to keep Canada from going the way of this place.

    (And, btw, I like anyone who voted against the Patriot Act. What a horrid piece of legislation that is!)

    Enough political commentary from me! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Chani: I see a decline in civilization that will only stop when we hit bottom. All the things that should matter, don't, and all the things that should be of no interest to anyone get all the attention.

    It's puzzling. Baffling. Infuriating. But don't stop he world ... I don't want to get off just yet.

    ReplyDelete