Scapegoats

Playing the 'blame game.'

I’ve long believed that major league baseball managers receive far too much of the credit when their team performs well, and far too much of the blame when their team does not perform well. In spite of the fact that these older gentlemen are suited up, ready to play, they generally do not participate on the field of play. No, it’s the players who directly influence the outcome of the game.

Similarly, I believe that U.S. presidents receive too much credit when things are going well economically, and too much blame when the economy is not performing. Was Bill Clinton an economic genius because the economy performed relatively well during his time in the White House? Was Jimmy Carter an economic failure because inflation was white-hot during his time as president? I think at least part of the result is driven by the vicissitudes of economic cycles.

And, how about the jockeys in the Kentucky Derby? They are rewarded for guiding their horse to victory, but what role have they played in the horse’s success? Admittedly, they contribute more to the outcome of the race than the owner of the horse, whose main role is to write checks. Yet they all end up posing in the Winner’s Circle.

One example of praise and blame being properly placed is in the realm of columns crafted by an (potentially) award-winning columnist; the success or failure of a particular column to resonate with readers is entirely attributable to the piece itself, which emanates from the tip of his pen (well actually, there is no pen involved, a keyboard is the tool used, but you get the idea).

As Rule of Three is more of a “glass half empty” organization, it probably won’t surprise you that we intend to focus on the blame piece of the equation rather than the praise component.

The question of whether or not blame is warranted is not terribly relevant. The opportunity exists for deflection, distraction and diversion (and, any other “d” word you can think of) as each of us is faced with blame for something gone wrong.

Allow me to explain.

At any given point in time there are global dynamics which are significant and far-reaching in scope, and which appear to present existential threats to society as we know it. A current example of such a threat is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is charged with the crimes of eliminating scores of jobs, homogenizing discourse and enabling users to easily create ridiculous AI-generated memes. . .

Virtually any transgression can be blamed on AI: Economic collapse? AI. New wars? AI. The Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding? AI.

See what I mean? But AI is not the first ever, all-purpose blame magnet. Not by a long shot. Remember Y2K? According to experts (and, by experts I mean your cousin, Bobby), that millennial event was responsible for power grid loss, healthcare failures and microwave clocks blinking “12:00” forever. Also, economic collapse, new wars and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding.

Another popular scapegoat is global warming, which can be tagged with resulting in extreme weather events, rising sea levels and the tragic loss of beachfront property in Malibu. Also, economic collapse, new wars and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding.

The recent pandemic (and also the previous pandemic from more than a hundred years ago) is directly responsible for significant loss of human life, educational disruption and the unexpected dramatic increase in sourdough bread baking activity. Also, economic collapse, new wars and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding.

The Cold War era spawned geopolitical shakeups, a growing chasm in governing ideology and neck pain caused by schoolchildren crouching beneath desks in schoolrooms. Also, economic collapse, new wars and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding.

This next one goes back a ways in history, but from what we’re able to glean from reporting, it was a pretty significant challenge to the future of mankind: the Bubonic Plague (a/k/a “Black Death”). If cable news networks had been in existence in the 14th century, they would no doubt have reported on widespread poverty, labor shortages and enhanced brand recognition of rats. Also, economic collapse, new wars and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding.

Nuclear reactor accidents have included: Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011; in addition, there have been numerous, less-publicized incidents. The fear, realized to some degree, was that the release of deadly radiation into the atmosphere would cause severe negative health and environmental effects. There have been recorded increases in cancer rates, lasting environmental damage and increased investment in alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectricity, due to the nuclear energy industry’s public relations issues (you know, those pesky nuclear reactor accidents).

Wars fought throughout recorded history exceed three thousand conflicts, measured over 3,400 years, an average of nearly one war per year. Certainly the blame for a good many injustices have been ascribed to wartime activities; there have been atrocities (e.g. the Holocaust), but lesser offenses have also likely been tossed into the “Hey, it was wartime” pool. As but one example, a significant global conflict, World War II, resulted in lasting changes in the world order, including: the emergence of the United States as a true superpower, the establishment of the United Nations, dedicated to peace and cooperation among nations and creation of a women’s professional baseball league. Also, economic collapse, new wars and the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding.

Now if you didn’t find this Rule of Three column enlightening, engaging and entertaining we would point out that it’s not our fault - no, it’s either the fault of: AI, Y2K, global warming, the pandemic, the Cold War, the Bubonic Plague, nuclear reactor accidents or war - take your pick from that array of scapegoats discussed, or identify for us an alternative scapegoat in the comments section below.

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