You’re either incredibly uninformed or a disseminator of misinformation. The President makes a misinformed decision to liberate Iraq in light of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction program. No weapons of mass destruction are found. Is the President to blame or are those he trusted were providing him with accurate information and expert testimony?
If it’s a question of responsibility, the buck stops with the President. He assumes ultimate responsibility. He’s the President. That’s the way it is. This doesn’t excuse the disseminators of the misinformation. If it’s a question of guilt or blame, you have to consider that the President placed his trust in the hands of the folks providing him with the misinformation. He had no reason to believe otherwise. He made as informed a decision he thought he could make.
There’s a huge difference between being “uninformed” and “misinformed.” If we’re uninformed, there’s no escaping guilt or blame. It’s our responsibility to make informed decisions when we make important decisions. There’s nothing worse than making a misinformed decision, especially when it involves friends or family, because we make choices and take risks behind that faith and trust. It hurts everyone involved in ways few take the time or even want to understand.
We’ve all gotten screwed at some point. We all make mistakes. I’m no car expert. There is an incredible amount of trust I have to place in a mechanic who tells me something’s wrong with my car and it needs to be repaired. If the mechanic does a terrible job or screws me, am I to blame? Am I the bad guy? I trusted the mechanic. No matter what, I’m ultimately responsible for making the informed decision to leave my car in this mechanic’s hands. Assuming all of the responsibility in the world doesn’t excuse the mechanic or make my car situation any better. I can forgive the mechanic all day long, but I can’t recommend him and I certainly won’t be taking my car back to him unless he’s willing to give me my money back and make all necessary repairs. In the end, it’s reasonable to assume I won’t be allowing this mechanic to service my vehicle in the future following these circumstances.
After all is said and done, you’re still faced with that nasty “guilt by association” clause. If this mechanic works in association with a dealership down the road, are you going to feel comfortable buying a new or used car from that dealership? After all you’ve been through with this mechanic, would that be making a responsible, informed decision? This isn’t a question of one bad apple spoiling the whole barrel. That would mean never trusting another mechanic as long as you live. That’s certainly a treatable symptom.
It is said we are defined by the company we keep and the reason we keep it. Patience is a weapon of mass destruction that forces deception to reveal itself.