Abysmal behavior and a lack of personal responsibility

Two people have made the news in recent months, offering an opportunity for society to glean valuable information that testifies to a reality: If personal responsibility is not demanded with consequences, it will not occur.

One is Desmond Hatchett, the Knoxville 33-year-old who has contributed his genetic material to 11 separate women and spawned 30 children. Nine of these children were born since 2009, according to newspaper reports.

His newsworthiness is due to his inability to provide child support to these children and the females in their lives. His repeated court appearances asking for a reduction in his financial burden in light of his minimum-wage job have focused on the meager effort he has made to support these children. Estimates in news stories indicate that some of these children may receive as little as $1.49 per month as their "support."

When working, Hatchett is required to turn over 50 percent of his wages for child support -- the maximum allowed under law.

The other individual is Angel Adams, a 39-year-old Tampa, Fla., woman reported to be pregnant with her 16th child, according to the Free Republic on May 9, 2012. Her 15 children are the products of liaisons with three different men.

Neither of these people deserves the designation of mother, father or parent.

Adams has been an ongoing story beginning in 2008 after falling behind in payments to the Tampa Housing Authority to the tune of $6,000 and more than 30 court hearings to deal with her children who were not adequately fed, clothed or housed until others intervened.

In a multi-year news story, Tampa's News Channel 8 broadcast Adams among her children declaring, "Somebody needs to pay for all my children!"

Both pathetic examples exist because of individual choices made.

Space does not permit, yet intellectual honesty and critical thinking direct our minds toward the obvious: Personal responsibility has to be not just taught, learned and practiced in our homes but our society must expect and demand it.

Rather than spending untold millions and billions on funding abysmal behavior, the decision should be made to expect citizens to demonstrate civil and decent behavior or find the consequences severe.

There is no defense for this mindset. There is no defense to enable this behavior. But our government and certain worldviews embrace such in the name of empathy and tolerance while guaranteeing a life of victimhood and blame.

Does America want to rid itself of gang activity, drug problems, hunger, corporate theft at the highest levels, sex trafficking of our abandoned youth, political corruption, and any number of acts of crime and infractions against humanity?

As individuals, as families, as churches and as communities we're going to have to go there.

The demand must be personal responsibility for all.

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