Think About It

The other day I was reading about someone who had embarrassed themselves and was trying to “explain” why they did what they did. In offering their reasoning for acting inappropriately, they said that they had a condition that prompted them to drink to excess and that is why they did what they did. On the surface this might sound like a solid rationale, but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. If I am aware that I am at risk to be negatively impacted by something – but don’t do anything to intervene – am I really guiltless? Do I really have a legitimate reason to do something inappropriate if I can reasonably expect that certain triggers will generate that bad behavior? In other words, it is a reason or an excuse. I realize there are mental illnesses and emotional conditions that can generate problem behavior – and some of those things are uncontrollable. I get that and I can live with those unavoidable actions. However, when we know we are susceptible to stru