The Buck Stops Here

 

    The Buck Stops Here

When I was in middle school, a friend, “Mandy,” brought in her grandfather’s WWII “dog tags” for a history report. A classmate, “Tommy,” asked to borrow the tags for his next class. At lunchtime, Mandy asked for the tags. Tommy checked his pockets. No tags. Mandy, Tommy, several friends, and the custodian searched frantically. The tags had disappeared. 

At home, Mandy, sobbing, told her mother about the lost tags. 

Mom: “Those tags are irreplaceable. You will have to apologize to Grandpa.” 

Mandy: “But it wasn’t my fault! My friend lost them!”

Mom: “You took them to school. You were responsible. You must apologize.”

Again and again, Mandy denied responsibility. Mom stood her ground. Mandy wept and begged. Mom stood her ground. Finally, Mandy called Grandpa, confessed, and apologized. Mandy was furious with her mother for weeks. We were too. But now, looking back, as a mother and grandmother, I realize that Mandy’s mom taught all of us a valuable lesson.

In today’s society, denying blame has become almost a sport. “I made a mistake,” has become, “Mistakes were made.” Terrible things happened but circumstances, not my decisions, caused them. Someone higher up caused the problem. Someone lower-down dropped the ball. Public figures deny responsibility. Players blame the coach. Driver’s blame traffic. Kids blame their parents and parents blame the grandparents. When errors are made, scapegoats are sought. 

In October of 1945, President Harry Truman received a desk plaque, made at the Federal Reformatory at Reno, Oklahoma, which proclaimed: “The Buck Stops Here.” The saying derives from the slang expression "pass the buck" which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. “Give ‘Em Hell” Harry proudly displayed it on his desk in the Oval office.

In an address at the National War College in 1952, Truman said, "You know, it's easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say what the coach should have done after the game is over. But when the decision is up before you -- and on my desk I have a motto which says The Buck Stops Here' -- the decision has to be made." In his farewell address, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically, "The President--whoever he is--has to decide. He can't pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job.”

A president, a leader, a mother, a daughter — we all have to take responsibility for our actions. When leaders baldly state, “I take no responsibility” for crises in our nation, the practice of shifting blame trickles down from nation to state to community to families to children. What lessons are being learned? 

Accepting responsibility for your actions is a step to maturing as an adult. Adults “do the deciding.” That’s their job. Helping Mandy take responsibility for losing the tags was her mom’s job. It wasn’t easy or pleasant but it was right. 

“The Buck Stops Here,” no longer graces the president’s desk but it must be written into every responsible citizens’ conscience. Mandy’s mom knew this. Mandy learned it. She’s teaching it to her children now. The “buck,” for taking responsibility, passes on.