The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-10-12
EVENING CHAT
BIZ RUTH CAEERON.

An interesting question regarding
the ethics of responsibility has been
put to me by one of my letter friends,
and because it is not only an interest
ing question, but also one which is
continually being raised in some form,
l am going to offer my little solution
of it in this column.
This is my letter friends story. A
friend of hers had a dearly loved cOuS-
in visiting her. The cousin had plan
ned to return home on a certain day.
Her hostess was so loath to have her
go that she urged her to stay another
day. The cousin at first protested Wig
orously, but finally yielded rather
against her better judgment, and put
off her return until the next day. On
that day there was a terrible train
wreck and the girl was killed in it.
And now my friend is almost in
sane with grief writes my correspon-
dent. And it isn't only that, but she
is tortured by remorse. She says she
was to blame for her cousins death
because if she had only let her go
when she wanted to, she would have
reached home safely. I tell her that
is all nonsense but she won't listen to
me. She is making herself sick over
it. What do you think?''
What do / think Well most heart
lily agree with my correspondent that
her friends attitude is all nonsense.
OF course, it is inevitable that she
should feel regret, but l don't think
it is a case for remorse at all.
Blame" and fault are very diff
ficult words to deal with. Only the
All Wise can see and understand suf-
ficiently about our motives and our
tenn tations, our intentions and our
mistakes, to be sure of using these
words Alright. But this is the way it
seems to me. One is not to blame for
the chain of events which follows
some act except insofar as one is to
hRCanSa itself
wrong.
L do not think that one can claim
credit for all the events that follow
ones act except insofar as the act IL
self was creditable, and so I think the
converse holds true. For instance, If
this woman had persuaded her cousin I
to stay another day and the railroad
wreck had occurred on the day on
which she had intended to go home I
1 do not think the woman would have |
deserved credit for saving her cousins |
life. Conversely she does not have |
reason to accuse herself of being to /
blame for the girls death.
In this act there was neither praise |
nor blame attaching to the act itself. |
But suppose that the woman had for
purely selfish reasons unfairly tricked
had been killed. Then 1 think the
woman would have been to blame for
her deceit and selfishness, not for the
tragedy. And suppose on the other
hand she had made some special sac
-ifice or effort to make it possible foe
her guest to stay and the accident
had been avoided, then I think she
would have deserved credit for the
sacrifice and effort but not for saving
he girls life.
If we were to blame or credit our
selves with all the long series of
events which often follow our simplest
lct, we should certainly have a hard
ine keeping score.
We must inevitably feel regret when
,omething unfortunate happens which
would not have happened if we had
lcted differently, but if our act was
lot intrinsically wrong I do not think
We ever need feel remorse.