Then you wouldn’t feel the need to keep tearing him down. His mistakes truly would not bother you.
Clearly, you don’t feel fine, or else you wouldn’t feel a compulsion to tear him down.
Actually, the man’s mistakes mean nothing to me. I would point out, however, that by impugning my motives and avoiding the logical points of the discussion you are working out of the liberal playbook.
Most of my interaction on FreeRepublic is on the whimsical level. But every once in a while I come upon a teachable moment. Not that I have any illusions about changing the minds of those with entrenched positions, but rather that I find an opportunity to help clarify with logic and reason for the benefit of others who may be reading the conversation. To that end, let’s look at the facts.
1.) the man’s car ended up in the river.
2.) The man was responsible for the boy’s behavior.
3.) #1 was the direct result of his failure in #2
These are indisputable facts. It is not at all logical to compartmentalize #1 from #2 and act as if this is something that just “happened”. Further, it is absurd to label the man a hero for mitigating a problem of his own creation. If he was alone in the car and spotted a child for whom he was not responsible and the rest of the situation followed from that, he would be a hero. But he was the cause of the dangerous situation and is therefore not entitled to the label.
Acceptance of responsibility is one of the keys to maturity. It is unfortunate that the man in the article is attempting to deflect his responsibility for the accident. It is also unfortunate that the author of the article is complicit in somehow impugning the law enforcement officer’s actions based upon the man’s misapplied hero status.
The man screwed up and the consequences of his screw up are quite light, all things considered. Wouldn’t you agree?
It would be far more manly for him to shut up, count his blessings, and pay the fines.