Originally posted by Stealth Moose
It's difficult not to blame people when lives are lost, because there's an innate need to feel justified in most people. And you're right, a lot of leaders will invariably make decisions which cost lives. That's fact.But we don't (or shouldn't) blame say, a surgeon who is attempting a risky life saving operation who fails despite planning and intent. We [b]should
blame a surgeon who puts off the surgery or fails to plan for foreseen eventualities during the procedure. [/B]
I agree. I will say I share in your frustration.
The difference between Trump’s case and your analogy is that a surgeon tends to follow guidelines that are specifically based on both science and ethics and then outlined in best practice. Blame can be placed once the surgeon deviates from these standards/guidelines (through hubris or incompetence) and then something bad happens. Even in the medical field, however, it is not always black or white (I actually starting walking down this line of thought until I realized I’ve typed an extra tangential paragraph so I erased and went back to my original point).
But what happens when those that set these very standards or are the ones that are looked to to determine what the standards should be were wrong (WHO)? Is the surgeon then to be blamed for not taking that extra risk outside recommended standards? What happens if he does take the risk and he was then, in hindsight, proven wrong?
The burden of leadership is a heavy one. And often it is not as black or white as we think it is. Although, of course, there are certainly many black or white ones as well. Bottom line, while there is more than enough blame to go around we need to blame the right parties with the right blame.
I will say I really appreciate the calm and IMO intelligent discussion we are having. It has become extremely boring/stressful at in isolation lately (one would say that is a bit of a paradox but yet here we are).