Anyone used to driving the lanes of west Dorset knows it’s worth taking a little extra care and keeping the speed down, but even still there are occasional accidents. A friend of mine had a bump recently, and though he managed to pull in when a car coming down a hill towards him lost control, there was little he could do to stop the youngster slamming into his car. The boy was very apologetic and when an elderly gentleman shook his walking stick, complaining that the boy always drives too fast, he said he was sorry and knew he had made a mistake. As no one was hurt and there was only car damage to be dealt with the incident could easily have been sorted out in an honest fashion. That is until the boy’s father came on the scene. His immediate concern was to ensure that the boy took no blame for the incident, going so far as to stop the poor young man from apologising again as the parties began to move their vehicles away. The father’s action, telling his son not to take the blame, was probably a reaction to protect his child, but most people I have spoken to say it sent the wrong message. In this month’s magazine, a much decorated general calls for the ex-prime minister to accept blame for wrong doing in taking the country to war in Iraq. It is unlikely he ever will, but if the older generation teach those that learn from them, either by word or action, not to accept blame when they have done wrong, what hope have we for our children to make it a better world.
