An interesting news story caught my attention today, apparently a New Hampshire man lost his entire life savings ($2600) on a carnival bucket-toss game. What fascinates me most about this story is that:
A) After losing $300 in his first go-round, he decided to go all the way back home to get his remaining savings ($2300) to gamble on the exact same bucket-toss game.
B) The prize he spent $2600 trying to win, an Xbox Kinect accessory, can be bought brand new along with an accompanying game for under $100.
C) He is suing the carnival for fraud.
I can't help but conclude that America has now finished its cultural descent into a new era where nobody is held responsible for their own actions. Was the carnival game misleadingly simple? Sure. Are the odds heavily against winning? Of course. But this should be common knowledge, or at the very least become apparent by experience after wasting $10 or $20 on the game. Please note that I am not saying that nobody takes responsibility for their life anymore, of course millions and millions of Americans take responsibility every day. Rather, what is different is that nobody is required to take responsibility for their personal and moral choices if they do not desire to. To illustrate this point, imagine what would have happened even fifty years ago to a man like this: he certainly would not have any grounds for a lawsuit, and all of his friends and family would have taken him to task for his selfishness and gross negligence with his family's money.
How can a poor father of a young child justify even risking $300 on a carnival game, let alone go back and gamble his entire life savings to try to win a video game? If this was indeed all of the money in his name, how could even $100 be worth gambling away? In my opinion, if anyone deserves legal trouble from this news story, it's the father himself, whose reckless use of his family's resources has endangered his child's security and well-being. He should be thankful that social services sets the bar for parenthood so low that he doesn't have much to worry about.
I end on a positive note: at least he received a giant banana for his heroic efforts!
Perhaps he has a gambling addiction? Do you consider this a character flaw or failing or a verifiable disability? I do agree with you that we are responsible for our lives and suing people is not the answer when life disappoints us.
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