Thought for the Week: Nobody’s fault

John Anderson reflects on our shared humanity

by John Anderson 16th January 2015

It is a truth universally acknowledged that, in the Latin, contingit stercore - which is most decorously translated as ‘bad things happen’.

Now, it is equally true that when some notable event occurs human nature, being what it is, seeks an explanation. When bad things happen we naturally look for something or, preferably, someone to blame; for we learn early, when we kick out in temper striking big toes on table legs, that getting angry with inanimate objects gives little satisfaction. We, therefore, blame our parents for placing the table in the path of self-expression or even rage at them for frustrating us into a temper in the first place.