When Harry Truman was President, he had a sign made for his desk that read “The Buck Stops Here.” This is a reference to the old cliche of “Passing the Buck.”
We all learn early in life to pass the buck when we blame our little brother for spilling the milk and the dog for eating our homework. In high school we said we failed the test because we had a bad teacher. We might blame our spouse for an unhappy marriage. Blaming another person for something that has gone wrong is “passing the buck.” It is pointing a finger at somebody else for a situation we may have been involved in or even responsible for.
President Truman wanted to make sure that everyone knew that he was in charge and everything, good or bad, was ultimately his responsibility. He was saying, when the problem gets to this desk, I will take responsibility to find a solution. No more passing the buck. The buck stops here.
Harry Truman’s “The Buck Stops Here” sign is now in the Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. These days it seems like the buck just keeps going around. There is even a political phrase, “Reasonable deniability,” which is roughly translated as “I should be able to get away with that.” “The Buck Stops Here” seems to have been relegated to a history museum and a very different time.
Large corporations, the military, and the various levels of government are intentionally designed so that no one is ultimately responsible. At every level of business we can blame the boss, “I was just following orders,” until it gets to the CEO who blames the Board of Directors who answer to the shareholders, which is everyone and no one.
Finding blame, pointing fingers, and passing the buck has become a national sport. Few people will admit to dropping the ball, calling the wrong play, making engineering mistakes that kill people, or making business decisions that cost thousands of people their jobs.
We know we are in a “Blaming Pandemic” when a disaster occurs, such as a plane crash or hurricane, and the first thing the person in charge does is to start blaming everyone they can think of instead of showing compassion and begin finding solutions to prevent future occurrences.
On a personal level, we don’t have to follow that lead. We can take responsibility for our own lives and circumstances. We can refuse to be victims or blamers. We can choose to get an education, develop better skills, love more, serve more, and live more transparent lives.
It is a sign of maturity to admit we made that decision, to say it was either well thought through or in error. We must not be hesitant to say we are wrong, or responsible, or right about a decision or situation. Perhaps we need to practice saying that out loud to ourselves in the mirror. It is time to stop passing the buck.
