The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars

I was introduced to Shakespeare in my ninth grade journalism class when we studied the play Julius Caesar.

I still remember the famous “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” oration by Brutus, but the speech that sticks most in my memory was the one spoken to Brutus by a nobleman.

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

“The fault…is…in ourselves.”  Hmmm.

This means it makes no difference if the dog really did eat your homework.  You, and you alone, are responsible for your responsibilities.

I say this out of pragmatism, and not as a moral judgment. If other people, or dogs, are responsible for your life, then you have no power to make any changes, and your life is completely subject to the whims of other people (or to the plans of your dog).

Another way of looking at this:  you can change a great deal of what happens to you in your life, all by yourself.  You can lose or gain weight, wear formal or informal clothes, or binge watch TV shows all day and all night on Saturday.  You don’t need approval or permission from anyone else.

But if you would rather hand over control of your life to someone else, I would be happy to eat your homework.  No salt, please.

Alan