The ant and the grasshopper

Blame the rich for being poor.  If they were not so wealthy we would not be so poor...   Blame the obese for being thin.  If they were not so fat we would not be so thin?  Blame the healthy for being sick.  If they were not so healthy we would not be so sick??  Blame the living for being dead.  If they were not so vibrant we would not be so dead??! 

Maybe we should really take responsibility for our lives.  If I lose my teeth due to my sugar intake, it is not the fault of those who do not eat sweets or who brush their teeth regularly or otherwise have good dental hygiene, for my own oral or dental misfortune.  That temp agency worker didn't get DNRed because the other temps did their jobs perfectly, he was told "Do Not Return" as a result of hiding in a corner talking on his cell phone.  If I am in track to compete for a chance to finish first but do nothing to prepare, it is my own lack of training which truly prevents me from winning rather than the fact that all of the other contenders may have developed their potential more than me.

We never say it was those who have been following all of the rules, obeying all the statutes, who cause the transgressors to be defiant or be punished.  Why is it that others' success is viewed as the cause for one's own failure?  They take from me because we are all supposed to have an equal chance and somehow I am unable because they are greedy?  They are doing really well since all those others are not doing well at all?  The ant stores food for the Winter but the grasshopper does not and frolics all Summer instead, so how is it the ant's fault for the grasshopper's fate?

Sure, we can blame the rich for being so wealthy that the disparity between their financial situation and our own is so large, but we cannot say "woe is me," she is well-off and I am barely scraping by, so devoid of any effort of my own, the distance between our incomes should suddenly not be so much.  We can certainly more easily notice a slacker when everyone else is working hard.  If you drive the wrong way down a one-way street it is blatantly obvious that you're out of place: none of the signs face you, parked cars ought to be a giveaway, but be sure to suggest that it is on-coming traffic that causes the crash. 

The dirt yard on your side of the fence is most certainly caused by the well-manicured and consistently watered sod that is properly maintained on the other side, so go on and cry your alligator tears, maybe Mao or Stalin will take pity on you.