It is hard not to laugh when I read the paper sometimes-it’s really hard to believe that some people just weren’t born with dignity. Take the idiot who sued McDonalds for a broken tooth and ruined marriage from biting into a bagel. A bagel! I thought that incidents with the hot coffee and “McDonalds made my child fat” lawsuits were extreme but “McDonalds broke up my marriage” is lamer. Our economy may stink, but we as semi-reputable humans should not resort to random acts of possible income padding via meaningless lawsuits.
It seems America is more interested in putting their energy into suing their fast food chains instead of suing the government for misrepresentation. Either America is really bored, really enthralled with fast food, or just plain irresponsible.
I think it has to do with the fact that no one takes responsibility for their actions anymore, particularly adults. If their child grows up twisted, they blame it on the video games that they bought them or the television that they gave their children access to or that oh-so violent toy they got them for Christmas.
The worst part of all of it is they actually win their lawsuits the majority of the time. Smokers won billion dollar lawsuits because they burned out their lungs for 20 years-never mind the numerous warnings about smoking-and never mind that they still have the cancer stick stuck to their lips. Boy I wish I had the time and energy to jump on the bandwagon and sue my professors for bad grades, or my parents for divorcing, or even Chartwells for every time that I get nauseous just thinking about them. Maybe my pockets could be just a little fatter with stupidity. Or maybe I could actually earn my own money.
Yeah, yeah, America is a free country and as long as you make a valid argument you can sue, but where does that place our lawyers on the totem pole, and what about lawsuit catastrophes in the medical field that have run doctors into hiding? America and its lawsuit crusaders need to grow up and take responsibility for their actions. They need to stop investing time in quick money and start investing time in reputable futures.
Marquita K. Bell is a sophomore majoring in Print Journalism and Political Science.