THE MOST SUITABLE COURSE: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Patt Morrison’s “A Pastime Named Sue” (On the Town, July 10) supports my contention that, rather than blaming the lawyers for all that ails society, one should really take a long look at the clients, people like those helpful souls who advised Morrison to sue everyone who caused her plight.

I realize that some of her advisers were attorneys, as am I. Someone who stands to gain from the actions of another will often give such ill-advised counsel. But mostly, her experience mirrors our national malaise: “I am not responsible for what happens to me.”

Not every wrong has a perpetrator. Not every problem is someone’s fault. Compared to other Western nations, we have become a nation of crybabies.

Whether one’s motivation is psychologically based (to deny one’s own responsibility), is founded on greed (to get rich at “no one’s” expense) or to be part of the crowd (“everybody else does it”), the true productivity of America will not be realized until we all become accountable for our own actions.

TIMOTHY LAPPEN

Santa Monica