Personal Responsibility

There is a weird thread in today's conversations and Internet perusings. First, Salon has an interview with author Elliott Currie about his new book that basically attributes adolescent problems (drugs, drinking, suicide) to poor and indifferent parents. Then, my friend Dan Frosch has been emailing all day about the erupting new spate of rapper wars. Finally, sources from a story last week are upset about the repercussions of the story, and seem (OK, this is second-hand, but this is usually how it goes) not to be understanding that we didn't create the situation they are in. They did.
OK, now I can't remember what the thread is (hey, I'm on deadline). But something about arrested development, personal responsibility and the near-indisputable fact that people seem to just roll along making a huge freaking mess, regardless of who they are or what they got.