Stop the Buck, or Pass It? (07-01-2014).

“With great power comes great responsibility.” - Spider-Man (2002) There are two types of people in dealing with responsibility: those who take it, and those who blame others. Which one are you? “The buck stops here” is a phrase that was made famous by Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President (1945?1953) of the United States. The phrase was on a sign he had received as a gift from a friend. He kept it on his desk in the Oval Office. The “buck” here does not mean a dollar or a male animal. It means requirement or burden for ultimate decisions and the consequential responsibilities that accompany them. The origin of the usage comes supposedly from a card game. To understand the meaning of “the buck,” the phrase may be read, “All the hard decisions come here to me, because I am responsible for all of them (as the government’s highest-ranking executive). For all the rest of us, it may mean, “I take ultimate responsibility for all my decisions.” On the other hand, “buck passing or passing the buck” refers to the act of passing someone’s responsibility to someone else. Common usage may be in situations in which one did something wrong but tries to blame another person or group. It seems that many people want to make it big ? be successful at high posts in big organizations, rich, and/or famous. However, they don’t always seem to realize that becoming successful invariably requires much responsibility. Now, back to the first question: does the “buck” stop with you, or do you pass it to someone else?