I find it interesting that it is always someone else’s fault. I am referring to the wrongful death suit being filed against the hospital and the Sheriff’s Office by the family of a Native American man who drank himself to death.

Where was this family, which is so upset over his death, while he was alive? Funny how important that person seems to have been to the family now. Guilty conscience? What did they do to help him while he was alive to keep him from drinking himself to death?

He and the family share responsibility for his death. If they cared about him at all, they knew that he was an alcoholic. Did they make an effort to keep him home and find treatment for him? There is treatment available for alcoholics.

But, it is always easier, and sometimes more lucrative, to blame someone else. The hospital and Sheriff’s Office did not provide alcohol for that person. It takes a lot of booze and a long time to drink yourself to death. His past record is an indicator that he was headed down that road. If anyone is guilty of negligence, the family must share in that responsibility. What did they do to get him the treatment he needed to stop his addiction?

We see many others in Cortez who are headed down that same path. Maybe the family, or the tribe, needs to step in now to help those people. Don’t wait until they are dead and then try to blame the hospital or law enforcement. At some point people must accept responsibility for their actions.

Dale Foote

Cortez