Don’t let the “Blame Game” sour the “Desired Outcome”

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

In the last month, I have been rewatching the 2015 film Spotlight about the Boston Globe investigative team that cracked open the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in 2002. Throughout the film there is one question that haunts the journalists. “We had all the pieces. Why didn’t we see it sooner?” It comes to a head in a meeting just before the story goes to press, and they are all arguing over who missed what. Editor-in-Chief Marty Baron, played by Leiv Schreiber, interrupts them all and says:

“Sometimes it's easy to forget that we spend most of our time stumbling around in the dark. Suddenly, a light gets turned on and there's a fair share of blame to go around. I can't speak to what happened before I arrived, but all of you have done some very good reporting here. Reporting that I believe is going to have an immediate and considerable impact on our readers. For me, this kind of story is why we do this.”

Everyone has an ego, some larger than others, and sometimes it’s not enough for us to do the right thing or reach a goal. We also want to feel a sense of righteousness over anyone who stood in our way. The skeptics who thought we were wrong or were slower to come on board. 

Of course, there is a need for accountability. However, there can also be a chance for grace and forgiveness. Instead of choosing smugness, we can choose to give people permission to be part of the solution. 

Speaking cynically, what incentive would someone have to admit they were wrong and do the right thing if their only reward is to be shamed and punished for not figuring it out sooner?

Speaking more earnestly, changing our minds and world views is hard. It means questioning the decisions we’ve made and living with the consequences. It means committing to doing things differently. Admitting we’ve made a mistake or acknowledging we stayed silent when we could have spoken up takes courage. And that courage is a little easier to come by when others can see our humanity in addition to our shortcomings.