Inaction is Not the Same as Indecision
By: Keith
If you considered getting a flu shot this year but didn’t, that’s called inaction. You made a conscientious decision to not do it. It also means the consequences of your inactions or actions are equally yours. It may seem like a silly distinction, but it isn’t. Americans, apparently, don’t like taking responsibility for disasters so they attempt to avoid that responsibility by not acting (which they don’t seem to realize is the same thing). A recent study has found that, in a hypothetical scenario, parents would choose a 0.1 percent chance of their kid dying from the flu over a 0.05 percent chance of them dying from a vaccine. Keep in mind that this is a hypothetical scenario, meaning that parents do not need to factor in the efficacy of the vaccine or the dangers of the vaccine in question (the reported dangers of the H1N1 vaccine for example). They’re only faced with the hypothetical decision to get the shot or not provided a fixed set of facts. 
This phenomenon is called the Omission Bias and it’s not an uncommon occurrence. Dr. Jonathan Baron of UPenn says “People may confuse not acting with not deciding.” People actually fool themselves into believing that not taking action absolves them of responsibility when disaster strikes. They might call it the Omission Bias, but I call it Plugging-your-ears-and-singing-lalalalalalala. Maybe it’s just me though.
Parenting Means Making Tough Decisions:
Two years ago Alan, my youngest son, had a life threatening illness. We lived in a rural town in Wisconsin that did not have adequate medical facilities. Thus our doctor told us he would need to be immediately taken to the UW Medical Center in Madison. I had a choice. I could hop in my car and drive him to the hospital myself or I could wait 5 minutes for an ambulance to arrive to take him. That’s called a tough decision. I could get him to the hospital 5 minutes earlier than the ambulance could (because I would have a head start) or I could wait and have the EMS workers available on the drive to the hospital in case something went wrong. I chose to wait knowing the responsibility for whatever happened was on my shoulders. I made a calculated decision, and it turned out to be the right one because Alan stopped breathing on the drive and needed to be worked on by the EMS guys in the ambulance.
Parents get faced with these tough choices all the time. It bothers me that parents have the propensity to leave fate to care for their kids even given the fact that they have brains that are capable of complex decision making. We aren’t monkeys after all. Or maybe we are. Avoiding a speeding car is instinctual. That doesn’t require a decision. However, choosing to get a flu shot or not to get one is a decision. If you think it’s right to get one because of the evidence you read about it then that’s a decision. If you think the danger is too great and that it isn’t worth it based on your research then that is also a decision. But, instinctively not acting as a way to avoid responsibility is not being a good parent. One way or another something is going to happen. Take the bull by the horns and be in charge of it. Take the responsibility whatever turns out happening and live with it. Life sucks sometimes. But victory is sweet too!
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That’s the funny thing about freewill. Even if I choose not to decide I’ve made a choice. Incidentally, I’m writing a book called “Everything I Needed to Learn about Decision I Learned From a Rush Song”.
All jokes aside, I agree with your point, you can’t parent scared.
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PJ: What’s with everyone writing books?
now I’m going to have to get in on the party. BTW, love the title.
Wow– insightful. I’d say that most people are in a state of inaction, whether intentional or not. Your case with Alan is an amazing example of intentional inaction. But for most of the amoebas who float through life, mouths open hoping that food will just drift in– no such luck.
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Dennis: Most people just want to get through life peacefully. They aren’t in it to either act or not act, simply to exist in peace. Unfortunately there are times that call for decisions, and that is when people seem unable to make critical decisions. There is no shame in inaction as long as it is done for a purpose (IE to live a peaceful life). People don’t have to be constantly doing to be worthwhile people. Life is not about the pursuit of wealth, knowledge, or skills, it’s about the pursuit of peace. In fact, the doers are just as prone to errors in judgement as those who don’t do. Being judicious and wise is the determinant to either action or inaction. Lacking that anything you do is a crap shoot.
Wow, did you really make me think. I had a life threatening occurance with one of my sons as well, and was very upset that they made me wait for an ambulance when I could have just driven us the hour to the hospital. My son didn’t stop breathing in the amblance, but he COULD have. And then where would I have been? I was so angry that they made me wait for the ambulance because my instinct was just GET HIM THERE NOW! Okay I’m not so grouchy about it now….
Mitzi: It’s a scary feeling isn’t it? You’re faced with this decision and it’s like, wow, if you screw up it’s somebody’s life on the line. That’s really what parenting is about. Thanks for the comment.
Excellent post, and point well taken.
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Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.
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