There is no assignment of blame here: people are not consciously being irresponsible. More often than not, such apparent disregard for our responsibility as human beings is a consequence of how we grew up. Depending on families we are born into, the communities in which we live, the schools we attend, the teachers we are assigned, the friends we meet, and the groups we gravitate toward, we may or may not be taught or be able to role-model essential life skills such as these: