Personal responsibility

Recently I learned of the "puzzling appearance" of a utility pole smack in the middle of a road near Montreal.

To my understanding, the appearance was really not puzzling at all. According to the report, road construction crew laid the new stretch of road precisely where the pole was standing.

What is puzzling to me is how that crew (consisting likely of a number of individuals) thought that completing the road work under the circumstances was acceptable. Additionally, at least one more person thought that opening the road to traffic was also acceptable.

In all of this, where is personal responsibility? Are these people afraid to speak their minds in front of their managers? Do we need a legal framework for the protection of common sense and dignity, the same way that we protect endangered species?

Kudos to whistle-blowers around the world.

— London, ON, Nov 2012