The political season shifted into high gear last week, as Republican Rick Santorum's withdrawal cleared the way for a not-too-surprising race between President Obama and Mitt Romney.
Not too surprising either is that the blame game has begun in earnest, with Romney faulting Obama for the nation's economic woes and Obama chastising Romney for protecting the rich.
And on and on it goes, unless we the people decide to act otherwise.
I hope we do.
We're a country gifted at blaming one another for everything from gas prices to our personal unhappiness to who left the toilet seat up. What might be surprising is that we can do better.
I have proof.
Wendy Wyatt, associate professor of communication and journalism at the University of St. Thomas, has spent the past two years delving into the cherished American pastime of blame. Blaming, she said, "has become an impulse. We find it difficult not to blame."
Wyatt does not believe we should stop blaming completely. Blame is warranted, for example, in assessing a Gulf oil spill or horrific revelations about a child sexual predator. "If we're going to have a system of morality, blame is an integral part of that," Wyatt said. "We have to hold people accountable."