We cannot learn lessons from consequences we do not sufferĢ) One of the greatest of all failures is to attempt to divorce decisions from their consequences. In this case specifically, parental indulgence, influence, and wealth intervened in criminal justice to prevent a son from suffering the consequences of his substance abuse which left a young woman dead on the side of an Arizona highway. My personal opinion is that this generational fallout is especially tragic both because it can be set in motion at such an early age and because is too frequently diagnosed only in hindsight. Sometimes that comeuppance arrives in the form of the rising generation viewing excess as normal and responsibility as optional. My two big takeaways from this saga are these:ġ) Personal behavior has professional consequences. Even when there is sufficient financial or personal power to insulate one from the consequences for a time, there is eventually but always fallout from a failure of integrity and character. I won't attempt to retell the whole story here, but suffice to say it focuses on five generations of father-son dynamics and contains a lot of nepotism, shocking excess, and hubris, ultimately culminating in the last Busch scion losing control of a 150-year family legacy after years of cronyism, incompetence, substance abuse, and chronic irresponsibility.
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