Accountability for everything big and little. These days you can excuse any habit you have or any bad thing you do:
-I'm obese because metabolism problem/McDonald's won't stop advertising.
It's not a metabolism problem. Those exist, but only in a very small percentage of the population. What you have is a stuffing your fucking face problem. This woman lives in the same world you do: http://www.beautymuscle.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tina-nguyen-14016882548nk4g.jpg Shut your stupid fat mouth, put down the Cheetos, and get on the Stairmaster.
-I'm a criminal because I grew up in a poor neighborhood with a high crime rate.
Crime, crossing the boundary to a "career" of law-breaking, is always a choice. The pressure to go down that road can be considerable. Some folks never get out of the ghetto. It absolutely is a trap and it absolutely should be better. But even in poor neighborhoods, most people are not criminals. What do they have that you don't? Odds are, only the desire to be better than their surroundings. You are making it worse and you need to own that.
-I have no attention span because ADD is a medical condition.
Again, yes it is, but you don't have it. You're making an excuse to cover the conceit of thinking nobody deserves your attention. I bet I'll have your attention after I slap you upside your empty little head.
-I'm an alcoholic because my father was one.
Didn't you hate his drinking with every fiber of your being? Don't you have even the faintest scrap of desire to be better than he is? My dad was a drunk, that's why I never have more than one drink at a time.
-I cheated on my girlfriend because humans evolved to sleep around, monogamy is not natural.
No, you cheated because you're a lying shitbag who'd rather make excuses than do the right thing. Anyone who has ever benefited from modern technology should know natural is not always better. Do you use a cell phone or shout and hope the intended recipient is close enough to hear you? Do you drive or walk for miles and miles? Do you have heat in your home? Natural does not equal better. As for evolution, we also evolved the capacity for moral decision-making: honesty, sacrifice, compromise, loyalty. Transcending our base instincts is what makes us civilized.
-I beat my wife/kids because....
Stop right there. There is nothing, nothing you can say. There is no act as cowardly, as shameful, as deeply destructive as raising a hand to your own family. You are the one doing the hitting. That makes you responsible: not your shitty job, not your asshole boss, not getting stuck in rush hour traffic, not your kids testing your patience, you and only you.
-It's perfectly fine to bring my spoiled, squalling offspring with me to the restaurant or theater.
You are simply wrong. We don't want to hear it. They are your children, their behavior is on you. You do not have the right to make two hundred people angry, or even outright ruin the experience they just paid good money for, simply because you don't bother to control your children. And don't say you can't afford a sitter. If that's true, you can't afford to go out. You chose to have a kid, you chose that responsibility, well congratulations, it's all yours. Now stay the fuck home.
-I did it while I was drunk. That means I didn't do anything wrong.
No, it just means you fucked up twice.
I suspect accountability was never really in vogue. My dad talks about responsibility today but he's also told stories about stealing blueberries from the local farmers at night and hot-rodding up and down every back road in the state when he was young. Nevertheless, more accountability!