blame

can blame be a form of a perfectly logical explanation?
socially, we, this current generation of which i am a part, have been brought up to put ourselves first. to believe we are special, unique, and different from other people. that we should stand out and be rewarded for merely being ourselves. for meeting expectations. with exterior messages that affirm all of this--including school curricula and this new social norm of giving certificates/medals/memorabilia to everyone despite one's abilities or talents, we believe and expect to be treated as the special people we are.
i hear a lot --a precise number is completely beyond me-- of people within my generation who put blame onto the outer world about what they (we) are and are not able to do. for instance, "i didn't pass the test because the professor isn't a good teacher." or, a blame that centers on the greatness of oneself--"i didn't learn anything new because i already knew everything that was being taught." i find myself lost in these statements. i don't know what to say or how to have conversations. i am astounded that people, college students specifically, actually believe these things. also, i am astounded that these explanations have been considered acceptable.
i do wonder though...when this blame is present is it a ple? or is placing blame on people/sources other than our selves an expectation of this (my) generation? is it an outcome of the environment and culture in which we have been brought up? funny, the last two questions sound like blame! i do, however, mean it in all seriousness. in my mind, externalizing blame is the most primary ple because it can be seen as perfectly logical that something/someone outside of myself is responsible for what happens to me. meaning, my life is not my life. what happens to me is not of my own making or contributions. then, i think about a contrasting perspective--blaming the victim for their being a victim, and for the crime for which they are a victim. this is where some of my struggle comes with the use of blame and ples.
the concept of generational cultural norms and expectations is another situation in which i struggle to decipher concepts of blame and providing (perfectly logical) explanations for injustice. is using blame as a strategy just a tool in our tool belts? yep. sad, but most likely true. there are many outside sources to blame too. we, each and every one of us is important, which means that attention should be paid to us. individual attention should be paid to us, and when it's not, that simply indicates an error in the system. a system in which we are not responsible.
in california proposition 8 passed, which gave voters the right to block gay marriages from being recognized in the state. what i hear from people (specifically in my generation) who voted no is blame of communities who did not turn out to vote. blame for the advertising tactics of the voting yes camp. no critical dialogue about their own in/action around educating and promoting the no on prop 8 vote. no responsibility for not working hard enough. just a "it's not my fault" response and attitude.
what i saw was not very much work at all. there seemed to me to be gaps between what people said they stood for, the actions they took, and the outcome altogether. there was another gap still--between all of those things and the responsibility for the injustice. is blame here deserved, or is it just being used as a shield to block our sense of self-importance and self-esteem?
what do other, older, generations expect from us? how can we have responses that connect outside of our own experiences when we don't know how to do that and when it's never been a cultural value/ideal? my initial question remains...can blame be yet another ple, or in the case of generations, does its use have a deeper (or just plain different) root?