... So what is it that makes you tick? Who are you & where do you fit in your world? What's for dinner? How many honest men or women do you know? No, REALLY?
You may wonder why I ask, but how honest are you? How honest are they? Do they follow the rules when no one else is watching? Do You? Do I?
If you are wondering what my point is, I'll try to explain it to you. The world is full of people and most of us would proudly proclaim that we are not criminals. How many of us would be able to state that as a fact? I couldn't. I have committed a crime at least once in my life. I have been arrested at one point in my life ... I even pleaded guilty at trial. I was in my teens; but the fact remains that it happened. I think of these things as I pass among the race of man.
This morning as I walked out to meet a group of friends for coffee, I was singing Kris Kristopherson ... Sunday Morning Coming Down ... it wasn't pretty but I was alone so I was singing off key. God didn't seem to mind. I was remembering Sunday morning emptiness a lifetime ago ... and watching the moms & dads driving their kid-lings to & from hockey ... but then a dude comes driving down the winding road about 30km/h over the limit. And I think to myself .... "He probably doesn't think of himself as a criminal". But he would be wrong. Just because nobody pulls you over & gives you a ticket doesn't mean you did not commit the offence. And I ave seen many instances just like that one that ended unfavourably. It only takes a moment & an unfortunate series of events for that exact scene to end with someone's baby dying. I bet the nice man in the speeding SUV on the quiet suburban street never considered that ... No more so that he thinks himself a criminal.
I said out loud "Slow it down dick-head" but I know he didn't hear it. ... He, you, me ... the guy who has a couple & drives home ... are we all that different from the Paul Bernados of the world? Is it any wonder that we tolerate elected officials without integrity? We subconsciously feel that we deserve to be punished ... because WE DO. You may think that insurance fraud or tax fraud are okay as long as you don't get caught. After all everyone else is doing it & government just pisses away money - and the insurance companies will screw us over if we make a claim. But I will tell you it isn't right. Just because I am broke does not justify robbery ...
No just because I am broke does not justify robbery. Just because it is a full moon does not justify acting out on my insatiable urge to mate. No just because that man in the SUV couldn't get his butt out of bed early enough does not justify speeding and aggressive driving. The only way to change that is for ME to not do the things that I want to do that I know to be WRONG. ... And if I do the next right thing, even when nobody is watching, maybe I will be a power of example to someone some day - and then there might be two of us.