“Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral squalor. We need that belief; a cynical community is a corrupt community.”
Certain things set me off big-time. All crime, but especially when it comes to human life, specifically children. You rob a jewelry store after hours, I think you made a bad choice but I can forgive you. You hurt or kill somebody, not by accident but by Choice, that enrages me. The other thing that sets me off is people that cheat or unethically try to skirt rules and policies. For example, I play poker every other week with many old and new friends and part of what makes it a great game is that we all know it is a stand-up game where we all are ultra-competitive but no shenanigans will take place. Maybe it is because it is for low stakes (but not the reason with this crew as they are all good people) as we have seen how money makes any competitor act differently. But these days, it seems more and more people are choosing to not play fair in business, sports, your hometown, politics, etc. There are a number of reasons but the main two that jump out at me has been our complacency with these people who do it and people (especially the ones that should) not wanting to address the behavior, combined with the lack of deterrents or penalties for these unethical actions.
Case in point – the White House dinner crashers and (Click Here) for the latest and story as they use the word “Enliven” in it which had me chuckle. As more and more information comes out, it is clear that these two snakes knew what they were doing every step of the way. These were all calculated Choices. I have no problem with them trying to get an invitation to the dinner and they tried various channels. But when given an answer they did not like, they tried other means, even if they were unethical or illegal. This is a Choice and they knew it was wrong and even though their consciences were trying to help them, they disregarded it. Now, after they broke the rules (and maybe the law), they further compound it with lies and even more unethical behavior. Oh what a tangled web we weave as you may get away with lying to your boss about being sick, when you went to the ball game; but if you choose to lie to the Secret Service, you better have every single base covered. These two do not and their true colors are showing.
Sadly, on so many levels, people more and more are choosing to not play by the rules. I talk to clients every week that all share similar stories about all the office politics and gossip occurring in their company. People constantly forming alliances and creating walls and barriers so they can get their way or prevent others from accomplishing what they are trying to do. Outside of the office, it magnifies even more when you talk about communities, schools and kids where too many only look out for themselves. I hope these two dinner crashers are made a very serious example out of. On top of lying, they have damaged the reputation and credibility of others who may have made mistakes in their job, but did not do it intentionally like these two chose to do. We must all develop a zero-tolerance for this type of behavior whether it personally impacts us or not. If people choose not to play fair, just like my poker game (not that we have had to do this), do not allow them to play and make sure there are consequences so it sends a message to those who may make a similar choice in the future.
Our opening quote was by John W. Gardner who appeared to spend his life encouraging fair play, even when he did not agree with other’s Choices.
