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“I’m a good person, with
good intentions, so the rules don’t apply to me.”
I’ve been picking up on
this sentiment lately, and it has become a source of frustration for me.
What happened to the good old days when good people with good intentions
were the ones who followed the rules?
America
has become a nation of cheaters. We cheat on our taxes, cheat on our
spouses, cheat to get a job. Nearly half of all resumes are now believed
to contain lies, and the IRS estimates that tax evasion costs the nation
at least $250 billion a year. We cut corners, precede gossip with “bless
their heart” (as if we care for those we damage with our words), and go
as quickly as we can from A to B, mindless of permits or paperwork or
procedures required.
Everyone does it you
know, and the end justifies the means. Or does it?
Breaking the
rules, and our acceptance of such, is what brought us to this end--a
nation of cheaters. Now, the good guy who follows the rules loses, while
the cheaters win.
In my
college history classes, we were taught the meaning of the term
“manifest destiny.” By the words of
Webster’s,
manifest destiny is “a policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable
as if granted by God.” (Imperialism is any instance of aggressive
extension of authority.)
In other
words, throughout history, men (and women) of power have used God’s name
to rape, plunder, steal, conquer, and expand and abuse their power.
Nations have fallen, governments overthrown, all because someone in
power felt they were doing God’s work.
In my mind,
good people with good intentions who break the rules are aggressively
extending their power, as if granted by God. Just because you pray
doesn’t mean it’s okay.
Shall we
dismiss all rules and regulations so good people with good intentions
can do good deeds?
Does the end
justify the means?
Good people
with good intentions--cheating is cheating. I don’t think God wants us
to cheat. It is our acceptance of this cheating that breaks down the
goodness of our hearts and our community. This is the end result of our
cheating means.
But I
suppose I’m just holding back the good deeds of others, and I should
just give up and keep quiet. For a reporter, you know, that’s cheating.
But everybody else does
it.
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